Saturday, July 30, 2016

Jesus and the Sabbath

Joh 7:22  Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.
Joh 7:23  If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?
Joh 7:24  Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Interesting note- Jesus talks of the circumcision as being given of the fathers John 7:22,23 - and yet the Sabbath is  GIVEN of God. The Sabbath was given by GOD directly, God's finger wrote the law on stone tablets! It wasn't a verbal directive given by God, but actually written BY GOD. How dare we call it MOSES' LAW as if the TEN COMMANDMENTS came from Moses!  A lot of ceremonial laws were written down by Moses at God's direction but they were NOT written by God's own hand!

The receiving of circumcision on the Sabbath day to meet the ceremonial law's directive is considered fine by the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day, and by Jesus' Himself. Jesus saw nothing wrong in having a boy child eight days old circumcised on the Sabbath, why?  They were NOT breaking the Sabbath commandment of rest- of no work- because in truth though the actions could be considered work on some level, they were not work that would take the mind from worshipping God.  We must be able to WORSHIP God in the work we do on the Sabbath.  Jesus in healing people on the Sabbath was WORSHIPPING GOD. There was NO SELF gain from what He was doing, none.

When the Sabbath rest was reintroduced to God's people after they'd been in captivity for 400 years they knew next to nothing about what it meant to take a full day of rest in order to worship God- the maker of heaven and earth and all that is in them. Their minds were NOT God focused! They were self-focused, Moses-focused, survival through self and Moses-focused. God needed to reintroduce this very special, very amazing SIGN of their belonging to HIM in a very real, very corporeal manner of revealing the place God should be in their lives.  They had to STOP ALL in order to realize where their source of salvation was to come from and it wasn't SELF, it wasn't MOSES, it was GOD.  Getting MANNA from heaven, from God was their source of survival from starvation.  God wanted them to realize JUST how important it was to DEPEND on HIM for LIFE ITSELF. They were told to gather double manna, God provided DOUBLE amounts on the sixth day so they could have leftover for the seventh day and wouldn't have to go out and pick it up. 

Exo 16:14  And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
Exo 16:15  And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
Exo 16:16  This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
Exo 16:17  And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
Exo 16:18  And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
Exo 16:19  And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
Exo 16:20  Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
Exo 16:21  And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Exo 16:22  And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
Exo 16:23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
Exo 16:24  And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
Exo 16:25  And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
Exo 16:26  Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
Exo 16:27  And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
Exo 16:28  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
Exo 16:29  See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
Exo 16:30  So the people rested on the seventh day.
Exo 16:31  And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

How clearly is the lesson being taught to these people? If we had to go to the fields to gather our food today it would be the same way! If we were still eating manna it would not have changed!  But God used the manna to teach His people the depths of His commandment, the depths of the importance of resting in HIM on the Sabbath day and not working, but rather trusting in Him.  After the manna ceased to fall and they began to eat of the food they'd grown, they still kept the Sabbath rest and KNEW by then that they were to REALLY rest, to REALLY cease from as much servile work as possible, and I say it that way because they still had to go through the motions of eating what they had ready, they still had to go through the daily tasks of being alive- drinking, eliminating, dressing, etc.  They were NOT taught to lay in bed from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday doing absolutely nothing at all. 

Originally in the wilderness when they were being reintroduced to the Sabbath rest they were walking every day, they were journeying, they were making a FORTY year walk. Walking was their work and during that walking their day to day lives continued. They didn't stop to plant and harvest and build houses to live in.  Their work was to journey. When that manna fell for six days each morning it was in a new location, it fell where they'd journeyed. This was a work. They'd get the manna, prepared the manna for eating that day and they'd journey- it wasn't as if they had a cottage they lived in and each day went outside to gather their food. They were WANDERING the wilderness for FORTY YEARS.  Six days of gathering, of walking, of putting up tents and taking down tents, of every chore involved in the journey and surviving the journey but on the SEVENTH DAY they did NOT have to journey, they did not have to go out and gather the food, they did not have to do anything but the most basic daily living tasks. They RESTED.  And this ENFORCED REST was for THEM! To teach them once again of GOD their CREATOR, their REDEEMER. 

Do you imagine they HATED that day of rest? Do you imagine they wished to keep walking and gathering the manna? Or do you imagine they looked forward to that day of complete rest when they didn't even have to go out and gather fire wood but were to strictly focus on resting in God?

There were those who tested the command to rest.

Num 15:32  And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
Num 15:33  And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
Num 15:34  And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
Num 15:35  And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.
Num 15:36  And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Num 15:37  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 15:38  Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
Num 15:39  And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
Num 15:40  That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.
Num 15:41  I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God

GOD ordered a man to be PUT TO DEATH because HE broke the commandment to do no work on the Sabbath! 

Why?

Because God was TEACHING THEM that HE NEEDS TO BE SOUGHT FIRST NOT WHAT WE DESIRE, but WHAT HE DESIRES- why? Because our hearts, our eyes, our own desires will take us AWAY FROM GOD.  GOD NEEDS TO COME FIRST! He was teaching them to LET HIM BE THEIR GOD! 

Who is the GOD of us if we truly believe we can do whatever we please and it be of no consequence?  Where does it stop if we allow ourselves to follow our own hearts and eyes? What things to we deem RIGHT to do and WRONG to do if we have NO standard set for us?

We've grown so incredibly used to following our own hearts and eyes that we have convinced ourselves that it is good, that evil is good. We've deceived ourselves! We've set up our OWN rules, our OWN ways to make it so we can PRETEND we are God's, when in truth we are NOT God's at all!

Yes, when Jesus came He returned the Sabbath to its rightful place, and that wasn't to total disregard for resting.  Jesus revealed that you do not break the Sabbath by doing what is good, what is right, what is helpful to others, what isn't something to turn your mind inwards, your heart inwards.  As the disciples were following Him, listening to Him on the Sabbath - obviously Jesus was WALKING on the Sabbath and not holed up in some place just waiting for the rest day to be over.

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

He walked through a corn filled.
Disciples were hungry- they plucked the corn (WORK)- and ate it- (NOT WORK).
Pharisees- NOT LAWFUL to PLUCK CORN!
Jesus- David was hungry and unlawfully ate from temple bread.
Jesus- Priests in the temple work.
Jesus- I AM greater than the earthly Temple.
Jesus- I have mercy- not sacrifice.
Jesus- I AM the Lord of the Sabbath.

