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

Jesus has returned from the wilderness… Matthew 4:13-18.

Posted on 06/28/2023 by remso

 When we last saw Jesus, He had been taken, by Satan, up onto an exceedingly high mountain.

You might ask yourself, why does this guy get so elaborate?

That is because my understanding of scripture is still, to some degree, segmented and broken. This has much to do with the traditional methods with which I was taught when I was young and the fact that the gospel writers told somewhat similar versions of these narratives but inadvertently changed the order of the details or unwittingly left details out.

Is this segmentation I speak of life-changing?

No, but I have an inquiring mind and need to know, so you are going along on my journey, and I hope my digging for answers answers some of your own questions as well.
Seeing as I cannot simply stay glued to Matthew, we will be bringing in the other gospel writers at times to hopefully fill in the blanks or add color commentary.

Several days into this, my wife reminded me that I have Chronological Bible that might be helpful. I looked at it, and it has already done what I am doing with you all. Sorry, bear with me.

On that note, here is a little about the gospel writer, Mark: We have NO record of him interacting with the disciples or Jesus until Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss on the Mount Of Olives. John Mark is the one writing this gospel. 

Adam Clarke’s commentary conveys this about John Mark, “John Mark, …was the son of a pious woman called Mary, who dwelt at Jerusalem: she was an early believer, and the disciples used to meet at her house. Peter, having been delivered out of prison by an angel, came to the house of Mary, mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying, Act_12:12. This very first mention of John Mark assures us of Peter’s intimacy in that family: it is almost universally allowed that Mark, mentioned by Peter, 1Pe_5:13, is this evangelist, and that he is the same with him who is called sister’s son to Barnabas, Col_4:10, and is supposed to have been converted by Peter to the Christian faith.”

Since John Mark most likely picked Peter’s brain, and Peter was “competing” with John, the disciple, for Jesus’ attention. I would assume that Peter would have told this family friend and young evangelist everything he could think of.

We will also use bits of Luke’s gospel and the Apostle John’s.

We cannot assume that Dr. Luke saw any of these events first-hand and, therefore, had to glean as much information as possible from the others.

I might add that the Apostle Paul was also known as the “Pharisee Saul” in his younger days and may have had first-hand information concerning the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. I doubt Brother Paul would have spoken about events like that with any pride.

I am still in my introduction, and since our last look at Jesus showed Satan, tempting Him with all the world’s kingdoms. It evokes a question.

What is the highest mountain in Israel?

Mount Hermon, which is on the Northernmost border with Syria and Lebanon. A place where war tensions are mounting. It is also the closest mountain to Capernaum, where Jesus established a base camp, at least for a while.

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
Matthew 4:8 NKJV)

But who are we to limit where Satan would have taken Him.

There is a massive clue that we need to consider: The context of the narrative( that makes up the majority of our biblical readings) is the Holy Land. That knowledge does not limit Satan’s actions or methods because there is always God. 

I am implying that this high mountain was within the boundaries of the Holy Land; therefore, I don’t have to speculate how he might have taken Jesus to the top of Mt. Everest, even though Satan did show Him all the kingdoms of the world.

I am barely getting started on this portion of the trek through Matthew’s gospel. As I compare how others, such as Dr. Luke, give you their understanding of the details, I am immediately aware that the order in which these events happen is different. 

Is that a problem?

Only if you do something as I did, and speculate on how convenient it was for Satan, who has been moving Jesus around, has, according to Matthew’s account, left Jesus sitting on a pinnacle of the temple. Putting the discomfort aside, he has placed Jesus, who is starving, in the City of Jerusalem, where there is the potential to obtain something to eat. This doesn’t work so well if the last stop is a high mountain.

Today’s date is 06/23/23, and yesterday I watched a short video where a police investigator shared how when there are multiple witnesses of the same event, most will see things differently.

Much of how we see things has to do with perspective, and we know that Dr. Luke was not among the group of disciples until the end, at best. Luke, therefore, was working off second-hand information and may have inadvertently changed the order of events, which you can see in Luke chapter four.

I am not telling you these things to diminish your perspective of the gospels but to use your brain and logic and trust the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart as you study.

Having been left, by Satan, on a high peak of the temple or on a high mountain, Jesus, who is literally starving, has migrated back to the area where John the Baptizer was operating. We know this because Jesus made passes by John’s location on at least two consecutive days after the wilderness experience. You will not get that information out of Matthew.

