An interruption of the Layman’s commentary. Are there prophets in this enlightened time of the New Testament?

Posted on 03/24/2024 by remso

My pastor, who is not the only one, will adamantly proclaim that there are NO prophets since the arrival of the New Testament.

Is that true? 

Let’s see what the scriptures say.

“For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith.”
Romans 12:4-6 NASB

These passages clearly identify prophecy as one of God’s gifts to us, Jesus’ followers. 

We may be missing something, and the terminology prophecy may be mistranslated, causing us to mishandle it.

Here, in Romans 12:6, the word used is prophēteía, from prophēteúō (Strong’s#G4395,) meaning to prophesy. It also conveys the idea of prediction, foretelling future events, including the prophets’ declarations, exhortations, and warnings while acting under divine influence. Thayer’s definitions tell us it is “a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; especially by foretelling future events.”

Since we tend to struggle with this divine inspiration part, we may add, “Thus saith the Lord,” when, in fact, you are not sure.

  • According to Webster’s dictionary, Declaration is “An affirmation; an open expression of facts or opinions, or a verbal utterance; such as he declared his sentiments. We should keep our opinion out of the affirmation.
    • Affirmation is the act of affirming or asserting as true, as opposed to negation or denial. It is also a confirmation, ratification, or establishment of what had been done or decreed before.
  • Exhortation – The form of words intended to incite and encourage. It also means advice or counsel.
  • Warnings – Caution against danger or against faults or evil practices that incur danger.
  • This sounds more like common sense. As a former group leader for the anger group in recovery, my advice, in many cases, could have easily been perceived as a caution against danger or faults, as they will lead to further dangers.

The words (which scare us) are merely a way of understanding the practical forms in which we share God’s word. With an understanding of prophecy that looks like common sense, why do we need to lose our minds over the prophetic? 

This might explain some of the reasons we get so upset about the prophetic.

Some time ago, on a Sunday morning, I was verbally assaulted by a “brother in Christ” with a theological doctorate who attended the same church that I did, as he angrily explained that under no circumstance should anyone operating in what they believe is a prophetic word say, “Thus saith the Lord.”

The reasons behind this admonition were defined by saying: 

  • By doing so, you falsely qualify the word you give as a valid word from God. This is true because we consistently insert some aspect of our broken lives and emotions into every word we give. 

    I could not disagree with this assertion, and though I could not stand this “brother’, I have since integrated his “exhortation” to me about the words I gave to others.

The man with the doctorate went on to say,

  • The phrase “thus says the Lord” is solely designed to raise the status of the word, which you believe is necessary to provide. 

    Therefore, you are trying to force people to accept what you are about to say. 

Habit is part of the problem.

  • We have developed the habit of adding “thus saith the Lord” as an introduction and announcement; sometimes, it is simply a tradition. 

    Some would even tell you that God does not need to speak in Elizabethan English; therefore, this archaic word “thus saith” falls on deaf ears and sounds foolish. 

“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;”
Romans 12:6 NASB

Wow, according to the grace given to each of us.

First, the gifts differ according to the grace given to each of us.

This can imply that some have all or many gifts, but that rarely happens.

Grace is the Greek word charisma and, according to the Strong’s concordance, means a (divine) gratuity, that is, deliverance (from danger or passion); a (spiritual) endowment, that is, (subjectively) a religious qualification, or a (free) gift. The Word Study dictionary conveys that grace is to show favor. A gift of grace, an undeserved benefit.

I know many of us think that we deserve God’s benefits (grace) merely because we make lots of money, have a theological doctorate, wear fine clothes, and when we talk, people listen. If you are not aware, we were all born into sin, and all your self-applied traits will burn up at the Bema seat should you happen to get caught up in the rapture of the church. Perhaps the best way to picture this sin issue is to perceive the fact that by eating that fruit, Adam permanently damaged and changed his DNA, and he passed that damaged DNA to all humanity through the inescapable generations of sexual intercourse so that no one escaped the damage.

Some will say that it is not possible that ingesting some fruit could damage your DNA. Well, in taking that attitude, you have set yourself above, the one that knows all things and created this body that you perpetually damage with chemically laden “foods” on a daily basis. You are also living in denial that these so-called flu vaccinations are changing and damaging your DNA when it has been proven that this is precisely their purpose.

Secondly, the gifts are given according to the grace given to each of us individually. 

What does that mean? 

It means that we are individuals, and there isn’t an all-consuming blanket coverage. 

Romans 12:6 tells us that prophecy, for example, is given according to the proportion of that person’s faith. 

Having operated in this realm, I can tell you it requires much faith. You must trust that you are hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, which often sounds like your own inner voice.

A dear lady, who, on previous occasions, operated frequently in giving words to people, stopped me one day as I walked into the church and said, why aren’t you doing what God told you to do? 

Do you know that we are to judge the prophetic?

Therefore, I responded, “I know what that means to me, but why don’t you explain what you think it means?” She was dead on in her explanation. If I had been honest, I would have said I have run from giving God’s words to crowds because they are incredibly intimidating, and I can hear all the negative voices telling me that I might lead people astray and fail. 

When I gave words to the church body, I was always in tears, and I can tell you that having the pastor whine at me and say, could you give these words to the church without tears; didn’t help. My lady friend repeatedly told me that no one could hear me except for the two rows in front of me. Once I started obeying God and giving these words, it went on for six weeks (Suddenly, the others that had been giving words went silent.) I worked to bring the volume up, and I am sure I could be heard on the street on the last occasion. I was told that a couple (who had the ability to control things that happened in the church because of their significant contributions) complained to the pastor because I made God sound angry (what a peculiar thing to say, as though I could control God,) and the following week, I was met at the door by the pastor, as I tried to enter. The pastor told me of this complaint and said, “you are done giving these words, though, as he said, he could find no fault in what I said. Should you think that you have a word beyond this point you will run it through me and I will let you know if you get to deliver it.” If only God worked that way with me. When the Holy Spirit’s motivation hit me, I would ask Him to give me a clue as to what I would say (all this happened in my head.) The Holy Spirit’s response was, as always, trust me. Trust Him is all I could do; therefore, the preposterous idea of running it past the pastor was improbable.

I told the Lord that I was through and to never ask me to give anyone a word again. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit laughed me off, and His speaking to me never stopped; some words were as simple as “God is not through with you yet.”

Here, in the days before the catching away of the bride, the implications are that we live in the age of grace (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.) 

Let me remind you of the words of a song that goes like this – “He paid a debt I could not pay.” In so doing, we receive the benefits awarded to those who accept His (Jesus) death and resurrection, which gave us all of God’s benefits to those who love Him. 

We are also given this exhortation.

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
Romans 12:3 ESV

Every one of us has been given the measure of grace, but faith clearly varies among us, though that was not God’s plan. Faith is faith, but having experienced the pressures that can affect faith, it is easy to see that events can put enough pressure on you to NOT trust and that lack of trust can affect your ability to trust God’s plan. Paul tells us not to get high-minded; perhaps that is because you can be brought down quickly and with a crushing blow.

To be honest, I do not remember if this is the verse my pastor was referencing when he denounced New Testament-era prophets, but let’s look at it anyway.

“Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”
1 Corinthians 13:8-10 ESV

  • “As for prophecies…”

    The Greek word for prophecies is the same word we saw in Romans 12:6. We did a deep dive into the background of this word prophēteia , and we found that it can also mean declarations, exhortations, and warnings while acting under divine influence. Some of us are very adept at giving out words like this.

  • “They will pass away;”

    Pass away is also translated (in some versions) as done away. The Greek word for “pass away” is katargéō , which means to render inactive, idle, useless, or ineffective.

    What would be the most logical reason to make giving declarations, exhortations, and warnings while acting under divine influence inactive, idle, and useless?

    The first place this would have an impact would be when the church leaves the earth.

    Why here?

    Because we no longer have to interact with those who are struggling with their faith and relationship with Jesus. This is valid because we will now be with Jesus and the Father, the source of all knowledge.

    But there is a problem, as there will be many who did not go up in the rapture but thought they would.

    Who then would give out these prophetic words once the church is gone?

    Those who may have had a bit of knowledge of God’s word and thought they should have gone. 

    In a sense, there will be an amazing revival on the earth, and this will be the second reason for the prophetic.

    In the Old Testament, the Prophet Joel speaks about the last days on earth before Jesus returns to end the pain down here and begin the millennial reign. Here is how he sets the tone.

    “…Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; … Joel 2:1-2 NKJV.

    And yet, in the midst of all this tumult.

    ““And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28-29 NKJV

    People will try to tell you that the Holy Spirit leaves the earth when the church goes up in the rapture. How about NOT!

In case you have not read it, I will give you this bit of insight. A common translation reads like this.

“I bowed at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Don’t do that! I am your coworker and a coworker of the Christians who hold on to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy!”
Revelation 19:10 GW

So as long (7 years) as there is the possibility of people on earth giving testimony to Jesus, then the spirit of prophecy (the Holy Spirit) will be active and necessary.

