The Magi, what did they want, and why were they demanding answers from Herod?

 The next thing we encounter in Matthew's gospel is,

The Visit of the Wise Men

“Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod, the king, magi from the east, arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
(Matthew 2:1-2 NASB)

The Magi, what did they want, and why were they demanding answers from Herod?

One brother in Christ, who is very skillful in the Word of God, explained that one of the roles of the Magi was to be kingdom changers (Consider that this knowledgeable man had to look at extra-biblical information not contained within the pages of the Bible to make his valid assertion. I only point this out because a “brother in Christ” verbally lashed out at me, saying I do not believe that we should use extra-biblical texts and information to form our thoughts about God and scripture.) The Magi were the group of men that Daniel, as a young man, had been assigned to and eventually became the head of while remaining a captive in Babylon.

Seeing the size of the entourage and perceiving a threat to his power, Herod went into panic mode and called the chief priests and elders before him to tell him what they knew about this situation.

“When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.”
(Matthew 2:3-4 NASB)

“When Herod the king heard this.” What did he hear?

“ Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Since when has the Middle East changed so that you can merely gather up a large, armed crowd and go rolling up to another kingdom’s gates unannounced and immediately expect an audience with a king known to live in fear?

It hasn't, and so I don't expect that was the case here, but the word was received and taken to the king. Now, what does the fearful man do? He consults the people who most likely know the corresponding answer, the Jews, as they should know the prophecy.

All prophecy, like a criminal court case, must have two or three witnesses; one of those witnesses is found in the Book of Daniel. It is not likely that Herod, being a half-Jew, would have studied Daniel chapter seven, as it plays a significant role in testifying to what the angel declared to Mary as he explained the function of the child that she carried.

"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
(Luke 1:32-33 NASB)

So, no, Herod would not know these words that we see in Luke’s gospel as they were written long after Herod’s death, and that makes his fear and the lack of reaction by the elders even more peculiar.

The Magi, on the other hand, may have studied Daniel's words with intensity.

“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away, And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”
(Daniel 7:13-14 NASB)

The reply of the Jewish elders is alarming to me.

“So they told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
(Matthew 2:5-6 TLV)

They knew the answer to the question, but do we have any record that they went there and bowed before this new king?

Not at all. Herod responds to this by double-checking. Perhaps because even Herod could see that these magi were taking this king being born seriously, and he called them in to speak with them.

“Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child. And when you have found Him, bring word back to me so that I may come and worship Him as well.”
(Matthew 2:7-8 TLV)

With terminology such as “determined from them the exact time,” Herod now has a ballpark idea of how old this new king is; and nothing will happen until they come back to Herod and give him the word of exactly where to find the child. Watch what the magi do.

“After listening to the king, they went their way. And behold, the star they had seen in the east went on before them, until it came to rest over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great gladness.”
(Matthew 2:9-10 TLV)

These magi had not yet found the child, but they will. They will not go back to Herod for the child's protection. Notice where the family is now living.

“And when they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Miriam; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another way.”
(Matthew 2:11-12 TLV)

Never once do you see the number three. What you do see are three specific names: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. A key word here is treasures, as the quantity may have been great and enough to sustain the family for several years. We, because of the age bracket that Herod orders killed, would logically assume the age of Yeshua to be about two as they take off to the safety of Egypt.

“Now when they had gone (the magi), behold, an angel of Adonai appears to Joseph in a dream (so he has had a couple of these over the last few years), saying, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the Child, to kill Him.” So he got up, took the Child and His mother during the night, and went to Egypt. Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of Adonai appears to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the Child, to kill Him.” So he got up, took the Child and His mother during the night, and went to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod’s death. This was to fulfill what was spoken by Adonai through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My son.” Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became furious. And he sent and killed all boys in Bethlehem and in all its surrounding area, from two years old and under, according to the time he had determined from the magi.”
(Matthew 2:13-16 TLV)

Astronomy.com tells us that “On the morning of August 12 in 3 B.C ., Jupiter and Venus would’ve sat just 1/10th a degree apart in the dawn sky. That’s one-fifth the diameter of the Full Moon. (The December 2020 conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn will have an identical separation, albeit in the evening sky.) That wasn’t the end of the show, either. Venus and Jupiter continued their dance over most of the next year before finally appearing to merge into a single star in June.”

