Sequestration, world commerce, and the coming antichrist economy

Posted on 02/23/2013 by remso

Sequestration, world commerce, and the coming antichrist economy.

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Rejoice o’ heavens, but woe to the earth.

Posted on 02/22/2013 by remso

Would you consider me a cheater if I told you I have been reading ahead. This is such an exciting time we live in. Just this morning, 02/17/2013, I read that a top Iranian military official attended the nuclear test in North Korea. You might wonder how this plays into anything. What we do know from scripture is that in the short future armies will amass against Israel. God will step into that fight and rain torrential floods upon the enemies of Israel, but he will also rain fire and brimstone, just like Sodom and Gomorrah. There is the possibility that this war will have a nuclear aspect to it for Ezekiel 38, 39 describe a scene in which people mark bodies for future disposal and normal burial teams are instructed not to touch them. Go figure!

“ For this reason, rejoice,”

“For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

(Revelation 12:12 NASB)

We seem to think that the beginnings of the earth are tumultuous, almost as though they were filled with a rage. The statements made in Genesis 1 about the formation are difficult to argue at best.

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

But at some point God called it all good. It appears that God’s handiwork really kicks in a verse later.

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

Here is my point. If I base my ideas of creation on some science fiction movie I could be off by 180 degrees. Let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that what God made was perfect and something happened to it. It could be that the something was Satan crashing violently into the earth, for Jesus told us that he saw him get thrown out. And we know he was in the garden at some point with the express purpose of deceiving Eve.

If the whole earth was perfect then why make a garden? Just speculating here. Paleobotanists’ have found petrified plant life that only grew in lush environments, in the harshest of terrains, across the entire globe, suggesting that the entire earth was a garden. Obviously something changed. We can argue when that happened and why until we are blue in the face, but you cannot deny that there was a drastic change. I have always associated that change with Satan’s entrance into the world.

If God tossed him angrily, so early, and Satan immediately begins making useless plans for retaliation from the very beginning, could we then assume that “woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” could apply?

That would mean that the earth was would have been under Satan’s wrath from the beginnings of man. But that is not what this passage is telling us.

We have been looking at a context and it applies, primarily, to the last days. Specifically to the final seven year period. Some of the best evidence we have for this argument is:

  1. When does this take place.

    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)

    The logical assumption for this empowerment of the Antichrist is right at the beginning of the seven years, or slightly before it. It would not make sense for someone to usurp authority without some previous demonstration of ability. But then we are dealing with demonic abilities being given. This is empowerment is exactly what Jesus turned down. Satan offered him everything and said it was his to give. Think about that.

    The him in this passage is the beast. That is not some mythological monster but a man; a man empowered by the devil himself.

    Here is where the water gets muddy. There are several beasts and you need to keep your beasts straight, sort of. Daniel, in the seventh chapter states that there are four beasts. John, looking into the future describes “a beast coming out of the sea”. Read what he says he saw.

    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. 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 13:1-2 NASB)

You ought to know by now that the sea represents people of the nations (Those outside of the church and Israel). This ugly thing had seven heads and ten crowns. Think about that for a moment. Heads represent governing bodies or tyrannical rulers, and history has proved them all out but for a couple. We are watching one of the last described as falling happen on the news as we speak (Syria). But crowns represent rulers or ruling bodies so it is safe to assume that one or more switch controlling bodies, several times.

I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; (Revelation 13:3 NASB)

Wait a second. We know that Satan empowers the beast, and that is true. Why we even know that several men gained the title of beast in apocalyptic writings. But here you have a beast with heads and one of the heads sustains what many feel is a mortal wound. With modern science it is possible to recover, to some degree, from a mortal head wound. Here in America senator Gabriel Giffords recovered to deliver a speech to congress about the need for gun control. If you happened to see it I think you would agree that it will be some time before she can return to an authoritative position, if at all. That being said, I do not think we should be looking for a man to sustain a head wound. If the heads are governing bodies then we certainly have an excellent choice if we intently consider the Ottoman/Islamic empire.

We are not told to separate this head from the freakish body that John sees, and yet we do. So the clue as who this is comes more from the pattern (More on that later.)

  1. Because of Satan’s empowerment, the beast sends the remnant of Israel running into the desert where they are protected by God for three and one half years. You should understand that not all leave. Why they stay I am not sure, but the concept of the entire remnant escaping is not valid.

    And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. (Revelation 12:13-14 NASB)

    If Satan was tossed, as this verse describes, at the beginning of time, there was no Israel to call a woman and persecute. So this is clearly a last days event.

So, try as you might, you cannot place this passage anywhere else and make it fit. It is true that Satan got tossed out of heaven, but to what extent. This is a subject that I toyed with in a previous chapter (post).

“Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath..”

The earth can be taken literally, but the sea, which meant people only moments before is quite probably the same thing now.

What is the most prolific attribution given to cataclysmic weather or seismic events? An act of God! Really? Why would Satan change his style or character just because God finally locked him out of heaven? He wouldn’t. So if he was thrown to the earth previously with his bad attitude, and he gained control of the earth in the process, then who is causing all the harm around here?

Certainly the Revelation tells of God throwing his wrath at the earth but that is during a specific time period. If only we could understand this.

Now consider this aspect of the “sea”. If we are talking people then who? Satan directs most of his energies against anything that looks like God and the Saints of the tribulation period fit that bill as he goes on an all out killing spree.

As for the wrath aspect. Certainly the killing of the saints as they refuse the mark, name and number of the beast, but he also goes after Israel with a vengeance.

And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.(Revelation 12:13 NASB)

“..so that she might fly..”

The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.

(Revelation 12:14 NIV)

God is not strapping two wings to the back of an entire nation but he can certainly give them swift feet. You, nor I know how they are getting out of town, nor do we know if all Israel has some contingency plan should such a massive attack be leveled against them.

In the whole land,” declares the LORD, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. (Zechariah 13:8 NIV)

It is the majority of this one third that will make great haste out of town.

The idea of God taking care of someone supernaturally is not new. Consider Elijah:

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. (1 Kings 17:2-6 NIV)

By the way, how long did Elijah live in the wilderness and get fed by Ravens? Three and one half years.

You cannot exclude the probability that God will do the same thing once again. Here Israel, what is left of them, will hide for three and one half years, the entire second half of the tribulation period. How do I know that? Jesus said, “So when you see the appalling sacrilege [the abomination that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place–let the reader take notice and ponder and consider and heed [this]”—[Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11.] (Matthew 24:15 AMP)

Jesus continued to say, “then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:16-22 NASB)

This appalling sacrilege happens three and one half years into the seven years of the tribulation time.

“like a river out of his mouth”

And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.

(Revelation 12:15 NASB)

“And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth..”

In a previous post I struggled with this concept, even toying with the idea of a dam breaking, but a friend of mine suggested that this was a mass of people come against Israel once again. It only took me a moment to see the strength in this idea.

The serpent is Satan and he apparently has not had a creative idea since his inception, so why start now. This is a highly symbolic statement and not that dissimilar to John seeing the beast come out of the sea.

Revelation 13:1 NASB 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.

Here the sea is representing people, nation, and tongues. How do I know that?

Revelation 17:15 NASB And he *said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

So it would not be all that far-fetched to use that analogy here.

The concept of a flood is not new to John’s readers: Job spoke of it –

Job 27:20 NASB “Terrors overtake him like a flood; A tempest steals him away in the night.

In this case terrors were said to overtake someone, probably Job.

“And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth..”

This same word poured, was translated as cast in the King James version. In my mind they have two distinct meanings, and yet not. I will explain. If I pour out something it can be directed or targeted, and with a very specific intent, such as watering a plant. But it can also mean to dump with no intent or specific target and cover a wide area. Were I to be watering plants in this way it would be very ineffectual.

Cast however, based on Thayer’s definition (to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls), implies something more like a shotgun blast. The impact will cause damage, but the intent is to take out as big a target as possible, not really caring who gets hit.

“And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth..”

The word mouth sounds benign enough until you dig into the definition.

Thayer Definition: For the Greek word stoma.

  1. the mouth, as part of the body: of man, of animals, of fish, etc.

  2. the edge of a sword.

In this case it is easy to visualize Satan pouring water out of his mouth. Of course it is for most of us have seen some statue that has water spewing out of its mouth. But only one verse later the earth is opening its mouth and swallowing the flood. The word stoma has not changed, nor has the definition, but the earth does not, as we understand it, have a mouth. So what is he talking about.

This same word was translated as the edge of the sword twice: Luke_21:24, Hebrews_11:34

Jesus was speaking of this very scenario when he said,

Luke 21:24 NASB and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

So what we have is another large attack against those of Israel that:

  1. Still remain in Israel

  2. Have not taken the mark, the name, or worshiped the beast.

  3. And obviously have not been slaughtered yet.

But the earth helped the woman

But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.

(Revelation 12:16 NASB)

“But the earth helped the woman,..”

Back to Thayer. I realize that to say the earth is fairly understandable but having God thrown in the mix tends to give it a life of its own.

Thayer’s definition includes:

  1. arable land

  2. the ground, the earth as a standing place.

  3. the main land as opposed to the sea or water

So the earth helped Israel.

Is this a new concept? Not if you have read through the bible. I will give you a couple of examples:

And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

(Numbers 16:32 KJV)

and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them.

(Deuteronomy 11:6 NIV)

In the two passages shared here there is no water or sea but people, and again, I do not believe that this a flood of water referred to in Revelation 12.

“..and he went away to wage war on the remainder..”

So then the dragon was furious (enraged) at the woman, and he went away to wage war on the remainder of her descendants–[on those] who obey God’s commandments and who have the testimony of Jesus Christ [and adhere to it and bear witness to Him].

(Revelation 12:17 AMP)

Thwarted in his attempt to kill the escaping remnant, he goes away, back we assume into Israel, to make war on the remainder of the descendants. A word of caution: When you have a clear, logical path assumption is not bad and provides clarity, but without a clear path assumption can lead you incorrectly and have you looking in the wrong direction.

If I look at the broader picture. Christ came into the world and the dragon was waiting to kill him. Unable to do that he waged war on the church. But you have to keep the context clear on your exploratory missions. This is about him waging war on the descendants of the woman, and the woman is Israel.

Again, this is exclusively an end times event being spoken of.

