I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.

Posted on 10/09/2022 by remso

This bit about the lamb is another one of those images that gives people grief.

Some information that might help you understand is that the Apostle John is NOT writing mysteries meant to be hidden from the church. I mention this because a previous Pastor told the audience that day that John wrote in code to get this letter – the Revelation, past the prison guards. Sometimes all you can do at the time is moan. The mysteries are only hidden from those that chose not to ask what things mean; the “mysteries” also tend to remain hidden from those who do not understand that John’s target audience was Jewish converts. 

I will prove my point.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” (Revelation 2:7-9 ESV)

The Holy Spirit has him writing to churches. 

You do not need to have a conversation about Jews and their traditions unless they are a part of the equation, and in Smyrna, they were central to the equation. The IVP Bible Background Commentary states, “The strength of the Jewish community in Smyrna is well attested.”

Another example comes from the book of James and demonstrates how widespread the Jewish converts were. Here in James 2:2, the mystery is cloaked thanks to the translator’s choice of terminology, and we, with our stacks of Bibles and no motivation to find out the alternate meaning of simple words, like assembly.

James 2:2 ESV “For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,”

Translated for the Gentile reader, we see nothing wrong with the word assembly. People assemble themselves together frequently. However, when this was written by James, he actually wrote the Greek word for synagogue. He did not do that inadvertently, thinking that in time it would be filled with Gentile believers. He, too, was writing to Jewish converts.

sunagōgē – an assemblage of persons, the majority of which are Jewish in origin. Now, isn’t that something?

If they are calling it a synagogue, then what do they expect to find there?

Jewish converts, of course, but not only that, converts that are integrating the richness of their newly found Messiah into the heritage that makes them special (and we ignore that.)

Who were the two Apostles that seemed to be called to the Gentiles?

Peter – who seemed to end that mission shortly after going to the Centurion’s home. The other evangelist to the “Gentiles” turned out to be Paul. Paul, for almost 15 years, we are told in the book of Acts that in every town, he entered into the synagogues.

So, it is safe to say that in the beginnings of the church, the evangelistic impact was toward the Jewish community, but the Gentiles still came. When the traditionalists came around demanding that Gentile converts be circumcised and follow Jewish traditions, Paul withstood them and finally took his arguments straight to the church council of elders in Jerusalem, where several of the original disciples still sat (Peter was one of them), for a decision.

And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth, the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between them and us, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
(Acts 15:7-9 ESV)

Notice the terminology Peter uses as he distinguishes between the Jew and the gentile. Years later, Peter is still referring to them (the gentiles) and us (the Jewish community). It may not mean anything to you, but the statement is dripping with prejudice. There, in the Jerusalem council, the decision was made to acknowledge their freedom but command the gentiles to stay away from blood:

Acts 15:19-20 ESV Therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God (20) but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

The synagogue of Satan?

Pastor John MacArthur says this of the – synagogue of Satan. “With the rejection of its Messiah, Judaism became as much a tool of Satan as emperor worship.”

Think about this for a moment. You should be able to see how Judaism could become a tool of Satan. It was the thing (a zeal for the law) that motivated young Saul/Paul to chase down converts, then beat, imprison, and in Stephen’s case – stone them to death.

When Paul had trouble on his missionary journeys, where did most of it come from?

The Jewish community, but not just any Jews, synagogue leaders.

Look at this.

(Act 14:2) “But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.” (Acts 14:5 NASB) “And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them,”

This is not the act of people who merely cannot understand. They are choosing not to buy into this Messiah message that Paul preached.

How many of them were around when Jesus spoke of God as his Father?

A statement of this nature would have been blasphemous in their hearing if it was not true.  But it was true, and yet they still wanted to kill Jesus. They chose to be unbelieving Jews and, therefore, combative in their resistance to truth and change.

Since I have told you this, you now need to start thinking like a Jew – A person that has a reasonable comprehension of the Old Testament (something that would have been required of a Jew.)

Are you beginning to grasp that our absence of examining the scriptures has hurt us and left us open to deception?

Now maybe we can understand what John was trying to convey because virtually everything alluded to in the Revelation came out of previous prophetic words found in the Old Testament.

Posted in bible study, false prophet, mystery, Revelation, seven headed beast, Synagogue, temple | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A deception that no one would have seen coming.

Posted on 10/08/2022 by remso

Islam is looking for a Jesus as well.

I wrote this post in 2017 (here I am in 2022, editing and adding clarifying information). Two years passed, and I was still struggling to comprehend this, just like everyone else. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit saw fit to put Glenn Beck (he used to be a commentator on Fox news and now has his own internet show) before my eyes. Glenn had the author Joel Richardson on the show, comparing Jesus to Islam’s Mahdi. To say the least, I was stunned, as NO ONE had ever spoken about these things as Joel did. Within minutes I ordered Joel’s book, The Islamic Antichrist, and began devouring the information there; it changed everything for me.

Now you can see how you have to, on occasion, humble yourself to learn, and honestly, how many of you would have thought to consider what a Muslim believed?

The false prophet, although they do not call him that, 

  • Will be a Jew of the ancestry of Aaron and therefore allowed to be a priest. 

  • He will declare himself to be a Muslim, 

  • He Bow (submit) to the Mahdi (the Antichrist), 

  • And he will do significant signs like calling fire down from heaven, raising the dead, and causing it to rain again. 

Although all these things sound ridiculous and improbable, they will happen. 

All this will cause many to turn from God and follow this second beast. The fact that Jesus needed to say, “see to it that no one misleads you,” indicates that SOME will be misled. In one case, we are warned that even the elect will be deceived. Who is the elect in a book centered upon the Jewish nation? The Jewish religious leadership. 

Why should some of you have a problem with this information about Islam?

Because the Bible does NOT explicitly say this will happen. 

As a brother in Christ once said, I refuse to be concerned with extra-Biblical literature. I responded with, it’s fascinating that you would say that because you are already steeped in traditions of men, which are based in extra-biblical information. For example, we say that Jesus was a carpenter when the assertion was made by Jewish religious zealots, not to Jesus but about his father, Joseph. What makes this worse is that they DID NOT call Joseph a carpenter; they called him a tekton, the same word they were now using to demean Jesus. The Greek word tekton means an artisan and could even apply to poets or an artisan who works with granite. 

A recent (2020) archaeological find on the outskirts of Nazareth demonstrated that tektons worked there and that they had been making granite bowls, cups, and water pots.

That’s great, the man responded, but what does that have to do with me not accepting extra-biblical information?

An archaeological dig would undoubtedly fall under the category of extra-biblical, but tie that information to the first miracle that Jesus performed publicly, turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, and you have some monumental information that could shake your attitude toward extra-biblical knowledge. 

Did you ever consider that Jesus, a Jew, would have been familiar with Jewish ritual cleansing rules; yet, He sent the servants, of which we know nothing and can therefore assume that they were gentiles, to go and fill the vessels with water. Just because they were not Jews, Gentiles would have been unclean, and having them touch the “ritual cleansing vessels,” typically, pottery would have contaminated the pots, and they would have only one recourse, which was to destroy the expensive water pots. Even if the servants were Jewish, there would have been some point at which they touched those vessels, and yet, NO ONE raised an uproar, and you had to know that there were religious leaders at this wedding. 

What makes this significant is that apparently Jesus the tekton probably knew that the cleansing vessels were made of granite and NOT subject to Jewish cleansing laws because He had made those very vessels. Of course, we do not know this either.

Here is a peculiarity that no one has ever mentioned before. Several years before this wedding, an enterprising Jewish businessman was reading about the purification laws in Deuteronomy and realized that the Biblical specifications said nothing about granite. The logical assumption then was that God perceived granite to be permanently clean, and this piece of information was presented before the Jewish elders. They thought this was a great revelation and approved the usage of granite wholeheartedly. 

Why do you suppose that no concern about purification was shown at any point, and doesn’t the lack of concern catch your attention?

Odd, isn’t it? Perhaps Jesus knew all about this because He, being a tekton – an artisan – a craftsman – a stone mason, and had made these pots himself? But, of course, we don’t know any of that, yet we accept many things like this that are extra-biblical, and you don’t even blink an eye. 

But, if I tell you that Islam has their own set of prophecies, which conflict with scripture and are in direct conflict with Christian beliefs, and you feel comfortable rejecting that understanding without even thinking about it and continue wallowing in your unbelief and misdirection; then perhaps you are the one that is deceived.

Posted in Antichrist, bible study, Deception, End times, false prophet, Islam, Israel, Jews, mortal wound, Prophetic, ten horns and seven heads, Things I have never noticed before, Thoughts, Thoughts on scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The freedom the cross brings. Romans 6

Posted on 10/04/2022 by remso

As an aspect of my rebellious nature, I wrote this post and included my Pastor’s name. I, as a joke, tried to redact it, but that did not work, so I either eliminated it or put dots where his name had been. In the long run, this elimination of his name is probably wiser, although I have inserted information that could potentially lead you to find out what his name is. Don’t waste your time because it is not that important. What is important is that you become more skillful in the Word of God. This by no means is demanding that you memorize scriptures, I can’t, and I gave up trying years ago, but I do lean heavily upon the Holy Spirit bringing things back to my remembrance. So when your Pastor says something that is in opposition to the Word of God, then you will know it. Now, what you do with that information depends upon how much of the bridge you want to burn. I have burned a couple of them and now wish I hadn’t.

On a recent Sunday morning, I was listening to my Pastor teach on Romans 6. The scripture reading this morning began with Romans 6:12.

