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Revelation 8:5
DailyBibleStudy.Org
5 And [kai] the angel [aggelos] took [lambano] the censer, [libanotos] and [kai] filled [gemizo] it [autos] with [ek] fire [pur] of the altar, [thusiasterion] and [kai] cast [ballo] it into [eis] the earth: [ge] and [kai] there were [ginomai] voices, [phone] and [kai] thunderings, [bronte] and [kai] lightnings, [astrape] and [kai] an earthquake. [seismos] KJV-Interlinear
5 And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake. NASB
The angel who is standing at the golden alter of incense, where the prayers of believers are symbolically offered as a smooth and acceptable aroma to God the Father, now takes his fire pan (censer), and scoops up some of the hot and burning coals and ashes from the alter, and hurls them down to the earth.
This action, symbolizes Gods acceptance of the prayers offered, and now acts on them.
While we generally pray most of our lives, with seemingly no results, note that when the time is right, and this is Gods timing, then action occurs swiftly and without further hesitation.
When these prayers are accumulated from throughout the ages, then the end of evils reign, will come to a swift conclusion. The prayers of believers, can and will become the means by which the judgments of God will be initiated and executed.
And this whole process demonstrates that point. The prayers of believers, are the action which will begin Gods judgment.
John is still in heaven within his vision. In heaven there has been a deathly silence for a long period of time, until this action of the angel, hurling the hot coals, the substance of the accepted prayers, down to the earth.
With this action, Gods judgment begins, and with it, the silence ends and the sound of voices, thundering, and lightning are heard throughout heaven. Gods power and acts are often depicted with and associated with these sounds.
The voices are symbolic of an advancing army, heard but unseen. The thunder and lightning, are symbolic of the overhead sounds of an approaching mighty storm. The earthquake is the most fearsome sound of all, in that it comes from below and all around, one cannot know from where it is coming, and the whole ground shakes as though it were out of control, with a sound, that seems to come from everywhere.
Thus, the sounds of an overwhelming attack are what are in view here. And from it, there is nowhere one can run, nowhere that one can hide, nowhere that one can escape. Little does the world know, what is coming.
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Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Revelation 8:4
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Revelation 8:4
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4 And [kai] the smoke [kapnos] of the incense, [thumiama] which came with the prayers [proseuche] of the saints, [hagios] ascended up [anabaino] before [enopion] God [theos] out of [ek] the angel's [aggelos] hand. [cheir] KJV-Interlinear
4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand. NASB
When the first five seals were removed, the scroll revealed the horrors that result when humanity, sponsored by Satan, lead to nothing but unfair, biased policies, and those always end in persecution, suffering and disaster without limits.
Now we have the seven trumpets being distributed to seven angels, and before they are sounded, the prayers of all of the believers are recalled, assembled, and allowed to be presented in total, to God the Father, the one to whom all prayer is directed.
The prayers are just, because they are presented before the throne of the lamb, for it is by His work on the Cross, that prayers are acceptable. All prayer is presented through Christ (not to Christ). Neither man nor angel, can approach the Father on their own merit, but must approach by way of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, however, is the one who executes and controls history, in accordance with the divine plan.
The angel did not originate these prayers, believers did. The angel did not authorize these prayers, Christ did. The angel is merely demonstrating the mechanism by which prayer is presented in the proper fashion, and then accepted by God the Father.
And just in passing, you should note that as the persecutions increase, so too, the prayers increase, and so too, the answers to those prayers increase.
For many folks, faith in Christ comes easy. For some folks faith requires a little nudging. And for others, that nudging needs to become a push, and for still others that push needs added force, and so forth. You get the idea.
When the Rapture occurred, the world will full of people who had rejected Christ up to that point. They needed a little nudge in their life, in order to bring them to faith in Christ. Perhaps the occurrence of the Rapture, which they missed, was enough convincing, for many of them to make that commitment.
But still others will need more pressure in their lives, in order to get them off their arrogant resistance and into faith in Christ.
The first five seals revealed a total breakdown in human leadership and the horrors of persecution and death as a result. Huge numbers will believe in Christ, because of those persecutions and sufferings, and then pay the ultimate price as God removes them from the world.
But still others will need more persuasion, in order to bring them to Christ.
The trumpets, the woes, the thunders, and the bowls will represent the increasing judgments being delivered against an unbelieving world. With each increment in pressure, people will believe in Christ. Then they will be removed from the world in some systematic manner, and whisked off to heaven to be with Christ.
Gods ultimate objective is to defeat evil, but in so doing, He is also wanting to bring all who will believe, to their moment of faith, so that they will be saved and have a destiny in heaven, rather than in the Lake of Fire.
Right up and until the moment of the Second Advent, people will believe in Christ, and be saved, and perhaps even when Christ returns, in that final moment of history, some may be saved by believing in Him.
But the prayers of believers, mark the reason as to why God is pursuing history at all. There are those who will accept Him, His plan, and His purpose of truth, and want to live with Him in heaven forever.
And so as the seals have revealed the failure of human rule, now the prayers of believers mark the start of Gods judgments to bring people to salvation and to rid the world of evil.
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Revelation 8:4
DailyBibleStudy.Org
4 And [kai] the smoke [kapnos] of the incense, [thumiama] which came with the prayers [proseuche] of the saints, [hagios] ascended up [anabaino] before [enopion] God [theos] out of [ek] the angel's [aggelos] hand. [cheir] KJV-Interlinear
4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand. NASB
When the first five seals were removed, the scroll revealed the horrors that result when humanity, sponsored by Satan, lead to nothing but unfair, biased policies, and those always end in persecution, suffering and disaster without limits.
Now we have the seven trumpets being distributed to seven angels, and before they are sounded, the prayers of all of the believers are recalled, assembled, and allowed to be presented in total, to God the Father, the one to whom all prayer is directed.
The prayers are just, because they are presented before the throne of the lamb, for it is by His work on the Cross, that prayers are acceptable. All prayer is presented through Christ (not to Christ). Neither man nor angel, can approach the Father on their own merit, but must approach by way of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, however, is the one who executes and controls history, in accordance with the divine plan.
The angel did not originate these prayers, believers did. The angel did not authorize these prayers, Christ did. The angel is merely demonstrating the mechanism by which prayer is presented in the proper fashion, and then accepted by God the Father.
And just in passing, you should note that as the persecutions increase, so too, the prayers increase, and so too, the answers to those prayers increase.
For many folks, faith in Christ comes easy. For some folks faith requires a little nudging. And for others, that nudging needs to become a push, and for still others that push needs added force, and so forth. You get the idea.
When the Rapture occurred, the world will full of people who had rejected Christ up to that point. They needed a little nudge in their life, in order to bring them to faith in Christ. Perhaps the occurrence of the Rapture, which they missed, was enough convincing, for many of them to make that commitment.
But still others will need more pressure in their lives, in order to get them off their arrogant resistance and into faith in Christ.
The first five seals revealed a total breakdown in human leadership and the horrors of persecution and death as a result. Huge numbers will believe in Christ, because of those persecutions and sufferings, and then pay the ultimate price as God removes them from the world.
But still others will need more persuasion, in order to bring them to Christ.
The trumpets, the woes, the thunders, and the bowls will represent the increasing judgments being delivered against an unbelieving world. With each increment in pressure, people will believe in Christ. Then they will be removed from the world in some systematic manner, and whisked off to heaven to be with Christ.
Gods ultimate objective is to defeat evil, but in so doing, He is also wanting to bring all who will believe, to their moment of faith, so that they will be saved and have a destiny in heaven, rather than in the Lake of Fire.
Right up and until the moment of the Second Advent, people will believe in Christ, and be saved, and perhaps even when Christ returns, in that final moment of history, some may be saved by believing in Him.
But the prayers of believers, mark the reason as to why God is pursuing history at all. There are those who will accept Him, His plan, and His purpose of truth, and want to live with Him in heaven forever.
And so as the seals have revealed the failure of human rule, now the prayers of believers mark the start of Gods judgments to bring people to salvation and to rid the world of evil.
