Earthquakes in divers places. Seems almost every day or so there is an earthquake, somewhere. We had one in Massachusetts about a month ago (well, the northeast states) That is not to be expected for sure!
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his Sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain (a Prince) of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
15 And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Daniel 12:-13
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time(because Michael stand up): and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Matthew 24:15and21-23
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,spoken of by Daniel the prophet,stand in the holy place,(whoso readeth,let him understand )
21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23Then if any man(Pastors, Bishops,Evangelists,etc.) shall say unto you,Lo, here is Christ( John 5:43-47.Take a look),or there;BELIEVE IT NOT.
Re.12:7 & 10-11
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his messengers fought against the dragon( Revelation 13:11);and the dragon fought and his messengers.
What I have been taught is that the books of the OT are arranged with : Pentateuch (Books written by Moses)Genesis-Deuteronomy; then the books of the history of Israel from entering the Promised land under Joshua to the reign of the kings of Israel and Judah (Joshua-2 Chronicles); Ezra and Nehemiah are historical books covering the time of the return from Babylonian exile of Judah; Esther is somewhat of an anomaly since it doesn't have a very clear time frame as far as placement in Israel's history; Job is an ancient wisdom book (Job lived between the time of the flood and Abraham, being a distant cousin of Abraham)
Psalms is poetic musical writing; Proverbs and Ecclesiastes is also wisdom books; and Song of Solomon is allegorical.
As far as the remainder of the OT, the books of the prophets are arranged from longest to shortest.
In the NT; first is the 4 Gospels Then Acts is the history of the early church; the epistles are listed, (again), from longest to shortest. And Revelation is what is called apocalyptic writing (which usually contains much allegory, symbolism, and sensational representations of future events.
WAR AGAINST THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS LIKE FROGS-WHY FROGS?
The end of times has arrived and what the Devil intends to do as the father of the Jews( John 8:44), is to direct the current world under his rule towards a global environment that will facilitate the establishment of his much desired Universal Kingdom, his fifth Universal Kingdom, for which Satan has been working since ancient times starting with Abel's murder- Matthew 23:33-35.Take a look. GOD revealed to the king of Babylon through Daniel this desire of Satan by interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream: Daniel 2:41-43, but in verses 44 to 47 GOD reveals how He will destroy the Kingdom of the Devil, father of the Jews- JOHN 8:44.
There will be a TERRIBLE WAR from now on between GOD's people X Satan's people. Re.11:15 says: The KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD are become the KINGDOMS of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. ( Matthew 5:5 combined with Revelation 5:10).
But Satan as a God intends to do the same with global world ruled by him-2Thes.2:3-4&9-12 combined with Revelation 12, i.e. to establish his satanic Universal religious Kingdom.
The WAR will be against THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS LIKE FROGS-WHY FROGS?
Revelation 16:13 to 16
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like FROGS come out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of GOD Almighty.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Ar - mag - eddon.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. (Get ready)
Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Is.30:27-Behold,the name of the Lord cometh from far,burning with his anger,and the burden thereof is heavy:His lips are full of indignation, His tongue as a devouring fire:
Is.13:6-13
6Howl ye;for the day of the Lord is at hand;it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty
7Therefore shall all hands be faint,and every man's heart shall melt:
8And they shall be afraid:pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth:they shall be amazed one at another;their faces shall be as flames
9Behold,the day of the Lord cometh,cruel both with wrath and fierce anger,to lay the land desolate:and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it
10For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light
11And I will punish the world for their evil,and the wicked for their iniquity;and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease,and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible
12I will make a man more precious than fine gold;even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir
13Therefore I will shake the heavens,and the earth shall remove out of her place,in the wrath of the Lord of hosts,and in the Day of His fierce anger.
Is.33:10-15
10Now will I rise,saith the Lord;now will I be exalted;now will I lift up myself.
12And the people shall be as the burnings of lime:as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
13Hear,ye that are far off,what I have done;and,ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
14The sinners in Zion are afraid;fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
15He that walks righteously,and speaks uprightly;he that despiseth the gain of oppressions,that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes,that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood,and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil.
4I also will choose their delusions,and will bring their fears upon them;because when I called,none did answer;when I spake,they did not hear...
2Thes.2:8-12
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed,whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth-His Word-,and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming:
9Even him,whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;because they received not the love of the truth,that they might be saved.
11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,that they should believe a lie:
12That they all might be DAMNED who believed not the Truth- believed not in JESUS-,but had pleasure in unrighteousness
Mat.24:15-25
15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,spoken of by Daniel the prophet,stand in the holy place,(whoso readeth,let him understand)
PRIOR ADVICE OF OUR LORD
16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains
17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house
18Neither let him which is in the field return back...
ABOUT STRONG PUNISHMENT
21For then shall be great tribulation,such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,no,nor ever shall be.
22And except those days should be shortened,there should no flesh be saved:but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened
GREAT DANGER EVEN FOR THE ELECTS-THE FALSE MESSIAH
23Then if any man-Pastors,and Bishops,Evangelists,Missionaries, among others-shall say unto you, Lo,here is Christ,or there;BELIEVE IT NOT
24For there shall arise false Christs,and false prophets-FALSE PREACHERS OF THE WORD OF GOD-2Cor.11:13-15,and shall shew great signs and wonders;insomuch that,if it were possible,they shall deceive(even)the very elect
PUT THIS IN YOUR MIND - THE RED SEA AND THE RED DRAGON
I believe you know that the Hebrews had to cross the Red Sea,and walk through a desert,walk until they got to the Promised Land after 40 years of pilgrimage.What about GOD's people now or in this current time?
Now GOD's people will have to go through(I mean win a war)against the Red Dragon,that's exactly it,a Red Dragon yes,this is no coincidence,it was predicted millennia ago.He's a false messiah who will soon manifest,just ahead,with great signs of lying,he will manifest in Israel like a lamb with two horns,he's a Jew,of course, and he'll speak like a Dragon. Revelation 12.3-17 and Revelation 13: 11-18.
Let's get ready to go through this not easy FINAL journey of GOD's people here until the glorious,marvelous,and day of exceedingly joy - the day 1335.Amen.
Remembering and understanding that the departure of the Hebrew people from Egypt was not without first having taken place a battle against Pharaoh(by the way,there and now is Satan himself),and when the march began for the departure of GOD's people from Egypt, then the enemy army persecuted the Hebrews,the same will happen now,initially the persecution will be by the man Beast of the sea,it is he who will first persecute the Christian believers- Revelation 13:5 - for 42 months,that is the first half of the last week, week 70th Daniel 9:v.27.This POINT is only and only the half of the way -3,5 years or 42 months,the GOD's people will need to march more 3,5 years,so the murch will last 7 years,it will not be easy this journey of course.
Again:Let's get ready to go through this not easy FINAL journey of GOD's people here until the glorious,marvelous,and day of exceendigly joy-the day 1335. Amen.
JESUS in His prayer to the Father,said: John 17:15 - I pray not that thou take them out of the world, but that thou keep them from the evil.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
Many think there will be a WWIII now,oh no,there will not be,absolutely.We just entered in the current seventh and last millennium,so there will not be WWIII,absolutely.JESUS listed the events that must happen in this beginning of the seventh and last millennium or seventh and last GOD's Day. Matthew 24:1-8:
PRE TRIBULATIONAL PERIOD-BEGINNING OF SORROWS
Verses 1- 2:->JESUS went out and departed from the Temple.His disciples came to Him and showed Him the building of the Temple. JESUS said:See ye these things?I say unto you,There shall not be left here ONE stone upon another.JESUS disappointed his disciples, evidently.
What JESUS prophesied about the Temple it fulfilled LITERALLY in the year 70AD, the Temple was destroyed,Israel was banned from their land and scattered around the world for 1.878 years, from 70AD to 1948AD, more than 100K died under of the Roman's attack.
JESUS went to the Mount of Olives, there the disciples privately asked TWO things to Him:
1-What shall be the sign of thy coming?
2-and of the END of the world?(END of the current Devil's world)
JESUS listed several events linked 1st:to His Coming;2nd: about END of this current Devil's WORLD.
Mat.24:4-8-JESUS said:
4-Take heed that no MAN deceive you;(this was the first concerns of JESUS)
5-For many shall come in my name,saying,I am Christ;and shall deceive many; (Soon will manifest the MAN Beast of the earth like a lamb,a false lamb,false messiah,AN IMPOSTOR,as said JESUS- John 5:43, 2Thessalonians 2:3-4, Revelation 13:11-18.
6-And ye shall hear of WARS and RUMOURS of WARS; ALL THESE THINGS must come to pass but THE END IS NOT YET.
7-NATION shall rise against NATION, kingdom against kingdom;(Will G7,G20,EU,UNO,be DISSOLVED from now on? Pe.3:7, Re.11:18, Micah 4:3).