Jesus was telling them and telling us that on the Sabbath the severest of restrictions were no longer in force.  That there is MERCY for those who are God's, truly God's who keep the HEART of the SABBATH- mercy, healing, love.

Jesus RESTED. Jesus TAUGHT. Jesus HEALED. Jesus WALKED. Jesus did NOT break the Sabbath, He revealed it MORE PERFECTLY, just as He did other commandments!

Mat 5:21  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Mat 19:16  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19  Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 19:20  The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Mat 19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Mat 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Did Jesus do away with the commandment NOT to MURDER? NO!  But He did say our anger towards others is just as evil.

Did Jesus do away with the commandment NOT to commit ADULTERY? NO! But He did say if you lust after another you've already committed that adultery in your heart.

Jesus told one who asked what they had to do to have eternal life that they had to KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS? Why didn't He take that opportunity to just say, You have to just believe? He didn't say that. He told this man that he had to KEEP the COMMANDMENTS!

Now what commandments did Jesus mean, the man wanted to know because He asked Jesus- WHICH?  Which commandments was He to keep to get eternal life.  Jesus began to recite the commandments from the TEN COMMANDMENTS! And this confused the young man because He told Jesus He kept all of them from when he was young until now so what did he lack? What was keeping him from eternal life if he was keeping the commandments already?  Jesus answered- SELL what you have and give it to the poor-  that would give him treasure in heaven and THEN follow JESUS!

So, yes, Jesus CONFIRMED we MUST keep the ten commandments, that's not a question. Jesus also revealed that there is MORE than keeping the letter of the law, you have to LOVE others MORE than yourself! You have to FOLLOW HIM.  

Bottom line-  Jesus KEPT the SABBATH perfectly, the heart of the law, the heart of mercy, the heart of loving others more than self.  Jesus NEVER told a single person, not ever, that they no longer had to keep the Sabbath, they just had to keep it more perfectly with mercy, with love!

May God help us to do this- to keep His love more perfectly through Him and His power to do so! May we yield to His guidance knowing He only wants what is best for us as the creatures He created.

Please Heavenly Father,
We would be Yours!
All though Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, our King, our High Priest!  In His name.
Amen.


Psa_19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

Speaking of the law of God- the Sabbath- what we do know of Jesus and the Sabbath.

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
Mat 12:9  And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
Mat 12:10  And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
Mat 12:11  And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
Mat 12:12  How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
Mat 12:13  Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
Mat 12:14  Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

Mat_24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day

Mar_1:21  And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

Mar 2:23  And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
Mar 2:24  And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
Mar 2:25  And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
Mar 2:26  How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
Mar 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Mar 2:28  Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Mar_3:2  And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
Mar_3:4  And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

Mar_6:2  And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

Luk_4:16  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

Luk_4:31  And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.

Luk_6:1  And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
Luk_6:2  And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?
Luk_6:5  And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Luk_6:6  And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
Luk_6:7  And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.
Luk_6:9  Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

Luk_13:10  And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

Luk_13:14  And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
Luk_13:15  The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
Luk_13:16  And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

Luk_14:1  And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.
Luk_14:3  And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?
Luk_14:5  And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

Luk_23:54  And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
Luk_23:56  And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Joh 5:2  Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
Joh 5:3  In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
Joh 5:4  For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
Joh 5:5  And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
Joh 5:6  When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
Joh 5:7  The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Joh 5:8  Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
Joh 5:9  And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
Joh 5:10  The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
Joh 5:11  He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
Joh 5:12  Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
Joh 5:13  And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
Joh 5:14  Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Joh 5:15  The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
Joh 5:16  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Joh_7:22  Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.
Joh_7:23  If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

Joh_9:14  And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

Posted by at No comments:

Friday, July 29, 2016

The Majority Will Be Lost

Daniel and Revelation - Revelation Chapter 17

CHAPTER -- XVII -- Babylon - The Mother   (Excerpt taken from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911 Editions)

VERSE 12. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.  13.   These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 14.   These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

The Ten Horns. - On this subject, see remarks on Dan. 7:7, where they are shown to represent the ten kingdoms that arose out of the Roman empire. They receive power one hour (Gr. wra, hora, an indefinite space of time) with the
p 706 -- beast; that is, they reign a length of time contemporaneously with the beast, during which time they give to it their power and strength.

Croly, in his work on the Apocalypse, offers this comment on verse 12:   "The prediction defines the epoch of the papacy by the formation of the ten kingdoms of the Western empire. 'They shall receive power one hour with the beast.' The translation should be, 'in the same era.' (mian wran). The ten kingdoms shall be contemporaneous, in contradistinction to the 'seven heads,' which were successive."

This language must refer to the past, when the kingdoms of Europe were unanimous in giving their support to the papacy. It cannot apply to the future; for after the commencement of the time of the end, they were to take away its dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end (Dan. 7:26); and the treatment which these kingdoms are finally to bestow upon the papacy, is expressed in verse 16, where it is said that they shall hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. A part of this work the nations of Europe have been doing for years. The completion of it, burning her with fire, will be accomplished when Rev. 18:8 is fulfilled.

These make war with the Lamb. Verse 14. Here we are carried into the future, to the time of the great and final battle; for at this time the Lamb has assumed the title of King of kings and Lord of lords, a title which he does not assume till his second coming. Chapter 19:11-16.

*******

William Grotheer-

Attention must also be directed to "the ten horns." (17:12) These ten horns are "ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power (authority) as kings one hour with the beast," not with any "head" but with the beast itself when he appears with his "wife." The parallel prophecy is not the ten horns of the nondescript beast of Daniel 7 - these were reduced to seven - but rather with the ten toes of the image of Daniel 2. Again the identification must wait the "final rapid movements" as they reign only "one hour" with the beast.