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Saturday, May 29, 2010
Revelation 8:3
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Revelation 8:3
DailyBibleStudy.Org
3 And [kai] another [allos] angel [aggelos] came [erchomai] and [kai] stood [histemi] at [epi] the altar, [thusiasterion] having [echo] a golden [chruseos] censer; [libanotos] and [kai] there was given [didomi] unto him [autos] much [polus] incense, [thumiama] that [hina] he should offer [didomi] it with the prayers [proseuche] of all [pas] saints [hagios] upon [epi] the golden [chruseos] altar [thusiasterion] which [ho] was before [enopion] the throne. [thronos] KJV-Interlinear
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. NASB
Symbolic of the functions of the Temple from the Old Testament, the first alter is the brazen alter representing the alter upon which the sacrifice of Christ is portrayed. That alter is where the lamb would have been sacrificed.
The golden censor, is a fire pan within which hot coals are taken from the brazen alter, and carried to the golden alter (the second alter), which is located in the outer room of the tabernacle.
The golden alter was the alter of prayer, wherein the hot coals were added to incense, and the resulting smoke rising up, represented the prayers of believers, rising up to God. The aroma of the burning incense is pleasing to God, representing their acceptability to Him. This second alter stood in the outer room, outside the inner room, the Holy of Holies. Inside that inner room, was the Ark of the Covenant, representing the dwelling place of God or Gods throne.
However, this second alter in heaven stands before the throne of God (the same as represented by the Ark on earth), upon which sits the lamb (the sacrifice) and the Lord (Jesus Christ), who are one and the same.
The incense given to the angel is characterized as ‘much,’ meaning abundant, or multiplied or increased.
And here this indicates that the prayers which have been offered throughout the ages, by believers, are now all represented here and now, but they are also, now, increasing in intensity. The here and now are referring to the Tribulation, and more specifically the latter half of the Tribulation (the last three and a half years), which is called the Great Tribulation. This last half is the intensified judgment portion of the Tribulation.
So, one intensification (prayers to God for help for it all to be ended) correlates with the other intensification (the horrors, persecutions, sufferings, and so forth).
All the saints, refers to all of those who have been made holy. In other words, all believers, both in heaven and back on earth, from throughout all of human history. This is not exclusive to some particular group, for no group of believers are singled out or mentioned specifically. The term, saint, is a term that spans the ages. Just as prayer is an action that applies to all of humanity.
All prayer is answered. God never loses sight of even one prayer. Sometimes prayer has to wait until its answer fits Gods plan, but nevertheless, all prayers, if legitimate, receive special care and handling at the appropriate time in ones life or in history.
Believers have prayed throughout history, and continue to pray for various things. Here, just because God has not already ended history, does not mean that all of those prayers have not been heard, or have gone unanswered.
Therefore, prayer is not only mandated, but expected. And sooner or later, your prayers and Gods will and plan, will match up and prove to be efficacious.
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Revelation 8:3
DailyBibleStudy.Org
3 And [kai] another [allos] angel [aggelos] came [erchomai] and [kai] stood [histemi] at [epi] the altar, [thusiasterion] having [echo] a golden [chruseos] censer; [libanotos] and [kai] there was given [didomi] unto him [autos] much [polus] incense, [thumiama] that [hina] he should offer [didomi] it with the prayers [proseuche] of all [pas] saints [hagios] upon [epi] the golden [chruseos] altar [thusiasterion] which [ho] was before [enopion] the throne. [thronos] KJV-Interlinear
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. NASB
Symbolic of the functions of the Temple from the Old Testament, the first alter is the brazen alter representing the alter upon which the sacrifice of Christ is portrayed. That alter is where the lamb would have been sacrificed.
The golden censor, is a fire pan within which hot coals are taken from the brazen alter, and carried to the golden alter (the second alter), which is located in the outer room of the tabernacle.
The golden alter was the alter of prayer, wherein the hot coals were added to incense, and the resulting smoke rising up, represented the prayers of believers, rising up to God. The aroma of the burning incense is pleasing to God, representing their acceptability to Him. This second alter stood in the outer room, outside the inner room, the Holy of Holies. Inside that inner room, was the Ark of the Covenant, representing the dwelling place of God or Gods throne.
However, this second alter in heaven stands before the throne of God (the same as represented by the Ark on earth), upon which sits the lamb (the sacrifice) and the Lord (Jesus Christ), who are one and the same.
The incense given to the angel is characterized as ‘much,’ meaning abundant, or multiplied or increased.
And here this indicates that the prayers which have been offered throughout the ages, by believers, are now all represented here and now, but they are also, now, increasing in intensity. The here and now are referring to the Tribulation, and more specifically the latter half of the Tribulation (the last three and a half years), which is called the Great Tribulation. This last half is the intensified judgment portion of the Tribulation.
So, one intensification (prayers to God for help for it all to be ended) correlates with the other intensification (the horrors, persecutions, sufferings, and so forth).
All the saints, refers to all of those who have been made holy. In other words, all believers, both in heaven and back on earth, from throughout all of human history. This is not exclusive to some particular group, for no group of believers are singled out or mentioned specifically. The term, saint, is a term that spans the ages. Just as prayer is an action that applies to all of humanity.
All prayer is answered. God never loses sight of even one prayer. Sometimes prayer has to wait until its answer fits Gods plan, but nevertheless, all prayers, if legitimate, receive special care and handling at the appropriate time in ones life or in history.
Believers have prayed throughout history, and continue to pray for various things. Here, just because God has not already ended history, does not mean that all of those prayers have not been heard, or have gone unanswered.
Therefore, prayer is not only mandated, but expected. And sooner or later, your prayers and Gods will and plan, will match up and prove to be efficacious.
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Friday, May 28, 2010
Revelation 8:2
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Revelation 8:2
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2 And [kai] I saw [eido] the seven [hepta] angels [aggelos] which [hos] stood [histemi] before [enopion] God; [theos] and [kai] to them [autos] were given [didomi] seven [hepta] trumpets. [salpigx] KJV-Interlinear
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God; and seven trumpets were given to them. NASB
There were seven angels which stood, ‘histemi,’ which carries the connotation of being present, or appointed, or standing by while awaiting instructions.
The number represents the symbolism of totality, of fullness, or of completion. And here when seven angels are given seven trumpets, this represents that totality of Gods plan drawing nearer and nearer to its final outcome. It is ready to be announced and presented.
Whereas the number three is symbolic of the completeness of a whole, such as in the trinity, and the number four, is symbolic of a completeness of range, such as in the four points of a compass, or the four phases of the moon.
Then seven becomes a combination of both in symbolizing the totality of a completed thing in all respects, such as in Gods plan. Nothing further can be added, modified, or taken away, as it is a finished product, so to speak.
The seven days of the week, the seven churches, and so forth represent a completed totality in their respective ways. And by the way, the church was represented with the number seven, whereas Israel is represented by the number twelve, which is used as symbolism for the number of a selection. Israel, its twelve tribes and so forth were selected by God. Selected is the making of a choice out of a larger group. The twelve-thousand evangelists (from each tribe) we studied earlier, were selected for their intended purpose of evangelizing the world. They become the selected group (144,000), out from the selected nation, Israel (twelve tribes).
And here we have seven angels (messengers), and seven trumpets (announcements), being lined up for the announcement of the final phase of the rule of humanity and Satan, on earth.
Angels are often used by God, as messengers.
Trumpets are used primarily in official settings to announce the arrival or entrance of something or someone of importance. They are now here, and trumpets are used to call the masses to order, to quiet the crowd, to bring everyone's attention to the matter at hand.
And this leads us to understand that when the Tribulation really gets underway, everyone will know that this is the last days, the end of history. That is why in the previous chapter, we saw the believers praying to God, and those back on earth, calling to the rocks the mountains and so forth, to fall on them because the terror and pressure, and fear, and suffering will be too great for anyone to bear.
Possibly for the first time since Adam and Eve, the entire planet will be focused on God even if for different reasons.
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Revelation 8:2
DailyBibleStudy.Org
2 And [kai] I saw [eido] the seven [hepta] angels [aggelos] which [hos] stood [histemi] before [enopion] God; [theos] and [kai] to them [autos] were given [didomi] seven [hepta] trumpets. [salpigx] KJV-Interlinear
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God; and seven trumpets were given to them. NASB
There were seven angels which stood, ‘histemi,’ which carries the connotation of being present, or appointed, or standing by while awaiting instructions.