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
John 1:29-34 NKJV)

So much for an introduction. Now onward through the gospel, for the most part.

As you read John’s gospel, are you aware that he is sharing information he could only get by being an eyewitness to the event?

This very thing enforces the belief that John was the other disciple that witnessed Jesus being baptized. When John the Baptizer tells us that he witnessed the Holy Spirit descending and remaining on Him, he talks in the past tense. This past tense has an impact on this next piece of information.

“Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “Where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.”
John 1:35-40 NKJV)

Merely saying the words “Again, the next day,” means that Jesus has made it back, at least, to the area where John has been baptizing. It may be that the entirety of this visit is to gather two specific disciples. However, John the Baptist announces to anyone who will hear that Jesus is: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Try to imagine how this statement sounded to the Jews who were merely gawking. Look at this conversation between Issac and Abraham.

“But Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
Genesis 22:7 NKJV)

Isaac knew that they had come to this place to sacrifice, but since lambs were not merely bought in those days, nor were they simply bounding about, waiting to be caught. Something was not right, or Issac was about to be the sacrifice. Abraham responded.

“Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they both went together.”
Genesis 22:8 WEBA)

For years I missed the enormity of this passage. God provided himself as the Lamb. Look at those words from the Baptizer once again; Jesus is: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

So the hostile accusations are made, you put Jesus on that cross, when the reality is that He put Himself on that cross.

What did the writer of the letter to the Hebrews (Jewish believers) say?

“looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2 WEBA)

Jesus comes off the 40 days; what happened next?

He comes back by His cousin.

“The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “Where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.”
John 1:37-40 WEBA)

Andrew went and found Peter. Jesus then found Philip, and Philip found Nathanael.

“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)

Notice that John’s account doesn’t explain the reason for the rapid migration to Galilee, where He found Philip, but Matthew’s does.

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

Herod took John the Baptizer, Jesus’ cousin, captive. One of the main reasons Herod had this done was because John refused to keep his mouth shut concerning Herod, and he called him out (the half-Jew/Roman tetrarch of Galilee) for his sin of taking his brother’s wife as his own.

I had often wondered why Jesus told so many people to say nothing about whatever miracle He had just performed. This unusual policy rarely stopped people who were previously lame or blind from saying anything. Many have indicated that His admonishment had more to do with staying below the radar of those who might prematurely kill Him.

Consider this. If my pastor, Jack Hibbs, can say, “You are immortal and cannot be killed until it is your time,” how different was my Jesus?

Jesus had this to say to Pilate.

“…. So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
John 19:8-11 ESV)

Mark’s perspective on going 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)

Matthew at least took Him to Nazareth first. Why Nazareth? That was where His mother was.

“And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,” Matthew 4:13 ESV)

We saw Jesus, close to John the Baptizer, before the forty days in the wilderness and after, and though it was a slow start, two of the Baptizer’s disciples began to follow after Jesus.

A situation arose that could have shut most people down. Herod took John, Jesus’ cousin, prisoner. This happened for a couple of reasons:

  1. God had a course of action that was uncomfortable for us. If you think of this in light of Joseph, who was sold into slavery and then sent to prison when he was innocent, all to get God’s people into Egypt – to save their lives during a coming time of starvation.
  2. John the Baptizer, having done his job, was now meant to fade away, which appropriately puts the focus on Jesus, the Lamb of God.

We had already seen John the Baptizer south of Jerusalem because there was water available to baptize, and we logically assume this is the region from which John was taken. It is understood that John refused to restrain himself as he called out Herod (the half-Jew/Roman tetrarch of Galilee).

“Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”
Matthew 3:5-6 ESV)

But then there is this.

“John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized.”
John 3:23 ESV)

The Bible maps place this location in Samaria or on the border of Decapolis, about halfway between Jerusalem and Galilee. Walking from the southernmost area near Jerusalem to Nazareth in a day does not seem practical. And then the fact that Herod’s rule was in the region of Galilee.

As you can see, not everything is so clear.

Mark’s gospel tells us that He came from Nazareth to be baptized by John.

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” Mark 1:9 ESV)

According to Mark’s gospel, He has NOT started His public ministry, nor has He begun to gather disciples. Look at this statement from the Apostle John’s point of view, and by the way, he was, most likely, one of the disciples that chose to follow Jesus.