-and there shall be famines;it is fulfilling LITERALLY
- and pestilences;In fulfillment;
- and earthquakes-divers places;
8 All these are the beginning of SORROWS(Pre-tribulational)
IF it is the case that "his people" mentioned in Daniel 12:1 are the Jews; then it would mean that the CHURCH is the righteous who are resurrected at the time of the Rapture which occurs immediately after. The OLD TESTAMENT saints rise later. I don't want to get into detail on this posting about that event.
We have scripture which specifically discusses Israel and others which describe conditions in the entire world and of course some that seem to indicate both events in the book of Revelation. Whatever happens in the first part of the Tribulation it appears that it primarily is involved with persecution of the false Babylon system against true believers; whereas later on it is the Antichrist and forced worship of himself.
Revelation 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
This "whore" is basically a false religious system which appears to be an amalgamation of all the false religions and an apostate Christianity. There is an ECONOMIC part and a spiritual part to this system. The CITY Babylon and its destruction is listed in detail not only in Revelation 17 and 18 but also in vast numbers of passages in Jeremiah in particular. I see myself strong suspicion that if the Lord comes very soon it ineed IS the USA but if He lingers the planned enormous city in the area of Dubai 30 times the size of New York City with drones and ultramodern technology could also be where this prophetic fulfillment takes place. If it is the former than indeed the whole USA could be burned up with no survivors. Indeed that IS the fate of most of the world as seen in this verse Isaiah 24:15 Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea. There is hope that some will repent therefore even in the midst of these great judgments.
Revelation series focusing on God's destruction rather than those of the world's armies: SEALS 2-4
INTRODUCTION
I am going to continue with the second through the fourth seal of Revelation here. My purpose is not to nit pick about every time death occurs because of man's weapons of war or whether it is by other means. The overall emphasis is to show how all the future events are ultimately controlled by the Lord and in a sense "choreographed" that way. Indeed; whatever the means surely the time of Jacob's trouble will be like no other in terms of the level of destruction on the earth. ( Jeremiah 30:7; Matt. 24:21).
Since this is the case; we can't just look at statistics here to determine how awful things will be. That is clear from seeing that just EIGHT souls were saved on Noah's ark. Clearly there are many more than that; albeit a small percent of the earth at large that survives to repopulate in the Millennium. The demonic release "en masse" from the bottomless pit and probably other places in the underworld is what makes it so horrible as they will clearly be tormenting men by the 5th Trumpet. The giant hybrids of Noah's day were destroyed but we never saw a time of such horrible devastation by agents of evil as is to come.
War famine and pestilence
Deuteronomy 32:24-25 states: I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague;
I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.
25 In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign.
These themes of war; famine and pestilence are rife throughout the Old Testament in Ezekiel; and several passages in Jeremiah along with the solemn warnings of Matthew 24 and of course Revelation which we are discussing now. (also see Luke 21:11).
God has judged this way as we see from the passages in Jeremiah in the past in order to take vengeance on the idolatry of Israel. The same thing will happen again.
Revelation: A study on the likely implications of destruction by God rather than man's methods
Before continuing on this subject from Revelation 4 to 19; and briefly looking at the last 3 chapters as well I did want to say that it would appear that there is one noteable exception to the rule; that would be the destruction of Babylon by fire. The Bible seems to point out that the Antichrist Beast destroys this territory by fire; and the destruction is complete. I will get to it further as we attempt a chronological examination of the prophecies in Revelation and corresponding elsewhere in the Bible but will say that it appears that is at least half way through the Tribulation before that happens.
INTRODUCTION: It is impossible for me or anyone else to know how far we will deteriorate with current international events; and how long the Rapture is from this date. We certainly should continue in prayer asking for mercy so that worldwide conflict will not occur; but of course that starts with those NOW being persecuted and those who are in wars today to be given strength to endure. This means helping out with feet on the ground or financially supporting our fellow servants in Christ whenever possible today. It also means we need to search beyond what mainline media is telling us to discover things going on in parts of the world such as Africa in particular that often aren't discussed. It would seem with today's media mania that enemies would be at a disadvantage even knocking out our power grid which is certainly a likely scenario at some point whether deliberately or by a solar "Carrington" type event. We don't know all the details; but surely when Antichrist finally starts to rule today's technology will be key for him to get his message across; although there could be places where people assemble to hear "approved" broadcasts and everything else could be shut down. I could see solar power as being used for the mark of the Beast also.
Blind Faith - Luke 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
It's amazing that when we are led by The Spirit of God we are sometimes led to do things that would not normally make sense to us: the truth is, when following Jesus, trust, faith and obedience are the necessary or key elements required to bring us to a place or state of victory. Peter was an experienced Fisherman and had ample knowledge of the sea to know it made no sense returning to fish, but that word he used NEVERTHELESS sent doubt ,worry and fear out of the door leading Peter and his Fishermen team straight into a place of victory. It's ok to question God if in doubt, its even ok to make a request like Gideon Judges 6:36-40, ut it's not ok to disobey the voice of God because it doesn't make sense to you.
We think mainly of Jesus dying on the cross as the Passover Lamb. But how about all the other animal sacrifices that the law required? If we look closer, we can see what all Jesus fulfilled that day. This Passover day started when the sun went down and Jesus and His 12 gathered together for the Last Supper.
After midnight they went into the garden of Gethsemane from there Jesus was betrayed by a friend, Psalm 41:9 and more, taken to Annas and then Caiaphas, and then early that morning to Pilate to be judged where no fault was found in Him.
At the same time, a priest was selected to carry a wooden beam on his shoulders up the ramp to light the fire of the altar of sacrifice. The first Tamid lamb was brought up and tied to the altar and inspected to make sure it did not have any blemishes.
Jesus was nailed to the cross and stood up on the 3rd hour 9 AM, Mark 15:25, the first Tamid lamb was sacrificed and put on the altar of sacrifice on the 3rd hour 9 AM the first hour of prayer. All the sacrifices of the people were placed on top of the first Tamid lamb. The 2nd hour of prayer is the 6th hour, noon, Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
The 3rd hour of prayer coincided with the evening sacrifice, at the 9th hour 3 PM when the last Tamid lamb was sacrificed and put on top of all the sacrifices of the people done that day. This was the exact time Jesus cried out and said it was finished Mark 15:34John 19:30.
God told Abraham to sacrifice his son and just before he did, God provided a ram for Isaac, and on that day the 14th of Nisan God provided Himself another Lamb, His only begotten Son sacrificed for us. Jesus also carried the wood for his sacrifice. Jesus fulfilled all the sacrifices, not just down to the day, but to the very hour itself.
First I must say that questions as such"why God kills or asks others to kill, despite "do not kill",are made by many atheists that were members of the SDA,but now turned demonic atheists.
They well know the letter of the Bible and now use it in their demonic posts to deny GOD and to contradict His Word.In fact they are killers,killers of souls.
They know that when GOD said to the people of Israel through Moses," do not kill", it had already passed around 2500 years(two days and half of GOD's work),and the commandment was exclusively for the people of GOD,Israel. It was given in the OT, not in the NT,very different of the OT. See, GOD was creating a new environment for His seed, descendants of Abraham, when He brought His people out of Egypt. GOD separated His people Israel from the midst of the Gentilic peoples, from the midst of the idolaters and murderers peoples, actually He divided waters from the waters- Genesis 1:6-10-and then appeared the dry land-Israel.
Now see,around 2500 years before GOD's commandment Cain had killed Abel.Who commanded Cain do it?It was not GOD,so who? It was the father of Cain,the Devil,a former Cherub,former ruler of Eden,also father of the current atheists and false Christianity and others adherents of devilish religions.
In the other hand,after GOD brought Israel from Egypt and placed the people in the Promised Land,there GOD established the Law and rules to discipline the people and free them from all the SATANIC influence they carried with them from the Gentile, specially from the Egyptians and their satanic idolatries.Desobedience, i.e. witchcraft,it would be punished in the Promised Land,even to the death penalty(Compare: Luke 12:4 and Deuteronomy 32:39.By the way,GOD IS GOD).
This battle started when the Cherub which GOD have placed as a ruler of Eden(now called SON OF PERDITION and MAN OF SIN,the Devil and Satan)planned to USURP GOD's creation and to create a specific world for he himself- Matthew 4:8-9.
Simple rule for a Christian is to know he is not obliged to answer every atheist. Now as a believer understand the verse "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." (He.2:17) Without shedding of blood there is no redemption. God did not spare His own Son and his death for for the redemption of all mankind. A Christian is one who believes in his death and resurrection. His faith and works are not apart from him but is in him "Without me you can do nothing." Thus we die to the world so we may live with him forever. From this what do you think of Godly kill? He did it because He is Love. And this kill released man from his bondage to sin and death. So the kill the atheists talk about and what God speaks of are entirely two different things.