The number represents the symbolism of totality, of fullness, or of completion. And here when seven angels are given seven trumpets, this represents that totality of Gods plan drawing nearer and nearer to its final outcome. It is ready to be announced and presented.
Whereas the number three is symbolic of the completeness of a whole, such as in the trinity, and the number four, is symbolic of a completeness of range, such as in the four points of a compass, or the four phases of the moon.
Then seven becomes a combination of both in symbolizing the totality of a completed thing in all respects, such as in Gods plan. Nothing further can be added, modified, or taken away, as it is a finished product, so to speak.
The seven days of the week, the seven churches, and so forth represent a completed totality in their respective ways. And by the way, the church was represented with the number seven, whereas Israel is represented by the number twelve, which is used as symbolism for the number of a selection. Israel, its twelve tribes and so forth were selected by God. Selected is the making of a choice out of a larger group. The twelve-thousand evangelists (from each tribe) we studied earlier, were selected for their intended purpose of evangelizing the world. They become the selected group (144,000), out from the selected nation, Israel (twelve tribes).
And here we have seven angels (messengers), and seven trumpets (announcements), being lined up for the announcement of the final phase of the rule of humanity and Satan, on earth.
Angels are often used by God, as messengers.
Trumpets are used primarily in official settings to announce the arrival or entrance of something or someone of importance. They are now here, and trumpets are used to call the masses to order, to quiet the crowd, to bring everyone's attention to the matter at hand.
And this leads us to understand that when the Tribulation really gets underway, everyone will know that this is the last days, the end of history. That is why in the previous chapter, we saw the believers praying to God, and those back on earth, calling to the rocks the mountains and so forth, to fall on them because the terror and pressure, and fear, and suffering will be too great for anyone to bear.
Possibly for the first time since Adam and Eve, the entire planet will be focused on God even if for different reasons.
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Thursday, May 27, 2010
Revelation 8:1
This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
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Revelation 8:1
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1 And [kai] when [hote] he had opened [anoigo] the seventh [hebdomos] seal, [sphragis] there was [ginomai] silence [sige] in [en] heaven [ouranos] about the space of [hos] half an hour. [hemiorion] KJV-Interlinear
1 And when He broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. NASB
Have you ever been to an event where there is a large crowd and an announcer asks the crowd to recognize something solemn and that everyone respect it with a moment of silence?
Can you ever imagine a huge crowd, that would have something in front of them, that would cause them, without being asked, to remain silent for thirty minutes? I would guess that having a crowd remain silent for even a few minutes would be difficult.
The grim reality of what is to soon occur, becomes immediately apparent to all who will be in heaven, and witness to these events, that are now on the brink of execution.
In the first chapter of this book, we were introduced to the one, the unique person of the universe, Jesus Christ, the first and the last, the one who controls history, the one who will bring history, mans rule, and Satan’s rule to a complete halt. The one who will assume the reigns of rule over the world, and bring an end, through divine judgment, to all evil that has become unrestrained and totally destructive.
In the second and third chapters, we were introduced to the Church, the Royal Family, and their (our) role in history during our dispensation. Some believers will advance to maturity, but most will fail throughout our dispensation, which will end with an apostasy that will be second to none.
The Rapture will occur (door opening), and then in chapter four, we are introduced to the absolute phenomenal environment of heaven. A realm of peace, of truth, lacking all adversarial opposition, a place of clarity and of Gods sovereign power and rule over all things. This is in contrast to that which is going on back on earth, where there is controversy, adversity, and no clear wisdom in place with which to govern and operate life.
And then in chapters five and six, the first six seals were removed from the scroll.
The first five, demonstrate the phenomenal incompetence of mans rule, and the unbelievable failure of Satan’s effort to bring in a utopian life to all of mankind. Beginning with false hope from a false hero (white horse), to uncontrolled crime and violence, to a destroyed economy, to death and destruction. All leading to the deaths of innumerable believers, whose souls we heard, from under the alter.
And then the sixth seal, which reveals a level of violence and horrors so beyond imagination, that it is nearly impossible to describe them. And yet, people will die with increasing numbers, pouring (so to speak) into heaven as a result of the horrors that will have been occurring on the earth.
The seals reveal the written documentation of a history that will occur. They have thus far summarized that future record.
And now we will be introduced to seven trumpets.
Trumpets are used to announce, to bring everyone to attention, to signal something that is very near or just about to happen.
With the written record, there is time to read, to examine, to prepare ones self, but no indication as to exactly when the events will occur.
With the trumpets, the sounding of them, means that time is up, the events are fast approaching, entering in, they have arrived.
And later on when we get to the bowl judgments, then the bowls being poured out, are the actual events, occurring in all the fury and power of heaven. And there is no way to stop them until they have run their course.
In the last chapter, we noted that the common suffering throughout the Tribulation, of which all of those who die and enter into heaven will share, will be that they were hungry and thirsty. Certainly they lacked Bible doctrine and hungered and thirsted due to the lack of spiritual sustenance, but too, the common suffering will be due to the lack of food and water. And the lack will not be for just a few hours or days, but it will go on and get worse over the course of years. That will lead to untold and indescribable horrors.
However, knowing this, does not mean that this suffering will be the worst, for the worst has not yet been described in our study. The trumpets will add more detail to the judgments, and the bowls will add more details beyond that. And there is still the issue of the seven thunders, which have not and will not be revealed to us.
We who will be in heaven and those who are on the earth, will not know the details of the seven thunders, until they actually occur.
But those who are, or will be in heaven, will understand quickly just what history is all about and what is about to occur.
John heard a vastness full of noise, when he first arrived. He saw and heard an innumerable host of believers (perhaps numbering in the billions), and of angels (perhaps numbering in the trillions), singing and praising Christ.
And then silence.
And this silence will occur until verse five. But it is a deathly silence, an eerie silence, and it will mark the imminence of what is to come.
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Revelation 8:1
DailyBibleStudy.Org
1 And [kai] when [hote] he had opened [anoigo] the seventh [hebdomos] seal, [sphragis] there was [ginomai] silence [sige] in [en] heaven [ouranos] about the space of [hos] half an hour. [hemiorion] KJV-Interlinear
1 And when He broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. NASB
Have you ever been to an event where there is a large crowd and an announcer asks the crowd to recognize something solemn and that everyone respect it with a moment of silence?
Can you ever imagine a huge crowd, that would have something in front of them, that would cause them, without being asked, to remain silent for thirty minutes? I would guess that having a crowd remain silent for even a few minutes would be difficult.
The grim reality of what is to soon occur, becomes immediately apparent to all who will be in heaven, and witness to these events, that are now on the brink of execution.
In the first chapter of this book, we were introduced to the one, the unique person of the universe, Jesus Christ, the first and the last, the one who controls history, the one who will bring history, mans rule, and Satan’s rule to a complete halt. The one who will assume the reigns of rule over the world, and bring an end, through divine judgment, to all evil that has become unrestrained and totally destructive.
In the second and third chapters, we were introduced to the Church, the Royal Family, and their (our) role in history during our dispensation. Some believers will advance to maturity, but most will fail throughout our dispensation, which will end with an apostasy that will be second to none.
The Rapture will occur (door opening), and then in chapter four, we are introduced to the absolute phenomenal environment of heaven. A realm of peace, of truth, lacking all adversarial opposition, a place of clarity and of Gods sovereign power and rule over all things. This is in contrast to that which is going on back on earth, where there is controversy, adversity, and no clear wisdom in place with which to govern and operate life.
And then in chapters five and six, the first six seals were removed from the scroll.
The first five, demonstrate the phenomenal incompetence of mans rule, and the unbelievable failure of Satan’s effort to bring in a utopian life to all of mankind. Beginning with false hope from a false hero (white horse), to uncontrolled crime and violence, to a destroyed economy, to death and destruction. All leading to the deaths of innumerable believers, whose souls we heard, from under the alter.
And then the sixth seal, which reveals a level of violence and horrors so beyond imagination, that it is nearly impossible to describe them. And yet, people will die with increasing numbers, pouring (so to speak) into heaven as a result of the horrors that will have been occurring on the earth.
The seals reveal the written documentation of a history that will occur. They have thus far summarized that future record.
