Yes, we are jumping back into Matthew’s gospel, and we previously ended on Matthew 4:22. Next, Jesus preaches to great crowds.

Posted on 09/23/2023 by remso

 This next section of Matthew’s gospel is entitled

“Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds.”

Yes, we are jumping back into Matthew’s gospel, and we previously ended on Matthew 4:22, where four of the new disciples have left their jobs fishing and are now following Jesus.

I now throw in a bonus question.

Where was the Apostle Paul’s first stop in virtually every city he entered?

If you said the synagogue, you would have been right. But that opens a line of sarcastic questioning; I thought the focus, here in the Gospels, was on Jesus? Well, it is, but guess what? We frequently found Jesus in the synagogues.

What was the logic of a move like that?

Some will say, what an odd question, seeing as the message Paul delivered almost got him killed on several occasions and was his final end.

One of the answers to such an obvious question is that Paul was a changed man and thoroughly committed to the message of Jesus and God’s grace because of what he encountered on the road to Damascus. Paul was prepared to die for this message of grace.

Isn’t that what we saw in Jesus?

Jesus did not change His ways, for He was sin-free (this state of being sin-free had everything to do with NOT being born with damaged human DNA. Yes, I believe that the fruit they ate, much like current vaccines that change your DNA, changed theirs, and every human being born of man was born with a propensity to sin. God bypassed all that by having the virgin Mary carry a fertilized ovum that He made.) In spite of valid temptations from Satan, Jesus stayed committed to the painful path that would bring those of us who accept God’s love back into the arms of the Father.

How do I apply what Paul did to Christ?

Jesus, too, was painfully aware that His death would come, and it is not difficult to watch something like The Chosen, which portrayed Him frequently praying all night, and imagine Him speaking freely with the Father and asking, is there any other way? He knew what was coming for Him would be brutal and painful, and yet He continued to stay committed to the cross.

When you read the Gospels, you see Jesus frequently saying things like, tell no one, and my time has not yet come. No, He did not want to die prematurely – as though that could happen but was more than willing to take our place on the cross and pour out His blood on our behalf.

So, what did Paul preach to these Jews in their synagogues?

The message that Paul preached was based on the Torah – the Old Testament and there were always a few who listened, heard the truth, absorbed what he said, and believed.

So, too, was the message that Jesus preached. He preached from the Torah, just as Paul did. Now, picture the disciples. Did they understand, absorb, and believe? Strangely, many indicated that they did. The reality of that understanding was wrapped up in their longing for Jesus to be the warring Messiah that they longed for. Instead of war, his message was one of love and the hope of peace obtained by a relationship with the Father. 

In either case, these new Jewish “believers” were the beginnings of new churches, which we are familiar with because Paul wrote letters back to those communities.

So much for an introduction.

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.” Matthew 4:23 MKJV)

Let that sink in.

  • Jesus went about all Galilee.

    This sounds like purposeful intent to me. The crowds were not in the Jewish synagogues but were the result of the times when they fed the thousands that came, and they came because of the miracles.

  • Doing what?

    Teaching in their synagogues.

    That means, in Galilee, Jesus had a reputation as a respected Rabbi, and they gave Him, initially, an open door to teach.

    Preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

    The Jews had an understanding of what the kingdom represented, and it had everything to do with the time when God was back in full control of the earth and Jesus ruled as the warring Messiah. While that imagery must have carried some weight in Jesus’ mind, the kingdom was, at this point, love and gentleness.

    What did He tell James and John when they wanted to call fire down on the small crowd that disrespected them?

    Effectively, He said that is NOT why they were here and that they were to act as gentle as doves and wise as serpents.

And healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Matthew 4:23 ESV  “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”

If you are doing a more intense study, read from multiple translations because that one word that the translators used has multiple meanings.

“The news G189 about Him spread G565 R1 throughout G1519 all G3650 Syria G4947; and they brought G4374 to Him all G3956 who were ill G2192 G2560, those suffering G4912 with various G4164 diseases G3554 and pains G931, R2 demoniacs G1139, N1 R3 epileptics G4583, R4 paralytics G3885; and He healed G2323 them.”
Matthew 4:24 NASB+)

  • who were ill

    G2192 echō – to be held in possession.

    G2560 kakōs – to be grievously ill, wrongly held by evil.

  • suffering

    G4912 sunechō – suffering, perplexed, or afflicted.

  • various

    G4164 poikilos – various, diverse, manifold.

  • diseases

    G3554 nosos – Disease, sickness. Metaphorically, pain, sorrow, evil.

  • pains

    G931 basanos – (by analogy) torture: – just generally tormented.

  • Those who were thought to be demoniacs

    G1139 daimonizomai – to be used by a demon: – to be vexed with, or possessed by demons.

  • Epileptics

    G4583 selēniazomai – these people often shake uncontrollably and fall: -many are thought to be lunatics.

  • Paralytics

    G3885 paralutikos – “paralytic”: one who is deprived of the power of muscular motion; there are sometimes thought of as weak, trembling, and subject to  involuntary shaking;

After doing all this for the people, His fame spread throughout Syria and a few other places.

“And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and he healed them.
Matthew 4:24 KJV)

In the book of Acts, we see a statement that seems to be a retelling of Matthew 4:24.

“But in every nation he that fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
Acts 10:35-38 KJV)

This last statement, more than all the others, says that there is no disease among humans that does not have its origins in Satanic oppression. I also had a strong sense that this was Peter talking because Peter did not mention Syria, the land of Gentiles. It is.

Why wouldn’t Peter, in Acts 10, bring the Syrians into the conversation?

Because he, more than Matthew (an apostate Jew when Jesus found him,) was a devout Jew and Syrians were unclean; to touch them would have made him unclean (according to Jewish – add-on laws – the Tenach), and Peter struggled to maintain his Jewish identity.

Some will try to come back at me on this last statement because Peter was the Apostle to the Gentiles. Yeah, that didn’t last long; we know this because we eventually find Peter seated among the “Christian” Jewish council in Jerusalem.

Acts chapter ten seems to be the major marker that we assume makes him the Apostle to the Gentiles. The scriptures tell us.

“There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” And when he observed him, he was afraid and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa and send for Simon, whose surname is Peter.” Acts 10:1-5 NKJV)

It is possible this is the same centurion who, upon seeing all that happened to Jesus, said, surely this is the Son of God. If not, it is a peculiar coincidence that the scriptures give us multiple instances that refer to “the centurion.”

“And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” Matthew 27:53-54 KJV)

We are not told what Cornelius’ prayer was, but if I were to guess, he wanted as much of God as God was willing to give. With that in mind, the angel in the vision tells him that his prayers and acts of kindness have come up before God, so go get Peter.

I am always stunned at how well God coordinates these appointments. So, while Cornelius has sent men to ask if Peter would come to the house, in the meantime, God begins to show Peter a vision that, in a few minutes, breaks down Peter’s barriers in a manner that would convince Peter to enter the house of a Gentile. (Note, at this point, for the most part, salvation – life in Christ, has only come to the Jews.)

“…Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” Acts 10:9-15 NKJV)

In case you are lost, we have been working on Matthew 4:24, where Jesus’ fame went throughout all of Syria. By the time Peter has his interaction with Cornelius and his family, Jesus has been dead for several years now.

If Jesus went into Syria, we are not told about it in any other place. It becomes obvious and quickly that Jesus has been to many places. Jesus travels to Jerusalem

Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Matthew 4:25 NKJV)

People were now following Jesus, not just from Galilee but from Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea.

So this travelog begins with John the baptizer baptizing Jesus somewhere around Bethany. Jesus traveled North to Nazareth and then to Capernaum and eventually moved South once again toward Jerusalem.

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Prophecy through the eyes of Terry James.

Posted on 09/19/2023 by remso

The CRISIS
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A king will arise, Insolent and skilled in intrigue. A study in Daniel 8 pertaining to the antichrist.

Posted on 09/06/2023 by remso

I wonder how many of you open up a site like this and say, oh, it’s just a Bible study. I have sat through too many boring, misleading, and thoughtless Bible Studies and have no intention of doing that now. Now when it comes to catchy headlines that grab your attention and sucker you in, I am not so good at that, praise God.

I write about things in scripture because I want to untangle them or do not understand them.

The antichrist is, quite possibly, the most confusing character in the Bible, so let’s get started.

Daniel 8:3-14 NKJV

3)  Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.

At first read and almost without thinking, I would have said this represented the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires that remained of Alexander, the Grecian general. But an angelic explanation was given to Daniel, and it reads like this.

Daniel 8:20-23 NKJV

20)  The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia.

21)  And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.

The first “king” was Alexander. Fascinating how the explanations pass right over Nebuchadnezzar.

22)  As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

Upon the death of Alexander, four generals struggled to gain and hold power; this is not a coincidence.

23)  “And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.

“When the transgressors have reached their fullness,” This statement leaves the door open for any variety of evil players. Fortunately, here in September of 2023, we have a smorgasbord of destroyers working to fullfill their dream of communism with them at the helm.

Do not ask because I have no idea who this man is.

4)  I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward so that no animal could withstand him, nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great.

5)  And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground, and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

“The shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king.” Daniel 8:21 NASB)

Alexander.

6)  Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.

The kings of Media and Persia.

7)  And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him, and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

We should know that the Medes and the Persians had a common thread in that they were Assyrians. So yes, for a time the Assyrians were squelched.

8)  Therefore, the male goat grew very great, but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it, four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.

The male goat = Alexander

The horn being broken was Alexander’s death.

Four notable ones = the four generals. Among those four were Ptolemy and Seleucid.

9)  And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.

From Finis Dake’s biblical commentaries. “the little horn or future Antichrist who will become great in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and Palestine.” Instead of Palestine, the NLT says, “toward the glorious land of Israel.”

All these nations, with the exception of the area that holds Palestine, are Muslim territory, and the Muslims have an entrenched association with the Assyrians.

10)  And it grew up to the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.

Knowing that the little horn represents the antichrist, this must also represent Satan, as he took a third of the angels with him when he fell.

11)  He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host, and by him, the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.

The Tree of Life Version conveys it this way, “ It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host.” Notice the impersonal reference “it” as they reference the antichrist. Most translations do the same thing. Why? Because Daniel 8:9 refers to the beast, the antichrist, as the little horn.

No one, it seems, gives this man the permission to declare himself a god (although Emmanuel Macron was vying for the title); this is totally on him (well, that, and the motivation and empowerment of Satan.)