Now what is a Thanksgiving dinner without a turkey? Turkey lives off little creatures and these little 'critters; on something else.
Laws of nature show every life-form lives off another. This is at the bottom level. Whereas the Son made himself as an intercessor for the world so whoever partook him in faith has abundant life. As God made manifest His love we are to place ourselves even as he did. This is shown in the example of Seth stepping in place of Abel who was murdered by the wicked Cain.
Having explored with gravity the situation of those afflicted with emotional problems of darkness and depression we also have to look at other things such as anger; and euphoria. I cannot emphasize enough this point that I am about to make; there is NO love like God's and what His saints will share in heaven and on the new earth for all eternity. Of course Satan will stop at nothing to find ways to circumvent God's laws particularly related to marriage to find a "soulmate" on earth. Without going once again into the subject of what is considered a legitimate marriage; I will leave it at this; a marriage in the Lord is part of God's community and Christ's body on earth. While the struggle with desires of the flesh isn't something unusual; the fact that many who already in theory should be having their needs met are looking to find grass that's greener elsewhere is a peculiar trait to human beings. Somehow we think that we can shortcut God's plan; looking at Abraham and Sarah we see how well that worked when she pushed Hagar on him after the fact. The fact that some seem to find better success finding their future spouse in a bar than even an online "Christian" dating service is telling; and it seems a foreign concept to expect the Lord to provide someone simply by obediently attending church (although the demographics in my church for example are more to old folks like myself).
Looking beyond trying to find love in all the wrong places; we often forget that our other emotions (jealousy; rage; anger and other bad fruits) often get in the way of reaching out to others for a viable friendship so that anything more is snuffed out at the inception. Again; it is our own deception that makes us think we can change someone after we marry them. I would STRONGLY advise premarital counsel in the church to avoid what happened to me (a divorce after 25 years of marriage).
Satan's machinations: PART TWO (further study on Satan's affect on us as individuals)
Part Two: The battle of the mind.
In my last post; I ran out of space again; but was getting into the verse where Jesus told Satan to get behind him when Peter was stating that basically going to the cross was not fit for Jesus to do. This shows how Christ expects us as His disciples to rely totally on the Spirit to allow the flesh to be dead. Luke 4:8 is the other verse where Jesus says this to Satan after the temptations in the wilderness. We see a difference between Peter then and after Pentecost as Jesus foretold after he denied knowing him. In all fairness since ALL the disciples ran off their fear for their lives superseded their love for Christ. This truly shows how only trust in the Spirit of God will enable us to face death with courage should it be in the time and place God has chosen. As I have said before it is the end of a life of obedience that Christ and in fact all the Disciples except for John met their fate; the spiritual man grows and matures through self denial and service to that point.
Our thought processes are determined merely by our old man at birth. Thus characteristic behaviors and routines develop which tend to linger with us even post salvation. There are; of course the affects of nurturing vs cruel parents; abundance or poverty in youth which the Lord is aware of but also weigh in on the enemy's game plan. Of course with the mind along with everything else the enemy attacks us with the easiest thing to do is be determined to TRUST God and reject any thought which isn't captive to His (God's) will ( 2 Corinthians 10:5); compare with 2 Timothy 2:26. We learn to recognize the enemy's patterns after hopefully only a few similar assaults at our weakest points. We learn to discern the Spirit of God which is outside of self from Satan's devices; which always appeals to the flesh and exalting self. RUN IF IT GOES AGAINST SCRIPTURE!
The other day I discussed roles of men and women; and showed the case of Miriam and good and bad things about her behavior.
This situation shows how in general how a true Prophet can have certain sins that cause a downfall. Another example is in 1 Kings 13 starting in verse 11. His disobedience in stopping anywhere to eat on his journey back from a prophetic mission cost him his life. This story shows not only his disobedience; but the obstinance of the other prophet who enticed him to eat with him. The Spirit entered him much as it did with Balaam after he accepted the offer with a true word from God (in this case about his demise). We could look at Cephus as another example in John 11:50. So we can see several situations here:
1. A TRUE Prophet that errs in obedience to God
2. A FALSE Prophet that the Lord still uses to some extent for His purposes
3. Someone not designated as a Prophet who still says something to that affect.
We could look at the third example in the case of Pontius Pilate; who put the inscription in Matthew 27:37 on being the King of the Jews. John 19:22 further expounds on this theme in Pilate's declaration that it should stand. Whether his reasonings were mocking; or an honest assesment of his innocence could be questioned-it is clear that he never came to true repentance even if his sins were less serious than those of the others who were complicit or outright demanded he be crucified and a murder (Barabbas) released.
The story of Balaam in Numbers 22 should teach us some object lessons as well. One may assume that his story was an ancient tale and not of any importance today other than looking for false prophecies in general. This isn't true because this man was hired for money and we see evidence in the last days of those looking for "filthy lucre" ( 1 Timothy 3 and a couple other places in the N.T.) To say what a megachurch Pastor wants to hear to draw multitudes occurs today.
Re.6:2-And I saw,and behold a white horse:and he that sat on him had a BOW;and a CROWN was given unto him(He is a Prince of GOD):and he went forth conquering,and to conquer.
Thine ARROWS are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies (enemies of JESUS,anti-JESUS,Antichrist;whereby the people fall under thee- Psalm 45:5.
Isaiah 7:22-24
22...he shall eat butter:for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land(the remnant-144K) Question:The rebel Israel was banned from their land and was spread around the whole world from year 70 AD until 1948,but from now on?being ruled by a false God,a false messiah?- Revelation 13:11-18).
23 And it shall come to pass in that day(the current seventh and last Day,seventh and last millennium)that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings,it shall even be for briers and thorns.(because are good for nothing)
24 With ARROWS and with BOWS shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
Isaiah 45:2
2Thou art fairer than the children of men:grace is poured into thy lips:therefore GOD hath blessed thee for ever.
3Gird thy Sword upon thy thigh,O most MIGHTY, with thy glory and thy majesty.(He's a Prince of GOD)
4And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness;and thy right hand shall TEACH thee terrible things.
6Thy throne,O God(GOD the Father, GOD Son and(God of the earth- Revelation 11:4),is for ever and ever:the sceptre of thy kingdom is a RIGHT sceptre.
7Thou lovest righteousness,and hatest wickedness:therefore God(God the Father/God the Son),thy God,has ANNOINTED thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Zech.4:11-14
What are these two olive trees upon the right and left side of the candlestick?
What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
Knowest thou not what these be?
These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth
The Bible is not any book on our natural world. Dinosaurs ammonites all have their place. God is a Spirit and God's kingdom has its own rules as there are rules for grammar. Any one who would move in a polite society and wants to be looked up speaks as a cultured well educated person.So don'be drawn by atheists whose little knowledge is from Science that is incomplete. After Galileo they want only proof so they shall keep on driving a square block in round hole. Faith with works is simply trust in our Savior Lord and work as he would want us.
If one has the Son he has the Father as well. So understand the word of God by the indwelling Spirit and it is the only way.
Mathew 18:20 says "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
A relationship with Christ Is not private, but communal, and the center of a person's relationship with Jesus is in the church. (Not necessarily the local Church but in the presence of other believers.
Read Hebrews 10:16-25.
We are to respond to his invitation and follow Jesus' example of how to live and treat others, giving him first place in your daily life.
A Desciples is someone who follows one's teachings.
In our rebirth Christ gave us his Spirit to guide us out of darkness.
Christ is faithful and said he will never leave you so your faith should be in his work on the cross not your baptism.
We pray to God for strength and wisdom and turn from the things that hinder us.
A Christian can not continue in sin!
God is love but he also is a righteous Judge.
He is rich in mercy forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty;
Our salvation hangs on God's promise once we have believed on his son, Christ Jesus!
Have you truly trusted him in his finish work on the cross?
If so we are persuaded to love his precepts the Brothern.
Daniel 12:1->1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time(because the archangel Michael stands up): and at that time(the current time-the seventh and last millennium or the seventh and last GOD's Day), thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book (according Re.7:1-14.Take a look). JESUS prophesied, saying: Matt.24:15 & 21:
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
21...then shall be great Tribulation(Dan.12:1& Acts 14:22),such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time(to this current time, time of the last GOD's Day),no, nor ever shall be.
By the way, it's very important to know who comes first: Michael or JESUS?
Michael the archangel is one like unto the Son of man, the difference is that Michael is a warrior, JESUS the Savior, He is the stone which is become the head of the corner. There is no salvation in any other(except in JESUS Christ):for there is none other NAME under heaven given among men, whereby we MUST be saved.
Your words on this site are so helpful for me. You put into words some thoughts I have but have never heard them discussed.
It also causes me to check myself. I can be narrow-minded at times. ( Not intentionally)
Like when a group chose the rainbow as their color. I said,
"Oh my Lord! They taking God's token of the covenant between him and Noah , ("God's people right?), to represent one Group of
People." This is is so wrong."