So approximately August of C.5, Christ was born. (I am still not clear. If time is based on this dramatic change called Jesus birth, all I wanted or needed was a time frame that I could start with. If this is based upon Christ, it would seem that this timeline information puts the starting point at five months. An obvious fact is that He was NOT born at six months old, we also know that the shepherds were with their flocks, and that tends to put His birth far enough into the season for shepherds to be working the flocks comfortably in the hillsides.) At the age of two, his family takes him to Egypt to protect him. History (and I must admit this is rather sketchy) records that Herod died around April 4 B.C.; therefore, it would seem that the family was only in Egypt for slightly over a year. The presumption then is that Jesus was brought back to Nazareth when He was four or five.

Why is this information important?

First, this has never been clear in my head, and that may be because no one ever talked about it. Secondly, questions occasionally arise about Jesus from toddler to maturity, which in the Jewish culture seems to be about age 13, a time when the sons are required to step up and learn their fathers' trade. Three, I made the mistake of reading Kahlil Gibran's book Jesus, the son of Man. The title alone should tell you something about the lack of understanding and possible disrespect the man had for Jesus. A point that Mr. Gibran tried to make was that Jesus may have been a malicious brat, as he allegedly injured animals and then healed them. Sorry, but that did not sound right then, nor does it sound right now.

After the incident where the family, while in Jerusalem, had to go looking for Jesus, a 12-year-old child, they found Him in the temple where He had been for two days, with the Jewish leaders, discussing the scriptures. Remember, all they had were the law and the prophets, and they were precious and expensive scrolls that only the richest of synagogues had copies. So learning was almost exclusively through repetitious hearing.

A problem with this entire process. If your child had a disability, would you focus on that, merely enabling that they lean upon that disability, or would you focus on their ability? In Jesus' case, He, by those who knew about His birth, would have been called a mumzer – an illegitimate child and those same people had a long history, based on the law, that allowed them to treat a child like this poorly. 

As far as I can see, Jesus, had He been known, would have been violently expelled from the temple. An answer to this lies in the outer courts of the temple, as these were accessible to even the gentiles.

The final thought on this tells us that after His parents found Him, and I am sure they expressed their displeasure at Him being lost, is that Jesus submitted Himself wholly to their wishes until He was old enough, able to take care of Himself and act on His own accord. I am thinking now of Mary. As the eldest son, Jesus would have probably been the one to care for her after Joseph died. Keep in mind that Mary continued to have other children, and several of them, including sisters, may have taken that role.

We don't see support from the other family members, nor do we hear anything about siblings until the day that they came to restrain Him – so to speak.

“When His family heard about this, they went out to take hold of Him; for they were saying, “He’s out of His mind!”
(Mark 3:21 TLV)

He conflicted with the 600+ added-on Jewish laws, but He was amazingly kind to the down and out while excoriating the scribes and the Pharisees.

“Then His mother and brothers come. Standing outside, they sent word to Him, summoning Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they tell Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” Answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” Looking at those sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
(Mark 3:31-35 TLV)

If Mary (Miriam) had not been the surrogate mother of Jesus, we would probably never hear of her either.

I decided to post this, even though it is not, in my mind, done. I do not elaborate on this merely to convince you to think negatively about Jesus; just the opposite is true. If you happen to be one that thinks that every God aspect was little more than some high-speed download, I think that is illogical and works in opposition to His mission here on earth. Remember, He came as man and defeated Satan as a human.

We have learned that Joseph, "his father," was a righteous man. Some translations refer to Joseph as a good man. To be deemed a righteous man indicates that he was known among the synagogue crowd as one that took notes (just kidding) and paid attention. Because of this, he fastidiously practiced the scriptures with Jesus. 

So, how did Jesus become so knowledgeable? 

Joseph, his foster father. Let that sink in. 