Israel, being warned of God to flee when they see the abomination in the temple, should have evacuated the country. Maybe that is the problem. Most will understand that the majority of the comments about Israel seem to focus on Jerusalem, therefore the majority who escape are from Jerusalem while others in Israel think they are safe. That will not be the case.

Revelation 13:10 CJB “If anyone is meant for captivity, into captivity he goes! If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he is to be killed!” This is when God’s holy people must persevere and trust!

This passage is integrated into the context of the beast’s war upon the saints and its potential impact. It is easy to see that some will survive, making it all the way to Christ’s return. How Christ deals with those is entirely up to him. I can speculate but that is really pointless.

the rest of her seed, those keeping the commandments of God, and having the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Satan went away to make war with “her descendants”, and yet it speaks of those who obey God’s commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Wait a minute, think this through.

Typically, we do not understand Israel as having the testimony of Jesus Christ. I would love to see that happen but I know that will not be the majority. Scripture even tells us that the “elect” will be deceived by the miracles that the false prophet works. The deceived will take the mark and worship the beast, sealing their fate. But keep in mind that we rarely are to take comments like “all Israel” as literal. Instead, is it wiser to think in terms of a majority, or a lot of them. If this passage says they have the testimony of Christ, then we have to assume that during the tribulation many of Israel will turn to Christ as the Messiah they were waiting for.

God performs a few of his own miracles to catch the elect. Observe.

And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having an everlasting gospel to proclaim to those dwelling on the earth, even to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying in a great voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him, because the hour of His judgment has come; also, Worship “Him who has made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea,” and the springs of waters. Ex. 20:11

(Revelation 14:6-7 LITV)

Revelation 14 is not the first place we see this type of activity, and there is no doubt that it will have a huge impact, not only on Israel but on the world.

This has the possibility of including followers of Jesus Christ, tribulation saints, as well as Jews, because this terminology “having the testimony of” can also include tribulation saints.

And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those having been slain for the Word of God, and for the witness which they had.

(Revelation 6:9 LITV)

You do not have to wait until an angel flies overhead shouting out the glories of God and how to become his; give your life to him now, you are making a mess of it anyway and Jesus already paid the price for your freedom. Run to him, accept his love for you and be received into his kingdom. Doing this gives the hope of a life with him, and Jesus told us that he would come back for us, and rescue us just before pouring out his wrath on the earth. Sure you can wait if you wish, missing out on the period of grace, choosing to endure what is to come during the time of wrath, but why?

Life here on earth during the seven years after the church is pulled out of here will be a little taste of hell. Jesus told us that he is the only way to the Father, not religion, not cults, not good works, but a faith in Jesus Christ alone. That act of belief is the only hope of being caught up with the church before the tribulation.

But is it the only hope? Not necessarily. You can refuse the mark of the beast that indicates your allegiance to the beast and his ways, and you must refuse to worship the beast. Scripture tells us that very few will survive this onslaught. Refusing to take his mark should get you beheaded and get you your ticket to reign with Christ during the millennial years. But as I noted before, there may be survivors of the beast that make it through until Jesus returns. Standing as one that testifies to Jesus Christ as King of the earth should get you into the kingdom, but what your life will look like I do not know. I can see a picture of heartless captivity for you, and it will not be pretty. Why wait to find out.

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The salvation and the power.

Posted on 02/15/2013 by remso

Revelation 12:10,11

Now is come salvation

Before I begin allow me to share something with you. I have gone through a very tough time emotionally. All the aspects of this internal trauma coincide with a book I am reading called Wild At Heart, by John Eldredge. I have struggled all my life to find a center, where at least I understand why I am here. I found that place briefly in my early twenties and then I got married. What a tragic mistake she was. We think we marry to complete us, but only God can do that. The woman becomes a substitute for God; that hole which we fill with a woman is really crying for a restored relationship with the Father. To be honest, to some degree writing these messages to the struggling church is an aspect of what makes me feel alive and a part of why I am here.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

(Revelation 12:10 KJV)

(ASV) “And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power,”

If you have had any religious background or training at all, the concept of salvation should not be new to you. That does not mean you have it, or that you understand it. But in essence something tells you that it happened long ago when Jesus went to the cross.

What happened on the cross?

Jesus was made to be sin and the payment for our sins. Not only our sins but the sins of the whole world. That act on the cross effectively freed us from the debt of sin.

Didn’t the cross bring our salvation?

Released from the bondage to sin it gave you the freedom to choose the one who freed you. The ability to choose proves your freedom but it does not bring about salvation, it merely gives you an opportunity you did not have prior to the cross, for we were trapped, a prisoner to our sins.

Our salvation in Christ comes as we ask him to come into our lives. Doing this demonstrates your acceptance of Christ’s relationship with the Father and the payment he made for you.

Assuming we have done that why then are so many of us still going through a life so filled with hell?

Because the accuser/deceiver/Satan still roams the earth. His one sole purpose seems to be to destroy anything that looks like God, and with Christ inside of you, you look just like the Son. Of course you are a target.

This is an entirely different approach to the text than my first attempts for originally my mindset screamed that Satan had already been expelled from heaven; Jesus said so. My comprehension was based upon what people told me and so I merely assumed that Satan had been stripped of all power and rendered useless. If you look forward in Revelation you will find Satan empowering the beast and the false prophet, so clearly, at this time, he is not stripped of power. Fortunately God is merciful and leaves us room for error on our part.

Having explored the context I now understand that Satan has had access all along, but will soon have it stripped.

The word salvation is the Greek word sōtēria. Thayer’s Definition: 1) deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation.

Salvation means so many things but it all depends on what you are being saved from. Deliverance or preservation speaks to me of rescue. With Satan finally expelled, he is only moments away from a thousand-year lockup, and man’s motivation to sin is just about gone, for at least a while.

““Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come,”

Now comes the deliverance, the strength and ability. It feels as though God finally gets a chance to brag about his Son. This time is for real and Satan is shut up and stripped of any power he had. It’s about time.

“and the kingdom of our God ….. have come,”

This is another place where some will struggle. The world looks at things like this and claim it is a contradiction. I believe God was looking into future time when he spoke the words of Revelation 11:15

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

Only moments later that time is here. Do not let your religious opinion constrain you; READ, you never know if your life depends on it.

What changed if the kingdom of our God is now come?

Ask yourself a question. Was Christ ever stripped of power? The answer is no, but then to be fair you might not have known that. Christ voluntarily set aside his power to be a man. One that had to operate on this earth the way we do. He healed the sick, raised the dead, and brought life to the world.

Does that sound like a powerless man?

No; so what changed? When Jesus was tested after the baptism, Satan offered him all the kingdoms of the world. You must assume that power was part of the deal. The truth is Adam handed the earth over to Satan, and God had previously given man dominion/authority to deal with it as he saw fit. Dominion is the Greek word basileia and means royal power. This was the authority that Adam had, royal power. He acted as God’s representative and in that place he handed the control of the earth over to a fallen angel.

So until the moment that God retakes control, the earth belongs to the dragon, and we have had to deal with the toxic brunt since Cain and Abel walked the earth. The payments have been made, God’s people have acted wisely, punishment and judgment have been dealt now that thing that man has hoped for is finally come, the kingdom with Jesus on the throne and peace at last.

“and the authority of His Christ have come,..”

Authority is the Greek word exousia, and means, according to Thayer, power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases.

Jesus had already established that he did nothing outside of the Father’s instructions, so he is not turning into some tyrannical dictator now. But with the Father’s blessing he has the liberty to do as he pleases, and he did nothing outside the Father’s will.

“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

(John 5:30 NASB)

 Think about that a moment. When he was here on earth what did he do?

Fed multitudes, healed sick people, restored life to the dead, taught that a life and relationship with the Father far outshines anything this broken world has to offer, and freely gave his life so that we may gain ours.

We should already have a clue about what his next few moves are: battle with those that wish to fight against him, establishing justice once again, and reign appropriately from his throne.

Many will say, I have nothing to fear. That is awesome, if you have a relationship with the Father, but should you find yourself concerned or feeling lost, then maybe I would re-examine my relationship with the Father before it is too late for grace to intervene.

“of His Christ…”

Separate and yet one. This struck me in a powerful way, as matter of fact the whole verse did. Finally God gets to brag on his Son, and the Son finally gets to shut the arrogant mouths.

Having dealt all the cards, it is God’s turn. Just look around you right now, the world is imploding. This is what Satan is capable of as he attempts to kill off everything that looks like God, and according to the words of Jesus, as found in scripture, he will come close at some point. But God is in control, even when it does not look like it.

“ for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”

Do you have any questions as to who the accuser is? Satan, and he has had free access to God from day one. Imagine what God has had to listen to.

Using myself as the example I have given him plenty of fodder as I exhibited anger and frustration about life, work, and other things that I cannot control. Yeah, I know, your life is perfect. LIAR! Isaiah 6 tells us that it is our righteousness that is the stinky rags before God’s face. So even on our best day our works don’t cut it. You have to put your faith in Christ and his sacrifice for you – that is the only way.

And they overcame him

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

(Revelation 12:11 NASB)

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the lamb and because of the word of their testimony,”

Who is the “they” here?

I might try the obvious approach and say the church, but the blood of the lamb was not just poured for them. The fact that they accepted Christ blood as theirs makes them the church but there are people within the church that are not overcoming anything. Life has just beat them down.

This passage tends to imply people who did overcome something, but what?

The verse itself tends to answer the question: “and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”

What has been the immediate topic of discussion here in Revelation?

The martyred saints. We tend not to think of them as over-comers, saving that title for ourselves, the church. And why would we take that attitude? Because we are judgmental, not willing to see God’s mercy poured out on anyone that did not buy an early ticket or stand in the long line awaiting heavens gates to open. But that misses the point; God’s mercy never fails.

Either way, whether it be Saints or the church, God sees us as victorious over the deceiver primarily because of the blood of Jesus, but it is also the word of our testimony.

That word of our testimony aspect may not be that elaborate. During the judgment years (the seven year period we inaccurately call the tribulation) the deaths of saints will increase to a fevered pitch. So much so, that they will not tolerate your long reasoning’s and attempts at converting them. It may become a mere yes or no response. Regardless denying Christ and choosing to worship the beast will get a quick ticket into the hell reserved for Satan and his followers, while refusal to follow the beast will get you, rather quickly, into the presence of God.

