Kingdom Come

“And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven [different from the one who declared woe on sinners in chapter 8], clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open…And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and…he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” (Revelation 10)

“There was given me [John] a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.” (Revelation 11:1)

We get a better grip on the message when we apply the same abstraction about the “tools” used to “measure” the degree of function vs dysfunction of individuals when we apply this concept to those used by clinicians to assess for problems. John is not only assessing, he is reporting his findings to his “patients”.

The size of the temple measures the magnitude of the problem.

The number of “them” measures the extent of the problem.

The first occasion of measuring creates the template for us to recognize the degree of match of the succeeding and then the final.

Continue reading “290) Measuring The Temple Of God (Rev 11)”

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)...then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh / mortality be saved:” (Matthew 24:15-22)

The abomination of desolation is commonly conceived as a statue, no doubt because it is reported to  “stand” by YHVH’s Savior and to “be set up” by Daniel.

However, Daniel clarifies that living beings – not statues – are “set up”.

“O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour...whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and WHOM he would he set up; and WHOM he would he put down.” (Daniel 5:18-19)

While the False Prophet does put a statue in place of the person, the essential “set up” is understood to mean the more comprehensive and higher abstract meaning “to raise in authority or power;  invest  with  power:  They set the general up as a dictator.” See also Psalm 75:5, Psalm 132:11, Proverbs 8:23, Isaiah 9:11, Daniel 4:17, Hosea 8:3-4.

The scripturally educated disciples knew exactly what Jesus was talking about.

Continue reading “291) The Abomination Of Desolation Is Israel’s Evil Military Alliance”

When King Herod I remodeled the Jewish temple in hopes of creating an eternal legacy, flaunting Rome’s backing of his power in brash contradiction against any images in Judaism whatsoever and essentially throwing a finger at YHVH, he placed a golden eagle outside of the Temple of Jerusalem.

Clearly this was not the house of the God of Israel. It was an abomination – hybrid of monotheistic YHVH with the pagan Roman god-rulers.

And a major tourist attraction.

Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves… (Matthew 21:12-13)

And God will not be mocked.

Continue reading “292) Temple 3 Follows Suit, Loses The Gamble”

America’s civil and criminal justice systems are grounded on the Mosaic Code…centuries before Christ, the Jews devised a legal system based on the dignity of man and individual equality before the law. Individuals accused of crimes were considered innocent until proven guilty, had the right to confront their accusers, were allowed to testify in their own behalf, were not subject to double jeopardy, and could appeal convictions. From Max Dimont’s Jews, God & History.

In the American system, there are stages of a criminal lawsuit that must be followed. 

During the sentencing phase of a criminal case, the court determines the appropriate punishment for the convicted defendant. In determining a suitable sentence, the court will consider a number of factors, including the nature and severity of the crime, the defendant’s criminal history, the defendant’s personal circumstances and the degree of remorse felt by the defendant.

As so in Revelation, before God’s wrath is poured out on the Adversary in Revelation 16, we find a review of the defendant’s criminal history in Revelation 14-15, including aggravated stalking, acts of terrorism, mass murder, and desecration, just to name a few.

Continue reading “293) Satan’s Pretrial Hearing”

The version of Christianity that I grew up with was enraptured with the idea of The Last Trump heralding the Rapture of the Saved to heaven to escape The Great Tribulation.

The problem with Dispensational Christianity is the lack of willingness to fight and suffer for what is right, the conviction that heaven begins with earthly prosperity and superiority, and the cowardly conviction that believers escape the earth at the first sign of trouble rather than remaining to rescue so much as their own loved ones. There is no historical precedent of this whatsoever in the entire Bible. God’s people don’t retreat. We face the enemy, fearlessly!

Well, actually, we fear, but are exhorted to buck up and overcome our fear.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children / followers to their fathers / godly religious leaders, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

Continue reading “SECTION LV: The Last Trump Does NOT Sound “RETREAT!!!””

1. “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake….
2. Immediately after the tribulation of those days…shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:
3. “then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn,
4. and / when they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory / VICTORY! ” (Matthew 24:30)

What could trigger such an outcry of wailing from these people who were previously so impressed with Antichrist’s amazing light show breaking through the firmament?

SEEING ALL THEIR KILLS COME BACK TO LIFE AS IMMORTALS IN JUDGMENT!

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety [world-wide under Antichrist’s rule]; then sudden destruction cometh upon them…

1. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven…with the trump of God 
   • announcing a holy convocation
   • announcing liberty
   • calling for the assembly of all God’s people
   • announcing the journey forward
   • declaring war!
   • day of rejoicing and offering of burnt sacrifices to God for his salvation
2. AND the dead in Christ shall rise first…In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed…
3. THEN we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” (I Thessalonians 5:3-10. 4:16-17, I Corinthians 15:52

“behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” (Revelation 14:14-16)

Continue reading “295) He Cometh With The Most Powerful Weapon Yet”

The Greek word φιάλη (phiálē) is translated in the King James Bible as “vial”. We can recognize its transliteration from the pronunciation of the Greek word.

But this doesn’t mean that two thousands of years later our transliteration applies. Is it a larger object like bowl as translated in other Bible versions, or a small cylinder used to safeguard a strong medicine or poison? Since this Greek word is found only in this circumstance in Revelation, we can’t visualize it by seeing how it’s used in another setting in the gospels or letters.

We are forced to drill down into the word itself. Etymology. According to  Beekes, the root word άλη is found in σκυτ-άλη (staff, stem, handle) and γύ-αλον (hollowed space). OK., that’s no help. Still a variety of applications.

Continue reading “296) The Vials Of Wrath – Revelation 19”