Well, I read Genesis 9:16 again!
and got a different understanding.
The scripture clearly says,
" And the bow shall be in the cloud. I shall look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting Covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh
upon the earth."
"all flesh" and it never said anything about "God's people."
Again in verse 17:
It was important enough to say it twice.
Was I surprised!!!
Keep up the good work.
You also offer thoughts on how churches can, "check themselves" to make sure they have the clear mission of the Church as a place that prepares us for ministry.
You mentioned a truthful relationship between parents and children.
And that Worship is to be more important than the "House" we worship in. Amen!
"But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all."
This was what bravado where oath of man falls contrary to the sovereignty of the word so a mighty warrior like Jephthah is shown as wimp and St Peter proved to be no less. Jesus showed why. " Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."(13:31). Jesus as the fulfilment of Law places all events consequently in his deity as well as in his humanity. "I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil./For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." At the outset of his earthly he presented the doctrine of his Father and condemned the doctrine of man as coming from the devil. (John8:44). From the manner the disciples could not understand him the Spirit shows why. It is not the words themselves as the controversy over KJV or other translations have raked up but the simple reason their flesh was weak. Even in our times imposter church keeps man from loving God with all might and will all their heart. "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word."(John8:43) They literally follow the scriptures and flat earthers for example, they may quote," It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth," Does that mean the earth is one? (Is.40:22).
"In thee is the fountain of life" Jesus said "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life./.... Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father."(John6:63-65; Ps.36:9) In the same night the disciples will fail their master at Gethsemane and forsake him. "My word " speaks of Christ's spirit of obedience and was for the glory of God. So abiding life means walking with him and understanding His will concerning us. That is true Light
The cradle of Antichrist is the primitive Church of Rome-1Jo.2:18-21
The Word of GOD reveals the birthplace of Antichrist by the VISUAL testimony of Apostle John about the Church of Rome
18 Little children,it's the last time:and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come,even NOW are there many Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
19They(Church of Rome)went out from us(apostate),but they were not of us;if they had been of us,they would no doubt have continued with us:but they went out,that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
20Ye have an unction from the Holy One,and know all things.
Re.13:1-18,written around 65 years after JESUS's ascension,two distinct Beasts are described:The first lasts around 2000 years,we can discern and foresse both Beasts will lead two distinct satanic religious systems in near future.The FIRST MAN Beast of sea exists millennia ago,the another MAN Beast has not yet,but he will manifest in near future.Catholicism&Judaism.
The Beast of sea,a satanic religious system developed within the former Church of the Lord in Rome and into Roman Empire,after Satan corrupted the church established by Apostle Paul,killed by persecution,then was developed satanic Antichrist's movements through the corrupt church of Rome,called first Catholic Church.Revelation describes 7 churches,church of Rome would be the eighth,but it was left out because was completely disapproved by JESUS.
The religious structures and organizations of the RCC,which rides upon the Beast of sea,the Pope,within the Roman Empire,since the confuse election of the first Pope in first century,it can be Linus or Clement,later to increase the confuse election of whom really is the first Pope,Satan,the main leader of the blasphemer movement of Antichrist in the church of Rome,he himself,time after,around the 2nd or early 3rd century by convention began of regarding Peter as the first pope.It's more a satanic blasphemy of the MAN Beast of sea.
"But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee."
The Spirit presents us a seemingly minor detail but it has a great spiritual importance. For one association of the Son is set there. Fellowship of God was not with any other than his Son. Whosoever believed in him were blessed in his Son (Ep.1:3).As Word become flesh the twelve apostles were men chosen by the Father was recorded in the scriptures. Joseph did not choose Galilee but God the Father chose it for his Son."Being warned of God in a dream, he (Joseph) turned aside into the parts of Galilee:/And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." (Matt.2:22-23).
Nazareth is a small town in the hill country of Galilee while Jerusalem belongs to Judea.
Most of his disciples were from Galilee so we have this hint from the Holy Spirit why he went beforehand into Galilee
Secondly Jesus 'shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go' is already mentioned by Prophet Ezekiel."And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch ofthatgate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof."(Ez.46:8)
"Behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;/Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."(Ac.1:10-11). He however warned his disciples not to leave Jerusalem is for no other reason than setting coordinates of his throne in heaven with 'his body" and the right hand of the most high in heaven is called New Jerusalem. Consequently the city of the great King (Matt.5:35) fits nicely with David from whose loins his humanity took shape. David calls him his Lord , the Lord of lords and King of kings. (Re.19:16)
By literal approach do we really get the role of place names right?
26I beheld,and the fruitful place was a wilderness(place where JESUS preached the Gospel,it was fruitful until 70AD),and all the cities thereof were broken down(even the Temple in LITERAL fulfillment of GOD's Word),at the presence of the Lord(yes)by His fierce anger.
27The Lord said,The whole land(Israel)shall be desolate;yet will I not make a full end(there shall be great tribulation,such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,no,nor ever shall be).
28For this shall the earth(Israel)mourn,and the heavens above be black(the 1st & 2nd heavens-Eph.1:3-8-,i.e.the OT and NT will no longer be valid,
for that which decayes and waxes old is ready to vanish,so the 3rd will still be established from now on),for I have spoken it,I have purposed it,and will not repent,neither will I turn back from it.(the heavens(the first two heavens)and the earth(current Israel),which are now,by the same Word are kept in store,reserved unto fire against this Day of Judgment(the Judgment Seat of Christ)and perdition of ungodly men.
Is.65:17-I create NEW heavens(the 3rd)and a NEW earth(ISRAEL)and the former shall not be remembered,nor come into mind.
Je.4:23-25
23I beheld the earth(Israel)...without form,and void;and the heavens(Eph.1:3-8)they had no light
24I beheld the mountains...they trembled,the hills moved lightly
25I ...there was no man,and all the birds of the heavens were fled
Re.6:12-17
12When he opened the sixth seal,lo,there was a great earthquake;sun became black...the moon as blood;
13The stars of heaven(angels)fell unto the earth shaken of a mighty wind(Re.12:4).
14And heaven departed...;every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15Kings of earth,and great men,rich men,chief captains,the mighty men hid themselves in the dens and rocks;
16Saying to the mountains and rocks,Fall on us,hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne,and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17The great Day of His WRATH is come;who shall be able to stand?
For our conversation is in heaven, you believe? If not, come up here.
Blessed be the GOD and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. From whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. (This is a process, a wor of our Lord JESUS, not a magic)
Philippians 3:20-21 combined with Ephesians 1:38 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and Daniel 12:3 Take a look.
This upper room has been prepared for a special occasion. Who had it prepared for Jesus? In the Gospel of St John Jesus assured his disciples, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."( John 14:3). "For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God." (He.3:4) As with the colt for his Son to go to Jerusalem God had provided all thing for life and godliness for his Son. God had appointed himas the heir of all things.
When Jesus said of foxes having holes and the birds their nests he was stating his own case as a man. In the world each one is so particular to flaunt their fashionable address God chose the upper room, and the Spirit has not given as one except that whatever God chose was in his Power and glory.
Jesus assured "My Father and I are one" and wherever he walked and abode signaled his Father to testify. "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."(1:11). Psalmist refers to this relationship of the Father. "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." (Ps.139:8)
The Last supper enacted in that upper room evokes for us the same betrayal when Satan betrayed the trust of the Most High. For this reason Jesus refersto Judas as the son of perdition. "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." ( John 17:12)
We have several instances where what are presented before us is a kangaroo word in terms of the eternal Word. Thus the alabaster box is a kangaroo word for the woman who prepared the body of the Son for his burial. Ezekiel thus ingesting the roll that God gave him becomes a double for the Son. "Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel."(Ez.3:1)
Having wiped out my last posting AGAIN by pushing the wrong button I will have more to say perhaps later regarding devotionals.
I thought I would shift gears and discuss Catechisms. I expect many know that a Catechism is a sort of reciting of a Doctrinal Statement.
Let's be honest here; although maybe it's just me...such studies can often be the most BORING ones we undertake and if someone is really not a believer it could in my opinion do more harm then good even if it is a scripturally solid one. The first thing of course we must investigate is; when considering becoming a church member in particular is are there any issues that jump out to us that we cannot believe or are unwilling to be dogmatic about? I am from a Protestant and primarily Reformed background; and generally ascribe to things in the Heidelburg confession; for instance. That being said; for whatever reason the designation exist; I find the term "DIVINES" for those who came up with certain Reformed confessions as being a repulsive term. I have shown evidence in the past of certain behaviors among Calvin and Luthor; no matter how critical they were for getting back to "Sola Scriptura" and concepts of Predestination that I don't care to mention them as examples to follow and say instead that they brought out scriptural truths such as are found in the book of John in particular as to God calling and choosing people the Son would reveal Himself to. Such a concept saturates many chapters in John in particular but is found in many other places in scripture. We don't find the term "total depravity" in scripture but there are many places where it says man can do no good and his good works are as "filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6).
