I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke like a dragon.

This bit about the lamb is another one of those images that gives people grief.

Some information that might help you understand is that the Apostle John is NOT writing mysteries meant to be hidden from the church. I mention this because a previous Pastor told the audience that day that John wrote in code to get this letter - the Revelation, past the prison guards. Sometimes all you can do at the time is moan. The mysteries are only hidden from those that chose not to ask what things mean; the “mysteries” also tend to remain hidden from those who do not understand that John's target audience was Jewish converts. 

I will prove my point.

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: 'The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. "'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." (Revelation 2:7-9 ESV)

The Holy Spirit has him writing to churches. 

You do not need to have a conversation about Jews and their traditions unless they are a part of the equation, and in Smyrna, they were central to the equation. The IVP Bible Background Commentary states, “The strength of the Jewish community in Smyrna is well attested.”

Another example comes from the book of James and demonstrates how widespread the Jewish converts were. Here in James 2:2, the mystery is cloaked thanks to the translator's choice of terminology, and we, with our stacks of Bibles and no motivation to find out the alternate meaning of simple words, like assembly.

James 2:2 ESV "For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,"

Translated for the Gentile reader, we see nothing wrong with the word assembly. People assemble themselves together frequently. However, when this was written by James, he actually wrote the Greek word for synagogue. He did not do that inadvertently, thinking that in time it would be filled with Gentile believers. He, too, was writing to Jewish converts.

sunagōgē - an assemblage of persons, the majority of which are Jewish in origin. Now, isn't that something?

If they are calling it a synagogue, then what do they expect to find there?

Jewish converts, of course, but not only that, converts that are integrating the richness of their newly found Messiah into the heritage that makes them special (and we ignore that.)

Who were the two Apostles that seemed to be called to the Gentiles?

Peter – who seemed to end that mission shortly after going to the Centurion's home. The other evangelist to the “Gentiles” turned out to be Paul. Paul, for almost 15 years, we are told in the book of Acts that in every town, he entered into the synagogues.

So, it is safe to say that in the beginnings of the church, the evangelistic impact was toward the Jewish community, but the Gentiles still came. When the traditionalists came around demanding that Gentile converts be circumcised and follow Jewish traditions, Paul withstood them and finally took his arguments straight to the church council of elders in Jerusalem, where several of the original disciples still sat (Peter was one of them), for a decision.

And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth, the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between them and us, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
(Acts 15:7-9 ESV)

Notice the terminology Peter uses as he distinguishes between the Jew and the gentile. Years later, Peter is still referring to them (the gentiles) and us (the Jewish community). It may not mean anything to you, but the statement is dripping with prejudice. There, in the Jerusalem council, the decision was made to acknowledge their freedom but command the gentiles to stay away from blood:

Acts 15:19-20 ESV Therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God (20) but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

The synagogue of Satan?

Pastor John MacArthur says this of the - synagogue of Satan. “With the rejection of its Messiah, Judaism became as much a tool of Satan as emperor worship.”

Think about this for a moment. You should be able to see how Judaism could become a tool of Satan. It was the thing (a zeal for the law) that motivated young Saul/Paul to chase down converts, then beat, imprison, and in Stephen's case – stone them to death.

When Paul had trouble on his missionary journeys, where did most of it come from?

The Jewish community, but not just any Jews, synagogue leaders.

Look at this.

(Act 14:2) “But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.” (Acts 14:5 NASB) “And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them,”

This is not the act of people who merely cannot understand. They are choosing not to buy into this Messiah message that Paul preached.

How many of them were around when Jesus spoke of God as his Father?

A statement of this nature would have been blasphemous in their hearing if it was not true.  But it was true, and yet they still wanted to kill Jesus. They chose to be unbelieving Jews and, therefore, combative in their resistance to truth and change.

Since I have told you this, you now need to start thinking like a Jew – A person that has a reasonable comprehension of the Old Testament (something that would have been required of a Jew.)

Are you beginning to grasp that our absence of examining the scriptures has hurt us and left us open to deception?

Now maybe we can understand what John was trying to convey because virtually everything alluded to in the Revelation came out of previous prophetic words found in the Old Testament.