The text states that these "ten horns" have one mind and shall give their power (dunamis) and strength (exousia) to the beast. One must ask with a bit of wonderment, how do the "spirits of devils" effect such a unity when for more than six thousand long years, Lucifer in his rebellion has sought to create confusion and discord? In fact the very name of "that great city" Babylon has come to mean confusion. The text gives the answer - a Sovereign God "puts in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." (17:17)

The oneness of these ten horns leads them to unite in "the war (polemos) of that great day of God Almighty" (16:14). In this final phase they now join in the last battle of the "war in heaven" where Michael and His angels fought against the dragon, when at its climax there came the cry, "Now is come salvation, and strength (dunamis), and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ." (12:7, 10) This final battle of the war involves "the remnant of [the woman's] seed." Trusting in the blood of the Lamb, they remain "called, and chosen, and faithful." The Lamb, coming forth to rescue His bride, overcomes the ten kings "for He is Lord of lords and King of kings." (17:14; 19:11)

When the powers of earth see that they have been beguiled and deceived by the final religious union, "these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." (17:16)

The name of the "whore" that "great city" which reigned over the kings of the earth - "Babylon the Great" - should be given consideration. The name comes from Babel where God confused the languages and dispersed the "gathering together" of man to defy the God of heaven. (Gen. 11:9) Because of this, the name has stood for confusion. However, Brown Driver & Briggs, in their Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, note that the Assyrian, written Babili, means "gate of god." (p. 93, art. babel) While God uses strong language in describing the departure from truth - harlotry - the deception in reality will be so great that the whole world, apart from a small remnant, will be swept through this delusive "gate of god" to perdition.

*******

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.


I've said it before and I need to say it again…

THE MAJORITY WILL DIE.

The majority of CHRISTIANS will die.

FEW will be saved.

NARROW is the way.

ALL but the very elect are deceived.

These are TRUTHS!

We have to ask ourselves if we are in the majority, if we belong to the mainstream, if our religion is one of popular belief, if we refuse to study in depth and seriously, then perhaps we are going to be among the deceived.

The truth, the Biblical truth is seriously that the majority of Christians are not Christ's followers at all. And we know this because our Savior tells us this Himself. He will utter the words- "I never knew you."

Mat_7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

We are studying prophecy and no, we don't have all the answers at all whatsoever, but we are studying and trusting in our Savior to reveal all the truth we need to know.

By His grace…we will continue.

Please, Lord, let us be among the few, the elect, among those You know.

All through Your love and grace, now and forever!

AMEN.
Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Wife of the Lamb, Wife of the Beast.

Daniel and Revelation - Revelation Chapter 17

CHAPTER -- XVII -- Babylon - The Mother   (Excerpt taken from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911 Editions)

Revelation 17
p 702 -- VERSE 1. And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come thither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:  2.   With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.  3.   So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.  4.   And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:   5.   And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

In verse 19 of the preceding chapter, we were informed that "great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." The prophet now takes up more particularly the subject of this great Babylon; and in order to give a full presentation of it, goes back and gives us some of the facts of her past history.

 That this apostate woman, as presented in this chapter, is a symbol of the Roman Catholic Church, is generally believed by Protestants. Between this church and the kings of the earth there has been illicit connection, and with the wine of her fornication, or her false doctrines, the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk.

Church and State. - This prophecy is more definite than others applicable to the Roman power, in that it distinguishes between church and state. We here have the woman, the
p 703 -- church, seated upon a scarlet-colored beast, the civil power, by which she is upheld, and which she controls and guides to her own ends, as a rider controls the animal upon which he is seated.

The vesture and decorations of this woman, as brought to view in verse 4, are in striking harmony with the application made of this symbol; for purple and scarlet are the chief colors in the robes of popes and cardinals; and among the myriads of precious stones which adorn her service, according to an eye-witness, silver is scarcely known, and gold itself looks but poorly. And from the golden cup in her hand, - symbol of purity of doctrine and profession, which should have contained only that which is unadulterated and pure, or, explaining the figure, only that which is in full accordance with truth, - there came forth only abominations, and wine of her fornication, fit symbol of her abominable doctrines and still more abominable practices.

This woman is explicitly called Babylon.

Is Rome, then, Babylon, to the exclusion of all other religious bodies? - No, from the fact that she is called the mother of harlots, as already noticed, which shows that there are other independent religious organizations that constitute the apostate daughters, and belong to the same great family.

*******
And now a little bit from another Biblical scholar, William Grotheer--

1995 Sep -- XXVIII -- 9(95) -- EXEGESIS OF REVELATION -- THE HARLOT AND THE BEAST -- Part 5 -- In 1534, the Luther Bible, in connection with Revelation 17, showed a cut of a woman wearing the triple tiara of the popes and riding a seven-headed dragon. The obvious deduction was that this symbolic woman represented the Papacy. Uriah Smith in his Thoughts on the Revelation, adopts the same basic view. He wrote:      "This prophecy is more definite than others applicable to the Roman power, in that it distinguishes between church and state. We here have the woman, the church, seated upon a scarlet-colored beast, the civil power." (pp. 702-703, 1897 ed.)

This same basic concept from the Reformation has continued to be the traditional Adventist view of the woman and the beast of Revelation 17, with the added focus on what is termed, "the daughters of Babylon." However this designation is not found in the book of Revelation. Looking at Revelation 17 from a exegetical viewpoint, what is its message?

First it is uniquely connected with the time just preceding the Seven Last Plagues. Of the woman who sits as a "queen," it is declared that "her plagues (shall) come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire." (Rev. 18:8; 17:16) Further, it is one of the angels of the Seven Last Plagues who shows to John "the judgment of the great whore." (17:1)

The designation of the angel who unfolds to John these final visions of the book as "one of the angels which had the seven vials" is in itself revealing from different perspectives. (17:1; 21:9) First, "the Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him to shew unto His servants ... He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John." (1:1) Twice during the final revelation by the designated angel as one who was involved in the Seven Last Plagues, John attempts "to worship" him. (19:10; 22:8-9) Each time he is told, "See that thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets that have the testimony of

p 2 -- Jesus." (Composite of the two previous references) It was Gabriel who stated to Daniel that "there is none who holdeth with me in these things (the Scripture of truth) but Michael your prince." (Dan. 10:21) Not only does this confirm Gabriel as "His angel" but also clearly indicates that Gabriel is one of the angels involved in the pouring out of the Seven Last Plagues, if not the chief angel.

The question arises, if Gabriel shows to John, "the Lamb's wife" - "that great city, the holy Jerusalem," whose wife is she who is also designated as "that great city." and boasts herself as a "queen"? The use of the word, "holy" is in contrast to the "city" which is "full of abominations." (17:4-5) Is it unholy Jerusalem?