“One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which 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 means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, 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.”
John 1:40-45 ESV)

We have no record of anyone following Jesus in the moments after His baptism, and we have no narrative of anyone attesting to the fact that he merely disappeared as Philip did later on, nor did anyone tell us that He just walked off into the wilderness. If you read the account above, you saw this “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.””

The speaker, whom we assume is John, the disciple, is telling you what happened, but he does not inform you when it occurred. If this was before the wilderness, it is absurd for Jesus to invite Andrew and Simon to see the rock on which he was laying His head at night. So it is clear that there is a large gap between these moments in time.

John first describes this.

“And John (the Baptizer) bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.” John 1:32-40 ESV)

If John can say “the next day,” as he did, then it is clear that Jesus has returned from the wilderness and that they already saw Him the day before, excluding the baptismal. This scenario seems to be spelled out because “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which 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 means Peter).”

With little effort, He already has a small following: Andrew, Simon, John?; Philip; and Nathanael. And He has yet to gather disciples.

“and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “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 WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.” From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” “
Matthew 4:13-17 NASB)

“ From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repent is the Greek word metanoeō means to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): – repent.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, repent means to:

1. To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for something done or spoken; as to repent that we have lost much time in idleness or sensual pleasure; to repent that we have injured or wounded the feelings of a friend. A person repents only of what he himself has done or said.

2. To express sorrow for something past.

Other translations proclaim this statement differently.

– The BBE says, “Let your hearts be turned from sin.”

– The CEV, which I am not particularly fond of, conveys that Jesus told His audience to “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here.”

– The Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) tells the reader to do penance.

Penance applies to The suffering, labor, or pain to which a person voluntarily subjects himself or which is imposed on him by authority as a punishment for his faults or as an expression of penitence, such as fasting, flagellation, or wearing chains that injure and, therefore, remind you of your faults and the need for perpetual repentance.

As a side note, the DRB comes off as works and leans toward ancient Roman Catholic methods of bringing about change.

– The ERV states, “Change your hearts and lives because God’s kingdom is now very near.”

The problem is that none of us can change ourselves. We needed a savior, and He put himself on the cross, suffered, and died because we could not and would not do that.

– The GNB tells us to “Turn away from your sins.”

There are some things in your life, like lust, which are so magnetic; the best advice I could give you is to sprint away from those things. 

– The God’s Word translation (GW), “Turn to God and change the way you think and act.”

This is in opposition to the idea of simply turning away from sin because you have to displace the “sin” with something. The only reasonable thing is God and His Word. If you choose to turn to God, you have to figure out what turning to God means. I can tell you it is not like taking up a new hobby that you do occasionally. If fly fishing was your new hobby, sometimes pulling out the rod to practice casting will not help you much. A few snags later, and you will give it up.

Can you remember the last time you threw your whole heart into something?

The Father longs for you to turn wholeheartedly to Him.

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What, then, did dominion mean to Adam? Matthew 4:1-11.

Posted on 06/22/2023 by remso

Almost as if it was moments later, Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness.

WadiZin031412 _ httpswoostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edufiles201203WadiZin031412.

Illustration 1: The Wilderness of Zin, The Wooster Geologists.

If I told you nothing else, could you picture what this place looks like and what He would be doing there?

Perhaps this will help a little.

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
Matthew 4:1 NKJV)

Then is such a simple word, and most of the time, it needs no definition, but look at this.

“Then” is the Greek word tóte, “an adverb indicative of time.” It conveys the idea of “at that time.” It is correlated to the Greek word hóte (G3753), at which (thing) too, that is, when: – after (that), as soon as.

I could read Matthew 4:1 in this manner. As soon as He came up out of the water and answered the reasonable responses that were immediately thrown at Him. 

Responses; questions? You know, What did you hear Or, what did He say? 

Those standing around when Jesus was baptized heard something that sounded like thunder. If all they heard was thunder, they have no idea if He heard anything; their only internal imagery about hearing God’s voice is primarily the oral history of God talking with Moses on Mt. Sinai and the interactions with the prophets, such as Samuel. Add to this the fact that God has been silent for 400 years. 