(A quick thought about the beast. This is bible terminology, and an allusion to something else, but let’s break it down. Our minds perceive some hideous representation when we hear the word beast, and I am sure it is to God, but in reality it represents a large entity that is in vile opposition to God’s will and ways. Can you think of anything, off the top of your head, that fits those  parameters? Allow me to help you. Islam perfectly fits those parameters, and is therefore the beast.)

  • I tend to ask myself if I am making any sense and changing lives. One can only hope, but I have to trust God. I am not one to exude with confidence but do have the desire to see you do so. Get serious about God’s word for in it is the way to life, and answers to all of life.

    Turn your life over to Jesus Christ. Admit that you are not capable of handling it and that you want him in control.

    Try something like this: Jesus, I need you and I need you to take control. I want to live with you in heaven so I am asking you to cleanse me and make me whole. Bring me into your kingdom with you. While I am here on this earth I am asking your Holy Spirit to guide me and give direction. I put my faith in you Jesus, knowing that you will not disappoint and not forsake me. I thank you for being my savior and cleansing me with your blood. Thank you for giving your life for me, and returning soon to receive me into your kingdom. Take my life, it is yours, and do with it what you need. In Jesus name.

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War arose in heaven.

Posted on 02/08/2013 by remso

I am going to tell you straight up that my understanding has changed as I attempted to write this. Two things stand out in my mind:

  • I went to my men’s bible study Sunday morning and talked for a short time about the act of writing. I told the leader that you have to work at not putting out garbage. And I do not wish to put out garbage here now.

  • The second thing that change my thinking was that I caught Dr. Ed Hinson on the Calvary Chapel radio station doing an hour-long overview of Revelation. Statements that he made about these passages must have been the work of the Holy Spirit.

If I leave this post almost the same as I started then maybe you can see my thought process and the point of change in thinking. I have tried to think this through and figure out how to explain what scripture is doing to us. All I was doing was to come up with conjecture that gets you no where and in trouble. Perhaps the best explanation for a passage is to compare what happens in there to what other prophetic authors of the old testament said by giving us accounts of the same things we read in Revelation.

An example might be:

And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”(Daniel 9:26-27 ESV)

Many have toiled over this in an effort to understand future events, and many have attributed the prince to Antiochus. While he did perform abominations in the temple, it is also an allusion to the beast of the near future.

So is it bogus information? No, it has a reason and purpose, and while it may be confusing at times, it is comparative and forth telling of future events.

One of the things I have said several times over is, nothing is in this book we call a bible by accident, everything has a purpose and reason. It is up to us to dig and find it out.

Much like a nurseryman who takes pride in the growth of his plants he is selling; we too should take some pride in the growth that we find in ourselves. Just don’t get your head swelled too much because Isaiah 6 is where you find the statement about how your righteousness is as filthy rags. In other words, even on your best day you should be undone by the Holiness of God.

God understands you better than you do and I suspect that he can handle you. Having a little warm fuzzy over gained understanding only encourages you to dig more; so keep on digging. It is a pearl of great price.

Now war arose in heaven.

Revelation 12:7-9 ESV Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, (8) but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. (9) And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world–he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

What have the previous verses of Revelation been talking about?

The dragon, which has various names, one of them being Satan, was anxiously awaiting the man-child (Jesus Christ) to be born so he could kill him. Those previous verses speak of the dragon being cast to earth and dragging the angels that followed down with him. Revelation 12:4 calls the fallen angels stars. We are not talking literal stars here. Stars are symbolic.

An attempt at logic without adequate understanding.

So what takes place first? – Obviously his being cast to earth. We first see the serpent in the third chapter of Genesis deceiving Eve.

Genesis 3:1-7 MKJV Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said to the woman, Is it so that God has said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2) And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. (3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. (4) And the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die, (5) for God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as God, knowing good and evil. (6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make wise, she took of its fruit, and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (7) And the eyes of both of them were opened. And they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made girdles for themselves.

Even here, in a state of death, God speaks prophetically to the woman about her offspring.

Genesis 3:15 ERV I will make you and the woman enemies to each other. Your children and her children will be enemies. You will bite her child’s foot, but he will crush your head.”

Jesus, the one John stated was the creative word that spoke all things into existence (John 1:1-5), said, I was there, I saw him thrown out of heaven (Luke 10:18).

Now war arose in heaven,

Heaven, in most everybody’s mind, is perfect and peaceful, but even those that reject Jesus Christ would tell you that the perfect place is a future event. That future can mean something that will happen immediately after death with no real idea of what happens, or an eventual home with Jesus and God.

I suppose I should admit that I built-in some ideas about what heavenly warfare looks like by reading several of Frank Peretti’s books. Angelic warfare in the heavenly realm, all around us, is a constant theme in many of his writings.

War means exactly that, a pitched battle. I do not know how many angels Michael had fighting on his side but we understand that the dragon had a third with him. Here in Revelation 12 they are referred to as stars.

When you look up the word for heaven it conveys pretty much what you might think of when someone mentions heaven.

Thayer’s definiton: 1) the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it. 1a) the universe, the world. 1b) the aerial heavens or sky, the region where the clouds and the tempests gather, and where thunder and lightning are produced.

War, it must have been a frightful sight.

I used to listen occasionally to the Bible Answer Man radio program. (I had a job that required a lot of driving.)

The show had noble beginnings and informed people about how to deal with the known cults, but it deteriorated into a show that spent most of its time berating the heresies in every aspect of Christianity that varied from the hosts. One of his repeated tirades centered on the idea that Jesus became sin, died, and during the time between his death and resurrection he went into the heavens and poured out his blood on the heavenly utensils. Going callers and church leaders with an angry vigor each day over this. The hosts would say, God would not bring himself down to that level of degradation.

Why would Jesus have to pour out his blood on the heavenly altar and utensils?

Because there had been an attempted takeover in heaven, and the heavenly pattern for the temple had been abominated as a result of the insurrection.

What had Jesus been describing to John just before this description of heavenly battle?

The dragon, on earth, ready to consume the woman’s child.

So what took place first; the battle in heaven, or the dragons appearance on earth, waiting to consume the man-child?

His being thrown out of heaven.

Revelation 12:9 describes him as a dragon and several other things, but where is the first place we see the dragon?

In the garden deceiving Eve.

Genesis 3:1 CJB Now the serpent was more crafty than any wild animal which Adonai, God, had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You are not to eat from any tree in the garden’?”

But now we have a problem.

Revelation 12:8-9 CJB But it was not strong enough to win, so that there was no longer any place for them in heaven. (9) The great dragon was thrown out, that ancient serpent, also known as the Devil and Satan [the Adversary], the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.

Were there two battles or one?

If God has to battle Satan again, then doesn’t that imply that God is not enough? The idea that God’s actions are enough take a huge role in Christ rising from the dead. His death on the cross and his resurrection are central to our belief in everything else. An example would be to look at the hope we have in Christ.

What are we hoping in?

Salvation, but from what? The wrath that is to come. That would be the seven years of wrath to be poured out on the earth. We have Jesus word on the subject as he referenced Noah and Lot as examples of this salvation.

So then what is the passage referring to when it says,

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now have come God’s victory, power and kingship, and the authority of his Messiah; because the Accuser of our brothers, who accuses them day and night before God, has been thrown out!” (Revelation 12:10 CJB)

If God had him thrown out, after an intense battle, then why do we see Satan interacting with God in the book of Job. Look at it.

One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.(Job 1:6-12 NIV)

We see Satan in heaven accusing Job once again in chapter 2 of Job.

On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. And the LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. (Job 2:1-7 NIV)

There is no denying that Satan continued to have access to God, even after an apparent, life altering defeat.

I believe it was Ed Hinson, on the Calvary Chapel Channel, that said this verse demonstrates a future event in which Satan finally got locked out of heaven, and I believe he indicated that the end of his access occurs at the mid-point of the seven-year period.

Can we define when this happened or when it will happen.? Yes, but we have to jump ahead in the chapter to gain more clarity.

Following a chronological approach, we make the assumption that we are at the end of time, or at least near it. When Christ returns to end the warfare we know that Satan gets bound for one thousand years. The fact that he is bound plays strongly in God’s statement, “now is the accuser of the brethren cast out.”

Dr. Ed Hinson, stated that Satan’s expulsion happens at the midpoint of the seven-year tribulation.

Pay attention to the chronology of these passages:

And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. (Revelation 12:13-15 ESV)

The woman is surviving Israel. She escapes into the wilderness for three and one half years. At some point during this time in hiding the serpent tries to sweep Israel away with a flood. This may be very literal, but then I really cannot be sure.

What is the impact of this timing? In other words, what is happening at this point. If you are a student of end times events then you should already have a clue, but I will recap anyway.

  • The beast who made the seven-year treaty with Israel breaks the treaty.

    That ruler will have a firm agreement with many people for seven years, and when half this time is past, he will put an end to sacrifices and offerings. The Awful Horror will be placed on the highest point of the Temple and will remain there until the one who put it there meets the end which God has prepared for him.” (Daniel 9:27 GNB)

  •  The abomination is set up in the temple.

  • Those remaining in Israel need to flee.

    When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: (Matthew 24:15-16 KJV)

  •  The two witnesses will have been taken up into heaven.

  • The false prophet comes on the scene. There is a good chance he is already on the scene but not declared. Islamic prophecies proclaim that this man will be the enforcer of sharia, therefore an escalation in the beheading of saints should rapidly increase. Doesn’t that aspect show that there are still brethren for Satan to accuse?

  • (I have re-thought this since writing it.) When Christ returns to earth to end the warfare here on earth it seems to be quick and definitive, but nothing is said of warfare in heaven.

Jumping ahead to Revelation 12:13, it states, “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the man-child.” This time Satan is not awaiting the child but going directly after the one that brought Christ into the world. If you think about it, hasn’t attempting to destroy the lineage of Christ been Satan’s theme since Israels inception?

In summation:

You have just watched me struggle through the process of understanding. Yeah I know, some would say you do not understand anything, but what I do understand that God is passionately in love with people and desires that all be saved. I happen to be one of them.