One must recognize that in this final section of Revelation there is set forth two cities - Babylon and the New Jerusalem; two women - the one "clothed with the sun" and the one bedecked with gold and pearls; two wives - one, the wife of the Lamb, and the other, the wife of the "scarlet colored beast."

Who is this "scarlet colored beast"? It has seven heads and ten horns as the serpent-dragon of Revelation 12. It should be observed that when the beast of Revelation 13, which also had seven heads and ten horns, is described, its bodily differences from the dragon are noted. (13:2) No such differences are given of the beast of Revelation 17, except the absence of crowns on the heads, and the color change from fiery red to scarlet. The word for scarlet (kokkinon) is used to describe the color of the robe the Roman soldiers put on Christ in mockery of Him as "King of the Jews." (Matt. 27:28) No longer are the heads crowned, the dragon is reigning.

This beast is described as "was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition." (17:8) This past, present and future designation parallels the same description for "the Almighty" who "is, and which was, and which is to come" (1:8); but with distinct differences. In contrast to the One who "is to come," whose kingdom the dragon-beast has challenged, this beast goes into "perdition," or destruction (20:10) The kingdom of God is confirmed by the power of His Christ.

The first section (Chapters 2-11) of the book of Revelation closes with three Woes. During the time of the Second Woe, "the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit" is introduced. (11:7) He operates just prior to the Third Woe - which cometh, "quickly." The final Woe marks the close of all human probation, and the pouring out of "the wrath of God." (11:15 - 19) If then, the activities of the beast designated in Revelation 11 are amplified in Chapter 17, the time frame for the fulfillment of the events in Chapter 17 is established - "the last remnant of time."

"The beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven". Note carefully, that while the eighth, he is not of the seventh, but of the seven. He is the power which, though invisible, has operated through all seven heads. Now he assumes openly his claim of rulership of the kings of earth gathered together to a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Har-Mo'ed. (16:13-14, 16)

This brings us to a review of who are the seven heads. Various interpretations have been set forth. One must keep in mind that the controversy between the dragon and the woman who gave birth to the Man-Child goes back to the first gospel promise (Gen. 3:15) which is symbolically represented in the vision which introduce the second section of Revelation (12:1-3 ). Further, the scope of the book included those who sing the song of Moses as well as the Lamb (15:3). This binding of the Bible together as a unit with Moses standing for the Old Testament times, and Jesus Christ for the New Testament is an established concept. (John 1:17; Heb. 3:5-6) Thus the warfare of the dragon-beast against the people of God must begin with the persecution of the corporate body by Egypt. Understanding the definitive declaration of the angel as being expressed from John's point of time (17:10), the five which had fallen were Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia and Grecia. One was, Rome - Pagan and Papal - and one yet to come, and he was to "continue a short space."

The reason I suggest the sixth head as pagan-papal Rome as a viable exegesis of this definitive declaration is that in the Book of Daniel, the two are placed as one. The "little horn" of Daniel 7, ever remains a part of the non-descript beast. The "little horn" of Daniel 8 represents both phases of Rome. But what is represented by the "head" that continues a "short space"? Is it the second beast of Revelation 13, or the "image" formed? Regardless which power is chosen, following this, the dragon - "that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan" - appears in person asserting his right of rulership - he "is."

We next turn our attention to the woman. Instead of eisegetically reading into the symbol
p 3 -- the traditional concept from the Reformation and the Millerite Movement, let us see just what the Scripture is saying. The "woman" is designated as "that great city" (17:18), or Babylon the great. By pursuing this avenue of revelation, we observe that "that great city" in its fall is to be divided into three parts (16:19). Further, there are three symbolic powers, out of whose mouths come "unclean spirits" (16:13-14) which assemble "the kings of the earth and the whole world" to a place called in the Hebrew, Har-Mo'ed, or Mount of the Congregation.

Perceiving this scarlet-colored beast to be the symbolic representation of Satan's literal appearing as the long looked for Messiah of Judaism, and the "Coming King" of Christian tradition, coincides with God's revelation of Lucifer's intent. He purposed in his heart "to sit also upon the mount of the congregation (har-mo'ed), in the sides of the north." (Isa. 14:13) This is defined as mount Zion, "the city of the great King." (Ps. 48:2)

Again, you have a contrasting aspect of the prophecy of Revelation. While the rulers of earth are gathered on earthly Mount Zion, which Jesus declared to be desolate (Matt. 23:38), there is portrayed another gathering on the heavenly mount Sion - the 144,000 with the Lamb (14:1). Those who refuse to bow to the false Christ, are honored by the true Christ through Whom they overcome and by Whom they are delivered (12:11; 17:14).

Now let us return to the three parts of Babylon. As we seek to find an answer, we need to keep
in mind that any interpretation must be tentative, and can only be truly known as the scroll unrolls. However, it is interesting to observe that the one which Bible prophecy designates as a key player in the final drama of earth - the Papacy - speaks not only of Jerusalem, but of that city as the source of reverence of three monotheistic religions - Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.  '

*******

By the grace of God may we find further understanding.  More tomorrow by the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. All by HIS will!   Hopefully tomorrow we can go over this yet again and continue to gain truth and comprehension, please Lord, please help us, bless us.

AMEN!

Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

The Last Plague

Revelation
CHAPTER -- XVI -- The Plagues Poured Out 

(Excerpt from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911)

VERSE 17. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.  18.   And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.  19.   And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.  20.    And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.  21.   And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven,
p 697 --
(picture omitted)
p 698 -- every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

The Seventh Plague. - Thus has Inspiration described the last judgment which is to be inflicted in the present condition of things upon those who are incorrigibly rebellious against God. Some of the plagues are local in their application; but this one is poured out into the air. The air envelops the whole earth; it follows that this plague will envelop equally the habitable globe. It will be universal. The very air will be deadly.

The gathering of the nations having taken place under the sixth vial, the battle remains to be fought under the seventh; and here are brought to view the instrumentalities with which God will slay the wicked. At this time it may be said, "The Lord hath opened his armory, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation."

"There were voices."   Above all will be heard the voice of God. "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Joel 3:16. (See also Jer. 25:30; Heb. 12:26.) This will cause the great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth.