Imagine John the Baptizer. Nothing clearly tells us that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. We merely make that assumption. Mind you, it is a good one but purely conjecture. The implications are that Elizabeth, John’s mother, was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Sitting here, writing this to you, I am so used to the Holy Spirit being a part of my life that unless He takes my breath away, I am unaware of His presence, but I hear His voice frequently throughout the day.

Sadly, we are forced into speculation as those who captured the details left a few out when they wrote.

For example. We assume, and I did just that with Matthew 4:1 when I elaborated on the simple word “then.” While Jesus may have stood around for a few minutes, when you put all the puzzle pieces on the table, it becomes clear that the next big thing in Jesus’s life was to be forced into the wilderness. (Forced is such a harsh word considering that Jesus gladly volunteered to do all this for us,) We are told He did the inconceivable because He had no food or water. Consider the nation of Israel only days after leaving Egypt, and Moses also does the unthinkable by going onto Mt Sinai for 40 days with no food or water. No wonder they presumed him to be dead, but since they had such a strong role model in Aaron (Not), I struggle to understand why they so quickly returned to the bondage of idol worship and the roasting of their children on the altar of Moloch. John chapter one tells us that John, the baptizer, was testifying or crying out about Him – Jesus. 

“John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Whom I said, He Who comes after me has priority over me, for He was before me.” [He takes rank above me, for He existed before I did. He has advanced before me because He is my Chief.] John 1:15 AMP)

Based upon the terminology, “He Who comes after me” makes me think that this moment is before Jesus is baptized. When the Apostle John gets to 1:19, he talks about the Baptizer responding, “When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to him with the question, Who are you?”

John the Baptist responded. “ 

“He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
John 1:23 ESV)

It is evident that the need for baptisms in water puzzled these Jewish leaders as well. 

“They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
John 1:25 ESV)

Much of this was said to establish where John the Baptist was, baptizing in the Jordan, where this narrative started. 

“These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”
John 1:28 ESV)

Now watch how the conversation turns. 

“The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose, I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
John 1:29-31 ESV)

See, I pointed out how Matthew’s gospel gives us the impression that Jesus immediately grabbed John and Andrew and started His ministry and team building. Not so. Jesus is returning from the 40 days of fasting and being tested by Satan in the wilderness, and He is passing by John the Baptist again. This passing by goes on for two days. 

“The next day, again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
John 1:35-36 ESV)

Let me be perfectly honest. I still cannot fully grasp this statement’s depth when John says, “Behold the Lamb of God!” We know Jesus’ cousin John the Baptizer, was there, but who else witnessed what happened the day that Jesus got baptized? 

Two of John’s disciples. 

Andrew, Peter’s brother. The presumption that the evangelist John was the other disciple who witnessed what transpired with Jesus is based upon the fact that John does not refer to himself in his gospel and Revelation.

“The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Yeshua. Yeshua turned around and saw them following. He said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher), “Where are you staying?” “Come and see,” Yeshua tells them. So they came and saw where He was staying, and they spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John speak and followed Yeshua.”
John 1:37-40 TLV)

Have you ever pondered this question, “What are you looking for?” Another translation puts it this way, “What do you seek?” 

Was it riches?

Because that did not happen. Since many of these men had homes and families, we know that those needs somehow got handled. The Apostle John is the one who, with hostility in his voice, told about Judas Iscariot, the team accountant, and how he took money from the bag. If it was that obvious, how come no one else mentioned it? Interesting, to say the least.

What about personal fame? 

Maybe if you consider being spit on fame, but that was clearly not what they sought. All, except for John, died brutal deaths as followers of Christ. 

They heard the baptizer’s words, especially that statement “behold the Lamb of God,” which must have had a tremendous impact on them. They witnessed Jesus having God speak to Him, and then the Holy Spirit came upon Him. It is probably true that they had to ask questions to figure that all out, but Jesus began to live an irresistible lifestyle before them.

Matthew chapter four is essential as it gives you tremendous clues as to what Jesus used as ammunition against Satan and a grasp of why Satan is such a valid threat in this life on earth.

Watch what happens.

“Then Jesus was carried up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil: Matthew 4:1 Darby)

What was the last thing that Matthew showed us in Chapter Three? Remember that the origins of the Bibles that so many of us carry did not have chapters and verses.

“and behold, a voice out of the heavens saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight.” Matthew 3:17 Darby)

So, at this point, there were several witnesses. Two of them were John the Baptist’s disciples, who would eventually become disciples of Jesus. 