I mentioned in an earlier post that the Orthodox Presbyterian church (OPC) that existed in Pittsburgh before folding allowed me to be a member but not of full standing as to my take on infant Baptism. We shoudn't rush membership.
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his Sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain (a Prince) of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
15 And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Daniel 12:-13
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time(because Michael stand up): and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Matthew 24:15and21-23
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,spoken of by Daniel the prophet,stand in the holy place,(whoso readeth,let him understand )
21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23Then if any man(Pastors, Bishops,Evangelists,etc.) shall say unto you,Lo, here is Christ( John 5:43-47.Take a look),or there;BELIEVE IT NOT.
Re.12:7 & 10-11
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his messengers fought against the dragon( Revelation 13:11);and the dragon fought and his messengers.
What I have been taught is that the books of the OT are arranged with : Pentateuch (Books written by Moses)Genesis-Deuteronomy; then the books of the history of Israel from entering the Promised land under Joshua to the reign of the kings of Israel and Judah (Joshua-2 Chronicles); Ezra and Nehemiah are historical books covering the time of the return from Babylonian exile of Judah; Esther is somewhat of an anomaly since it doesn't have a very clear time frame as far as placement in Israel's history; Job is an ancient wisdom book (Job lived between the time of the flood and Abraham, being a distant cousin of Abraham)
Psalms is poetic musical writing; Proverbs and Ecclesiastes is also wisdom books; and Song of Solomon is allegorical.
As far as the remainder of the OT, the books of the prophets are arranged from longest to shortest.
In the NT; first is the 4 Gospels Then Acts is the history of the early church; the epistles are listed, (again), from longest to shortest. And Revelation is what is called apocalyptic writing (which usually contains much allegory, symbolism, and sensational representations of future events.
The end of times has arrived and what the Devil intends to do as the father of the Jews( John 8:44), is to direct the current world under his rule towards a global environment that will facilitate the establishment of his much desired Universal Kingdom, his fifth Universal Kingdom, for which Satan has been working since ancient times starting with Abel's murder- Matthew 23:33-35.Take a look. GOD revealed to the king of Babylon through Daniel this desire of Satan by interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream: Daniel 2:41-43, but in verses 44 to 47 GOD reveals how He will destroy the Kingdom of the Devil, father of the Jews- JOHN 8:44.
There will be a TERRIBLE WAR from now on between GOD's people X Satan's people. Re.11:15 says: The KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD are become the KINGDOMS of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. ( Matthew 5:5 combined with Revelation 5:10).
But Satan as a God intends to do the same with global world ruled by him-2Thes.2:3-4&9-12 combined with Revelation 12, i.e. to establish his satanic Universal religious Kingdom.
The WAR will be against THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS LIKE FROGS-WHY FROGS?
Revelation 16:13 to 16
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like FROGS come out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of GOD Almighty.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Ar - mag - eddon.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. (Get ready)
Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Wake up, quick, and get ready
Is.30:27-Behold,the name of the Lord cometh from far,burning with his anger,and the burden thereof is heavy:His lips are full of indignation, His tongue as a devouring fire:
Is.13:6-13
6Howl ye;for the day of the Lord is at hand;it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty
7Therefore shall all hands be faint,and every man's heart shall melt:
8And they shall be afraid:pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth:they shall be amazed one at another;their faces shall be as flames
9Behold,the day of the Lord cometh,cruel both with wrath and fierce anger,to lay the land desolate:and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it
10For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light
11And I will punish the world for their evil,and the wicked for their iniquity;and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease,and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible
12I will make a man more precious than fine gold;even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir
13Therefore I will shake the heavens,and the earth shall remove out of her place,in the wrath of the Lord of hosts,and in the Day of His fierce anger.
Is.33:10-15
10Now will I rise,saith the Lord;now will I be exalted;now will I lift up myself.
11Ye shall conceive chaff,ye shall bring forth stubble:your breath,as fire,shall devour you.
12And the people shall be as the burnings of lime:as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
13Hear,ye that are far off,what I have done;and,ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
14The sinners in Zion are afraid;fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
15He that walks righteously,and speaks uprightly;he that despiseth the gain of oppressions,that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes,that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood,and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil.
Isaiah 66:4 - 2Thessalonians 2:8-12 - Matthews 24:15-25:
Isa.66:4:
4I also will choose their delusions,and will bring their fears upon them;because when I called,none did answer;when I spake,they did not hear...
2Thes.2:8-12
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed,whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth-His Word-,and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming:
9Even him,whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;because they received not the love of the truth,that they might be saved.
11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,that they should believe a lie:
12That they all might be DAMNED who believed not the Truth- believed not in JESUS-,but had pleasure in unrighteousness
Mat.24:15-25
15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,spoken of by Daniel the prophet,stand in the holy place,(whoso readeth,let him understand)
PRIOR ADVICE OF OUR LORD
16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains
17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house
18Neither let him which is in the field return back...
ABOUT STRONG PUNISHMENT
21For then shall be great tribulation,such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,no,nor ever shall be.
22And except those days should be shortened,there should no flesh be saved:but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened
GREAT DANGER EVEN FOR THE ELECTS-THE FALSE MESSIAH
23Then if any man-Pastors,and Bishops,Evangelists,Missionaries, among others-shall say unto you, Lo,here is Christ,or there;BELIEVE IT NOT
24For there shall arise false Christs,and false prophets-FALSE PREACHERS OF THE WORD OF GOD-2Cor.11:13-15,and shall shew great signs and wonders;insomuch that,if it were possible,they shall deceive(even)the very elect
25Behold,I have told you before
I believe you know that the Hebrews had to cross the Red Sea,and walk through a desert,walk until they got to the Promised Land after 40 years of pilgrimage.What about GOD's people now or in this current time?
Now GOD's people will have to go through(I mean win a war)against the Red Dragon,that's exactly it,a Red Dragon yes,this is no coincidence,it was predicted millennia ago.He's a false messiah who will soon manifest,just ahead,with great signs of lying,he will manifest in Israel like a lamb with two horns,he's a Jew,of course, and he'll speak like a Dragon. Revelation 12.3-17 and Revelation 13: 11-18.
Let's get ready to go through this not easy FINAL journey of GOD's people here until the glorious,marvelous,and day of exceedingly joy - the day 1335.Amen.
Remembering and understanding that the departure of the Hebrew people from Egypt was not without first having taken place a battle against Pharaoh(by the way,there and now is Satan himself),and when the march began for the departure of GOD's people from Egypt, then the enemy army persecuted the Hebrews,the same will happen now,initially the persecution will be by the man Beast of the sea,it is he who will first persecute the Christian believers- Revelation 13:5 - for 42 months,that is the first half of the last week, week 70th Daniel 9:v.27.This POINT is only and only the half of the way -3,5 years or 42 months,the GOD's people will need to march more 3,5 years,so the murch will last 7 years,it will not be easy this journey of course.
Again:Let's get ready to go through this not easy FINAL journey of GOD's people here until the glorious,marvelous,and day of exceendigly joy-the day 1335. Amen.
JESUS in His prayer to the Father,said: John 17:15 - I pray not that thou take them out of the world, but that thou keep them from the evil.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
Get ready, yeah, get ready
PRE TRIBULATIONAL PERIOD-BEGINNING OF SORROWS
Verses 1- 2:->JESUS went out and departed from the Temple.His disciples came to Him and showed Him the building of the Temple. JESUS said:See ye these things?I say unto you,There shall not be left here ONE stone upon another.JESUS disappointed his disciples, evidently.
What JESUS prophesied about the Temple it fulfilled LITERALLY in the year 70AD, the Temple was destroyed,Israel was banned from their land and scattered around the world for 1.878 years, from 70AD to 1948AD, more than 100K died under of the Roman's attack.
JESUS went to the Mount of Olives, there the disciples privately asked TWO things to Him:
1-What shall be the sign of thy coming?
2-and of the END of the world?(END of the current Devil's world)
JESUS listed several events linked 1st:to His Coming;2nd: about END of this current Devil's WORLD.
Mat.24:4-8-JESUS said:
4-Take heed that no MAN deceive you;(this was the first concerns of JESUS)
5-For many shall come in my name,saying,I am Christ;and shall deceive many; (Soon will manifest the MAN Beast of the earth like a lamb,a false lamb,false messiah,AN IMPOSTOR,as said JESUS- John 5:43, 2Thessalonians 2:3-4, Revelation 13:11-18.
6-And ye shall hear of WARS and RUMOURS of WARS; ALL THESE THINGS must come to pass but THE END IS NOT YET.