It is at this point that the daily sacrifices come to a crashing halt. (“By him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.”)

It occurs to me that verse eleven, much like the Revelation, is a repetition of events, each with a different point of view and often an added detail.

The language of verse eleven leaves you with the impression that the temple is destroyed as soon as the daily sacrifice is taken away.

Daniel 12:11 NASB) states, “From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.

1290 days extends beyond seven years by several days. Some might say it is not so precise.

Have you ever wondered why they would say that? 

The precision has been there all along, but we have not attentively read the scriptures as we should.

Since the false prophet has now set up the image of the beast on the altar and is forcing people to worship it, is it possible to have people come and worship this image if the building has been torn down?

The answer is no.

Our general impression is that the false prophet, associated with the “great tribulation,” runs rampant for the second half of this covenantal time period. Matthew 24 details this for us.

Matthew 24:15 NASB “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Who is Matthew talking to? 

Jews specifically, the nations generally, but NOT the church because we will be gone for three-and-one-half-years at this point.

Matthew 24:21 NASB “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.

And almost all of it will be at the hand of the false prophet. If, as I pointed out, this false prophet will be the former high priest of the temple, can you imagine the utter dismay of most people. Some may actually follow this fraud in worshiping Allah – the moon god.

12)  Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices, and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.

Transgression? The Hebrew word is pesha‘, and the primary word this becomes in English is REVOLT.

Currently, at the tail end of 2023, people are finally beginning to wake up and realize that Klaus, the WEF, and Billy Bob, the president, are desperately trying to kill us. I just found out that the N95 masks will give you cancer from extended usage because of the chemicals used to make the stupid things. And we are starting to see that burning out the entire island community of Lahaina has been in the works since 2006 so that they can make a smart city out of it.

“An army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices.” 

Imagine telling what is left of the devout Jews, who think they are able to cover their sins through a sacrifice, that you do not get to do that anymore. It will take an army to enforce this decision, but it doesn’t tell us whose army. That opens the door to perhaps the IDF coming against their own people. Just saying.

We are also told that the false prophet – which might be a Jewish high priest doing this, trying to tell those devout Jews that the law of God is NOT the truth. Keep in mind that he casts truth to the ground. This is suddenly getting quite ugly.

13)  Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”

Question. At what point could we say that the sanctuary and the host are trampled underfoot?

If the temple mount is deemed to be part of the sanctuary, then having Muslims play soccer and throw rocks at visitors would certainly qualify as being trampled.

But what if it only applies to a time when the new temple has been built?

For three-and-one-half-years it seems that Jews only would have access, but any restrictions on the nations gaining access to the outer courts is not discussed. You see, we merely assumed that non-Jewish people would not be allowed.

May I be honest, the NKJ Version does not make a bit of sense. Try this version.

“Then I heard a holy one speaking and another holy one said to the one who was speaking, ‘How long will the vision last, the daily sacrifice be forsaken because of rebellion, the sanctuary be surrendered and the host be trampled?’ Daniel 8:13 TLV)

14)  And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

While giving Daniel the answers as to what all this means, Daniel hears two holy ones conversing back and forth. “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”

From the time of the giving, the sanctuary and it gets trampled underfoot is 2300 days. That equals 3 years, 2 months, and 10 days. So, from the catching away of the church to the antichrist confirming the covenant, is clearly an unknown but relatively short time frame. 

Since seven years, by the Jewish calendar is 2,520 days, then there are 220 days, plus 35 days unaccounted for. Some will adamantly say there is an undefined time frame before the antichrist comes on the scene and the temple gets built.

I will tell you what the problem is, years of fallacy and assumption were relentlessly preached at us. Folks, it is time for you to read your Bibles for yourselves. Let me show you why you need to read it for yourselves.

Daniel 9:27  “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

This says nothing about Israel, but it may be a direct reference to the UN reaffirming a SDG covenant on September 18 and 19. What a coincidence, September 18th and19th is supposed to be the time in which Israel’s priesthood would be able to declare a new moon and inititiate Rosh Hanana (the Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Teruah.

Isn’t that peculiar. Jesus will return for His bride, the church, with a trumpet blast and Rosh Hashana is the only feast of Israel in which this is done.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”  1Thessalonians 4:16 NASB)

The definitions associated with chapter eight end like this.

“Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me and stood me upright. And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time, the end shall be.” Daniel 8:18-19 NKJV)

In these few short sentences is the concise and definitive layout for the last days.

“The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia.” Daniel 8:20 NKJV)

Media and Persia were also the second and silver portion of the statue that Daniel had to define for Nebuchadnezzar, and yet, they are the first empire talked about in this definition.

A common factor is Assyrians.

“And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.” Daniel 8:21 NKJV)

Greece, though not defined in Daniel’s description, is associated with the Alexandrian empire. Daniel identified this empire with the belly of Bronze, but the bronze extends through the thighs in the statue and is certainly a part of the legs. The peculiarity of this transition is ignored as the Alexandrian empire migrates and dwindles down through the four generals that tried to take over, only to be supplanted by the final two – the Seleucid empire in the north and the Ptolemaic in the Southern regions.

All of these have become Islamic kingdoms associated with, you guessed it, Assyrians.

“As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.” Daniel 8:22 NKJV)

The broken horn is Alexander.

How quickly the purity (Grecian) of that empire diminished. God does not concern Himself with the details, and He does not tell us about the dark and dirty intrigue that filters through these kingdoms.

“And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.” Daniel 8:23 NKJV)

If, in the majority, they are Islamic, then what type of person will this king that rises be?

The short answer is Islamic or an acceptable blend.

“His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. “Through his cunning, He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means.” Daniel 8:24-25 NKJV)

In all this, we never broke from the remnants of the bronze or Grecian empire.

All this disturbed Daniel to the degree that he was physically sick, and he pleaded for an interpretation.

This is what he got.

Daniel 9:24 NKJV 24)  “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.”

We have been living in the 2000-year gap between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth week.

Consider that Antiochus destroyed the temple after Jesus’s death in 70 AD, and yet it speaks of a time to come.

Daniel 9:25-27 NKJV

25)  “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.

Do the math, this equals 69 weeks of years and is the time in which Jesus died and rose again, but it is 69 out of 70 weeks of years. In short, we have been waiting for the seventieth week to arrive, sort of, because that seven-year period is the seven years of God’s wrath.

26)  “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.

But not for himself?

He did this for any who would receive Him. Hopefully, you understand that Jesus is the Messiah and He is very Jewish.

Now, you have to identify the people of the prince who are coming to destroy the city and the sanctuary. The short answer is that they are Assyrians. Assyrians have been around for a long time; the common name for our day is Muslims. They, whoever this is, will destroy the temple once again.

Verse 26 speaks of sixty-two weeks of years. Do not get confused by this time frame because the first seven weeks of years had already come to pass, and the total of 7+62 = 69.

27)  Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

The prince that was to come is, in all likelihood, here already. This man is the one that confirms (the/a) covenant with many for seven years (one week of years.) This, by the way, is the same language that the UN has used about one of their Strategic Development Goals at a meeting of the UN this September 2023, during Rosh Hashanah.

He, the antichrist, shall bring an end to sacrifices and offerings. For a period of time that might not equal three-and-one-half-years, the Jews will be offering sacrifices all day, six days a week. The antichrist will have that stopped. Consider something that just occurred to me. We assumed the Prime minister of Israel would be holding a tight reign on terrorist activities; we also assumed that this prime minister would be Benjamin Netanyahu, but even as we speak, people like Ehud Barak, the former defense minister, are trying to dethrone the prime minister for the third time, much like the democrats are trying to prevent President Donald Trump from ever regaining power. But there is one other thing few are advertising; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has wholeheartedly committed Israel to the UN’s agenda 2030 plan for global domination. That tends to mean that he has quietly sold Israel out to the antichrist – the one that even the UN is looking for to run this broken, overpopulated world.

A man at church, who I only knew by face, responded to something I said about Jesus with, I do not think we should pay attention to extra-biblical information. I pointed out how many things we “Christians” invest our minds in as doctrine, such as culture and history, and it is extra-biblical.

So here is a piece of extra-biblical information. Islam understands that there will be a temple built and that one from the lineage of Aaron will hold the position of high priest in the temple.

Try to imagine the influence and power such a man might hold, especially if, at some point in time, he begins performing signs such as Elijah did.

Do you realize that the high priest (Kohen Gadol in Hebrew), meant to offer these sacrifices as the high priest, has already been assigned?  

His name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane.

(For the sake of context, this information was made public about four years ago, but later, during the lockdowns, it was said that Kahane had stepped back from the position, saying that he felt strongly that the timing was premature. You might think that he had declined the great honor, but about a year ago, the Rabbi was there, among those illegally blessing the temple grounds that are, to many, considered to be a part of the mosque.)

Why is that a big deal?

While the high priest performs his duties in the temple, the two witnesses that God sent will be preaching in the streets of Jerusalem and performing great signs. Imagine the impact that these prophets sent from God will have on the unbelieving Jews in Israel. Now, at the three-and-a-half-year mark, give or take a few days, the high priest ceases to perform his duties, turns his heart to Allah, follows the Mahdi (the antichrist), and begins to perform signs of a similar nature as the two witnesses. No one has been doing anything like this; killing and destruction, yes, but no signs as if they represented God.

One of the things the two witnesses do is to turn off the rain for many of the nations that are attacking Israel during this time. Droughts almost seem like a common event, but this stoppage of rain is significant, especially since almost every nation is experiencing severe flooding currently ((9/5/2023) and may have been going on for three years at this point.

What does the false prophet, the former high priest do?

He turns the rain back on.

If you know the events that surrounded Moses’ demands for Pharaoh to let God’s people go, then you know that, at God’s instructions, Aaron threw the staff to the floor, where it turned into a serpent.

Why would an average, non-venomous garden snake send anyone into a frenzy?

It wouldn’t, but something like a Cobra might. (As a side note, Brown – Driver – Briggs does give “venomous serpent” as one of the choices to define the Hebrew word tannı̂yn.) Since you are students of the Bible, then you know that the magicians, a part of Pharaoh’s advisory staff, also turned their ceremonial staffs into serpents. Aaron’s staff ate theirs.

Posted in 70 weeks, antichrist, Antichrist, armies, Assyrians, bible study, confirm, covenant, Daniel, End times, Islam, Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar's statue, New World Order, tabernacle, the fourth kingdom, the king of fierce countenance, the little horn, the prince that shall come, the willful king, Thoughts on scripture, Tribulation, twinkling of an eye, two witnesses | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This became more important as the mention of the fear of death dropped into our morning conversation.