Romans 6:12-14 NASB “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, (13) and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (14) For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

The pastor admitted that we probably would not make it out of verse 12, which, as you can see above, instructs us to NOT let sin reign in our mortal bodies so that we obey its lusts.

Considering that we all have an inborn desire to lust, I equate it to a damaged chromosomal chain in our DNA, which is common throughout all humanity. Theoretically, science looks at human DNA and sees a dark spot in the exact location on all of them. Without the original schematics, which would show that the plans called for something else, they have no alternative but to declare that this dark spot is standard in humankind and, therefore, the baseline that defines all humanity.

If that is true, how do we avoid this desire to want what we cannot or should not have?

That is where Romans 6:14 steps up to bat because it says sin, lust, or faithlessness shall not be master over you. 

If sin does NOT master us, why not?

Because you are not under the law but under grace.

Ah, here is where some take the hairpin curve on the mountain road too fast and go over the edge; because they think we have no law to guide us. Those that choose to abuse the law of grace do not seem to realize that God’s law is written upon their hearts.

“Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings.”
(Isaiah 51:7 NASB)

Paul, to the church in Corinth, wrote:

“You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; (3) being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3 NASB)

So the law that we think we are free from is written upon our hearts, and it still guides and controls our very being.

But there is another thing that gives us freedom from the death associated with sin: the cross.

Some will say, I saw the movie, The Passion. It was bloody, vile, and nightmarish, but how does that change my life? 

Well, the cross was no less than the bronze serpent that God had Moses place upon the crossed poles that would have ordinarily held a banner so that all who looked upon the serpent would live. 

“The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten when he looks at it, he will live.”
(Numbers 21:5-8 NASB)

If you noticed, looking upon the serpent on the pole did not make the “sin” go away, nor did it remove the pain associated with being bit. Instead, it allowed them to live. The Apostle Paul told us to fix our eyes upon Jesus – who, by the way, is no longer on the cross.

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
(Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB)

If Jesus, as a part of that journey from the cross to the throne, paid for our redemption, purchasing us back from Satan’s ownership with His own blood, then we are free from the penalties required for the “sin” that so easily besets us.

So here is where my problem with the Pastor’s assertion came into play.

In trying to make some point associated with the study on Romans, there was a part that I admittedly missed that led to the Pastor saying the price Jesus paid on the cross wasn’t enough, and that is why Jesus now sits as mediator.

So let’s walk through this statement and see if it’s true. 

The author of the Hebrews tells us that Jesus endured the cross because He saw the joy set before Him. ( Hebrews 12:2.) That joy included the knowledge that people like you and me would join the family as we came into fellowship with God. The joy also included the pain He would suffer; the loss of His relationship with the Father, even if for a short time, and the resolution of this sacrificial journey from the cross to the throne because He knew that He would soon be sitting in His rightful place, on the right hand of the Father, where this story began all those years ago. 

However monumental as these assertions are, they do not prove the sufficiency of Christ; that piece of evidence that demonstrated, for me, that He was enough began to ring true here in Hebrews 9. Hebrews 9:13-15 tells us that He sprinkled His blood, as the high priest, in the heavenly temple to purify not only the Heavenly temple, but He acted there on our behalf also. In other words, He covered our sins as well.

We are told in Hebrews 9:23 that everything on earth, in terms of the temple, the utensils, and the functional pattern that the priests went through to cover the sins of the people, was first established in the heavenly temple.

“That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.” (Hebrews 9:23 NLT)

A portion of the Hebrews 9:13-15 reads like this,

“For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God.”

That cleansing blood was almost beaten out of Him by the Roman scourge; the nails on the cross and the spear in His side could have depleted it all, and yet there was enough blood to apply to not only Himself but us as well; cleansing us from ALL sins, and bringing about our permanent forgiveness.

Here is where many will part company, as I referred to, a forgiveness that is endless, and yes, I am saying that all sin is forgiven. If you can’t handle this scriptural truth, then you need to realize that your religious traditions have blinded you to the truth of the gospel.

“So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.” (Hebrews 9:11-12 NLT)

To put it bluntly, Jesus is never going back on the cross, not even if you keep messing up multiple times a day.

Why not?

Because the sacrifice He made WAS enough, adequate, and sufficient, so I, unless I am unlearned or seriously misled, should NEVER imply to anyone that Jesus and the price He paid on that cross was never enough.

But there was another aspect of this presumed inadequacy, and that was that Jesus was now sitting on the right hand of the Father, mediating for us, because His work on the cross was not good enough and therefore must constantly pitch our case before the Father. Here is a piece of twisted logic for you to chew on.

If you feel as though you can say that Jesus was not enough, then why would you possibly think that He could mediate on your behalf?

You wouldn’t, and you know that. To think in this manner tends to mean that you are purposefully disregarding the supremacy of Jesus, God’s Son. Jesus voluntarily submitted to the cross on our behalf; and then, as the high priest, submitted His own blood and splashed it upon the altar and mercy seat in the heavenly temple.

Hebrews 7:15-25 NASB (I have used the NASB with the exception of verse 25 as it states the situation more clearly. I also added some commentary which I have italicized.)

(15) “And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek [That priest was Jesus], 

(16) who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement but according to the power of an indestructible life.[Why introduce the idea of indestructibility unless He first had to be destructible? He told Pilot that he could do nothing unless He allowed it; that means that Jesus allowed all this to happen.]

(17) For it is attested of Him, “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.” [Melchizedek seemed to show up out of nowhere in a land where a priest should not have existed, especially since there was no Aaronic line that provided the priests. “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.” (Genesis 14:18 NASB)]

(18) For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness [So, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Old Covenant was set aside for another.]

(19) (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand, there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

(20) And inasmuch as it was not without an oath

(21) (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, “THE LORD HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND, ‘YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER‘”);

(22) so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. (23) The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing,

(24) but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.

(25) And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to plead with God for them. (GNB)

Again we find evidence for the supremacy of Christ in Hebrews 1:3, which tells us that having completed these things, He sat down in victory, NOT defeat.

“And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:3 NASB)

How did He get those keys unless He went to hell itself?

Psalm 16 shows us David speaking prophetically about Jesus and how He knew that the Father would not allow Him to suffer or see the corruption associated with hell.

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh also shall rest in hope.  (10)  For you will not leave my soul in hell; neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption.” (Psalms 16:9-10 KJV [thees and thous were changed for readability by me].)

We modern-day Christians assume that the words we see on the pages of our Bibles are correct and not to be challenged. It was Dr. Chuck Missler who pointed out that every translation has issues, but the KJV’s are well documented, so we can make proper adaptions to our studies. So with that said, let’s look at the word corruption.

Corruption is the Hebrew word shachath and means a pit (especially as a trap); figuratively destruction: – corruption, destruction, ditch, grave, pit.

The Apostle Paul must have understood that Jesus went to hell, even if momentarily because he tells us that He ascended on high. I can take this two ways: I can see the superiority of Jesus as the Father tells Him, “today you are my Son,” come and sit in your seat once again, or I can say that this is merely referring to Jesus when he rose up and disappeared in the clouds, while an audience of witnesses watched.

Although, if you can admit that He rose in the clouds, as He said He would, then wouldn’t you tacitly be admitting to the validity and Lordship of Jesus Christ? 

“Therefore, it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”
(Ephesians 4:8 NASB)

Look at our introduction to Jesus in Revelation 1, where it says that He was dead and now alive..

“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One, and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18 NASB)

If I can grasp the supremacy of Jesus and why then I should comprehend that He is the finest of mediators between man and God.

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”
(1 Timothy 2:5-6 NASB)

It was Pastor … that made the statement that inspired this post; and he is the one that made a statement during a recent conference called” Futures,” how that when it comes to the reality of our lives and the mistaken idea that we are free from effects of sin. Pastor … says, we are sin positive. Think about those who have heard the words; you are HIV positive. It used to come across as a death pronouncement until the pharmaceutical companies introduced treatments for HIV. As a follower of Christ, the pronouncement that we are sin positive is a pronouncement of life because of His love and acceptance; and though we may stumble frequently, we still get back up because we have a mediator, Jesus, the victorious Son of God. And, He is perpetually looking out for us.

And since Satan is actively looking for some failure, in which he can protest that we must be destroyed in hell, as he will be constantly.

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:10 NASB)

If Satan thinks he has a full-time job accusing, then I suppose Jesus, too, has a full-time job defending us against his accusations.

We are covered by the blood of a victorious Jesus.

Posted in bible study, finisher, Hebrews, Jesus, Romans | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This might seem like a bizarre question, but hardly anyone knows the answer. Is the last trumpet related to Armageddon?

Posted on 09/26/2022 by remso

I am choosing to refrain from book studies, like the one I finished recently on Revelation. It was a blessing, but a bit tedious, and I needed a break. On the other hand, the small groups I have sat with, and even a few pastors, have given me fodder for Biblical conversations demonstrating how far we are from scripture and embedded in religious traditions. This is such a topic as we will try to answer the question,

Is this the “last trumpet” we see in 1 Corinthians 15, and is it associated with Armageddon?

I recently did a study on Armageddon because of a question such as this. I can tell you that this word only appears once in the King James version of the Bible. Try to find Armageddon in the NASB, and it does not show up.

“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
Revelation 16:16

One witness (and there are supposed to be, at minimum, two [Read Deuteronomy 19:15]), and we are making a big deal out of this word, Armageddon.