"And thunders and lightnings" - another allusion to the judgments of Egypt. (See Ex. 9:23.) The great city is divided into three parts; that is, the three grand divisions of the false and apostate religions of the world (the great city), Paganism, Catholicism, and relapsed Protestantism, seem to be set apart each to receive its appropriate doom. The cities of the nations fall; universal desolation spreads over the earth; every island flees away, and the mountains are not found; and great Babylon comes in remembrance before God. Read her judgments, as more fully described in chapter 18. 

"And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven." This is the last instrumentality used in the infliction of punishment upon the wicked, - the bitter dregs of the seventh vial. God has solemnly addressed the wicked, saying, "Judgment
p 699 -- also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place." Isa. 28:17. (See also Isa. 30:30.) And he asks Job if he has seen the treasures of the hail, which he has "reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war." Job 38:22, 23.

"Every stone about the weight of a talent." A talent, according to various authorities, as a weight, is about fifty-seven pounds avoirdupois. What could withstand the force of stones of such an enormous weight falling from heaven? But mankind, at this time, will have no shelter. The cities have fallen in a mighty earthquake, the islands have fled away, and the mountains are not found. Again the wicked give vent to their woe in blasphemy; for the plague of the hail is "exceeding great."

Some faint idea of the terrible effect of such a scene as is here predicted, may be inferred from the following sketch of a hailstorm on the Bosporus, by our countryman, the late Commodore Porter, in his Letters from Constantinople and its Environs, Vol. I, p. 44. He says:  -

"We had got perhaps a mile and a half on our way, when a cloud rising in the west gave indications of approaching rain. In a few minutes we discovered something falling from the heavens with a heavy splash, and with a whitish appearance. I could not conceive what it was, but observing some gulls near, I supposed it to be them darting for fish, but soon after discovered that they were large balls of ice falling. Immediately we heard a sound like rumbling thunder, or ten thousand carriages rolling furiously over the pavement. The whole Bosporus was in a foam, as though heaven's artillery had been charged upon us and our frail machine. Our fate seemed inevitable; our umbrellas were raised to protect us, but the lumps of ice stripped them into ribbons. We fortunately had a bullock's hide in the boat, under which we crawled, and saved ourselves from further injury. One man of the three oarsman had his hand literally smashed; another was much injured in the shoulder; Mr. H. received a blow in the leg;
p 700 -- my right hand was somewhat disabled, and all were more or less injured.

"It was the most awful and terrific scene I ever witnessed, and God forbid that I should ever be exposed to anotherl Balls of ice as large as my two fists fell into the boat, and some of them fell with such violence as certainly to have broken an arm or leg had they struck us in those parts. One of them struck the blade of an oar, and split it. The scene lasted perhaps five minutes; but it was five minutes of the most awful feelings I ever experienced. When it passed over, we found the surrounding hills covered with masses of ice, I cannot call it hail, the trees stripped of their leaves and limbs, and everything looking desolate. The scene was awful beyond all description.

"I have witnessed repeated earthquakes; the lightning has played, as it were, about my head; the wind has roared, and the waves at one moment have thrown me to the sky, and the next have sunk me into a deep abyss. I have been in action, and have seen death and destruction around me in every shape of horror; but I never before had the feeling of awe which seized me on this occasion, and still haunts, and I fear forever will haunt me. My porter, the boIdest of my family, who had ventured an instant from the door, had been knocked down by a hailstone, and had they not dragged him in by the heels, would have been battered to death. Two boatmen were killed in the upper part of the village, and I have heard of broken bones in abundance. Imagine to yourself the heavens suddenly frozen over, and as suddenly broken to pieces in irregular masses of from half a pound to a pound weight, and precipitated to the earth."

Reader, if such were the desolating effects of a hail-storm of ice, which discharged stones the size of a man's fist, weighing at most a pound or so, who can depict the consequences of that coming storm in which "EVERY STONE" shall be of the weight of a talent? As surely as God's word is truth, he is thus soon to punish a guilty world. May it be ours, according to the promise, to have "sure dwellings" and "quiet resting places" in that terrific hour. Isa. 32:18, 19.

p 701 -- "And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, and from the throne, saying, It is done!"  Thus all is finished. The cup of human guilt has been filled up. The last soul has availed itself of the plan of salvation. The books are closed. The number of the saved is completed. The final period is placed to this world's history. The vials of God's wrath are poured out upon a corrupt generation. The wicked have drunk them to the dregs, and sunk into the realm of death for a thousand years. Reader, where do you wish to be found after that great decision?

But what is the condition of the saints while the "overflowing scourge" is passing over? They are the special subjects of God's protection, without whose notice not a sparrow falls to the ground. Many are the promises which come crowding in to afford them comfort, summarily contained in the beautiful and expressive language of the 91st psalm, which alone we have space to quote.

" I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." Ps. 91:2-10. 

*******

By the will and grace of God we will study this more in-depth tomorrow.

All GLORY and HONOR, all PRAISE to our SAVIOR, our GOD, our KING-  Jesus  Christ our LORD.

Amen.

*******
William Grotheer excerpt-

'When the seventh angel pours out his vial into the air, "a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the Throne" declares - "It is done." A series of events involving the earth are pictured to John as following this declaration from the Throne. A great earthquake, Babylon divided into three parts, the "cities of the nations" fall, "every island fled away, and the mountains were not found." A judgment call must again be made. Are these literal happenings, or is symbolic prophetic language still being used? It is obvious from context that "Babylon" is a symbolic term and is applied to the "harlot." (17:18). Then are the "cities of the nations" the national units of the great international city? Does the symbolism stop here, and the "islands" and "mountains" are to be understood literally?
The seventh plague itself is described as hail, every stone being "about the weight of a talent." (16:21) It is said to be "exceeding great." This can be understood only as literal language. While men "blasphemed God," those who have been looking at the transgression of earth's inhabitants from heaven's perspective declare, "Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments." (16:7)
The first section of the book of Revelation closes with similar language as is found in this 16th Chapter. Under the seventh angel of the Trumpets, and the Third Woe are described events when God takes unto Himself, His great power and reigns. (11:15-19) These must be considered as parallel with the time of the seven last plagues.'