If you do not know my Jesus, He is as close as your breath. Merely submit yourself to the greater power and ask Him into your life, then watch the changes begin to happen because the Holy Spirit has now entered, permanently, and will begin teaching you all things and showing you things to come. 

If the rapture has come, there will be no denying when that happened. (Yes, I know that the government has put it off on aliens taking the "bad" Christians off the earth.) 

If the church is gone, all hell will begin to break loose. 

• Constant rioting in the streets and death will come from multiple directions. 
• Those you thought would be on your side and protect you will be trying to kill you. 
• Injections will be mandated that are intended to kill you. 
• Efforts to monitor your every move will be demanded. 
• The earth and the water supplies will be poisoned. The oceans will be filled with death. 
• Commerce will come to a halt. 
• The economies will become digital and tightly controlled, but will all, in a matter of time, collapse. 
• This time on earth, as seen in Revelation six and beyond, will include God's anger against unbelieving humanity and the Jews who rejected God. 

Within days of the Church being removed, the antichrist persona will come to the forefront. If you have access to a Bible (it will be a forbidden book,) you can read about the emergence of the antichrist.

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and (then) that that man of sin be disclosed, even the son of perdition,"                 (2 Thessalonians 2:3 Geneva)

Yes, I Americanized the old 15th-century wording, and yes, most translations use the phrase falling away. Just this morning, 3/11/23, I saw that the Church of England is now teaching four-year-old children, in their Sunday school class, about transitioning and perverted sex education. Try to convince me that we, the church, have not fallen over the cliff already. 

There is only one hope; it is Jesus, and if nothing else, make your life with Him personal. 

Trust me, once He touches your heart, you will want to tell someone about Him.

The freedom the cross brings. Romans 6

As an aspect of my rebellious nature, I wrote this post and included my Pastor's name. I, as a joke, tried to redact it, but that did not work, so I either eliminated it or put dots where his name had been. In the long run, this elimination of his name is probably wiser, although I have inserted information that could potentially lead you to find out what his name is. Don't waste your time because it is not that important. What is important is that you become more skillful in the Word of God. This by no means is demanding that you memorize scriptures, I can't, and I gave up trying years ago, but I do lean heavily upon the Holy Spirit bringing things back to my remembrance. So when your Pastor says something that is in opposition to the Word of God, then you will know it. Now, what you do with that information depends upon how much of the bridge you want to burn. I have burned a couple of them and now wish I hadn't.

On a recent Sunday morning, I was listening to my Pastor teach on Romans 6. The scripture reading this morning began with Romans 6:12.

Romans 6:12-14 NASB “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, (13) and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (14) For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

The pastor admitted that we probably would not make it out of verse 12, which, as you can see above, instructs us to NOT let sin reign in our mortal bodies so that we obey its lusts.

Considering that we all have an inborn desire to lust, I equate it to a damaged chromosomal chain in our DNA, which is common throughout all humanity. Theoretically, science looks at human DNA and sees a dark spot in the exact location on all of them. Without the original schematics, which would show that the plans called for something else, they have no alternative but to declare that this dark spot is standard in humankind and, therefore, the baseline that defines all humanity.

If that is true, how do we avoid this desire to want what we cannot or should not have?

That is where Romans 6:14 steps up to bat because it says sin, lust, or faithlessness shall not be master over you. 

If sin does NOT master us, why not?

Because you are not under the law but under grace.

Ah, here is where some take the hairpin curve on the mountain road too fast and go over the edge; because they think we have no law to guide us. Those that choose to abuse the law of grace do not seem to realize that God's law is written upon their hearts.

"Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings.”
(Isaiah 51:7 NASB)

Paul, to the church in Corinth, wrote:

“You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; (3) being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3 NASB)

So the law that we think we are free from is written upon our hearts, and it still guides and controls our very being.

But there is another thing that gives us freedom from the death associated with sin: the cross.

Some will say, I saw the movie, The Passion. It was bloody, vile, and nightmarish, but how does that change my life? 