Posted on 08/18/2023 by remso

It is appointed unto man once to die; is that true? Hebrews 9:27.
Posted in adversary, bible study, death, death, eternal, forgiven, Forgiveness, judgment, marked, roaring lion, sealed, to bear the sins of many, twinkling of an eye, two witnesses | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Questions and concerns about the antichrist. Part four of four.

Posted on 08/10/2023 by remso

Considering the title of these rants about the antichrist, does any of this affect the believer?

No, but if you are a follower of mine, then you know that I write to followers of Christ, and followers of Christ will be taken up in the catching away of the Church. 

That was uncomfortable, but only because I have struggled my whole life with my biblical understanding and, by extension, my faith due to false teachings. An example of false teachings is the narrative concerning David and Goliath. David is typically portrayed as a four-foot-tall, 60-pound weakling when in fact, he was probably over six feet tall. My experience has demonstrated that I was taught traditions and broken beliefs instead of what the Bible says.

Was David a skillful warrior?

Absolutely, but his skill sets were honed against wild animals (not like I am willing to try to take on a lion.) He, based on his Biblical description, had red hair and freckles, and that alone made him come across as a ruddy, pale-faced youth.

Sitting among some men at a home group, the question was asked,

“How tall do you think David was when he fought Goliath?”

No one dared put forth an answer, so I did. I said David was over six feet tall and had a frame that filled out his height. That brought out the criticism, so I responded by saying I can prove it. At this point, I showed them how Saul, prior to being anointed as king, was said to be head and shoulders above any man in Israel. Having had a salesman come to my door, who told me that he was an Israeli who had sustained a wound while serving in the IDF, was easily over six foot tall. Consider that imagery as Saul’s shoulders began at the top of this man’s head.

We know that Saul struggled with mental issues and may well have been bipolar. David, because of his visits to his brothers. on the front lines, became well known, and was recommended to Saul as one who could play the guitar (lute, lyre) well, and calm his spirit.

Saul was so impressed by this young man that he made David his armor-bearer. Among other things, David’s job was to make sure that the armor was reliable, the fittings secure, and that Saul looked his best when he stepped out the battlefield. I can picture David putting that armor on sporadically to make sure that no one had changed the settings and that Saul could still maintain flexibility. Most people who retell this story assign variations where Saul put the armor on a “tiny little boy named David” and how he would be pinned to the floor, unable to move; hence, we have David saying, I can’t use this equipment because I haven’t tested it. This scenario doesn’t even seem feasible, considering how big David would have to have been.

Move this narrative to where Goliath is now standing. We see David taking five smooth stones from the riverbed; this is a selection process that I have done as well. The rounder, the better.

Have you ever seen videos of the Palestinians slinging rocks at IDF soldiers and the passing cars of local villagers who happened to be Israelis? 

Their stones were about the size of lemons and are meant to kill should they strike you in the head. David put his faith in God and not his skill sets, but skills certainly helped.

Goliath dead? 

I doubt it; nonetheless, after being struck in the head Goliath went to the ground, and David ran to him, unsheathed the giant’s own sword, and cut the man’s head off.

Were you aware that one of the Philistine Kings, Og of Bashan, had an iron bed that was four and a half cubits long?

That equates to 13.5 feet.

Now, you might think that it is unbecoming for me to say my struggles had much to do with those who were my early teachers (We were made to go to church, sit through Sunday school, and then sit through a main service), but if all I got were simplistic stories, like the way I was taught, I would disagree with you. Certainly, I played a role in my false imagery of God because I, like most of you, would not pick up my Bible and read it. Well, thank God there was a day when all that changed, and since February of 2007, I have been consuming God’s word like it was my necessary sustenance.

The antichrist persona does NOT have unrestricted reign throughout the seven years.

Revelation 13:5 indicates that this beast, which has migrated into what appears to be a solitary being – a male, now has the “authority to do whatever he wants for forty-two months.” (That is 3.5 years.) Immediately I am struck by the idea that this man, the antichrist, only has 3.5 years to wreak havoc for the harlot that rides the beast.

“Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.” Revelation 13:5 NLT

The NLT is the New Living Translation, and most of us understand that the Living Bible was written by an intelligent man who wanted something his children could read and comprehend. So when I look at a translation that some might consider scholarly and break down the words, such as the Berean Study Bible, I have a slightly different perspective.

“The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, …” Revelation 13:6 BSB

I can immediately comprehend that the man already has a mouth, so this is telling me that they give him an opening or freedom to speak as though he represents them. It also implies that someone else is now doing the speaking. Once again, this feeds into the idea that the antichrist is having his power stripped away by someone or a groupArrogant is the Greek word megas.

We understand mega to be very large or boisterous. The defining words are “exceedingly great, large, loud, strong,”

Your words cannot be considered strong unless they have some form of backing, like muscles or officiating individuals that will judge to your benefit. Seeing as this antichrist does not seem to have any official backing, power, or glory at this time, I can see why it seems that many go to war with him.

“For ships from Cyprus (Kittim, as many versions state) shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. “So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.” Daniel 11:30 NKJV

Empowered by Satan himself, who else is there to empower this man?

Those who can envision the antichrist as someone who can further their cause; would be the likes of the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, or possibly the World Health Organization. One more thing on who is empowering this man. At the July 26th, 2023, hearings on UAVs, one of those testifying was David Grusch, a former national reconnaissance officer and representative of the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force with the Department of Defense. Mr. Grusch said that there are those above the known officials that are calling the shots. Klaus Schwab, because of his publicity, is probably just a puppet, as is Bill Gates.

One of the unusual pieces of information that defines the character of the antichrist comes from Daniel 11. Daniel 11 is an intertwining of historical events and prophecy.

Here is where it begins to make sense to us.

Daniel 11:21-31 NKJV  And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.  

The NASB uses the term despicable instead of vile. The Strong’s concordance gives us the word disesteem as our first option and means one held to scorn and thought of as a vile person.

Disesteem, when used as a noun, is seen as the want of esteem, slight dislike, or disregard. It expresses less than hatred or contempt. When used as a verb is to dislike in a moderate degree; to consider with disregard, disapprobation, dislike, or slight contempt; to slight.

Titles given to the person commonly known as “the Antichrist.”

(1) “The king of Babylon” (Isa_14:4);

(2) “The Assyrian” (Isa_14:25; See notes on Mic_5:5); This alone should quell all of your arguments defending your assertion that a Revised Roman Empire will arise.

(3) “The Prince that shall come” (Dan_9:26);

(4) “The king of fierce countenance” (Dan_8:23);

(5) “The vile person” (Dan_11:21);

(6) “The willful king” (Dan_11:36);

(7) “The man of sin” (2Th_2:3);

(8) “The son of perdition” (2Th_2:3);

(9) “That wicked (or lawless) one” (2Th_2:3; Rev_13:18);

(10) “The beast with ten horns” (Rev_13:1);

(11) “The little horn (Dan_8:9). Isa_27:1, Zec_1:18, Mat_24:5; Mat_24:15, 2Th_2:3-4, 1Jn_2:18; 1Jn_4:3.

  • We are told that he will reaffirm the covenant for seven years. We assume that this is a peace treaty with Israel when Israel is NEVER mentioned, and I have shown you how the UN, in September of 2023, will reaffirm their 7-year agreement to enforce SDGs.

  • Coming under the guise of peace, he is able to seize Israel. Now I cannot exclude a massive attack (see Ezekiel 38 and 39)

22  With the force of a flood, they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant.  

  • “With the force of a flood”? This does not look good for Israel. Remember, God has always preserved for himself a remnant. Verse 22 also makes a bizarre statement “they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant.” We often see a picture of Jesus as being the prince of the covenant; the problem is that Jesus brought the new covenant. So this prince points to the high priest that will be serving in the newly built temple and fits in with an Islamic prophecy, which tells us that the high priest will convert to Islam and give the Mahdi (the antichrist) worship and allegiance.

23  And after the league is made with him (the Mahdi), he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people.  

24  He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.  

Because he is an Assyrian, a hated enemy of Israel, then this statement indicating that he shall do what his fathers have not done makes more sense. This is talking about an ancestral line of attackers.

25  “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him.

Let’s just take a shot. The king of the South is Egypt. They, like the Saudis, are probably Sunni Muslims (85 % percent of the Middle East is Sunni Muslim) and not Shiites (Only 15% of the Muslims are Shia Muslims. Iran ascribes to Shia ideals); therefore, they will not cooperate, and, as scripture tells points out, they will be destroyed.  Most of us never knew a group called ISIS or ISIL ever existed until the United States got involved in Afghanistan. According to an article dated Aug 25, 2021, on a website called “The Conversation,” authors Sohel Rana, a Ph.D. Student at  Indiana University, and Sumit Ganguly, a Distinguished Professor of Political Science and the Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations Indiana University, wrote an article entitled Taliban’s religious ideology – Deobandi Islam – has roots in Colonial India. https://theconversation.com/talibans-religious-ideology-deobandi-islam-has-roots-in-colonial-india-166323

Merely because they are the smallest portion of the sects, we cannot exclude them. 

26  Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain.  

His own people will betray him and die.

27  Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table, but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time.

The appointed time? This is the time when they try to go to battle with Jesus.

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” Revelation 19:11 NKJV

“Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. “ Revelation 19:15 NKJV

 

28  While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant, so he shall do damage and return to his own land.  

The question is, where is his land?

I don’t know; no one does because he will not be introduced to the world until after the church is snatched out of here.

“his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant.”

This has everything to do with Israel, and since Israel primarily focuses on the Torah, and the Tenach,  then we are really talking about those that hold tightly to the covenants or promises of God in those manuscripts

29  “At the appointed time, he shall return and go toward the south, but it shall not be like the former or the latter.  30  For ships from Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. “So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.  

Translations, such as the King James, say Kittim. This area can be identified as Cyprus today. While I am sure they have a military force, I would not have perceived them as dangerous.

Question? How far South can this man go and still have the Cyprian navy chasing him? 

31  And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.

“Then they shall take away the daily sacrifices 1240 days after the reaffirmation of the covenant, and place there the abomination of desolation.” When does this take place? 1290 days after they cause the sacrifices to cease. Do the math. Based upon a 360-day year, we will have exceeded the seven years by ten days.

One of the mysteries.

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

Since we know that the antichrist will stop the sacrifices at the 1240 mark, then adding this time that God is most interested in gives us 2575. That number minus 2540 puts us 35 days beyond the seven years.