Armageddon is a variation on the Meggido valley. It is also known as the Plain of Jezreel. Galilee sits in the center of the valley, as well as Nazareth. Mount Carmel, where Elijah killed the prophets of Baal, stands as the Southern boundary. And a fun fact is that this valley has been the location of every significant battle we see in the Bible.

I see three wars that will affect Israel in the time of wrath and one final battle also fought in the Meggido valley.

First, if you are new to Biblical things, our focus is on Israel. So the next war that will impact Israel will be Ezekiel 38 and 39, where God draws Gog, the ruler of Magog, along with a few other Northern nations and several North African nations; their commonality is their religion, even if changes names in the African nations to Boko Haran. 

When this takes place will either be in the moments before the catching away of the church or right after. I point this out because we know that the antichrist will show up and immediately go about trying to make peace. Many will tell you that he is making peace with Israel, but the Bible says nothing to back that assertion up; what it does say is that he will make a covenant with many, which might equate to a ceasefire. The details of this attack can be found in Ezekiel 38:1-23, and there you will find that Gog, the big, powerful leader of the Northern confederation, is killed on the hillsides of Israel. I do not think that he will be included in the “peace” talks.

The second attack upon Israel happens at the mid-point of the seven years. (Read Matthew 24:15-25.) Daniel saw this attack in a prophetic vision and explains it in chapter 8, verse 13 

“Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?” (Daniel 8:13 NASB)

The only motives I see for this second attack are driven by the entrance and activity of the false prophet. Most big-name Eschatology teachers will tell you that this is a leader from the revived Roman empire. I cannot accept that assertion because it tries to direct me to ignore history and a clear understanding of what Islam believes, which happens to coincide in many ways with Bible prophecy. Sadly, many will tell you that we cannot look at or consider extra-biblical information. If you only realized how much extra stuff you hold as a tradition. For example: Does God take children to heaven if they have not reached the age of accountability? Try to find that in your Bible; you can’t because it is based on extra-biblical traditions, which you claim we have to ignore. The question itself is beyond difficult, especially when an eight-year-old child can intentionally take a gun to school and shoot another child because of some interaction. At what point do we declare a child to be accountable? It’s a rhetorical question that does not require an answer.

Daniel 9 is another place where Daniel received an explanation of one of his visions.

“Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”(Daniel 9:26 NASB)

The sixty-two weeks is 62, seven-year periods – equaling 490 years, and they have already come. We know this because Jesus, the Messiah, was killed. The problem for most is that they can’t figure out that the rest of this paragraph is still to come. The prince to come is the antichrist, and the sanctuary is the temple yet to be built. Because God gave us an example in the Roman ruler Titus, we assume that the people who are to come will also be Romans. The problem is that the troops under the Roman flag were in the majority conscripted Assyrian troops and had a burning hatred for the Jews. These are the people that destroyed the temple in 70AD, in disregard of Titus’ orders to cease and desist. Disobedience to Roman orders usually meant death, but Josephus tells us that they did not seem to care what Titus said.

If you have doubts whether Daniel 9 speaks about war or not, note the end of the paragraph, where it says, “and the host to be trampled.” Host, in Hebrew, is indicative of a mass of people. The host is also indicative of God’s people – Israel. Trampled is to tread down as in warfare or violence. 

The third instance of war and the only passage that uses Armageddon is Revelation 16:16.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. (Revelation 16:12-16 NASB)

This is when Jesus comes back as the warring Messiah. Israel should be ecstatic as this is who they have been waiting for.

Revelation 19 tells us all about this war at the end of the wrath.

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.” (Revelation 19:11-14 NASB)

Do your homework, and you will find He only kills those who came to fight; this in no way means that the others who stayed back and continued to wallow in their hatred will be indiscriminately killed, as they are allowed to live and maintain their free will.

Revelation 20 describes the last war (if you can call it that) – the fourth war since the wrath, to be fought in the Jezreel valley.

“When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:7-10 NASB)

Once they rallied around the Holy City, God simply burns them up, and no one on God’s team breaks a sweat.

In case you wondered how such a large quantity of people, who have seen God’s love and grace in action, could put their brains in park and try to kill God and His people, they are deceived by demons. Allow me to point something out; there are only two people in hell at this point in time, the antichrist and the false prophet. They were thrown into the lake of fire at the end of the seven years.

Paul tells us of the last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15.

“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”
(1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NASB)

I have looked at as much information about Rosh Hashana as I can handle, and although I perceive that it is two days of shofar blowing, there does not seem to be a designated “last” trumpet of the day. Did you even think about the ramifications of that? As the earth rotates every few seconds, someone new gains the right to blow the “last” trumpet blast.

So, while I cannot say there is NO last trumpet, there is nothing like the Revelation to spell out how many nor how we would know. I will, however, point out that more than many others, Paul knew about Yom Teruah, or the Feast of Trumpets, even if it does not answer our question about how we might know when to look for this “last trumpet.”

Note that this particular trumpet is associated with: the twinkling of an eye, the dead being raised imperishable, and the fact that we will be changed.

Paul, so to speak, went after those disparaging some who were trying to maintain their Jewish heritage. Paul writes.

“So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in connection with eating and drinking, or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh-Hodesh or Shabbat. These are a shadow of things that are coming, but the body is of the Messiah.”
(Colossians 2:16-17 CJB)

If you can grasp what these days mean to the Jews, you will understand that there are many reasons to hope for Jesus to catch the church away on this Feast of Trumpets. Therefore, while it will be the last trumpet for those that follow Jesus Christ, it is certainly NOT the last trumpet as far as God is concerned.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 refers to us as being changed.

Changed is the Greek word allassō and means to be made different.

But different in what way?

I have for years felt led to try and educate the Christian community. Therefore, I feel comfortable saying, as though you would understand when I say it, knowing the scriptures, we understand that this means we will be sin free, be like Him, and finally immortal. The other aspect of this change is that we change locations to our next home, which is in heaven with Him.

“He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” (Philippians 3:21 NLT)

Let’s consider the word trumpet for a moment.

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 NASB)

We seem to have exhaustive discussions about a pre-tribulation rapture based upon Revelation 4:1.

“After these things, I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
(Revelation 4:1 NASB)

Notice that it says, after these things, what things is “He” talking about? The end of the church age, which we just witnessed in Revelation 1-3. Considering that we are caught up to be with Jesus with a trump, it is no coincidence that John is drawn up into heaven by the voice of a trumpet, where he gets to witness the wrath of God that is to come.

Now, if you were referring to the seventh trumpet, then you have to consider that this seventh event continues to bring on God’s judgment and wrath.

“The trumpets in Scripture are of great significance in eschatology in determining when the rapture of the church takes place (1Th_4:13-18). This involves the question of whether the mention of the “last trumpet” in 1Co_15:52, simply referred to as “the trumpet” in 1Th_4:16, is the same as the seventh trumpet in Rev_11:11-15. Some assume that these trumpets are identical and thus presume that the rapture of the church will take place at the time of the occurrence of the seventh trumpet of Rev_11:15. This seventh trumpet is in the middle or toward the latter part of the seven-year tribulation period, i.e., Daniel’s prophetic seventieth week.” (Dan_9:25-27). Finis Dake

This last paragraph says it all, the seventh trumpet is only associated with the midpoint or the end of the seven years.

Pay attention to the words in Revelation 11:15.

Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15 NASB)

This is the last of seven. The last of the current set of woe (all of which are a part of God’s wrath.)

We have to go back to Revelation chapter 8 to find the seven trumpets.

“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.” (Revelation 8:2 NASB)

What do we see in Revelation 8?

Tremendous destruction of the earth and the heavens. Revelation 8:13 gives an ominous warning.

“Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in mid-heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
(Revelation 8:13 NASB)

The fifth trumpet.

“Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them. The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon. The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.”
(Revelation 9:1-12 NASB)

Do not think for a second that these are ordinary locusts; they are not, simply because there is NOTHING on earth like this. Look at the description that I highlighted.

The sixth trumpet.

“Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind. The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”
(Revelation 9:13-21 NASB)

Here, the four angels bound under the Euphrates have been released. The entirety of their purpose is to kill one-third of the population of those still on the earth.

Why make that statement?

Because the slaughter of humanity has been an ongoing process since the opening of the first seal and the rider on the white horse.

With the seventh angel, with the seventh trumpet, Revelation 10:7 tells us, “the mystery of God is finished.”

What do we see?

“Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. “Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.”
(Revelation 11:1-2 NASB)

What does this mean?

The new temple to be built will be given to the Gentiles.

Look at these passages.

“…, For aliens have entered The holy places of the LORD’S house.”
(Jeremiah 51:51 NASB)

Aliens are the Hebrew word zur and also means foreigners, illegitimate persons, and laymen. Do not consider these laymen Jews, as we are most likely talking about Muslims.

“Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.”
(Hosea 8:8 KJV)

Hosea’s words have taken on new meaning as of September 2022, as the interim Prime Minister of Israel, Yair Lapid, addressed the UN and said Israel is willing to solve the Palestinian problem by splitting Jerusalem. I do not think he speaks for the majority of Israel; I do, however, think he speaks to and for our “American President” Joe Biden and his handlers, who I am pretty sure have exposed a crack in the Jewish governmental infrastructure and pressured Lapid into suggesting such a horrid thing, especially since it goes against God’s law.

If you don’t know what a Gentile is, let me help you. Since the overwhelming majority of scripture is centered around Jerusalem and the Jewish people, then a Gentile is ANYONE outside of the Jewish religion. So, consider who might be trying to create an abomination in what will be the newest Jewish temple – in Jerusalem? It doesn’t take long to envision Hamas and the Palestinians. Guess what? The “Gentiles” among the Israelites want it all to themselves. It would not bother them if Israel were to be swallowed up.