Elders who do their work well should be respected. 1Timothy 5:17-25

 With this post, I am finishing the fifth chapter of Paul's letter to Timothy, with a few interjections and thoughts.

1 Timothy 5:17 NLT Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching.

Elder is the Greek word presbuteros. To the Jews hearing this, it was directly associated with members of the Jewish council or Sanhedrin. In early times, the rulers of the people, judges, etc., were selected from older men.) From: Thayer’s Greek Definitions

I cannot merely say this is talking about older church members, although the more senior members will probably have sage wisdom and expertise because of time and experience. The mere fact that Paul refers to these persons preaching and teaching tends to point to church leadership. Just saying the phrase “church leadership” leaves a bad taste in my mouth, as several church leaders caused me great emotional harm. Others are clearly into leadership because it holds the opportunity for significant monetary gain within the mega-churches. Apparently, with COVID 19, those days are gone.

Let’s talk about the monetary aspect for a moment. Though relatively simple in this translation, the passage tells us that those who do their work well should get paid well, especially if they are also teaching and preaching.

Can you be a teacher or preacher and be bad at it?

That seems to have possibilities, but why wouldn't others, such as church leadership or the audience in general, weed you out if you were terrible at what you were doing?

In my own experience, our former church deacon board voted to bring on a pastor, who was primarily a Christian school administrator before coming to the church I was at back then. We know this about him because he boasted about the paddling board that hung in the Principal's office and how often he used it. As a pastor, he was lousy. His teachings were all oriented toward acceptable business practices and principles. He refused, for at least two years, to speak of salvation and the price Christ paid for our sins at Easter. He maintained his position as the pastor for at least 15 years, and by the time he left, the church had dwindled from about 250 people to about 80.

Considered worthy is the same Greek word said twice, now go figure that out. It is the word axioō and carries the meanings of 1) to think meet, fit, right. 2) to judge worthy, deem, deserving

Double is the Greek word diplous and means two-fold: - double.

Honor means value or money paid.

The NASB tells us, all this should happen, especially for those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

Now, look once again at what I witnessed; that pastor may well feel that he was working hard. And I would never dispute that he put together a satisfactory harvest festival, but he was NOT a good preacher, nor was he a bible teacher.

1 Timothy 5:18 NLT For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.”

So the result is, the elder who is doing their job well should get paid twice what the others get paid.

Does anyone else see the potential for conflict?

Well, even if you don't see it, it is there, for what do you use as the standard for what is good, and there were plenty of people at that little church, 80 to be precise, that thought he did a fine job.

1 Timothy 5:19 Moffatt NT (19) Never let any charge be brought against a presbyter unless it is certified by two or three witnesses.

Do you see a dominant word in this sentence?

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Well, I do, and it is the word NEVER.

The NASB puts it this way, “Do not receive an accusation against.” It almost comes across as though the pastor and the elders are somehow protected.

Only days ago, the current date is 11/13/2020, the pastor of Hillsong New York was removed and effectively fired. Wisely, they did not tell us the details but simply stated that he had a moral failure.

Another of the churches I attended announced that a particular man was coming to try out as pastor. When they mentioned his name, I retorted, I know that man. He, too, had been removed from his pulpit for a moral failure; actually, it was a rather public and catastrophic failure. Several of the men I sat with at Bible study said, we will never have this man here. I said in response, you will. In doing that, I was merely telling them what I heard the Holy Spirit say. And guess what, he was voted in, even after having an open forum and telling the audience, in response to a couple of questions, that he had passed naked pictures of himself across the internet while he was pastor at the other church. It almost seems as if the current twisted Congress had voted him, despite common sense.

The idea of never letting a charge be brought against someone like this seems absurd. Ah, but there is a reasonable solution, and it has everything to being supported by two or three witnesses (CJB.)

1 Timothy 5:20 NASB Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.

Do you get the impression that this church is out of control?

Remind yourself why Paul wrote this letter.

1 Timothy 1:3-4 NASB As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, (4) nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

Obviously, this was happening, and YOUNG Timothy has been ordained to straighten out these people in Paul's absence. By the way, Paul may never be back.

Strange doctrines are anything we teach in opposition to what Paul taught. This makes me think that Paul was the standard for what teaching looked like. I wonder how many people actually experienced that?

“so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.”