Why would God do that?

Because this is when Jesus comes back and cleans the house. In the 35 days, the antichrist will have the temple destroyed, and they, from every direction, will have gathered against Jesus for war.

How did they know to gather in the Meggido Valley?

We are told that every eye will see Him. They will know, just as the Magi knew where to come to find the young Jesus.

Daniel 11:44-45 NLT  “But then news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in great anger to destroy and obliterate many.  45  He will stop between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents. But while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and no one will help him.

What does this phrase “his time will suddenly run out, and no one will help him” speak of? It speaks of the final and sudden end of the antichrist and the false prophet.

Revelation 19:19-21 NLT  Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army.  20  And the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  21  Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.

Revelation 19:11-12 NLT  Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.  12  His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself.

Revelation 19:15 NLT  From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress.

Question, does He kill everyone from among the nations?

The answer is no, and you can see that in verse 15, as it states, “He will rule them with a rod of iron.”

If He kills them all, then who is left to rule over?

If you answered No one, you would be correct; therefore, there are those from among the nations that survive and go into the millennial kingdom.

Revelation 19:18-20 NLT  Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”  19  Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army.  20  And the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

It sounds like the end, but it is not. A few minutes after this, Christ will sit as the reigning King for a thousand years, and there will be peace, finally. Satan is bound for this time but will be released to test the nations one last time.

No, not everyone goes to hell, but that decision is entirely up to God. Since I have asked Him to come and live inside of me, so I am not going to worry about it. I do know that after the judgment from the great white throne, we will all, the saints, that is, migrate into an undisturbed eternity. The earth and all of its pollution will be burned up, but God will make all things new, and it will be fantastic.

Posted in 2 Thessalonians, antichrist, Antichrist, Assyrians, Beast, bible study, confirm, covenant, departure, destruction, dragon, End times, false prophet, false teaching, Harlot of Revelation, Israel, Jerusalem, judgment, Megiddo, Messiah, mystery, New World Order, overtaken, Prophetic, rapture, rapture, Revelation, seven headed beast, temple, the fourth kingdom, the king of fierce countenance, the little horn, the nations, the prince that shall come, the willful king, wrath. | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Questions and concerns about the antichrist. Part 3 of four.

Posted on 08/06/2023 by remso

We ended part two with this. 

Because he, the antichrist, affirms the “peace” covenant, we seem to think he is the one that initiates it, and that is not what the scriptures tell us. The passage that we love to cling to and misread is Daniel 9:26, 27, where we make several huge assumptions that are incorrect.

A common translation reads like this.

Daniel 9:26-27 NKJV  “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.  27  Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.” 

Confirm is the Hebrew word gâbar and means to be strong, exceed, confirm, and strengthen. You cannot use a word like strengthen and assume that he made the covenant. If this coincides with the covenant that the UN made in 2013, then all this mystery character can do is attempt to make the killing more efficient. Since the UN’s vision has subtle bloodless death as its main method of help, then killing off more people should be an easy task.

Let’s pick it apart.

  • “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off…”

    This speaks of the death (and resurrection) of Jesus, the Messiah.

  • “And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.”

    This next one is where great and damaging assumption takes place.

    Followers of my blog have read, on multiple occasions, how Titus was desperately trying to preserve the temple, as an uproar in Jerusalem could have caused his death at the hands of Caesar. Titus, in his case, was the prince, but the people who came at his orders were 

    also conscripted Assyrian Troops. These Assyrian troops ignored, at their own risk of death, the orders from Titus to extinguish the fires they had started. So the people of the prince who came were Assyrians. These Assyrians match the legs, feet, and the mixed material toes of Daniel’s statue. If you look up the word mixed in something like the Strong’s concordance, you will find that it is the Aramaic word arab and means mixed.

  • What do we know for sure?

    • That violent people, on behalf of the antichrist, will once again come and destroy: the city and the sanctuary. I say once again because the serpent has obviously done this once before during the reign of Titus Vespasian. If Psalm 83 depicts a coming war (I don’t think so,) then that, along with Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, describes at least two wars.

      Those two events – the destruction of the city and the sanctuary, are not in close proximity, time-wise, because we have learned that the sacrifice will be stopped 1240 days into the seven-year covenant, which was reaffirmed by the antichrist. 1290 days later is when the abomination will be set up in the temple. Somewhere between the abomination being set up and the return of Jesus as the warring Messiah 45 days later, the temple will be destroyed.

    • Considering how many people have countered with Israel will NOT be destroyed, it feels like it is necessary to emphasize, Israel will be destroyed. All at one time, right after the rapture of the church? Maybe not. 

    • The allusions to “The end of it shall be with a flood” are numerous. You can only bring complete destruction once, but you can bring many destructive battles that will seem like complete destruction and still have some form of function. Just look at what is happening to Ukraine. An example of what I am talking about can be seen in the function of the rebuilt temple. 1240 days into the covenant time cycle, the antichrist will cause the sacrifices to cease. Certainly, the firebombing from God that we see in Ezekiel 38, 39 will be substantial. 

  • In what form or purpose will the temple serve after the cessation of sacrifices?

    • Because we understand that Israel will be completely destroyed, then a complete destruction – one that removes the functional government and the religious heads that turned the people away from Jesus the Messiah, must come to pass, but when? 

      Scripture tells us that the wanton killing that comes at the direction of the antichrist and the false prophet would indicate that people are forced to worship the beast – and, in time, the image. Islamic prophecies tell us that the false prophet steps up as the enforcer of Sharia law after wholly pledging himself to the Mahdi. The false prophet will be the primary person at this point, who enforces compliance and worship of the Mahdi – the antichrist. When it comes to worshiping the image, well, you cannot do that if the image is some animatronic head located in a temple that may be blown up. So that piece of logic just got destroyed. We are told that the desecration of the temple happens 1290 days after the cessation of the sacrifices, and, as far as I can tell, having this image sitting on the same altar where you were doing the sacrifices would be the desecration. Do the math, and you will find that we have now extended beyond seven years.

       

      This may be classified as one of those scriptural mysteries, but the Jews count a day as any portion of a day. Apply this to Jesus’ death and resurrection. If Jesus died on Friday afternoon (one day), He is in the tomb before 3P.M., the beginning of the Sabbath. Sabbath lasts until 3P.M. Saturday evening (two days.) Sunday, early in the morning, no matter the time, is the third day. The logic behind this is that Sunday began at 3P.M. Saturday evening. Consider that Jesus used the Prophet Jonah as an analogy to His own time in death. I think He did this so that, beyond all questions, people would understand that Jonah was dead for three days, and God brought him back to life. BAsking Shark(Believe it or not, I have had many arguments with people about how Jonah was dead for three days. Ask yourself would use someone who had lived comfortably in the belly of a big fish with a raft, a small table, a lamp, and a deck of cards, like Pinocchio, to represent your own death and the magnificence involved in those actions, if his experience was not even close? The Mediterranean Sea, where the narrative of Jonah took place, has a fish capable of swallowing a human whole; it is called a basking shark.)

      So, if the signs, and there are many, are telling us that the warring Messiah will be back in 2030, at the end of the seven years of wrath, then 2023 should be the year of the departure or snatching away of the church. Considering the Jewish understanding of time, then any point within this year of 2023 is fair game.

He is the antichrist, and nowhere does it say that Israel is the subject of this covenant. 

An interesting development occurred on June 13, 2023, when the UN stated, “Today, at the halfway point to 2030, that promise is in peril and a fundamental shift is needed – in commitment, solidarity, financing, and action – to put the world on a better path. And it is needed now.” If you wish to see this document, go directly to the UN’s website. https://www.un.org/en/desa/we-need-7-years-accelerated-transformative-action-achieve-sdgs

So what are they calling the UN members to do about the potential that they might NOT reach their 2030 goal?

They have called for an urgent meeting where they will reaffirm the covenant for seven years. In Biblical terms, they are going to “confirm the covenant with many for one week.” In prophetic language, one week is equivalent to seven years.

If you are thinking I missed the context, then look at Daniel 9:26.

Daniel 9:26 NKJV  “… And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. …”

It’s not the man but those that follow his commands. Titus did not command his troops to destroy the temple, so don’t go looking for a re-birthed Roman Empire.

When you read something like 1 Thessalonians 5:3, you need to be asking yourself, who are the “they”?

“For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.”
1 Thessalonians 5:3 NKJV

An obvious but presumptive choice would be Israel. How are you not aware? Israel just recently went through three nationwide votes to get a prime minister once again, as Benjamin Netanyahu was dragged through the mud over allegations, just as former President Donald Trump still is. One of their former Prime ministers has been plotting a coup for over two years with the aid of retired IDF Generals. All this has been monitored as they met for discussions through Zoom calls (you have no secrecy in Israel.) The country is on the verge of civil war, if not already there. Doctors are on strike, and approximately 10,000 reservists are refusing to return to much-needed duty all because the Prime Minister pushed for legal reforms that put an end to leftist legal interpretations and judgments. Decisions have pushed Israel into the critical situation they are now facing.

Still, in all this turmoil, it seems there are those that think they are in the best of times.

If you have been paying attention, the UN is calling for a meeting in early September, and they are already calling for peace, safety, and the reaffirmation of the seven-year covenant that was established to bring about the Social Development Goals designed to bring about the New World Order, that Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Obama talked about with frequency.

“His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people. Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.”
Daniel 8:24-25 BSB

Since we know that royal honor has not been conferred upon him, then it’s safe to say that he is not currently a part of the crowd that wants to dominate the planet.

You might ask, why, then, is he given the authority to do whatever he wants?

Allow me to remind you.

“Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.” And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. Revelation 13:2, 3 NKJV+

The beast was comprised of known empires until the two bronze leg aspects of the fourth showed up.

“This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.” Daniel 2:32-33 NKJV

Empire #1, the head of gold – Babylon under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar; #2, the chest and arms of silver – the Medes and Persians; #3, the Macedonian or Grecian monarchy, set up by Alexander. Now here is where it changes. According to John Gill’s commentary, the Grecian empire was followed by “the two “thighs,” the fourth empire. These legs of iron denote Alexander’s principal successors, the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires. Both were Grecian generals, and both were highly integrated into the surrounding Assyrian kingdoms. If you do your homework, you will get to the feet where the toes are mixed, iron and clay. The Aramaic word for mixed is arab. Trace this lineage back to Abraham and Isaac, and you will come to Ishmael and Esau. They are both described as nations that will NOT get along with each other.