And now we will be introduced to seven trumpets.
Trumpets are used to announce, to bring everyone to attention, to signal something that is very near or just about to happen.
With the written record, there is time to read, to examine, to prepare ones self, but no indication as to exactly when the events will occur.
With the trumpets, the sounding of them, means that time is up, the events are fast approaching, entering in, they have arrived.
And later on when we get to the bowl judgments, then the bowls being poured out, are the actual events, occurring in all the fury and power of heaven. And there is no way to stop them until they have run their course.
In the last chapter, we noted that the common suffering throughout the Tribulation, of which all of those who die and enter into heaven will share, will be that they were hungry and thirsty. Certainly they lacked Bible doctrine and hungered and thirsted due to the lack of spiritual sustenance, but too, the common suffering will be due to the lack of food and water. And the lack will not be for just a few hours or days, but it will go on and get worse over the course of years. That will lead to untold and indescribable horrors.
However, knowing this, does not mean that this suffering will be the worst, for the worst has not yet been described in our study. The trumpets will add more detail to the judgments, and the bowls will add more details beyond that. And there is still the issue of the seven thunders, which have not and will not be revealed to us.
We who will be in heaven and those who are on the earth, will not know the details of the seven thunders, until they actually occur.
But those who are, or will be in heaven, will understand quickly just what history is all about and what is about to occur.
John heard a vastness full of noise, when he first arrived. He saw and heard an innumerable host of believers (perhaps numbering in the billions), and of angels (perhaps numbering in the trillions), singing and praising Christ.
And then silence.
And this silence will occur until verse five. But it is a deathly silence, an eerie silence, and it will mark the imminence of what is to come.
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Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Revelation 7:17
This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:17
DailyBibleStudy.Org
17 For [hoti] the Lamb [arnion] which [ho] is in the midst [ana] [mesos] of the throne [thronos] shall feed [poimaino] them, [autos] and [kai] shall lead [hodegeo] them [autos] unto [epi] living [zao] fountains [pege] of waters: [hudor] and [kai] God [theos] shall wipe away [exaleipho] all [pas] tears [dakru] from [apo] their [autos] eyes. [ophthalmos] KJV-Interlinear
17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes." NASB
We are about to complete the sixth seal.
Thus far we have seen only the highlights of the most horrible future period in all of human history. In the last verse, the terror and misery are summarized with hunger, thirst, and extreme pressures of life which will exist on a moment by moment basis, for those who will be forced to endure life in the Tribulation.
Remember, in its beginning, people will be there because they rejected Christ, because they rejected truth, because they were indifferent and saw no threat, or realness to the warnings that we have within these pages.
Their awakening moment will come after the Rapture occurs, and they are still here. When they look around them and begin to realize that it was they and their negative attitude, which will bring these events into history. That it was they who rallied behind evil, and caused all of the bad things that are going to happen, to actually happen.
And it is their last opportunity to avoid eternal condemnation, which is certainly coming their way, if they do not believe in the one, Jesus Christ, who they rejected all of their life.
It will not be until they get to heaven and stand before Christ, that they will realize how foolish they had been, and that it is Jesus Christ, who purchased their freedom, which they almost threw away.
And above it all, they had to be pushed to the brink of oblivion, and in many cases, over the edge of human dignity into utter brutality, before they would humble themselves, set aside their pride and arrogance, and believe in Jesus Christ.
We live here today in the midst of a growing apostate world. People make too many excuses as to why they should not, or cannot, or do not pursue their spiritual life. They presume that they know enough, or they simply do not believe in all of this stuff, they call nonsense. Some even need to be inspired over and over again, yet they still have no interest in their spiritual life other than pretense and putting on a show for their own ego and the benefit in others seeing them.
Our dispensation is called the Church Age. Sometimes it is called the Age of the Gentiles. Sometimes it is called the Age of the Royal Family, or the Age of the Bride of Christ.
Our dispensation is characterized by historical trends, the written word, and no other means of contact with God, except by means of the Bible. We are royalty for a reason, and that is to show the world, that with words only on the written page, God is able to raise up a vast family of believers, over the course of 2000 years and still counting, and still the Word of God remains as alive and as powerful as it ever was.
But alas, there will come a time even as we near the end of our dispensation, when the vast majority of people will fade away from doctrine, as Paul predicted, and when with this great apostasy, God is forced to shift history into its next gear, the Rapture and then the Tribulation.
Were it not for that single event of the Rapture, then many if not most of the people who will be saved in the Tribulation probably would never have believed, and would have gone to the Lake of Fire for ever.
Sometimes people need a push or a shove, or a hit to the head, before they wake up and smell the truth. Unfortunately that future generation, who will live during the Tribulation, will need some heavy rattling of the brains (figure of speech), before they see the light and make the right decision.
Right now, we all have the opportunity to believe in Christ, and therefore guarantee for ourselves that we will not live through the horrors that are to come. God has given us a promise, Rev. 3, that the Royal Family (that is us), will not go through that future suffering.
And right now, we all have an opportunity to grow in our spiritual life, to maturity, and be prepared for a phenomenal reward and eternal life. Right now, life is relatively peaceful, if you compare it to what is coming. And even though we all have issues and troubles in our daily lives, if you are on the internet, then you are not totally destitute of resources. And you have an opportunity to grow up to spiritual maturity and support its teaching for the benefit of others.
I heard on the news recently that there is an estimated three-billion people who have access to the internet. That number was less than a hundred-million just a decade ago. The world has come a long way, and the opportunity for a spiritual life has advanced as well. Unfortunately we see far too many spammers and scammers, and far too few students of the Word of God.
Whether you live now and believe, or will be one of those who rejects this, and will suffer in that future day, for all people, Jesus Christ is the one and only source of relief and blessing, and happiness and security, forever.
For unto Him is the glory, dominion and power, and through Him is our one and only hope.
Stop worrying about anything, but in everything, through prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto Him. Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you. Study to show yourself approved and let the peace of God garrison your hearts and minds, through Christ. And to Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you without blemish before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, and Savior, even Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and majesty, dominion and power, before time, now and forever.
Believe it, because it is so!
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
If you are a Facebook member, then please join the Bible Study Group that best suits you:
Facebook Groups
Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Go to this quick links page, and save it in your bookmarks for quick access to the daily studies.
Two subscription options to receive these daily studies everyday via e-mail, are available here.
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:17
DailyBibleStudy.Org
17 For [hoti] the Lamb [arnion] which [ho] is in the midst [ana] [mesos] of the throne [thronos] shall feed [poimaino] them, [autos] and [kai] shall lead [hodegeo] them [autos] unto [epi] living [zao] fountains [pege] of waters: [hudor] and [kai] God [theos] shall wipe away [exaleipho] all [pas] tears [dakru] from [apo] their [autos] eyes. [ophthalmos] KJV-Interlinear
17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes." NASB
We are about to complete the sixth seal.
Thus far we have seen only the highlights of the most horrible future period in all of human history. In the last verse, the terror and misery are summarized with hunger, thirst, and extreme pressures of life which will exist on a moment by moment basis, for those who will be forced to endure life in the Tribulation.
Remember, in its beginning, people will be there because they rejected Christ, because they rejected truth, because they were indifferent and saw no threat, or realness to the warnings that we have within these pages.
Their awakening moment will come after the Rapture occurs, and they are still here. When they look around them and begin to realize that it was they and their negative attitude, which will bring these events into history. That it was they who rallied behind evil, and caused all of the bad things that are going to happen, to actually happen.
And it is their last opportunity to avoid eternal condemnation, which is certainly coming their way, if they do not believe in the one, Jesus Christ, who they rejected all of their life.
It will not be until they get to heaven and stand before Christ, that they will realize how foolish they had been, and that it is Jesus Christ, who purchased their freedom, which they almost threw away.
And above it all, they had to be pushed to the brink of oblivion, and in many cases, over the edge of human dignity into utter brutality, before they would humble themselves, set aside their pride and arrogance, and believe in Jesus Christ.
We live here today in the midst of a growing apostate world. People make too many excuses as to why they should not, or cannot, or do not pursue their spiritual life. They presume that they know enough, or they simply do not believe in all of this stuff, they call nonsense. Some even need to be inspired over and over again, yet they still have no interest in their spiritual life other than pretense and putting on a show for their own ego and the benefit in others seeing them.
