Until now believers were unable to properly interpret the prophecy of, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, because the covenant message was necessary for its interpretation. Also hindering our ability to correctly interpret this book, was the extraordinary twist that God gave the book: the angels are trying to cause people to die with death. This death is that of laying down one's life and falling on one's face before God, succumbing to his sovereign authority, and ready to do his will. Everyone who dies with this kind of death is ready and willing to overcome the snares of religion. When believers overcome religion, and die with this kind of death, then they are given power to assist the Lord in overthrowing the religions of the world, or, in other words, the nations. “He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him I will give power over the nations (Revelation 2:26).”
To build acceptance for this interpretation, it is necessary to show believers how it can be verified. The Revelation is sealed prophecy, therefore a concordance is necessary. Jesus sayings are the only verses of the book which are not sealed, and they are written in the first chapter of the book, as well as at the end of the book (Revelation 10:4; 22:10). Look up the Greek words in the sealed portions of the Revelation. Use the concordance dictionary and cross reference all the words into which that same Greek word was translated. Then find all of the verses within the book of Revelation that contain that same Greek word: No other books of the bible are necessary, because this amazing book, interprets itself. After you have collected the verses which share a common Greek word, then read through the verses, and pay attention to the wording and the testimony of each individual verse, for those paired together verses serve to interpret one another.
The book of Revelation is our assurance that God will open the doors of the everlasting kingdom, and that once they are opened, no man will shut them. The purpose of this book is to guide the elect through the hour of God's judgment, when God will begin to cause all believers to stand upon covenant understanding (Revelation 14:7). Secured within the parables of The Revelation, is evidence of how God planned to prepare his elect, causing them to be ready to stand against the forces which will try to stop his end time message from going out. Before being able to properly maneuver through that hour, the beast will need to be interpreted, and some of the evidences which God prophesied concerning the preparations which have been taking place upon the earth for the past seven years, will need to be verified, so that believers can weigh all the evidences, and know whether or not they can trust this message.
The twelfth chapter of the Revelation depicts a woman travailing in the birth of the covenant message. The vision recorded in this chapter reveals that God graciously prepared two wings of an eagle to nourish the travailing woman, until the times were fulfilled (Revelation 12:14). Those two wings of an eagle were that of a priest and a prophet which took the time to discretely pay attention to her message. The priest and prophet nourished the woman by using her teachings in a conformable way. She heard as her words came forth from the mouths of priests, and she knew that it was good. This encouraged the woman's heart and it nourished her, for it kept her from aborting the message.
The quarrel against the woman is that God has shown her, scripturally, and with evidence, that he has been accepting faithful Muslims, as well as Jews and Christians, into his everlasting habitations. Those that are appalled by this truth need to stop and study the parable which is found in the twelfth chapter of, The Revelation. In this parable, Michael, who is the archangel of Islam, battles against the dragon, and the dragon is cast out of heaven. This scenario is verifiable evidence and proof that Michael and Islam, are alive and well, and in heaven (Daniel 10:13; Revelation 12:7-9). Yet, for all the evidences which God has revealed unto Christianity through the woman's message, Christianity has continued to remain obstinate. It is utterly inconceivable that decades of renown religious greats could have overlooked the truths that God has reserved for the end times. Consequently, Christian priests have arrogantly spewed religious disdain at the woman. Yet, it is written that the woman, and all those that believe like her, “Keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17).” But don't take my word for it, look up the vision for yourselves, and witness the powerful evidence (Revelation chapter 12).
The thirteenth chapter of The Revelation publishes news about the priest and prophet which picked up on the woman's message. The priest came up out of earth, which allows that the covenant message had cast him out of heaven. He was inspired to start an organization for Christian priests. He recruited a prophet for leading the group, and discretely shared the covenant mystery with him. They both feared the covenant message, and they started a ministry for Christian priests: a ministry which was, and is, purposed to refresh the Christian priesthood, and to inspire them to work together for the cause of Christ. Their ministry became the image of what Christianity ought to be. Priests received power in the Holy Spirit after spending just one hour listening to their messages. Their teachings have strengthened the face of Christianity, however their teachings are prejudiced and biased, and therefore their followers are being deceived by the image of the beast. In other words, the words "image of the beast" pertain to an inspired form of Christianity, which regardless of its apparent worldly success, is simply another form of religion. The followers of this inspiring new doctrine are utterly convinced that salvation is based upon trusting in the law of one specific scripture verse, whereas God's word testifies that salvation is based upon doing the words of the covenant that God has made, and given unto his people (Psalm 25:10; 25:14).
Also in the vision of the thirteenth chapter, a prophet rose up out of the sea when he read the covenant message, which allows that he was an unsaved soul until the day that he read the message. He was wounded by the sword, or in other words, by the truth of the message, nearly to death, but he lived which isn’t good when the objective of the book is death. This prophet has been deceiving his followers: for he tapped into the counsel of the covenant message, but he changed and omitted the things which were offensive, and which conflicted with the core beliefs of Christianity. “There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty two months (Revelation 13:5).” He is the false prophet of The Revelation, and he has impressed the world with his teachings. Satan gave him his power, his seat, and his great authority, and he has had the power to overcome saints, but his power was only for a limited time, and that time is up.
“He causeth all… to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads (Revelation 13:16).” If you are expecting to see some sort of a literal mark being forcibly put upon men, be aware that sealed prophecy is cleverly worded. Bear in mind that God always has spiritual implications for his word, as well as literal implications. It is important to consider that this mark is a spiritual mark which can only be seen by God. People who sell and promote religion's laws already have the name of blasphemy spiritually written in their foreheads, or in their hands (Revelation 13:1; 17:5). Likewise, believers who buy the truth of God’s word, already have God's name spiritually written in their foreheads: according to the fourteenth chapter of the Revelation, God's name is already appearing in the foreheads of believers that are standing upon mount Sion (Revelation 14:1). Go ahead and count the number of beasts, but don’t be deceived by that number. The Greek letters which were famously translated into the numerals “six hundred three score and six,” were also translated into the word, “hundred,” and the one and only verse which is paired together with the infamous "six hundred three score and six" prophecy, is a verse which surmises the amount of space that it will take for God to correct the mindset of a multitude (Revelation 14:20). This clue insinuates that the number 666 stands for the many multitudes of believers which are currently being deceived by religion.
Now, about that beast with its seven heads and its ten horns: That beast is religion, and the conglomeration of the elect which are continuing to practice it (Revelation 17:3). There are seven spirits within the beast, which allows for its seven heads. In other words, each head represents one of seven different groups of like minded believers. Four of the beast's heads are the four cherubim which are in heaven: Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and the priesthood. Most believers within these four groups are utterly unaware of the covenant message, and of how scripture testifies that God will convert the heart of every believer, and give them one way to serve him forevermore. Worshipping the beast means that people are worshipping religion, and this happens because believers are accepting the teachings of either man or tradition, and they are bowing themselves down, and considering those teachings to be infallible, and unchangeable. “They have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast (Revelation 14:11).” “The four beasts… rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come (Revelation 4:8).”
Two of the heads upon the beast pertain to the priesthood. The group is divided based upon whether or not priests have heard the covenant message. Priests which have heard the covenant message, and have believed and confessed it, are no longer taking part in the conglomeration, but every priest that has heard, and has continued to teach and uphold religion's laws, has his part in the group which is called, Satan. Satan is the fifth head upon the beast. After believers can discern the parable meanings for these five heads, then God provided a riddle which offers clues regarding the final two heads: the four cherubim and Satan are the five kings which have fallen: “There are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come (Revelation 17:10).” The two remaining heads upon the beast, are: the elders and the dictates of religion, which are now, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah, which is to come.
The ten horns upon the beast challenge believers to discover a couple of reasons why kings have remained upon the beast. The easiest way to discern an answer to this question, is to break the conglomeration apart, and study just one of its heads. In the thirteenth chapter of the book John saw a beast coming up out of the earth having two horns like a lamb, and speaking like a dragon (Revelation 13:11). A reference to the lamb indicates that this is a group of people which know the teachings of Jesus Christ. A reference to the dragon insinuates that this is a group of priests which have heard the covenant message. In other words, this is Satan, because Satan's name in prophecy represents priests which have heard the covenant message, but have not confessed it. The two horns upon Satan's head imply that there are two reasons why priests which have heard the covenant message, have continued to remain upon the beast: Some of them believed the truth of the message but they haven’t performed any kingdom works, and the rest of them despised the message.
Satan has two horns, but remember there are a total of ten horns upon the beast's seven heads, so while three of its heads have two horns apiece, the four remaining heads only have one horn each. The people that are partaking in the four groups which have one horn apiece, are unfamiliar Jesus' teachings, with one exception: One of its heads consists of likeminded believers which already know and believe the covenant message, and these people are familiar with Jesus' teachings, but they are not following God's instructions, and they are not doing the things which are necessary for the advancement of his end time message. The people that are partaking in the three groups which have two horns apiece, are familiar with Jesus' teachings: their second horn represents members which despise the newly revealed truth of prophecy. An accounting of the ten horns would include: One horn apiece upon the head's of: Islam, Judaism, the uninformed priesthood, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah; and two horns apiece for Christianity, Satan, and the elders. Scripture concludes that God has put it in the hearts of all seven of these kings to pursue their own religious ways until the times of the end are fulfilled (Revelation 17:17).
Our rewards are according to what our works for the everlasting kingdom, shall be: wherefore each of these kings is credited with receiving a crown (Revelation 13:1; 22:12). “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life (Revelation 2:10).” “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown (Revelation 3:11).”
In the seventeenth chapter of the book, it is written that John saw this beast with its seven heads and the ten horns, and it was carrying a great whore. The great whore represents the many likeminded prophets which serve religion, and which rule over the priests of earth: collectively they are Babylon. “The woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:18).” She wears the mark of blasphemy upon her forehead, and she holds evidence of God’s wrath in her hands. Since these prophets have been silencing incriminating evidence, they are, unwittingly, allowing their followers to suffer the plagues of God. “She made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication (Revelation 14:8).” This whore has had the privilege of preparing the scripts for the priesthood, and the priesthood gave her this power. “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously… for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow (Revelation 18:7).” "The ten horns... are ten kings... These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast (Revelation 17:12-13)." Currently, priests who are accepting and using the teachings of these prophets, have had great respect for them, but when God brings about the curse, then all people will hear that these prophets have been withholding the truth, and they will be mad. “The ten horns shall hate the whore… and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire (Revelation 17:16).”
The fate of the false prophet, as well as the beast, is to be cast alive into the Lake of fire. The Lake of fire is the second death, and it is the travail of everyone that goes against the ways of the Lord (Revelation 21:8). "The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet... both these were cast alive into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20)." God will use the Lake of fire for his glory: it is the way in which God will correct the deceived. The effects of the Lake of fire will begin to be felt after the time of the first resurrection. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power (Revelation 20:6)." In other words, the people who take part in the first resurrection by preforming a work, or works, which help to spread God's end time message, are blessed: God will not curse them, neither will he withdraw his Holy Spirit from them, and the noisome pestilence will not torment them. Their works are awakening the backslidden, as well as some people which have always been spiritually dead. These servants are blessed: They have nothing to fear in the travail of the second death. “He that overcometh shall not be hurt in the second death (Revelation 2:11).”
“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 (Revelation 17:14).” The figurative Lamb not only represents believers that know Jesus' teachings, but it also represents the many likeminded people that are actively working to bring others into covenant understanding. They sit upon the throne with Jesus. “To him who overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne (Revelation 3:21).” “The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters (Revelation 7:17).”
The elect have had three and a half years to prepare one hundred and forty four thousand believers, including believers of every nation, and in every religious denomination, to heed the voice of the Lord (Revelation chapter seven). This counsel was to be revealed, and released when those days were accomplished. The Revelation is our guide for that hour when God brings about the curse, and causes his people to stand upon covenant understanding.
The eighth chapter of The Revelation depicts the solemn moments which precede that hour. “When he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour (Revelation 8:1).” After decades of anticipation, and seven years of travail, The Revelation is finally opened, and the covenant message has prevailed! The one hundred and forty four thousand elect are standing within the temple, along with the seven spirits of God, and everyone of them is given a white robe (Revelation 6:11; 15:6). Their sayings and doings are recorded in the nineteenth chapter of the book: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready (Revelation 19:7).” In other words, this is the portion of the prophecy which identifies that converted believers of every religious denomination, and every nation, will stand up together in agreement on that day, having received an accurate understanding of God's prophetic, end time plan!
“I saw the seven angels which stood before God… and another angel came and stood at the altar (Revelation 8:2-3).” Priests which believed the message and overcame religion, have power over fire, and they stand at the altar ready to do works for the Lord (Revelation 13:13; 16:8). They pray for the saints, and then they take a censer, and they fill it with fire. They are ready to teach the truth of God's end time message unto their congregations: their work is purposed for the advancement of the kingdom, however they do realize that when the truth of God's message is taught, the passions of many believers will be set on fire. “There were voices, and thunderings, and lightenings, and an earthquake (Revelation 8:5).”