7-NATION shall rise against NATION, kingdom against kingdom;(Will G7,G20,EU,UNO,be DISSOLVED from now on? Pe.3:7, Re.11:18, Micah 4:3).
-and there shall be famines;it is fulfilling LITERALLY
- and pestilences;In fulfillment;
- and earthquakes-divers places;
8 All these are the beginning of SORROWS(Pre-tribulational)
Wake up-Get ready,now time's still of sorrows.
IF it is the case that "his people" mentioned in Daniel 12:1 are the Jews; then it would mean that the CHURCH is the righteous who are resurrected at the time of the Rapture which occurs immediately after. The OLD TESTAMENT saints rise later. I don't want to get into detail on this posting about that event.
We have scripture which specifically discusses Israel and others which describe conditions in the entire world and of course some that seem to indicate both events in the book of Revelation. Whatever happens in the first part of the Tribulation it appears that it primarily is involved with persecution of the false Babylon system against true believers; whereas later on it is the Antichrist and forced worship of himself.
Revelation 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
This "whore" is basically a false religious system which appears to be an amalgamation of all the false religions and an apostate Christianity. There is an ECONOMIC part and a spiritual part to this system. The CITY Babylon and its destruction is listed in detail not only in Revelation 17 and 18 but also in vast numbers of passages in Jeremiah in particular. I see myself strong suspicion that if the Lord comes very soon it ineed IS the USA but if He lingers the planned enormous city in the area of Dubai 30 times the size of New York City with drones and ultramodern technology could also be where this prophetic fulfillment takes place. If it is the former than indeed the whole USA could be burned up with no survivors. Indeed that IS the fate of most of the world as seen in this verse Isaiah 24:15 Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea. There is hope that some will repent therefore even in the midst of these great judgments.
INTRODUCTION
I am going to continue with the second through the fourth seal of Revelation here. My purpose is not to nit pick about every time death occurs because of man's weapons of war or whether it is by other means. The overall emphasis is to show how all the future events are ultimately controlled by the Lord and in a sense "choreographed" that way. Indeed; whatever the means surely the time of Jacob's trouble will be like no other in terms of the level of destruction on the earth. ( Jeremiah 30:7; Matt. 24:21).
Since this is the case; we can't just look at statistics here to determine how awful things will be. That is clear from seeing that just EIGHT souls were saved on Noah's ark. Clearly there are many more than that; albeit a small percent of the earth at large that survives to repopulate in the Millennium. The demonic release "en masse" from the bottomless pit and probably other places in the underworld is what makes it so horrible as they will clearly be tormenting men by the 5th Trumpet. The giant hybrids of Noah's day were destroyed but we never saw a time of such horrible devastation by agents of evil as is to come.
War famine and pestilence
Deuteronomy 32:24-25 states: I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague;
I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.
25 In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign.
These themes of war; famine and pestilence are rife throughout the Old Testament in Ezekiel; and several passages in Jeremiah along with the solemn warnings of Matthew 24 and of course Revelation which we are discussing now. (also see Luke 21:11).
God has judged this way as we see from the passages in Jeremiah in the past in order to take vengeance on the idolatry of Israel. The same thing will happen again.
Before continuing on this subject from Revelation 4 to 19; and briefly looking at the last 3 chapters as well I did want to say that it would appear that there is one noteable exception to the rule; that would be the destruction of Babylon by fire. The Bible seems to point out that the Antichrist Beast destroys this territory by fire; and the destruction is complete. I will get to it further as we attempt a chronological examination of the prophecies in Revelation and corresponding elsewhere in the Bible but will say that it appears that is at least half way through the Tribulation before that happens.
INTRODUCTION: It is impossible for me or anyone else to know how far we will deteriorate with current international events; and how long the Rapture is from this date. We certainly should continue in prayer asking for mercy so that worldwide conflict will not occur; but of course that starts with those NOW being persecuted and those who are in wars today to be given strength to endure. This means helping out with feet on the ground or financially supporting our fellow servants in Christ whenever possible today. It also means we need to search beyond what mainline media is telling us to discover things going on in parts of the world such as Africa in particular that often aren't discussed. It would seem with today's media mania that enemies would be at a disadvantage even knocking out our power grid which is certainly a likely scenario at some point whether deliberately or by a solar "Carrington" type event. We don't know all the details; but surely when Antichrist finally starts to rule today's technology will be key for him to get his message across; although there could be places where people assemble to hear "approved" broadcasts and everything else could be shut down. I could see solar power as being used for the mark of the Beast also.
It's amazing that when we are led by The Spirit of God we are sometimes led to do things that would not normally make sense to us: the truth is, when following Jesus, trust, faith and obedience are the necessary or key elements required to bring us to a place or state of victory. Peter was an experienced Fisherman and had ample knowledge of the sea to know it made no sense returning to fish, but that word he used NEVERTHELESS sent doubt ,worry and fear out of the door leading Peter and his Fishermen team straight into a place of victory. It's ok to question God if in doubt, its even ok to make a request like Gideon Judges 6:36-40, ut it's not ok to disobey the voice of God because it doesn't make sense to you.
We think mainly of Jesus dying on the cross as the Passover Lamb. But how about all the other animal sacrifices that the law required? If we look closer, we can see what all Jesus fulfilled that day. This Passover day started when the sun went down and Jesus and His 12 gathered together for the Last Supper.
After midnight they went into the garden of Gethsemane from there Jesus was betrayed by a friend, Psalm 41:9 and more, taken to Annas and then Caiaphas, and then early that morning to Pilate to be judged where no fault was found in Him.
At the same time, a priest was selected to carry a wooden beam on his shoulders up the ramp to light the fire of the altar of sacrifice. The first Tamid lamb was brought up and tied to the altar and inspected to make sure it did not have any blemishes.
Jesus was nailed to the cross and stood up on the 3rd hour 9 AM, Mark 15:25, the first Tamid lamb was sacrificed and put on the altar of sacrifice on the 3rd hour 9 AM the first hour of prayer. All the sacrifices of the people were placed on top of the first Tamid lamb. The 2nd hour of prayer is the 6th hour, noon, Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
The 3rd hour of prayer coincided with the evening sacrifice, at the 9th hour 3 PM when the last Tamid lamb was sacrificed and put on top of all the sacrifices of the people done that day. This was the exact time Jesus cried out and said it was finished Mark 15:34 John 19:30.
God told Abraham to sacrifice his son and just before he did, God provided a ram for Isaac, and on that day the 14th of Nisan God provided Himself another Lamb, His only begotten Son sacrificed for us. Jesus also carried the wood for his sacrifice. Jesus fulfilled all the sacrifices, not just down to the day, but to the very hour itself.
God bless,
RLW
First I must say that questions as such"why God kills or asks others to kill, despite "do not kill",are made by many atheists that were members of the SDA,but now turned demonic atheists.
They well know the letter of the Bible and now use it in their demonic posts to deny GOD and to contradict His Word.In fact they are killers,killers of souls.
They know that when GOD said to the people of Israel through Moses," do not kill", it had already passed around 2500 years(two days and half of GOD's work),and the commandment was exclusively for the people of GOD,Israel. It was given in the OT, not in the NT,very different of the OT. See, GOD was creating a new environment for His seed, descendants of Abraham, when He brought His people out of Egypt. GOD separated His people Israel from the midst of the Gentilic peoples, from the midst of the idolaters and murderers peoples, actually He divided waters from the waters- Genesis 1:6-10-and then appeared the dry land-Israel.
Now see,around 2500 years before GOD's commandment Cain had killed Abel.Who commanded Cain do it?It was not GOD,so who? It was the father of Cain,the Devil,a former Cherub,former ruler of Eden,also father of the current atheists and false Christianity and others adherents of devilish religions.
In the other hand,after GOD brought Israel from Egypt and placed the people in the Promised Land,there GOD established the Law and rules to discipline the people and free them from all the SATANIC influence they carried with them from the Gentile, specially from the Egyptians and their satanic idolatries.Desobedience, i.e. witchcraft,it would be punished in the Promised Land,even to the death penalty(Compare: Luke 12:4 and Deuteronomy 32:39.By the way,GOD IS GOD).
This battle started when the Cherub which GOD have placed as a ruler of Eden(now called SON OF PERDITION and MAN OF SIN,the Devil and Satan)planned to USURP GOD's creation and to create a specific world for he himself- Matthew 4:8-9.
GOD BLESs
Simple rule for a Christian is to know he is not obliged to answer every atheist. Now as a believer understand the verse "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." (He.2:17) Without shedding of blood there is no redemption. God did not spare His own Son and his death for for the redemption of all mankind. A Christian is one who believes in his death and resurrection. His faith and works are not apart from him but is in him "Without me you can do nothing." Thus we die to the world so we may live with him forever. From this what do you think of Godly kill? He did it because He is Love. And this kill released man from his bondage to sin and death. So the kill the atheists talk about and what God speaks of are entirely two different things.