Finally, the trumpet is sounded.

Revelation 11:15 MKJV  “And the seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ. And He will reign forever and ever.”

Here the narrator uses a mix of present and future tense:

  1. Present -“The kingdoms of this world have become,”

  2. A future tense when He says, ” And He will reign forever and ever.”

So what is my understanding of this?

God is not concerned about the timing of these events, as they are all one package about to be opened. But, I might also note that He is the God with no beginning and no end, which may significantly impact how He handles the timing of these events.

The end result will leave no loose strings.

Some will not see this as there are passages that indicate people, with their option of free will still intact, are worshiping Satan and self.

Revelation 21:8,27 (MKJV)  “But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. b.)And there shall in no way enter into it anything that defiles, or any making an abomination or a lie; but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

And there is that bit about one last battle before the judgment seat of Christ,

And when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be loosed out of his prison. And he will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle. The number of them is as the sand of the sea. And they went up over the breadth of the earth and circled around the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of Heaven and devoured them. And the Devil who deceived them was cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were. And he will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:7-10 MKJV)

Posted in 1 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Antichrist, Armageddon, bible study, Colossians, Daniel, End times, false prophet, Hosea, Jeremiah, Philippians, Prophetic, Revelation, the nations, trumpet, Vengeance, war | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Who is the “you” that is giving the woman trouble, and who is “his” seed?

Posted on 09/18/2022 by remso

I used to meet with a group of men twice each week. One group met at a church, and there we had a leader and an established Bible study pattern, even though the leader persisted in preaching his opinion over the Word of God. Because of this, several of us would regroup a second time during the week but without a set Bible study plan. What we did do was open our Bibles each time we meet. If it were a study, there would have been some detectable pattern in our methods, such as an intense look at a particular book of the Bible or some passage that one of us was focused on. What did happen, almost without hesitation, is that we would talk about life, and that is a good thing. At least I found the personal discussions beneficial. Paul tells us to confess our faults to one another, and I have many. Doing this allows me to keep my mind free because we always integrate the Word of God into the conversation.

I am regularly challenged by the lack of understanding most so-called Christians seem to have, but one brother in particular always seemed to have the most peculiar questions. Interactions like these only convince me that we desperately need legitimate Bible study in our church bodies. Should you be wondering what a legitimate Bible study looks like, it would be one in which you walk away with a fairly permanent and correct understanding of God’s word. If you are like me and have endured the book studies most church small group leaders offer, then you should also know that these books are written to promote an author’s way of thinking or an organized church’s point of view – even if it is wrong. I think the leaders of these groups should encourage God’s point of view. So let’s see if we can find God’s point of view on a couple of subjects.

Here are a few of the questions that are presented to the group by this brother.

Having read Genesis 3:15, he asks,

Who is the “you” that is giving the woman trouble, and who is “his” seed?

Perhaps it will help if post the passage here.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15 KJV)

He initially presented his question to the group but then focused on me as the group could not or would not answer his question.

I could attempt to answer his question without applying much thought, but it is so much more convincing when you have scripture to back your assertions. We answered this very question on a previous occasion, and, as you can see below, I have included verse fourteen also as it conveys that the context involves the serpent, Satan. (Knowing the context is half the answer to this man’s question.)

“And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15 KJV)

He understood that the woman and Satan would spend their lives at war. Enmity is the Greek word ‘êybâh and also means hostility and hatred. The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature tells us that this can mean a deep-rooted, irreconcilable hatred.

If I take a narrow view, looking only at Jesus as the woman’s seed, can I see evidence of that hostility?

You can visualize this hostility toward Jesus, with the purpose of killing Him, by merely reading the gospels, culminating in the brutality of the Jewish leadership bestowed upon Jesus. Their questioning and beating of Jesus evidence this uncalled-for violence at the home of Annas and then Caiphas as they were both high priests (Luke 3; John 18). These so-called representatives of God’s Holy Word handed Jesus over to Pontius Pilot, who had the Roman guards beat Him with thirty-nine lashes of a cattail, a torture that was expected to take His life. All the while, the Jewish leadership angrily shouted for Pilot to hang Him on the cross. While this may sound like the trouble was coming through the Jews, they, like the serpent, were merely used by Satan.

If I take the broader view of Eve’s seed, I am looking at the human race. Some seem to have less hostility focused against them, while, as the recent news conveyed, the Christian church in Nigeria is suffering from deadly violence. Nevertheless, the church suffers as Satan tries to badger or belittle us into not acting and walking in the excellence and beauty that Christ established for us.

“Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.” (Revelation 12:12 KJV modified for readability.)

Bluntly said, Satan is trying to take us out of the way as we followers of Christ represent the thing he hates more than himself, Jesus.

The NASB uses the word seed instead of offspring. Both terms convey the idea of a product of interaction, but the term seed has intimacy as a part of its definition.

Seed is the Greek word zera’ and means offspring, descendants, posterity, and children. However, it also speaks to us of moral quality or a practitioner of righteousness. Indeed, if we consider this verse, we can visualize the idea of a practitioner of unrighteousness as being an offspring of Satan.

The “you” is Satan, who had put himself inside the serpent, which happened to come off like a dragon, but that is another study for another time.

His seed is also Satan’s seed; by definition, it is his offspring, posterity, or children. These people can take the form of individuals, groups, or nations. While Genesis six informs us that fallen angels had sex with the women of earth, we have NOTHING that indicates that Satan did the same, so we will leave that alone. Therefore, it is safe to assume that Satan’s offspring are spiritual dropouts that choose to follow his lead.

Why talk about wrath, and who is dishing it out?

Because in just a matter of days, the rapture will come, and the church will be taken back to be with the Father. Those who remain will go through hell on earth (I covered the details of the seven years in my previous posts on Revelation.) God, through the snatching away of the church, is removing the followers of Christ from the outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth. You can partake in this if you will make Jesus the Lord of your life.

Posted in bible study, faced with death, Our being caught up, rapture, redemption, Revelation, Thoughts, Thoughts on scripture, Vengeance, war, Warfare, wickedness, wrath. | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Having a meltdown about the wrath of God. Revelation 12:12

Posted on 09/15/2022 by remso

In looking at some older files in a folder called “Questions that need an answer,” I found this one dated 04/2019, where a friend was having a meltdown about the wrath of God. Although in talking with another acquaintance about eschatology, that brother in Christ angrily said there is no wrath. I quickly understood that his problem was a matter of terminology. Still, it was also evident that this “intelligent” man had never read the Bible (His church background had been Episcopalian, and he had been content to let someone tell him what the Bible said.)

Yet, on the other hand, the person who originated this discussion felt that we all deserved God’s wrath. I had said to him, Is it possible that you have ascribed God’s wrath to Satan based upon verse Revelation chapter twelve, where it says, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath?” As I recall, he did not have a reasonable answer and insisted that we must sustain God’s wrath. I can tell you that this is NOT a true statement, and I will substantiate this with the Word of God.

Search for the word wrath, and you will find, depending upon the translation, that there are about twenty references in the Revelation alone. Each point to God as the owner or originator of that wrath. One of those passages is Revelation 12:12.

Rev 12:12 KJV “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.”

Wrath seems like such a simple word and easy to understand, and that is why NO one bothers to look it up in the Greek. Strong’s concordance tells us that it is the Gk word thumos with a primary meaning of passion (as if breathing hard): – fierceness, indignation. One of the last options is the word wrath.

Webster defines PASSION, n. [L. passio, from patior to suffer.] (1.) The impression or effect of an external agent upon a body; that which is suffered or received. (4.) The feeling of the mind, or the sensible effect of impression; excitement, perturbation or agitation of mind; as desire, fear, hope, joy, grief, love, hatred. The eloquence of the orator is employed to move the passions.

As you can see from the definition of passion, Satan was acting under the premise of #1 and the agitation and hatred of explanation two.

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NASB)

To understand this verse, I have to ask, to what point in time is the narrator speaking?

I ask this because Jesus told us, while He walked this earth, that He beheld Satan fall like lightning. It is evident from this statement that this event happened long ago. Since we find Satan in the garden seducing Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, then it is safe to say Satan’s fall occurred at or before the garden creation. (This scenario with Satan’s fall has a wide variety of options and may play into the “Gap Theory” that is seen between Gen 1:1 and 1:2.) (Luke 10:18)

Alright, I went there and mentioned the “Gap Theory,” so let’s pursue this for a few minutes.

Genesis, in most translations, opens in this manner, “In the beginning.” The problem here is that this phrase is wrapped up in one Hebrew word – rê’shı̂yth. It means the first, in place, time, order, or rank.

The passage could easily be read in beginning and still make sense. It was the first thing He did.

What did God do?

We are told that God created the heavens and earth.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
(Genesis 1:1 NASB)

The Hebrew word that was used to express God creating was bārā’. “It is a verb meaning to create. Only God is the subject of this verb. It is used for His creating: heaven and earth.” (Word Study Dictionary)

But it is also indicative of Him creating: humanity (Gen_1:27); the heavenly host (Isa_40:26); the ends of the earth (Isa_40:28); north and south (Psa_89:12 [13]); righteousness; salvation (Isa_45:8); evil (Isa_45:7).

Did God make any mistakes?

No, and I will prove it to you.

“For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am the LORD, and there is none else. “I have not spoken in secret, In some dark land;I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a waste place’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright.” (Isaiah 45:18-19 NASB)

Established is the Hebrew word kûn: According to the Word Study Dictionary, it is A verb meaning to set up, to make firm, to establish, to prepare. The primary action of this verb is to cause to stand in an upright position, and thus the word also means fixed or steadfast.