Did the Holy Spirit merely grab Him up, make Him disappear, and drop Jesus down in the wilderness? 

The Holy Spirit could have, but we don’t see any witnesses testifying that it happened in this manner.
The most practical method would have been transporting Jesus after walking off into obscurity. Consider the Holy Spirit had made a monumental impact on the hearts of those He affected. They now needed to think about what they saw and decide what they would do about it. If this troubles you, read on.
In the book of Acts, we see Philip, the evangelist, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

“But the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Rise up and go southward on the way which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza: the same is desert. And he rose up and went. And lo, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a man in power under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to worship at Jerusalem, was returning and sitting in his chariot: and he was reading the prophet Esaias (Isaiah). And the Spirit said to Philip, Approach and join this chariot. And Philip, running up, heard him reading the prophet Esaias, and said, Dost thou then know what thou art reading of? And he said, How should I then be able unless some one guide me? And he begged Philip to come up and sit with him. And the passage of the scripture which he read was this: He was led as a sheep to slaughter, and as a lamb is dumb in presence of him that shears him, thus he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment has been taken away, and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answering Philip said, I pray thee, concerning whom does the prophet say this? of himself or of some other? And Philip, opening his mouth and beginning from that scripture, announced the glad tidings of Jesus to him. And as they went along the way, they came upon a certain water, and the eunuch says, Behold water; what hinders my being baptised? And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they went down both to the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptised him. But when they came up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no longer, for he went on his way rejoicing. And Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through he announced the glad tidings to all the cities till he came to Caesarea.”
Acts 8:26-40 Darby)

We do not know, because we are not told, how the Spirit made Philip disappear and reappear at Azotus, nor how this transpired with Jesus “shortly” after the baptism.

I want to show you something spectacular. 

If someone says the word rapture is not found in scripture! Ask them their perception of the rapture; I suspect that most would tell you it is the rapid removal of the entirety of Christ’s followers.

The word used to describe how Philip was removed from one location to another is the Greek word harpazō. It means to seize (in various applications): – catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force). This word plays a massive role in our hope, eternal salvation, peace, and life with the Father.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NKJV)

So Jesus has been in the wilderness for forty days. 

On the website Quora, the question was asked, “Is it possible for a human being to fast for 40 days?” One response, dated Jul 14, 2018 —stated, “Prolonged fasting can lead to severe malnutrition, muscle wasting, organ damage, electrolyte imbalances, and other serious health complications.”

This tells me that it was time for Jesus, the human, to start eating again – if he had any food available. I say it like that because we assume Jesus had pocket change and could get to the corner fast food market.

“And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. “
Matthew 4:2 NASB)

I understand that at this point, the body begins to turn on itself for food and is now consuming you from the inside out. Sorry, that was gross. Realistically, Jesus indeed must have started to head back home, where ever that is.

“And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.””
Matthew 4:3 NASB)

Considering what we just read in verse two, this is unfair. I have stated, in previous posts, that God doesn’t ask questions because He needs your answer. He is trying to get you to communicate with Him.

On that note, could Jesus have turned stones into bread?

Absolutely, but giving into what Satan was trying to do would have been to diminish the power and authority of God in future events. For example, down the road you will see Jesus take authority over the wind and the waves. If you have ever been in rough waters, then you know that the wind is moving the water, but the water, minus the wind, still takes several minutes to go quiet. In the narrative where this happens, that is not what we see, for the water went quiet almost immediately, and the disciples, who thought they were going to die, noticed.

Pay attention to how a starving man responds to temptation.

“But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'”
Matthew 4:4 NASB)

  1. Food is important. After all, we are human and have a need to eat. But, because He used all caps, most of us know He is shouting, which means this information is crucial. Feeding the spirit within, with the Word of God, is vital.
  2. You can stand against the trials and tests of Satan and his demons, but as Jesus showed us, using the Word of God is crucial. 

Look, the reality, for me, is that I do not remember specific scriptures. (If you are 70+ and do, congratulations. I am proud of you.) I remember Word pictures and themes. An aspect that I think is important is that I hold fast to the knowledge that God is in Control and will send angels to come to my aid. While thinking about it, another thing that is pushed upon as guilt is that we should put on the armor of God daily. So, if you take it off when you go to bed and you get that late-night phone call from someone who needs your strength, are you unable to cope or help them because you can’t find the belt that holds your armor on? I have a suggestion, learn to live in the armor. If I had made you a knight of my round table, I would expect you to be battle ready at a moment’s notice. Considering this rapidly changing world, this is just something to entertain.