Let’s just admit it—for the most part, we don’t know what we are talking about when we say that prophetic words have not existed since the New Testament. I get it—there is nothing new under the sun, but people get beat down and forget who they are—a Child of the Living God and an heir to the kingdom.

Is there any doubt that we (humans) have turned the prophetic into money making schemes, none whatsoever. As irritating as their actions are that doesn’t make all of us bad or self-seeking.

We merely need to learn to judge correctly.

Posted in bible study, Faith, grace, Prophetic, Romans, spiritual gifts, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A layman’s commentary on Matthew 24, verses 16 – 28. Let those in Judea flee to the mountains.

Posted on 03/14/2024 by remso

We are now in chapter five of my Layman’s commentary on Matthew 24, and we are in the section identified by the publishers as the,

Abomination of Desolation.

Matthew 24:15 tells us this –

“Therefore when you see the ‘ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),” NKJV

The abomination, as described by Daniel, does not take place until the midpoint of the seven years of God’s wrath. 

I am trying to avoid the perpetual doubt and confusion associated with the terminology “the tribulation.” Why? Because we have for far too long ignored the fact that Jesus said, in this world, you will have tribulation. That means our daily lives may be associated with extremes of hardship and adversity. When these words were spoken by Jesus, most of those who listened to Him lived lives of daily attempts at survival.

Aside from what Scripture tells us, I cannot decisively tell you what the image will look like. 

  • It is an image. This could easily be a statue or an animatronic device. 

  • Because he (it is unclear whether this refers to the antichrist or the false prophet) makes it talk, we must assume it has a mouth. So this thing will dish out orders, commands, and perhaps demands, such as bowing before the image of the beast and worshiping it.

  • Since the term beast is assigned to both the antichrist and Satan, and only a few have ever seen Satan (or Allah,) then our only logical assumption is that the image is an image of the antichrist. 

  • None of us earth dwellers will know who this man is until after the church is removed from the earth. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:3,7,8)

  • The beast is a spiritual entity, a demon or fallen angel, and a man who will be possessed by, at minimum, one powerful demon or fallen angel.

  • The image is defined as the abomination. 

A definition of abomination can read like this, extreme hatred, abhorrence, defilement, and pollution. Look at other translations, and you will see that it is the image that causes the defilement and appears to be the hatred against the Jews and the tribulation saints.

“So when you see the abomination that causes desolation spoken about through the prophet Daniel standing in the Holy Place” (let the reader understand the allusion),”
Matthew 24:15 CJB

This brings us to Matthew 24: 16-20.

“then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.”
Matthew 24:16-20 NKJV

You have to admit that some have specific instructions.

One goes something like this: ” Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”

Where is Judea? 

It was the Southern kingdom, but now it is considered the southernmost region of Israel, near Petra. 

Where, in general, are the mountains Jesus may be referring to? 

The most commonly mentioned mountains are in the northern region called the Megiddo Valley, which borders Syria and Lebanon. While some would tell you that Jerusalem is the closest thing they have to a mountain, there is a range of mountains South of the Dead Sea, near the Negev and the area of Petra in Jordan.

This may be what Jesus is talking about. Look at what else He told them. 

[I must remind you that virtually everything in the Torah, and a significant percentage of the New Testament, is focused on Israel and the return of the Messiah – the Day of the Lord.]

  • “Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.”

    Why say anything about that? In the midst of the October 7th attacks, did people have time to pack? No, they just hid or jumped in cars and tried to flee.

  • “And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.”

    If you have paid attention to what happened at the music festival, some tried to go back and rescue friends. That turned out to be a horrid decision for them, and they, too, were killed.

  • “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!”

    God forbid you should ever say, this baby is a burden, but it is just one more thing to cause you grief as you try to move quickly or hide because Hamas has proven that committing horrors has no age limit.

  • “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.”

    Think about the fact that He is talking about devout and religious Jews. Jews that have to uphold religious laws that restrict the distance you can travel. [A Jew was permitted to travel 2,000 cubits on the Sabbath (Exod. 16: 29 and Num. 35: 5), about 1.2 km. (¾ mile), and the Mount of Olives was within this distance from Jerusalem (Acts 1: 12).] https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/middle-east/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories#:~:text=travel%20advice%3A%20Health-,Local%20laws,the%20Sabbath%20may%20offend%20people.

    Imagine having to flee but only being permitted to travel ¾ of a mile. That would be a hopeless situation.

In all of this, your head should be screaming, when does this all happen?

I want so badly to tell you that this event is exclusive to the midpoint of the seven years and beyond, but horrors of this magnitude are already occurring, and you can’t blame them on God, for it is people lost in their religious beliefs, who believe they are doing the will of their god – Allah.

So, although deadly events will occur throughout the seven years, the intensity of violence will ramp up at the three-and-one-half-year mark within the seven years and will heighten as the high priest—otherwise known as the false prophet—decides to make himself known to the world.

The following demonstrates that the Lord is involved in the wrath within the seven years.

“For the Lord shall judge by fire, and by his sword unto all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many.”
Isaiah 66:16 DRB

“And the Lord shall make the glory of his voice to be heard, and shall shew the terror of his arm, in the threatening of wrath, and the flame of devouring fire: he shall crush to pieces with whirlwind, and hailstones.”
Isaiah 30:30 DRB

Moving on.

“for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect’s sake, those days shall be shortened.”
Matthew 24:21-22 MKJV

  • “for then shall be great tribulation,”

    This is in excess of how the time period begins. Let me give you an example.

    “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures like a sound of thunder, saying, Come and see. 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. And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, Come and see. And another, a red horse, went out. And power was given to him sitting on it, to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. And there was given to him a great sword.” Revelation 6:1-4 MKJV

    The rider on the white horse is the antichrist, and though he is associated with the word peace, don’t be deceived; he is carrying a bow, and so the truth be known, there will be bloodshed related to this man.

    The second seal, related to the seven years of wrath, brings us the red horse. Notice that it says, “and power was given to him… to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another.” Did you catch that? It says “they.” Now, that could be a generalization referring to anyone from the nations, or it could be referring to military forces who are enforcing the will of “governing bodies.”

    Now, ask yourself a question. If Revelation is chronological and Revelation 6:1 shows us the initiation of God’s wrath, then is there ever a time of peace, especially considering what the WEF and WHO are currently doing while the church is still here. Remember, there is NO antichrist as long as the church is still here.

  • “ for then shall be (a) great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time,”

    Because our conversation concerns the abomination of desolation, the word “then” refers to the midpoint of said wrath.

    Seriously, since the beginning of the world? Virtually every despot has brought horrendous devastation and slaughter, and the associated deaths will surpass your most vivid imagination.

  • “But for the elect’s sake, those days shall be shortened.”

    Many were taught, though disrespectfully, that the world revolved around the followers of Jesus Christ; they do not; we were merely grafted into the stock, which is Israel.

    Who, then, are the elect?

    To be elect is not a self-appointment, but clearly, we are talking about the Jews and even more so about those who have controlled people and suppressed the Word of God – the Rabbis.

“Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ! Or, There! Do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders; so much so that, if it were possible, they would deceive even the elect.”
Matthew 24:23-24 MKJV

  • “Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ! Or, There! Do not believe it.”

    Consider the context. The world is crashing down on the Jews and saints, “Christ followers.” This idea of Christ’s followers is odd because it initially applied to the church, which had been caught up to be with Jesus three and one-half years before. What makes them saints now is their hearts turning toward God and the “testimony” associated with their actions- and, unfortunately, getting their heads lopped off.

    How laughable is this. But wait, Jesus said,

  • “if it were possible, they would deceive even the elect.” 

    How is this possible since these are the teachers of Israel? 

    The answers to the question might have much to do with this; the two witnesses from God who have been standing in the streets of Jerusalem preaching about Jesus the Messiah (I assume). But it’s not just the preaching; it’s the signs (and we may not have the details on all that they demonstrated – such as the fire that emits from their mouths should anyone attempt to harm them, and they stop the rain. (Doesn’t it make you wonder how the average citizen would know the rain had been stopped over a particular parcel of land?)

    As I was meditating on this very thing a short time ago, I was amazed at how odd it is. At about this same time, I ran across a video of an African nation where a man in regal attire declared that he was Jesus. Not only that, but he is proclaiming others to be the reanimation of the prophets and the apostles of the New Testament. How believable are this man’s actions? Consider that Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jew with olive-colored skin that was flailed mercilessly with a whip, which had sharp shards integrated into the whip; He was nailed to a cross; His side was pierced with a sword or spear; dead, He was taken from the cross and placed into a tomb where a large stone was rolled over the opening, and He rose from the dead after the third day. As far as I know, none of those things are exhibited in this man, and if they are, I would understand that we are dealing with the demonic.

    And yet, the number of people following this deceived human being is growing. Even worse, he is not the only one.

“Behold, I have told you beforehand.” Matthew 24:25 MKJV

The Albert Barnes commentary states, “The reason why he told them before was that they might be on their guard, and be prepared for those calamities.”

Ezekiel tells us of warning the righteous person – the elect. They will surely live because they took a warning. 