From <http://www.adventistlaymen.com/WWN%20Text%20Versions/wwn8%2895%29%20Excerpt.htm>

The Seven Last Plagues
There is a principle to the interpretation of the revelations given in the Seven Last Plagues chapter which is frequently overlooked. All the plagues, save one, constitutes God's response to what man has done in probationary time. (The one exception is the third plague which is a repeat of, "blood" due to the death decree against the"saints". See comment, Great Controversy, p. 628) This principle of understanding Revelation 16 is easily seen by noting the first plague. (16:2) The "grievous sore" falls on those who "had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image." When was this mark received, and when was this worship begun? Before or after the close of probation? The answer is simple - prior to the close of probation. Using this same principle for the sixth plague, we find the plague itself falls "upon the great river Euphrates." (16:12) Its results carry over into the seventh plague "great Babylon comes into remembrance before God." (16:19) But what causes God to pour out this plague? The answer is that the triumvirate of evil - the dragon, beast (Rev. 13), and the false prophet (2nd beast of Rev.13) - gather the rulers of earth to Har-Magedon.
Lest there be a misunderstanding, let it be clearly understood that all the Seven Last Plagues come after the close of human probation. However, the explanation as to why the plague is poured out is distinctly separate from the plague itself. This needs to be understood and distinguished in the study of Revelation 16. Thus Revelation 16:13-16 will be fulfilled prior to the close of probation. (See use made of Rev. 16:13-14 in Great Controversy, pp. 561-562)
While the sixth plague is poured out on what is termed "the great river Euphrates," the "spirits of devils" had gathered the leadership of earth with their forces to a place with a Hebrew designation. Herein is a factor of the Jewish equation. God's wrath reveals how He views this development. To Him it is what He has always revealed it to be - Babylon, the epitome of rebellion. Thus the symbolism of "the great river Euphrates," and the fact that the "whore" is carried by the beast that "was, and is not, and yet is" who makes war with the Lamb. (Rev.17:14) But the spirits of devils do not gather their devotees to the river Euphrates, but rather to a place called in the Hebrew, Har-Magedon. . . .
Har-Magedon
In the Hebrew language - har - means, mountain. This rules out "Megiddo" for it is a valley. (Zech. 12:11) However, there is a mountain named in the Old Testament which meets linguistic requirements. It is called, har-mo'ed - Mount of the Congregation. It is described as being "in the sides of the north" or Mt. Zion "the city of the great King." (See Isa. 14:13; Ps. 48:2) By noting the objectives of Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12-14, it is he who plans to "sit upon the mount of the congregation" -har-mo'ed. To this end, the spirits of devils gather the nations of the earth. Daniel simply states - "He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain." (11:45) To John it revealed that "the spirits of devils" coming from the dragon, beast and false prophet gather the nations to the mount of the congregation. But the prophetic message behind this symbolism is that literal Jerusalem is to be made "an holy city" from man's view-point, while God's view-point the deception is in reality, Babylon the Great. The significance to us is that when this occurs, the prophecy states - "And at that time shall Michael stand up." (Dan. 12:1) "But the true leader of all of this rebellion is Satan clothed as an angel of light. Men will be deceived and will exalt him to the place of God, and deify him. But Omnipotence will interpose, and to the apostate churches that unite in exaltation of Satan, the sentence will go forth, 'Therefore shall her plagues come in one day...'" (TM, p. 62) How near are we to the fulfillment of this Divine edict? (Bold and italicized emphasis added.)

From <http://www.adventistlaymen.com/Documents/MARK_OF_THE_BEAST.html>


Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

'And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon'

Revelation
CHAPTER -- XVI -- The Plagues Poured Out 

(Excerpt from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911)

VERSE 8. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.  9.   And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory.

The Fourth Plague. - It is worthy of notice that every succeeding plague tends to augment the calamity of the previous ones and to heighten the anguish of the guilty sufferers. We have now a noisome and grievous sore preying upon men inflaming their blood, and pouring its feverish influence through their veins. In addition to this, they have only blood to allay their burning thirst; and, as if to crown all, power is given unto the sun, and he pours upon them a flood of liquid fire, and they are scorched with great heat. Here, as the record runs, their woe first seeks utterance in fearful blasphemy.

VERSE 10. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain.  11.   And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

p 690 -- The Fifth Plaague. - An important fact is established by this testimony; namely, that the plagues do not at once destroy all their victims; for some who were at first smitten with sores, we find still living under the fifth vial, and gnawing their tongues for pain. An illustration of this vial will be found in Ex. 10:21-23. It is poured upon the seat of the beast, the papacy. The seat of the beast is wherever the papal See is located, which has been thus far, and without doubt will continue to be, the city of Rome. "His kingdom" probably embraces all those who are subjects of the pope in an ecclesiastical point of view, wherever they may be.

As those who place the plagues in the past have the first five already wholly accomplished, we here pause a moment to inquire where, in past ages, the judgments here threatened have been fulfilled. Can judgments so terrible be inflicted, and nobody know it? If not, where is the history of the fulfilment? When did a noisome and grievous sore fall upon a specified and extensive portion of mankind? When did the sea become as the blood of a dead man, and every living soul die in it? When did the fountains and rivers become blood, and people have blood to drink? When did the sun so scorch men with fire as to extort from them curses and blasphemy? And when did the subjects of the beast gnaw their tongues for pain, and at the same time blaspheme God on account of their sores?

 Interpreters who thus put such scenes in the past, where a shadow of fulfilment cannot be shown, openly invite the scoffs and ridicule of the skeptically minded against God's holy book, and furnish them with potent weapons for their deplorable work. In these plagues, says Inspiration, is filled up the wrath of God; but if they can be fulfilled and nobody know it, who shall henceforth consider his wrath so terrible a thing, or shrink from his judgments when they are threatened? 

VERSE 12. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.  13.   And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.  14.   For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to
p 691 -- the battle of that great day of God Almighty.  15.   Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.  16.   And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

The Sixth Plague. - What is the great River Euphrates, upon which this vial is poured out? - One view is that it is the literal River Euphrates in Asia; another is that it is a symbol of the nation occupying the territory through which that river flows. The latter opinion is preferable for the following reasons: -

   1.   It would be difficult to see what end would be gained by the drying up of the literal river, as that would not offer an obstruction at all serious to the progress of an advancing army; and it should be noticed that the drying up takes place to prepare the way of the kings of the East; that is, regular military organizations, and not a promiscuous and unequipped crowd of men, women, and children, like the children of Israel at the Red Sea or at the Jordan. The Euphrates is only about 1,400 miles in length, or about one third the size of the Mississippi. Cyrus, without difficulty, turned the whole river from its channel at his siege of Babylon; and notwithstanding the numerous wars that have been carried on along its banks, and the mighty hosts that have crossed and recrossed its streams, it never yet had to be dried up to let them pass.