I, like many, have preconceived ideas, ideas that don’t hold water when held up to the truth of God’s word. There is only one way to cure that and that is to dive into God’s word for yourself. The Apostle Paul praised the Bereans because they took it upon themselves to study and find out if what Paul said was true, and it was.

I had never even thought about the possibility that Satan had been cast out of heaven twice, because I have always tended to accept things I heard as more black and white. While being able to think of God and his Word as rigid and unchangeable seems ideal, there are many things in scripture that are not so clear-cut.

A couple of examples:

Our tendency to read the bible as a chronological time-line, when it is clearly not. Oh sure, there is a time-line but details are spread throughout scripture by different authors.

And places where scripture says, “all Israel came before ….” The book of Daniel is one of those places where even though King Nebuchadnezzar demanded that everyone bow before his statue, Daniel was not there and therefore did not bow, nor suffered being thrown into the fire with his companions.

Does this lack of rigidity diminish God’s integrity, or his word at all?

No!, it merely demonstrates the expressive way humans have conveyed many of God’s dealings with man.

To tell that Jesus submitted to the cross, died and rose again is not conjecture; it is verifiable, historic fact. God and his word is trustworthy. Perhaps things like Satan’s being cast out needs to be clarified so that people can have a confidence and greater understanding of the depth of God’s word.

Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” It is not a lie nor is it some random babble. It is the only path to the life promised to those who follow after him.

Father, receive me, a sinner covered by the blood of your son Jesus. Jesus come into my life and be my life. Change me, use me, and have your way with me. Fill me with your love, the love that I have seen in your eyes. I believe in the hope of life you have for me and a life with you in eternity. In Jesus name.

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Another sign?

Posted on 02/01/2013 by remso

Revelation 12 verses 3 through 7

Revelation 12:3 MKJV And another sign was seen in the heavens. And behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads!

Another sign?

God saw fit to place the stars in the heavens as signs, and it worked well enough to guide a ragged bunch of shepherds to the baby Jesus when he was born, and some wise men a few years later, but this sign had something to do with Satan, the dragon. I find nothing but speculation on this one.

“And behold a great red dragon,”

My Dake’s bible states that Satan is referenced as the dragon 13 times. Everyone of those occurs from Revelation 12 on.

If you read my blogs on Revelation then you know that I have said that John wrote things that were meant to be understood. Why should the analogy of a dragon be any different? If we work off the assumption that John’s readers would have been primarily Jewish and would have memorized the Law and the prophets what would they relate this to?

  • King David spoke of trampling the dragon. Psalms 91:13

  • Isaiah prophesied using most of the symbolism that we see in Revelation. Isa 27:1

  • The prophet Jeremiah referred to a dragon swallowing him up. Jer 51:34

  • Ezekiel the prophet spoke of a dragon that lies in the rivers. Eze 29:3

  • Rev 12:7-17, and Rev 13:2 give more detail about the dragon aspect.

Look at Daniel chapter seven and you will find the ten horns.

Daniel 7:7 AMP After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast [the Roman empire]–terrible, powerful and dreadful, and exceedingly strong. And it had great iron teeth; it devoured and crushed and trampled what was left with its feet. And it was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns [symbolizing ten kings]. [Dan. 2:40-43; 7:23.]

The concept of the beast is not new for we see that reference in earlier portions of the  Revelation, and the ten horns imagery has also repeated itself. When we compare notes between the prophets of old and John’s writings we get a much more detailed picture of what will happen.

January 23, 2013, American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is finally brought before a senate investigations committee (a committee that works so hard at being polite and not offending that they do not ask the hard questions) and she was hopefully asked why everyone lied about the American deaths at Benghazi Libya, to which one of her replies was, “what does it matter?!”

Why does anything that happens after the rapture matter to the believer?

Because people will still be here, and continue to come to accept Jesus as the way. They will be martyred for their belief. I believe that having an understanding that the eternity that Jesus promises will give them a hope and the strength to carry on too. The times that are coming are going to be extremely hard, as violence from the skies falls on earth and an ever-increasing level of violence from people fills the earth.

It is really just a road map. Those of us that have found him to be true and come to him already, have managed to take the straightest path on that map. It doesn’t matter how we got there. It only matters that we found his overwhelming love and came to him. Everyone else is taking circuitous routes that will have them wandering some painful paths should they find his loving arms. Just know that he anxiously awaits your coming. And there you will find comfort and freedom that you have never known as you rest in him.

What would it take for me to convince you that you really do not want to be here during the tribulation years. The financial world will collapse; food and water will be a scarcity; Islam will be a violent, overwhelming force to reckon with, and governments, while collapsing, will be eradicating those who speak out against them. There will be multiple impacts in the oceans and fresh water sources by flaming objects; as a result shipping will be wiped out; all fishing will be wiped out; water will turn to blood and be undrinkable; earthquakes will be so violent that you may see the continents shift back together again, and people will be dying all around you.

Why does it matter? I suppose it doesn’t if I do not care. Look, I have no interest in luring you into some last days cult. I want you to find the Jesus who has been calling out to you in your dreams. I want you to find peace in him and a love that you have never known.

Find a bible and begin reading. Try starting with the book of John, the same John that struggled to understand who Jesus was, struggled with a violent temper, struggled with loving people, but yet finally figured out that this Jesus was the awaited one, the Messiah they longed for, and it changed him. So much so that he was willing to die proclaiming who Jesus was. Strangely,  of all the disciples he was the survivor, they could not kill him, though they tried. Exiled to this small island Jesus came to him and laid out the last days of broken man on this earth.

Jesus will return soon, in the clouds, to gather his own who are waiting for him, so that they can join with him and the Father in heaven. Jesus will physically return once more after this and this time he will not come as a tender lamb. He will come with vengeance and things will be set straight at last.

“…having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.”

Again from the Dake’s notes: This represents Satan’s domination of previous worldly kingdoms. If you think about it, the kingdoms of history all had their beginnings in violence as man has attempted to dominate people, with one main purpose throughout history, and that is so that those in control could have more and better things. It is not uncommon to see the wealthy rulers eating well while those that make that happen for them starve and die of disease.

Revolutions have had many a grand entrance because people at the ground level had enough. In the end someone always manages to gain the upper hand the cycle starts again. As you read through the Revelation you will see a comment along this line, and to destroy those that destroy the earth.

Sitting comfortably in riches, it would be my hope that I could continue in my lavish lifestyle, so what benefit do I gain from destroying the earth? None if I lose my benefit, but what if people and their souls are an aspect of that earth? Then I have destroyed both to feed my greed, and though there is no denying that corporate greed has destroyed the earth it is clear to me that souls are counted as part of this equation.

Make some passes through prophetic books of the bible, such as, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, just to name a few, and you will find analogies that use many of the same words. John’s readers recognized this immediately.

Those earthly kingdoms are up to and including the rising power of Islam.

The dragon stood before the woman to devour her child

Revelation 12:4 KJV And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

We already have established that we are dealing with Satan here.

“And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:”

This is referring to the third part of the angels that followed him. Satan does not seem to have an allegiance to anyone but himself. Note that is says, “and did cast them to the earth:”

“and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered,”

The woman was Israel, but think about the deaths and path of destruction we see Satan causing.

I heard a speaker, many years ago, say, Satan seemed to be taking pot shots at anything that looked like God might use it to bring salvation to the world. But the day that Jesus came up out of the water and God himself announced that this is my Son the game was on, and Satan looked for a way to take him out every chance he got.

Jesus himself stated in Luke’s gospel, 10:18 KJV “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”

 “and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered,”

Although not created for this purpose, it clearly became his corrupted goal to kill the man-child; the salvation of the world.

Satan’s original name was Lucifer, the bearer of light, but pride brought him down.

The implications are that Satan waited and watched the course of man in his quest to kill off anyone that had the potential to be the path to salvation.

In a short period of time after the garden incident, what do we see? Cain killing the only man who seemed to get it, Able, his brother. Satan had already effectively killed Adam and Eve. Isaac’s sons followed Satan’s lead and thought hard about killing Joseph. Pharaoh would have killed every Jewish boy if he could have but even then God had a plan. Even when they left Egypt Pharaoh changed his mind and came after them in hopes of killing them all, and would have done it if he could have. When Jesus was born Herod, out of fear for his own throne had every male child age two and younger killed. What do you think motivated those acts? Satan and his desire to overtake a God that threw him out of heaven.

“And she brought forth a man child”

Revelation 12:5 KJV And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

 And she brought forth a man-child.

She = Israel.

We know Mary gave birth to Jesus but the context here is much larger.

The man-child = Jesus Christ.

My Dake’s bible speculates on the possibility that the 144,000 Jews are the man-child.

If you wish to play the bigger picture then the man-child becomes anyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ.

Why say that? Did not the Apostle Paul try to teach us that we in Christ Jesus, if we have given ourselves to him. Try a few of these on for size: Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 2:10

“who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:”

This is exactly what caused the Jews so many problems. They were looking for a messiah that would rule over their enemies with a rod of iron. They expected a dominant ruler that would free them. Oh, he freed them if only they recognized it.

Many saw the cross as death and defeat. No, the cross was a payment and his rising from the dead, just as he said he would, was our victory. They should have known he would rise again.

“and to his throne”

Where is Jesus now? He currently sits on the throne waiting for the right time to return. What time is that? When the last one comes into the kingdom, and only he knows that person.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:3 ESV)

He is coming soon and then he will rule with a rod of iron. Consider: We tolerate so much nonsense now, but when he reigns, with the saints alongside, nonsense will end.

I must interject a short story here. I have made it on to one jury. 12 people deciding the fate of someone else. Our judge gave instructions that we were only to consider what was said in the witness chair as evidence. Did everybody get that! No conjecture, no opinion, and if there is a reasonable doubt then the person is innocent. Do you realize that at this point the law is still on the side of the accused. One member of our jury, a school teacher, decided that he should be the foreman. I was more than willing to do that with one goal in mind, to follow the judges instructions. For an entire week the school teacher made things up and tirelessly tried to sell people on his opinion. To be honest, I verbally accosted him and challenged him by saying, “is this what you teach our children?” Turns out it became a mistrial because I would not back down, and I would not let them convict this man based on their opinion.

Point: The world is run by nonsense, but the day will come when nonsense will be dealt with swiftly.

Did others recognize that the messiah had come? Absolutely!.

Mary understood.