Now what is a Thanksgiving dinner without a turkey? Turkey lives off little creatures and these little 'critters; on something else.
Laws of nature show every life-form lives off another. This is at the bottom level. Whereas the Son made himself as an intercessor for the world so whoever partook him in faith has abundant life. As God made manifest His love we are to place ourselves even as he did. This is shown in the example of Seth stepping in place of Abel who was murdered by the wicked Cain.
Having explored with gravity the situation of those afflicted with emotional problems of darkness and depression we also have to look at other things such as anger; and euphoria. I cannot emphasize enough this point that I am about to make; there is NO love like God's and what His saints will share in heaven and on the new earth for all eternity. Of course Satan will stop at nothing to find ways to circumvent God's laws particularly related to marriage to find a "soulmate" on earth. Without going once again into the subject of what is considered a legitimate marriage; I will leave it at this; a marriage in the Lord is part of God's community and Christ's body on earth. While the struggle with desires of the flesh isn't something unusual; the fact that many who already in theory should be having their needs met are looking to find grass that's greener elsewhere is a peculiar trait to human beings. Somehow we think that we can shortcut God's plan; looking at Abraham and Sarah we see how well that worked when she pushed Hagar on him after the fact. The fact that some seem to find better success finding their future spouse in a bar than even an online "Christian" dating service is telling; and it seems a foreign concept to expect the Lord to provide someone simply by obediently attending church (although the demographics in my church for example are more to old folks like myself).
Looking beyond trying to find love in all the wrong places; we often forget that our other emotions (jealousy; rage; anger and other bad fruits) often get in the way of reaching out to others for a viable friendship so that anything more is snuffed out at the inception. Again; it is our own deception that makes us think we can change someone after we marry them. I would STRONGLY advise premarital counsel in the church to avoid what happened to me (a divorce after 25 years of marriage).
I have seen how uncontrolled rage can destroy.
Part Two: The battle of the mind.
In my last post; I ran out of space again; but was getting into the verse where Jesus told Satan to get behind him when Peter was stating that basically going to the cross was not fit for Jesus to do. This shows how Christ expects us as His disciples to rely totally on the Spirit to allow the flesh to be dead. Luke 4:8 is the other verse where Jesus says this to Satan after the temptations in the wilderness. We see a difference between Peter then and after Pentecost as Jesus foretold after he denied knowing him. In all fairness since ALL the disciples ran off their fear for their lives superseded their love for Christ. This truly shows how only trust in the Spirit of God will enable us to face death with courage should it be in the time and place God has chosen. As I have said before it is the end of a life of obedience that Christ and in fact all the Disciples except for John met their fate; the spiritual man grows and matures through self denial and service to that point.
Our thought processes are determined merely by our old man at birth. Thus characteristic behaviors and routines develop which tend to linger with us even post salvation. There are; of course the affects of nurturing vs cruel parents; abundance or poverty in youth which the Lord is aware of but also weigh in on the enemy's game plan. Of course with the mind along with everything else the enemy attacks us with the easiest thing to do is be determined to TRUST God and reject any thought which isn't captive to His (God's) will ( 2 Corinthians 10:5); compare with 2 Timothy 2:26. We learn to recognize the enemy's patterns after hopefully only a few similar assaults at our weakest points. We learn to discern the Spirit of God which is outside of self from Satan's devices; which always appeals to the flesh and exalting self. RUN IF IT GOES AGAINST SCRIPTURE!
The other day I discussed roles of men and women; and showed the case of Miriam and good and bad things about her behavior.
This situation shows how in general how a true Prophet can have certain sins that cause a downfall. Another example is in 1 Kings 13 starting in verse 11. His disobedience in stopping anywhere to eat on his journey back from a prophetic mission cost him his life. This story shows not only his disobedience; but the obstinance of the other prophet who enticed him to eat with him. The Spirit entered him much as it did with Balaam after he accepted the offer with a true word from God (in this case about his demise). We could look at Cephus as another example in John 11:50. So we can see several situations here:
1. A TRUE Prophet that errs in obedience to God
2. A FALSE Prophet that the Lord still uses to some extent for His purposes
3. Someone not designated as a Prophet who still says something to that affect.
We could look at the third example in the case of Pontius Pilate; who put the inscription in Matthew 27:37 on being the King of the Jews. John 19:22 further expounds on this theme in Pilate's declaration that it should stand. Whether his reasonings were mocking; or an honest assesment of his innocence could be questioned-it is clear that he never came to true repentance even if his sins were less serious than those of the others who were complicit or outright demanded he be crucified and a murder (Barabbas) released.
The story of Balaam in Numbers 22 should teach us some object lessons as well. One may assume that his story was an ancient tale and not of any importance today other than looking for false prophecies in general. This isn't true because this man was hired for money and we see evidence in the last days of those looking for "filthy lucre" ( 1 Timothy 3 and a couple other places in the N.T.) To say what a megachurch Pastor wants to hear to draw multitudes occurs today.
Thine ARROWS are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies (enemies of JESUS,anti-JESUS,Antichrist;whereby the people fall under thee- Psalm 45:5.
Isaiah 7:22-24
22...he shall eat butter:for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land(the remnant-144K) Question:The rebel Israel was banned from their land and was spread around the whole world from year 70 AD until 1948,but from now on?being ruled by a false God,a false messiah?- Revelation 13:11-18).
23 And it shall come to pass in that day(the current seventh and last Day,seventh and last millennium)that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings,it shall even be for briers and thorns.(because are good for nothing)
24 With ARROWS and with BOWS shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
Isaiah 45:2
2Thou art fairer than the children of men:grace is poured into thy lips:therefore GOD hath blessed thee for ever.
3Gird thy Sword upon thy thigh,O most MIGHTY, with thy glory and thy majesty.(He's a Prince of GOD)
4And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness;and thy right hand shall TEACH thee terrible things.
6Thy throne,O God(GOD the Father, GOD Son and(God of the earth- Revelation 11:4),is for ever and ever:the sceptre of thy kingdom is a RIGHT sceptre.
7Thou lovest righteousness,and hatest wickedness:therefore God(God the Father/God the Son),thy God,has ANNOINTED thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Zech.4:11-14
What are these two olive trees upon the right and left side of the candlestick?
What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
Knowest thou not what these be?
These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth
The Bible is not any book on our natural world. Dinosaurs ammonites all have their place. God is a Spirit and God's kingdom has its own rules as there are rules for grammar. Any one who would move in a polite society and wants to be looked up speaks as a cultured well educated person.So don'be drawn by atheists whose little knowledge is from Science that is incomplete. After Galileo they want only proof so they shall keep on driving a square block in round hole. Faith with works is simply trust in our Savior Lord and work as he would want us.
If one has the Son he has the Father as well. So understand the word of God by the indwelling Spirit and it is the only way.
Mathew 18:20 says "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
A relationship with Christ Is not private, but communal, and the center of a person's relationship with Jesus is in the church. (Not necessarily the local Church but in the presence of other believers.
Read Hebrews 10:16-25.
We are to respond to his invitation and follow Jesus' example of how to live and treat others, giving him first place in your daily life.
A Desciples is someone who follows one's teachings.
In our rebirth Christ gave us his Spirit to guide us out of darkness.
Christ is faithful and said he will never leave you so your faith should be in his work on the cross not your baptism.
We pray to God for strength and wisdom and turn from the things that hinder us.
A Christian can not continue in sin!
God is love but he also is a righteous Judge.
He is rich in mercy forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty;
Our salvation hangs on God's promise once we have believed on his son, Christ Jesus!
Have you truly trusted him in his finish work on the cross?
If so we are persuaded to love his precepts the Brothern.
Keep reading his word and obey him.
God bless.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
21...then shall be great Tribulation(Dan.12:1& Acts 14:22),such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time(to this current time, time of the last GOD's Day),no, nor ever shall be.
By the way, it's very important to know who comes first: Michael or JESUS?
Michael the archangel is one like unto the Son of man, the difference is that Michael is a warrior, JESUS the Savior, He is the stone which is become the head of the corner. There is no salvation in any other(except in JESUS Christ):for there is none other NAME under heaven given among men, whereby we MUST be saved.
Get ready
Your words on this site are so helpful for me. You put into words some thoughts I have but have never heard them discussed.
It also causes me to check myself. I can be narrow-minded at times. ( Not intentionally)
Like when a group chose the rainbow as their color. I said,
"Oh my Lord! They taking God's token of the covenant between him and Noah , ("God's people right?), to represent one Group of
People." This is is so wrong."
Well, I read Genesis 9:16 again!
and got a different understanding.
The scripture clearly says,
" And the bow shall be in the cloud. I shall look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting Covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh
upon the earth."
"all flesh" and it never said anything about "God's people."