“Waste place” is the Hebrew word tôhû used twice. It means to lie waste; a desolation (of the surface), that is, desert; figuratively a worthless thing; without form.

“He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited.”

And yet, what does Genesis 1:2 say?

“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”
(Genesis 1:2 NASB)

According to God’s Word, this is NOT what God created. Some might try to tell you that this was a part of the creation process. For example, some believe that the earth and the heavens were formed from some hot spinning mass. By what we see in the scriptures, especially Isaiah 45, that is NOT possible.

Formless, as used in Genesis, is the same Hebrew word we saw in Isaiah, tôhû. Void is the Hebrew word bôhû and means an undistinguishable ruin.

So, according to Isaiah 45, the earth was made in a manner appropriate for life and the life of humanity once that happens.

What does all that mean to you and me?

It means that something horrific happened between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, and it made the earth look like this – formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. There is no reason to see this destruction as anything but Satan being thrown to the earth.

Do you realize that there is NOTHING in scripture that defines how much time lapsed between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. If you hold to the earth, living things, and humanity being created in six, 24-hour days, then you are sadly deceived because #1. This Bible is a Jewish book, and in the majority, even the Jews do NOT see the creation in a six-day, twenty-four-hour format; neither should you. 

And #2, since you are trying to hold to six, 24-hour days for the creation, what do you do with the fact that there was no time until the fourth day? (See Genesis 1:19)

The point here is that Satan, at some point, was thrown to earth, and that act created vast and encompassing ruination; and that is quite possibly what we see when we read Revelation 12:12, where it says, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.” So, in his great wrath, Satan trashed the place, which had to be repaired.

Since Job tells us that Satan was already here, walking about the heavens, among the sons of God, –

“Now on a certain day, when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was present among them. And the Lord said to him: Whence comest thou? (The NLT translation reads “Where have you come from?”) And he answered and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.”
(Job 1:6-7 DRB)

– then, his coming down to the earth predates the fall of humankind in the garden.

So then, this great wrath of Satan, how is it demonstrated?

That wrath is a regular part of the believer’s life. 

Jesus told us that we would have tribulation in this world, and we are certainly a part of the world. 

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 NASB)

A secondary consideration is that we who are followers of Christ are in Christ and therefore look and act like He did.

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
(1 Peter 5:8 NASB)

A famous passage that clarifies this wrath comes from Revelation 12.

 “And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. (16) But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. (17) So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
(Revelation 12:15-17 NASB)

I believe that the woman is Israel. This identification would be entirely acceptable because of: the time period – a period in which God is pouring out His wrath upon Israel for their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, their unbelief, and their idolatrous ways.

Alright, we now know Satan is on the rampage, but do we know why? 

The answer is yes. Initially, Satan is attacking the Jews, the woman’s children, but because God allows those receiving Christ to be grafted into the vine, the drawing accomplished by the Holy Spirit will continue as multitudes come to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. Then, they, too, will become targets of the enemy.

The statement that spells out the reason for the attack is “the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.“ We do not know what this overall attack on the tribulation believers will look like, as many will deny the god of the beast (Allah) at the edge of a sword. Perhaps God will understand that at that moment in which to deny Allah is to accept the alternative, Jesus Christ the Son of God, they are giving testimony to Jesus’ power over their lives.

———————–

Let’s assume that we have exhausted the wrath of Satan. Now let’s consider God’s wrath for a moment. 

If I did not say it earlier, let me mention it now. Several years ago, a brother in Christ who would not read his Bible and was, therefore, content to rely upon what his former Episcopalian priest told him from the pulpit angrily retorted to me; there is no wrath from God! To say something like this demonstrates that all you heard was that God is Love, and He is, but God, like a parent, will correct His children. This is what Israel has done since leaving Egypt, ignoring God’s instructions. God, having warned them, will step up His reproofs to the next level and bring the wrath. 

In chapter eight of his book, Ezekiel sees a vision while seated with elders at his house. In the vision, Ezekiel is shown the Son of Man/Jesus, but he is also shown the elders committing abominations with idols in their hidden and secret places. Judgment and wrath are coming because of these practices, and don’t think for a second that they are not still committing abominations because they are; wrath will come because of these things and others.

Since God often uses others to carry out His wrath, we see God in the ninth chapter of Ezekiel saying, “Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” One group of executioners was the Assyrians. Suppose you jump forward in time to Revelation chapter seven, where we see the seals being opened and God’s wrath and punishment playing out. In that case, some are marked with a protective mark on their foreheads, while others are violently slain – older men, young men, maidens, little children, and women. These same destroyers will defile the temple. 

Ezekiel asks, “Are You destroying the whole remnant of Israel by pouring out Your wrath on Jerusalem?” The Jews, during the time of wrath, will be asking this very question. The answer Ezekiel receives goes like this, 

“And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord Jehovah! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem?”
Ezekiel 9:8 ASV

The thought continues, only I switched translations because the terminology is more appropriate.

“The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is filled with blood, and the city is full of perversion; for they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see!‘ “But as for Me, My eye will have no pity nor will I spare, but I will bring their conduct upon their heads.”
(Ezekiel 9:9-10 NASB)

The identification of the woman as Israel should prompt you to ask, who else is involved in this deadly mire?

The parable of the ten virgins demonstrates an exclusion, but because they were Jewish, it might be hard to understand. We can assume that 50% of the “Church” will have to endure this time of wrath, along with most of those deceived by the cult religions. We understand from scripture that the veil that blinds all who are left (those not caught up in the snatching away of the church) will be lifted, and the number of Jews that will take a stand for Jesus will be remarkable, as Pastor Jack Hibbs likes to say. And then, there will be the nations in general. Included in this number of those giving their allegiance to Jesus Christ will also be the Muslim nations, as they, too, will have the veil lifted from their understanding. The word wrath shows up 183 times in the NASB Bible. 11 of those references are found in the Revelation. Revelation 6:16 tells us that “they” are crying out to the mountains to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb.

“Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;” (Revelation 6:15-16 NASB)

Revelation 14:9-10 speaks about those who take the mark of the beast, worship the beast, and worship the image of the beast. We are told that these will drink the wine of the wrath of God.

“… “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”
(Revelation 14:9-10 NASB)

Let’s close this look at wrath with this passage from Deuteronomy.

“Now the generation to come, your sons who rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of the land and the diseases with which the LORD has afflicted it, will say, ‘All its land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’ “All the nations will say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?‘ “Then men will say, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. ‘They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them. ‘Therefore, the anger of the LORD burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; and the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’” (Deuteronomy 29:22-28 NASB)


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Since finishing the study on Revelation, I had the notion to address rather common misconceptions and questions that I hear. The 144,000 is one of those misconceptions.

Posted on 09/07/2022 by remso

This was first posted in 2008, but much has changed since then, along with my attitude. Since finishing the study on Revelation, I had the notion to address rather common misconceptions and questions that I hear. The 144,000 is one of those misconceptions.

First, I think I need to explain my understanding of the 144,000.

  • They are Jewish young men, virgins who take God’s word and Jewish traditions very seriously.

  • God hand picks them from the twelve tribes, and, as an archaeologist recently pointed out, there are no lost tribes. Revelation 7:3-4 tends to uphold that scriptural fact.

  • God uses these Jewish men as evangelists to the Jews. The assumption is that they are pointing to Jesus as the Messiah and explaining from scriptures who He is and why He is the Messiah. The oddity here is that it seems they knew that.

  • With six of the seals containing God’s wrath having been opened, we are fortunate that these men are alive. In my understanding, the sealing of the men protects them from harm. Now that might not be true, but that is what I understood.

  • When it comes to people who missed the boat and, therefore, missed the rapture, calling them Christians kind of gets hung up in my throat. What I do see is that those who wake up and follow Jesus get martyred, and it is God that calls them saints. The first time we see these 144,000 is in Revelation 7. The second time is in Revelation 14, where they are with Jesus, before the throne, singing a new song that only they know, and you will not see them called saints.

I spent the last 14 years reading my Bible at every opportunity, asking questions about what I read and writing down the responses that I heard in my spirit. What I learned, more than anything else, was God’s nature and character. So it really grates on me when I hear statements like this one.

One day, in the men’s Bible study – that I no longer attend, a statement was made proclaiming that the one hundred and forty-four thousand bond-servants, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel, would be caught up in the church’s rapture. 

So, let’s all enlighten ourselves by reading a description of the 144,000  from God’s word.

Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Tziyon (Zion); and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound from heaven, like the sound of rushing waters and like the sound of pealing thunder; the sound I heard was also like that of harpists playing on their harps. They were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living beings and the elders, and no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who have been ransomed from the world. These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they have been ransomed from among humanity as firstfruits for God and the Lamb; on their lips, no lie was found—they are without defect.
(Revelation 14:1-5 CJB)

Allow me to reiterate verse five once again, but from the King James Version.

And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. (Revelation 14:5 KJV)

Now, with this pertinent information, 

Is it true that the 144,000 will be caught up in the rapture?

Any serious student of the Bible knows that is not true, but if you want to expand your horizons, then you need to ask why it’s not true.

When we search for the one hundred and forty-four thousand, we only find three references, all of which occur within the Revelation of Jesus Christ, once in Revelation 7 and twice in Revelation 14.  The first reference is in Revelation 7, where we see four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so that they did not blow on the earth or sea or even on any tree.