Well, the cross was no less than the bronze serpent that God had Moses place upon the crossed poles that would have ordinarily held a banner so that all who looked upon the serpent would live. 

“The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten when he looks at it, he will live.” 
(Numbers 21:5-8 NASB)

If you noticed, looking upon the serpent on the pole did not make the “sin” go away, nor did it remove the pain associated with being bit. Instead, it allowed them to live. The Apostle Paul told us to fix our eyes upon Jesus – who, by the way, is no longer on the cross.

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” 
(Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB)

If Jesus, as a part of that journey from the cross to the throne, paid for our redemption, purchasing us back from Satan’s ownership with His own blood, then we are free from the penalties required for the “sin” that so easily besets us.

So here is where my problem with the Pastor's assertion came into play.

In trying to make some point associated with the study on Romans, there was a part that I admittedly missed that led to the Pastor saying the price Jesus paid on the cross wasn’t enough, and that is why Jesus now sits as mediator.

So let’s walk through this statement and see if it’s true. 

The author of the Hebrews tells us that Jesus endured the cross because He saw the joy set before Him. ( Hebrews 12:2.) That joy included the knowledge that people like you and me would join the family as we came into fellowship with God. The joy also included the pain He would suffer; the loss of His relationship with the Father, even if for a short time, and the resolution of this sacrificial journey from the cross to the throne because He knew that He would soon be sitting in His rightful place, on the right hand of the Father, where this story began all those years ago. 

However monumental as these assertions are, they do not prove the sufficiency of Christ; that piece of evidence that demonstrated, for me, that He was enough began to ring true here in Hebrews 9. Hebrews 9:13-15 tells us that He sprinkled His blood, as the high priest, in the heavenly temple to purify not only the Heavenly temple, but He acted there on our behalf also. In other words, He covered our sins as well.

We are told in Hebrews 9:23 that everything on earth, in terms of the temple, the utensils, and the functional pattern that the priests went through to cover the sins of the people, was first established in the heavenly temple.

“That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.” (Hebrews 9:23 NLT)

A portion of the Hebrews 9:13-15 reads like this,

“For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God.”

That cleansing blood was almost beaten out of Him by the Roman scourge; the nails on the cross, and the spear in His side could have depleted it all, and yet there was enough blood to apply to not only Himself but us as well; cleansing us from ALL sins, and bringing about our permanent forgiveness.

Here is where many will part company, as I referred to, a forgiveness that is endless, and yes, I am saying that all sin is forgiven. If you can’t handle this scriptural truth, then you need to realize that your religious traditions have blinded you to the truth of the gospel.

“So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.” (Hebrews 9:11-12 NLT)

To put it bluntly, Jesus is never going back on the cross, not even if you keep messing up multiple times a day.

Why not?

Because the sacrifice He made WAS enough, adequate, and sufficient, so I, unless I am unlearned or seriously misled, should NEVER imply to anyone that Jesus and the price He paid on that cross was never enough.

But there was another aspect of this presumed inadequacy, and that was that Jesus was now sitting on the right hand of the Father, mediating for us, because His work on the cross was not good enough and therefore must constantly pitch our case before the Father. Here is a piece of twisted logic for you to chew on.

If you feel as though you can say that Jesus was not enough, then why would you possibly think that He could mediate on your behalf?

You wouldn't, and you know that. To think in this manner tends to mean that you are purposefully disregarding the supremacy of Jesus, God's Son. Jesus voluntarily submitted to the cross on our behalf; and then, as the high priest, submitted His own blood and splashed it upon the altar and mercy seat in the heavenly temple.

Hebrews 7:15-25 NASB (I have used the NASB with the exception of verse 25 as it states the situation more clearly. I also added some commentary which I have italicized.)

(15) “And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek [That priest was Jesus], 

(16) who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.[Why introduce the idea of indestructibility unless He first had to be destructible? He told Pilot that he could do nothing unless He allowed it; that means that Jesus allowed all this to happen.]