In the last few years, there has been a cry from the 80+ crowd for sound preaching that convicts people of their sins. Having sat under this style of preaching for what seemed like forever, I can see images in my head of what that sounds like. For me, a focus on hell tends to focus you on hell. Does that make sense? Focus on the mercy and grace of God, and maybe you would long for the mercy and grace of God. In 1 Timothy 5:20, where Paul tells Timothy to rebuke them openly so that the rest will be fearful of sinning, tends to imply that the public embarrassment would be enough to stop others from sinning. I will add that the word sinning is italicized in the NASB, but if you look up the word fearful, you will find that fear is the Greek word's intended meaning.

Wasn't that the purpose of the stocks, public torture, meant to bring about pain and humiliation. If it is so effective, why not return to the stocks once again?

Because, as Paul told Timothy, be gentle with them. Rebuking someone publicly doesn’t sound so gentle; it is for this reason that we need to revert to the origins of the words being used, for these words were the interpreter's idea of what was being said; that and, they were under pressure to produce a product that suited the king and the “state church.”

The word rebuke is the Greek elegchō, and it also means to confuse, admonish, convince, and reprove.

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Confute, according to Webster’s, is to disprove; to prove to be false, defective, or invalid. By argument or proof.

It sounds like this is not so much meant to humiliate, but to instruct; this is what Christian Apologists do, they confute. In this heated political atmosphere of 2020, we here in America have a young man named Charlie Kirk. He is an apologist on so many levels, including history, religion, and law. You will rarely find him losing ground in a rational argument. I used the word sane because many will try to argue, but they are merely screaming and have NO intelligent debate.

If you are going to be honest, many of these concepts and instructions seem harsh. Perhaps the rest of Paul's instructions will relieve that tension.

1 Timothy 5:21 NLT I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the highest angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone.

So all this is to be done without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone. No one gets an advantage, and NO ONE should be abused simply because they disagree. On that note, Paul, with no other written word but the Law and the Prophets. Consider that the Holy Spirit taught him mercy and grace from those books, books that many learned to hate (I have since unlearned that hatred.) God, in the Law, did not show favorites. He was kind and showed mercy to those who followed after the Law. Alright, many have stated bickering already, as they only see God killing so many those who followed Moses out of Egypt. The problem is that “God’s people” brought Egypt along with them, which included offering their children to a made-up god called Moloch. Notice that the slaughtering of innocent babies is detestable to God, and He promised to make those who do such things pay.

Simply stated,

“You must not murder.” Deuteronomy 5:17 NLT

The more direct approach.

Deuteronomy 18:10a NASB "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire,”

What was God talking about?

Roasting your children as sacrifices, specifically to Moloch.

How do we do it today?

We murder babies and call it women's reproductive health.

1 Timothy 5:22 GW Don't be in a hurry to place your hands on anyone to ordain him. Don't participate in the sins of others. Keep yourself morally pure.

Keep in mind the story I told you of the pastor who had the moral failure. Although he went through rehab for two years under the watchful eye of a proven older pastor named Tommy Barnett, how do you know the pastor with the moral failure is right in his head? I don't know a man that does not struggle with sexual sin in some way. If they tell you they don't, they are lying. It is that simple. The problem is that we who have been in religion for any length of time develop an attitude that says crush them and don't waste your time trying to get them healed up; that tends to make us want to cover up our sins with lies and deception. However, like an alcoholic, or a smoker, the drive to do those sinful things rarely leaves (By the way, gluttony is a sin, so we all need to calm down.)

Going through recovery helps, mostly because it gives you tools to fend off such problems – one of those tools is a sponsor. Sponsors come in all shapes and sizes – I am trying to make a point here, as some, from what I have been told, are harsh and demanding, while others will not press you to make right decisions.

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I am a huge man, and I often see myself as a Grizzly bear which no one wants to get near. Appearances can be deceiving, as I have lived my life as a scared human being that tries to keep unsafe people at a distance; therefore, no one would ask me to sponsor them for a couple of years.

When a young man finally did ask me to sponsor him, I told him, you know what I am like; to that, he responded, “you are exactly what I need.” I met with him weekly for several years and watched him grow in spiritual strength. Yes, he had a lot of emotional damage, but he began to learn to give it over to the Lord and set it aside.