Moving on. Jesus was starving, but He held His composure and withstood the test. So, this time, Satan carries Him to the high pinnacle of the temple. 

“Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”
Matthew 4:5-7 NASB)

May I be blunt? 

Satan tried to get Him to commit suicide. 

Would God have sent the angels to catch Him?

Perhaps. At this point, we may never know for sure. Religion will tell you that God will NOT get involved in such an atrocious sin – committing self-murder is portrayed as unforgivable. Okay, stop here a moment. 

When did Jesus bring about the forgiveness of ALL sins? 

You would be correct if you said somewhere between the cross and the throne. 

“and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”
Colossians 1:20 NLT)

God reconciled everything back to Himself. 

Give me a moment as I wipe the tears from my eyes. What a vast word everything is, and it is ALL because of the blood.

What else did He do? 

He died. 

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” Hebrews 2:14 NASB  

If I say I might do something, you have no confidence that I will or won’t. Well, that doesn’t help much. So, in this case, it is a poor word choice for the translators.

Look at how the NLT translators worded 2:14. 

“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.”
Hebrews 2:14 NLT)

This is easily readable and makes all the sense in the world. Jesus became a human and remained a human. He died as both a human and a sacrifice. He paid the redemptive price to regain us all if we would choose to come, and, in so doing, He broke the power of death the devil held over us.

The third temptation, and then Satan left Him alone for some time. Again the devil took Jesus, but this time to a very high mountain. Pay attention to what the devil says to Jesus.

“Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'”
Matthew 4:8-10 NLT)

He showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the World and their glory.

Strangely, the word glory is the Greek word dóxa and means, among other things, splendor, light, and rewards. 

The Word Study Dictionary tells us: A look at the root word of dóxa, i.e., dokéō (G1380), to think or suppose, is necessary. Etymologically, the word primarily means thought or opinion, especially favorable human opinion, and thus in a secondary sense, reputation, praise, honor (true and false), splendor, light, perfection, and rewards (temporal and eternal). Thus the dóxa of man is human opinion and is shifty, uncertain, and often based on error, and its pursuit for its own safety is unworthy. But there is a glory of God which must be absolutely true and changeless. God’s opinion marks the true value of things as they appear to the eternal mind, and God’s favorable opinion is true glory. This contrast is well seen in Joh_5:44 as the Lord speaks of the glory that the people were receiving among themselves and the only glory that comes from God (see Joh_12:43). Glory, therefore, is the true apprehension of God or things. The glory of God must mean His unchanging essence. Giving glory to God is ascribing to Him His full recognition. The true glory of man, on the other hand, is the ideal condition in which God created man. This condition was lost in the fall and is recovered through Christ and exists as a real fact in the divine mind. The believer waits for this complete restoration. The glory of God is what He is essentially; the glory of created things, including man, is what they are meant by God to be, though not yet perfectly attained.

“And he (Satan) said to Him (Jesus), “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 

How and where did Satan obtain these possessions?

Here is the short answer.

“The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment….” Genesis 3:6-7 NLT)

The longer answer lies in deception and the fact that the man, who knew what was happening, stood there and said nothing. Chapter three tells us that the woman was deceived; however, the man just stood there watching. He could have exercised his dominion and stopped this downward spiral; instead, he gave up the command he possessed to Satan. 

Some will read this and say I don’t believe that; prove it.

Far too many pastors will try to preach about what transpired and apply emotions to the scene instead of logic.

  1. How quickly we forget that even though cloned, Eve was first made in God’s image. She is a genius, and playing the emotional game with her is foolish and wrong. 

    1. Genesis chapter one tells us about a stage in the creation of humanity.

      “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.” Genesis 1:26-29 NKJV)

What is God’s image? 

He is a spirit.

What, then, was dominion to Adam? 

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26 NKJV)

Some translated this word as rule. The term is radah, and both options work.

radah (921d); “a prim. root; means to have dominion, rule, dominate: — dominated (1), had dominion (1), have dominion (1), prevailed (1), rule (12), ruled (4), ruling (1), subdued (1), subdues (1).”