“If you warn the righteous person not to sin and the righteous person does not sin, he will surely live, because he took warning. You will have delivered your soul.” Ezekiel 3:21 TLV

I do not believe that your survival is the point here, but obedience certainly is, and Israel’s spiritual leaders are more concerned about obedience to laws and not the spirit of God. 

Jesus also emphasized that telling the listeners beforehand would demonstrate His love for them.

“From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He.”
John 13:19 NASB

And He wants to prevent them from stumbling.

“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.”
John 16:1 NASB

Back to the context. 

“So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.”
Matthew 24:26 NASB

In his Bible notes, Finis Jennings Dake stated that this refers to “Anyone claiming to be Christ.”

What are the warnings to those living on Earth at this time? 

“Do not go out” there and try to see him and, even more straightforward, “do not believe “these people.

Jesus ends this section with two cryptic messages.

“For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Matthew 24:27 NASB

This has a similar feel to the time Jesus was explaining the Holy Spirit and the new birth. In that case, the wind was dancing across the patio, but here, lightning is flashing across a clouded sky, and everyone, for miles and miles, can see it.

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:6-8 NASB

His coming will be no mystery; in fact, He explained, in great detail, the chain of events that will alert those still alive to when He is coming back as the Messiah and when.

Here is the second of those cryptic messages.

“Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” Matthew 24:28 NASB

For the majority of my seventy years, verse 28 has made no sense to me. Suddenly, I can visualize a bit of what He is saying. 

Death, during the seven years, will be an ongoing thing. 

  • There will be death at the hands of humans.

    Consider Haiti, where cannibal gangs are killing, roasting, and eating the dead.

  • We are told that the wild beasts will attack people and kill or eat them.

  • “World leaders,” I say it like this because we already have, too, many who are self-appointed, trying to run the nations, are already actively killing millions. 

  • An angel on an ashen horse will be released for the express purpose of killing a fourth of the earth’s population. The techniques they use include the sword, famine, and pestilence.

    Pestilence is the Greek word thánatos and also means plague, pests, and disease.

In case you have been living under a rock, these so-called “world leaders” have been financing and creating plagues while resurrecting several others that should have stayed gone. Perhaps this is the reason that so many undocumented people have been allowed to cross the borders of America. 

Is it that the corpses will be gathered and placed in a particular area? I don’t think so. It comes across as there are just that many deaths globally.

The context has much to do with the time frame, three-and-one-half years after the introduction of the antichrist, and the false prophet, as the Islamic prophecies call for, will be the orchestrator of the majority of these deaths.

Vultures or flesh-eating eagles, as several translations declare it, are symbolic and represent:

    • Jesus words to John in Revelation.

      “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid-heaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”
      Revelation 19:17-18 NASB

    • Dake’s bible conveys that this is “Where the dead bodies are slain at Armageddon.”

      While that is possible, it is an assertion and an assumption that this is referring to the battle of Armageddon.

      If you do a word search for the word Armageddon in the King James Bible, you will only find one reference: 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.”
      Revelation 16:12-14 NASB

      And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.
      Revelation 16:16 NASB

Armageddon. i.e., hill of slaughter, *S# G717. i.e., Mount of Decision or Sentence (UCRT)

Dr. J Vernon McGee tells us. “It means “Mount of Megiddo.” It is a compound word made up of the Hebrew words Har, meaning “mountain,” and Megiddo, which is a mount in the plain of Esdraelon. … It is one of the most fertile valleys I have ever seen. I guess it is the most fertile valley in the world today. And, it is a place where many battles have been fought in the past.”

Lastly, the people who choose to fight will come to the Meggido Valley in preparation for the colossal battle that Jesus will participate in just before the millennial reign of Christ.

If you choose to reject Christ, then your fate will be put in the hands of an angry God, and you will have to endure, should you survive or get your head lopped off for your faith and testimony. 

Bypass all that and turn your life over to Him now. You will escape God’s wrath and live forever with Him in paradise.

Posted in Abomination, antichrist, apostasy, Assyrians, bible study, Daniel, departure, Jerusalem, Matthew's gospel, overtaken, Saints, the king of fierce countenance, the little horn, the prince that shall come, the willful king | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A layman’s commentary on Matthew 24 verse 15. The Abomination of Desolations.

Posted on 03/02/2024 by remso

 The NASB entitles this next section,

The Abomination of Desolation.

As a standalone statement, this makes no sense to me, and thus, we begin a deep dive into Matthew 24:15 and beyond.

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand:).” Matthew 24:15 KJV 

When I was young, one of the first Bibles I received was the King James; in time, I became more accustomed to it and would mentally change the “these and thous” to those and you. The KJV has many known issues, as do all the translations or transliteration, so pick a translation you feel comfortable with, and don’t be afraid to integrate other versions into your Bible study time. As you will see below, I used the New Living Translation. This particular version was the project of a father who wanted something simplistic that his children could understand. The NLT has been updated to a modern version of English, so tread lightly.

If something should concern you, it should be this statement, 

“The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about.” 

I say this in this manner because you need further explanation to know if it applies to you. Since the church must be extracted from Earth before the antichrist can be revealed – We can find evidence for this in at least two places. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and 7,8. 

2 Thessalonians 2:3 is one of those places that have issues. The terminology was changed in the 1500s, from departure to apostasy, principally to appease the State church – the Catholic church. They did this because people were leaving the Catholic church and migrating to Protestantism; then it applies to those who will become the tribulation saints – Saints are all those who come to a personal acceptance and knowledge of Jesus Christ; however, there are many who think they are part of the church that will be caught up but they will not. Paul said they were not of us. So, after the rapture, many will come to Jesus and lose their heads for their faith, witness, and testimony. These, too, are called saints. In other words, they must die for their testimony and witness. Let’s stop here for a moment and then move on. 

What did Daniel understand and, therefore, speak about? 

Taken as a Jewish captive to Babylon, Daniel advanced relatively quickly within the Babylonian empire. Assuming that Daniel had hopes and dreams, many of those dreams may have been around the idea of what God would do with his life. Daniel may not have known, but God was about to use him to deliver a message that Daniel may never understand or experience, as many of these events were for the time, over two thousand years later, a time that concerns us. 

“Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I (Daniel) said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?” And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.”  Daniel 12:8-10 NKJV

In the second chapter of Daniel, we see a young Daniel appealing for the lives of himself and three other Hebrews who were brought into captivity with him. Daniel not only tells Nebuchadnezzar his dream but interprets the dream (up to a point) for the king. You will see the details of that dream in Daniel chapter two. 

Dake’s Bible notes/commentary indicates that “The time of the vision was at the end of the reign of Belshazzar which corresponds to the time of the handwriting on the wall of Dan_5:1-31, for he only reigned a little more than two years.” 

“Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?”  Daniel 8:13 KJV

What Daniel saw explained the transgression of desolation as the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot, and it gave the time frame.

“He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.”  Daniel 8:14 NAS95

So, the temple will be held in abhorrence for three and one-half years.

The Dake’s Bible notes indicate that it is at the end of the 2,300 evenings and mornings (3 years, 2 months, and 10 days; Dan_8:11-13, Dan_8:26) that the sanctuary shall be cleansed of the abomination of desolation.

If you don’t know, the sanctuary is the final temple to be built. The host is the Jewish people in Israel.

The generalized idea is that the antichrist plays a massive role in the destruction of Israel and the temple, but that may not be correct.

“The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)  Matthew 24:15 NLT

Even though we can know through scripture that the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot are a part of the transgression of desolation, there is one more thing, and that is the desolation of the temple, and that is the unholy/unclean object that is either placed on the altar, or it is standing there in the holy place.

Abomination is the Greek word bdelugma and is defined by the following sources: 

  • Strong’s From G948 indicates a detestation, that is, (specifically) idolatry: – abomination; 

  • The Word Study Dictionary suggests that this means to turn away through loathing, disgust, or abhorrence. Abomination: 

  • Thayer’s definitions tell us that this means a foul thing, a detestable thing, of idols and things pertaining to idolatry. Thayer’s, as you can see, uses the word detestable. I suspect that this is an offshoot of the phrase detestation, which has synonyms like this: abhorrence, loathing, odium, hatred, and disgust.

The Word Study Dictionary defines desolate as the act or the process of making desolate.

If you let your mind ponder the possibilities of what this might be, all you do is remind yourself how suddenly we have had artificial intelligence thrust upon us. 

Elon Musk’s scientists have successfully installed the Neuro-Link device in a volunteer’s head, and now that person can control a computer mouse merely by thought. In previous posts, I have alluded to the Mr. Lincoln exhibit that may still be there in Disneyland; if you have gone on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, there is an overload of animatronics. And, even though it has been explained multiple times, I am still mesmerized by the head in the crystal ball or the tiny little woman who thanked you for coming at the end of the Haunted Mansion ride. The attraction is filled with holograms that look so real that you may struggle to maintain a focus on reality.

We are told that “He” will make an image of the beast, cause it to speak, and everyone – though perhaps regionally, will be forced to accept this image as god, give their allegiance to it, and worship it. So when we talk about an image, are we talking about one that exhibits the face of the antichrist, as he is referred to as the beast, or are we talking about an image of Allah, the false god followed and worshiped by Islam, that should be interesting merely because Allah is a demon – a fallen angel representing himself as something to be worshiped; and never been seen.