(17) For it is attested of Him, "YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK." [Melchizedek seemed to show up out of nowhere in a land where a priest should not have existed, especially since there was no Aaronic line that provided the priests. “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.” (Genesis 14:18 NASB)]




(18) For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness [So, because of Jesus' death and resurrection, the Old Covenant was set aside for another.]




(19) (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand, there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

(20) And inasmuch as it was not without an oath

(21) (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, "THE LORD HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND, 'YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER'");

(22) so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. (23) The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing,

(24) but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.

(25) And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to plead with God for them. (GNB)

Again we find evidence for the supremacy of Christ in Hebrews 1:3, which tells us that having completed these things, He sat down in victory, NOT defeat.

“And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:3 NASB)

How did He get those keys unless He went to hell itself?

Psalm 16 shows us, David, speaking prophetically about Jesus and how He knew that the Father would not allow Him to suffer or see the corruption associated with hell.

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh also shall rest in hope.  (10)  For you will not leave my soul in hell; neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption.” (Psalms 16:9-10 KJV [thees and thous were changed for readability by me].)

We modern-day Christians assume that the words we see on the pages of our Bibles are correct and not to be challenged. It was Dr. Chuck Missler who pointed out that every translation has issues, but the KJV's are well documented, so we can make proper adaptions to our studies. So with that said, let's look at the word corruption.

Corruption is the Hebrew word shachath and means a pit (especially as a trap); figuratively destruction: - corruption, destruction, ditch, grave, pit.

The Apostle Paul must have understood that Jesus went to hell, even if momentarily because he tells us that He ascended on high. I can take this two ways: I can see the superiority of Jesus as the Father tells Him, “today you are my Son,” come and sit in your seat once again, or I can say that this is merely referring to Jesus when he rose up and disappeared in the clouds, while an audience of witnesses watched.

Although, if you can admit that He rose in the clouds, as He said He would, then wouldn't you tacitly be admitting to the validity and Lordship of Jesus Christ? 

“Therefore, it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN."
(Ephesians 4:8 NASB)

Look at our introduction to Jesus in Revelation 1, where it says that He was dead and now alive..

“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One, and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18 NASB)

If I can grasp the supremacy of Jesus and why then I should comprehend that He is the finest of mediators between man and God.

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”
(1 Timothy 2:5-6 NASB)

It was Pastor ... that made the statement that inspired this post; and he is the one that made a statement during a recent conference called” Futures,” how that when it comes to the reality of our lives and the mistaken idea that we are free from effects of sin. Pastor ... says, we are sin positive. Think about those who have heard the words; you are HIV positive. It used to come across as a death pronouncement until the pharmaceutical companies introduced treatments for HIV. As a follower of Christ, the pronouncement that we are sin positive is a pronouncement of life because of His love and acceptance; and though we may stumble frequently, we still get back up because we have a mediator, Jesus, the victorious Son of God. And, He is perpetually looking out for us.

And since Satan is actively looking for some failure, in which he can protest that we must be destroyed in hell, as he will be constantly.

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:10 NASB)

If Satan thinks he has a full-time job accusing, then I suppose Jesus, too, has a full-time job defending us against his accusations.

We are covered by the blood of a victorious Jesus.

Their power is in their mouth and tails. Revelation 11: 13-19.

 At this point in chapter 11, Jesus returns to the WRATH, but remember, there will be no more delays; and yet, we have seen John measure the temple with an emphasis on leaving out the outer courtyard. I told you that this outer courtyard was the only place the women could go and it was the place where Jesus found all the vendors and money-changers and threw them out. It was also deemed the courtyard of the Gentiles, does that mean that when Israel gets attacked that the enemies will not try and get into the inner courtyards? I doubt it, but as I am writing this, it occurs to me that I was a Gentile once. Suddenly I am thankful that I could get close enough to receive His mercy and grace. So, maybe there is a brighter side to this outer courtyard.

And with that comment, we begin.

Revelation 11:14 NASB The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

I have been doing this study on Revelation for several weeks now, with moderate breaks between sessions, and I will admit that? I have forgotten, at this point, what the other woes were. Let's refresh my memory.