“…Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:” (Revelation 7:3-4 NASB)

Sealed? A logical assumption is that they are being sealed to protect them from the wrath of God.

(I use the term wrath because six of the seals have already been opened, subjecting those young me to at least some aspects of that wrath. If you must argue, then consider the goals of the antichrist – based on known current trends in technology, where most everyone is chipped and tracked on daily basis. Considering the 144,000 who are sealed, how do they dodge some like a vaccination mandate?)

If that is the case, the timing of their sealing alone enforces the idea that they are Jewish and are here during the time that God’s wrath is being poured out (As teenagers tend to say, NO DUH, in other words, how obvious.) The distinction is that they are NOT gentiles.

Can we assume they were evil people because they did not go up with the church?

Not necessarily. First off, Revelation 14 clearly tells us they are without defect. 

Does that mean that they have no physical defects? 

No, it means they are, according to the law, sinless. We, too, are sinless but only by the blood of Jesus, and this may be the same reason that they can be deemed “without defect.” 

Secondly, the Jews are actively looking for the Messiah; but they have flatly rejected Jesus Christ as they feel He is a Gentile invention and designed for them alone. So, thanks to the veil being lifted and the help of these evangelists, many Jews come to Jesus after the catching away of the church.

Those who are sealed are specifically from the tribes of Israel, not Jehovah’s witnesses. 

Verses five through eight of Revelation fourteen spell out how 12,000 of each tribe of the sons of Israel were chosen from the tribes listed there, and you can look these up on your own time.

Why is any of this important? 

The layout of the Revelation is, for the most part, chronological, which is why we can say that the wrath of God began with the revelation of the lamb that looked as if it had been slain in Revelation chapter 4. By the time we reach chapter seven, where we see the 144,000, six of the seals have been broken.

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of vengeance so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people;”
(Luke 21:20-23 NASB)

While the entirety of Luke’s passage is worrisome, this, by and large, is pointed at one people group, the Jews. If I based my understanding of what is to come upon Luke’s version alone, I would be remiss by not providing adequate witnesses.

Since we can see that it is wrath that is coming, then let’s focus on that for a moment.

Who is this wrath for?

Based upon Luke’s gospel and the usage of the name Judea, it is simple to see that much of it is for and because of the Jews, and the Prophet Hosea acknowledges that as well.

“Israel, the time has come. You will get what you deserve, and you will know it. “Prophets are fools,” you say. “And God’s messengers are crazy.” Your terrible guilt has filled you with hatred.”
(Hosea 9:7 CEV)

Brenton’s translation uses terminology similar to Luke’s gospel.

“The days of vengeance are come, the days of thy recompense are come; and Israel shall be afflicted as the prophet that is mad, as a man deranged: by reason of the multitude of thine iniquities thy madness has abounded.”
(Hosea 9:7 Brenton)

Iniquities, in Hebrew, also means perversity or evil. Have you ever asked yourself why or where this happened? One of the first things the “children of Israel” did after coming out of Egypt was to pressure Aaron into making the god Moloch for them (think child sacrifice). Stephen, in Acts chapter seven, defines these things in a manner that we see nowhere else. Jewish tradition tells us that their acts were so detestable that they were unspeakable. So you see, NO one contest what Stephen said about what Israel did with Moloch. In Exodus 32, we see God’s reaction and commentary.

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.”
(Exodus 32:7 NASB)

At this point, God practically disowns them. He uses the word corrupted to define them. The Hebrew word conveys that they had spoiled, ruin, and perverted themselves. The word perverted does not convey the depth of their perversion as they roasted their babies in the arms of Moloch and danced around the star of Ishtar the goddess of sex. Exodus 32:22, in the NASB, has Aaron defending them and himself by saying, “you know the people, that they are set on mischief.” Ah, mischief is an artful way of saying they are naturally and morally bad and evil. Now how would Aaron have known that? Remember Balaam and his donkey? This is the man that told Balak that they could defeat Israel by putting the pretty girls from the surrounding nations within reach of their men. Those men will take the girls into their beds, and when they whine, build me a high place to worship; the children of Israel will do what they ask. Those high places, especially among the Canaanites, were places of child sacrifice by dismemberment (I recently watched a Christian archaeologist who demonstrated exactly what I am talking about). Can you now see that one of the reasons God is so angry with Israel is that they perpetually invested in the perversion of the surrounding nations, and you see it throughout the Old Testament.

God’s wrath is also poured out upon the nations. In Jeremiah, we see God taking vengeance upon those who chose to fight against Him.

“But that day is a day of the Lord, the Lord of hosts–a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. And the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiated and shall drink its fill of their blood; for the Lord, the Lord of hosts has a sacrifice [like that of a great sin offering] in the north country by the river Euphrates.” (Jeremiah 46:10 AMP)

Here in 46:10, Jeremiah uses the phrase “day of the Lord.” What does this phrase apply to? It applies to the entirety of the seven years in which He pours out His wrath upon Israel and the nations. The purpose is to eliminate “sinners,” though it is evident that it is not complete elimination. Some will say, Ah, see, this is one of those areas that prove that God cannot be trusted. What it proves is that God is merciful. In the example I showed you above, where Aaron makes the god Moloch for them, God told Moses that He was going to destroy them all. If you read the story in Exodus 32, then you will see that Moses dissuaded God, and God showed mercy. Eventually, your sins will find you out, and somehow, you will pay. This is where the blood of Jesus Christ comes into play because it covers all our sins.

“Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.”
(Isaiah 13:9 NASB)

The Hebrew word for exterminate also means to pluck down. You should be able to realize that there is a reduction of sinners and not extermination, as that seems to go against the character and nature of God. Sinners, according to the Hebrew, are those accounted guilty. We already saw in Jeremiah 46:10 that God is going to avenge Himself on His adversaries. Avenge can also be read as bringing punishment. The context of Revelation demonstrates how God comes at His adversaries from every possible direction.

One last passage to help define how God’s wrath will purge the earth.

“The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant.”:
(Isaiah 24:5 NASB)

The everlasting covenant, what’s that?

It is the covenant that God made with Adam, Eve, Abraham, and Moses, and it applies to every follower of Christ. In every human interaction, God said, I will uphold my end of the bargain, even if you don’t. If you think about the family tree, no one failed to hear “the law,” but few upheld the covenant completely. In failing to uphold the covenant, we have destroyed this earth with our technological advances.

Sometimes you can determine to whom God’s wrath is directed by eliminating those who are excluded from the conversation.

“”But God demonstrates His own love toward us (the followers of Jesus Christ) in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” (Romans 5:8-9 NASB) Emphasis mine.

Romans 5 speaks of being justified; while that forgiveness was a blanket coverage, it still requires action on the part of the recipient. You must accept Jesus Christ as yours.

Paul goes on to say that we, followers of Christ, will be rescued from the wrath, much like Noah was.

“that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”
1 Thessalonians 1:10 (NASB)

Spend a few minutes looking at this transaction between God and Noah (Genesis 7:1-4.) Having followed God’s instructions, God closed the massive door behind them. (Genesis 7:16) And this saved the family from God’s wrath – the flood.

This theme of being rescued from wrath is continued in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10.

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 NASB)

This, too, demonstrates how God’s salvation is a blanket of escape – if you will, that works for all who accept His salvation.

This rescue or salvation from wrath is from God’s wrath, not the tribulations of everyday life. God’s wrath will be poured out upon everyone living on the earth at this time; we assume that there is an exception for the 144,000. I am puzzled, for if I look at the Revelation as chronological, then it tends to indicate that they, too, were killed in some brutal manner.

How does that work if the seal of God protected them? Again, we make assumptions about the extent of their protection. The passage where we see this sealing begins reads like this.

“…, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”
(Revelation 7:3 NASB)

It says nothing about NOT harming these Jewish believers. Now my understanding of them has shifted, and I see them as hand-picked evangelists up until the time that God sees fit to call them home. If the fourteenth chapter of Revelation is not an indication of that happening and fractures my idea of the Revelation retelling as a precisely chronological eschatological story. So, now I have to see the 144,000 as reinsertion into the Revelation timeline, much like a color commentary in a televised sporting event.

What’s the point so far?

Based on what I see in the verses that we have to work with, all this is happening within the seven years of wrath. Since we see an uncountable multitude standing before the throne, then there would have to have been an attempt to kill the followers of Christ. Since God has sealed these Jewish men, then they, too, would be deemed to be followers and potentially subject to death at the hands of Jewish leadership as well. This conversation is, of course, in consideration of the fact that three and one-half years into the seven, the false prophet will be unleashed upon the world, and, according to Islam, this man will be the enforcer of Sharia law. Sharia law dictates that the head of infidels are chopped off (anyone outside of Islam is an infidel) as the primary method of elimination.

“Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him, one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.”
(Revelation 14:1 NASB)

If Jesus is standing on Mount Zion, then He has returned victoriously, and the earth is now in the hands of the Almighty God. Since the 144,000, to the best of our knowledge, have been witnesses to the Jews during the time of wrath, then it is obvious that their work is completed.

That would mean that they were not raptured, as only the church is caught up to be with Jesus; it also means that they are alive today, being prepared, and will have to endure the entirety of the seven years and its associated wrath. And, there is nothing that says they are exclusively in Israel, for we have Jews all over the world.

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Time for some common questions. A buddy of mine asked where we find the Battle of Armageddon in the Bible.

Posted on 08/29/2022 by remso

A buddy of mine asked where we find the Battle of Armageddon in the Bible.