For those who want to fight about what I just said by saying, no one has effectively seen Christ in about two thousand years. Well, that is true, but Jesus said that when you have seen Me, you have seen the Father, and we know the Father through His word, and yet we love Him. And then, there are those from the Middle East, and Jesus has appeared to them in their dreams. How odd they recognized Him. Perhaps He demonstrates the scars that helped bring about His death, or maybe He tells them, convincingly, who He is; I don’t know the answer. Most will tell how they just knew.

Now, will the antichrist place the detestable thing there, or is this the job of the mouthpiece of the antichrist, the false prophet?

As Daniel sought answers to this vision of the abomination, he apparently heard two angels talking about this very thing.

“Then I heard a certain holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, “How long shall the vision last, concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression that causes desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?” Daniel 8:13 AFV

Sometime later, Daniel got this piece of information.

“And forces from him will stand up on his part, and they will profane the sanctuary, even the stronghold, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.”  Daniel 11:31 AFV

The reference to “him” is the antichrist; the fact that he has forces would mean that he has control of a military force. Never does it say these are not Islamic forces, so don’t close the door to that idea. 

According to Webster, profane is the act of violating sacred things or treating them with contempt or irreverence. 

In the “civilized” world, an army would refrain from doing something like this. The problem with such naive thinking is that we (Americans) have moved down the bar a few rungs and have done horrid things to churches. So, there will be a purposeful violation of the sacred things in the temple. This sounds more like Islam as we progress. As evidence for my argument, consider the horrors that transpired on October 7th as Hamas attacked Israel and its citizens that day.

The AFV translation uses the term stronghold, but others consider it a fortress or a part of the temple/sanctuary. We may be talking about Israel’s defense forces and their bases. Missiles fired from Lebanon seem, for the most part, to be aimed at military posts, making this a reference to end times events.

Forces, on behalf of the antichrist, will “take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.” So, it seems inevitable that we put the blame on the antichrist for the abomination. 

I have heard the whining about how some will not accept anything extra-biblical, and yet we do it all the time, and many have been living most of their lives by un-biblical information, so spare me. 

With that being said, Islam has its own set of demonic prophecies, and they understand that a man of the lineage of Aaron will be the final priest in the last temple. This man will flop, give his allegiance to the Mahdi, the antichrist, and will set up this detestable thing in the temple. He will become the enforcer of Sharia law. And will enforce the worship of Allah and the beast – the antichrist, by beheading those who choose to ignore his demands. 

It is no wonder God comes crashing down upon these two when Jesus returns to rule for a thousand years. 

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A layman’s commentary on Matthew 24. Matthew 24:14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world

Posted on 02/26/2024 by remso

 Our last post on Matthew 24 opened with “Because Iniquity will abound.” Jesus equated this iniquity to false prophets and lawlessness. 

There are two prominent translations of the Greek word anomia, and the King James gives us this. 

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
Matthew 24:12 KJV

A common alternative reads like this.

“And because lawlessness shall abound, the charity of many shall wax cold.”
Matthew 24:12 JUB

Lawlessness in Greek means the condition of (being) without law, choosing to be ignorant of it, violating it (the law;), or contempt for the law. It also means iniquity.

Shall abound is the Greek word plēthunō and also means to increase or multiply.

Here it is, February 20, 2024, and I just read how, in one of the Northern African nations, a young couple was recently beheaded for rejecting Islam and turning to God. So, where there is NO COMMON law, a twisted religious belief gives you the freedom to chop people’s heads off?

Can you not see how the war that Israel is having with Hamas in Gaza is turning our hearts to cold stones?

Jesus was addressing His Jewish disciples about their questions: 

“What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” 

  • Get this straight in your thinking. His coming pertains to the physical return of Jesus as the warring Messiah that the Jews are looking for. 
  • The end of the age will be in part His wrath (the wrath of God being poured out upon the Jews and the nations during the seven years) and includes the few extra moments that we associate with the transition into the millennial kingdom, where Jesus will sit as the Judge over the earth.

Some think Jesus’ return in the clouds for His church – His bride, is the end. Well, yes, but only for His church. At this point, He only comes in the clouds and gathers His bride to Himself in the clouds. We, the church, will be with Him forever from this point on. 

We received this admonition from Jesus.

“But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”
Matthew 24:13 NASB: 

“But he that endures unto the end.” 

Endure is the Greek word hupomenō  and means to stay under (behind), to remain; figuratively, to undergo, bear up under (trials), have fortitude, persevere: endure, take patiently, suffer.

Considering the anguish and pain coming upon the world, who would sign up to bear the trials to come? 

No one, so this is speaking to those who (1) have missed the rapture and decided to give their lives to Christ. And (2) it speaks to those who will now have to give their necks to the sword, become saints in God’s eyes, and eventually enter into the kingdom of God; and (3), therefore undergo, stay under this torment, and have fortitude; because God, who is faithful, will bring these “saints” into His kingdom.

Have you ever asked, even facetiously, what it means to be saved? 

Safe is the Greek word sōzō  and means to deliver, protect, heal, preserve, and make whole.

If you survived the time of God’s wrath, then I would think you were delivered, protected, and preserved. On the other hand, if you had your head lopped off, then words like healing and made whole would be in order. 

After all that, I want you to look at a scripture passage.

“Nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come. And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.” Revelation 2:25-26 BSB

Pay attention to the words “hold fast to what you have until I come.” Seriously, what do you have?

Some people don’t have much, but I can confidently assure you this has nothing to do with money.

“But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— “
Revelation 2:25-26 NKJV

An alternate version that may make more sense.

“Nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come. And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.”
Revelation 2:25-26 BSB

People often ask, what will the martyred saints do during the 1000 year reign?

If you have read the Revelation, you know that the martyred saints sit on thrones and rule over the nations. Since authority and rule will be dealt out swiftly, then it seems appropriate that these people who brutally lost their lives would be the ones who meet swift punishment.

Hold fast or hold on is the Greek word kratéō (G2902) and means to use strength, seize, or retain. It also means to keep, lay hold of, obtain, retain, take, cleave to, apprehend, and guard.

So what, then, are we holding on to?

Some are clinging to their survival bunkers, but that will not help them, for God will find them no matter where they hide. Some hold fast to their great wealth, but their money will not save them, and the digital monetary system may take of that. 

This overcoming is accomplished by holding on to the Lamb (Jesus) and expressing their renewed affection for Christ for the rest of their lives, however short that may be.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
Revelation 12:11 NKJV

Who are the “they” in verse 11? 

Revelation 12:10 tells us they are the brethren; whether they came to know Jesus Christ during the age of grace or came to Jesus through the seven years of God’s wrath is irrelevant. Verse 11 explains that these people were killed while here on earth. 

In light of the context, which we have been chewing over, where does this next statement take place?

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:14 NKJV

I had been rebuked by a man who was undoubtedly intelligent (he ran the public works department of a large city), but when it came to the Bible, it might as well have been a foreign language to him. He told me that Jesus could not come back because the gospel had not been given to every living person – at least, that was the implication of what he said. 

Yet, verse 14 conveys that after the church’s catching away, those who come to accept Jesus will preach the gospel (the gospel is simply the good news of the kingdom) will be preached (proclaimed, declared) in all the world. 

Think about this statement, “in all the world.” We are rapidly watching attitudes change to hostility against those who stand up for scripture and the name of Jesus Christ. You have heard the saying, no doubt, that the squeaky wheel gets the grease; they get attention because that minority is making the loud, obnoxious noise and, therefore, getting their way and being appeased; all the while, the church remains silent. 

I am part of a very proactive church, and my pastor was recently invited to open the US Senate in prayer. He had to submit a prayer, in which many standard terms among the Christian community were banned. He tore up that prayer, wrote a quick one-page prayer, and said what the Holy Spirit wanted him to say. He is now taking tremendous flak, mainly from Senate Atheists, over what he did. You might accuse him of sabotaging himself by making those changes and, therefore, making himself susceptible to whatever they dish out upon him; I happen to think it was a demonstration of great strength by choosing to do what God has asked us to do, and that is to stand up for what is morally right. 

Did you notice that Matthew 24:14 tells us that the actions of these “tribulation” saints would be considered to be preaching to all the world as a witness to all the nations?

“This gospel of the kingdom,” is the Greek word kērussō and means to herald, proclaim, or publish.

“Be a witness” is the Greek word marturion and means evidence given and something that defines your current actions.

The nations, to a Jew, are anybody that is not a Jew and as loathsome as eating bacon.

God, it seems, doesn’t concern Himself on whether you come to Him before the wrath or after, you are still His. Allow me to show you something.

“So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:4-8 NKJV

“They” points to those who have chosen not to come to Jesus since the catching away of the church. 

This event will be so dramatic it is hard to understand why they would have continued to turn their back to God. A bizarre and stunning explanation has been erupting on the news for several years now, and that is what the government calls aliens and unexplained aerial vehicles. For many years, I have been trying to tell people that these fallen angels are demonic manifestations. They, being God-created beings, are not subject to gravity, our limitations of time, or the limitations of a dimensional understanding.