Revelation 8:13 shows us an angel with a loud voice saying, Woe, woe, woe, and he let us know that the remaining trumpet blasts will signal these coming woes. As far as woes go, Revelation 8:13 has to be what God considers the beginning.

If this is the beginning, what do we call everything that has happened from Revelation 6:1 up to this point?

In Revelation 9:1 the fifth angel sounds its trumpet. John tells us that he sees a star that had fallen to earth. If you recall, I mentioned that our sun is a star and a small one at that. Any star striking the earth should destroy it, so the practicality of an actual star falling to earth makes no sense, so there has to be another explanation, and there is. Isaiah 14 has quite the narrative about Satan's demise, but the verse we want to pay attention to is verse 12.

Isaiah 14:12-13 NASB "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! (13) "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.

God calls Satan the star of the morning and references the other angelic beings as the stars of God.

The entirety of Revelation 9:1 to 9:11 is the first woe.

Within that woe we got Satan thrown to the earth. You are wise readers so you know this occurrence probably happened before God put Adam on this earth. I say that because the serpent was there, in the garden, waiting to deceive Eve; and, if you were not paying attention you might think that this all happens within the seven years of God's wrath. The other significant thing that happens is these locusts with scorpion-like tails. Because of their stings, humans long for death for five months but it does not come.

The second woe does not come to an end, (that is an odd way to look at it,) until Revelation 11:14.

Since Revelation 9:11 what has been going on?

With the blowing of the sixth trumpet, four angels, that were bound in the Euphrates River, is released.

Page one.

We are told that these four angels kill one-third of humanity on the earth, but what Revelation 9:16 does not tell you, is that these an0gry angels are apparently high ranking demonic angels that command a Calvary of 200 million demonic beings.

Revelation 9:17 YLT And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those sitting upon them, having breastplates of fire, and jacinth, and brimstone; and the heads of the horses are as heads of lions, and out of their mouths proceeds fire, and smoke, and brimstone;

This is not an army of humans, these are demonic hordes, and the horses with lion heads, breathing out fire, smoke, and brimstone should be a strong clue. Now pay attention to how they kill.

Revelation 9:18-19 YLT by these three were the third of men killed, from the fire, and from the smoke, and from the brimstone, that is proceeding out of their mouth, for their authorities are in their mouth, and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents, having heads, and with them they do injure;

We are aware that two-thirds of humanity continues to live; that is an undefinable number, because, since the catching away of the church the killing of people has been going on with vigor.

Revelation 6:4 NASB And another, a red horse went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.

Only a few sentences later we have this.

Revelation 6:8 NASB I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

One might assume that by the time that Revelation 9:18 comes along over one-fourth of the earth has been killed by various means. If there are three-fourths left, then what happens in Revelation 9:18 is the death of one-third of that number.

Chapter ten is more informational, as it informs that,

• It, in the opening verse shows us, Jesus in His splendor.

• He tells us that there will be no more delays.

• That the mystery of God is finished.

• And that John, through his voice and writings, is to continue to preach this message.

Chapter eleven opens with the Apostle John measuring the temple that is to come, but not the outer courtyard, as this is given to the Gentiles to trample, and for a precise time period, forty-two months.

With Revelation 11:3 one might say there is a return to violence, as the two witnesses from God stand their ground in Jerusalem and slay anyone who tries to stop them. Read this on your own. (Revelation 11:3-14.) The two witnesses then, become a part of the woes, as they bring plagues, death, and stop the rain.

The third woe is coming quickly.

Revelation 11:14 NASB The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

Page two.

For God to be able to say, the second woe is past, that would have to mean that the damage the two witnesses do is significant and global, and it is.

This is the next thing we hear.

Revelation 11:15 NASB 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."

There is nothing ominous about verse 15, in fact, my heart rejoices when I hear "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." But it is obvious that something has to take place.

Keep in mind that the seventh announcement of these perilous events has always included the next thing to happen. Considering that we were told that there should be no more delays, that should mean there is only one thing left, the return of the warring Messiah, but no, those going through the time of wrath still have the bowl judgments to go.