I knew his question was centered on the prophecies we see in Ezekiel 38,39, and though much of that battle will take place in Israel, there has rarely been a Biblical battle that is not fought in the Meggido valley.

The layman’s definition comes across like this, every Biblical battle we are familiar with happens/ed in the Meggido valley or, as some put it, the Plain of Jezreel. Other names we find are Har- Megiddo, Har-Magedon, Armageddon, and Harmagedon. 

Josiah, the King of Judah, went out to fight the king of Egypt in the valley of Megiddo. (2 Kings 23:29)Megiddo valley _ the plain of Jezreel

Joshua, the second in command to Moses, made his home here and raised his sons, who were just as tough as he was, in the Jezreel valley.

Elijah took on the prophets of Baal, the servants of Jezebel, on Mt Carmel, the Southernmost boundary of the Megiddo valley.

“Jezreel, or Esdraelon, was a city of Issachar, afterwards celebrated as the residence of the kings of Israel, delightfully situated in the extensive and fertile plain of the same name, which extends from Scythopolis or Bethshan on the east to mount Carmel on the west.” (This puts the upper range just North of the Sea of Galilee  and South toward Mt. Carmel. This mountain should have a familiar ring as this is where Elijah confronted the false prophets of Jezebel.)
The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury (Emphasis mine.)

The book of Ezekiel gives two more identifying names. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.” (Ezekiel 39:11 KJV)

Ezekiel 38 tells us that this is also the area known as the location of the mountains of Israel.

“A long time from now, you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel.” (Ezekiel 38:8 NLT)

One of the prime examples associated with the battle of Armageddon is found in Revelation 16.

“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.”
(Revelation 16:12-16 NASB)

When you get to the end of the paragraph, there is a reference to “they” to whom does this refer? 

The passage tells us that the spirits of demons, which look like frogs, go out for one purpose, to cause the kings of the whole world to gather together for the war of the great day of God. These frog-like demons almost sound like they could take the form of humans as they begin performing signs. All the while, the Euphrates is drying up so that the kings from the East can come down and join in an attack on Israel. 

Now, you have to ask, does the great day of God refer to the time that Jesus will come back and retrieve His church, or is it something else, like the entirety of the seven years of God’s wrath?

It references the time of wrath, which begins mere seconds after the catching away of the church.

So the kings of the earth, is it then exclusive to Ezekiel 38, or can it apply to something else, as I see two more times that fall under the category of warfare?

I think this description of kings applies exclusively to Ezekiel 38. While the destruction will not be complete in which they can never show their faces again, it will be severe.

“And the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. “I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops–many peoples with you.”
(Ezekiel 38:1-6 NASB)

The second major deadly event occurs when the false prophet steps up to bat. Islamic prophecies believe this man, a descendant of Aaron, is the enforcer of Sharia. What does that mean to the Jew – who will be the biggest recipient of this violence? Again, look at Matthew 24, as this speaks specifically to this moment in time when the false prophet shifts his stance, pledges his allegiance to Allah; sets up the image of the beast, which speaks (This may be animatronics, much like a Disney attraction, and made functional through artificial intelligence; or, it could be downright demonic.)

“Therefore, when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.”
(Matthew 24:15-22 NASB)

The problem with identifying this period as a battle of Armageddon loses steam because, though there has to be a large deadly militant force backing the false prophet, none of those fighters are identified with Gog, as we see in Ezekiel 38.

Another problematic issue in associating this “warfare” with Armageddon comes from the vagueness of the antichrist who gives power to the false prophet. If the false prophet is the high priest of the newly built temple in Jerusalem and he flips teams, denies God, follows the Mahdi, and forces “everyone” to worship the beast and take his mark, the impact will be massive – for the Jewish community. Still, it will also be deadly for anyone who has chosen to follow Christ during this time. If the antichrist turned out to be someone like the former American President, Barack Obama, it would feel like a massive betrayal, as he has been acting like he is their best friend for many years. The truth is, Obama is an avid student of Saul Alinsky, and in his book Rules For Radicals, is a man who feels like he could be suspiciously close to Marxism or Socialism; and an admitted follower of Islam. We, as a church body, like much of America and our government that seems naive, seem to think that we are immune from the violence demanded by Islam and refuse to consider that Islam is and will continue to become a global threat. The clues have been before us for a long time now.

After this second onslaught, where Matthew’s account tells us that this period will be extremely deadly, realizing that this is the second part of the seven years of God’s wrath. As this ends, there is no doubt that this time will be filled with violence against others; several billion people will be killed intentionally, and there will be another massive battle.

“Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
(Revelation 19:6-7 NASB)

Do I think this will be audible and the world will hear it? Absolutely. Not only do I think they will hear it, but they will also see Jesus coming back to earth, riding on the white horse and covered in blood.

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
(Revelation 19:11-13 NASB)

What an incredible sight, except for those who have chosen to fight against Him. If there ever was a battle of Armageddon, this would be it. When we looked at Revelation 16 a short time ago, we saw frog-like demons gathering the kings of the earth. No doubt there will be kings at this battle that Ezekiel describes, but there are ten nations at best. Here, the impact is global, and every country that thinks God is nothing compared to their gods will be sadly mistaken, for everyone who comes to fight will cease to breathe that day.

Alright, there is one last battle, and it too is fought, to some degree, in the Jezreel valley.

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.”
(Revelation 20:1-3 NASB)

At some point, the thousand years will have come and gone.

“When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.”
(Revelation 20:7-8 NASB)

Satan is released to, in a sense, thin the herd. All these people, and there will be many, will have walked around with their free wills intact. Those whose names were NOT written in the book of life will be deceived. It is just that simple.

And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:9-10 NASB)

No fanfare, trumpets, or weapons of warfare as God Himself burns them up. Once again, the reality is that they quit breathing. Why do I keep saying that? Because we need to adjust our idea of death. Since the spirit of a human is in the image of God, then the soul lives on forever. Yes, those who choose to follow Satan to his demise will live eternally in the torment meant for him. You were meant to live in peace and love with the Father; I know that sounded like hippie talk, but it’s true.

The only thing that associates this with Armageddon is the usage of this terminology, “ they came up on the broad plain of the earth.”

I wrote this piece because there are expected events and questions, and we, for the most part, do not know the answers. Perhaps you have heard all this, and it sounded familiar; what happened? I can tell you what happened; we allowed confusion and confused people to speak into our lives instead of leaning hard upon God’s Word. Don’t allow confusion like that into your life. The Holy Spirit of God is still here, no matter if the church is gone or not, and He will lead and guide you into truth.

Ask Jesus into your life, and the Holy Spirit will come beside Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with the fire of God, boldness, and strength, and He will do it. If the rapture has come, there is no time to fool around. One way or the other, they will kill you, but until that happens, live like the Prophet Elijah; he called fire down from heaven. The prophet Samuel was also feared, but I will leave you to pursue that. Just know that if you live by the sword, you will die by the sword. So put your faith in Jesus and choose to command the angels to move on your behalf. God’s speed and mercy. We will meet again.

Posted in Armageddon, bible study, demons, End times, Euphrates, Islam, Israel, kings, Megiddo, Thoughts, Thoughts on scripture, war, Warfare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

As we anxiously await His return. Revelation 22: 18 – 21.

Posted on 08/27/2022 by remso

With the last few posts, we should have been encouraged and established as we read and studied Revelation 22, verses 16 and 17.

Why?

Because we have good witnesses and reliable testimony, this testimony primarily comes from the mouth of Jesus, who established the trustworthiness of His word by satisfying the demands of the law with His own body, and from the mouth of the prophets and thus fulfills the prophetic pattern. All this affirms our hope and understanding of why we can have that hope is valid.

Good, now that we are past that, let’s finish this chapter and the book of Revelation.

“I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;”
(Revelation 22:18 NASB)

The Amplified Bible makes the statement a bit more intense by saying, “warn everyone who listens to the statements of the prophecy.”

Is it possible that there is a difference between hearing and listening?

I hear stuff all the time, but my mind is bouncing at least two more ideas around in my head while my wife’s instructions are being said to me. I may have heard, but I was not listening. Now, if I symbolically move to the front row in the classroom and purposefully listen to the instructor, I stand a better chance of comprehending what is being said.

In defining the word hears, Thayer’s Greek Definitions tell us that the word akouō can also mean attending to or considering what has been said. 

So, it appears that Jesus is talking to and about persons who have invested the time to understand this book, whether through personal readings and study or under the inclination of theological training.

Now, if you invested that kind of time in understanding, why would you go about changing the meanings of the things you read in the Revelation?

An example of something that has been changed and brought about drastic confusion is Revelation 4:1. It reads,

“After these things, I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
(Revelation 4:1 NASB)

The first three chapters of Revelation focus on the church age and end with God talking to the “church” of Laodicea. Revelation 3:14 opens with this statement.

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,”

You may not pick up the importance of what He said here, so let me show you an example of how God addressed the previous six churches. In Revelation 3:7, we see this,

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,”

It wasn’t Jesus’ church in Laodicea but the Laodicean’s church. Sadly, we are living in the age of the Laodicean church. Just look around you as churches of every denomination are going “woke,” becoming an arm of the government by opening their doors to become inoculation centers for the C19 vaccine, a vaccine meant to kill you; and note how quickly the churches are giving themselves over to blatant sin. See Leviticus 20:13.

The drastic confusion stems from the phrase “ After these things.” The church, on the whole, cannot seem to grasp that the events that will progress in Revelation are happening AFTER the time of the churches – after the rapture.

Now don’t get me wrong, woke, progressive churches will continue to have a function in the seven years, for a time, as long as they comply with government demands, such as taking the mark, worshiping the beast, and worshiping the image of the beast, but the church, as I now know it, will be gone. We will be like the Chinese are now, meeting in secret at odd hours of the night.

Let’s finish chapter 22.

“And if anyone takes away from the Words of the Book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which have been written in this Book.” (Revelation 22:19 MKJV)

As church people have read Revelation, I imagine many have wished they could remove many of the painful aspects we find there.

Why?

I can think of two reasons someone might do that.

  1. Most of us know people who will probably have to go through the time of wrath, and we want to save them from having to do that.
  2. Many “Christians” have not been taught properly and, therefore, believe they must go through the time of wrath or at least some portion of that time.

So, if you were like me, weaving your way through Revelation with the hope of understanding and causing others to understand. What advantage do you gain, by leaving things out or misrepresenting others, like Revelation 6:2?

“And I saw. And behold a white horse! And he sitting on it had a bow. And a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer.” (Revelation 6:2 MKJV)

Saddam Hussein accepted only one verse from our Bible as true, Revelation 6:2. He also believed that he was this rider. He was not, and to prove my point, Saddam was hanged. This rider (symbolic language) is the antichrist personified in a man (sorry ladies) and will emerge shortly after the catching away of the church. This man, because we see him putting forth a seven-year peace treaty (Note: Israel is NOT mentioned in this treaty; the treaty, therefore, may be perceived as giving the Islamic nations a chance to reload. This war is probably associated with the war against Israel that we see in Ezekiel 38,39, which appears to have a nuclear aspect.)

Verse 19 tells us, “if anyone takes away from the Words of the Book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city.”

The Amplified Bible says it this way. “ And if anyone cancels or takes away from the statements of the book of this prophecy [these predictions relating to Christ’s kingdom and its speedy triumph, together with the consolations and admonitions or warnings pertaining to them], God will cancel and take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the city of holiness (purity and hallowedness), which are described and promised in this book.”

How, in God’s name, could we humans cancel God’s actions?

The reality is, we can’t, unless, as the Greek word aphaireō conveys, we take from or remove. This idea of not speaking is what I was talking about when I said that one of the ways would be by exclusion as we choose to NOT talk about some aspect of God’s Word, in this case, the Revelation. A Pastor told me that no one can understand prophetic books like Revelation and Daniel, which is why I will not teach from them, and neither will you if I have any say over who teaches here.

The reality is that the person who intentionally does this will be removed from the book of life and eliminated from entering the Holy City. If this is true, then you would think that there are a number of pastors whose names have been removed from the book of life. 

Here is my problem with this. Having been raised in a Pentecostal environment, I was brought up with the idea that many sins, all of which seem to be built into our DNA, will send you to hell. A “brother in Christ” who led the weekly Bible study told the group of men every week (the average age of these men was about 75) that they were going to hell for their sins. a friend and I have talked about this scenario several times. It was my friend who pointed out the age thing and the fact that most of these men raised their families in this church. 

If they had been receiving sound teaching every week, why would you possibly think they were perpetually sinning sins that would send them to hell?

What does a teacher like this do with a passage in which Jesus directly says?

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:27-28 NASB)

In talking about losing our salvation, I suspect teachers like this are trying to manipulate you because it is known that we have a propensity to sin. All you have to do is be awake, and the opportunities to sin will come.

Perhaps it is merely this simple. Just as someone has chosen to remove themselves from God’s hand, we have the same ability, in Jesus’ name, to declare that under no circumstance will I remove myself from God’s care. Peter seemed to do this and yet denied Christ three times. Fortunately, for our sakes, n Christ forgave Peter and showed him what forgiveness looks like in God’s eyes as he comforted Peter back into the grace of God. 

And just as King David would tell you, there is no doubt in my mind any longer, as God wrote my name in His book before time began.

We are almost done.

Revelation 22:20 NASB “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

It now seems like a simple question, and you should know the answer, who is the “He who testifies to these things.”?

He is the lamb that was slain; 

He is the only one worthy to open the seals; 

He is the risen one, 

the Son of the living God, 

The one who now sits next to the Father; 

He is the one who anxiously awaits that signal from the shofar;

And He is the one who will come and collect His bride – the church. 

And He testifies that He is finally coming quickly.

Did that cover it?

 

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Revelation 22:21 NASB 

“ (May,) the grace of the Lord Jesus be with (you) all (as we anxiously await His return). Amen.” Emphasis mine.

Posted in Antichrist, bible study, End times, false teaching, God's character, New World Order, Prophetic, rapture, Revelation, Sin, The Word was God, Thoughts, Thoughts on scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

And let the one who is thirsty come. Revelation 22:17, 18.

Posted on 08/23/2022 by remso

In August of 2022, I published a commentary on Revelation 22:16. Here, I use the Good News Bible, as it conveys that Jesus wanted John to share this information with the church bodies that existed and to future Christ followers, that includes you and me.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to announce these things to you in the churches. I am descended from the family of David; I am the bright morning star.”
(Revelation 22:16 GNB)

You can find that post here – https://omharris.com/2022/08/20/to-witness-and-to-give-you-assurance-of-these-things-revelation-2216/

In that post, I focused on the idea that Jesus reminded the Apostle John that it was not just Jesus bearing witness to the hope of a future life with the Father, but John too was to bear witness. Primarily because we are human and have the ability to forget that we have a hope and why; and, in the case of John, who is now an old man exiled to the island of Patmos, a place that, for all John knew, it was Rome’s hope that he died there. As you can see, God had other plans.

Having covered verse 16, we move on to Revelation 22:17.

Revelation 22:17 NASB “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

So, knowing that we have Biblical witnesses testifying to the rapture of the church before the wrath of God is to be poured out and that our hope is in a life with the Father and an eternity of peace with Him.

Who is He talking to?

  • “The one who hears.”

    This idea of the one who hears does not necessarily hold to those looking for salvation, as it can also apply to those, such as myself, who are hungry and want to find answers.

  • “The one who is thirsty.”

    Thirst is the Greek word dipsaō and surprise, it means to thirst. But what if my thirst is for more of the Lord and a deeper understanding of what is coming and when?

  • Playing off the idea of thirst, He says, “the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

    Jesus used the term take. This is the Greek word lambánō, and, according to the Word Study Dictionary, can mean to take in whatever manner. Almost synonymous with déchomai (G1209), to accept or receive, and yet distinct from it in that lambánō sometimes means to receive as merely a self-prompted action.

    A question, was our salvation truly without cost?

    No, as Jesus gave up His place next to the Father, His royalty, and His life to purchase our salvation. On our part, it costs us nothing (well, perhaps a touch of humility.)

But note how once the Spirit and the bride say come, the directive is for those who hear to say come. Come is the Greek word érchomai and also infers “to appear, make one’s appearance, come before the public; arise, come forth, show yourself, or influence; and, to be established, or become known.” Thayer’s Greek Definitions.

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”

Who is the Spirit?

If I were to guess, I would have to say the Holy Spirit, but we don’t want to guess; we want direct, accountable answers.

And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:19-20 NASB)

This Holy Spirit is the same Spirit that baptizes in fire.

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11 NASB)

Hold up here a second. John the Baptizer told this crowd that the one who is coming after me is:

    • Mightier than I,Having a grasp that He is, with His pinky finger, mightier in every way is wisdom.
    • I am not fit to remove His sandals;Whether you are dealing with the Father, who is thankfully full of mercy, Jesus – the Son, who gave His life for us, or the Holy Spirit – the comforter who leads us and guides us into all knowledge, they are all Holy. Lacking that kind of submission and humility is dangerous.
    • And, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.For the last several days, merely reading the Word fills my eyes with tears. There is power in the name of Jesus.

I will move on with this.

“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”
(Genesis 1:2 NASB)

So, even in the creation, we can see the Holy Spirit working.

The last thing I want to point out from Revelation 22:17 is the usage of the phrase “the water of life.”

“For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.” (Psalms 36:9 NASB)

So the question is, out of whom is this fountain of life?

Many, of you, without thinking, would quickly say Jesus or God. Both would be correct.

King David, in Psalm 36:5, refers to Him as yehōwāh (this is the name by which He revealed Himself to Moses); while in Psalm 36:7, David refers to God as ĕlôhı̂ym; this is the Hebrew word ‘meaning God, gods, judges, angels. Occurring more than 2,600 times in the Old Testament, this word commonly designates the one true God (Gen_1:1) and is often paired with God’s unique name, yehōwāh (H3068). Word Study Dictionary

If David is calling Him God and the water of life is flowing out of Him, then how do we get to Jesus as being the river of life?

Because Jesus said this of Himself, and one of those examples was the Samaritan woman.

“Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”” (John 4:10 NASB)

Jesus later explained how this works to a bunch of Jews who wanted to kill Him, as He had made Himself (their words) to be God by claiming to be the Son of God.

““Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;”
(John 5:25-26 NASB)

The Apostle Paul describes how we are washed with the Word of God, which is that water.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
(Ephesians 5:25-27 NASB)

So, not only do the Father and the Son, being one and the same, have life in them and flowing out of them, but are also the Word of God, which we see in Paul’s writings to the church in Ephesus above. The Apostle John opened his gospel by telling us that Jesus is the Word, the life, and the creative force in creation.

And finally, it does flow out from under both the throne of God and of the Lamb. Now there is something that I never noticed before.

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,”
(Revelation 22:1 NASB)

If you do not know if you have this water of life inside of you, then I suggest you acknowledge the ABCs – of salvation.



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