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.

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.

Lightening, Voices, and Thunder

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-tribulation rapture. I am also 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 called the 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. 

3.      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.

4.    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.

4.    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. 

5.    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.

6.      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 is over and 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. 

8.      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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The seventh angel sounded.

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 as to 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.

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.

Surely 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 was stripped from him. Man, who was made in the image of God, is the one that really had the 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 exactly 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.

The next sound John hears is...

 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 appear 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 a large number of righteous Jews 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 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 manner.

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 fact that the sounds create 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 peoples minds as well. Based on Nicolae Tesla's theories they bonce 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, in many cases, has been that the ground shakes. These noises go on for hours at a time. This might be considered a fallacy except for the fact that 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 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.

But 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 on, the prince of Persia and the prince of Grecia. Both of these are specific geographical 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 in order 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 rethink 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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