Adam, made in God’s image, was in complete control or charge of the earth. 

What does Webster’s dictionary have to tell us?

DOMINION, n. 1. Sovereign or supreme authority; the power of governing and controlling. 2. Power to direct, control, use and dispose of at pleasure; right of possession and use without being accountable; as the private dominion of individuals.

How did we lose our grasp of understanding who Adam was? 

That answer lies in religious tradition and wretched teaching.

I have expounded on the origins of deception, but there is always someone new to the blog. So here goes again. 

Before having bodies, humanity was made exclusively in God’s image. Before you get carried away with deception, there was only, aside from God: the Father, the Son – the Word, and the Holy Spirit. So the image carried an understanding and characteristics of God, as I just defined them. Man was made and referred to as “ish and isha.”

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27 NKJV)

Everything that moved on earth was a vegetarian, at least for a time.

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you, it shall be for food.” Genesis 1:28-29 NKJV)

God laid out the order of operations for His creation, including everything that moved on the earth. To His creation, it was stated: “have dominion.”

But God was not done yet.

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

If you must be a purist, then know this, there was no night or day until the fifth day. Since there wasn’t a light cycle to govern or advance time for four days, what does that do to your six-day creation of the world and all that is in it?

So, by the seventh day, He (God) finished His work. Really, where is man?

“And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.” Genesis 2:2 BSB)

And yet watch what happens on the eighth day.

“Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 BSB)

If, as we saw in Genesis 1:7, God created man, what is He doing here?

And then this question arises.

If Eve, under the title “isha” – woman, existed at the same time as the man, then what role did she play in giving the dominance of the earth over to Satan?

Perhaps my question is merely rhetorical, but if Eve played no role, then all the instructions about how they were to run the earth came through Adam’s mouth.

They only had one “law” they had to follow, stay away from that tree, and it came through Adam’s mouth, who made it clear that these instructions came from the Father, God.

Adam, it seems, saw God, but a logical premise is that Eve never did. It is probable that Adam dealt with the human representation of God, Jesus. The terminology typically related to what I just said is that this is another of those pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus.

As you may have noticed in Genesis 2:2, there was no Eve, and we do not see Eve until we get to verses 21 and 22.

“So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh. And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him.“ Genesis 2:21-22 BSB)

Now, fast forward past an untold number of years to the garden and that tree that Adam said God told us NOT to eat from. Read Genesis 2: 15-17, and you will see that Adam’s job was to cultivate the “garden”, but to not eat from that tree.

If Eve has only heard these instructions from Adam’s mouth, then the serpent’s deception was aimed at creating doubt in God, God’s Word, and Adam’s possible desire to control Eve, and the words or instructions were invalid. 

What a destructive morass.

Satan worked to deceive both Eve and then Adam, just as he worked to deceive Jesus. Having withstood the test, we are told this.

“Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”
Matthew 4:11 NKJV)

A thought. Since Satan has moved Jesus twice, and Jesus is starving, perhaps it is fortunate that Jesus has conveniently placed Him in Jerusalem, where the temple is. Food is so much more available here than in the wilderness.

Since Jesus had no money and there were no fast food restaurants available back then, it is good that the angels came and ministered to Him.

What does it mean to be ministered to?

It is the Greek word diakoneō and means to be a servant or attendant, to supply food and necessities of life.

The angels fulfilled these roles in Jesus’ life.

Do we have any other examples where something like this happened?

“And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.”
1 Kings 17:1-7 NKJV)

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And behold, the heavens were open to Him. Matthew 3:16

Posted on 06/14/2023 by remso

When I ended my look into Matthew’s gospel, Jesus had come to John (who was baptizing in the Jordan) so that John would baptize Him.

“But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”
Matthew 3:14 NLT)

How long did that conversation last?

We may never know, nor will we know what arguments John was trying to use against Jesus being baptized. It seems rather obvious that John recognized that the Holy Spirit and the “fire” associated with that baptism had more value. Pay attention to Jesus’ response.

“Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.
Matthew 3:15 BSB)

Here is what we typically see.