Our dispensation is called the Church Age. Sometimes it is called the Age of the Gentiles. Sometimes it is called the Age of the Royal Family, or the Age of the Bride of Christ.
Our dispensation is characterized by historical trends, the written word, and no other means of contact with God, except by means of the Bible. We are royalty for a reason, and that is to show the world, that with words only on the written page, God is able to raise up a vast family of believers, over the course of 2000 years and still counting, and still the Word of God remains as alive and as powerful as it ever was.
But alas, there will come a time even as we near the end of our dispensation, when the vast majority of people will fade away from doctrine, as Paul predicted, and when with this great apostasy, God is forced to shift history into its next gear, the Rapture and then the Tribulation.
Were it not for that single event of the Rapture, then many if not most of the people who will be saved in the Tribulation probably would never have believed, and would have gone to the Lake of Fire for ever.
Sometimes people need a push or a shove, or a hit to the head, before they wake up and smell the truth. Unfortunately that future generation, who will live during the Tribulation, will need some heavy rattling of the brains (figure of speech), before they see the light and make the right decision.
Right now, we all have the opportunity to believe in Christ, and therefore guarantee for ourselves that we will not live through the horrors that are to come. God has given us a promise, Rev. 3, that the Royal Family (that is us), will not go through that future suffering.
And right now, we all have an opportunity to grow in our spiritual life, to maturity, and be prepared for a phenomenal reward and eternal life. Right now, life is relatively peaceful, if you compare it to what is coming. And even though we all have issues and troubles in our daily lives, if you are on the internet, then you are not totally destitute of resources. And you have an opportunity to grow up to spiritual maturity and support its teaching for the benefit of others.
I heard on the news recently that there is an estimated three-billion people who have access to the internet. That number was less than a hundred-million just a decade ago. The world has come a long way, and the opportunity for a spiritual life has advanced as well. Unfortunately we see far too many spammers and scammers, and far too few students of the Word of God.
Whether you live now and believe, or will be one of those who rejects this, and will suffer in that future day, for all people, Jesus Christ is the one and only source of relief and blessing, and happiness and security, forever.
For unto Him is the glory, dominion and power, and through Him is our one and only hope.
Stop worrying about anything, but in everything, through prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto Him. Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you. Study to show yourself approved and let the peace of God garrison your hearts and minds, through Christ. And to Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you without blemish before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, and Savior, even Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and majesty, dominion and power, before time, now and forever.
Believe it, because it is so!
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
If you are a Facebook member, then please join the Bible Study Group that best suits you:
Facebook Groups
Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Go to this quick links page, and save it in your bookmarks for quick access to the daily studies.
Two subscription options to receive these daily studies everyday via e-mail, are available here.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Revelation 7:16
This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:16
DailyBibleStudy.Org
16 They shall hunger [peinao] no [ou] more, [eti] neither [oude] thirst [dipsao] any more; [eti] neither [oude] [me] shall [pipto] the sun [helios] light [pipto] on [epi] them, [autos] nor [oude] any [pas] heat. [kauma] KJV-Interlinear
16 "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; NASB
Almost a perfect quote from Isa. 49:10, this verse states clearly that the things that these people experienced and suffered from, namely hunger, thirst, and the pressures of the sun and heat of daily life, will not be upon them anymore.
During the latter half of the Tribulation, people will experience some of the most horrifying things, in all of human history.
Satan’s interference with day to day life will bring hardships on everyone. Anytime that the government gets into the economics of life, costs go up, productivity goes down, and the quality of life diminishes.
Problems have occurred in the past and they will be much worse in the future, in the Tribulation.
With government interference that is to come, production will set in, famine will become the order of the day, and starvation will take the lives of vast millions. But following close behind the famine and starvation, will come gangs, with violence in their hearts, but worst of all, these gangs will be cannibals, harvesting people rather than crops.
Of the hundreds of recorded famines over the last thirty centuries, many of the most severe famines saw brutal cannibalism as well as other forms of violence. The victims suffered horribly before they finally died.
These believers who are mentioned in the previous verses, will have died by means of many different methods, some at the hands of people, some due to natural disasters. But regardless of the cause of their death, all of them, without even one exception, will have peace and tranquility forever in heaven.
On the earth the worst of the worst of experiences will be ongoing for a while longer, but in heaven, absolute peace and relief will be the order of the day.
The pressures, the terrors, the burdens of life will all be a thing of the past, and will never occur again, ever.
This is true for those believers who will suffer horribly in the future, in the Tribulation, and it is true for people today in our current time.
Regardless of the your circumstances, when you finally get to heaven, all of life's burdens and pressures will cease to exist. There will be no more sorrow, no more tears, no more pain, and certainly no more death.
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
If you are a Facebook member, then please join the Bible Study Group that best suits you:
Facebook Groups
Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Go to this quick links page, and save it in your bookmarks for quick access to the daily studies.
Two subscription options to receive these daily studies everyday via e-mail, are available here.
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:16
DailyBibleStudy.Org
16 They shall hunger [peinao] no [ou] more, [eti] neither [oude] thirst [dipsao] any more; [eti] neither [oude] [me] shall [pipto] the sun [helios] light [pipto] on [epi] them, [autos] nor [oude] any [pas] heat. [kauma] KJV-Interlinear
16 "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; NASB
Almost a perfect quote from Isa. 49:10, this verse states clearly that the things that these people experienced and suffered from, namely hunger, thirst, and the pressures of the sun and heat of daily life, will not be upon them anymore.
During the latter half of the Tribulation, people will experience some of the most horrifying things, in all of human history.
Satan’s interference with day to day life will bring hardships on everyone. Anytime that the government gets into the economics of life, costs go up, productivity goes down, and the quality of life diminishes.
Problems have occurred in the past and they will be much worse in the future, in the Tribulation.
With government interference that is to come, production will set in, famine will become the order of the day, and starvation will take the lives of vast millions. But following close behind the famine and starvation, will come gangs, with violence in their hearts, but worst of all, these gangs will be cannibals, harvesting people rather than crops.
Of the hundreds of recorded famines over the last thirty centuries, many of the most severe famines saw brutal cannibalism as well as other forms of violence. The victims suffered horribly before they finally died.
These believers who are mentioned in the previous verses, will have died by means of many different methods, some at the hands of people, some due to natural disasters. But regardless of the cause of their death, all of them, without even one exception, will have peace and tranquility forever in heaven.
On the earth the worst of the worst of experiences will be ongoing for a while longer, but in heaven, absolute peace and relief will be the order of the day.
The pressures, the terrors, the burdens of life will all be a thing of the past, and will never occur again, ever.
This is true for those believers who will suffer horribly in the future, in the Tribulation, and it is true for people today in our current time.
Regardless of the your circumstances, when you finally get to heaven, all of life's burdens and pressures will cease to exist. There will be no more sorrow, no more tears, no more pain, and certainly no more death.
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
If you are a Facebook member, then please join the Bible Study Group that best suits you:
Facebook Groups
Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Go to this quick links page, and save it in your bookmarks for quick access to the daily studies.
Two subscription options to receive these daily studies everyday via e-mail, are available here.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Revelation 7:15
This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:15
DailyBibleStudy.Org
15 Therefore [dia] [touto] are they [eisi] before [enopion] the throne [thronos] of God, [theos] and [kai] serve [latreuo] him [autos] day [hemera] and [kai] night [nux] in [en] his [autos] temple: [naos] and [kai] he that sitteth [kathemai] on [epi] the throne [thronos] shall dwell [skenoo] among [epi] them. [autos] KJV-Interlinear
15 "For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them. NASB
These believers will come into heaven in untold numbers, and over a very short time period. Namely just a few years, and under three and a half years to be more precise.
At some point you should become aware of the tremendous horror that will be unfolding on the earth during this time of tribulation. Later in this study, the Bible will describe the horrors as continual, relentless, and unending without pause.
Today we see disasters come and go. One year we might become aware of a disaster, and then a few years later, another disaster comes along. We read about them, see the highlights on the news, but for most of us, they are just events that occur somewhere else in the world, and the impact on us soon leaves our thoughts as other things in life take over our attention.