Again in verse 17:
It was important enough to say it twice.
Was I surprised!!!
Keep up the good work.
You also offer thoughts on how churches can, "check themselves" to make sure they have the clear mission of the Church as a place that prepares us for ministry.
You mentioned a truthful relationship between parents and children.
And that Worship is to be more important than the "House" we worship in. Amen!
I look forward to reading your writing.
"But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all."
This was what bravado where oath of man falls contrary to the sovereignty of the word so a mighty warrior like Jephthah is shown as wimp and St Peter proved to be no less. Jesus showed why. " Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."(13:31). Jesus as the fulfilment of Law places all events consequently in his deity as well as in his humanity. "I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil./For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." At the outset of his earthly he presented the doctrine of his Father and condemned the doctrine of man as coming from the devil. (John8:44). From the manner the disciples could not understand him the Spirit shows why. It is not the words themselves as the controversy over KJV or other translations have raked up but the simple reason their flesh was weak. Even in our times imposter church keeps man from loving God with all might and will all their heart. "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word."(John8:43) They literally follow the scriptures and flat earthers for example, they may quote," It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth," Does that mean the earth is one? (Is.40:22).
"In thee is the fountain of life" Jesus said "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life./.... Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father."(John6:63-65; Ps.36:9) In the same night the disciples will fail their master at Gethsemane and forsake him. "My word " speaks of Christ's spirit of obedience and was for the glory of God. So abiding life means walking with him and understanding His will concerning us. That is true Light
The Word of GOD reveals the birthplace of Antichrist by the VISUAL testimony of Apostle John about the Church of Rome
18 Little children,it's the last time:and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come,even NOW are there many Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
19They(Church of Rome)went out from us(apostate),but they were not of us;if they had been of us,they would no doubt have continued with us:but they went out,that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
20Ye have an unction from the Holy One,and know all things.
Re.13:1-18,written around 65 years after JESUS's ascension,two distinct Beasts are described:The first lasts around 2000 years,we can discern and foresse both Beasts will lead two distinct satanic religious systems in near future.The FIRST MAN Beast of sea exists millennia ago,the another MAN Beast has not yet,but he will manifest in near future.Catholicism&Judaism.
The Beast of sea,a satanic religious system developed within the former Church of the Lord in Rome and into Roman Empire,after Satan corrupted the church established by Apostle Paul,killed by persecution,then was developed satanic Antichrist's movements through the corrupt church of Rome,called first Catholic Church.Revelation describes 7 churches,church of Rome would be the eighth,but it was left out because was completely disapproved by JESUS.
The religious structures and organizations of the RCC,which rides upon the Beast of sea,the Pope,within the Roman Empire,since the confuse election of the first Pope in first century,it can be Linus or Clement,later to increase the confuse election of whom really is the first Pope,Satan,the main leader of the blasphemer movement of Antichrist in the church of Rome,he himself,time after,around the 2nd or early 3rd century by convention began of regarding Peter as the first pope.It's more a satanic blasphemy of the MAN Beast of sea.
Get ready
"But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee."
The Spirit presents us a seemingly minor detail but it has a great spiritual importance. For one association of the Son is set there. Fellowship of God was not with any other than his Son. Whosoever believed in him were blessed in his Son (Ep.1:3).As Word become flesh the twelve apostles were men chosen by the Father was recorded in the scriptures. Joseph did not choose Galilee but God the Father chose it for his Son."Being warned of God in a dream, he (Joseph) turned aside into the parts of Galilee:/And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." (Matt.2:22-23).
Nazareth is a small town in the hill country of Galilee while Jerusalem belongs to Judea.
Most of his disciples were from Galilee so we have this hint from the Holy Spirit why he went beforehand into Galilee
Secondly Jesus 'shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go' is already mentioned by Prophet Ezekiel."And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch ofthatgate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof."(Ez.46:8)
"Behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;/Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."(Ac.1:10-11). He however warned his disciples not to leave Jerusalem is for no other reason than setting coordinates of his throne in heaven with 'his body" and the right hand of the most high in heaven is called New Jerusalem. Consequently the city of the great King (Matt.5:35) fits nicely with David from whose loins his humanity took shape. David calls him his Lord , the Lord of lords and King of kings. (Re.19:16)
By literal approach do we really get the role of place names right?
26I beheld,and the fruitful place was a wilderness(place where JESUS preached the Gospel,it was fruitful until 70AD),and all the cities thereof were broken down(even the Temple in LITERAL fulfillment of GOD's Word),at the presence of the Lord(yes)by His fierce anger.
27The Lord said,The whole land(Israel)shall be desolate;yet will I not make a full end(there shall be great tribulation,such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,no,nor ever shall be).
28For this shall the earth(Israel)mourn,and the heavens above be black(the 1st & 2nd heavens-Eph.1:3-8-,i.e.the OT and NT will no longer be valid,
for that which decayes and waxes old is ready to vanish,so the 3rd will still be established from now on),for I have spoken it,I have purposed it,and will not repent,neither will I turn back from it.(the heavens(the first two heavens)and the earth(current Israel),which are now,by the same Word are kept in store,reserved unto fire against this Day of Judgment(the Judgment Seat of Christ)and perdition of ungodly men.
Is.65:17-I create NEW heavens(the 3rd)and a NEW earth(ISRAEL)and the former shall not be remembered,nor come into mind.
Je.4:23-25
23I beheld the earth(Israel)...without form,and void;and the heavens(Eph.1:3-8)they had no light
24I beheld the mountains...they trembled,the hills moved lightly
25I ...there was no man,and all the birds of the heavens were fled
Re.6:12-17
12When he opened the sixth seal,lo,there was a great earthquake;sun became black...the moon as blood;
13The stars of heaven(angels)fell unto the earth shaken of a mighty wind(Re.12:4).
14And heaven departed...;every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15Kings of earth,and great men,rich men,chief captains,the mighty men hid themselves in the dens and rocks;
16Saying to the mountains and rocks,Fall on us,hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne,and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17The great Day of His WRATH is come;who shall be able to stand?
Blessed be the GOD and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. From whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. (This is a process, a wor of our Lord JESUS, not a magic)
Philippians 3:20-21 combined with Ephesians 1:38 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and Daniel 12:3 Take a look.
This upper room has been prepared for a special occasion. Who had it prepared for Jesus? In the Gospel of St John Jesus assured his disciples, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."( John 14:3). "For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God." (He.3:4) As with the colt for his Son to go to Jerusalem God had provided all thing for life and godliness for his Son. God had appointed himas the heir of all things.
When Jesus said of foxes having holes and the birds their nests he was stating his own case as a man. In the world each one is so particular to flaunt their fashionable address God chose the upper room, and the Spirit has not given as one except that whatever God chose was in his Power and glory.
Jesus assured "My Father and I are one" and wherever he walked and abode signaled his Father to testify. "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."(1:11). Psalmist refers to this relationship of the Father. "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." (Ps.139:8)
The Last supper enacted in that upper room evokes for us the same betrayal when Satan betrayed the trust of the Most High. For this reason Jesus refersto Judas as the son of perdition. "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." ( John 17:12)
We have several instances where what are presented before us is a kangaroo word in terms of the eternal Word. Thus the alabaster box is a kangaroo word for the woman who prepared the body of the Son for his burial. Ezekiel thus ingesting the roll that God gave him becomes a double for the Son. "Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel."(Ez.3:1)
Having wiped out my last posting AGAIN by pushing the wrong button I will have more to say perhaps later regarding devotionals.
I thought I would shift gears and discuss Catechisms. I expect many know that a Catechism is a sort of reciting of a Doctrinal Statement.
Let's be honest here; although maybe it's just me...such studies can often be the most BORING ones we undertake and if someone is really not a believer it could in my opinion do more harm then good even if it is a scripturally solid one. The first thing of course we must investigate is; when considering becoming a church member in particular is are there any issues that jump out to us that we cannot believe or are unwilling to be dogmatic about? I am from a Protestant and primarily Reformed background; and generally ascribe to things in the Heidelburg confession; for instance. That being said; for whatever reason the designation exist; I find the term "DIVINES" for those who came up with certain Reformed confessions as being a repulsive term. I have shown evidence in the past of certain behaviors among Calvin and Luthor; no matter how critical they were for getting back to "Sola Scriptura" and concepts of Predestination that I don't care to mention them as examples to follow and say instead that they brought out scriptural truths such as are found in the book of John in particular as to God calling and choosing people the Son would reveal Himself to. Such a concept saturates many chapters in John in particular but is found in many other places in scripture. We don't find the term "total depravity" in scripture but there are many places where it says man can do no good and his good works are as "filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6).
I mentioned in an earlier post that the Orthodox Presbyterian church (OPC) that existed in Pittsburgh before folding allowed me to be a member but not of full standing as to my take on infant Baptism. We shoudn't rush membership.
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