There are seven angels, and each of them has a trumpet in his hand for sounding the warnings of the plagues. Upon exiting the temple they are each given a vial of God’s wrath to be poured upon earth. These things are in their hands at the same time, signifying that the vials and the plagues agree, and that they will work together to interpret that hour (Revelation 15:6-7). A record which verifies the angels’ sayings and doings is recorded in the fourteenth chapter of the book. The details in this chapter form an outline of the hour of God's curse. The events of the hour will happen in accordance this outline, for it is the predetermined order which has been established by God. Additional details concerning the events of that hour are randomly scattered throughout the book in the various depictions which John saw. When the angels exit the temple, scripture affirms that the temple's doors will be closed: this insinuates that once the plagues begin, every unsaved person will stay in their saved state, until after all seven of the plagues has been fulfilled. "No man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled (Revelation 15:8)."
Angel Number One:
“I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth… saying… Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come (Revelation 14:6-7).” The first angels are messengers who believe the truth of the covenant message: they are warning others, and telling them to study the interpretation of The Revelation. The Lord considers their speaking out, as doing a work for him, and their work for him, as the pouring out of their own blood, the blood of sacrifice, upon the earth. When God's messengers do these works for his kingdom, then every Christian priest who has ignored the newly revealed truths of prophecy, will be afflicted. “The first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image (Revelation 16:2).”
“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast into earth: and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up (Revelation 8:7).” By reason of their grievous sores, negligent priests were cast out of their heavenly perceived perfection. Hail means that they will be pounded with the truth of God’s word. Fire is the spoken word, purifying them, and burning up their former works. Specifying that all of the grass and some of the trees are being “burnt up,” means that people who were guilty of living unto themselves, are dying with death; and that presence of blood is evidence of their renewed resolve to do God’s will.
A scene celebrating the feat of the first angels is found in the nineteenth chapter. “I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11).” Jesus’ new name is written upon them: “King of kings, and Lord of lords”, and they are called “The Word of God” (Revelation 3:12; 19:13; 19:16). Out of their mouth comes the message which is destined to smite the nations. “Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15).” The power to rule with a rod of iron is prophesied unto priests which were birthed from the covenant message, as well as to other believers which have overcome religion (Revelation 2:26-27; 12:5). Having the ability to “slay with the sword” means that these believers have the ability, and the power to cause people to die with death, because they are teaching them the true interpretations of God's word.
Angel Number Two:
“There followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city (Revelation 14:8).” The second angels are the priests whose testimonies came about because of their affliction. Their voices signify the end of religion, as well as the end of the reign of the false prophets. “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird (Revelation 18:2).”
When their voices are heard, then the Christian priests which escaped the first pestilence, but didn’t change or correct their religious beliefs, will loose the Holy Spirit. In prophecy, the word "sea" is a parable word which represents the dwelling place of every person who is without the Holy Spirit. “The second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood (Revelation 8:8).” Christianity, as we know it, will be cast out of the Lord’s presence. Nevertheless, that horrific amount of blood verifies that many righteous works will result from this plague. “The second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea (Revelation 16:3).” The living soul’s which are dying in the sea, are believers which are dying to their own vanities: for they have lost the Holy Spirit, they are giving themselves over unto the purposes of the Lord.
Angel Number Three:
A scene depicting the third angel is recorded in the eleventh chapter. The message of this chapter concerns two olive trees, and their churches. The two olive trees represent two groups of likeminded believers, and they are called witnesses, because they have witnessed the birth of the covenant message. They are believers of the Islamic and Jewish nations, which have prophesied, and which have worked diligently to strengthen their people over the past forty two months. When the third angels see all of the evidence, and they hear some of the testimonies, then they will rise up in agreement with the Lord, and they will receive his Holy Spirit. “They of the people… shall see their dead bodies three days and a half… After three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet… and they ascended up to heaven in a cloud (Revelation 11:9-12).”
These witnesses are exposing their nations to the truth about Jesus Christ, as well as religion, and they are warning them of the plagues. “The third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God… and be tormented with fire and brimestone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.” (Revelation 14:9-10).
“Waters” represent teachings; and these witnesses “have power over the waters to turn them to blood (Revelation 11:6).” “The third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood (Revelation 16:4).” Verses which pertain to the third angels suggest that God will give these messengers a supernatural ability to teach their nations the truth of his word. “The third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter (Revelation 8:10-11).” God prophesied that he would feed the people with wormwood (Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15). Wormwood is the name that God has given unto teachings that will cause mighty men to cry most bitterly. The past cannot be changed: but the good news is that believers who are drinking the wormwood are dying with death, for they are crying out unto God, and they are cleaving to him (Revelation 10:9).
When the third angel's pour out their blood, then God will pour out another abhorring affliction for the purpose of correcting the mindset of Jewish and Islamic religious leaders that are refusing to yield to his instructions. “I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus (Revelation 16:5).”
Angel Number four:
According to the outline of the hour, the fourth angels are depicted as, hesitating: “I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap (Revelation 14:14-15).” The fourth angels are the prophets which have been working with the covenant message. They have been waiting for God's signs and wonders: they wanted to see evidence of God's intervention, because they feared the ramifications of speaking the truth without it.
A scene depicting the forth angels is recorded in the tenth chapter. They are “The Lion of the tribe of Judah,” their roars laud their new name. “I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven… his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: He had in his hand a little book open: he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices (Revelation 10:1-3).” Holding the open book of The Revelation in their hand is evidence of their new name. "The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof (Revelation 5:5)." These prophets are clothed with the word of God, their faces are shining with the light of Christ, and their feet are as pillars in the temple of God (Revelation 1:16; 3:12). They cry mightily unto the priesthood, as well as to the deceived prophets, that it's time to perform the will of the Lord.
“The fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise (Revelation 8:12).” The words sun, moon, and stars are all parable words which depict priests, prophets, and other believers that have the light of God’s truth in them. Smiting is gain for the kingdom, and the words “darkened” and “the day shone not” attest to their prevailing success at humbling one third of the priesthood, and its followers: New Jerusalem has no need of sun. Yet despite all of God's marvelous signs, two thirds of his people remain unconvinced, wherefore their lights are continuing to shine. “The fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 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 (Revelation 16:8-9)." This verse identifies that unconvinced leaders who haven't died with death, will be uttering lies and speaking blasphemies against the Lord. Although the sun's scorching ability might burn up some dead works, it is never going to encourage believers to lay down their lives and die with death, which needs to be done in order to inherit the promises of the everlasting kingdom.
Angel Number Five:
The fifth angels are the priests which believed the prophets and proceeded to teach their churches the covenant message. They are doing their part to release the prisoners of religion. “The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit, and he opened the bottomless pit… There came out of the smoke locusts upon earth: and to them was given power as scorpions of the earth have power (Revelation 9:1-3).” The pit housed the deceived, and smoke eludes to their confusion. The locusts that come up out of the pit have crowns upon their heads, teeth reminiscent of the lions, and wings like the cherubim: they are prepared to fight in this battle. The king which is over them is their priest, and they are commanded not to kill, but their power is to torment men for five months. Tormenting describes their continual work of correcting the deceived (Revelation 9:3-6).
When priests rise up and deliver the covenant message to their staff and elders, as well as their congregation, then every person that rises up to fight against them will be taken by the plagues. The very words “seat of the beast,” implicate the elders: “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, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds (Revelation 16:10-11).” The all-telling words, "his kingdom," specify that the effects of this devastating plague are coming upon the kingdom of religion. The words "repented not of their deeds," indicate that these believers have not died with death, and so the logical conclusion is that the pain of this unbearable darkness pertains to the loss of the Holy Spirit. In effect, this verse is implying that when people learn the truth, many of them will be slow to turn from their religious beliefs.
Prophecies which confirm that Satan’s angels will be cast out of heaven, are fulfilled when the offended have left the building. A scene depicting their eviction is written in the fourteenth chapter: “The angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. The winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horses bridles (Revelation 14:19-20).” The winepress is a place of public correction, and it is somewhere outside, and apart from the faithful church. “For without are dogs… and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie (Revelation 22:15).” Here again, that blood which is coming out of the winepress, is an insinuation that righteous works have resulted from the plagues.
Angle Number Six:
“The sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice… saying to the sixth angel… Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared… for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them (Revelation 9:13-16).” The sixth angels are the believers which are going forth, and taking God's word out of the sanctuary, and bringing it into all the world. They are God's imperfect priests, paired together with God’s imperfect armies, and they are taking the message of God's new covenant into all the earth.
When the sixth angel sounds his message, then the truth about God's end time plan will be flowing freely out of the sanctuary, and religion's mistakes will be revealed. “The sixth angle 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. 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 (Revelation 16:12-13).”
Angel Number Seven:
The seventh angels are the voices of the elders and dictates, as they bow themselves in agreement with God, and with his word. “The seventh angle sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. The four and twenty elders, which sat before God upon their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned (Revelation 11:15-17).”
“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 (Revelation 16:17).” The hour of God's judgment will forever open of the doors of the everlasting kingdom, and religion's power will be destroyed, and every end time prophecy of scripture will be fulfilled. “There were voices, and thunders, and lightenings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell (Revelation 16:18-19).”
On the backside:
One final “woe” is prophesied in the book of the Revelation, and it is prophesied "on the backside (Revelation 5:1)." This scene is depicted in the twentieth chapter of the book. Consider this: for some time now prophets have had the keys to the bottomless pit, however in accordance with God’s word, the elect were given time to prepare, and Satan was shut up. The Christian priesthood, was, in effect, instructed to silence the religious accusations which they were touting against one another, and they were informed that they should work together for the cause of Christ. According to the twentieth chapter of the Revelation, the priests that abided by these instructions were awarded one thousand years to live and reign with Christ. But in God's eyes one thousand years is as a day, and it is prophesied that the one thousand years will expire (Revelation 20:7). God's purpose for the covenant message was to prepare the priesthood for end times, but some priests are failing to prepare their hearts for the overturning of religion's laws. Even unwittingly, deception is gathering these priests together, and it is causing them to make preparations to come against God’s messengers. “I saw the beast, and the kings of earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him which sat on the horse, and against his army (Revelation 19:19).”
Wise leaders who have studied to know the truth concerning end times, will try to divert this catastrophe, but religion's deception is a hard thing to overcome. “When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations… to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea (Revelation 20:7-8).” Everyone that comes against God’s people will be afflicted with sores, and they will be cast into the lake of fire. “They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimestone, where the beast and false prophet are (Revelation 20:9-10).” This catastrophic event will take place at the conclusion of the hour of God's judgment, when the temple's doors have been reopened (Revelation 16:16-17).
This significant event is referred to as the "white throne judgment," as well as "the time of the dead." When the temple's doors are reopened, and believers who that have “died with death” are celebrating God's victory, then the devout people that refused to heed God's instructions will be filled with envy, and malice. "The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead (Revelation 11:18)." "I saw the great white throne... and I saw the dead... stand before God (Revelation 20:11)." "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (Revelation 22:14)." So, while the righteous are being blessed with gifts of eternal life, the envious and unbelieving will be setting themselves up for affliction, and to be cast into the Lake of fire (Revelation 20:14; 21:8). "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie (Revelation 21:27)."
“The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth (Psalms 58:10-11).”
In conclusion, The Revelation is a magnificent orchestration of the Lord, and it is an irreplaceable guide for the elect: the message of this book serves to confirm and establish all of the other interpretations of prophecy. “The spirit and the bride say, Come. Let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Revelation 22:17).” This irreplaceable guide contains truths which are necessary for end times, therefore Jesus prophesied a warning against arbitrarily changing the book’s interpretation: “I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Revelation 22:18-19).”
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Take Fast Hold of Instruction
God gave believers instructions for the day of his wrath, and then he made a way to show them why it is important to follow his instructions: Judah's captivity is a pattern for our edification. Judah was approaching the time of her captivity, and it was a time of great confusion. She received instructions, and those who obeyed them, benefited. God's people were warned that captivity would come upon them when they had corrupted themselves, and when they had forsaken God's word (Deuteronomy 28:41; Isaiah 22:17). Bringing the captivity upon Judah was not only a way for God to cleanse the temple, but it was God's way of generating end time understanding. Like Judah, believers today have perverted their ways and they have forsaken God's word. According to prophecy, during end times God will cause the world to experience his mighty hand of correction. God required Judah's captivity, because God required believers to have pattens to study. Judah's captivity will cause believers to understand end times, and it will especially help them to understand the importance of following God's instructions (Ecclesiastes 3:15).
Jeremiah was hand picked by God to prepare Judah for the captivity, but his message fell on deaf ears. “Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? Saith the Lord (Jeremiah 35:13).” God could have delivered his instructions through many prophets, however he chose to use Jeremiah and raise up a single voice of instruction in Jerusalem. This was confusing for the people. Judah didn’t know whether or not God was operating through Jeremiah. Jeremiah was insulting the temple and the people of God, when he prophesied unto them saying that they should turn from their evil ways, or else God would bring curses upon them, and punish them. Yet they were the people of God, and they were more godly than the people around them (Jeremiah 26:2-8).
“Ah, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them (Jeremiah 14:13-14).” Human nature had assessed Jeremiah to be the one that was mistaken, and out of step with the Lord. All of Judah's priests and prophets sided together against Jeremiah. “Prophesy not in the name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hand (Jeremiah 11:21).” “The kings of earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem (Lamentations 4:12).”