But during this time in the future, which most folks do not now give much credence to, there will be folks who will live all over the world, who will be caught up in the most horrendous period of all of human history. They will live in, live through, and experience firsthand, untold horrors, and for these folks who are in heaven, they will actually die.
Just a quick note here. We have already studied that one-fourth of the worlds population will die because of Satan’s attempted utopia. Later we will see that one-third, of the worlds population will die in the judgments and horrors that will come in the last half of the Tribulation.
Do some quick math. If the population was 100 and one-fourth died, that would leave 75. If then, one-third die, that will leave 50. So, during the seven year period, prior to the Second Advent of Christ, a full one-half of the worlds population, will die. Everyone will be affected. This includes both believers and unbelievers.
When Christ returns at the Second Advent, then the remaining fifty percent will die almost instantly when His foot touches the earth. Only a hand full (of mature believers in hiding, and some in Jerusalem), will survive to be rescued by Christ, and they will go into the Millennium to repopulate the world.
The actual numbers of these groups are unknown to us. But if all of this were to begin to happen now, then there are only seven billion people to fit into the calculations, less the living believers taken at the rapture of course.
But if all of these events do not occur for another century, then the total population could very well number over fifty billions of people. In either case, the world will be one huge mess, needless to say.
Our verse says, ‘for this reason.’ And that means these people are in heaven for only one reason, and that is because they believed in Christ. Because Christ came in the First Advent and went to the Cross in our behalf, and purchased salvation for us, then by means of faith, these people are saved.
The future of this world is not a good one. It is set in scripture, written down in the Divine Decrees, and cannot be changed. Even if you thought that you could go out and convince people to repent, even if you could create miracles and gain the attention of millions, all of that and more, would not be enough to change the course of history, which lies before us.
People will ignore the future just as they ignore the past. People will pursue the world, and ignore their spiritual destiny. And, whether all of this occurs in the very near future, or in the distant future, whether you and I are alive at the Rapture, or whether it occurs long after we have left this world, should make no difference to each of us, as we have the knowledge and the information, and the opportunity to prepare ourselves, right now, for our own personal eternity.
That is what is important to each of us. Getting ready for our own eternity, because it is coming, regardless of what plans you might have for this weekend, or plans you might have for your own future in this world.
These people will worship and be before the Throne of Christ, day and night forever. And that simply means, eternal life.
The tabernacle (dwelling place) of God is in heaven. At various times a temporary dwelling place was provided for on this earth, but when the new heaven and earth (new universe) comes into existence, then God will dwell everywhere and in everyone simultaneously. There will be no further need for a separate temple or a tabernacle.
The tabernacle spread over each and every person is their (our) eternal security.
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
If you are a Facebook member, then please join the Bible Study Group that best suits you:
Facebook Groups
Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Go to this quick links page, and save it in your bookmarks for quick access to the daily studies.
Two subscription options to receive these daily studies everyday via e-mail, are available here.
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:15
DailyBibleStudy.Org
15 Therefore [dia] [touto] are they [eisi] before [enopion] the throne [thronos] of God, [theos] and [kai] serve [latreuo] him [autos] day [hemera] and [kai] night [nux] in [en] his [autos] temple: [naos] and [kai] he that sitteth [kathemai] on [epi] the throne [thronos] shall dwell [skenoo] among [epi] them. [autos] KJV-Interlinear
15 "For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them. NASB
These believers will come into heaven in untold numbers, and over a very short time period. Namely just a few years, and under three and a half years to be more precise.
At some point you should become aware of the tremendous horror that will be unfolding on the earth during this time of tribulation. Later in this study, the Bible will describe the horrors as continual, relentless, and unending without pause.
Today we see disasters come and go. One year we might become aware of a disaster, and then a few years later, another disaster comes along. We read about them, see the highlights on the news, but for most of us, they are just events that occur somewhere else in the world, and the impact on us soon leaves our thoughts as other things in life take over our attention.
But during this time in the future, which most folks do not now give much credence to, there will be folks who will live all over the world, who will be caught up in the most horrendous period of all of human history. They will live in, live through, and experience firsthand, untold horrors, and for these folks who are in heaven, they will actually die.
Just a quick note here. We have already studied that one-fourth of the worlds population will die because of Satan’s attempted utopia. Later we will see that one-third, of the worlds population will die in the judgments and horrors that will come in the last half of the Tribulation.
Do some quick math. If the population was 100 and one-fourth died, that would leave 75. If then, one-third die, that will leave 50. So, during the seven year period, prior to the Second Advent of Christ, a full one-half of the worlds population, will die. Everyone will be affected. This includes both believers and unbelievers.
When Christ returns at the Second Advent, then the remaining fifty percent will die almost instantly when His foot touches the earth. Only a hand full (of mature believers in hiding, and some in Jerusalem), will survive to be rescued by Christ, and they will go into the Millennium to repopulate the world.
The actual numbers of these groups are unknown to us. But if all of this were to begin to happen now, then there are only seven billion people to fit into the calculations, less the living believers taken at the rapture of course.
But if all of these events do not occur for another century, then the total population could very well number over fifty billions of people. In either case, the world will be one huge mess, needless to say.
Our verse says, ‘for this reason.’ And that means these people are in heaven for only one reason, and that is because they believed in Christ. Because Christ came in the First Advent and went to the Cross in our behalf, and purchased salvation for us, then by means of faith, these people are saved.
The future of this world is not a good one. It is set in scripture, written down in the Divine Decrees, and cannot be changed. Even if you thought that you could go out and convince people to repent, even if you could create miracles and gain the attention of millions, all of that and more, would not be enough to change the course of history, which lies before us.
People will ignore the future just as they ignore the past. People will pursue the world, and ignore their spiritual destiny. And, whether all of this occurs in the very near future, or in the distant future, whether you and I are alive at the Rapture, or whether it occurs long after we have left this world, should make no difference to each of us, as we have the knowledge and the information, and the opportunity to prepare ourselves, right now, for our own personal eternity.
That is what is important to each of us. Getting ready for our own eternity, because it is coming, regardless of what plans you might have for this weekend, or plans you might have for your own future in this world.
These people will worship and be before the Throne of Christ, day and night forever. And that simply means, eternal life.
The tabernacle (dwelling place) of God is in heaven. At various times a temporary dwelling place was provided for on this earth, but when the new heaven and earth (new universe) comes into existence, then God will dwell everywhere and in everyone simultaneously. There will be no further need for a separate temple or a tabernacle.
The tabernacle spread over each and every person is their (our) eternal security.
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
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Sunday, May 23, 2010
Revelation 7:14
This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
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Revelation 7:14
DailyBibleStudy.Org
14 And [kai] I said [ereo] unto him, [autos] Sir, [kurios] thou [su] knowest. [eido] And [kai] he said [epo] to me, [moi] These [houtos] are they [eisi] which came [erchomai] out of [ek] great [megas] tribulation, [thlipsis] and [kai] have washed [pluno] their [autos] robes, [stole] and [kai] made [leukaino] them [stole] [autos] white [leukaino] in [en] the blood [haima] of the Lamb. [arnion] KJV-Interlinear
14 And I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. NASB
John responds to the elder with a reply of respect, ‘My lord,’ which back in those days was a typical greeting to someone who is of a superior position. The elder has a golden crown on his head. John yields to that position, a position that could have only come from God.
On the earth, people have a tendency to crown themselves. In heaven, God does all of the promotion and giving of honors.
These people, of whom they are referring, are the believers who have been martyred in the Tribulation. But this is referenced to a particular portion of the Tribulation, that is identified as the ‘Great Tribulation.’
Jesus Himself coined and identified this phrase and segment of history, as the last half of the seven year period, the last three and a half years, of what we generally call the whole Tribulation, Matt. 24:21.
It might be well to note that the Tribulation will last seven years in length, Matt 24:13-22; Mark 13:14-20; Dan 9:27). The last half will be forty-two months or 1,260 days, or three and a half years, Rev. 11:2-3.
The first half of the Tribulation, is called Satan’s failed utopia, by virtue of the white horse vision which fails as it is followed by the red horse, the black horse and the pale horse.
Recall our study wherein we discovered that one-fourth of the world’s population will die during this time. Not much of a utopia!