This next one is hard to understand. “They worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast.”

The dragon is Satan, and it tells us that they worshiped him. 

Worshiped is the Greek word proskuneō, meaning to kiss like a dog licking the master’s hand. Prostrating oneself.

So these lunatics are worshiping Satan because he gives power to the antichrist, otherwise known as the beast. 

We have never seen Satan, although many of you base your impressions of his appearance on a characterization they saw in a movie. So, let me give you a clue that will explain what he looks like. 

The (Amplified Bible) in looking at Isaiah 14:12, says this about Satan. 

“How have you fallen from heaven, O light-bringer and daystar, son of the morning!…”

The King James version calls him Lucifer.

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! …”

And finally, the English Standard Version.

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!…”

Lucifer is the Hebrew word hêylêl, and it also means morning star.

According to The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury, Lucifer is his original name and was or is a bright and eminent star that ushered in the sun and the morning. Still, here, it is metaphorically taken for the high and mighty king of Babylon.

Ezekiel 28:12 refers to him as the king of Tyre and tells us that he was “the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”

“You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, …” Ezekiel 28:13 ESV 

“You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.” Ezekiel 28:14 ESV

“You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.” Ezekiel 28:15 ESV

But in that day when the nations shall see Satan get judged.

“Those who see you will gaze at you and consider you, saying, Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms?– “
Isaiah 14:16 AMP

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An interruption of the layman’s commentary of Matthew 24. Let’s talk about the age of the earth from a Biblical point of view.

Posted on 02/19/2024 by remso

We had a house guest recently, and I try not to overwhelm them with my deep dives into scripture. But a family member had also stopped in, and that person instigated this conversation under the pretense of pointing out the lack of understanding in someone else. This explosive delivery on the age of the earth was clearly directed at several of us because we do not adhere to the to a young earth orientation. Amid raised voices and argumentation, I want to take a moment for sanity and present a, not so familiar view of the creation; this point of view, which I am sure clashes with the beliefs of many, allows me to see creation in a larger time frame and a magnificence in God that I rarely saw when I was younger. 

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1 AFV (A Faithful Version)

If you wish to challenge the italicized word “the,” then perhaps you should sharpen up on your Septuagint Greek, and we can do just that. 

enG1722 PREP archeG746 N-…Genesis 1:1 LXX-BYZ “en” transliterates to in, and “arche” transliterates to beginning.

We can, therefore, read verse one as “in beginning.”

The Septuagint (LXX/Greek Old Testament) 

The Romans banned the Hebrew language and all written forms, forcing the Jews to learn Greek around 200 BC. This initiated the secretive process of documenting the Torah and the Tanakh – the Old Testament to us rookies- into the Greek language. 

Imagine the difficulties in transliteration where the original language – Hebrew, which does not transliterate well into English – must now be turned into Greek, Aramaic, and back to Hebrew. The difficulty level increases as Hebrew, which for a long time was a dead language. 

It was not until the 1500s that we were introduced to the King James Version – a product of Roman Catholic influence upon King James’s royal throne. They pushed this change to influence those leaving the State Church and the Catholic church and going to Protestantism and Martin Luther. All this was done even though an English version of the Bible was published almost a year before this effort.

If you were to argue that most translations read “In the beginning,” you would be correct, but merely mimicking incorrect translations because of tradition does not make it a good idea. A few translations put the word “the” in italics to indicate that the word the is added to enhance clarity. 

I am not a grammarian, but I perceive that a read like this conveys alternatives, such as:

  • The phrase “in the beginning “attempts to force the reader to understand this creation process as beginning and possibly completing at a specific moment in time. 

  • A reading of verse one without the added word the, suggests that the Genesis creation took place over a period of time. 

The time frame of verse one, lacking other descriptive words, could have been more precise and may have transpired over billions of years. 


Genesis 1:2 intelligibly informs us that something cataclysmic transpired; the question is, what? 

“and the earth was formless and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was fluttering on the face of the waters,”
Genesis 1:2 LSV.

Accepting verses one and two as a chronological description is far too elementary. Are we expected to take it for face value? Verses one and two need to make more sense. The implications are that God created all creation through some swirling mass technique. This technique still allows for an undefined period, or else it was a quick creation and something tumultuous intervened. 

Regardless, I lean toward an intervention, and here is why. 

“For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.”
Isaiah 45:18 NKJV

Notice the words “Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited.” 

Genesis 1:2 tells us that all of creation was now:

  • Formless – is the Hebrew word tôhû. The meanings include: confusion, unreality, emptiness, nothingness, wasteland, wilderness, or a place of chaos. 

Vain is a word we saw in Isaiah 45:18. It means Empty, worthless, having no substance, value, or importance.

  • And Void. Void is the Hebrew word bôhû and means to be empty, an undistinguishable ruin.

What seems obvious to me is that creation was once distinguishable, and at this moment in time, it is no longer.

What could have caused such damage? 

Don’t say the fall of man because man has yet to be spoken into existence; even though there is an inference of man and woman in Genesis 1:26, it is only spiritual. Man’s physical presence on earth does not show up until Genesis 2:7.

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
Genesis 2:7 NKJV

And, we don’t see the woman until Genesis 2:20-25. 

There is, however, a character who may have contributed to this chaos. 

Jesus told the disciples: 

“…I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Luke 10:18 NKJV

Consider the physics of lightning for a moment.

“While the flashes we see as a result of a lightning strike travel at the speed of light (670,000,000 mph) an actual lightning strike travels at a comparatively gentle 270,000 mph.” (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/thunder-and-lightning/facts-about-lightning)

At least two known meteorite strikes were large enough to affect the atmosphere globally. Strangely, both struck in the vicinity of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Genesis 1:2 goes on to say:

  • “and darkness was on the face of the deep.”

Darkness is the Hebrew word chôshek, which also means misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, and wickedness. 

So, it is safe to assume that this has gone far beyond merely not having light. Everything about this sounds like Satan inflicting death and misery.

If, as Isaiah 45:18 states, the creation was habitable before Genesis 1:2, then there was adequate light for plant life, and one of the arguments that was thrown out at us that day.

“Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.”
Genesis 1:3 NKJV

Obviously, the light was taken away.

Go back to the definitions of darkness I just gave. You will find misery, destruction, death, sorrow, and wickedness here.

Is there any place in God’s creation where He installs such grief?

The answer is no. 

Light, as used here in verse three, is the Hebrew word ‘ôr. While one of the definitions implies the light of day, we have yet to see that defined. As its primary usage, Strong’s concordance defines the word as illumination. That could be provided by any number of sources, such as stars, typically suns much larger than ours, or reflective bodies, like Jupiter and Saturn. The Word Study Dictionary defines light in this manner, “In a literal sense, it is used primarily to refer to light from heavenly bodies.”

Nope, no Sun, as we know it, yet.

“And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:4 NKJV

Having just covered light, the thing that grabs my attention is this, “God divided the light from the darkness.” Without any additional definitions, my mind noticed that if a disruptive entity put out the lights, God did not destroy that entity.

Good is the Hebrew word ṭôb. Its meanings include pleasant, agreeable, and having value. But those terms also include welfare, benefit, and prosperity. 

So far, this speaks to mental welfare as well. 

Divided is the Hebrew word bâdal, which means to separate, partition, set apart, and make a distinction.

Making a distinction makes more sense when a Sun is involved, but we don’t have that yet.

The last word I want to talk about is darkness. 

Darkness is the Hebrew word chôshek  and can also mean obscurity. The Word Study Dictionary tells us that chôshek  is associated with disorder, and in subsequent uses, whether used in a physical or a symbolic sense, it describes confusion and uncertainty (Job_12:25; Job_37:19); evil done in secret (Job_24:16; Proverbs_2:13; Ezekiel_8:12).

“God called the light Day and the darkness He called night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Genesis 1:5 NKJV

“God called the light day,” 

Light is the Hebrew word ‘ôr, which we already covered, but I will repeat, illumination (used primarily to refer to light from heavenly bodies.) (See Jeremiah_31:35; Ezekiel_32:7.)

Day is the Hebrew word yôm. The Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions tell us that the word can mean day, time, year, lifetime, or an undefined period of time.

 “So the evening and the morning were the first day.” And still no sun.

Lacking a sun, I think that most can see how ridiculous it is to try and assign a twenty-four-hour time frame to what appears to be God’s second creation event.

“Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. God called the space “sky.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.”
Genesis 1:6-8 NLT

And still no sun.

“Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.”
Genesis 1:9-13 NLT

Plants and trees, but no sun and no weeds.

“Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.”
Genesis 1:14-19 NLT

Finally, the Sun, the moon, and the stars govern their skies alongside His creation; it is the end of the fourth day.

If this is the first place we see stars, what were the luminaries that filled the skies and brought light to the world? 

Here is some interesting food for thought about Satan and light.

“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.”
2 Corinthians 11:14 NKJV

The word transform is the Greek word metaschēmatízō and can also mean disguise, change the figure of, or change the outward form.

If Satan is changing his outward form into an angel of light, then there must be other, more noble, angels of light, and based upon what we have seen in scripture, these angelic beings may have been the light or at least added to the light.