Think about this for a moment. Mary, the youngest of the bunch got it. When the angel spelled it out for her she merely said,“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38 KJV

Simeon the priest/prophet rejoiced in who the baby was.

When Joseph brought the baby into the temple on the eighth day, Simeon, who had been instructed by God to be there, sees the baby and says,“Lord, now You will let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word. For my eyes have seen Your Salvation which You have prepared before the face of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32 MKJV)

Ana, an old prophetess, too waited for his coming.

“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in many days, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. And she was a widow of eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, serving God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in at that instant gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all those in Jerusalem eagerly expecting redemption.” (Luke 2:36-38 MKJV)

The shepherds, having been told by the angels got it.

“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.” (Luke 2:15-20 KJV)

The wise men got it.

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2 KJV)

And let us not forget Nicodemus; Jesus own family, and over 500 people including the disciples, would testify that they saw him alive. Jews began to get it in exponential numbers.

“and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. “

The child is Jesus Christ. Where is Jesus at the moment? Aside from the fact that he keeps appearing to Muslims in their dreams, he sits upon the throne. Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 10:12; Acts 1:9-11

the woman fled into the wilderness

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. (Revelation 12:6 KJV)

The woman is that which remains of Israel, for many will be killed. The woman shows up again in verses 13 and 16.

“into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God,”

Most tend to speculate Petra, and while that would make a good choice, it is an obvious one making it potentially dangerous in mans eyes, but it is God that has prepared the place, therefore where ever it is it will be the right place.

How many times have you cried out to God for direction only to receive no answer? Unless Israel has prepared themselves most will take the most logical path out-of-town. God has a way of directing your thoughts so that clever idea you had was really implanted by him.

“that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

Without looking any further than the King James version you might not get a true sense for what is going on here. This is exactly what I did today as I read and took notes. Based on the KJV you might ask who is the “they”? Dake’s notes claim that it is the Arabs of Modern Jordan. That might be, but it is entirely up to God.

The English Standard version translates the passage this way:

and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
(Revelation 12:6 ESV)

This puts the responsibility back on God. Is that impossible? Not at all. Elijah was fed by Ravens while he spent time hiding in the desert. (1 Kings 17) When you start thinking outside the box, the “they” could be just about anything.

“ a thousand two hundred and threescore days”

1260 days: That equals three and one half years. “a time, times, and half a time”

You have been paying attention as we worked our way through the Revelation so you already have a familiarity with these numbers don’t you. This is the last half of the tribulation period.

Jesus warned the Jews that would listen:

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.” (Matthew 24:15-18 ESV)

When does this abomination take place? Now you have to dig a little. It is not that difficult, just get a good concordance or bible program for the computer and start looking up key words. Daniel prophesied about this act.

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Daniel 9:27 KJV)

Jesus went on to tell them,

“This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again.” (Matthew 24:21 CEV)

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied,

“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” (Jeremiah 30:7 KJV)

 Addendum:

My desire is to write something relevant, inspired by God, and makes sense, so that those that choose to not read might have a clue about what is coming. These are not intended to be in-depth studies, although I admit they tend to be long. I have a commentary on the book of John, by Arthur Pink that must be about 1500 pages at least, but what if by some chance my ramblings helped you to understand more clearly. That would be outstanding in my opinion.

As I worked on this one it was hard not to see more of me coming out in it than God, but then that could be attributed to a poor self-image at times. If you were to ponder the prophetic gifts and the prophets of the old testament, you need to understand that God knew their human side would be involved. In other words you cannot detach the human influence from God’s word. It is going to come through. Do not use it for an excuse though. You know your issues, like anger, and you need to work at keeping your personal stuff out of what God is trying to say. It is unavoidable to some degree and God knows that. He may have even chose you to deliver a message because of your personality and life experience. I cannot reach an executive type, for I have no common ground, but then what does that have to do with anything. If God wants to communicate with someone he will use what is available, including their dreams.

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A great and wondrous sign

Posted on 01/20/2013 by remso

Revelation 12:1-2 (NIV)

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

I just ended chapter eleven of Revelation with my last post, and to be honest I did not feel like I did a very good job of it. For example: If someone asks you a question, stick with the most direct answer. There in my problem lies.

Seeing as my last couple of posts were focused on the last few verses of Revelation eleven, I told you that we are looking at statements there that paint a picture of the end. What then do we do with Revelation chapter 12, and how does it fit. I believe this is added explanatory information for the most part. Do not get me wrong, it is all good, and should have an impact on our Christian lives, for God is desiring that you understand, and there is a special blessing upon those that read the book and attempt to understand it.

What if I am wrong? What if the things I suggest make no difference or, are irrelevant?

Truth is, I could be, but this Jesus, the King of Majesty, came, lived, died and rose again, showing himself to over 500 people. Rather overwhelming evidence, and because he is the truth, and I follow him, I plan on being caught up to meet my Jesus in the air, right before all hell breaks loose (All hell breaking loose = the tribulation years.) So, in a way, much of the Revelation is irrelevant, unless it impacts you somehow, or – God expects us to stand in behalf of those that refuse him, and enlighten those who have been taken captive by the devil and do not realize how close the end really is.

Is the end times lead up impacting people as we speak? You can bet your last dollar it is. What has just been dancing across our news the last few days? Algeria, where armed Muslim activists have taken hostages and killed many, as well as killing non-Islamic citizenry. Many believe that the Algerian Muslim militias will join with Boko Haran, the African wing of Al Queda that has control in Nigeria, Chad, and the Sudan, and then another aspect of prophecy will be fulfilled.

What does scripture tell us to expect in the very near future? That a ten nation coalition will rise against Israel and God will wipe them out with a fire storm on the mountains surrounding Israel. NO ONE will come to Israel’s aid. (Has anyone noticed that our United States President has, in the last few days, said, “Israel does not know what is good for it!” That could mean a lot of things, but the implications are Israel is supposed to do what President Obama says, and I can tell you from scripture that is not going to happen.)

As noted in my earlier post I have been reading a book I picked up at Barnes and Noble. I was hunting for something else, which I found, but I stumbled across this and thought I would check it out. The book is “The End Times in Chronological Order, A complete overview to understanding bible prophecy.” The authors name is Ron Rhodes.

Here is the major problem that I am having. The author refuses to look past tradition and accept that Islam and a forth coming Islamic leader fill with precision all the holes that kept me lost for years. By taking the traditional position the author struggles to explain so many things, such as, the two witnesses lying in the street after witnessing for 1260 days, as though it is the Jews that are scorning them. I had a discussion about this very thing recently, and said, if you consider the timing, something drastic will have taken place in Israel that will allow the Jews, not only access to the temple mount but the ability to rebuild the temple once again. Under no circumstances is Islam going to give this area up without a fight and all the world will be focused on this area. Into this mix God tosses the two-witnesses. Having the ability to burn up anyone that would think to harm them I believe you will find them also serving somewhat of a protective role during the building of the temple. Given what may be seen as support, why would the Jews disdain them during their deaths, ignoring Jewish sanitary laws, and leave them in the streets to rot? The Jews would not, but the author Ron Rhodes would like to have me believe this because it makes his assertions fit better, and he then can continue to refuse historical evidence and common sense.

This is what I mean if I say you are pounding square pegs into round holes. Insert Islam into those holes and suddenly it all makes sense and it fits.

Jesus told us that many would be deceived. How easy that becomes when you do not take the time to investigate for yourself. If you are willing to allow people to do your thinking then you will be taken captive. Here again is another place where Islam fills the hole nicely. Islam is looking for Isa ben Mariam, Jesus the son of Mary, not God. A Jew, a priest, a Muslim, one who bows to the beast, acknowledges that there is no god but Allah, and he is the enforcer of Sharia. He will perform all the mighty miracles and refute the belief of many, causing them to follow Allah and worshiping the beast instead of Jehovah. Islam fits the deception.

Enough of that, back to the study at hand.
A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven

Revelation 12:1-2 (NIV)

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

This has little application to end times events, nor does it fit into a chronological pattern. How it stands out is that the birth is of the King triumphant, cloaked as a lowly child, that will soon catch us away, and will come again the second time with the armies of heaven to end the tribulation and sin on the earth. He also happens to be what the book of Revelation is all about, my Jesus Christ, the one who gave his life for me. He came out of Israel, Mary to be precise and her lineage is traced in scripture.

“A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ..”

Who is being described? Israel

Isaiah 11:1 KJV And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

Isaiah 65:9 KJV And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

Isaiah 66:7-9 KJV Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. (8) Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. (9) Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.

Zechariah 6:12 KJV And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

“ a woman “

From the MacArthur commentary: “Not an actual woman, but a symbolic representation of Israel, pictured in the OT as the wife of God (Isa_54:5-6; Jer_3:6-8; Jer_31:32; Eze_16:32; Hos_2:16). Three other symbolic women appear in Revelation: (1) Jezebel, who represents paganism (Rev_2:20); (2) the scarlet woman (Rev_17:3-6), symbolizing the apostate church; and (3) the wife of the Lamb (Rev_19:7), symbolizing the true church. That this woman does not represent the church is clear from the context.”

“clothed with the sun,…”

The word for clothed is periballō and it means to put on or surround. The sun represents God, in all his manifestations. So Israel either put on the sun or they were supposed to. It seems that what they put on were a mountain of other rules and traditions. If they had put on God then perhaps their reception of the Messiah, when he arrived, would have been warmer.

“..with the moon under her feet…”

I perused just about every commentary I have, and almost everyone had a different take on what this meant. One that grabbed my attention said, that the moon reflects the light of the sun therefore she was clothed in light. That works for me, but I also had a strong pull toward the moon representing the nation of Israel for this is part of dream that Joseph had and shared with his brothers.

You have to remember that John wrote to the early church, of which the majority were Jewish converts that continued to relish their Jewishness and really wanted all new believers to conform to the Jewish ways. So John spoke in terms that they understood.

The second aspect of this would be the prophetic patterns that Jews looked for. To the Jew prophecy was pattern, and God laid out consistent patterns for them throughout Jewish history. Revelation is filled with this type of symbolism. Because of their education in the synagogues, Jewish boys learned, by memorization, the law and the prophets (the Torah and the Tanakh). Jesus quoted so many of these during his short tenure here on earth, and the Jews he spoke to understood explicitly what he said. That understanding is an aspect of their rejection, and God’s anger that we see in the Revelation.