  2.   It would be as necessary to dry up the River Tigris as the Euphrates; for that is nearly as large as the latter. Its source is only fifteen miles from that of the Euphrates, in the mountains of Armenia, and it runs nearly parallel with it, and but a short distance from it throughout its whole course; yet the prophecy says nothing of the Tigris.

  3.   The literal drying up of the rivers takes place under the fourth vial, when power is given to the sun to scorch men with fire. Under this plague occur, beyond question, the scenes of drought and famine so graphically described by Joel, chapter 1:14-20; and as one result of these, it is expressly stated that "the rivers of waters are dried up." The Euphrates can hardly be an exception to this visitation of drought; hence
p 692 -- not much would remain to be literally dried up under the sixth vial. 

These plagues, from the very nature of the case, must be manifestations of wrath and judgments upon men; but if the drying up of the literal Euphrates is all that is brought to view, this plague is not of such a nature, and turns out to be no serious affair, after all.

These objections existing against considering it a literal river, it must be understood figuratively as symbolizing the power holding possession of the territory watered by that river, which is the Ottoman, or Turkish, empire.

Webmaster note: At the time of the writing of this book, the Ottoman Empire seemed to be the obvious power to point to, however, today we must take time and place into consideration to apply this prophecy. In previous prophecies we are talking historical facts, whereas this prophecy is talking about things that are STILL unfolding in time.

  1.   It is so used in other places in the Scriptures. (See Isa. 8:7; Rev. 9:14.) In this latter text, all must concede that the Euphrates symbolizes the Turkish power; and being the first and only other occurrence of the word in the Revelation, it may well be considered as governing its use in this book.
  2.   The drying up of the river in this sense would be the consumption of the Turkish empire, accompanied with more or less destruction of its subjects. Thus we should have literal judgments upon men as the result of this plague, as in the case of all the others.

But it may be objected to this, that while contending for the literality of the plagues, we nevertheless make one of them a symbol. We answer, No. A power is introduced, it is true, under the sixth vial, in its symbolic form, just as it is under the fifth, where we read of the seat of the beast, which is a well-known symbol; or as we read again in the first plague of the mark of the beast, his image, and its worship, which are also symbols. All that is here insisted upon, is the literality of the judgments that result from each vial, which are literal in this case as in all the others, though the organizations which suffer these judgments may be brought to view in their symbolic form.

Again:   It may be asked how the way of the kings of the East will be prepared by the drying up, or consumption, of the Ottoman power? The answer is obvious. For what is the way of these kings to be prepared? Answer:   To come up to
p 693 -- the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Where is the battle to be fought? - Near Jerusalem. (Joel and Zephaniah.) But Jerusalem is in the hands of the Turks; they hold possession of the land of Palestine and the sacred sepulchers. This is the bone of contention; on these the nations have fixed their covetous and jealous eyes. But though Turkey now possesses them, and others want them, it is nevertheless thought necessary to the tranquility of Europe that Turkey should be maintained in her position, in order to preserve what is called the "balance of power." For this the Christian nations of Europe have co-operated to sustain the integrity of the sultan's throne, because they cannot agree as to the division of the spoils, when Turkey falls. By their sufferance alone that government now exists, and when they shall withdraw their support, and leave it to itself, as they will do under the sixth plague, that symbolic river will be wholly dried up; Turkey will be no more, and the way will be all open for the nations to make their last grand rally to the Holy Land. The kings of the East, the nationalities, powers, and kingdoms lying east of Palestine, will act a conspicuous part in the matter; for Joel says in reference to this scene, "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat." The millions of Mohammedans of Persia, Afghanistan, Toorkistan, and India will rush to the field of conquest in behalf of their religion. (See more about Turkey in Dan. 11:40-45.) 

NOTE- CLEARLY this above is not fact, only fact of the time, not fact in history. They were putting their current events into the prophecy and while during the last days of prophecy we will be living in that prophecy and unable to look back upon it, we have to be careful, VERY careful not to see what isn't there.  END NOTE

Those who place five of the plagues in the past, and contend that we are now living under the sixth, urge, as one of their strongest arguments, the fact that the Turkish empire is now wasting away, and this takes place under the sixth vial. It is hardly necessary to reply,  The event that takes place under the sixth vial is the entire and utter consumption of that power, not its preliminary state of decay, which is all that now appears. It is necessary that the empire should for a time grow weak and powerless, in order to its utter dissolution when the plague shall come. This preliminary condition is now seen, and the full end cannot be far in the future.

Another event to be noticed under this plague is the issuing forth of the three unclean spirits to gather the nations to the
p 694 -- great battle. The agency now already abroad in the world known as modern Spiritualism, is in every way a fitting means to be employed in this work. But it may be asked how a work which is already going on can be designated by that expression, when the spirits are not introduced into the prophecy until the pouring out of the sixth plague, which is still future. We answer that in this, as in many other movements, the agencies which Heaven designs to employ in the accomplishment of certain ends, go through a process of preliminary training for the part which they are to act. Thus, before the spirits can have such absolute authority over the race as to gather them to battle against the King of kings and Lord of lords, they must first win their way among the nations of the earth, and cause their teaching to be received as of divine authority and their word as law. This work they are now doing; and when they shall have once gained full influence over the nations in question, what fitter instrument could be employed to gather them to so rash and hopeless an enterprise?
To many it may seem incredible that the nations should be willing to engage in such an unequal warfare as to go up to battle against the lord of hosts; but it is one province of these spirits of devils to deceive, for they go forth working miracles, and thereby deceive the kings of the earth, that they should believe a lie. 

The sources from which these spirits issue, denote that they will work among three great religious divisions of mankind, represented by the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, or Paganism, Catholicism, and apostate Protestantism.