The truth is we are all like this young man in some ways, trying to hide behind from damage that afflicts us. Is it possible then that our sins (weaknesses) could erupt to the surface?

Well certainly, and it is just a matter of patiently watching people to see if the Life in Christ is feeding the tree (we are each a tree that needs some pruning, feeding, and care.) An appropriately cared for grove of apple trees will produce good fruit, consistently, for years – well into your old age. To the point that those who know you will say you have always been stable and full of wisdom, even though the truth is, you have had your slip-ups. This is precisely what the grace and mercy of God do for us.

Now, just because you came to know the Lord doesn’t mean that junk goes away. Sin, unfortunately, is like some genetic damage, and we all have it. It motivates all of us. This inability to free ourselves of sin is why Jesus gave Himself for us, poured out His blood for us, and now sits on the right hand of the Father, continually making intercession for us. Dear Lord, we need it. He brought forgiveness before you ever accepted it, but you did, and now you eternally belong in His loving arms – no matter what the enemy does to you. Once you ask Him, He never lets you go, even if you think He did.

1 Timothy 5:24-25 GW The sins of some people are obvious, going ahead of them to judgment. The sins of others follow them there. (25) In the same way, the good things that people do are obvious, and those that aren't obvious can't remain hidden.

“The sins of some people are obvious, going ahead of them to judgment.” What a peculiar statement. You might think that if these people were destined for hell, their sins would precede them, which opens the door to the idea that God will destroy all evil.

If the above statement were a question, then the answer would be yes, but when will that happen?

At some point during the last battle of Revelation.

Watch this process starting in Revelation 20.

Revelation 20:3 MSG (God has dumped Satan) dumped him into the Abyss, slammed it shut, and sealed it tight. No more trouble out of him, deceiving the nations—until the thousand years are up. After that, he has to be let loose briefly.

So Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet are locked up and unable to influence people for a thousand years. You might think that there will be no sin at all during this time, but there is, and here is the proof.

Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
(Revelation 22:14-15 NASB)

Notice that this happens during the thousand-year reign of Christ. Does this mean that these people will be bullying and killing just like before? No, because this is the time of peace. Judges and this includes Jesus, will sit upon thrones judging cases and dispatching rapid justice. It is, finally, a time of peace that will reign from the beginning and throughout eternity. Isaiah 9 speaks of this.

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There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:7 NASB)

All those fools and there will be myriads of them because people have been reproducing for a thousand years, not having turned their hearts to Jesus, will be deceived by Satan, just as before.

Revelation 20:7-9 NLT When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.

The passage above mentions those “magic” words, Gog, and Magog. Since Ezekiel 38 and 39 also speak of Gog and Magog, and the destruction or death of Gog on the hillsides of Israel, is Revelation 22 merely depicting what Ezekiel talks about?

The answer is NO, as Ezekiel, for all practical purposes, describes what appears to be a nuclear war. The reason for this thinking comes from Israel NOT touching the bodies but merely placing a marker to indicate one fallen in battle. Those who tend to the bodies do not touch them until six months is passed. I am not sure that makes sense, but then I am not a nuclear waste removal expert. There is one other thing about what Ezekiel describes; the citizens of Israel use the weapons to heat their homes for seven years. This arouses many questions, but no one has been able to answer these questions for me adequately.

This attempt at a battle against God, His city, and His people are resolved hastily once it starts.

And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:9-10 NASB)

Let's finish off chapter five.

1 Timothy 5:25 NLT In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.

If your bad deed can follow you, much like a reputation, then so can your good deeds. It seems that no one cares about the good things you did anymore. God does, and He will bring them to light – not for people to pat you on the back, but then that might happen during the millennial reign. There, we are to be rewarded, not punished as some would tell you; and there would be an appropriate place to make sure those deeds you did in private will come to light as a beacon of mercy and grace.

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Will we see Babylon rebuilt? A study on Babylon. Chapter 2.

 Difficulties with Revelation 17:18.

Revelation 17:18 NASB, “The woman whom you saw, is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

The woman – which we know to be symbolic, is the great city.

When we talk about a city’s greatness, aren’t we describing the beauty, the government, the art, the people, and the architecture?