“.. a crown of twelve stars on her head..”

Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary states: “The garland of twelve stars is a reference to the twelve tribes of Israel, or perhaps to the twelve apostles (Rev_21:12-14). The stars recall Joseph’s vision (Gen_37:9-11), which signified the preeminence of Joseph over his brothers.”

“..She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.”

Again from MacArthur’s commentary: Israel, often pictured as a mother giving birth (cf. Isa_26:17-18; Isa_54:1; Isa_66:7-12; Hos_13:13; Mic_4:10; Mic_5:2-3; Mat_24:8), had agonized and suffered for centuries, longing for the Messiah to come and destroy Satan, sin, and death, and usher in the kingdom.

This aspect makes me think of the old prophet that anxiously awaited the birth of the Messiah.

Luke 2:25-35 LITV And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, eagerly expecting the Consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. (26) And it happened to him, having been divinely instructed by the Holy Spirit, he was not to see death before he would see the Christ of the Lord. (27) And by the Spirit he came into the temple. And as the parents were bringing in the child Jesus for them to do according to the custom of the Law concerning Him, (28) even Simeon received Him into his arms. And he blessed God and said, (29) Now, Master, You will let Your slave go in peace according to Your Word; (30) because my eyes saw Your Salvation, (31) which You prepared before the face of all the peoples; (32) a Light for revelation to the nations, and the Glory of Your people Israel. (33) And Joseph was marveling, also His mother, at the things being said concerning Him. (34) And Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary, Behold, this One is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against; (35) yea, a sword also will pierce your own soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

How does Israel possibly justify its unbelief and rejection if they awaited the same birth that Simeon did? They had read the same prophets, memorizing them. The only thing that explains they way they rejected Christ is the hardness of their hearts. They refused to believe!

Another witness was Anna, the prophetess.

Luke 2:36-38 LITV And there was Anna, a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in many days, having lived seven years with a husband from her virginity; (37) and she was a widow of eighty four years, who did not depart from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. (38) And coming on at the very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke concerning Him to all those in Jerusalem eagerly expecting redemption.

At least two were paying attention and believed that the Messiah had come. I have to wonder if they would have reacted differently thirty years later, for Israel seemed to be looking for a warrior King to come and save them. Jesus told James and John, when they wanted to call fire down upon a Samaritan town, that that was not the representation of why he came at this point. They were to show a dove like manner, peaceful and calm. He will come as a warrior soon enough, to destroy those who rejected him.

The fact that two heard the voice of the spirit, leading them to the Messiah, leads me to believe that any could have known this. Wise men, from another nation knew and came to find the promised King. Israel, clothed in the sun, by in large was blind, choosing not to see.

This is not a foot race that I am on, but I feel a strong compulsion to write, in the hope that someone finds this Jesus, the King of Glory, who is coming back soon to gather his family back to himself. After that the end comes.

It is the end of things that greatly disturbs me, for it is filled with not only the wrath and judgments from God, but the wrath of people as well. Sure you can still come to him, but the age of grace is over and there is no escaping the hell that will happen here on earth. Everything I see leads me to believe that new believers will lose their heads. The man scripture calls the beast will demand of you an allegiance, either to Allah (most likely) or to the God you serve. For a time, here in the United States many Christians will be thrown into the FEMA concentration camps scattered across the US (there are over 600 of them). But the day will come when even in this nation they won’t tolerate your existence anymore.

Scripture tells me that those that accept the mark that the beast (The beast will be some sort of global leader, and it is possible that President Obama, by presidential order that he is so fond of will also demand its acceptance) demands, and worship the beast, will be thrown into the same eternal torment that Satan and his angels get tossed into. Determine now that you will not fall into that trap, for you will seal your eternal separation from God.

Run to him. To many he has shown up in your dreams, calling you to come to him. His name is Jesus, the Son of God, the risen one from the dead, and his love for you, a love that overwhelms you as he speaks, is everlasting. He has called to you since the beginning of time, and he knew the path you would take to get to him. Open your mouth and accept him as your savior and redeemer. He paid the price for your freedom with his own life. Jesus, this day I receive you into my life. Change me and give me a life in your kingdom. …He will!

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Lightening, voices, and thunder.

Posted on 01/16/2013 by remso

Revelation 11:19 ESV Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

What is the context behind what John sees? Allow me to refresh your memory.

Revelation 11:17-18 ESV (17) saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. (18) The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

I believe what we see here is the end of all things.

What do I base that assessment on? “Now is the time for the dead to be judged. It is time to reward your servants, the prophets, and to reward your holy people, the people, great and small, who respect you.”

If you have read Revelation all the way through then, you have a general idea of how things fall into place.

 I have done some thinking and I need to clarify some things.

I have come to a point in life where I need to make something very clear. We the church have caused ourselves great harm and misunderstanding because we have attributed the terminology “tribulation” to the seven year period that begins in Revelation chapter 4, when it is a defined time of wrath and judgment from God being poured out upon the earth, the nations, and Israel for their rejection of Him.

Jesus, the Messiah that came as a lamb and offered himself up as our sacrifice, told us that in this world we would have tribulation. While that may come in many forms, such as illness, discomfort, or finance, the real tribulation seems to come from religious folk, and if Jesus, Paul or Stephen (of the New Testament) are our example, then beatings and death at the hands of these zealots are a possibility. Take the time to read 2Corinthians chapter 11. In it, Paul gives much detail about the things that happened to him, and takes pride in the fact that he could bear the marks of Christ.

Tribulation, many of you are buried up to your necks in it, and I pray for your strength and courage. But know this, as followers of the risen one we have a unquenchable hope, and that is eternity in the arms of Love himself, God the Father. I long for that day, but until then, I attempt to explain what is coming upon the earth, perhaps to warn those that will listen to avoid the horror that is yet to come. Others, I believe will come to know and understand the love and mercy of the Father. 7/11/2014

The general timing of things should look something like this:

  1. Rapture of the church. – Sure, there are several schools of thought on this, but I lean heavily on a pre-wrath rapture. I am aware that you have to define tribulation, for without the raptures arrival tribulation is already running rampant in Muslim controlled nations. (1Thessalonians 4:17; Romans 5:9; 1Thessalonians 5:9; 1Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 3:10)
  2. Immediately after the church being removed, the judgment begins. Jesus never said, this period in which the things that happen will be bad, migrating rapidly to worse is calledthe tribulation. What he did say was that it will be bad, and at the mid-point shall be a great tribulation. It is non-stop horror during the seven years, and Jesus said it would be so intense that unless God shortens time no one would survive it. (Revelation 4:1; Matthew 24: 21, 22)

Revelation 7:14 KJV And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they, which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

If you notice, in Revelation 7:14, the speaker uses the phrase great tribulation, but it does not classify the seven year event as “The Great Tribulation.” It is merely pointing out a time of severity.

  1. This seven-year period is also clearly established as a time of God’s wrath and anger against the nations and Israel. As you read the Revelation, the things that begin to happen are categorized as being a part of the seals; the trumpets; the bowls and the vials. Needless to say, there is a tremendous amount of death, shaking, fire, and destruction.
  • First seal judgment – Revelation 6:2 ESV And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
  • Second seal – Peace is taken from the earth. Rev 6:4
  • Third seal – Widespread famine. Rev 6:6
  • Fourth seal – Massive casualties over a fourth of the earth: from the famine, pestilence and predatory wild beasts. Rev 6:8
  • Fifth seal – Tremendous numbers of God followers will be merciless martyred.
  • Sixth seal – A devastating earthquake, accompanied by severe cosmic disturbances. People everywhere try to hide. Rev 6:12-17
  • Seventh seal – Results in the unleashing of the trumpet judgments, which are even more catastrophic.
  1. There is a mid-point to this seven-year period called the tribulation. Precisely what happens leading up to that point is not clear. A man that scripture calls: the anti-Christ, the beast, the Assyrian, and number of other things, will show up. He will be charismatic and well spoken (I believe that he will be Islamic). Islam calls this man the Mahdi, a long awaited prophet of Allah. He will bring Israel into a seven-year peace treaty.

(Why would Israel sign a peace treaty unless there is a major issue with peace. Currently, January of 2013, and all seems quiet for Israel. Yes, there are the pending threats from Iran, Syria, Hamas, PLO, and others, but Israel acts like they are well defended and secure. Something drastic is going to change all that. Ezekiel 38,39 describes armies amassed against Israel, and a firestorm from the God wiping those armies out. Where exactly this fits into the seven-year scene, I am not sure. Joel Rosenberg portrays this happening (You can read a descriptive of this in his book The Copper Scroll) as right before the rapture of the church. If his scenario is true then this may happen any day.)

If you are going to be honest, as you look through these events, there has to be things that bother you. One of those issues is that Israel, for seven years, burns the weapons they pick up after this firestorm. I recently picked up a book called, “The End Times in Chronological Order” by Ron Rhodes. I think that my reading just brought about more confusion. If we take many of these things literal, as I think God wants us to, then how do we justify the seven-year burning of weapons? I cannot see Israel as having the freedom to do this under the reign of the anti-Christ, and he breaks the treaty with Israel at the three and one half year mark. Does not this tend to imply that the coming Gog/Magog war happens before the rapture? Since the players are rapidly falling into place, I cannot imagine why this does not happen any day now.

Many might ask at this point, why is this relevant, as we Christians are to be living in a position of expectancy.

Look at Matthew 25 and you will find ten virgins all going to the same wedding. Five of those virgins did not bring enough oil. After demanding that the others give them of theirs they have to go out in the middle of the night and try to buy more (good luck with that.) When they came back, they found themselves locked out.

Great questions to ask right now would be – What is the oil, where can you get some, and if they were all going to the same wedding, aside from the obvious, why did they get locked out, and how can you prevent that from happening to you? I only posted a small portion of the judgments that Revelation says will be poured out upon the nations, and this stuff lasts for seven years. I, for one, do not want to be here.

In the book, “The End Times in Chronological Order” author Ron Rhodes takes the traditional, opposing approach, insisting that the anti-Christ must come from the Revised Roman Empire, and therefore be a European. What this says to me is that he chooses to ignore historical evidence, and refuses to consider the nations that were once the Roman Empire. Look at the nations that Muslim controlled in the Mid-East and you just about got your revised Roman Empire. Indulge yourself and read the Mideast Beast by Joel Richardson and you will find this all spelled out for you. Mr. Richardson does a fine job of refuting these traditional arguments.