But what is the force of the caution thrown out in verse 15? Probation must have closed, and Christ have left his mediatorial position, before the plagues begin to fall. And is there danger of falling after that? It will be noticed that this warning is spoken in connection with the working of the spirits. The inference therefore is, that it is retroactive, applying from the time these spirits begin to work to the close of probation; that by an interchange of tenses common to the Greek language, the present tense is put for the past; as if it had read, Blessed is he that hath watched and kept his garments, as the
p 695 -- shame and nakedness of all who have not done this will at this time especially appear.
"And he gathered them." Who are the ones here spoken of as "gathered," and what agency is to be used in gathering them? If the word them refers to the kings of verse 14 it is certain that no good agency would be made use of to gather them; and if the spirits are referred to by the word he, why is it in the singular number? The peculiarity of this construction has led some to read the passage thus:   "And he [Christ] gathered them [the saints] into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon [the illustrious city, or New Jerusalem]." But this position is untenable. The following criticism, which appeared not long since in a religious magazine, seems to shed the true light upon this passage. The writer says:  -

"It seems to me that verse 16 is a continuation of verse 14, and that the antecedent of autouV [them] is 'the kings' mentioned in verse 14. For this latter verse says, 'Which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them,' etc., and in verse 16 it says, 'And he gathered them.' Now in the Greek, 'a neuter plural regularly takes a verb in the singular.' (See Sophecles's Greek Grammar, sec. 151, l.) Might not, therefore, the subject of the verb sunhgagen [gathered] (verse 16) be ta pneumata [the spirits] of verse 14, and thus the 'gathering' mentioned in the two verses be one and the same?

"And if this is to be a gathering of 'the kings of the earth and of the whole world,' will it not be for the purpose mentioned in the text; namely, 'to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty' ?"

In accordance with this criticism, several translations use the plural instead of the singular pronoun.
Mr. Wakefield, in his translation of the New Testament, renders this verse thus:   "And the spirits gathered the kings together at a place called in Hebrew Armageddon."

The Syriac Testament reads:   "And they collected them together in a place called in Hebrew Armageddon."

Sawyer's translation renders it:   "And they assembled them in the place called in Hebrew Armageddon."

p 696 -- Mr. Wesley's version of the New Testament reads:   "And they gathered them together to the place which is called in the Hebrew Armageddon."

Whiting's translation gives it:   "And they gathered them into a place called in Hebrew Armageddon."
Professor Stuart, of Andover College, a distinguished critic, though not a translator of the Scriptures, renders it:   "And THEY gathered them together," etc. De Wette, a German translator of the Bible, gives it the same turn as Stuart and the others. 

Mr. Albert Barnes, whose notes on the New Testament have been so extensively used, refers to the same grammatical law as suggested by the criticism above quoted, and says, "The authority of De Wette and Professor Stuart is sufficient to show that the construction which they adopt is authorized by the Greek, as indeed no one can doubt, and perhaps this construction accords better with the context than any other construction proposed." Thus it will be seen that there are weighty reasons for reading the text, "They gathered them together," etc., instead of "he gathered." And by these authorities it is shown that the persons gathered are the minions of Satan, not saints; that it is the work of the spirits, not of Christ; and that the place of assemblage is not in the New Jerusalem at the marriage supper of the Lamb, but at Armageddon (or Mount Megiddo), "at the battle of that great day of God Almighty."

The hills of Megiddo, overlooking the plain of Esdraelon, was the place where Barak and Deborah destroyed Sisera's army, and where Josiah was routed by th Egyptian king Pharaoh-Necho.
*******
More truth--by another author - William Grotheer-

Fourth plague

Rev. 16 8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.  9And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Repented not- why? Because there was no place for repentance. The plagues come after the close of probation- there is no more repentance. The sun god they've worshipped is now a curse to them.

Going on-

Fifth plague- Rev. 16 10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,  11And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds

When this plague is poured out it is poured out upon the seat of the beast and his kingdom - pain for their blasphemies, pain and sores. The sores are of the first plague. These are those that repented not of their deeds. Apostasy.

Integrity of truth is VITAL in this final conflict, and the maintenance of that truth- the devil abode not in the truth.

John {8:43} Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word. {8:44}Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of [your] father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. We have to know what is truth! Sanctified by truth. John {17:17} Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

We have to study what the word says... not what we WANT it to say.

Going on-

Sixth plague- Rev. 16 12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.  13And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.  14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.  15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.  16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Typology- river Euphrates and the drying up.

What sat on the river? Ancient/literal Babylon sat over the river Euphrates.   Cyrus - Mede/Persians diverted the river into a lake to dry up the river bed so they could over throw Babylon.

The water dried up.

Water in prophecy- nations, peoples, and tongues.  Rev. {17:15} And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and  multitudes, and nations, and tongues -- Restrictive descriptive. WHERE THE WHORE SITTETH.

 Rev. 16  12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

Why this plague--

 13And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.  14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.  15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.  16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

3 unclean spirits like frogs... spirits of devils working miracles

The dragon represents satan Rev. 12

Symbolism is changing..... spirits of devils are pictured as frogs

Frogs catch their prey with their tongues. Frogs are noisy especially during mating season when they're bringing everything together. Spirits of devils- modern charismatic movement that has pervaded ALL religious aspects today!

They come out of the mouth of the dragon the beast and false prophet- all are religious in nature! Combined religious world will be gathered together to the great day of God Almighty. Satan will use the combined religions to fight against God! This takes place in probationary time, before the plague is given out. This is the reason FOR the plague. The religions combined will be used by satan.

Where are they gathered- Heb. 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Breaking this greek word down- we are reading it greek in english, john wrote it as translated hebrew to greek so....

KJV- Armageddon
AMR- Har-mageddon (means mountain)

Mountain of what?

In Hebrew language no vowels- but they had vowel consonant

What's left after breaking it all down-

Three Hebrew consonant.

In transliteration-

Spelling gommorah - 

((He has diagrams etc))

Hebrews tongue - the mount of moade ?

Isa. 14: 12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!  13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

The mount of the congregation (is har moade  - mount of the congregation) 

Ps. 48  2Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King

They are going to attempt to set up a new Jerusalem on earth!

But in the plague God reveals it's Babylon they're setting up.

What evidence do we have about the importance of Jerusalem. Dan.11:45

During the sixth plague- they are gathering in Jerusalem!

More on this tomorrow by the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST NOW AND FOREVER!!!!

Amen.  
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)