At this point, I want you to pay attention to the emphasis on the “day” in which a thing or aspect is created. (Remember how this conversation started with God creating a habitable, perfect earth on the day He spoke it into existence.) Obviously, to me, all of it got corrupted.

“Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”
Genesis 1:20-23 NKJV

Notice how we are focused upon the waters, which are abounding with abundant living creatures. I have had my moments where I understood that the waters produced birds. There are certain birds that are well adapted to water and can fly, dive, and swim to feed themselves. By looking at other translations, which some people would wholeheartedly reject, I understand that God merely spoke the birds into existence. 

“And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:24-25 BSB

Here, the passage speaks of land creatures according to their kinds. Keep in mind that the curse that came with Satan is here and has been since Genesis 1:1.5. I know there is no 1.5. Since Jesus witnessed Satan being thrown to earth, and it appears that Satan had a destructive goal, it is easy to understand that the chance to annihilate God’s perfect creation was just waiting for its opportunity. Since humanity is not yet on earth, this means that the evil and destructive plans Satan had for humanity and the land have yet to occur. 

Now, how can I say this? 

All you have to do is go forward in scripture to where we find Adam and Eve in the garden, where the four-legged serpent, which speaks, is already there hanging around in that tree – the only tree for which they have a restriction of NOT eating. 

When did Satan get here on earth? 

“Long before the events in the Garden.” I already pointed out that Jesus told the disciples that He beheld Satan fall like lightning from the sky. The precise date associated with that date is NOT given to us. But Genesis 1:1 tells us that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” While that does not define how He went about creating or how long it took. 

Hebrews 11:3 can be rather eye-opening for some as there is a little weight put back on us as we are required to apply some faith.

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from anything visible.”  Hebrews 11:3 TLV

And as  I have pointed out in this post,

“For thus says Adonai—He is God who fashioned the heavens, who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it desolate but formed it to be inhabited—“I am Adonai—there is no other!” Isaiah 45:18 TLV

I see no room for a void and formless creation. If I wanted you to take anything away from this, it would be verse Genesis 1:25, where it states, “And God saw that it was good.” Considering the damage that is to come at the hand of Satan, I would not have said it was good, considering all his treasonous actions imply.

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.” Genesis 1:26-30 BSB

“Let Us make man in Our image.”

Who is doing the talking? 

Here are two versions of an answer: 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him, all things were made, and without Him, nothing was made that has been made.”
John 1:1-3 BSB

So, here, all three were talking, but primarily, Jesus, the living Word. 

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.”
John 1:1-3 NLT

Saying that Jesus was the Word is as good as saying Jesus has been here for a long time. Remember, we really don’t know how long ago the world was spoken into existence. So, the NLT merely tells us that “the Word,” Jesus, already existed. The narrative was not waiting for God to send Jesus to the earth so He could become the physical expression of the Word. Note that God created everything through him (the Son.)

What is the image of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? 

Well, before the Father sent the Son, as a human, to recover His creation, they were all Spirit beings. Consider the possibility that God is more like a ball of energy. I got this idea from Moses, who asked to see God. 

God’s response:

“Then Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.” “I will cause all My goodness to pass before you,” the LORD replied, “and I will proclaim My name—the LORD—in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.” The LORD continued, “There is a place near Me where you are to stand upon a rock, and when My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back, but My face must not be seen.”
Exodus 33:18-23 BSB

“ but My face must not be seen.” 

We are not told why, but there is the potential that God is nuclear energy that burns brighter than the sun.

Oh, but wait, didn’t Adam hear God walking in the garden, in the cool of the day, after the fall? 

Yes, that is what we are told, but why is it necessary for God to define, in great detail, all the pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus Christ. 

Do massive balls of boiling hot energy make footstep sounds? 

The answer is NO, but you should realize I am being facetious, for we have evidence that Jesus showed Himself repeatedly throughout the Old Testament. He did so as the Angel of the Lord in most of these occurrences.

Ah, there it is, the sixth day.

“And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
Genesis 1:31 BSB

Lacking the physical existence of man on the earth, God called it quits in terms of restoration. He was done, and it was done right, once again.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.”
Genesis 2:1-3 BSB

“He rested from all His work.”

Did He rest because He was exhausted? 

“Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.”
Isaiah 40:26 NLT

Seriously, could such a being get tired?  

Try this verse on for size. 

“Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth below. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!”
Isaiah 51:6 NLT

Rested is the Hebrew word shâbath. 

Who would have thought that this Hebrew word was the basis for the word Sabbath? 

It means to repose, that is, desist from exertion. It also means to celebrate or rest. The Word Study Dictionary conveys that “this example of rest by God at creation set the requirement of rest that He desires for His people in order that they may live lives pleasing to Him, full of worship and adoration (Exodus_31:17).”

“These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, “
Genesis 2:4 KJV

Created is the Hebrew word bârâ‘, and it also means shape or form. 

Do you realize that God, who initially spoke the world perfectly into place, now has to reshape and reform all of creation? 

This may explain why the moon and Mars have oddities on them that cannot be explained by any human means. Verse four is also curious, for it speaks of generations (in the KJV) when they were created and associates these generations with the “day” that the Lord made the earth and the heavens. Reminder: day, according to Strong’s concordance, can mean “pace of time defined by an associated term.” In this case, the relational phrase is “in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.” We make no assumption that God created man on that day, so I have to presume that this refers to the entirety of the time, most of which is unconstrained by a Timex watch, which is what He is talking about.

With two potential beginnings of the earth, where would the men be that could be considered in these generations?

Generations is the Hebrew word tôledâh and means descendants, results, proceedings, and genealogies. Brown-Driver-Briggs says it is an “account of men and their descendants.”

It becomes evident that men get most of the acknowledgments in the Old Testament; however, when we get to the New Testament, we see Jesus lifting women up and giving them dignity.

So, here we are in verse four, talking about generations. Still, we will not yet see the physical manifestation of a human via the handmade version of Adam for several verses. All this makes this conversation about generations even more peculiar.

The earth means just that, but the heavens open a can of worms. 

Heavens are the Hebrew word shâmayim, and it implies sky, heaven, abode, firmament, air, and stars. The Word Study Dictionary explains that there is a singular or a plural version. “The word describes everything God made besides the earth: God made the heavens of the universe (Genesis_1:1; Genesis_14:19); the firmament or expanse which He created around the earth was named sky or heaven as well (and this is what we see in Genesis_1:8). Isaiah the prophet tells us that He stretched out the heavens (and we find this in Isaiah_40:22.)”

I have already covered this, but Genesis 1:2 tells us that the heavens were void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Take a deep dive into those two words, void and darkness, and you will come to find out that the destruction that Satan brought with him turned the lights out through his associated devastation.

“And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.”
Genesis 2:5 KJV

The NLT states, “neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth.” I am assuming this is after the destruction that Satan brought with him, and God is now having to replace him. So God reseeds the earth, but perhaps without weeds. (Free information: According to my Horticulture teacher at the college, weeds are any plant growing where it is NOT needed or wanted.)

There was a point to this: we make massive assumptions based on tradition, which are unfounded and non-biblical.

Do you want an example? Well, you are going to get one. 

A brother in Christ asked the men’s group one evening, how tall do you think David was when he killed Goliath? No one responded, so I threw in my two cents. I said, about six foot seven inches tall. After the angered tones had settled, I said, I can prove it. Remember King Saul? He was head and shoulders above every man in Israel when he was anointed to be King. I told them that I had a contractor come to the door, and in short order, I found out that he was an Israeli, taller than me, and I was 6’4” tall. In a short period of time, David came to work for Saul. He not only played soothing music but he was asked by Saul to be the armor bearer. The man who asked the question that night strongly suggested that David was about four feet tall and tried to demonstrate how ridiculous David would have looked with Saul’s armor clattering on the ground around his feet. I stated how absurd it would be to suggest such a thing or to even propose that Saul would do that. Still, it wasn’t unusual because David, a young man, happened to be large enough to wear Saul’s armor and test the straps and buckles before Saul put it on.

Time seems irrelevant to a God that made time and yet lives outside of it. 

Nothing here in the creation narrative tells me that God is restricted by our traditions and misconceptions, and He is fully capable, without harm, of using any method of His choosing to create this planet and the heavenly lights that we used to enjoy. I said we used to enjoy it because of smog and light pollution, which prevents our ability to see stars.

The word yôm, transliterated as day, has multiple meanings covering vast and extensive periods. 

Does it matter to me? 

Not at all, nor does it diminish who my God is or how He made the earth.

Since I know that Satan was thrown out of heaven, then it makes far too much sense that Satan would try to destroy all of creation and may give us clues as to why God had to make a specific garden of beauty in Eden.

Posted in betray, bible study, Creation, darkness, David, fallen angels, Genesis, Heaven, heavens, King Saul, Satan, Saul, void, water | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A laymans commentary on Matthew 24. Chapter Four, verses 11- 15. “Because iniquity shall abound.”

Posted on 02/12/2024 by remso

 Chapter Four

“Because iniquity shall abound.”