At the mid-point of the seven years, this “world leader” will break the treaty with Israel, and another man will step into the scene with him. This man will be a Jew, a Muslim, of the priestly lineage, quite possibly a high priest, and the enforcer of Sharia law. Because something extraordinary will have given Israel the opportunity to rebuild the temple. This new personage, known as the false-prophet, will desecrate the new temple, set up an image of the beast (This will be an image of the Mahdi or this world leader), and will cause this image to talk. People will be forced to worship the beast, and to take a mark (something that clearly identifies you as a loyal convert to Islam).

All the while God is raining down wrath and judgment upon the earth.

  1. Another thing that happens during the seven-year period will be the entrance of the two witnesses (they are witnesses to God’s power and Word.) They will come from heaven, but may merely appear. I do not know how this will work. They are men that lived on the earth many years ago, but history records that they were taken to be with God without having to die. There is much discussion about who they are. The consensus is that Elijah the prophet will be one of them and Enoch may be the other, as neither of them died.

The two-witnesses stand in the streets of Jerusalem declaring the power and mercy of God. Should anyone try to kill them, and they will try, they have the power kill those who come against them with flames. Islam will see them as a great abhorrence to Allah and the teachings of Mohammad, and they will make every effort to kill these two.

The two-witnesses stand in the street for three and one half years preaching. As they do, they also shut off the rain wherever they choose for 1260 days, and inflict plagues upon people. One of the aspects that will jump out in the Jewish mind is the word plagues. This was is what happened at Moses hand, as God was working toward gaining Israel’s freedom from Egypt. Egypt fought against God and the plague aspect got worse with each refusal. I would like to think that what the two-witnesses do is not so dissimilar, as God tries to drive people toward him.

  1. This seven-year period ends with the return of Jesus Christ. He will come with the armies of heaven and they will all be armed with swords. Jesus will destroy anything that chooses to fight against him. Once the fighting is over he will set up his new kingdom here on earth and the New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven. The New Jerusalem is a real physical place because every nation remaining on the earth will be required to come and partake in the yearly feast of tabernacles, and they will be required to bow before him as they offer sacrifices.

Those that were slaughtered/martyred because they chose to follow Jesus Christ instead of worshiping the beast and taking his mark will reign over those that are left here. Yes, there will be plenty of people left here to merely live out their lives, free to come before God in humility at any time. Not sure how that works, but again, God is merciful beyond measure.

People cry out constantly that they want peace. I think that means that for the most part, they merely want to be able to do their thing without obstruction. Regardless this earth will live under a thousand-year reign of peace. Again, I am not sure how that plays out, but I do know that Satan, the one who created this fiasco, will be locked up for a thousand years. Therefore, if anyone chooses to raise a ruckus it will be by his or her own free will and I assume dealt with swiftly.

Again, I know that there are those that will laugh at this concept, but then why would God have trees planted all along the river that flows out from his throne, that have healing in their leaves for the nations. Clearly, the nations will need healing, and it sounds like that will be going on for the entire thousand-year period. Having finally seen the movie The Hobbit I noticed that the dwarfs were finally living in peace, with everybody just doing their job and life going on. Maybe in some ways earth during the thousand years will be like that; I do not know for sure.

  1. At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released.

For one thousand years the earth will be filled with people just living a peaceful life, having babies, and kids growing up. There is a chance that many will not know God. How that could happen I do not know, but then how is it possible that Satan could deceive these people and have many join with him in a last, foolish attempt to kill God. That of course is impossible and God has one last battle. The armies that come against him are killed in an instant, their fates sealed to eternal torment with the leader they followed.

The battle over, God sets up a great white throne and from there judges the dead from the beginning of time.

You need to ask who is who?

  • Those that are in Christ and caught away in the rapture, are not the dead spoken of here. Even the Apostle Paul said that those who are dead in Christ shall rise first then we, who are alive and remain, shall be caught up to meet him in the air.
  • Old testament saints had the gospel preached to them by Jesus himself when he died on the cross. Salvation was made available to every man. Again, I can see that many of you refuse to believe that. The Apostle Paul told us that because of one man’s sin death came into the whole world. That was all encompassing and destructive, but Christ’s death did it one better, for in that it was just as encompassing, covering every man’s sins, instead of death, he brought life to all men. Merely accepting his life as yours brings you out of death into life.

Another aspect of the Old Testament saints was their obedience to the sacrifices. God had given them a representative way of finding the freedom from sin that he had promised. It really boiled down to their faith in the God they could not see. That act of believing did not seem to bother some people for we have the book of Hebrews, in the New Testament, that speaks of their faith and righteous acts.

  • Israel – Though these were God’s chosen, they did not choose him back. Sure, they clung to rituals, most of which they created, but refused to see the life in the laws God gave. Those very laws pointed them to the Messiah. He came and they refused him.
  • The nations – This is a broad spectrum of people. To the Jew, anyone outside of Judaism would have been of the nations. The word Gentile is one that is commonly used, but Jesus life in us makes one with him. Paul said it this way, “we are flesh of his flesh if we are partakers of his body.” We do that by receiving his life as our own, therefore these that are in Christ are no longer gentiles. (Ephesians 2:15-19; Romans 16:25,26)

In terms of end time’s events, the nations are those that refuse to accept Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. God is a personal God no matter how many accept him. The primary reference when we get to certain aspects of the Revelation is the Islamic nations.

Understand something here. The Revelation is a revealing of Jesus Christ. For some he will come with joy, for others he will come bringing vengeance.

  1. At the last judgment, those that are dead are those that died without accepting Jesus Christ.

We whine about how the Lord cannot come until the last pygmy behind some bush hears of Jesus, but scripture tells us that no man will have an excuse, for God placed his moral law inside every one of us. It is the thing that tells you that killing people just for a whim is not right. What you do in response to that moral law is your responsibility, and a bill you will have to pay.

Standing before the judgment seat, a time that we might see as hopeless, God still shows mercy in that he separates the people into two groups. One group he calls the sheep and invites them into the kingdom. The other he calls goats and sends them off to follow their leader Satan into eternal torment. Those that received mercy seemed stunned for they ask what did we do to deserve this kindness. His response to them is, because when I was hungry you fed me; when I was thirsty you gave me a drink; when I was cold you kept me warm; when I was in prison you came to visit me, and when you saw me in need you came to my aid. For when you have done this unto the least, you have done it unto me. (Read this in Matthew 25)

In my mind, this is definable as people that demonstrated something other than a consistent life of selfishness.

The last aspect of the verse I began with states, “and should destroy them which destroy the earth.” I call it anything other than selflessness. Striving to only take care of me makes me very selfish, and God deems these people destroyers of the earth. I am sure they do not see it that way, but I guess that is the way they are.

Written ahead of time so that you can know, God desires to show mercy, and he is invading the dreams of people all over the globe. Jesus is coming to people in dreams and visions inviting them to follow him. He is even directing them to the appropriate people, people that have an understanding of scripture, in an effort to win their hearts, and they are coming in untold numbers.

How many ways can he say it to you, he loves you with an everlasting love. He already proved his commitment by sending Jesus to die on the cross for you.

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Posted on 01/06/2013 by remso

Is it still a rumor if you have the photos? DHS is preparing for war on the streets of America.

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The seventh angel sounded.

Posted on 01/06/2013 by remso

Revelation 11:16,17

My previous post has seen the two-witnesses removed from the earth, brought on a great earthquake, and left everyone watching in fear.

Revelation 11:16 ESV And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,

This is rather uneventful but when you compare what they do with how we act here on earth, this is dramatically different. Those leaders, already in heaven, not only worshiped but take it one step further. I cannot help thinking about the God wants you rich scheme pushed on us as part of the faith movement. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the faith movement and I believe that God was trying to wake us up and show us aspects of his  nature and character that we all were missing. But God isn’t interested you making money unless he can trust you with it to advance his kingdom. So to sit in a church were the pastor brags about his money, cars, house, the clothes he wears, and the exclusive places he and his wife eat, it gets to be rather disgusting. Although church leaders are supposed to be religious examples for us, they tend to be just as broken as the next guy, and their selfishness exudes from every pore. Why do you think you find a theme like this on several occasions in the old testament? Woe to you shepherds, for you have fleeced my flock and led them into destruction; a path of selfishness.

The word for worship is proskuneō and means to kiss the hand. These men, mighty as they were, bowed in obeisance.

Revelation 11:17 ESV saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

Am I the only one that hears how decisive this verse is, “for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.”

I am at a loss about how to express this, but this is the end. Is it detailed out in minutia? No, but what if by God’s clock this is the end?

What would it mean for it to be the end. Well, Christ would have to come back with a sword, plant his feet upon the Mount of Olives, people choosing to fight against him would be dead, the millennial kingdom would be set up, and there would be a thousand years of peace with the martyred saints ruling over the earth.

The word taken is the Greek word lambanō, which means to take with the hand. Doesn’t that at least imply that God has had to regain some authority which was lost.

What is this great power? I am not sure that it can be defined. With it, he created the heavens and the earth, merely speaking them into existence. He demonstrated some aspect of that power both for and against Israel. And it was his mighty power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

To take that power unto oneself implies that it was not in convenient grasp, and yet that is not what we see when we read through the bible. We see an active God, working on behalf of his people.

God’s power was never diminished, nor was it stripped from him, but it was the control over the earth, something that he freely gave to man, that seems to be at issue. Man, who was made in the image of God, is the one that really had the “great power” stripped from him.

Why would I say that? Made in the image of God, man was no less than Jesus in form and manner as he walked on this earth. Jesus was the creative force, the word that created all things. (If this sounds impossible or unfamiliar to you then I suggest you read the first chapter of John’s gospel.) Even if God put a body on the man, which he later did, it made no difference (Jesus’ body was just as real after his death for he had many touch him with no dismay, and yet he could walk through walls – No limitations.) So what was this man Adam like? Like a comic book hero might be a vulgar way of looking at it. Immortal, commanding the elements and surroundings by his  word, walking freely in a garden environment with the creator of the universe, able to converse intelligently and openly about life and whatever came to mind (That concept right there gives me angst, because I cannot do that. My words continuously wrap around my tongue and I rarely find the right words to say in a public venue. I live in a world lacking of confidence and doubt, and I long for a freedom like that. Thank God that in a moment, a twinkling of the eye, I will be change; everything about me, and on that day I will experience a freedom that I have only imagined. The pain will be gone as I rush into my saviors arms. Why do you think those angels showed up that night and announced to lowly shepherds that the SAVIOR of the world had been born. Because he came to save us from so many things, one of which was ourselves.)