The beast is best thought of as a demonic spirit that enters particular, handpicked people to drive, empower them, and be changed in Satan’s favor.

“Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.” Revelation 13:1-2 NKJV

And we have descriptions of the first three empires but not the fourth. Note that even within this passage, the beast takes on a singular male orientation.

Those handpicked people have ruled over kingdoms, empires, and “governmental bodies.” But as we read verse three above, we see one of these empires sustain what the world could see as a mortal wound. That means they never expected this empire to rise again. Oh, but it did as it was restored to health. Strangely, the primary word used to define this word “healing” is to serve or do service. If this was the Ottoman Empire, as I have spelled out multiple times, then the implications are that people have meticulously nursed this empire slowly and secretly back to health. History shows us that ideologies like the Muslim Brotherhood, an offshoot of the fallen Ottoman empire, began to emerge in Egypt but with much more violent motives.

Revelation 13:5 indicates that this beast, which has migrated into what appears to be a solitary being – a male, now has the “authority to do whatever he wants for forty-two months.” (That is 3.5 years.)

“Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.” Revelation 13:5 NLT

End of part three.

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Questions and concerns about the antichrist. Part two of four.

Posted on 08/02/2023 by remso

 It feels like I covered all my bases in dealing with the antichrist in the previous post, so let’s move on to the rule and influence of the antichrist.

“Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.” Revelation 13:1-2 NKJV

The beast rises out of the sea, and the sea is the nations.

Check your focus because usage of the word nations tends to send our minds to Indonesia or Myanmar. For the Jewish audience, this reference to the sea was an allusion to the nations that surrounded Israel. Nothing has changed, and almost every nation surrounding Israel is under Islamic rule. There is an oddity in that a bizarre, multi-headed beast is suddenly referred to as a male entity, which has a throne, and Satan, himself, has given this man his power.

The question is, who gives someone evil, like George Soros, the power to bring down nations and economies?

This is one of those rhetorical questions that really does not need an answer, but hopefully, it makes you think. I suspect that the same people who empower the likes of Bill Gates and George Soros will empower this man as well. 

We are told that the dragon gives the antichrist power; we have nothing that says that Satan does not empower others. Matthew’s gospel recorded that Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness. This time ended with Satan offering Jesus the riches and glory of the kingdoms of this world (Matthew 4:8,) so it is Satan’s to give thanks to Adam, and he is capable of giving this power to whoever he pleases.

“Throne” is the Greek word thronos and can mean (to sit) in a stately seat (“a throne”); by implication, it means power or (concretely) a potentate.
A synonym for potentate is a dictator.

How do most dictators come to power?

Through bloodshed (Most often through the death of previous leadership and those who refused to comply with the new state of things.) Isn’t that what we have been experiencing over the last several years. On the plus side, we have not had to see much of the bloodshed?

Pay close attention to the words.

This idea that this coming “man” will be shot in the head is bogus.

“And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.” Revelation 13:3 NKJV

This bizarre, multi-headed beast initially represents kingdoms or authority figures that assert power over us even though we may not have voted for them. In the world of dangerous, multi-headed beasts, we have already had one sustain such a wounding. Sadly, only some of us will pay attention to this piece of history, and for the most part, you are deemed a racist fanatic if you focus on words like Muslim or Islam. This oppression allows for Islam to grow and fester right beneath our noses, and no one seems to care.

End page one.

1920s-era classic yacht previously owned by royalty.

1920s classic yacht

1920s era classic yacht

The Empire that sustained such a mortal wound was the Ottoman Empire. This “head” was tormenting the world of the early 1920s, and many feared that it/they would take over the peace-loving existence they understood back then. One of Islam’s notable offenses during this “global” reign of terror was to board luxury ships and take “white,” well-to-do people off those ships and sell them as slaves to traders from the Northern African coast. As you might imagine, that did not settle well with many back home. Finally, with the aid of a well-armed coalition that included the United States Marine Corp. and the British military, mortally wounded, or so they thought, the head of this beast in 1924. The Ottoman Empire went silent for years, and the Martini-drinking, global vacation crowd cheered. At the time, the world breathed a sigh of relief and may have said, Thank God that oppressive power is dead.

Guess what?

Slowly, under other names, the head of this beast began to resurrect itself. It finally came back into full bloom in 1979 with the Islamic revolution in Iran. 

So much for supposedly killing the beast.  Canaan, centered in the yellow zone.

If you have been paying attention to the Mideast news, then you know that Hezbollah and Hamas, both Islamic instruments of destruction funded by people with deep pockets and political ties, have been tormenting Israel for years. 

Now, you may think Hezbollah and Hamas are wholly justified in their actions. But we are Bible-believing people and should have an understanding of the promises made to Abraham.

“And the LORD said to Abram after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.” Genesis 13:14-15 NKJV

Regardless of your political affiliations and twisted bent toward Israel, God promised the land to His people – descendants of Abraham through Issac. When it comes to Ishmael and Esaau, their descendants, too, would become the sands of the sea.

An intriguing comparison in light of Revelation’s references to the sands of the sea. 

One more thing.

Did you notice how the above scripture passages end with the word forever?

Once this promise was made, it was never rescinded.

Genesis 12:5-7 NKJV “Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6) Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. 7) Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants, I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.”

Watch what happens next.

Having sustained what appeared to be a mortal wound, the beast – an empire, came back to life; “all the world marveled and followed the beast.” Revelation 13:3.

To this day, conversations surrounding Islam are thrown back at me, with “we will never see Islam become large enough or strong enough to rule the world.” Unfortunately, we buy into that false understanding, for Islam is wholly committed to dominating the world.

“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?” Revelation 13:4 NKJV

The question is, who is this “they” who are worshiping the beast?

It is NOT the church, for the believers will have been snatched off the earth by God when this happens. Keep in mind that people are dying under these conditions as we speak, so don’t get too haughty.

Since you nor I can see the heart of the person that sat next to you in church and is now vehemently arguing with you as though they are a supporter of Islam, you have no way of knowing if they are really a follower of Jesus Christ. My own son-in-law will tell you I don’t read the Bible but make decisions as to whether the message I hear is Godly or will lead me to God. Based on this, I am not sure if he is a Christian or not; therefore, he may well be one of those people who will make up the “they” who will fall on his knees to worship, as I described below.

Most of the people who make up this crowd of “worshipers” are, in most cases, blinded; they will prostrate themselves in submission. How about the weak, who will submit to whatever this fool will be selling? Some will submit to Islam. It may not go so well for you if you do that, as they will probably kill you because you are weak, but if it does, it is a man’s religion as the woman is subservient and easily brutalized and killed under Sharia law. The drawback is that entrance into the heaven these people are looking for only comes by spilling your own blood in Jihad.

Worshiped is the Greek word proskuneō,  meaning “ To kiss like a dog licking his master’s hand, which can imply a fear-based subservience. It also carries the idea of prostrating yourself in homage.

Prostrating myself before God/Jesus seems like the finest thing I could do because He has forgiven me for so much. But, it, too, can imply submissiveness based on fear.

Homage, as defined by Webster, reads,

“In feudal law, the submission, loyalty and service which a tenant promised to his lord or superior,when first admitted to the land which he held of him in fee; or rather the act of the tenant in making this submission, on being invested with the fee. The ceremony of doing homage was thus performed. The tenant, being ungirt and uncovered, kneeled and held up both his hands between those of the lord, who sat before him, and there professed that “he did become his man, from that day forth, of life and limb and earthly honor,” and then received a kiss from his lord.”

The idea that the antichrist creates a new religion and forces everyone to worship him, as we do the Father, is based on the assumption that these people, referred to as “they,” worshiped the beast, antichrist, because the beast (an empire) which they alternately see as a man, sustains this mortal wound, dies, and comes back to life.

As children, we watched cartoons that portrayed incidents just like this. What did the bystanders in the cartoon do? They said ooh, and aah, and then blindly followed this leader into some form of captivity.

We cannot find a biblical or legitimate reason to see the world following this man’s religion if he has one, or to initially worship him. 

In time, he will try to make the entirety of the global population bow to him. I am making a massive assumption here because, as I have pointed out, most of our eschatological conversation should be focused on the Mideast. There is nothing dominant that should make us change our thinking. 

Well, there is one thing: the idea of a sea.

The seas touch the shorelines of virtually every significant nation that plays a role in the end times. If the antichrist, like one of our recent American Presidents, has declared that he is a Muslim, then the “religion” that this man may try to make everyone follow is Islam. (If he shows up wearing a monk’s robe, he may try to push everyone to be a Catholic; at least they are not so openly violent.) Islam also advocates, through violence, that all people bow to Allah in allegiance. An intriguing way to look at life and prophecy, right? 

I need to interject this.

Recently, on 07/21/23, an individual who makes Christian videos recommended that we all watch a Christian video but gave no defining terminology, so I watched a few minutes of it, clicked dislike, and turned it off. The video was the preaching of Pastor Robert Breaker. His claim to fame is that he is a proponent of the King James version of the Bible only, as it, in his opinion, is the untainted word of God. 

Untainted? Not by a long shot, and as the now deceased Bible teacher Dr. Chuck Missler used to say, “the King James is filled with errors but those errors are well known and documented,” and we have pointed those out errors on multiple occasions. I pointed out one of those major issues as we looked at 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and how the Catholic church, the state church of England, in the 1500s, forced King James to rewrite and change the wording found in the Geneva Bible to reflect their disdain for those leaving the church. This action taken by the Catholic church diminished and changed our focus on the rapture and perverted the way we look at the timing of this event. I am sure this information means nothing to most of you, but it is vital, and the lack of sound and biblical wisdom feeds into the confusion I perpetually hear from the mouths of those I sit by in church – people, by the way, that will not pick up their Bibles, I know this because they tell me.

Pastor Breaker initiated his talk with a chuckle as he stated that there are a lot of false teachers out there. He continued his address by trying to define what will happen after the rapture. If you are a follower of Christ that reads your Bible, then you know that a significant player emerges after the rapture and is called the antichrist.

Pastor Breaker quickly focused on Revelation 13:3, and he seemed antagonistic as he talked about why we should take the bible literally when it says this man receives a mortal wound. (No matter the translation, it does NOT say that he receives a mortal wound.)

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”
Revelation 13:3 KJV

Try to picture a human with three heads, and one of them takes a bullet. You cannot because there is NO way something like this can exist. It is certainly easier to imagine a head of state being killed, but even that is morbid and goes against our moral character if we have one.

How does the Tree of Life translation convey this same verse?

“One of his heads seemed to have been slain, but the fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.”
Revelation 13:3 TLV

Can you see a common thread?

They both imply that it seemed to be dead. The King James Bible adds, “his deadly wound was healed.” And both express that many begin to follow this beast because it rises from its deadly wound, and now, in the form of a man, he is doing great signs, much like the old testament prophets did.

The Strong’s concordance gives us this.

One short Greek word, hōs, and we get all this, as it were, in that manner.

“ as it were’ is the transliteration for the Greek word hōs. In effect, that means we have no direct translation and, therefore, must improvise.

“his” is the Greek word hautou and has some vague meanings. It is a contraction for G1438; self (in some oblique case or reflexive relation): – her (own), (of) him (-self), his (own), of it, thee, their (own), them (-selves), they.

Perhaps this is indicative of the amount of information that we do not know about the antichrist. What we do know is that the antichrist is always referred to as he.

“deadly” is the Greek word thanatos, and it means death; however, it can mean death in a figurative sense.

We are not playing words here, as the verse itself tells us to look at this as if it had been mortally wounded.

“Wound” is the Greek word plēgē. It means, by implication, a wound, but figuratively we are to be looking for a calamity.

Calamity, according to Webster, is any great misfortune or cause of misery.

Go back to the beginning of page two, where I gave a brief explanation of how the Ottoman Empire fulfilled this role. Having been captured, outlawed, and forced to disband, certainly qualifies as a calamity for them, at least for a time.

One of the things that bothers me is how much authority and power the “bible teachers” give the antichrist.

Daniel chapter eleven is both a history lesson and an eschatological map of the end times. For example:

“His forces will rise up and profane the fortified Temple; they will stop the daily offering and set up the abomination of desolation.”
Daniel 11:31 TLV

Anyone who reads the Bible with the intent to learn knows that the antichrist will do just that but at the three-and-one-half-year mark. I am not foolish because I know that Antiochus Epiphanes did this very thing. If you understand that prophecy, to the Jew, is repetition, then you know that it just makes sense for God to have shown them this very thing on a previous occasion.

“And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.” Daniel 12:11 NKJV

So much of Daniel 11 speaks of Antiochus Epiphanes; however, there is a moment where there is a definite shift in power. Notice the time frame, 1290 days. If you have been doing the math, the first segment of the seven years is clearly stated as 1240 days. Because we have been fed this idea of a seven-year peace treaty, you would logically assume that the last section of time would also be 1240 days. Surprise, the antichrist seems to be the one who establishes this extra fifty days. Another surprise comes as we were prompted to see the false prophet as the one who sets up an image of the beast, the abomination of desolation, and we all seem to believe that this happens three-and-one half-years into the seven years of the covenant. 

Once the temple sacrifices are reestablished 1240 days later, the daily sacrifices will cease. 1290 days later, the image of the beast will be set up in the temple. Now pay attention to something I have never understood before. 

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

From the time the daily sacrifice is taken away until Revelation 19:11, where Jesus comes back for war, riding a white horse, would appear to be these 1335 days. We assume a lot of things. Such as: how quickly the temple gets built after the rapture, how quickly the antichrist shows up after the rapture, how the antichrist’s affirmation of the covenant is the trigger for the seven years of  God’s wrath, and how the seven-year period must hold to a precise seven years. Well, let’s not make assumptions here, either. 
Revelation 19:12-18 gives us a tremendous amount of background information, all of which can transpire with a thought. So we don’t have to go looking for gaps in time.
 
“And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”
Revelation 19:19 NKJV

Revelation 19:19 does not allow for last-minute preparations, as this has been at the forefront of the beasts thinking since he came into power; and, when Jesus shows up, they are there, in the Megiddo Valley, waiting for their chance to kill the Messiah. Good luck with that.

Back to our descriptions of the beast.

“And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably and seize the kingdom by intrigue.” Daniel 11:21 NKJV

Consider how the Tree of Life version conveys this same passage.

“Then in his place will arise a despicable person, on whom royal honor has not been conferred. He will come in a time of tranquility, and seize the kingdom through intrigue.” Daniel 11:21 TLV

The terminology makes me think of King Charles 111. His mother added the title “Sir” to a tremendous number of people. Whoever it is that will step up to fill the role of the antichrist (it will not carry the title of antichrist) will have no previously known title.

Honor. The Hebrew word is hôd and means splendor, majesty, vigor, and glory.

Many, like Emmanuel Macron, are contending to hold power over the planet. Macron is contending for the title of antichrist, although he does not realize it.

Kingship – malkûth meaning rule; concretely a dominion: – empire, kingdom, realm, reign.

This has a familiarity to it. Again the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, or Barack Obama, should be excluded as they have both held the rule over a dominion.

Another clear description of the antichrist that excludes many is this statement – “on whom royal honor has not been conferred.”

Conferred is the Hebrew word nâthan and means to give or put upon him.

Because he, the antichrist, affirms the peace covenant, we seem to think he is the one that initiates it, and that is not what the scriptures tell us.

A common translation reads like this.

“he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;” NKJV

End part two.

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Questions and concerns about the antichrist. Part 1 of four.

Posted on 07/24/2023 by remso

I am taking a short break from our study in Matthew to address some questions and concerns once again. One of the major concerns is the number of people who are willing to tell us that we are looking for the antichrist to come out of the Roman Empire. (Sorry, but I do not see that in scripture, so I will discuss it.) The other concern, and quite frequently a question, has to do with the rule and influence of the antichrist. The assumption that many make is that he is a power to contend with throughout the seven years, but that is not the case, and I will show you why.

Who are we looking for that can come and fulfill the role of the antichrist?

The answer has little to do with the followers of Christ, for we, the church, will never knowingly see the antichrist.

When people say we are looking for a man to come out of the resurrected Roman Empire, they are leaning upon traditional teachings that are wrong, or they are trying to put all their weight upon Daniel 9:26, which speaks of “the people of the prince who is to come.”

“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

A thought on Daniel 9:26 before we move forward.

Within this verse, there is a chronological context and an allusion to a time, which for us in 2023 is long past, and yet an event that must happen again; that would be the destruction of the temple. A very obvious fact is that there is no temple today.

Yes, even then, Titus was alluded to as the prince, but the context that we should be concerned with is the time after “the sixty-two weeks” in which the “Messiah” was cut off. It is during this time that another prince shall come. (I was initiated into the World of Disney, where princes were the heroes. Now that may be what the deluded perceive him as, but it will be shortlived.) Nowhere does it say that this coming prince will be associated with the Roman Empire (which, by the way, no longer exists.) Since it was recorded that Assyrians destroyed the temple, then this prince that is yet to come, which shall also destroy the city and the sanctuary, will most likely be associated with the Assyrians – Islam.

I am confident that many of us have seen the person who will hold the position of the antichrist, but because this explicit information is NOT available to us, we will NOT know that we are looking at the antichrist.

If you want proof, 2 Thessalonians chapter two has much of it. The New King James version reads like this.

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 2 Thessalonians 2:3 NKJV

I have talked about this translation problem in detail in previous posts, how the Catholic church – the State Church of England in the 1500s, demanded that King James change the wording of known Bibles, like the Geneva Bible, to reflect the church’s contempt for people leaving the official church as they migrated to Protestantism. The Geneva Bible, though difficult to read, gives us a more appropriate translation of the Greek word apostasia when it tells us that we are looking for the church to depart first, and then the son of perdition will come.

Let no man deceiue you by any meanes: for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that that man of sinne be disclosed, euen the sonne of perdition,

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Geneva

In general, he will only be revealed when his time comes, and that time is after the church is removed from the earth. 

There is one other translation (The Literal Standard Version) that also uses the word departure, but the language is old English and confusing; it gives the impression that we should be waiting for the man of lawlessness to be revealed, and that is NOT the case. I think it is safe to say that the church has fallen away from the Lord. It would be best if you looked up the Greek word – apostasia to understand why we, the church, are struggling. 

The KJV, with the Strong’s numbers, reads like this, “exceptG3362 there comeG2064 a falling awayG646 first.” Strong’s G646 is the Greek word apostasia and can be translated as apostasy, falling away, or departure.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the phrase “that day” is indicative of the day in which Jesus comes back for His bride, the church, and then reveals the antichrist. 

Departure denotes the removal of the church from the earth before God’s wrath is poured out and prior to the revealing of the antichrist.

“And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.”
2 Thessalonians 2:6 NASB

More evidence to confirm that one event has to happen before the other can, is, in virtually every translation, shown to us in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8.

“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

Typically, when you see a capitalized personal pronoun, such as He, it typically refers to one of the trinity; in this case, the Holy Spirit; it could refer to one of two others, Jesus or the church.

Why the church?

Because we, the church, are in Jesus Christ. When we ask Jesus Christ into our lives, the Holy Spirit becomes a part of our lives as well, and it should be easy to perceive either as the subject here. The restrainer is the Holy Spirit operating in the life of the believer and responding to our cries for help (prayers.) So as long as we who possess the Holy Spirit are still on the earth, we are restraining the antichrist (he) from being revealed.

Why do I reject the idea that the antichrist will come out of the Roman Empire?

The majority of the religious world incorrectly hangs their hats on this one passage.

“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

In order to make the Roman Empire fit into their argument, they have to make the assumption that:

  • Titus fulfills the parameters for the destruction of the temple;

  • That the “people” are all Italians (I am being facetious) and maintain an allegiance to the Pope;

  • And they have to ignore documented history.

How many times was the temple destroyed?

Two.

The last time was in 70 AD, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Titus, the oldest son of Emperor Vespasian.

When conversing about the rebuilt temple, we typically talk about the third temple, which is yet to come. It will stand for a relatively short time, and then, it, too, will be destroyed.

Since I opened the can of worms, the next question should be, who are the people of the prince?

Notice that in 2 Thessalonians 2:5-6 “he” is NOT capitalized; therefore, “he” is not Jesus. The only persons this could refer to would be Titus or the Antichrist. Since Titus is still dead, the only other person to fill this role of the prince is the prophesied, coming antichrist.

I have a problem with the temple’s destruction being tied to Titus? 

Both historians, Josephus and Tacitus, recorded that Titus was under tremendous pressure from Caesar to maintain calm in the city and, therefore, was very much against allowing a riotous situation to be created in Jerusalem, for the Jews had already been severely oppressed, had their language banned, and were forced to speak Greek, and their Hebrew scrolls were removed from them and destroyed. Tearing down their temple could ignite the Jews even further and cause Titus to lose his own head at the hands of Caesar. 

With the understanding that Titus did not want the temple destroyed, Josephus recorded that Titus, upon hearing that the Assyrian conscript troops, which had a vile hatred of the Jews, were burning the temple, ran partially clad, shouting orders to cease. But because of their hatred, the Assyrians ignored Titus’s orders to stop and continued to burn the temple and tear it apart to obtain the gold that had melted into the cracks between the massive blocks.

Did you pay attention to the description of Assyrian conscript troops, which did not obey orders because of their hatred?

 

The label for Assyria sits in the middle of the green area. Note that the area encompasses Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and a few others.

So, the one thing that diverts me away from Titus being the prince to come, and points me toward another, is that we are dealing with Assyrians as the people that will come. Give a little consideration to the enemies that Israel is dealing with now. They are all Assyrians.

Let me show you something from the Revelation. 

“And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.” Revelation 13:1 NASB

  • The dragon is Satan.

  • The seashore is easily seen as the Mediterranean. Remember that the Biblical narrative is focused exclusively on the Holy Land, as explained to Abraham. Since we are NOT concerned with oceans or the sands of a shoreline, we are looking at a specific region, the Mideast, and the people associated with that region – Assyrians. 

  • “ Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea.” Dr. J Vernon McGee states, “In Scripture the sea is a picture of the nations of the world, of mankind, like the restless sea.”

    I believe that the sea is representative of the people of the Mideast, primarily Assyrians. Since we understand that the sea represents people, then it is people of a specific region, the Middle East – Assyrians.

    An obvious factor has shown its ugly head. Here in July of 2023, it appears that an organization with the acronym WEF, and it seems to have little to do with the Mideast, has arbitrarily raised its ugly head and wants to control us all, and that is what we perceive the antichrist to do. But wait, Klaus Schwab’s second in command is a Jewish historian named Yuval Noah Harari. I am not looking for either of these two to take the role of the antichrist, but there is your huge link with the Mideast.

  • “having ten horns and seven heads.”

    Is there anything out there that physically matches this description?

    The answer is NO; therefore, it is an analogy.

    But to what?

    Kingdoms, empires, or perhaps dominant world leaders who have control over nations or regions today.

    If you are thinking, as I am, about who is running this world today, then there are particular names and groups of people that come to mind, such as The World Health Organization; The World Economic Fund; the United Nations; and the people to run, organize and attempt to exercise dominance over the nations through these entities.

    The defining features were given to John, just as they were to the prophet Daniel.

    “And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.” Revelation 13:2 NASB

    When the prophet Daniel was shown these things, they were explained this way. 

    “And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. “The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. “And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’ “After this, I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.” Daniel 7:3-6 NASB

    In both passages, there was the lion, the bear, and the leopard. In (the) Revelation, John did not see a definition of the fourth beast, possibly because it is so diverse. Strangely, Daniel was shown that this bizarre beast had four heads. Fascinating, three bodies and yet four heads. Again, we have nothing on earth to compare this to; therefore, we have to be looking at not just an analogy but ruling bodies. 

    We are told that Daniel was so perplexed that it made him ill, and he sought a definition of what he saw.

    ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.”
    Daniel 7:17 NKJV

    The earth, in general, refers to the nations.

    We understand, because scripture can explain itself, that Nebuchadnezzar is the first of those kings. The second is the Medo-Persian empire under Darius, and the third is the Grecian empire under the reign of Alexander.

    The fourth, which is NOT defined, although the common, misleading practice is to take the statement from Daniel 9:26, where it says, “the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary,” and apply Titus, the Roman Emperor, to the defining role of the prince. This does NOT work because Titus was entirely against the temple’s destruction and served more of a reconstructive role to the Jews.

    If it is NOT the Roman Empire, then who?

    After the death of Alexander, the region continued under the Grecian influence, although progressively weaker, as four Grecian generals ruled, finally ending with two. It is these two that played the most prominent role after the death of Alexander. The Seleucid Empire was in the North, and the Ptolemaic Empire was in the Southern regions, encompassing Egypt and the Northern African nations. All of these have migrated into being Islamic and of varying sects of Islam, which makes for a very volatile region. And Israel, which still maintains an Islamic population, is the only nation that is NOT primarily Islamic, and that did not happen until 1948 when Israel became an independent nation.

    The explanations continued for Daniel. 

    “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces.” Daniel 7:23 NKJV

    The Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empires were both Assyrians and capable of violence. The differences have more to do with who they worshiped.

    How, then, is this fourth empire different?

    It “shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces.”

    Did the Romans devour the whole earth?

    No,

    You might ask, where are they now?

    I will let that hang there. The other thing about the Roman Empire is that they built infrastructure, such as roads, aqueducts, and sewerage systems.

    Does that sound like someone who breaks the whole earth in pieces?

    No.

    So, what entity or ideology desires to destroy all those who refuse to adopt their ideologies?

    If you said Islam, you would be correct, and Islam had its beginnings with the Assyrians.

    “As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise. Another will arise after them, but he will be different from the previous ones; he will subdue three kings.”
    Daniel 7:24 TLV

  • Another? Another kingdom.

    I am NOT comfortable saying it is the Roman Empire because when someone says the Roman Empire, all I can visualize is the Pope. Yes, he is an older man, but just the fact that he is the Pope makes him powerful, and he is trying to influence the whole world, but projecting him as a global, destructive threat just does not work for me. The problem is we need more that defines this kingdom, but there are clues, and they come from his titles. 

    • Micah 5:5 calls him the Assyrian. That one verse eliminates the Roman Empire unless you can prove some strong ancestral ties to the Assyrians. See Isa_10:24; Isa_14:25; Isa_31:8.

    • He is the desolator in Daniel 9:27.

    • We see him as the beast in Dan_7:11, Rev_11:7; Rev_13:1.

    • Nahum 2:1 (ASV) identifies him as he that dashes in pieces.

    • The Darby translation of Isaiah 16:4 expresses how the extortioner will come to an end.

    • Zechariah 11:15 (AMP) calls him a worthless and wicked shepherd.

    • Daniel 8:23-24 (Darby)  And at the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors shall have come to the full, a king of bold countenance, and understanding riddles, shall stand up.  24  And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power, and he shall destroy marvelously, and shall prosper, and shall practice, and shall destroy the mighty ones, and the people of the saints.

    • The Amplified version of Daniel 8:23,24 tells us he is a king of fierce countenance and understanding dark trickery and craftiness.

      Well, you should get the general idea. It sounds as though he worked for Hezbollah

  • “he will be different from the previous ones.” While going into captivity is challenging to see as a positive influence, Daniel, the captive, touched and won the heart of several kings. So the captivity served as a protection and a preservative role for Israel. This fourth kingdom will do nothing more than try to divide and destroy Israel and God’s people.

End of part 1.

Posted in 2 Thessalonians, antichrist, Antichrist, apostasia, apostasy, bible study, departure, false teaching, Geneva Bible, Holy spirit, lawlessness, rapture, the fourth kingdom, the king of fierce countenance, the little horn, the prince that shall come, the willful king, Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I approach Bible study in this manner and I found this to be very thoughtful.

Posted on 07/19/2023 by remso

MY JOURNEY WITH THE SCRIPTURES ABOUT THE CROSS
Posted in bible study, explained, realized, sacrifices, sharing the truth in love, the blood, the goal of our instruction, the word of their testimony, to bear the sins of many, understanding | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Calling the disciples. Matthew 4:12-20.

Posted on 07/10/2023 by remso

I have been asked questions like, where will the Battle of Armageddon occur, how many battles Israel will fight during these last seven years, or how much time will there be between the rapture and God’s wrath being unleashed on the earth?

I have very few clear answers on things that the Bible is NOT clear on. As I mentioned in the last post, my understanding has gaps, and most of those gaps came from the things I was taught and how those teachers taught.

In a way, I am your teacher, but all I can legitimately do is show you what the scriptures say while directing you to scripture to figure it out for yourselves.

The Chronological Bible adds this commentary.

“According to the Synoptics, Jesus did not begin His ministry until John (the baptizer) completed his. Matthew’s and Mark’s gospels place Jesus ministry in Galilee after the arrest of John the Baptist.”

Suppose you are new to Bible Study and do not know what the word Synoptics means. According to Webster’s dictionary: “SYNOPTIC or SYNOPTICAL means a view of the whole, or of the principal parts of a thing; as a synoptic table.”

So we are looking at the whole gospel to build an adequate picture.

With the 40+ days of temptation completed, has Jesus started His ministry yet?

The answer is not exactly.

How do I know that?

After the testing, Jesus began showing up as John continued to baptize.

“It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:27-29 NASB

Again Jesus shows Himself to John the Baptist.

“I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
John 1:34-36 NASB

John 1:34-36 is where we see Andrew and “that other disciple” whom we accept as John, the disciple. These two followed Jesus. How extensively they followed, we do not know.

“The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” John 1:37 NASB

If we can make a logical presumption, they did not fully follow Jesus. We know this because we will shortly see that they returned to fishing with John’s arrest. We are told Andrew went and found Simon and brought him to Jesus.

“One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).”
John 1:40-42 NASB

Before we show Jesus moving on, I need to show you something.

“The next day, He purposed to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him and *said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
John 1:43-51 NASB

What happened when Jesus said, “The next day He purposed to go into Galilee.”?

He purposed to go to Galilee. This is the same word as determined.

“On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
John 1:43-45 WEBA)

The word determined demonstrates a strong motivation. Being prematurely subjected to death could have been a motivator. 

The Amplified Bible used the words desired and decided to convey His motive to go to Galilee, while the American Standard Version tells us that He was minded to go forth into Galilee. The word minded has a country feel to it, and I do not expect Jesus to be in any hurry like the Amplified and many others imply. Notice that John’s account doesn’t explain the reason for the rapid migration to Galilee, where He found Philip, but Matthew’s does.

When did John the Baptizer see these things he is now testifying about?

At the baptism and, at this point, we could be several days beyond the time of testing.

So when the disciple John, speaking about John the Baptizer, begins telling us about challenges from the Pharisees to the Baptizer, John tells us that Jesus began to pop into the scene where the Baptizer is. You see one of those instances in John 1:34-35.

For those who must have evidence,

“Now when Jesus heard that John (the baptizer) was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee.”
Matthew 4:12 WEBA)

Since you have a grasp of Biblical things, what would be the thing that would bring John the Baptizer’s mission to an end?

Bluntly, his arrest and most certainly his death, but if you have been paying attention, you know there is a time between the Baptizer’s arrest and his head being cut off.

Did He go directly to Galilee?

The answer is no, and Matthew, at least, took Him to Nazareth first.

Why Nazareth?

That was where His mother was.

Why would I suspect that His mother played a role in His travel plans?

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.””
John 2:1-4 NASB

How did Jesus know to be here, joining His mother at this wedding?

She brought Him up to speed, told Him who they were, and insisted that He be there. She was a mother, and these were friends.

This interaction with Mary throws another wrench into my understanding. Since we do not see Jesus summoning disciples until He reaches Capernaum, fishing, what are they doing here at this wedding, where Mary has invited them to come? 

This piece of information, especially since much of it came out of (the disciple) John’s mouth, then he would know best if their coming to the place where Jesus had been staying and then spent what appears to be an excess of a day with Him, constituted a commitment on their part. Consider that we were made aware that Simon joined them, and Philip, who appeared out of nowhere, went and convinced Nathanael to come and join.

How many disciples could have potentially been with Jesus at this wedding?

Five

When Mary learns that they have run out of wine, she brings the problem to Jesus. 

Now why would she do that?

Because she knew what He was capable of doing. His response to her answers our question about whether Jesus had started His ministry or not, “what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” So, Jesus tells us He has not officially started. Now, I do believe that His start is only moments later, but that is another story.

How does one get from Nazareth to Capernaum?

You come real close to Galilee.

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,” Mark 1:14 NKJV)

Mark leaves out the family visit in Nazareth but adds something that few of us associate with the wedding that John details, He preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. Considering the amazing impact He made with the wine and the fact that people will talk, He may have had few options but to preach.

When we last saw Jesus in the previous post, He was leaving Nazareth and heading to Capernaum.

What did Matthew tell us?

“And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES: THE PEOPLE WHO SAT IN DARKNESS HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT, AND UPON THOSE WHO SAT IN THE REGION AND SHADOW OF DEATH LIGHT HAS DAWNED.” From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.””
Matthew 4:13-17 NKJV)

A chronological point of view would have Jesus getting,

  • Being baptized in the Holy Spirit – associated with the baptism by John in the Jordan.

    The Holy Spirit did fall upon Him, filling Him with the Holy Spirit and staying, but that did not throw Him into His ministry.

  • The temptation in the wilderness by Satan.

    This lasted forty days plus a little bit, but the testing still needs to be finished.

  • After the forty days, an overview from the synoptic gospels has Jesus passing by John the Baptist at least two more days.

    Is it during this time that Andrew and that other disciple paid attention to Jesus and, for at least a day, followed Him. Some might think this would be the thing that initiates Jesus being launched into His ministry, but it is only part of the fuel. Becoming empowered by the Holy Spirit could do it for me, but where is the action that you might associate with His ministry? So merely being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not the launch pad.

  • What if it is the imprisonment of John that moved Him forward?

    Then realize that it is a relatively short time after Jesus’ entrance into the ministry that this happens.

Though Andrew and (John, the disciple) followed Jesus and spent the day with Him after the temptation of Jesus, we still see Jesus calling them when He finds them further North in Capernaum.

“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”
Matthew 4:18-20 NKJV)

Considering the two places that we see John baptizing, one being South of Jerusalem, Matthew’s account suddenly puts the “new” recruits in the Northern regions of Lake Galilee near Capernaum. This is a stretch of the imagination.

If you were a new Christian and had asked where you should start reading in this new Bible someone just gave you, and they told you to start reading in Matthew; at this point, what could you, with confidence, say that you know?

Wow, there is a lot to know.

  • Without someone telling you that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John are Jewish-oriented books, what would you do with the genealogical information?

  • Did you grasp that the Jewish leaders refused to accept scriptural evidence (Micah 5:2) that Jesus Christ had been born in Bethlehem?

  • Were you, like Herod, alarmed that the Magi (Wise men), because of a star, came to Bethlehem to see the Messiah?

    Now you should be asking why such a powerful man was alarmed? 

    There were several reasons: One is that the Magi, who were many in number and included a relatively large entourage, were known to be kingdom changers. Herod may have feared this large group that would have been well-armed. The other reason is that Herod lived in fear of an overthrow and killed off several family members for these very reasons (Much of this information is rejected by many as it is extra-biblical. (You have no idea how many things make up our “doctrines,” which are all extra-biblical.)

    The chief priests and elders, having been ordered to stand before Herod because of the presence of these Magi, testified to their knowledge of this fact. In response to what the Magi told him, Herod killed all boys aged two and younger in that region.

  • Did you pick up on the idea that the lowly, disrespected “temple” shepherds had the angels alert them so that they were aware that the Messiah had been born and those shepherds fell before Him in worship?

  • Did you hear enough before you started reading to understand that there would be twelve inner circle disciples that followed Jesus?

  • Andrew and quite probably John (the disciple) and Simon (Peter) were among the first to join Jesus, and they were fishermen. 

  • We were made aware that Andrew told Simon (Peter) that he was sure Yahshua was the Messiah that all of Israel had been looking for. This information was convincing enough to get Simon on his feet and see for himself. 

If you were to ask me why it is necessary to know whether Jesus began to gather disciples near Jerusalem or Capernaum 40 miles North, I would tell you that, more and more, people with a “religious” background will try to challenge the Bible you hold fast too.

“And a person’s (this is you) enemies will be those of his own household (How do I define what my household is?).”
Matthew 10:36 ESV Emphasis mine.

Household is the Greek word oikiakos. It is the Strong’s number G3615, pronounced oy-kee-ak-os’. The meanings are familiar, that is, (as noun) relatives: – they (them) of (his own) household.

It is easy to see that familiar people can easily be seen as the person seated next to you in church.

Why would I identify these hostile people as religious, as though they sit by me in church?

Because most of those who have challenged me have been people, I met in church. If you identify these hostile people as strangers on the street, then know that the “law of God” is written upon their hearts, and they have chosen to ignore and not identify with Jesus Christ. Some of the reasons behind that decision can be their own self-will or it’s demonic.

Just writing this prompts a thought.

I often assume that you, having fallen in love with Jesus, consume His Words and, therefore, are familiar with many of the things I talk about. Suppose you have been put in a situation where someone else has taught you improperly or incorrectly. In that case, you, too, like myself, have holes in your understanding of Jesus and the events surrounding His imminent return for His church. We must close those gaps as best we can to stand in the face of senseless arguments.

What did Jesus mean when He said this?

“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”
Matthew 4:18-20 NKJV

Follow Me is two Greek words that work in unison. The first is Strong’s number G1205. It is the word deute. It is pronounced dyoo’-teh and means to come hither!. The secondary word, from Strong’s G3694, is the Greek word – opisō follow.

So I can see this as Come here and follow!

Fishers is merely a relational term that these men readily understood. As you have purposefully extracted fish from this sea, so shall you draw people to Me – the giver of life.

How did they react to what Jesus said?

“Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”
Matthew 4:20 TLV

If you had watched the second season of the Chosen series, you would have seen the miracle in which Peter and Andrew, during the Sabbath, tried all night to catch fish in hopes of paying their tax debt. They caught nothing.

Jesus, who was conveniently standing there on the shore watching, instructs the two to throw their nets over on the other side of the boat. This following of directions brought in enough fish to potentially:

  • break the nets,

  • sink the boat,

  • pay their extensive tax debt;

  • give several of these guys enough money to take care of their families for several months;

  • And, according to The Chosen, it gave Zebedee, the owner of the boats, a retirement. Note, the Bible says very little about Zebedee after this mention in Matthew 4:21-22.

 I enjoyed The Chosen immensely, but I am always aware that it is a creation that takes considerable liberties to hold a movie and television audience. If you try to base your chronological interpretation on the theatrical version given to us by The Chosen, you would again have massive holes in your understanding. An example shows Simon, under threat of imprisonment, becoming more desperate. That seems odd since his initial fishing trip on The Chosen was done on the Sabbath and was against the Torah for a Jew. Frustrated, he and Andrew are headed back to shore when Jesus calls out to throw their nets on the other side of the boat. Why would they respond to a stranger like that unless they had met sometime earlier? The catch was so large that the nets would break, and the boat would sink. Peter called out for help, and part of the crowd that came to help included Zebedee; however, we were only made aware of his presence once this scenario played out.

Only minutes later, after Jesus calls Andrew and Simon, we see this.

“Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”
Matthew 4:21-22 NASB

This is John, initially John the Baptizer’s disciple and then a follower of Jesus.

As I explained in the previous post, John, possibly because of how close he was to Jesus, tended not to mention his own name. Notably, this logic falters as you realize that Matthew seems to speak with hesitancy about John’s role with John the Baptizer. I say this because we saw Matthew speak of another disciple there with Andrew when Jesus came to be baptized. The assumption is that this other disciple was John, the brother of James.

An important example of this comes from John’s recollection of an event. In this setting, Jesus speaks about the one who would betray Him. Peter induced John to ask who Jesus was talking about. Remember that this is John writing about a moment in which he played an important role.

“When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. So Simon Peter *gestured to him and *said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, *said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
John 13:21-25 NASB

I need to stop here because I have filled in quite a few of the cracks in my understanding, but I still have gaps, and we will try to fix those as we proceed. 

The writers of the Chronological Bible said this about Jesus’ Baptism and Temptation. (Some we obviously know.) “Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee to be baptized by John the Baptist. John 3:23 tells us that John had been baptizing near Aenon and Salim, and yet the exact location of Jesus’ baptism is uncertain. Immediately after His baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness of Judea, (which is) below Jericho.” 

The Chronological Bible also tells us, “The place where the Baptist had been baptizing disciples is reported in John 1:28 as Bethabara of Judea in some Greek manuscripts and as Bethany of Perea in others. Neither place can be located with certainty. Many of Jesus’ earliest followers, however, were from areas farther north surrounding the Sea of Galilee, such as Bethsaida.”

What is to say that the Baptist did not move North, and that is where Jesus found him upon His return from the temptation? Nothing would prevent him from doing that, and it makes sense because Andrew ran off to tell Simon, and he came back immediately. The NASB entitles the next section, “Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds.” That tells me that much of what we have seen in Matthew’s gospel, after Jesus’ baptism, lends itself to His gathering of disciples.

Posted in baptize, bible study, disciple, fishing, Jesus, Mary, Matthew's gospel, preach | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment