REVELATION 13 PART 2 OF 2

REVELATION 13   PART 2 OF 2

VERSES 10 - 18
666

  10) He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity:  he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.  Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

   11) And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

   12) And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

   13) And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

   14) And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

   15) And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

   16) And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

   17) And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

   18) Here is wisdom.  Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:  for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.  King James Version (KJV) public domain

COMMENTARY

   Verse 10 is a word of encouragement from our Lord.  The dispensation of grace has ended and we revert back to "an eye for an eye" principle of the Old Testament.  The tribulation saints rests their patience and faith and confidence in this promise:  that vengeance belongs to The Lord.

   This second beast, as we will see later in Revelation, is the false prophet of the Antichrist.  He is a miracle-working religious leader.  This utterly breaks my heart.  I have loved ones who reject Jesus as some fairy tale, a myth.  They say only fools believe in such nonsense.  But the time is quickly coming when they have to choose to which "fairy tale" they will bow.  It is my prayer that they will choose wisely.

   "The lamb with two horns speaking as a dragon"; haven't we seen this sort of behavior in our elected officials in government?  They promise one thing then vote just the opposite?  They don't listen to us!  Well, this "prophet" will speak sweet words and pretend to love but he is hiding a heart of stone.

   Verse 15 must be talking about demon possession of the statue, just as "legion" possessed the swine when Jesus exorcised them, even though they didn't live long thereafter.  (Matthew 8: 28 - 34)

   The "mark of the beast" has been discussed from days of old.  This mark will be voluntary.  This is the ultimate rejection of God.  When this mark is received, the soul is lost for eternity; not receiving this mark makes them totally dependent on God for their survival in an active way.

   Verse 18 is for the saints who are watching for The Lord's return.  This beast will probably gain much religious prominence before the rapture.  Therefore, we will be cautious about believing anything he says (much as we don't believe what the news media reports today).

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REVELATION 12 PART 2 VERSES 7 - 17

REVELATION 12 - PART 2

VERSES 7 - 17
WAR IN HEAVEN

artwork by Pat Marvenko Smith courtesy of www.revelationillustrated.com

   7) And there was war in heaven:  Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

   8) And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

   9) And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world:  he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

   10) And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ:  for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

   11) And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

   12) Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.  Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 

   13) And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

   14) And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

   15) And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

   16) And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

   17) And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

COMMENTARY

   In the Holy Bible, I can identify three heavens:  the atmosphere, outer space, and the dwelling place of The Most High God.  We know Satan has access to the dwelling place of God, because he accuses The Brethren before God.  We also know Satan has access to the atmosphere because he "seeks and destroys" those whom he can.  So, we can conclude that he also has access to outer space.

   Keeping in mind that the Book of Revelation was not written in chronological order, I cannot say when the war in heaven takes place; whether at the beginning of the tribulation, the middle, or some other time.  It makes sense that it occurred at the beginning, though, when Satan realized that all of the saints were raptured.  Since the Archangel Michael encountered some of the fallen angels in the time of Daniel, you have to see where the raptured church will also encounter them, which has to trigger a war, don't you think?  It also makes sense that it would occur in the middle of the tribulation, so take your pick when you want to believe it occurred. 

   But Satan and his angels are no match for Michael and his army.  When Satan is cast out of heaven permanently, he will act out severely, as he realizes his time is drawing to an end.  God has given him thousands of years to test His people, and he may have been delusional enough to think he could prevail.  But alas, he is but a created being; God is The Creator.

   But God will protect those whom He has sealed.  The time of the Gentiles is past and the Jew is grafted back into the olive tree.

   Let me say before I close this commentary, that Russia will invade Israel and be defeated, which will give rise to the western alliance (NATO and the Common Market) into a state of world preeminence.  The leader of this alliance will make a seven year treaty with Israel after Russia's defeat but he will break it midway.  This leader is the antichrist, the Beast, who receives his power from the dragon, Satan.

    Friends, I tell you:  You don't want to be on the earth or on the sea when Satan is cast out of heaven.  Don't wait another day to accept the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ.  Click on this link:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html  



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THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

Image courtesy Pat Marvenko Smith via Flickr Creative Commons.

   From my youth I have known about the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for The Faithful.  I have been told that the generation born when Israel was reborn will not pass away before the rapture of the Church.  But are you aware that not all church leaders believe this?  Are you aware that those who do believe there will be a rapture don't all agree on when it will take place regarding the tribulation?  The following is how I understand it:

   This is the parable of the fig tree found in Luke 21: 32) Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:  33) So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near even at the doors.  34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.  35) Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

   There are four trees mentioned in the Book of Judges (in the parable of Jotham).  The fig tree is a symbol of Israel in Scripture.  The olive tree speaks of Israel in covenant relationship with God.  Abraham is the root and the branches are his descendants after the flesh and after the Spirit.  (The Gentiles are the wild branches grafted into the olive tree.   Jesus is the vine and we are the branches - reference John 15:5.)   Then there is the bramble tree, which is Israel away from God; instead of a blessing to the world as God intended Israel to be, She was a curse.

   The Jews had been scattered throughout the world for more than 2000 years when Theodore Hertzl accomplished his goal of strengthening the Jewish national sentiment and national consciousness in 1897 at the first Zionist Congress, which he arranged (the first budding of the fig tree).  Then, by 1917 came The Balfour Declaration, which stated that the British were in agreement of establishing The Jew in the area called "Palestine".   In Genesis 6, God told Noah that "My Spirit shall not always strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless, his days shall be 120 years."  So, when we add 120 years to 1897, we come up with 2017.

   Now, let us again look at verse 34 again:  "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."  In Psalm 90:10, we learn that a generation is 70 years; 80 at the most.  So, this generation, which is alive when Israel is re-established in The Promised Land (1948), shall not pass away before Jesus comes back for His Bride.

  In Matthew 24, Jesus states:  36) But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  37) But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

   When we dissect this statement, we understand that God gave the people warnings, also, as to when He would destroy that wicked generation of Noah's day:  1) Noah's grandfather was Methuselah.  The meaning of the name "Methuselah" means "when he dies, it will be sent".  He died the year OF the flood, but before it began.

   2) Noah spent 120 years building the ark.  He built it in public where all could see. ((Here is that 120 years again.)  Everyone could see when it was near completion and when he was boarding the animals.  Noah told all who would listen to him what he was doing and why.  They were too busy on their smart phones and their watching videos to pay much attention.  They laughed at him.  They didn't invest the time to study and listen to what God had to say.  They had all the opportunity to repent and turn from their wicked ways.  But alas, they were destroyed by God via the flood.  They may not have known the day or the hour when God would shut the door of the ark, but they could certainly see the time was at hand.

   3) Also, let us see in Matthew 24,verse 39 that the Son of man is the event being looked for here, not the Son of The Living God.  This refers to the rapture, not the setting up of the New Jerusalem.  Verse 41 confirms this as "Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left." 

  Looking in 1 Corinthians 15, beginning with verse 51:  Listen, I tell you a mystery:  We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--52) in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  53) For the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true:  "Death has been swallowed up in victory.
55) Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?
56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  57) But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  58) Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

   Finally, in 1Thessalonians 4, beginning in verse 13, we read:  "But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep (die); that ye sorrow not even as the rest, who have no hope.  14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.  15) For this we say unto you by The Word of The Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of The Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep.  16) For The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in Christ shall rise first; 17) then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet The Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with The Lord.  18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words."....

   So, I can spread the word that I am preparing for the rapture.  I can ask my insurance agent about the pay out of my life insurance when I "disappear".  Yes, I carry life insurance, because I am "not guaranteed tomorrow".  I can tell the tax clerk that I will not be protesting my taxes next year because I am looking to be raptured.  I can talk to everybody I see about the rapture.  Whether it is today or tomorrow, who cares?  It is so close!  There is an urgency about this message!  I am busy about my Father's business!

   What about you?  Have you accepted the life saving gift of salvation or do you even believe in God?  Click on the following link for the "Pathway to Salvation": https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html

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