While that may have been Babylon, it is no longer. There is little about the Shinar region, in the modern physical realm, that makes Babylon great, with possibly one exception, its location between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The former tyrant, Saddam Hussein, had initiated a restoration program on the hanging garden, but that came to an end with the US invasion of Iraq in the early 1990s. There is also one of Saddam’s palaces sitting atop a nearby hill, but that is also in disrepair.

In speaking of the woman, Zechariah has much to say.

Then the angel who was speaking with me, went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.” I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening. Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings, and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.” (Zechariah 5:5-11 NASB)

We just saw that “they” are building that “wicked woman,” a temple in Shinar’s plain. Shinar happens to be the place where the tower was being built, and after God dispersed them all, it was called Babel. But we have a problem. Look at how the New Living Translation reads.

Zechariah 5:11 NLT He replied, “To the land of Babylonia, where they will build a temple for the basket. And when the temple is ready, they will set the basket there on its pedestal.”

They are building a temple for the basket. Perhaps our assumption should be that the woman is included in this deal, but maybe not.

The word bayith, translated temple, can mean any of several things ranging from a house to a prison.

The Bible in Basic English tells us that they are merely making a place ready and put her there in the place, which is hers.

The first piece of information we are given about this woman is that the woman is representative of WICKEDNESS. Wickedness in the Hebrew is rish‛âh and means moral wickedness. Secondly, the angel throws her back down into the basket and slams the lead lid down upon her, demonstrating God’s total lack of respect for this entity. The third thing we need to consider is these two “women” that are coming out to gather up the basket. Look at the description of the two, as they have stork wings. These are not angels, and Dr. J. Vernon McGee points out, “They had wings like the wings of a stork”—that is, powerful wings. In Scripture, the stork is not a picture of an angel. It is a dirty bird, an unclean bird.” (and therefore unacceptable to a Jew.) Emphasis mine.

Since we are plainly told in Revelation 17:18 that the woman is the great city, then what city is being spoken of?

In Revelation 16:19, we get an answer.

The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. (NASB)

Dr. J. Vernon McGee straightforwardly tells us, “This concludes the Great Tribulation period. There is a great earthquake, and it divides the “great city,” which is Jerusalem. The earthquake divides this city into three parts. Although the center of the quake is in Jerusalem, it is not confined to Jerusalem because we are told that “the nations’ cities fell.” This tells us something of the extent and the vast destruction of the earthquake.”

We already mentioned, Rev 14:8, where it says,

“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

To accept Babylon as a literal rebuild, as some would suggest, I have to set aside the bible’s clear communication that Jerusalem is referred to as Babylon. And, I have to ignore what Revelation 14:8 tells us, how that Israel/Jerusalem made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornications.

How is that possible that the entire world must partake of the wrath?

Israel, even before they were called Israel, never stopped following after other gods. Evidence of this can be seen as Moses leads them out of Egypt. In short order, they had set up Moloch’s tent and had Aaron build them the god Moloch, upon which they roasted their babies in sacrifice.

Another possible example of Israel’s sins (fornications.) I have learned that not only is Isaiah 53 forbidden reading, but based upon an ancient Rabbi’s assessment, the book of Daniel is considered to be so holy that it defiles the one who touches it and is therefore forbidden reading material. In both these instances, we are dealing with prophetic books from the Tanakh that expressly define Yahshua as the Messiah. So there has been a united effort to keep the Jewish people away from the truth.

The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, tells us Babel or Babylon is the name of more than one city in the scriptures and other ancient writings.

The ISBE instructs us that Babylon is used in a literal sense and a symbolic sense. They continue by saying, “All the references to Babylon in Revelation are evidently symbolic. Some of the most important passages are Rev_14:8; Rev_16:19; Rev_17:5; Rev_18:2, Rev_18:10, Rev_18:21. In Rev_17:5, Babylon is designated as mustērion or mystery Babylon. “This undoubtedly indicates that the name is to be understood (in this instance) figuratively.” Emphasis mine.

The Greek word mustērion means a hidden thing, secret, mystery, and, according to Thayer, religious secrets confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals.

I can associate this aspect of the religious secrets to the Rabbis prohibiting the reading of Isaiah53 and all of Daniel.