The twenty-four elders are worshiping and saying, you have begun to reign.

Revelation 11:16-17 NASB (16) And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, (17) saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.

Again, you need to take a moment to think through what the spirit of the Lord just said.

• “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were,”

  “Who are” is present tense, but while God does not change, was He something else at one point and another thing recently?

  Some would say yes, even though those speaking against God, fail to consider the cross and how that “recently” aspect has everything to do with the cross. On the cross, all debts were paid.

  Colossians 2:12-14 NASB (12) having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (13) When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, (14) having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

  It has taken me years to grasp the enormity of that statement and I do not think I will fully understand it until I meet Him face to face and see the love in His eyes.

  So, ask yourself a question, have you ever perceived God as being gracious and merciful when you read about Him in the Old Testament?

  Well, surprise, He was because He had to operate under the law (a clue to understanding why God had to put Israel through this retraining process, when they came out of Egypt they were effectively Egyptians. One of the proofs of that came from Stephen as he stood before the council defending himself.

Page three.

He pointed out to them how “God's” people brought the tent of Moloch out of Egypt, and, they brought their sex god Rephan along as well. No one disputed what Stephen said and they, under the direction of a man named Saul, stoned Him anyway,) there was little mercy could do to help you, you had to follow the commandments.

Many think that Christ did away with the law, however, Jesus answered that challenge when He said, I did NOT come to do away with the law, I came to fulfill the law.

Matthew 5:17-18 NASB "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. (18) "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

So, we then, live under grace, but that does not prevent the law from speaking to our spirits, as the law is now written upon our hearts. We live and breathe the perfect law of liberty, and it does not advocate foul mouths and bad attitudes.

• “because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.”

  We have not seen the events, as we trek through the Revelation, that solidify this image in our heads, as yet, so how can they say this?

  It is only possible because we have bypassed some details and jumped forward in time. These events only happen when we get to Revelation 19:11 through Revelation 20:4, and I am being conservative about this. Read this portion as it defines the warring Messiah that I speak of so frequently. It also describes the reign of, not only Christ but the martyred saints who will reign with Him.

  Revelation 20:4a TLV Then I saw thrones, and people sat upon them—those to whom authority to judge was given. …

  Here, the people sitting on those thrones are defined as those who had been martyred for their testimony and because of the Word of God.

Within the Revelation, the first place we see Jesus taking His throne is Revelation 11.

Revelation 11:17b NASB because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.

The assumption is, that after coming to earth, with a sword in His mouth, slaughtering His enemies and throwing the antichrist, false prophet, and Satan into the abyss, that He is finally sitting on His throne. The problem is that we seem to forget that when He ascended into the heavens, He sat down on the right hand of the Father, never to relinquish that throne or authority again.

Ephesians tells us that God seated Him and God does NOT change His mind.

Ephesians 1:20a NASB which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

Hebrews conveys how He was done and sat down next to the Father.

Hebrews 1:3b NASB ... and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Page four.

Since we Gentiles were not taught to despise the New Covenant, we should have a grasp on these representations of Christ on the throne, reigning. Now, if we have a problem grasping this, the difficulty could come from the fact that Satan, though thrown out of heaven and formally stripped of his power, is still running around accusing the followers of Christ. Perhaps this will help you understand. Here in America, President William (Bill) Clinton was impeached, the problem for my understanding is that nothing seemed to change. You might have thought, good, now he will be gone, but he did not go anywhere. It kind of made me wonder what was really supposed to happen in an impeachment. But here is what Satan did In a sense Satan, impeached with a perpetual prison sentence awaiting him, deceived Eve. He did NOT deceive Adam, and therefore gained sole and rightful ownership of the earth. Here in the problem lies.

But what about the Jews?

Most will NOT accept any aspect of the New Testament, however, if you were to ask me I would tell you that this book we call a bible is a very Jewish book; and, there is little in the New Testament that is not originally a theme within the law and the prophets. If the Jews cannot now see Him on the throne, then a day is coming when, before their very eyes, He will take His seat once again, and He will do it in a dramatic fashion, right after He slaughters His enemies at the wedding supper of the Lamb.