Playing off the idea that God put man in control of the earth.

Genesis 1:26 KJV And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Try to deny the concept if you wish, you cannot.

Psalms 8:4-6 KJV What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? (5) For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. (6) You made him to have dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet:

Creation: God in unity with the man and all is at rest, but God got excluded, and the rest, well the rest was history, at least for a time.

We recently had to watch as a friend’s family lost control over their own father, the family home placed in conservator-ship, sold, and virtually everything they possessed taken away.

Why? Because the family member that was left in charge decided to get selfish and gave up responsible ownership. That move cut the family off from their ability to step back in and regain control. Certainly there was some twisted form of collusion involved, but like the serpent in the garden it was subtle, and by the time you figured it out there was little the family could do. In God’s case he knew it was coming and had a back up plan, and his name was Jesus Christ.

In the Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan, an analogy of Jesus Christ, voluntarily paid the price for Edgar’s selfishness, a selfishness that affected all of Narnia, just as Christ had to pay for Adam’s and all of us.

You see God cannot and will not work beyond the limits of the contract (that is another way of saying covenant.) When God made his covenant (contract) with Abraham he committed himself to that covenant regardless of what the man did. God was so committed to this relationship with man that he would not break his end of the deal. That means that he put himself under legal binders (at least, in a sense.) Certainly Satan understood that and showed us that he did by trying so desperately to kill everything that looked like it could bring the Messiah into the world. And that happens to be what the culmination of Revelation is all about. Having taken back his might power, he has begun to reign.

Read Romans chapter five.

Romans 5:12 ESV Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned–

Colossians 2:13-15 ESV And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, (14) by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (15) He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

For God to have taken back control makes me think that the end has come. That cannot be right and yet in many ways it is. Sin is done away with, and yet we still, by giving place to our own selfish desires, we continue to sin. How can this be? Understand that the world, including us, will not be judged for sins, they  will be judged for rejecting the son.

So how do you justify what appears to be the end, when pain, sin, and suffering continue? While an end, by God’s definition, is done, the end of all selfishness has yet to come. That will happen on the day of his return.

Should you not understand much of this then I suggest that you turn your life over to Jesus Christ. Allow him to make himself real to you, for he will open your eyes and the Spirit of God will give you an understanding. I have no doubt whatsoever how he will respond to a sincere request, for He will come in and make his home within you, and you will become part of God’s family. Don’t worry about how crummy you are or how you act, for God already knows all that. He sent Jesus Christ to be your payment fully knowing the brokenness inside all of us. Outside of a love that I cannot fathom he sent his Son to die a brutal death on a cross so that we could live in a restored relationship with Him.

Time is short. Run to him.

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The next sound John hears is….

Posted on 01/04/2013 by remso

The seventh angel

Recap: The two witnesses: After 42 months of demonstrating the power of a mighty God, the false prophet has managed to kill them, even though no one else could.

Dead for three and one half days in the street they rise to their feet and are called by God into heaven. The entire tenure of these two has been witnessed, as well as their death and rising up into heaven. It would seem that everyone heard the call for them to return. Fear has permeated the hearts of all who watched because not only did they arise, something that people tend not to do, but within seconds of their departure and horrendous earthquake has leveled Jerusalem, killing 7000 people. Considering the course of events, I do not think there are many righteous Jews left in the city, but more than likely invading armies from surrounding Muslim nations. It does not take long for their fear to subside. Blinded by the mortal enemy of the soul, they turn their fear to anger against God once again.

Revelation 11:15 AMP The seventh angel then blew [his] trumpet, and there were mighty voices in heaven, shouting, The dominion (kingdom, sovereignty, rule) of the world has now come into the possession and become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (the Messiah), and He shall reign forever and ever (for the eternities of the eternities)! [Ps. 22:28; Dan. 7:13, 14, 27.]

Although many translations use the word “and” at the beginning of the sentence, for me, it does not lose any meaning at all to read it in this way.

Notable things we can find here:

  • Seven in scripture lends itself to completion, and that is exactly what this verse tells us.

Seven – hepta (G2033), whence Eng. words beginning with “hept”—,corresponds to the Heb. sheba’ (which is akin to saba’, signifying “to be full, abundant”), sometimes used as an expression of fullness, e.g., Rth_4:15 : it generally expresses completeness, and is used most frequently in the Apocalypse (Revelation) i

What is the obvious struggle in thinking that this is the end? The fact that the Revelation continues to give us more, or does it.

  • “there were great voices in heaven, saying” KJV. – The Hebrew word for voices is phōnē, and means a sound or a tone from inanimate things. Yes, it could also mean a voice. If not for the sounds creating words we could say that it was the rocks crying out. Did Jesus not say that if the people did not cry out in worship that the rocks would. So it is not that impossible to imagine.

Allow me to play off this sound from heaven ( great voices) aspect. Our United States government, through the Haarp program, has been manipulating not only the weather, but people’s minds as well. Based on Nicolae Tesla’s theories they bounce high energy radio frequencies off the Ionoshpere causing it to super heat they are then able to direct the radio waves with precision. Impact can be seen in cloud accumulations and heard as consistent rumbling or patterned low-end pulsing sounds. The impact, often, has been that the ground shakes. These noises go on for hours at a time. This might be considered a fallacy except for  the US and Russia, in the early 1940’s signed agreements that the weather would not be used as a weapon.

We read the things that God does, such as speaking to Jesus at his baptism and all the people hear is a rumbling from the sky. The two witnesses rise to their feet after laying dead in the street for three days, and they hear God’s voice calling them back home. What do the people hear? Again, they, as in Jesus day, may have only heard a rumbling. For if I, under the guise of a world dominating order, were to attempt to deceive you then maybe what I would do is test things that I could say that was not God, but our Haarp array, and we can do what ever we want with it. They might even be able to explain away the disappearance of the two witnesses.

Another aspect to this potential for deception is the uproar over alien life forms. I happen to believe God, and therefore believe that there is nothing more than what he tells us. Sure there are seemingly unanswered questions, such as where did dinosaurs come from? There also, I happen to believe that the answers are there, and all we have to do is to ask him. He is not afraid of your questions. Are you sure you want an answer though?

  • “The kingdoms of this world..”KJV. This is present tense. The King James version seems to stand alone in making it a plural word, while most everyone else interpreted it as “the kingdom of this world.” and that is something entirely different. Scripture tells us that God made the world perfect when he created it.

    Isaiah 45:18 AMP For thus says the Lord–Who created the heavens, God Himself, Who formed the earth and made it, Who established it and did not create it to be a worthless waste; He formed it to be inhabited–I am the Lord, and there is no one else.

If you will recall, after coming off his forty day fast, Jesus was challenged by Satan. For Satan had offered all the kingdoms of this world, for they are mine to give. Jesus did not protest that statement, but merely rebuked him, telling him to worship God alone.

Matthew 4:8-10 AMP Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them. (9) And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me. (10) Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. [Deut. 6:13.]

The Apostle Paul instructed us, when it came to dealing with spiritual powers that come against us, that we are dealing with principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Look, if you do not know, Satan, although he was thrown out of heaven was not alone. He took one-third of the angel population with him. At current count the bible tells us that those with God are innumerable, so let’s just say that there are a lot of fallen angels. Two of them we have specific names, the prince of Persia and the prince of Grecia. Both of these are specific geographical places (principalities), so it would be safe to assume that they are not the only ones. The book of Daniel describes a rather intense fight between the angel’s of God and these two. While I would not attempt to trifle with them, I would certainly suggest that you call upon God’s angels to protect you; they are messengers for our benefit.

  • “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of …”

    • The statement is once again present tense. Doesn’t that put it in the now mode? It was now when John heard it, it is still now 2000+ years later. What do we make of that? And beside that, all that John is describing is a projection into a future time. My Dake’s bible notes declare that this fulfillment actually happens three and one half years later. While that may be true it would appear that God does not see it that way. The timing seems to be completely irrelevant because God knows the outcome. God was not kidding when he sent the angels to deliver the message of Christ’s birth to a bunch of lowly shepherds.

Luke 2:8-11 AMP And in that vicinity there were shepherds living [out under the open sky] in the field, watching [in shifts] over their flock by night. (9) And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them, and they were terribly frightened. (10) But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people. (11) For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord! [Mic. 5:2.]

  • “Of our Lord and of his Christ; ..” – I do not think I can begin to explain this statement except to say they are one and yet not. As the king reigns in opulence so does the son. The difference is that he has made us sons and daughters of the kingdom. That happened when we chose to get on-board through the acceptance of His great sacrifice for us, and Jesus is his name.

I am not sure what to call it.

It never ceases; the incessant blaming of God for every disaster that comes along.

2012 brought it’s fair share of calamity, but the super storm Sandy battered many well to do neighborhoods, wiping them off the map. While it is true that God made the earth and all that is in it, the earth was put into the hand’s of a man, Adam. Why can I say that, because the man was given dominion over all of it; he was in control. When Adam disobeyed God he committed treason and handed it all over to Satan, making Satan the new owner and effectively controlling aspect. Again I refer you to the conversation that Satan had with Jesus, “it is all mine to give.”

Now here in Revelation eleven it states that God has regained possession, once again. Why would God have to regain possession unless he had lost possession at some point. And this is not just the earth but multiple kingdoms. I am not sure what that entails but we know that Jesus poured out his own blood as a sacrifice and offering to cleanse the utensils within the heavenly temple. Look, if God made everything here on earth according to the pattern of things in heaven, then there is a temple. I would not let that cause your brain to have a melt down. Just know that a tremendous price was paid to regain a relationship with a lost family, and we are that family.

Perhaps we need to reconsider where we throw the blame for an earth that is, temporarily, not in God’s hands.

i Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words.

W.E. VINE, MERRILL F. UNGER, WILLIAM WHITE, JR.

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