Matthew 24:11 NASB “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”

Matthew is not the only one to make this statement.

“Many will come in [appropriating to themselves] the name [of Messiah] which belongs to Me [basing their claims on the use of My name], saying, I am [He]! And they will mislead many.”
Mark 13:6 AMP

And we find something similar in Luke’s account.

“And He said, Be on your guard and be careful that you are not led astray; for many will come in My name [appropriating to themselves the name Messiah which belongs to Me], saying, I am He! and, The time is at hand! Do not go out after them.”
Luke 21:8 AMP

“Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.”
Matthew 24:12 TLV

You would have had to be born numb to NOT understand that the love of many is growing cold on a daily basis. Perhaps all these wars are having this effect.

The Amplified Bible conveys verse 12 in this manner.

“the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity.”

Here in America, where the moron lawmakers raised the monetary amount to around $900+ dollars before stores can get a police officer to respond, they have motivated the bad guys to form up in mobs and attack high-end stores. Each individual steals less than $900, so they can’t be touched, supposedly. But more than just a few of us have had enough. Perhaps our love has grown cold.

The word iniquity is the Greek word anomia and means illegality or violation of law.

  • A CNN article by Terry Frieden, CNN Justice Producer, updated 10:01 AM EDT, Wed October 17, 2012, and pulled from the internet, states that – U.S. violent crime is up for the first time in years.

  • Data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in telephone surveys showed a 22 percent increase in assaults, pushing up the overall rate of violent crime for the first time since 1993.

Seriously, who has not noticed this?

Matthew 24:13 NASB: “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

If you are paying attention to the context and you are enduring, then you are neck deep in the time of wrath – the seven years of tribulation, specifically the last three-and-one-half years known as the great tribulation.

Endure is the Greek word hupomeno, which means to stay under or bear, as in a trial.

End is the Greek word telos. It means to set out for a definite point or goal.

I believe this makes it clear that some, not necessarily Jews, will survive the horrors of this time.

“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:14 NLT

I have already pointed out that God uses an angel as an instrument to proclaim the gospel around the globe. (Revelation 14:6-10.)

“It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.”
Isaiah 6:1-2 NLT

“The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)
Matthew 24:15 NLT

Parallel verse

“For warships from western coastlands will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant. “His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration. He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.”
Daniel 11:30-32 NLT

Here it is, January 20, 2024, and suddenly, the idea that warships from western coastlands scaring “him” off and making “him” withdraw is becoming more understandable and more of a reality. Why? The Mediterranean Ocean and the Red Sea are currently filled with Western warships due to Israel’s war with Hamas.

“And from the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days.”
[Dan. 11:31.] Daniel 12:11 AMP

1290 days divided by 360 days, the length of a year on the Jewish calendar, equals three-and-one-half years. From the time that the antichrist adds his confirmation to “the covenant,” until the time that they take away the daily sacrifice will be 1290 days. This assumes that the third temple is built, but it is NOT necessary as it seems that this “covenant” has a mandatory role in eschatology.

If the rapture comes today (1/22/2024), there is still no temple; the Jews have plans already laid out, and I would guess that the tilt-up cement panels that will be used to make the temple are probably already made and awaiting the crews to assemble them. I point out these things because there are so many things that must still happen, all of which will trigger the destruction of the mosque and an abundance of warfare, of which Israel will take a horrific beating, and only a third of its population will survive. 

Daniel 9:27, in the NASB, uses the Hebrew word gāḇar twice, “And he will makeH1396 a firmH1396 covenant with the many.” Using a word repetitiously and in short order conveys the idea that something is very important.

The passage itself tells us that the antichrist will establish, confirm, and cause a covenant to prevail or make an existing covenant firm. I could easily retell this passage by reading that he will make this covenant and cause it to be established.

Covenant is the Hebrew word berı̂yth and can also mean confederacy.

Let’s put the situation in these terms. Hamas, nor any other Middle Easterner, is going to make a treaty with Israel, as the Islamic nations have but one goal, the total annihilation of Israel and the Jews.

The explanation that Daniel received went on to say.

“Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.”
Daniel 12:12 NKJV

That exceeded the seven years by 45 days.

“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

One might assume that Jesus was coming back precisely at the end of the seven-year mark, but that does not appear to be the case. Is it possible that the incessant warring will extend the time?

Daniel 9:27 AMP “… until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator.”

Speculation seems pointless, as I know that the world’s system of doing things will come to a crashing halt, and then peace will reign for those who walk into Jesus’ thousand-year sovereignty on earth.

Do we know who this antichrist character is?

We have NO clue who will fill the role of the antichrist, and no one else will until the bride of Christ is lifted from the earth.

Do you want substantiation?

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 NKJV.

  • “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work;”

    Do you realize that He is talking about the beast that empowers the antichrist? The beast is both a spiritual entity, a demon, and a man that will be possessed by, at minimum, one powerful demon/fallen angel.

  • “He” is those who are filled with the Holy Spirit and stand against the destruction and demise of the world around us with our words of prayer and our actions.

  • “ He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.”

    The only way we are going to be taken out of the way is through the catching away of the church, with us in it, prior to God’s wrath being poured out upon the earth.

Posted in Abomination, bible study, Daniel, endurance, good news, lawlessness, Matthew's gospel, misleads, Prophetic, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A layman’s commentary on Matthew 24. Chapter Three, verses 7- 10. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Isn’t that what we are seeing?

Posted on 02/10/2024 by remso

 Chapter three.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:”

Matthew 24:7 “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”

We have been talking about this very thing. The subject of verse 7 was a post I made over the course of six weeks sometime ago. I went on to say, “Now, here we are in mid-June of 2019, and a violent group of Muslims is effectively overrunning Iraq. Iran has declared that they are sending troops to Iraq to stop them, and apparently, that has happened.” 

Fast forward to February of 2024, and what has changed? 

  • Pestilence –

Think bugs, flies, frogs, and generally, pests; plagues fall under this category. As of last year, the world is seeing a rise in the Bubonic plague, and it is coming from multiple fronts, such as Asia, Mexico, and Madagascar. In March of 2013, Egypt was swarmed with over 30 million locusts. Moreover, Guinea is currently suffering from a deadly outbreak of Ebola. To make matters worse, a major French biomedical research body, the Pasteur Institute, has investigated the disappearance of some 2,300 test tubes containing samples of the SARS virus.

  • How about famine?

UN calls for $2 billion to help combat hunger in Sahel.

North Korea: fears of food shortages outside Pyongyang as distribution fails;

Pakistan’s Impending Famine

This list could go on forever.

  • Let us look at earthquakes for a moment.

Note the date on the screenshot. 01/22/2024 from The USGS reports. 

Does the ring of fire mean anything to you?

Matthew 24:8 “All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

The Complete Jewish Bible calls it birth pains. If a woman goes into labor, she will be experiencing birth pains; that only means one thing, the baby is on the way.

Matthew 24:9 NASB “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.”

Luke 21:12,13 “But before all these they will lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony.”

 Matthew 24:10 NASB “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.”

A parallel verse comes from:

Luke 21:16 WBS “And ye will be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsmen, and friends; and some of you will they cause to be put to death.”

Mark’s gospel says something that is repeated by neither of the other two.

Mark 13:10 NASB “The gospel must first be preached to all the

In trying to convey how imminent the Lord’s return is, an acquaintance angrily threw this back at me, Jesus cannot come back, for the gospel has not been preached to all nations. He quickly started giving out a large number of people groups that had not received a printed copy of the gospel. As of 2007, it was said that there are 100 million unchurched people in the United States alone. (Unchurched is defined as those who have not been in a church in the last 6 months.) I attempted to appease his argument by pointing out that the angel broadcasts the gospel around the globe. He responded with, I have never read that. So, I give it to you.

  • Genesis 3:5-7 NASB:  “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (6) When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.”

This act of treason, “sin,” brought the knowledge of good and evil to every man, and that lousy gift was passed on through their genetics; therefore, no man can use the lack of understanding as an excuse.

  • Romans 1:20 NASB:  “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

  • Revelation 14:6-10 NASB:  (6) “And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; (7) and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” (8) And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.” (9) Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, (10) 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.”

This makes it clear to me that nothing is holding God back from his action plan.

Posted in betray, bible study, devour, hatred, kill, Matthew's gospel, Rule the nations, sorrows, the nations, Tribulation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A laymans commentary on Matthew 24. Chapter Two, verses 3 – 6. When shall these things be – a common question these days.

Posted on 02/07/2024 by remso

 Chapter two.

Tell us when these things shall be or evidence of the end of the age.

Matthew 24:3 “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

Anyone who has spent time looking at the disciples’ lives knows that they had a very Jewish mindset, so it is necessary for your understanding to consider this when trying to grasp Jesus’s response to them. Jesus had a direct connection to the Father (and so do we as believers,) therefore, what He is saying is clear and concise.

“And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

The question may well be two questions. In conversation and observation, the Christian community seems to confuse Christ’s return for His bride with His final return to the earth.