Watch this interaction.

Revelation 19:7-9 NASB "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." (8) It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. (9) Then he *said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he *said to me, "These are true words of God."

In what seems like only moments later, we see this.

Revelation 19:11-15 NASB (11) And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war. (12) His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. (13) He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. (14) And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. (15) From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

And then an angel speaks.

Revelation 19:17-18 NASB (17) Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid-heaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God, (18) so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great."

Page five.

Let's see if we can fly through these last two verses.

Revelation 11:18 NASB "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth."

• “And the nations were enraged,” This is a defiant rage.

  Past or a future event? If it's future it may be referring to a moment like this.

  Revelation 16:10-11 NASB (10) Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast and his kingdom became darkened, and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, (11) and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.

  If this is talking about a time past, then perhaps 2 Kings has captured it.

  2 Kings 19:27-28 NASB 'But I know your sitting down, And your going out and your coming in, And your raging against Me. (28) 'Because of your raging against Me, And because your arrogance has come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose, And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back by the way which you came.

• “ and Your wrath came,” Violent passions.

  You might think that He is referring to their wrath, but it is not. He is talking about the rage that He will pour out upon the nations.

  Daniel 8:19 NASB He said, "Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.

• “and the time came for the dead to be judged,” The dead?

  First you need to understand something, no one really dies as our souls are eternal. Death is a complete absence from God, and, as yet, no one has truly experienced that condition, as there has been no judgment. That day will come. So these have all been lying in silence until this day; some have been lying in state considerably longer, but time has been of no consequence to them.

  Isaiah 26:19 NASB Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

  Don't get all hung up on the idea that all dead will awake to joy. Matthew 25, where we see the sheep and goat judgment is the same scenario. No one appears to say anything, and then God separates them into what He refers to as sheep and goats. He grants the sheep (followers) entrance into the kingdom – something they did NOT expect, and they ask why.

  Daniel 12:2 NASB "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

  Matthew 25 and Revelation 20:12-15 are the same story from different perspectives.

Page six.

• Revelation 20:12-15 NASB (12) And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. (13) And the sea gave up the dead which was in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which was in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. (14) Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. (15) And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

If you were among these dead taunted by these books, only to find that it was all a farce as you were all condemned to a fiery death, then that would make God a liar and worthy of death Himself. God, does not lie, He cannot, so we can know that there is hope for many.

By the way, the usage of the word judged in Revelation 11:18, seems inappropriate as it is the Greek word krínō and means to separate, distinguish, or discriminate between good and evil. This is what we see Jesus/God do in Matthew 25.

• “and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great,”

  If you have spent any amount of time in the church, then you have heard condemning sermons about the bema seat of Christ. You will find references to this in Romans 14:10 and 2Corinthians 5:10. They both speak of the judgment seat, which in Greek is the bema seat. This judgment that we see in Revelation 11 is NOT the bema seat it is the Greek word krínō, a separation, as I mentioned above. The Bema seat is the one that most understand to be in the moments after the rapture of the church. If it is included in Revelation 11, along with the wrath and judgment of the dead, then perhaps we have placed this event in the wrong spot, but I don't think so as the context of the verse is about God separating the wheat from the tares, which look very similar to a city boy.

• “and to destroy those who destroy the earth."

  Those who destroy the earth, have done so: in the name of greed and self will. They have shown no kindness to the earth and will be judged harshly, primarily because they have injured the people, the heart of God and His creation.

Revelation 11:19 NASB And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

Sometimes I don't know what to say. I wish I could say it's done, but I know other aspects, like the bowl judgments will be discussed. For the moment I want you to see what Dr. J. Vernon McGee said about this.

“When we see the church again, it will be in the New Jerusalem, and we are told definitely that there is no temple there. Here there is a temple in heaven. The temple which Moses made was made after the pattern in heaven. "And the sanctuary (temple) of God in heaven was opened" means that God is dealing now with Israel.”