Jeremiah sat alone. “Behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee (Jeremiah 1:18).”
Jeremiah’s principal instruction for priests and prophets was to study the words of the ancient prophets. “Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people… because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor my law, but rejected it (Jeremiah 6:19).” Obviously there were priests that did study the scriptures, however no man as able master Jeremiah’s instructions. God was calling on priests to prayerfully and faithfully study the scriptures and review his word, however they were refusing to obey God's voice of instruction, because it was coming unto them through the voice of a single messenger. They ignored Jeremiah, and continued to remain deceived by their own teachings. “I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear (Jeremiah 22:21).”
In order for the Lord to cause righteous priests to investigate the problem, Jeremiah was told to call the Rechabites into the house of the Lord, and set pots of wine before them. The Rechabites refused to drink the wine, for they explained that their father, Jonadab, had commanded them that they should never drink wine, and they kept his command. The Lord heard their speeches, then responded: “The words of Jonadab… are preformed… notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets… but you have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened… Therefore, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered (Jeremiah 35:14-17).” The upright attitudes of these priests, had exposed a problem: they were righteous in their own eyes, and they had quit listening to God. When God rises up to do a new thing, the priesthood will need to listen unto God's voice through his messengers, and through his prophets, and in addition they will need to spend time reviewing and studying the scriptures. The laws of religion will not deliver them in the day of the curse.
Everything about Judah’s experience is relevant to our times: We are situate in Judah’s shoes. No one is exempt from listening to, and following God's end time instructions. “Hear ye the word of the Lord… I am against thee… which say, Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter into our habitations? But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings (Jeremiah 21:13-14).” The priests of Judah were not interested in Jeremiah's words. “This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction (Jeremiah 7:28).” Their rejection of Jeremiah's message traces back to their own lack of spending time in the scriptures (Jeremiah 5:31). God was instructing priests to review the scriptures for two reasons: the first was because priests needed to increase their understanding of the captivity, for they had no understanding of it, except that which they had learned from the mistaken teachings of their forefathers. And the second reason why priests were instructed to review the scriptures was because doing so would have allowed them to recognize the voice of the Lord through Jeremiah; for if they had reviewed the scriptures, then they would have known that Jeremiah's words were in perfect agreement with the ancient prophets.
“They hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear… therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee (Jeremiah 7:26-27).” It pleases God to use ordinary men as his voice, but if our ways are perverted, then instructions that come unto us from ordinary men, are offensive (Jeremiah 6:10). Don’t stumble over that stumbling block. “Obey my voice, and I will be your God… that it may be well unto you (Jeremiah 7:23).” God patiently waited for Judah to obey his voice: Jeremiah sounded his warnings throughout the city of Jerusalem for twenty three years before God made it official and declared that the captivity would come upon that generation (Jeremiah 25:3). If Judah's priests had listened unto God's voice through Jeremiah, and if they had studied the scriptures, then their captivity might have been delayed, and it might not have come upon their generation. Nevertheless Judah's captivity was a requirement, because not only did it fulfill scripture, but it was purposed to be a pattern for end time edification (Jeremiah 18:8).
“Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know… if ye can find a man, if there be any that… seeketh truth; and I will pardon it (Jeremiah 5:1).” Because no priest heeded Jeremiah's warning to search the scriptures, and because no priest had discovered the truth concerning the captivity, therefore Jeremiah's instructions took on a warning (Jeremiah 6:19). Jeremiah warned God's people that Babylon would rule over all nations, and that they would be required to serve the king of Babylon, or be punished (Jeremiah 27:8). He also informed Judah that if she obeyed the word of the Lord and served Babylon for seventy years, then she could stay in her own land while she was serving him. Jeremiah pled with the priests, and with the people, warning them that they should not be deceived by the lies which were being prophesied in the name of the Lord. Jeremiah boldly professed these instructions before all the people, wielding the righteous words, “Saith the Lord” (Jeremiah chapters 25-27). Judah served Babylon for three years, and then she turned and disobeyed God (2Kings 24:1).
Judah’s rebellion against Babylon caused believing priests to reexamine the words of the ancient prophets, where it is written: “It shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God… The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known (Deuteronomy 28:15, 28:36).” The priests which had reexamined the scriptures, humbled themselves, and they conformed their prayers to agree with the will of the Lord. “O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against thee (Jeremiah 14:7).” But until the captivity actually materialized, these confused priests remained uncertain of what to believe, and they kept their thoughts quiet as they stood before the congregation (Isaiah 30:28).
This period of silence was a time of preparation. “He that believeth shall not make haste (Isaiah 28:16).” Priests were given a chance to draw near, and they had time to reason with the Lord. They were given time to study the scriptures, and time prepare their congregations for the captivity (Isaiah 41:1). “Ye shall not go out with haste, nor by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward (Isaiah 52:12).” This is the pattern for our edification: today's priests are incrementally being fed the truths of newly revealed prophesy, which is how God is giving them time to study the scriptures. Keeping the major controversy silent is allowing time for priests to perfect their understandings of end times, and time for them to prepare their congregations to do God's will.
Seven years after Judah stopped serving Babylon, Babylon besieged Judah and carried her king away captive, and bound in fretters. This was the prophesied event which caused believing priests that had been preparing themselves and their congregations, to confess their newly acquired understandings of God's word to the congregation (Deuteronomy 28:36). These priests instructed their congregations to obey the voice of the Lord through Jeremiah. “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live (Jeremiah 27:12).” Three months later, ten thousand Jewish believers went along with their newly appointed young king, out of the city and allowed themselves to be carried into captivity by the king of Babylon (2Kings 24:11-16). Their compliance to Jeremiah’s instructions had separated the obedient from the transgressors, in other words, the sheep from the goats.
Those that obeyed the instructions, were justified (James 2:24). “I have sent them out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. I will set mine eyes upon them for good… and I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people (Jeremiah 24:5-7).” “Of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence (Jeremiah 29:16-17).” The faith and obedience of the people that went forth, are patterns which suggest the righteousness of leaving the safe confines of religious understanding, in order to do God's will.
Instructions are for the purpose of causing believers to go in the direction of the Lord’s will. Everyone that ignores instruction is at risk of suffering the punishments of correction (Jeremiah 21:14). In Jeremiah's day, God turned his back upon every rebellious believer that did not follow his instructions, and he shut out their prayers (Jeremiah 7:14-15; Lamentations 3:8; 3:44). Their woes are recorded in the book of Lamentations. “He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned… He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces (from Lamentations 3:2-11).” “The Lord hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied (Lamentations 2:17).”
If priests will rise early and seek to verify the truths of the covenant message, then God will allow their places of worship to remain forever (Jeremiah 7:7). Study is a requirement: How else will they recognize the voice of the Lord? “Trust ye not in lying words (Jeremiah 7:4).” “Gird thee with sackcloth… make thee… most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us (Jeremiah 6:26).” The Lord will turn his back upon every priest that disregards this instructions (Jeremiah 7:15; 7:20). “A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture, and the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord (Jeremiah 25:36-37).”
When Judah's captivity did materialize, Jeremiah stayed in Jerusalem to do whatever he could. There were others there that tried to help Jeremiah spread God's truths, but they were disrespected, and their words were disregarded. “Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them (Jeremiah 6:30).” Their troubles were according to their err. “I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way (Jeremiah 6:27).” It was a hostile environment. “I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon… Thou saidst, Fear not… Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me… Render unto them a recompense, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them (Lamentations 3:55-66).” God will not forsake the righteous forever; when they return unto him, and repent, then he will be found of them. “I will punish all that oppress them (Jeremiah 30:20).” (for evidence of this read Jeremiah 30:15-17)
“The anger of the Lord hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favored not the elders (Lamentations 4:16).” “They mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy (2Chronicles 36:16).”
During end times, destruction is appointed against everyone that despises God's instructions. “If you will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation (Jeremiah 22:5).” “Destruction unto them! Because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me (Hosea 7:13).” “Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness… before me continually is grief and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee (Jeremiah 6:6-8).”
“Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction (Jeremiah 4:6).” The riveting prophesies of the north are prophesies about the backslidden. “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful (Jeremiah 3:12).” The backslidden are the God's weapons of indignation which he will bring forth to destroy whatever remains of religion. When the backslidden hear the message of the covenants, they will come against the places of worship that haven’t adopted God's truths. “As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord (Jeremiah 4:17).” “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war; for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms (Jeremiah 51:20).”
The backslidden will be very receptive to the message of the covenants (Jeremiah 31:8). “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north (Jeremiah 3:18).” The parable name of, Judah, represents God's lawgivers, or, in other words, God's priests. Therefore this verse is signifying that there will be backslidden priests which will be learning the ways of the Lord, right along side of their backslidden congregations. “They shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, the Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of Israel out of the north (Jeremiah 23:7-8).”
“Evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction. I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about (Jeremiah 6:1-3).” Backslidden believers are going to make mistakes, and one of these mistakes is that they will be hostile towards religion's lies, therefore God has likened them unto a destroying mountain. “Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee (Jeremiah 51:25).” Instructions for the backslidden are very explicit: Acknowledge your iniquities, and that you too have transgressed against the Lord, and that you have not obeyed his word (Jeremiah 3:13). Every infuriated backslidden believers that doesn’t, or won’t do this, will suffer correction. “Lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts (Jeremiah 25:29).”
“Shall iron break the northern iron and steel (Jeremiah 15:12)?” Religion is God’s rod of iron, therefore, this verse is asking, Do you think that religion, with all of its strength and with all its might, can stop the northern prophesies from occurring? If Billy Graham himself were to stand up and appeal to the highest against the resurrection of the dead, God will not alter his plan: God’s word must be fulfilled. No one, and nothing, can stop end time prophesy from being fulfilled. There were priests in Jeremiah’s days who wanted to kill Jeremiah, because they wanted to silence his instructions. In essence, they were trying to silence God's voice, therefore God pronounced swift judgments against them (Jeremiah 11:22; 14:15; 20:6; 29:21; 28:16).
“Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow (Jeremiah 14:17).” This instruction is informing believers that they should pray for the things which are going to come upon God’s people. “Make thee bald… for they are gone into captivity from thee (Micah 1:16).” God’s people have adopted religion's rules, and they are trusting in laws of salvation which are not working: Religion's laws are responsible for causing believers to be offended at one another simply because of religious technicalities. It’s time for all of God's people to ask forgiveness for their own spiritual blindness, and it is time for them to forgive those persons that trespassed against them because of their religion. As messengers take the newly revealed truths of prophesy unto the people, some of the people will refuse to believe, and they will fight against God's word: Rebuke them in love, and forgive them. “We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee (Jeremiah 14:20).”
“A wise son heareth his father’s instruction (Proverbs 13:1).” Christians need to pay diligent attention to the voice of the ancient prophets: “They have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice (Jeremiah 9:13).” Christianity had forsaken the old testament, and therefore God is calling her priests back to review the old testament scriptures, for in them Christianity will perfect its understanding of the Father. “How shall I put thee among the children… Thou shalt call me, My Father; and shalt not turn away from me (Jeremiah 3:19).” Be diligent: we are preparing for the Lord’s kingdom upon earth, which is the everlasting kingdom that cannot be removed (Hebrews 12:28). “The work of righteousness shall be peace (Isaiah 32:17).”
Why did God allow religion to stand in our pulpits, knowing that his people were being exposed to lies. Man created religion when he didn’t believe God, but religion benefited God by spreading the knowledge of him. Having a variety of faiths prompted certain situations which caused his people to study the scriptures. But religion corrupted herself when her priests and prophets started learning truths from one another, and they stopped spending time in God's word. “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5).”
The prophet Jeremiah understood that God was prophesying evil against temple, and it grieved him: “Ah, Lord God! Surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul (Jeremiah 4:10).” A paraphrased version of God’s response, might read like this: In the day of the Lord, there will be dry wind coming across pulpits towards the people of my congregation. I am watching the priests and prophets which have received my instructions, and I am considering their ways. Many of them aren’t cleansing my congregation, nor are they scattering the wicked. Now I will give my sentence against them (Jeremiah 4:9-12). “I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways (Jeremiah 15:7).”
God has two fundamental objectives for end times. The first one is to correct religion, and bring peace unto his people, and the second, is to awaken the world with a loud understanding that he exists. God will achieve his objectives by humbling priests which have spoiled his flocks, and he won’t forget about those priests which have lightly esteemed his messengers. “The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget their works (Amos 8:7).” “The day of vengeance is in my heart (Isaiah 63:4).” “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19).”
“I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is the Lord (Jeremiah 16:21).” God prophesied a conclusion to religion which will expose every misunderstanding of every religion. His amazing end time plan will cause all the believers that love his ways, to flow together and sing in the height of Zion, for they will witness God’s unstoppable ability to fulfill his word. “Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners of Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites (Isaiah 33:13-14).”
Jeremiah was hand picked by God to prepare Judah for the captivity, but his message fell on deaf ears. “Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? Saith the Lord (Jeremiah 35:13).” God could have delivered his instructions through many prophets, however he chose to use Jeremiah and raise up a single voice of instruction in Jerusalem. This was confusing for the people. Judah didn’t know whether or not God was operating through Jeremiah. Jeremiah was insulting the temple and the people of God, when he prophesied unto them saying that they should turn from their evil ways, or else God would bring curses upon them, and punish them. Yet they were the people of God, and they were more godly than the people around them (Jeremiah 26:2-8).
“Ah, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them (Jeremiah 14:13-14).” Human nature had assessed Jeremiah to be the one that was mistaken, and out of step with the Lord. All of Judah's priests and prophets sided together against Jeremiah. “Prophesy not in the name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hand (Jeremiah 11:21).” “The kings of earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem (Lamentations 4:12).”
Jeremiah sat alone. “Behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee (Jeremiah 1:18).”
Jeremiah’s principal instruction for priests and prophets was to study the words of the ancient prophets. “Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people… because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor my law, but rejected it (Jeremiah 6:19).” Obviously there were priests that did study the scriptures, however no man as able master Jeremiah’s instructions. God was calling on priests to prayerfully and faithfully study the scriptures and review his word, however they were refusing to obey God's voice of instruction, because it was coming unto them through the voice of a single messenger. They ignored Jeremiah, and continued to remain deceived by their own teachings. “I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear (Jeremiah 22:21).”
In order for the Lord to cause righteous priests to investigate the problem, Jeremiah was told to call the Rechabites into the house of the Lord, and set pots of wine before them. The Rechabites refused to drink the wine, for they explained that their father, Jonadab, had commanded them that they should never drink wine, and they kept his command. The Lord heard their speeches, then responded: “The words of Jonadab… are preformed… notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets… but you have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened… Therefore, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered (Jeremiah 35:14-17).” The upright attitudes of these priests, had exposed a problem: they were righteous in their own eyes, and they had quit listening to God. When God rises up to do a new thing, the priesthood will need to listen unto God's voice through his messengers, and through his prophets, and in addition they will need to spend time reviewing and studying the scriptures. The laws of religion will not deliver them in the day of the curse.
Everything about Judah’s experience is relevant to our times: We are situate in Judah’s shoes. No one is exempt from listening to, and following God's end time instructions. “Hear ye the word of the Lord… I am against thee… which say, Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter into our habitations? But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings (Jeremiah 21:13-14).” The priests of Judah were not interested in Jeremiah's words. “This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction (Jeremiah 7:28).” Their rejection of Jeremiah's message traces back to their own lack of spending time in the scriptures (Jeremiah 5:31). God was instructing priests to review the scriptures for two reasons: the first was because priests needed to increase their understanding of the captivity, for they had no understanding of it, except that which they had learned from the mistaken teachings of their forefathers. And the second reason why priests were instructed to review the scriptures was because doing so would have allowed them to recognize the voice of the Lord through Jeremiah; for if they had reviewed the scriptures, then they would have known that Jeremiah's words were in perfect agreement with the ancient prophets.
“They hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear… therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee (Jeremiah 7:26-27).” It pleases God to use ordinary men as his voice, but if our ways are perverted, then instructions that come unto us from ordinary men, are offensive (Jeremiah 6:10). Don’t stumble over that stumbling block. “Obey my voice, and I will be your God… that it may be well unto you (Jeremiah 7:23).” God patiently waited for Judah to obey his voice: Jeremiah sounded his warnings throughout the city of Jerusalem for twenty three years before God made it official and declared that the captivity would come upon that generation (Jeremiah 25:3). If Judah's priests had listened unto God's voice through Jeremiah, and if they had studied the scriptures, then their captivity might have been delayed, and it might not have come upon their generation. Nevertheless Judah's captivity was a requirement, because not only did it fulfill scripture, but it was purposed to be a pattern for end time edification (Jeremiah 18:8).
“Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know… if ye can find a man, if there be any that… seeketh truth; and I will pardon it (Jeremiah 5:1).” Because no priest heeded Jeremiah's warning to search the scriptures, and because no priest had discovered the truth concerning the captivity, therefore Jeremiah's instructions took on a warning (Jeremiah 6:19). Jeremiah warned God's people that Babylon would rule over all nations, and that they would be required to serve the king of Babylon, or be punished (Jeremiah 27:8). He also informed Judah that if she obeyed the word of the Lord and served Babylon for seventy years, then she could stay in her own land while she was serving him. Jeremiah pled with the priests, and with the people, warning them that they should not be deceived by the lies which were being prophesied in the name of the Lord. Jeremiah boldly professed these instructions before all the people, wielding the righteous words, “Saith the Lord” (Jeremiah chapters 25-27). Judah served Babylon for three years, and then she turned and disobeyed God (2Kings 24:1).
Judah’s rebellion against Babylon caused believing priests to reexamine the words of the ancient prophets, where it is written: “It shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God… The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known (Deuteronomy 28:15, 28:36).” The priests which had reexamined the scriptures, humbled themselves, and they conformed their prayers to agree with the will of the Lord. “O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against thee (Jeremiah 14:7).” But until the captivity actually materialized, these confused priests remained uncertain of what to believe, and they kept their thoughts quiet as they stood before the congregation (Isaiah 30:28).
This period of silence was a time of preparation. “He that believeth shall not make haste (Isaiah 28:16).” Priests were given a chance to draw near, and they had time to reason with the Lord. They were given time to study the scriptures, and time prepare their congregations for the captivity (Isaiah 41:1). “Ye shall not go out with haste, nor by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward (Isaiah 52:12).” This is the pattern for our edification: today's priests are incrementally being fed the truths of newly revealed prophesy, which is how God is giving them time to study the scriptures. Keeping the major controversy silent is allowing time for priests to perfect their understandings of end times, and time for them to prepare their congregations to do God's will.
Seven years after Judah stopped serving Babylon, Babylon besieged Judah and carried her king away captive, and bound in fretters. This was the prophesied event which caused believing priests that had been preparing themselves and their congregations, to confess their newly acquired understandings of God's word to the congregation (Deuteronomy 28:36). These priests instructed their congregations to obey the voice of the Lord through Jeremiah. “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live (Jeremiah 27:12).” Three months later, ten thousand Jewish believers went along with their newly appointed young king, out of the city and allowed themselves to be carried into captivity by the king of Babylon (2Kings 24:11-16). Their compliance to Jeremiah’s instructions had separated the obedient from the transgressors, in other words, the sheep from the goats.
Those that obeyed the instructions, were justified (James 2:24). “I have sent them out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. I will set mine eyes upon them for good… and I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people (Jeremiah 24:5-7).” “Of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence (Jeremiah 29:16-17).” The faith and obedience of the people that went forth, are patterns which suggest the righteousness of leaving the safe confines of religious understanding, in order to do God's will.
Instructions are for the purpose of causing believers to go in the direction of the Lord’s will. Everyone that ignores instruction is at risk of suffering the punishments of correction (Jeremiah 21:14). In Jeremiah's day, God turned his back upon every rebellious believer that did not follow his instructions, and he shut out their prayers (Jeremiah 7:14-15; Lamentations 3:8; 3:44). Their woes are recorded in the book of Lamentations. “He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned… He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces (from Lamentations 3:2-11).” “The Lord hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied (Lamentations 2:17).”
If priests will rise early and seek to verify the truths of the covenant message, then God will allow their places of worship to remain forever (Jeremiah 7:7). Study is a requirement: How else will they recognize the voice of the Lord? “Trust ye not in lying words (Jeremiah 7:4).” “Gird thee with sackcloth… make thee… most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us (Jeremiah 6:26).” The Lord will turn his back upon every priest that disregards this instructions (Jeremiah 7:15; 7:20). “A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture, and the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord (Jeremiah 25:36-37).”
When Judah's captivity did materialize, Jeremiah stayed in Jerusalem to do whatever he could. There were others there that tried to help Jeremiah spread God's truths, but they were disrespected, and their words were disregarded. “Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them (Jeremiah 6:30).” Their troubles were according to their err. “I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way (Jeremiah 6:27).” It was a hostile environment. “I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon… Thou saidst, Fear not… Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me… Render unto them a recompense, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them (Lamentations 3:55-66).” God will not forsake the righteous forever; when they return unto him, and repent, then he will be found of them. “I will punish all that oppress them (Jeremiah 30:20).” (for evidence of this read Jeremiah 30:15-17)
“The anger of the Lord hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favored not the elders (Lamentations 4:16).” “They mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy (2Chronicles 36:16).”
During end times, destruction is appointed against everyone that despises God's instructions. “If you will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation (Jeremiah 22:5).” “Destruction unto them! Because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me (Hosea 7:13).” “Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness… before me continually is grief and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee (Jeremiah 6:6-8).”
“Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction (Jeremiah 4:6).” The riveting prophesies of the north are prophesies about the backslidden. “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful (Jeremiah 3:12).” The backslidden are the God's weapons of indignation which he will bring forth to destroy whatever remains of religion. When the backslidden hear the message of the covenants, they will come against the places of worship that haven’t adopted God's truths. “As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord (Jeremiah 4:17).” “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war; for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms (Jeremiah 51:20).”
The backslidden will be very receptive to the message of the covenants (Jeremiah 31:8). “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north (Jeremiah 3:18).” The parable name of, Judah, represents God's lawgivers, or, in other words, God's priests. Therefore this verse is signifying that there will be backslidden priests which will be learning the ways of the Lord, right along side of their backslidden congregations. “They shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, the Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of Israel out of the north (Jeremiah 23:7-8).”
“Evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction. I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about (Jeremiah 6:1-3).” Backslidden believers are going to make mistakes, and one of these mistakes is that they will be hostile towards religion's lies, therefore God has likened them unto a destroying mountain. “Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee (Jeremiah 51:25).” Instructions for the backslidden are very explicit: Acknowledge your iniquities, and that you too have transgressed against the Lord, and that you have not obeyed his word (Jeremiah 3:13). Every infuriated backslidden believers that doesn’t, or won’t do this, will suffer correction. “Lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts (Jeremiah 25:29).”
“Shall iron break the northern iron and steel (Jeremiah 15:12)?” Religion is God’s rod of iron, therefore, this verse is asking, Do you think that religion, with all of its strength and with all its might, can stop the northern prophesies from occurring? If Billy Graham himself were to stand up and appeal to the highest against the resurrection of the dead, God will not alter his plan: God’s word must be fulfilled. No one, and nothing, can stop end time prophesy from being fulfilled. There were priests in Jeremiah’s days who wanted to kill Jeremiah, because they wanted to silence his instructions. In essence, they were trying to silence God's voice, therefore God pronounced swift judgments against them (Jeremiah 11:22; 14:15; 20:6; 29:21; 28:16).
“Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow (Jeremiah 14:17).” This instruction is informing believers that they should pray for the things which are going to come upon God’s people. “Make thee bald… for they are gone into captivity from thee (Micah 1:16).” God’s people have adopted religion's rules, and they are trusting in laws of salvation which are not working: Religion's laws are responsible for causing believers to be offended at one another simply because of religious technicalities. It’s time for all of God's people to ask forgiveness for their own spiritual blindness, and it is time for them to forgive those persons that trespassed against them because of their religion. As messengers take the newly revealed truths of prophesy unto the people, some of the people will refuse to believe, and they will fight against God's word: Rebuke them in love, and forgive them. “We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee (Jeremiah 14:20).”
“A wise son heareth his father’s instruction (Proverbs 13:1).” Christians need to pay diligent attention to the voice of the ancient prophets: “They have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice (Jeremiah 9:13).” Christianity had forsaken the old testament, and therefore God is calling her priests back to review the old testament scriptures, for in them Christianity will perfect its understanding of the Father. “How shall I put thee among the children… Thou shalt call me, My Father; and shalt not turn away from me (Jeremiah 3:19).” Be diligent: we are preparing for the Lord’s kingdom upon earth, which is the everlasting kingdom that cannot be removed (Hebrews 12:28). “The work of righteousness shall be peace (Isaiah 32:17).”
Why did God allow religion to stand in our pulpits, knowing that his people were being exposed to lies. Man created religion when he didn’t believe God, but religion benefited God by spreading the knowledge of him. Having a variety of faiths prompted certain situations which caused his people to study the scriptures. But religion corrupted herself when her priests and prophets started learning truths from one another, and they stopped spending time in God's word. “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5).”
The prophet Jeremiah understood that God was prophesying evil against temple, and it grieved him: “Ah, Lord God! Surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul (Jeremiah 4:10).” A paraphrased version of God’s response, might read like this: In the day of the Lord, there will be dry wind coming across pulpits towards the people of my congregation. I am watching the priests and prophets which have received my instructions, and I am considering their ways. Many of them aren’t cleansing my congregation, nor are they scattering the wicked. Now I will give my sentence against them (Jeremiah 4:9-12). “I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways (Jeremiah 15:7).”
God has two fundamental objectives for end times. The first one is to correct religion, and bring peace unto his people, and the second, is to awaken the world with a loud understanding that he exists. God will achieve his objectives by humbling priests which have spoiled his flocks, and he won’t forget about those priests which have lightly esteemed his messengers. “The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget their works (Amos 8:7).” “The day of vengeance is in my heart (Isaiah 63:4).” “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19).”
“I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is the Lord (Jeremiah 16:21).” God prophesied a conclusion to religion which will expose every misunderstanding of every religion. His amazing end time plan will cause all the believers that love his ways, to flow together and sing in the height of Zion, for they will witness God’s unstoppable ability to fulfill his word. “Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners of Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites (Isaiah 33:13-14).”
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Confirmed With an Oath
God, who cannot lie, counseled believers with prophecy, then lifted his hand and confirmed the matter of end times, with an oath. “God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath (Hebrews 6:17).” “I make this covenant and this oath… also with him that is not here with us this day (Deuteronomy 29:14-15).” The words of God’s oath were written and recorded in the thirty second chapter of the book of Deuteronomy. “Hear, O earth, the words of my mouth (Deuteronomy 32:1).” “For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever (Deuteronomy 32:40).”
God’s oath was written to believers in the words of a song. “Write ye this song for you… that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 31:19).” The song that God swore unto believers on that day, was a promise to bring the curse. “The day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste (Deuteronomy 32:35).” “It shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness (Deuteronomy 31:21).” Before surmising the logic of the curse, consider the wonderful message of God's blessing:
“Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day (Deuteronomy 9:1).” Prior to entering into the promised land, Israel stood and listened as God's oath concerning the blessings and cursings, was read unto them. “Ye stand this day… That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day (Deuteronomy 29:10-12).” The blessed event was rallied by the words “this day.” “Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God (Deuteronomy 27:9).” On that day believers were aggressively informed that they should keep, and do all the commandments of that day. The words of Moses' testimony wherein he repeatedly warned God's people that they should keep do the commandments of that Day, were written, and they were rewritten, in order to impress upon believers the importance of keeping and doing all of the commandments of that law, just as it was presented unto them on that day. “Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is for your life (Deuteronomy 32:46-47).” “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you (Deuteronomy 4:2).”
"I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)." In the law of God's oath, believers were given a detailed list of the many blessings that God promised to bring upon every believer that kept his commandments, however God's oath also included other promises which were given to encourage perseverance: “It shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain (Deuteronomy 11:13-14).” “If ye hearken… God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he swore unto thy fathers (Deuteronomy 7:12)”
Which brings us to two solemn reasons why God has sworn to bring the curse (Daniel 9:11). The first reason is because the curse is, in effect, a act of God's love, for God is correcting the corrupted seed, and causing everyone who is called by his name, to worship him, and obey his word with true integrity. The second reason is because an oath makes it official: it takes away the need for debating and striving about whether or not God will bring the curse. “When it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it (Isaiah 27:8).” “An oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife (Hebrews 6:16).” Knowing that God has sworn to bring the curse, empowers believers with the truth of it, and it emboldens them to speak out and warn others. “Before it came to pass I showed it unto thee (Isaiah 48:5).” “It will surely come, it will not tarry (Habakkuk 2:3).”
The curse is about cleaning up religion's mistakes. It will end religious warfare by correcting everyone that is religiously deceived. “Thou shalt consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee (Deuteronomy 8:5).” God is correcting religion's mistakes for the good of his people, and for the good of their children (Jeremiah 32:39). “When all these things come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee… and thou shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice… then the Lord thy God will turn… and have compassion on thee (Deuteronomy 30:1-3).”
“This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth… I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name (Zechariah 5:3-4).” God is testifying and verifying that the curse will come upon deceived priests, as well as their corrupted congregations. The word, thief, pertains to the religious leaders that are telling lies, because their lies are robbing God of his children. The word, house, pertains to the sanctuary, or in other words, the places wherein God's people gather to worship. God does not take pleasure in bringing the curse upon the thief, nor upon his house. “Truly this is grief, and I must bear it (Jeremiah 10:19).” “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end (Deuteronomy 32:29)!”
God, who cannot lie, swore to bring the curse upon every believer who hears the words of his oath, and then arrogantly believes that the curse does not pertain to them (Deuteronomy 27:26). “And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart… Then the Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven (Deuteronomy 29:19-20).”
“It shall be, as with the people, so with the priest (Isaiah 24:2).” God has also sworn that he will not spare any priest that has corrupted himself and is not obeying his voice (Deuteronomy 32:5). “He abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters (Deuteronomy 32:19).” “They ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity (Ezekiel 44:12).” “I will heap mischiefs upon them; and I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction (Deuteronomy 32:23-24).”
After deceived priests are caused to bear their shame, if they repent, then God will put the curse upon their enemies. “The Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee… and the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee (Deuteronomy 30:3, 30:7).” “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face (Deuteronomy 7:9-10).” “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good (Numbers 23:19)?”
Israel has kept the charge of God's request, for Israel has continually had some believers that did hearken and do the commandments of their covenant. Throughout each generation a seed did serve the Lord their God, and God accounted their perseverance as righteousness for their generation. “A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation (Psalms 22:30).”
“If ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers (Deuteronomy 7:12)” Because Israel did keep God's charge, God is now keeping the promises which he swore unto Moses and all believers, for he is going to fulfill those oaths which were made with Abraham, and with Isaac: God is establishing a new and everlasting covenant with their seed (Genesis 17:7; 17:19; 1Chronicles 16:17). “The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of the our enemies might serve him without fear (Luke 1:73-74).”
“I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord (Zechariah 11:10-11).” There are two reasons why the old covenant which God gave his people through Moses will be dissolved on the day that God brings the curse. The first reason is because the old covenant was based upon the promise to bring the curse, and second reason is because God is delivering the people's long anticipated, new and everlasting covenant. “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people (Isaiah 55:3-4).”
David was selected by God to be a witness which represented the people: He was the man that stood and listened as God swore an oath, and confirmed his promise to reveal and uphold a new, and everlasting covenant. “He hath made with me an everlasting covenant (2Samuel 23:5).” David’s name was attached to the oath, like a parable, because it made a way for those children which are of the believing seed of David, to connect all of the verses that pertain to the new covenant. “I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: With whom my hand shall be established (Psalms 89:20-21).” “I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore (1Chronicals 17:14).”
Just as God called Moses a father to Israel, David is a father of everyone that obeys the new covenant (Numbers 11:12). David's name was also chosen and used, because David was the first king that was given understanding of these things. In essence, David's name in prophecy pertains to every believer that acknowledges and confesses the new covenant. “The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it… If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever; here will I dwell; for I have desired it (Psalms 132:11-14).” These are the rejoicing words of God’s oath, and in them God confessed and promised that he planned to reveal a new covenant unto the seed of David, and he verified that this new covenant would be his will for the people. These same words also confirm that if God's people will keep and believe the new covenant, then their children will sit upon the throne of God's mercy for evermore. “Mercy shall be built up forever (Psalms 89:2).”
Like the law of the old covenant which Israel received through Moses, this law of the new covenant comes with promises of blessings for obedience, and it also comes with a promise that God will punish those people that forsake it. “If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; If they break my statues, and keep not my commandments; Then I will visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail… I have sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven (Psalms 89:30-37).” This is God's promise that he will continually be with believers that preform the words of the new covenant, and he will correct them, and their children, whenever it is necessary.
God’s oath unto David is also an answer to religion's ever debated question: “The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne (Psalms 132:11).” This verse is evidence and proof that God swore unto David that Messiah would come through his lineage: Jesus Christ is the realization of that oath. Furthermore, God has also raised his hand and sworn that Jesus Christ would be our new heavenly priest, forever. “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:4).” “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1Timothy 2:5).”
“The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).” “Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).” “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9).”
The Lord has given Jesus’ teachings as our new covenant. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me (Matthew 11:29).” The new covenant is fashioned to work like a marriage covenant, because of its unity, and its vows. If you vow to learn of Jesus, and preform that vow, then God will be your God. It is not surprising that studying scripture is our new covenant, for this is God's way, and God never changes. In the old testament, God suggested that his love towards his people is like that of a protective, nurturing husband; and God afirmed that he looks upon the covenants as being the vows which unite us. “Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine (Ezekiel 16:8).”
“He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6).” There are a host of beneficial reasons why God's people should want to obey the new covenant, and many of them are written in the one hundred and third Psalm. The new covenant has been established by an oath of God, and it was built upon the promise of everlasting life, for us, and for our children. “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those who remember his commandments to do them (Psalms 103:17-18).”
“Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of his covenant… that I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers (Jeremiah 11:3, 11:5).” God is obsoleting the old covenants, and bringing the curse upon every believer that refuses to believe the words of his new covenant. Christianity has been partaking in the new covenant, however they were unaware of it. Consequently, even those Christians which have already entered into the everlasting kingdom, must acknowledge and confess God's new covenant, or else they will be afflicted, and shame will cover them. “Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground…. Thou hast covered him with shame. How long Lord? Wilt thou hide thyself forever? Shall thy wrath burn like fire? (Psalms 89:44-46).” We already know the solution. “When all these things come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee… and thou shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice… then the Lord thy God will turn… and have compassion on thee (Deuteronomy 30:1-3).”
David left a message behind for the priesthood: “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after the rain (2Samuel 23:3).” These words are meant for encouragement and comfort unto those priests which have faithfully served the Lord, for they prophesy a secret. God will bless those priests which have been faithful, with blessings, and he will show their righteousness before their congregations. “I will clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish (Psalms 132:16-18).”
“It shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth… then shall they be built in the midst of my people (Jeremiah 12:16).” The new covenant is requiring Muslims and Jews to learn the ways of Jesus, however even Christianity must know and confess who it is that they are serving: which is why God has given us his name: “The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob… this is my name for ever, this is my memorial unto all generations (Exodus 3:15).” “The king shall rejoice in God; everyone that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped (Psalms 63:11).”
God’s oath was written to believers in the words of a song. “Write ye this song for you… that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 31:19).” The song that God swore unto believers on that day, was a promise to bring the curse. “The day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste (Deuteronomy 32:35).” “It shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness (Deuteronomy 31:21).” Before surmising the logic of the curse, consider the wonderful message of God's blessing:
“Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day (Deuteronomy 9:1).” Prior to entering into the promised land, Israel stood and listened as God's oath concerning the blessings and cursings, was read unto them. “Ye stand this day… That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day (Deuteronomy 29:10-12).” The blessed event was rallied by the words “this day.” “Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God (Deuteronomy 27:9).” On that day believers were aggressively informed that they should keep, and do all the commandments of that day. The words of Moses' testimony wherein he repeatedly warned God's people that they should keep do the commandments of that Day, were written, and they were rewritten, in order to impress upon believers the importance of keeping and doing all of the commandments of that law, just as it was presented unto them on that day. “Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is for your life (Deuteronomy 32:46-47).” “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you (Deuteronomy 4:2).”
"I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)." In the law of God's oath, believers were given a detailed list of the many blessings that God promised to bring upon every believer that kept his commandments, however God's oath also included other promises which were given to encourage perseverance: “It shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain (Deuteronomy 11:13-14).” “If ye hearken… God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he swore unto thy fathers (Deuteronomy 7:12)”
Which brings us to two solemn reasons why God has sworn to bring the curse (Daniel 9:11). The first reason is because the curse is, in effect, a act of God's love, for God is correcting the corrupted seed, and causing everyone who is called by his name, to worship him, and obey his word with true integrity. The second reason is because an oath makes it official: it takes away the need for debating and striving about whether or not God will bring the curse. “When it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it (Isaiah 27:8).” “An oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife (Hebrews 6:16).” Knowing that God has sworn to bring the curse, empowers believers with the truth of it, and it emboldens them to speak out and warn others. “Before it came to pass I showed it unto thee (Isaiah 48:5).” “It will surely come, it will not tarry (Habakkuk 2:3).”
The curse is about cleaning up religion's mistakes. It will end religious warfare by correcting everyone that is religiously deceived. “Thou shalt consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee (Deuteronomy 8:5).” God is correcting religion's mistakes for the good of his people, and for the good of their children (Jeremiah 32:39). “When all these things come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee… and thou shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice… then the Lord thy God will turn… and have compassion on thee (Deuteronomy 30:1-3).”
“This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth… I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name (Zechariah 5:3-4).” God is testifying and verifying that the curse will come upon deceived priests, as well as their corrupted congregations. The word, thief, pertains to the religious leaders that are telling lies, because their lies are robbing God of his children. The word, house, pertains to the sanctuary, or in other words, the places wherein God's people gather to worship. God does not take pleasure in bringing the curse upon the thief, nor upon his house. “Truly this is grief, and I must bear it (Jeremiah 10:19).” “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end (Deuteronomy 32:29)!”
God, who cannot lie, swore to bring the curse upon every believer who hears the words of his oath, and then arrogantly believes that the curse does not pertain to them (Deuteronomy 27:26). “And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart… Then the Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven (Deuteronomy 29:19-20).”
“It shall be, as with the people, so with the priest (Isaiah 24:2).” God has also sworn that he will not spare any priest that has corrupted himself and is not obeying his voice (Deuteronomy 32:5). “He abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters (Deuteronomy 32:19).” “They ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity (Ezekiel 44:12).” “I will heap mischiefs upon them; and I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction (Deuteronomy 32:23-24).”
After deceived priests are caused to bear their shame, if they repent, then God will put the curse upon their enemies. “The Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee… and the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee (Deuteronomy 30:3, 30:7).” “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face (Deuteronomy 7:9-10).” “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good (Numbers 23:19)?”
Israel has kept the charge of God's request, for Israel has continually had some believers that did hearken and do the commandments of their covenant. Throughout each generation a seed did serve the Lord their God, and God accounted their perseverance as righteousness for their generation. “A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation (Psalms 22:30).”
“If ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers (Deuteronomy 7:12)” Because Israel did keep God's charge, God is now keeping the promises which he swore unto Moses and all believers, for he is going to fulfill those oaths which were made with Abraham, and with Isaac: God is establishing a new and everlasting covenant with their seed (Genesis 17:7; 17:19; 1Chronicles 16:17). “The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of the our enemies might serve him without fear (Luke 1:73-74).”
“I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord (Zechariah 11:10-11).” There are two reasons why the old covenant which God gave his people through Moses will be dissolved on the day that God brings the curse. The first reason is because the old covenant was based upon the promise to bring the curse, and second reason is because God is delivering the people's long anticipated, new and everlasting covenant. “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people (Isaiah 55:3-4).”
David was selected by God to be a witness which represented the people: He was the man that stood and listened as God swore an oath, and confirmed his promise to reveal and uphold a new, and everlasting covenant. “He hath made with me an everlasting covenant (2Samuel 23:5).” David’s name was attached to the oath, like a parable, because it made a way for those children which are of the believing seed of David, to connect all of the verses that pertain to the new covenant. “I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: With whom my hand shall be established (Psalms 89:20-21).” “I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore (1Chronicals 17:14).”
Just as God called Moses a father to Israel, David is a father of everyone that obeys the new covenant (Numbers 11:12). David's name was also chosen and used, because David was the first king that was given understanding of these things. In essence, David's name in prophecy pertains to every believer that acknowledges and confesses the new covenant. “The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it… If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever; here will I dwell; for I have desired it (Psalms 132:11-14).” These are the rejoicing words of God’s oath, and in them God confessed and promised that he planned to reveal a new covenant unto the seed of David, and he verified that this new covenant would be his will for the people. These same words also confirm that if God's people will keep and believe the new covenant, then their children will sit upon the throne of God's mercy for evermore. “Mercy shall be built up forever (Psalms 89:2).”
Like the law of the old covenant which Israel received through Moses, this law of the new covenant comes with promises of blessings for obedience, and it also comes with a promise that God will punish those people that forsake it. “If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; If they break my statues, and keep not my commandments; Then I will visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail… I have sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven (Psalms 89:30-37).” This is God's promise that he will continually be with believers that preform the words of the new covenant, and he will correct them, and their children, whenever it is necessary.
God’s oath unto David is also an answer to religion's ever debated question: “The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne (Psalms 132:11).” This verse is evidence and proof that God swore unto David that Messiah would come through his lineage: Jesus Christ is the realization of that oath. Furthermore, God has also raised his hand and sworn that Jesus Christ would be our new heavenly priest, forever. “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:4).” “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1Timothy 2:5).”
“The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).” “Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).” “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9).”
The Lord has given Jesus’ teachings as our new covenant. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me (Matthew 11:29).” The new covenant is fashioned to work like a marriage covenant, because of its unity, and its vows. If you vow to learn of Jesus, and preform that vow, then God will be your God. It is not surprising that studying scripture is our new covenant, for this is God's way, and God never changes. In the old testament, God suggested that his love towards his people is like that of a protective, nurturing husband; and God afirmed that he looks upon the covenants as being the vows which unite us. “Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine (Ezekiel 16:8).”
“He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6).” There are a host of beneficial reasons why God's people should want to obey the new covenant, and many of them are written in the one hundred and third Psalm. The new covenant has been established by an oath of God, and it was built upon the promise of everlasting life, for us, and for our children. “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those who remember his commandments to do them (Psalms 103:17-18).”
“Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of his covenant… that I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers (Jeremiah 11:3, 11:5).” God is obsoleting the old covenants, and bringing the curse upon every believer that refuses to believe the words of his new covenant. Christianity has been partaking in the new covenant, however they were unaware of it. Consequently, even those Christians which have already entered into the everlasting kingdom, must acknowledge and confess God's new covenant, or else they will be afflicted, and shame will cover them. “Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground…. Thou hast covered him with shame. How long Lord? Wilt thou hide thyself forever? Shall thy wrath burn like fire? (Psalms 89:44-46).” We already know the solution. “When all these things come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee… and thou shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice… then the Lord thy God will turn… and have compassion on thee (Deuteronomy 30:1-3).”
David left a message behind for the priesthood: “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after the rain (2Samuel 23:3).” These words are meant for encouragement and comfort unto those priests which have faithfully served the Lord, for they prophesy a secret. God will bless those priests which have been faithful, with blessings, and he will show their righteousness before their congregations. “I will clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish (Psalms 132:16-18).”
“It shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth… then shall they be built in the midst of my people (Jeremiah 12:16).” The new covenant is requiring Muslims and Jews to learn the ways of Jesus, however even Christianity must know and confess who it is that they are serving: which is why God has given us his name: “The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob… this is my name for ever, this is my memorial unto all generations (Exodus 3:15).” “The king shall rejoice in God; everyone that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped (Psalms 63:11).”
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Unveiling the Mystery of Abomination of Desolation
“When ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains (Mark 13:14).”
When Jesus included the abomination of desolation on his list of end time signs, he magnified the importance of Daniel’s vision, and caused his followers to know that they would not see this sign until it was the time of the end. Jesus prophesied additional clues that are to aid in the interpretation of Daniel's vision: The abomination will stand in the holy place (Matthew 24:15), and the holy place is a place where it ought not stand (Mark 13:14). The mystery concerning the abomination was sealed up till the time of the end, which is why solving it is unprecedented. “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us… that we may do all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29).”
The abomination of desolation is also called the transgression of desolation, therefore it is necessary to know the God's interpretation of the word, transgression (Daniel 8:13). Transgressions are sins against God, but transgressions and iniquities are not the same thing. Iniquities are unintentional mistakes which are being made against God because his people are observing religion's laws, for they are professing and believing certain misrepresentations of the deep and hidden mysteries of God's word; whereas transgressions are sins which happen because people know and understand the truth of God's word, but fail to do it. Religious iniquities become transgression in the day that believers discover religion's errs, and they forsake the truth of God's word, and continue to promote their long standing traditional religious beliefs. “His power and wrath are against all them that forsake him (Ezra 8:22).”
From the beginning of time God determined that spiritual death would be the punishment of transgressors (Proverbs 14:12). When Adam and Eve transgressed in the garden, God recorded their eviction as a pattern for our edification (Genesis 3:23). The pattern of their eviction from the garden suggests that when people transgress against God's word, they are separated from God. It’s what John eluded to in the verse: “There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it (1John 5:16).” It’s also what Ezekiel expressed in the words: “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression (Ezekiel 33:12).”
When a priest perceives the truth of the covenant message but elects to ignore it, then even his words become transgression and abomination. “Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, O house of Israel (Ezekiel 18:30-31)?”
Being able to see the abomination of desolation requires finding a solution to the eleventh chapter of the book of Daniel. This chapter orates a battle between a mighty king of the north, and a strong king of the south. Right there in the midst of the battle, helpers stand to assist the king of the north, and they place the abomination that maketh desolate. “Arms stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate (Daniel 11:31).”
Above all else, the battle of end times is a battle which is meant to cause believers to accept the newly revealed truths of prophecy, and convert their understandings of God's word. God will cause Islam, Judaism, and Christianity to be united into one way of serving him, for he is giving them a new covenant. “His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south (Zechariah 14:4).” The dividing lines for the north and south are based upon one thing: whether or not people will hear and receive the covenant message. “Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south (Psalms 75:6).” This informative verse implies that promotion comes from the north.
God grouped together every person that has not heard the covenant message, and they are the people of the south; and everyone that has heard the covenant message is of the north, regardless of whether they believed the message, or not. A big mistake which is being made by the northerners, is documented in the words, “He that cometh against him shall do according to his own will (Daniel 11:16).” Believers are suppose act in accordance with God's will, and they are do all things in accordance with his word. Be aware that people on both sides of this controversy are making big mistakes, for they are under the very powerful influence and persuasions of their forefather's teachings. Also be aware that when believers perform a work which promotes the new covenant, then God removes them from these kingdoms, and they are received into everlasting habitations.
“His kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those (Daniel 11:4).” In essence, God will be plucking up the occupants of these kingdoms, casting them down in their pride, and setting others in their stead. This means that ever changing faces will be coming in and going out of these kingdoms, with massive exchanges taking place when God changes the times. This precept is especially evident in verses nineteen through twenty one, wherein one king falls, and another king stands in his estate, then after a few days he is destroyed, and still another stands in his estate.
The details which are necessary for interpreting Daniel’s vision are strewn throughout scripture. To insure that all of the proper details are applied to the vision, parable names must first be ascribed to the kings. Start by aligning occurrences which are prophesied throughout scripture with events that occur in the vision. Next, find out who God is addressing in the aligned prophecy, and therein you will have the king’s name. When parable names are ascribed to the kings of this vision, then the prophecy is understood, and knowledge concerning the time of the end, is increased.
Another vision which was delivered by Daniel, aligns itself with this vision and thereby it is used to identify and name the first king to stand up in this vision: “The rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation (Daniel 8:21-22).” Grecia is the name of the first king to stand up and entertain the covenant message. The name "Grecia" also translates into the word, Greece. Both of these city names were used in the new testament to elude to Christianity, for it is the gentile nation. “When he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided towards the four winds of heaven (Daniel 11:4).” This verse is suggesting that as soon as even one Christian priest stands up and acquires understanding of the covenant message, then the thoughts, beliefs, and ways of its people will be divided, and they will go in four different directions. See how that thought aligns itself with the vision from chapter eight that is quoted above.
The next name to be applied to the vision, is the king of Tyrus: this name is used in prophecy to represent Christian priests which have either ignored, or refused to hear the covenant message. “The king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes (Daniel 11:5).” Scripture records lamentations for the king of Tyrus, as well as for the prince of Tyrus (Ezekiel 28:2; 28:12). By studying these lamentations, believers can conclude that the king of Tyrus' name represents those priests which have either ignored, or refused to hear the covenant message. Being titled a king, means that Tyrus already possess a crown: the crown is an inerrant symbol that Tyrus is righteous in the Lord's eyes. The same symbolic meaning of the crown applies to all the other kings of Daniel's vision. Tyrus was beautiful, and perfect in his ways until the day that iniquity was found in him. Pride lifted his heart, and iniquity corrupted his wisdom. His own merchandise is a factor that is warring against him: but his books and his merchandise will fall into the midst of the sea. God will judge Tyrus for not listening to his messengers: Tyrus will be afflicted by the loathsome pestilence. “I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” (Ezekiel chapter 28 and Ezekiel 27:34).
Tyrus was forewarned: “If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book… then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and long continuance, and sore sickness (from Deuteronomy 28:58-60).” This is God’s answer against those priests which have refused to listen to the warnings of his messengers. “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; what wisdom is in them (Jeremiah 8:9)?” Pestilence will humble Tyrus, and it will repay him for what he’s done unto the congregation (Isaiah 59:18). “Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty (Ezekiel 28:12).” “I am against the shepherds; I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock (Ezekiel 34:10).”
The Assyrian is the next king to stand up on behalf of Christianity, and he stands up in the north. Although he has entertained the covenant message, he remained unconvinced, therefore he’s not sharing its controversial news with the congregation. Nevertheless, the covenant message is being propelled by his newly awakened passions. “Oh my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction (Isaiah 10:24-25).” The Assyrian is identified by his escapades with Ephraim:
Ephraim is called the daughter of the south in the vision. The name of Ephraim applies to Christianity; and use of the female gender suggests that the parable name of Ephraim represents the elders, as well as the other people that are helping to run the Christian church. “In the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: But she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm (Daniel 11:6).” Ephraim goes to the Assyrian when her priest is afflicted, because she is looking for a new priest. “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian (Hosea 5:13).”
Ephraim is either ignorant of, or fighting against the covenant message. “I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not I healed them… He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refuse to return (Hosea 11:3, 11:5).”
Because the Assyrian took the time to at least consider the covenant message, he will escape the afflicting pestilence. However, if the Assyrian fails to tell the congregation the truth, then his transgressions will be discovered. Therefore the Assyrian will taste of spiritual death, which is the punishment that is ordained for transgressors. This is God’s way of not only punishing the Assyrian, but also of encouraging him to change his direction. The Assyrian is guilty of ignoring the end time instructions of God's word. When the Assyrian does finally change his direction, then the noisome pestilence will be waiting. Find evidence that both of these punishments are prophesied to come against the Assyrian, in the verse: “Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon... I have delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness (Ezekiel 31:11).”
“Out of the branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: and shall carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes… and he shall continue more years than the king of the north (Daniel 11:7-8)." The word, Egypt, is the prominent clue which identifies the next king to stand up in Daniel's vision. Pharaoh is the reigning king of the south, and he retains the title of "king of the south" throughout the remainder of the vision. Pharaoh is Islamic. Believers can be certain of this, because the prophesies concerning that name are connected to the descendants of Esau, Ishmael and Lot. Also remember that the parable of the south, pertains unto the people that are ignorant of the covenant message, and Christian priests that are ignorant of it, were given the parable name of Tyrus (Ezekiel 28:19). The words “carry captives into Egypt” insinuate that some Christian believers will be persuaded to turn unto Islam, and the Koran for answers.
But as the covenant message gets louder, God's messengers will carry news of the newly revealed truths of prophecy unto those who went into the captivity. “They of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man (Zachariah 10:7).” Their messages will be heard by the sons of Islam. “One shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through (Daniel 11:10).” Islamic leaders will be offended by this. “The king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north (Daniel 11:11).”
In this battle, the beliefs of Islam shall prevail. “When he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it (Daniel 11:12).” This is God’s way of purging our iniquities. “My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoices, shall descend into it (Isaiah 5:13-14).”
“I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms (Ezekiel 30:22).” This is one of those prophesies which align itself with Daniel’s vision, and confirm that Pharaoh is the king of the south. “The arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand (Daniel 11:15).” Pharaoh was strong as long as he was ignorant of the covenant message, however his strength is broken by the voice of prophecy. “The spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof (Isaiah 19:3).”
After God pours affliction upon Christian priests, a sound of rejoicing is heard coming from the princes of Tyrus: “Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned me (Ezekiel 26:2).” That same offensive sound is heard coming from the sons of Islam. “Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned… and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession (Ezekiel 25:3-4).” The voices of these princes are an offense to God, as well as to his people, for they are celebrating the adversity of others. Whereas these princes ought to be fearing the Lord and having concern for the condition of their own souls, instead they are viewing the affliction as an opportunity to advance their own religious beliefs, and increase their riches. They will be delivered into the hands of their enemies, for God will cut off their rejoicings.
When affliction causes priests to be removed from ministry, then church officials will inadvertently hire false teachers as replacements. These false teachers will not regard the voice of the church, and they will oppress the congregations which they lead. In their eyes the congregation is corrupt, because their leaders were afflicted by God. “Ephraim has hired lovers (Hosea 8:9).” “Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee… and I will bring them against thee on every side; the Babylonians… and all the Assyrians with them (Ezekiel 23:22-23).” The souls of these replacements are not right with God, for they have despised the covenant message. In essence, strangers are occupying the pulpits, and these strangers will rage against the congregation. “We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers (Jeremiah 50:7).”
The bible warns about this development. “My face will I turn from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for robbers shall enter into it, and defile it (Ezekiel 7:22).” “You have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it… they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations (Ezekiel 44:7).” Robbers are prophesied to lead all congregations that are refusing to listen to God. “If ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me… I will send the pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy… And if you will not for all this hearken unto me, but will walk contrary unto me… I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation (from Leviticus 26:21-31).”
These robbers will bring into the sanctuary divisive and offensive religious memorabilia. “They shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate (Daniel 11:31).” There it is: the abomination that maketh desolate. Robbers are brought into the sanctuary, to stand in the pulpits and teach God's people. These robbers will bring religious memorabilia into the sanctuary with them, and set it before the eyes of the people. This is an attempt to propagate a religion. “I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable things (Jeremiah 16:18).”
It’s time to take courage: Asa took courage and put away the idols which his fathers had made (1Kings 15:12); Hezekiah removed high places and broke down images, including the brazen serpent which Moses made (2Kings 18:4). Manasseh destroyed idols, including all the altars which he was responsible for building (2Chronicles 33:15); Josiah purged the high places of Israel and Judah, destroying all of their carved images, molten images, and their altars and groves (2Chronicles 34:3-7). These were courageous acts which took great boldness. “That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past (Ecclesiastes 3:15).”
In order for God to unite the religions, the sanctuary must be free of offensive memorabilia; memorabilia it is the stumbling block of our iniquity (Ezekiel 7:19). “They ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity (Ezekiel 44:12).” Should Christianity be exempt from the purposes of God? “He that exalts his gate seeketh destruction (Proverbs 17:19).” God prophesied that during these times we will remove our idols. “In that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin (Isaiah 31: 7).” “Thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth (Isaiah 30:22).” “Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword (Isaiah 31: 7).”
Memorabilia in the sanctuary, is iniquity. “Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee (Deuteronomy 4:23).” “Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the Lord thy God hateth (Deuteronomy 16:22).” “Cursed be the man that maketh any graven image, or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and puts it in the secret place (Deuteronomy 27:15).”
In the vision, another king stands up in the north. “Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom (Daniel 11:20).” Behold Nebuchadnezzar, the forth king which stands up on behalf of Christianity: Grecia, Tyrus, the Assyrian, and Nebuchadnezzar. The best way to identify this king is to delve into the Hebrew word which was translated “taxes.” That same word was translated “oppressor” and it was used in the verse, “Take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased (Isaiah 14:4)!” The king of Babylon is being dubbed, the oppressor, or, the raiser of taxes. Nebuchadnezzar is the king of Babylon, however, in prophecy, the names, king of Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar, are considered separately. Nebuchadnezzar is the first king to stand up and believe the covenant message, therefore his name is used to represent all of the priests and prophets which are rising up and believing the covenant message, even though they are not following the instructions of it. “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms (Jeremiah 51:20).” These kings are moving in the right direction, however their practices are not perfect. Pride, covetousness, and the mistreatment of others, are some of their offenses. “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria (Jeremiah 50:18).”
“In his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom.” The Hebrew word which was translated into the word “vile” credits this appearance as being that of the king of Moab, for that same Hebrew word was translated “despised” and it was used in the verse, “I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised (Obadiah 1-2).” Moab is the first Islamic king to stand up and entertain the teachings of the covenant message, but he rejects them. He is throughly convinced that the heritage of the Lord is Islam’s for the taking (Ezekiel 35:10; 36:5). He and his fellows devise a crafty plan to work together with Edom and come against Christianity, when its priests are afflicted by God (Psalms 83:2-8).
“Keep not thou silence, O God… they that hate thee have lifted the head (Psalms 83:1-2).” “My sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment… The Lord hath a great sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea… it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance (Isaiah 34:5-8).” “I will lay vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord (Ezekiel 25:14).”
Because Moab is the instigator of this battle, indignation will rise up against him, and it will destroy him. “The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood (Daniel 9:26).” “With an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof (Nahum 1:8).” “With the arms of a flood shall they be over flown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant (Daniel 11:22).”
After the flood, Gog, who is referred to as the prince of the covenant, makes his debut in the north (Ezekiel 38:15). Gog is a prince, for he has no crown, because his works have not been pleasing to the Lord. “If a man strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully (2Timothy 2:5).” “There shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than they all (Daniel 11:2).” Gog is the anticipated fourth presence to stand up on behalf of Islam: Pharaoh, Moab, Edom, and Gog. Gog represents the reinvented princes of Islam. These princes have heard the covenant message, and they believed it, however they also continue to believe that God favors the Islamic religion. Gog gains a following, and becomes a strong host (Daniel 11:23). “I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth (Ezekiel 38:3-4).”
“By his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia (Daniel 11:2).” Gog is against the Christian priests which are leading Islamic congregations. The Hebrew word “Grecia” also translates “Javan,” and this word provides evidence that Grecian’s are backslidden Christian believers (Isaiah 66:19). “The children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold to the Grecians (Joel 3:6).” These backslidden leaders are ignoring the warnings of God's word, and they are meddling with Islam. This is known as defiling their neighbor’s wife (Ezekiel 18:6). Certain priests are electing to ease themselves from studying God's word, and they opting to sell their congregations into the hands of preachers of other religions. Not only do some Islamic priests sell their congregations into the hands of the Grecians, but there are also some Christian priests which are selling their congregations into the hands of Islam. “Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head (Joel 3:6).”
Prophesy reveals that Ephraim will be sold unto Egypt by the Assyrian: “He shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him (Daniel 11:17).” Hosea concurred, “They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt (Hosea 9:3).” Defilement is God's punishment for pride, and it will cause the ignorance of the congregation to cease. “I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it (Joel 3:8).”
Gog's discontentment is for good reason. Grecian's are strangers unto God, for they have ignored the truth of his word. They are endangering the congregation because they are misrepresenting God's intended meanings of prophecy. Having false teachers is the punishment which is prophesied to come against rebellious congregations. Believers who despise and refuse to obey the instructions of God's word, are reserved unto the day of his wrath. “In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee (Ezekiel 24:13).” “I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it (Leviticus 26:32).”
Daniel describes Gog as coming “like a whirlwind” (Daniel 11:40); Ezekiel calls it, “like a storm” (Ezekiel 38:9). The day wherein Gog leads his people to attack the deceived Christian priests which are preaching before Islamic congregations, is the day of God's wrath. In that day God will pour afflicting pestilence upon everyone that is fighting against his word; and the rebellion of the rebellious will be destroyed, forever. "It shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face… I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon all his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone (from Ezekiel 38:18-22-23)." "The destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed (Isaiah 1:28)." "Then shall ye know that I am the Lord, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars (Ezekiel 6:13)."
“Yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God (Ezekiel 28:26).”
When Jesus included the abomination of desolation on his list of end time signs, he magnified the importance of Daniel’s vision, and caused his followers to know that they would not see this sign until it was the time of the end. Jesus prophesied additional clues that are to aid in the interpretation of Daniel's vision: The abomination will stand in the holy place (Matthew 24:15), and the holy place is a place where it ought not stand (Mark 13:14). The mystery concerning the abomination was sealed up till the time of the end, which is why solving it is unprecedented. “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us… that we may do all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29).”
The abomination of desolation is also called the transgression of desolation, therefore it is necessary to know the God's interpretation of the word, transgression (Daniel 8:13). Transgressions are sins against God, but transgressions and iniquities are not the same thing. Iniquities are unintentional mistakes which are being made against God because his people are observing religion's laws, for they are professing and believing certain misrepresentations of the deep and hidden mysteries of God's word; whereas transgressions are sins which happen because people know and understand the truth of God's word, but fail to do it. Religious iniquities become transgression in the day that believers discover religion's errs, and they forsake the truth of God's word, and continue to promote their long standing traditional religious beliefs. “His power and wrath are against all them that forsake him (Ezra 8:22).”
From the beginning of time God determined that spiritual death would be the punishment of transgressors (Proverbs 14:12). When Adam and Eve transgressed in the garden, God recorded their eviction as a pattern for our edification (Genesis 3:23). The pattern of their eviction from the garden suggests that when people transgress against God's word, they are separated from God. It’s what John eluded to in the verse: “There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it (1John 5:16).” It’s also what Ezekiel expressed in the words: “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression (Ezekiel 33:12).”
When a priest perceives the truth of the covenant message but elects to ignore it, then even his words become transgression and abomination. “Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, O house of Israel (Ezekiel 18:30-31)?”
Being able to see the abomination of desolation requires finding a solution to the eleventh chapter of the book of Daniel. This chapter orates a battle between a mighty king of the north, and a strong king of the south. Right there in the midst of the battle, helpers stand to assist the king of the north, and they place the abomination that maketh desolate. “Arms stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate (Daniel 11:31).”
Above all else, the battle of end times is a battle which is meant to cause believers to accept the newly revealed truths of prophecy, and convert their understandings of God's word. God will cause Islam, Judaism, and Christianity to be united into one way of serving him, for he is giving them a new covenant. “His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south (Zechariah 14:4).” The dividing lines for the north and south are based upon one thing: whether or not people will hear and receive the covenant message. “Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south (Psalms 75:6).” This informative verse implies that promotion comes from the north.
God grouped together every person that has not heard the covenant message, and they are the people of the south; and everyone that has heard the covenant message is of the north, regardless of whether they believed the message, or not. A big mistake which is being made by the northerners, is documented in the words, “He that cometh against him shall do according to his own will (Daniel 11:16).” Believers are suppose act in accordance with God's will, and they are do all things in accordance with his word. Be aware that people on both sides of this controversy are making big mistakes, for they are under the very powerful influence and persuasions of their forefather's teachings. Also be aware that when believers perform a work which promotes the new covenant, then God removes them from these kingdoms, and they are received into everlasting habitations.
“His kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those (Daniel 11:4).” In essence, God will be plucking up the occupants of these kingdoms, casting them down in their pride, and setting others in their stead. This means that ever changing faces will be coming in and going out of these kingdoms, with massive exchanges taking place when God changes the times. This precept is especially evident in verses nineteen through twenty one, wherein one king falls, and another king stands in his estate, then after a few days he is destroyed, and still another stands in his estate.
The details which are necessary for interpreting Daniel’s vision are strewn throughout scripture. To insure that all of the proper details are applied to the vision, parable names must first be ascribed to the kings. Start by aligning occurrences which are prophesied throughout scripture with events that occur in the vision. Next, find out who God is addressing in the aligned prophecy, and therein you will have the king’s name. When parable names are ascribed to the kings of this vision, then the prophecy is understood, and knowledge concerning the time of the end, is increased.
Another vision which was delivered by Daniel, aligns itself with this vision and thereby it is used to identify and name the first king to stand up in this vision: “The rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation (Daniel 8:21-22).” Grecia is the name of the first king to stand up and entertain the covenant message. The name "Grecia" also translates into the word, Greece. Both of these city names were used in the new testament to elude to Christianity, for it is the gentile nation. “When he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided towards the four winds of heaven (Daniel 11:4).” This verse is suggesting that as soon as even one Christian priest stands up and acquires understanding of the covenant message, then the thoughts, beliefs, and ways of its people will be divided, and they will go in four different directions. See how that thought aligns itself with the vision from chapter eight that is quoted above.
The next name to be applied to the vision, is the king of Tyrus: this name is used in prophecy to represent Christian priests which have either ignored, or refused to hear the covenant message. “The king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes (Daniel 11:5).” Scripture records lamentations for the king of Tyrus, as well as for the prince of Tyrus (Ezekiel 28:2; 28:12). By studying these lamentations, believers can conclude that the king of Tyrus' name represents those priests which have either ignored, or refused to hear the covenant message. Being titled a king, means that Tyrus already possess a crown: the crown is an inerrant symbol that Tyrus is righteous in the Lord's eyes. The same symbolic meaning of the crown applies to all the other kings of Daniel's vision. Tyrus was beautiful, and perfect in his ways until the day that iniquity was found in him. Pride lifted his heart, and iniquity corrupted his wisdom. His own merchandise is a factor that is warring against him: but his books and his merchandise will fall into the midst of the sea. God will judge Tyrus for not listening to his messengers: Tyrus will be afflicted by the loathsome pestilence. “I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” (Ezekiel chapter 28 and Ezekiel 27:34).
Tyrus was forewarned: “If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book… then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and long continuance, and sore sickness (from Deuteronomy 28:58-60).” This is God’s answer against those priests which have refused to listen to the warnings of his messengers. “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; what wisdom is in them (Jeremiah 8:9)?” Pestilence will humble Tyrus, and it will repay him for what he’s done unto the congregation (Isaiah 59:18). “Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty (Ezekiel 28:12).” “I am against the shepherds; I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock (Ezekiel 34:10).”
The Assyrian is the next king to stand up on behalf of Christianity, and he stands up in the north. Although he has entertained the covenant message, he remained unconvinced, therefore he’s not sharing its controversial news with the congregation. Nevertheless, the covenant message is being propelled by his newly awakened passions. “Oh my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction (Isaiah 10:24-25).” The Assyrian is identified by his escapades with Ephraim:
Ephraim is called the daughter of the south in the vision. The name of Ephraim applies to Christianity; and use of the female gender suggests that the parable name of Ephraim represents the elders, as well as the other people that are helping to run the Christian church. “In the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: But she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm (Daniel 11:6).” Ephraim goes to the Assyrian when her priest is afflicted, because she is looking for a new priest. “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian (Hosea 5:13).”
Ephraim is either ignorant of, or fighting against the covenant message. “I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not I healed them… He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refuse to return (Hosea 11:3, 11:5).”
Because the Assyrian took the time to at least consider the covenant message, he will escape the afflicting pestilence. However, if the Assyrian fails to tell the congregation the truth, then his transgressions will be discovered. Therefore the Assyrian will taste of spiritual death, which is the punishment that is ordained for transgressors. This is God’s way of not only punishing the Assyrian, but also of encouraging him to change his direction. The Assyrian is guilty of ignoring the end time instructions of God's word. When the Assyrian does finally change his direction, then the noisome pestilence will be waiting. Find evidence that both of these punishments are prophesied to come against the Assyrian, in the verse: “Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon... I have delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness (Ezekiel 31:11).”
“Out of the branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: and shall carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes… and he shall continue more years than the king of the north (Daniel 11:7-8)." The word, Egypt, is the prominent clue which identifies the next king to stand up in Daniel's vision. Pharaoh is the reigning king of the south, and he retains the title of "king of the south" throughout the remainder of the vision. Pharaoh is Islamic. Believers can be certain of this, because the prophesies concerning that name are connected to the descendants of Esau, Ishmael and Lot. Also remember that the parable of the south, pertains unto the people that are ignorant of the covenant message, and Christian priests that are ignorant of it, were given the parable name of Tyrus (Ezekiel 28:19). The words “carry captives into Egypt” insinuate that some Christian believers will be persuaded to turn unto Islam, and the Koran for answers.
But as the covenant message gets louder, God's messengers will carry news of the newly revealed truths of prophecy unto those who went into the captivity. “They of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man (Zachariah 10:7).” Their messages will be heard by the sons of Islam. “One shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through (Daniel 11:10).” Islamic leaders will be offended by this. “The king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north (Daniel 11:11).”
In this battle, the beliefs of Islam shall prevail. “When he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it (Daniel 11:12).” This is God’s way of purging our iniquities. “My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoices, shall descend into it (Isaiah 5:13-14).”
“I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms (Ezekiel 30:22).” This is one of those prophesies which align itself with Daniel’s vision, and confirm that Pharaoh is the king of the south. “The arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand (Daniel 11:15).” Pharaoh was strong as long as he was ignorant of the covenant message, however his strength is broken by the voice of prophecy. “The spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof (Isaiah 19:3).”
After God pours affliction upon Christian priests, a sound of rejoicing is heard coming from the princes of Tyrus: “Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned me (Ezekiel 26:2).” That same offensive sound is heard coming from the sons of Islam. “Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned… and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession (Ezekiel 25:3-4).” The voices of these princes are an offense to God, as well as to his people, for they are celebrating the adversity of others. Whereas these princes ought to be fearing the Lord and having concern for the condition of their own souls, instead they are viewing the affliction as an opportunity to advance their own religious beliefs, and increase their riches. They will be delivered into the hands of their enemies, for God will cut off their rejoicings.
When affliction causes priests to be removed from ministry, then church officials will inadvertently hire false teachers as replacements. These false teachers will not regard the voice of the church, and they will oppress the congregations which they lead. In their eyes the congregation is corrupt, because their leaders were afflicted by God. “Ephraim has hired lovers (Hosea 8:9).” “Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee… and I will bring them against thee on every side; the Babylonians… and all the Assyrians with them (Ezekiel 23:22-23).” The souls of these replacements are not right with God, for they have despised the covenant message. In essence, strangers are occupying the pulpits, and these strangers will rage against the congregation. “We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers (Jeremiah 50:7).”
The bible warns about this development. “My face will I turn from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for robbers shall enter into it, and defile it (Ezekiel 7:22).” “You have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it… they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations (Ezekiel 44:7).” Robbers are prophesied to lead all congregations that are refusing to listen to God. “If ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me… I will send the pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy… And if you will not for all this hearken unto me, but will walk contrary unto me… I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation (from Leviticus 26:21-31).”
These robbers will bring into the sanctuary divisive and offensive religious memorabilia. “They shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate (Daniel 11:31).” There it is: the abomination that maketh desolate. Robbers are brought into the sanctuary, to stand in the pulpits and teach God's people. These robbers will bring religious memorabilia into the sanctuary with them, and set it before the eyes of the people. This is an attempt to propagate a religion. “I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable things (Jeremiah 16:18).”
It’s time to take courage: Asa took courage and put away the idols which his fathers had made (1Kings 15:12); Hezekiah removed high places and broke down images, including the brazen serpent which Moses made (2Kings 18:4). Manasseh destroyed idols, including all the altars which he was responsible for building (2Chronicles 33:15); Josiah purged the high places of Israel and Judah, destroying all of their carved images, molten images, and their altars and groves (2Chronicles 34:3-7). These were courageous acts which took great boldness. “That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past (Ecclesiastes 3:15).”
In order for God to unite the religions, the sanctuary must be free of offensive memorabilia; memorabilia it is the stumbling block of our iniquity (Ezekiel 7:19). “They ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity (Ezekiel 44:12).” Should Christianity be exempt from the purposes of God? “He that exalts his gate seeketh destruction (Proverbs 17:19).” God prophesied that during these times we will remove our idols. “In that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin (Isaiah 31: 7).” “Thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth (Isaiah 30:22).” “Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword (Isaiah 31: 7).”
Memorabilia in the sanctuary, is iniquity. “Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee (Deuteronomy 4:23).” “Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the Lord thy God hateth (Deuteronomy 16:22).” “Cursed be the man that maketh any graven image, or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and puts it in the secret place (Deuteronomy 27:15).”
In the vision, another king stands up in the north. “Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom (Daniel 11:20).” Behold Nebuchadnezzar, the forth king which stands up on behalf of Christianity: Grecia, Tyrus, the Assyrian, and Nebuchadnezzar. The best way to identify this king is to delve into the Hebrew word which was translated “taxes.” That same word was translated “oppressor” and it was used in the verse, “Take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased (Isaiah 14:4)!” The king of Babylon is being dubbed, the oppressor, or, the raiser of taxes. Nebuchadnezzar is the king of Babylon, however, in prophecy, the names, king of Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar, are considered separately. Nebuchadnezzar is the first king to stand up and believe the covenant message, therefore his name is used to represent all of the priests and prophets which are rising up and believing the covenant message, even though they are not following the instructions of it. “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms (Jeremiah 51:20).” These kings are moving in the right direction, however their practices are not perfect. Pride, covetousness, and the mistreatment of others, are some of their offenses. “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria (Jeremiah 50:18).”
“In his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom.” The Hebrew word which was translated into the word “vile” credits this appearance as being that of the king of Moab, for that same Hebrew word was translated “despised” and it was used in the verse, “I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised (Obadiah 1-2).” Moab is the first Islamic king to stand up and entertain the teachings of the covenant message, but he rejects them. He is throughly convinced that the heritage of the Lord is Islam’s for the taking (Ezekiel 35:10; 36:5). He and his fellows devise a crafty plan to work together with Edom and come against Christianity, when its priests are afflicted by God (Psalms 83:2-8).
“Keep not thou silence, O God… they that hate thee have lifted the head (Psalms 83:1-2).” “My sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment… The Lord hath a great sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea… it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance (Isaiah 34:5-8).” “I will lay vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord (Ezekiel 25:14).”
Because Moab is the instigator of this battle, indignation will rise up against him, and it will destroy him. “The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood (Daniel 9:26).” “With an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof (Nahum 1:8).” “With the arms of a flood shall they be over flown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant (Daniel 11:22).”
After the flood, Gog, who is referred to as the prince of the covenant, makes his debut in the north (Ezekiel 38:15). Gog is a prince, for he has no crown, because his works have not been pleasing to the Lord. “If a man strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully (2Timothy 2:5).” “There shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than they all (Daniel 11:2).” Gog is the anticipated fourth presence to stand up on behalf of Islam: Pharaoh, Moab, Edom, and Gog. Gog represents the reinvented princes of Islam. These princes have heard the covenant message, and they believed it, however they also continue to believe that God favors the Islamic religion. Gog gains a following, and becomes a strong host (Daniel 11:23). “I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth (Ezekiel 38:3-4).”
“By his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia (Daniel 11:2).” Gog is against the Christian priests which are leading Islamic congregations. The Hebrew word “Grecia” also translates “Javan,” and this word provides evidence that Grecian’s are backslidden Christian believers (Isaiah 66:19). “The children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold to the Grecians (Joel 3:6).” These backslidden leaders are ignoring the warnings of God's word, and they are meddling with Islam. This is known as defiling their neighbor’s wife (Ezekiel 18:6). Certain priests are electing to ease themselves from studying God's word, and they opting to sell their congregations into the hands of preachers of other religions. Not only do some Islamic priests sell their congregations into the hands of the Grecians, but there are also some Christian priests which are selling their congregations into the hands of Islam. “Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head (Joel 3:6).”
Prophesy reveals that Ephraim will be sold unto Egypt by the Assyrian: “He shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him (Daniel 11:17).” Hosea concurred, “They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt (Hosea 9:3).” Defilement is God's punishment for pride, and it will cause the ignorance of the congregation to cease. “I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it (Joel 3:8).”
Gog's discontentment is for good reason. Grecian's are strangers unto God, for they have ignored the truth of his word. They are endangering the congregation because they are misrepresenting God's intended meanings of prophecy. Having false teachers is the punishment which is prophesied to come against rebellious congregations. Believers who despise and refuse to obey the instructions of God's word, are reserved unto the day of his wrath. “In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee (Ezekiel 24:13).” “I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it (Leviticus 26:32).”
Daniel describes Gog as coming “like a whirlwind” (Daniel 11:40); Ezekiel calls it, “like a storm” (Ezekiel 38:9). The day wherein Gog leads his people to attack the deceived Christian priests which are preaching before Islamic congregations, is the day of God's wrath. In that day God will pour afflicting pestilence upon everyone that is fighting against his word; and the rebellion of the rebellious will be destroyed, forever. "It shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face… I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon all his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone (from Ezekiel 38:18-22-23)." "The destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed (Isaiah 1:28)." "Then shall ye know that I am the Lord, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars (Ezekiel 6:13)."
“Yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God (Ezekiel 28:26).”
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