  • “On the day of His return, He will touch down on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and on that day, He will come prepared for war.”
    Zechariah 14:3-4

  • “When He comes for His bride, He will meet them in the air and does not touch down.”
    1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

An aspect of Jesus’s response to their question can be seen in Matthew 24:4,5.

Matthew 24:4,5 “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”

Why would he say that?

Just a partial list from Wikipedia gives the names of 32 people that have taken that role. Some I recognize. Think about the ridiculousness of something like this. An example would be David Koresh. His teachings included his self-proclaimed authority to propagate children with the wives of men involved in the cult. That would not happen!

  • This idea of someone coming in the name of Jesus becomes enormously important if you realize that Islam has its own version of Jesus.

Allah has some similar properties. The following is from Wikipedia about the Islamic Jesus.

  • The belief that Jesus is a prophet is required in Islam.

  • He is the son of Mary, not God (Allah).

  • According to the Qur’an, Jesus, although appearing to have been crucified, was not killed by crucifixion or by any other means; instead, “Allah raised him unto Himself.”

  • Jesus is considered a Muslim (i.e., one who submits to the will of Allah), as he preached that his followers should adopt the “straight path” as commanded by Allah. (In other words, all must become Islamic and follow Sharia.)

  • To aid in his ministry to the Jewish people, the Muslim Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles (such as healing the blind, bringing dead people back to life, calling fire down from the heavens, and causing it to rain where there has been none), all by the permission of Allah rather than of his own power.

  • Muslims believe that ‘Jesus’ will return to earth near the Day of Judgment to restore justice and to defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal (“the false messiah,” known to the church as the Antichrist but to them it is our Jesus.) It’s odd how they, too, have an understanding of the end-times pattern. The “false messiah” Islam looks for, is in direct opposition to Jesus Christ. They believe that the Antichrist is our Jesus. If you use the perspective that they serve the father of lies, then you might be able to comprehend why they are in opposition.)

  • The Jesus of Islam will be a Jew. A priest of the lineage of Aaron, and therefore have access to the temple.

  • He will defer to the Mahdi. (The Mahdi is their awaited savior. He is the 12th or hidden imam, and several have already declared that the Mahdi is speaking through them. It is said that he will return on a white horse. This is the same white horse seen in Revelation 19, and it is the only passage in our Christian bible that they believe is true.)

  • He will be the enforcer of Sharia (the brutal set of rules that Islam uses to not only condemn outsiders but manipulate and control women within their religion.)

If all this is true, and there is someone who will take this role, then this makes all the sense in the world, and the ones that will be the primary targets of this deception will be the knowledgeable Jews. We happen to think of these as the religious of Israel.

Matthew 24:6 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

The immediate context is: what will be the signs indicating your immediate return to the earth to rule as the Messiah we anticipated.

  • Wars, we are surrounded by them.

Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan are active war zones, but all those be-headings have become commonplace and boring, beside that, somebody powerful wants all this destruction, or it would not be happening. Syrian President Bashar even threatened Israel with a missile attack recently, to which Israel replied that they would flatten Damascus. The oddity here is that the prophecy tells us that Damascus will be utterly destroyed and uninhabitable; that can only happen if a nuclear weapon is used. The other news we are painfully aware of is the Ukraine. (The land of Gog)

Ezekiel 38:9-12 NASB: “You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.” (10) ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, (11) and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, (12) to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’

Isaiah 17:1 LITV: “The burden of Damascus: Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruined heap.”

In case you haven’t noticed Israel has been proactive in assassinations and bombings in and near Damascus and the airport there. If this were a baseball game we are in the last inning of the game. The end will be come soon.

Posted in bible study, coming, disciple, Matthew's gospel, Sermon on the Mount, signs, the end of the World, when shall these things be | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A laymans commentary on Matthew 24. Chapter one, verses 1,2. Signs of the end of the age.

Posted on 02/06/2024 by remso

Chapter one.

Signs of the End of the Age.

 

Matthew 24:1  “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.”

The disciples, proud of their heritage and the temple, were shaken by Jesus’s interaction with the scribes and Pharisees and nervously pointed out the temple construction to Jesus. I am sure Jesus was aware of the grandeur of Herod’s temple, but it represented something entirely different for him. He also knew what would soon happen to the temple. 

Jesus responded to them.

Matthew 24:2 NASB: “And He (Jesus) said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

An alternate version.

Luke 21:6 NASB: “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”

His reply directly addresses the disciples’ observation of the immense cut stones making up the temple, but it also alludes to something more. This was literally fulfilled a short time later in 70 A.D., but it is to be fulfilled again.

Luke 21:6 is integrated into end times prophecy through the words of Daniel. 

“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.” Daniel 9:26 NKJV

Historically, Jerusalem was under the rule of the Roman emperor Titus; and most ascribe the temple’s destruction directly to Rome, but that was not the case. 

While it is true that troops were operating under the Roman standard, it is documented by both Josephus and Tacitus that the overwhelming majority of these troops were conscripts from conquered Assyrian nations. All had an open and vile hatred of the Jews. This will come into play later as we define other aspects of end-times prophecy.

From: The Wars of the Jews, by Josephus. Book 4, Chapter 6

5. “So Titus retired into the tower of Antonia and resolved to storm the temple the next day, early in the morning, with his whole army, and to encamp round about the holy house. But as for that house, God had, for certain, long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of ages; it was the tenth day of the month Lous, [Ab,] upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon; although these flames took their rise from the Jews themselves, and were occasioned by them; for upon Titus’s retiring, the seditious lay still for a little while, and then attacked the Romans again, when those that guarded the holy house fought with those that quenched the fire that was burning the inner [court of the] temple; but these Romans put the Jews to flight, and proceeded as far as the holy house itself. At which time one of the soldiers, without staying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at so great an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire, and being lifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the rooms that were round about the holy house, on the north side of it. As the flames went upward, the Jews made a great clamor, such as so mighty an affliction required, and ran together to prevent it; and now they spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered any thing to restrain their force, since that holy house was perishing, for whose sake it was that they kept such a guard about it.”

6. “And now a certain person came running to Titus, and told him of this fire, as he was resting himself in his tent after the last battle; whereupon he rose up in great haste, and, as he was, ran to the holy house, in order to have a stop put to the fire; after him followed all his commanders, and after them followed the several legions, in great astonishment; so there was a great clamor and tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly motion of so great an army. Then did Caesar, both by calling to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giving a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench the fire. But they did not hear what he said, though he spake so loud, having their ears already dimmed by a greater noise another way; nor did they attend to the signal he made with his hand neither, as still some of them were distracted with fighting, and others with passion. But as for the legions that came running thither, neither any persuasions nor any threatenings could restrain their violence, but each one’s own passion was his commander at this time;.”

The Histories by Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Book 5 – (A.D. 70)

 [5.1] “EARLY in this year, Titus Caesar, who had been selected by his father to complete the subjugation of Judaea, and who had gained distinction as a soldier while both were still subjects, began to rise in power and reputation, as armies and provinces emulated each other in their attachment to him. The young man himself, anxious to be thought superior to his station, was ever displaying his gracefulness and his energy in war. By his courtesy and affability, he called forth a willing obedience, and he often mixed with the common soldiers while working or marching without impairing his dignity as general. He found in Judaea three legions, the 5th, the 10th, and the 15th, all old troops of Vespasian’s. To these he added the 12th from Syria, and some men belonging to the 18th and 3rd, whom he had withdrawn from Alexandria. This force was accompanied by twenty cohorts of allied troops and eight squadrons of cavalry, by the two kings Agrippa and Sohemus, by the auxiliary forces of King Antiochus, by a strong contingent of Arabs, who hated the Jews with the usual hatred of neighbors, and, lastly, by many persons brought from the capital and from Italy by private hopes of securing the yet unengaged affections of the Prince. With this force Titus entered the enemy’s territory, preserving strict order on his march, reconnoitering every spot, and always ready to give battle. At last, he encamped near Jerusalem.” 

1 Kings chapter 9 recorded that long before Daniel’s prophecies, Israel would be cut off from the land, and the temple would be rejected and reduced to a heap of rubble.

1 Kings 9:7-9 NIV “then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. (8) This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ (9) People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them–that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on them.'”

“ After the sixty-two weeks [of years] shall the Anointed One be cut off or killed.”

“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until [the coming of] the Anointed One, a Prince, shall be seven weeks [of years] and sixty-two weeks [of years]; it shall be built again with [city] square and moat but in troublous times. And after the sixty-two weeks [of years] shall the Anointed One be cut off or killed and shall have nothing [and no one] belonging to [and defending] Him. And the people of the [other] prince who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and even to the end, there shall be war, and desolations are decreed.” [Isa. 53:7-9; Nah. 1:8; Matt. 24:6-14.] Daniel 9:25-26 AMP

Jesus rode into town on a very precise day, and He was killed on the very day that Daniel describes ending the 69th week of the year.

Posted in Antichrist, bible study, Daniel, disciple, Matthew's gospel, stones, temple | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A word that needs to be heard.

Posted on 01/19/2024 by remso

CHRISTIANS DEVOURING ONE ANOTHER
Posted in condemnation, hypocrisy, judgment, strange doctrines, teaching a different doctrine, the goal of our instruction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment