293) Temple 3 Follows Suit, Loses The Gamble

Leave a comment

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 “293) Temple 3 Follows Suit, Loses The Gamble”

294) Satan’s Pretrial Hearing

Leave a comment

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 “294) Satan’s Pretrial Hearing”

295) The Great Tribulation Ends When The Remnant Repents

Leave a comment

“I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days…And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city…where also our Lord was crucified…And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they [the observers] heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them [the two risen men], Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them…and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Revelation 11:3-13)

Nowadays “remnant” generally applies to the last little bit of fabric left after the rest of the large amount on the bolt has been cut off. It’s not considered worth much, and sold at a discount.

In a biblical context, “remnant” also refers to “the last little bit remaining.”  

“And the remnant that remaineth of the [10] curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth [1/20th of the total]… (Exodus 26:1,12)

When applied to humans, it still means what’s left of what has been cut off, not worth bothering much about.

  • “Ishmael…smote Gedaliah…whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah…
  • Then Johanan…went to fight with Ishmael…took…the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael…to go to enter into Egypt…for we are left but a few of many.  (Jeremiah 41-42)

Likewise, the remnant in Jerusalem who give glory to God are the very few remaining individuals of a larger group that has been killed, not only by invading foreigners, but also by apostate politico-religious leaders in league with foreigners, like the remnant recovered from Ishmael.

Continue reading “295) The Great Tribulation Ends When The Remnant Repents”

SECTION LII The Last Trump Does NOT Sound “RETREAT!”

Leave a comment

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 LII The Last Trump Does NOT Sound “RETREAT!””

296) He Cometh With The Biggest Weapon Yet

Leave a comment
  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 
  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 “296) He Cometh With The Biggest Weapon Yet”

297) The Vials Of Wrath – Revelation 19

Leave a comment

 “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever…And the temple of God was opened in heaven…And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth…For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. (Revelation 11:15,19; 16:1, Isaiah 26:21)

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 “297) The Vials Of Wrath – Revelation 19”

298) Outer Darkness

Leave a comment

“And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies…

  • The sorrows / binding, noose of hell compassed me about;
  • the snares / trap of death…

[But then!] The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice…For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.” (II Samuel 22)

Jesus, more readily recognized as the name of the LORD when translated as YHVH’s Savior, then details exactly what are these sorrows – hell-sent bindings and traps causing anguish and grief driving God’s people to call upon his name.

Continue reading “298) Outer Darkness”

299) The Judgment Seat Of Christ

Leave a comment

“the righteous judgment of God…will render to every man according to his deeds…In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my [Paul’s] gospel…For there is no respect of persons with God.

      1. eternal life and immortality…glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good…To them who
        • seek for glory – fighting on behalf of others
        • and honour – respected and emulated by others 
        • by patient continuance in well doing – despite the cost, see II Corinthians 11:24-28 above)
      2. But…tribulation and anguish, indignation and wrath.. upon every soul of man that doeth evil, unto them that
        • are contentious – fighting against others
        • and do not obey the truth – of  righteousness being to self-sacrificially love others who don’t deserve it
        • but obey unrighteousness – harm and destroy God’s creation which he entrusted to humans, most of all, the people who come under our sphere of influence 
  1. For as many as have sinned without law / God’s written word shall also perish without law: For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
  2. and as many as have sinned in the law / conscious of God’s written word shall be judged by the law; For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” (Romans 2)

This leaves out sooooo many Christians, especially Protestants, evangelicals and fundamentalists who have prayed the Sinner’s Prayer and are captivated by “For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works…” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

That’s the problem with memorizing snippets of scripture in Sunday School. Keep reading the next verse.

“For we are…created in Christ Jesus / YHVH’s Ordained Savior unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

It’s all about walking the walk, not just talking the talk. Actions speak louder than words, as anyone who has attended a court hearing can attest. The person being judged can protest his innocence all he wants, but his actions provide the evidence required to make a determination as to his destiny – imprisonment or freedom.

Continue reading “299) The Judgment Seat Of Christ”

SECTION LIII: The Day Of The LORD

Leave a comment

“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace…I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ…was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day / day of the Lord” (Revelation 1)

This is not a politically correct way of avoiding specifying Sunday vs Saturday for Jewish or Seventh Day Adventist worship.

The “Day” of the LORD – exactly as during Creation Week -is an era of eternity defined by the Works of Light / God following a “night” of works of darkness.

The day of the Lord is when YHVH / Creator and his sanctified ones – finally!- seize control back from the Adversary and his followers.

His war banner reads “Vengeance is mine! I will repay!”

“Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” (Isaiah 13:6)

“the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” (Isaiah 13:9)

From Revelation 20:

“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”

That was quick. Sounds like God has just run out of patience.

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away / we’re in hyper drive now.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand / so resurrected before God; and the books chronicles of our behaviors during our lifetime were opened:

and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

And the sea of outerspace gave up the hyperdimensional dead disconnected from the Singularity which were in it; and death the process and hell / Sheol underground delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)

Clearly anyone finding themselves in this situation wants to find their name written in the book of life. How does that happen?

Continue reading “SECTION LIII: The Day Of The LORD”