“… Allow it now, for it is becoming to us to fulfill all righteousness…” MKJV

I searched, in multiple ways, for any law that would impose full immersion baptism; I found none. The Jews had ceremonial washings that were associated with the law, but none of those required a full immersion. Mikvehs were NOT required but carried the idea of a rebirth and were completely thought of as a ceremonial event. To participate in a Mikveh cleansing, the person would get naked, squat in the pool so that they were completely underwater and stay there for a couple of seconds, and then arise and get out. At this point, you are considered reborn. This is NOT what Jesus was here to do.

And there was Moses washing Aaron and his sons in preparation for temple service.

Exodus 29:1-4 BSB  “Now this is what you are to do to consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without blemish,  2)  along with unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil. Make them out of fine wheat flour,  3)  put them in a basket, and present them in the basket, along with the bull and the two rams.  4)  Then, present Aaron and his sons at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.

With no real answers, we will move on.

“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.”
Matthew 3:16 NKJV)

“ Jesus came up immediately from the water,”

Coming up out of the water is what anyone would do. What is my thought and motivation for centering on this statement? Many years ago, there was a push in a recovery group I was associated with to go to attend a weekend retreat/convention with an organization called Cleansing Streams. One of the men from our group, who was enamored with himself, was one of the first to stand up when the opportunity arose to get publicly baptized in the hotel pool. Well, they dunked him and seconds later he emerged from the water as though he exploded and he was shouting “Praise God” and “Hallelujah.” while swinging his arms above his head in some forced act of praise. Nothing changed in his life as he continued in his normal egotistical patterns. Is this what we see with Jesus?

No, but He went up straightway.

STRAIGHTWAY, adv. [straight and way.] Immediately, without loss of time, without delay.

There was no flashy show, but He was a man determined.

“…as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.” Matthew 3:16 NLT)

Opened is the Greek word anoigō. This word was used in John 1:51, where Jesus, who had responded to Nathaniel’s sarcastic remark as though He was right there when he said it, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

“…Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
John 1:51 NKJV)

We can look into a sky filled with clouds and, in a moment’s time, witness them part exposing the heavens. At that moment, you are seeing the heavens open.

Did you see the angels ascending and descending?

Tell the truth, you did not. And yet, we all sense that this simple phrase implies something more, something that I cannot explain.

“… and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.”

Through this opening in the heavens, the Spirit of God descended gently, almost without notice, much like doves do.

Did anyone else, like John the Baptizer, see this opening?

Apparently not.

Then how do we know the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon Him? 

Upon questioning by the disciples, I can only assume that Jesus told them what happened. 

Fast forward a bit, and we will see the disciples, under instructions from Jesus, meeting in “the upper room.” There were at least 120 regulars at this time, and I do not think they saw the heavens open as they gathered there. Still, enough of them saw the Holy Spirit, the thing they were waiting for, lite upon them all like large flickers of a candle, and enough of them witnessed this to validate what transpired.

Then how do we know the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon Him? 

Upon questioning by the disciples, I can only assume that Jesus told them what happened. 

Fast forward a bit, and we will see the disciples, under instructions from Jesus, meeting in “the upper room.” There were at least 120 regulars, and I do not think they saw the heavens open as they gathered there. Still, enough of them saw the Holy Spirit, the thing they were waiting for, lite upon them all like large flickers of a candle, and enough of them witnessed this to validate what transpired.

How else do we know that something had changed the lives of the disciples after that moment in time? 

Evidence; power; boldness; speaking in other tongues – fortunately, some spoke unfamiliar languages, and others heard the sounds outside on the street.

Scriptural examples:

Timothy 3:16 BSB “By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.

The question is, what method did He choose to appear in the flesh.

John 1:14 NKJV  “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John’s gospel merely says that the Word became flesh. Again we are not told how that came to be.

Hebrews 2:9 NASB “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

And the writer of the letter to the Hebrews tells us that He was made. It is hard to read those words without seeing that decision forced upon Jesus, which it was not.

“And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake. Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.” 1 Peter 1:17-23 NLT)

I have, with purpose, read through the entire Bible. I have also listened to the Bible at least five times over the last few years. That being said, I have read and understood that Jesus voluntarily submitted Himself to be a man, pay the price for us, and now sits at the Father’s right hand as our high priest and as a man, our mediator. All the passages I posted here speak to these things, but not as directly as I said. Because I read it at some point, I know it’s there in the Bible and have every confidence in my statements about Him voluntarily doing this for us. I also have confidence in the fact that Jesus chose to remain human.

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