But after the sixth and during the seventh seal, the great tribulation will occur. From the beginning of the Tribulation, people will die. That death rate will continue to increase as matters get progressively worse.
By the mid-point of the Tribulation, the death rate will increase dramatically and continue to grow at an even faster rate. And even during these times of extreme hardships, people will be believing in Christ at an extremely fast rate, as well.
The verb, ‘which came out of,’ or ‘erchomai,’ is a reference to an ongoing process over time. This process of people dying and going to heaven will occur all through the seven years. It is not a one time event, as the Rapture is a single event.
These folks are not yet glorified by virtue of their lack of crowns and linens, as the elders are described with having.
They are not referred to as the Church as the seven churches are references in the first couple of chapters.
They are not referred to as ones coming out of a single event.
But they were referred to as a distinct group coming out of the last half of the Tribulation. And as we already know, they number into huge uncountable numbers.
We have already seen that the elders are believers who are already in heaven, already cleansed, and already glorified. The elders are not counted among these martyred believers. The elders came to heaven out of the Rapture, which will occur immediately before the Tribulation will begin.
And since all believers are raptured, leaving only unbelievers behind on the earth, then this passage as well as others, indicates that there will be huge numbers of people who will believe in Christ, during the Tribulation. Both in its beginning, and especially during the last half.
Washing their robes and making them white in the blood of the lamb, is a figure of speech, referring to the salvation work of Christ on the Cross. Christ died, that all men might be saved, and for all who believe in Christ, salvation is secured forever. These people will believe in Christ, while they are alive on the earth.
Soiled garments in scripture symbolize the defilement of sin, Isa 64:6; Zech 3:3, and salvation is often pictured as a washing or cleansing away, making white, removing sin, Rev 22:14; Ps 51:7; Isa 1:18; Titus 3:5. Together this is a reference to atonement or salvation through faith in Christ, because of His work on the Cross.
These are believers who will die in great numbers during the last and most extreme half of the Tribulation.
So, from this we know that the Rapture is not in view here (it has already occurred prior to this), the elders and these dressed in white have a distinctively different dress status.
The elder spoke of those who were in white robes as ‘they,’ not us or we. So they are a distinctively different group from the elders.
These dressed in white will come out of the last half of the Tribulation, whereas we saw others in the fifth seal who will die due to the failed utopia efforts of humanity in the first half of the tribulation. They likewise were not grouped with the elders.
Huge numbers will believe in Christ during the entire period of the Tribulation. There will be large numbers of evangelists from the onset of the Tribulation, especially those out of Israel, by which people will come to believe in Christ.
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Revelation 7:14
DailyBibleStudy.Org
14 And [kai] I said [ereo] unto him, [autos] Sir, [kurios] thou [su] knowest. [eido] And [kai] he said [epo] to me, [moi] These [houtos] are they [eisi] which came [erchomai] out of [ek] great [megas] tribulation, [thlipsis] and [kai] have washed [pluno] their [autos] robes, [stole] and [kai] made [leukaino] them [stole] [autos] white [leukaino] in [en] the blood [haima] of the Lamb. [arnion] KJV-Interlinear
14 And I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. NASB
John responds to the elder with a reply of respect, ‘My lord,’ which back in those days was a typical greeting to someone who is of a superior position. The elder has a golden crown on his head. John yields to that position, a position that could have only come from God.
On the earth, people have a tendency to crown themselves. In heaven, God does all of the promotion and giving of honors.
These people, of whom they are referring, are the believers who have been martyred in the Tribulation. But this is referenced to a particular portion of the Tribulation, that is identified as the ‘Great Tribulation.’
Jesus Himself coined and identified this phrase and segment of history, as the last half of the seven year period, the last three and a half years, of what we generally call the whole Tribulation, Matt. 24:21.
It might be well to note that the Tribulation will last seven years in length, Matt 24:13-22; Mark 13:14-20; Dan 9:27). The last half will be forty-two months or 1,260 days, or three and a half years, Rev. 11:2-3.
The first half of the Tribulation, is called Satan’s failed utopia, by virtue of the white horse vision which fails as it is followed by the red horse, the black horse and the pale horse.
Recall our study wherein we discovered that one-fourth of the world’s population will die during this time. Not much of a utopia!
But after the sixth and during the seventh seal, the great tribulation will occur. From the beginning of the Tribulation, people will die. That death rate will continue to increase as matters get progressively worse.
By the mid-point of the Tribulation, the death rate will increase dramatically and continue to grow at an even faster rate. And even during these times of extreme hardships, people will be believing in Christ at an extremely fast rate, as well.
The verb, ‘which came out of,’ or ‘erchomai,’ is a reference to an ongoing process over time. This process of people dying and going to heaven will occur all through the seven years. It is not a one time event, as the Rapture is a single event.
These folks are not yet glorified by virtue of their lack of crowns and linens, as the elders are described with having.
They are not referred to as the Church as the seven churches are references in the first couple of chapters.
They are not referred to as ones coming out of a single event.
But they were referred to as a distinct group coming out of the last half of the Tribulation. And as we already know, they number into huge uncountable numbers.
We have already seen that the elders are believers who are already in heaven, already cleansed, and already glorified. The elders are not counted among these martyred believers. The elders came to heaven out of the Rapture, which will occur immediately before the Tribulation will begin.
And since all believers are raptured, leaving only unbelievers behind on the earth, then this passage as well as others, indicates that there will be huge numbers of people who will believe in Christ, during the Tribulation. Both in its beginning, and especially during the last half.
Washing their robes and making them white in the blood of the lamb, is a figure of speech, referring to the salvation work of Christ on the Cross. Christ died, that all men might be saved, and for all who believe in Christ, salvation is secured forever. These people will believe in Christ, while they are alive on the earth.
Soiled garments in scripture symbolize the defilement of sin, Isa 64:6; Zech 3:3, and salvation is often pictured as a washing or cleansing away, making white, removing sin, Rev 22:14; Ps 51:7; Isa 1:18; Titus 3:5. Together this is a reference to atonement or salvation through faith in Christ, because of His work on the Cross.
These are believers who will die in great numbers during the last and most extreme half of the Tribulation.
So, from this we know that the Rapture is not in view here (it has already occurred prior to this), the elders and these dressed in white have a distinctively different dress status.
The elder spoke of those who were in white robes as ‘they,’ not us or we. So they are a distinctively different group from the elders.
These dressed in white will come out of the last half of the Tribulation, whereas we saw others in the fifth seal who will die due to the failed utopia efforts of humanity in the first half of the tribulation. They likewise were not grouped with the elders.
Huge numbers will believe in Christ during the entire period of the Tribulation. There will be large numbers of evangelists from the onset of the Tribulation, especially those out of Israel, by which people will come to believe in Christ.
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
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Saturday, May 22, 2010
Revelation 7:13
This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:13
DailyBibleStudy.Org
13 And [kai] one [heis] of [ek] the elders [presbuteros] answered, [apokrinomai] saying [lego] unto me, [moi] What [tis] are [eisi] these [houtos] which [ho] are arrayed in [periballo] white [leukos] robes [stole]? and [kai] whence [pothen] came they [erchomai]? KJV-Interlinear
13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come?" NASB
There are two groups in view here, which are both in heaven at the time of this vision. This vision of John’s is of the Tribulation, which is still a future event (as far as you and I are concerned).
The two groups are the elders, and those in the white robes.
The elders were studied in chapter four when twenty-four of them were mentioned. They are the representative group of all those believers who were resurrected (and glorified as noted by the crowns and clothing) in the Rapture, believers from our dispensation, the Church Age.
How are they different? The elders were dressed in white raiment and had crowns of gold on their heads.
The other group in view here, have white robes, no crowns, and carrying palm branches or leaves.
There is a distinctive difference in the dress of each group. And there is a reason for that difference.
One of the elders ‘answered.’ And that word generally implies a response to a question that has been asked. But we have no question posed in the text of this verse, or anywhere for that matter. But the word for answer, ‘apokrinomai’ is not the word that is typically used for a response to a question that has not been voiced, or might be voiced because the one posing the question just happens to be wondering.
But instead, here it is used to indicate an approach, or someone who approaches you while you are taking in all of the scene before you, eyes wide open in awe and so forth.
And that is exactly what is in view here. John was looking at all of the scene before him, overwhelmed by it all. The look of amazement and wondering about it all, was apparent from the look on his face.
The elder, not identified, moved over (approached) toward John. The elder asked the question, of John, because John was looking at this one particular group, the ones in white robes and carrying the palm branches.
The elder asked, ‘Who are these,’ referring to the one group who were dressed in white and carrying the branches. So John was looking at this group and the elder referred his question toward that group, out of all the groups that were present.
This was to single out this particular group.
The elder did not pose the question because he did not know the answer, but instead, posed the question, so that John would identify them correctly. And that was for our benefit. He may have asked, ‘Do you know who these people in the white robes and carrying the palm branches, are?’
And as we have said, this was not really for John’s benefit, as he already knows the answer, and the elder knows the answer, but you and I do not know the answer, until we are told.
And instead of answering the question in this study, we will save it for tomorrow.
But think about what has already been said, above, and why.
Who is the elder, who are those dressed in white, and why is their dress different? And, to which group do you suppose John belongs?
And, one more question, why is this important for us to know? Why would this question and answer even be written into the Bible? Why is it significant?
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
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Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Go to this quick links page, and save it in your bookmarks for quick access to the daily studies.
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Revelation 7:13
DailyBibleStudy.Org
13 And [kai] one [heis] of [ek] the elders [presbuteros] answered, [apokrinomai] saying [lego] unto me, [moi] What [tis] are [eisi] these [houtos] which [ho] are arrayed in [periballo] white [leukos] robes [stole]? and [kai] whence [pothen] came they [erchomai]? KJV-Interlinear
13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come?" NASB
There are two groups in view here, which are both in heaven at the time of this vision. This vision of John’s is of the Tribulation, which is still a future event (as far as you and I are concerned).
The two groups are the elders, and those in the white robes.
The elders were studied in chapter four when twenty-four of them were mentioned. They are the representative group of all those believers who were resurrected (and glorified as noted by the crowns and clothing) in the Rapture, believers from our dispensation, the Church Age.
How are they different? The elders were dressed in white raiment and had crowns of gold on their heads.
The other group in view here, have white robes, no crowns, and carrying palm branches or leaves.
There is a distinctive difference in the dress of each group. And there is a reason for that difference.
One of the elders ‘answered.’ And that word generally implies a response to a question that has been asked. But we have no question posed in the text of this verse, or anywhere for that matter. But the word for answer, ‘apokrinomai’ is not the word that is typically used for a response to a question that has not been voiced, or might be voiced because the one posing the question just happens to be wondering.
But instead, here it is used to indicate an approach, or someone who approaches you while you are taking in all of the scene before you, eyes wide open in awe and so forth.
And that is exactly what is in view here. John was looking at all of the scene before him, overwhelmed by it all. The look of amazement and wondering about it all, was apparent from the look on his face.
The elder, not identified, moved over (approached) toward John. The elder asked the question, of John, because John was looking at this one particular group, the ones in white robes and carrying the palm branches.
The elder asked, ‘Who are these,’ referring to the one group who were dressed in white and carrying the branches. So John was looking at this group and the elder referred his question toward that group, out of all the groups that were present.
This was to single out this particular group.
The elder did not pose the question because he did not know the answer, but instead, posed the question, so that John would identify them correctly. And that was for our benefit. He may have asked, ‘Do you know who these people in the white robes and carrying the palm branches, are?’
And as we have said, this was not really for John’s benefit, as he already knows the answer, and the elder knows the answer, but you and I do not know the answer, until we are told.
And instead of answering the question in this study, we will save it for tomorrow.
But think about what has already been said, above, and why.
Who is the elder, who are those dressed in white, and why is their dress different? And, to which group do you suppose John belongs?
And, one more question, why is this important for us to know? Why would this question and answer even be written into the Bible? Why is it significant?
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
If you are a Facebook member, then please join the Bible Study Group that best suits you:
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Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Go to this quick links page, and save it in your bookmarks for quick access to the daily studies.
Two subscription options to receive these daily studies everyday via e-mail, are available here.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Revelation 7:12
This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:12
DailyBibleStudy.Org
12 Saying, [lego] Amen: [amen] Blessing, [eulogia] and [kai] glory, [doxa] and [kai] wisdom, [sophia] and [kai] thanksgiving, [eucharistia] and [kai] honour, [time] and [kai] power, [dunamis] and [kai] might, [ischus] be unto our [hemon] God [theos] for [eis] ever [aion] and ever. [aion] Amen. [amen] KJV-Interlinear
12 saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen." NASB
And what is everyone in heaven saying with regard to Jesus Christ, the one on the throne, the one who is the savior, the lamb who made Himself the sacrifice for us all?
Enclosed between two ‘amens.’ Amen, ‘amen’ is an expression of strong affirmation of that which is said, is strongly believed by those who say it. Amen means, it is so, believe it, it is truth, and therefore must be believed.
And what was said? That of everything that is good is ascribed to God, every blessing is traced to Him, everything that is excellent is attributed to Him.
Blessing, ‘eulogia,’ adoration, benediction, consecration, benefit, bounty, approval, sanction, consent.
Glory, ‘doxa,’ dignity, honor, praise, worship, magnificence, splendor, beauty.
Wisdom, ‘sophia,’ knowledge, understanding, perception, application.
Thanksgiving, ‘eucharistia,’ gratitude, appreciation, recognition, credit.
Honour, ‘time,’ value, precious, price paid, esteem, intrinsic.
Power, ‘dunamis,’ ability, strength, miraculous effort.
Might, ‘ischus,’ force, capacity, valor.
God, ‘theos,’ highest authority and sovereign.
Today in this world, the objects of worship are a dime a dozen. Whether they are false gods, idols, secular objects or philosophies, or simply relying one ones own opinion about life, they are all false and worthless and powerless.
God is everything that they are not. And Jesus Christ is the one and only God in all of creation and in heaven, on whom the entire Bible is focused.
Before you were born into this world, you had no say as to what your life would be like, and probably very little say as to what you could do with your life, during your life.
But, with respect to heaven and eternity, your next life, you have every opportunity to define and design what your life will be like then. That definition and design, comes through your daily study of the Word of God and your spiritual growth. Those who advance in their spiritual life will receive blessings beyond their imaginations. Those who do not advance, will receive nothing. Review the studies of the parables.
And were it not for the fact that every person has an opportunity to advance in their spiritual life, then people might have an excuse, but such is not the case. God provides us all with doctrine and opportunity. You have to decide if your future in heaven has any meaning to you at all, and what if anything you are going to do about it.
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
If you are a Facebook member, then please join the Bible Study Group that best suits you:
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Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Go to this quick links page, and save it in your bookmarks for quick access to the daily studies.
Two subscription options to receive these daily studies everyday via e-mail, are available here.
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:12
DailyBibleStudy.Org
12 Saying, [lego] Amen: [amen] Blessing, [eulogia] and [kai] glory, [doxa] and [kai] wisdom, [sophia] and [kai] thanksgiving, [eucharistia] and [kai] honour, [time] and [kai] power, [dunamis] and [kai] might, [ischus] be unto our [hemon] God [theos] for [eis] ever [aion] and ever. [aion] Amen. [amen] KJV-Interlinear
12 saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen." NASB
And what is everyone in heaven saying with regard to Jesus Christ, the one on the throne, the one who is the savior, the lamb who made Himself the sacrifice for us all?
Enclosed between two ‘amens.’ Amen, ‘amen’ is an expression of strong affirmation of that which is said, is strongly believed by those who say it. Amen means, it is so, believe it, it is truth, and therefore must be believed.
And what was said? That of everything that is good is ascribed to God, every blessing is traced to Him, everything that is excellent is attributed to Him.
Blessing, ‘eulogia,’ adoration, benediction, consecration, benefit, bounty, approval, sanction, consent.
Glory, ‘doxa,’ dignity, honor, praise, worship, magnificence, splendor, beauty.
Wisdom, ‘sophia,’ knowledge, understanding, perception, application.
Thanksgiving, ‘eucharistia,’ gratitude, appreciation, recognition, credit.
Honour, ‘time,’ value, precious, price paid, esteem, intrinsic.
Power, ‘dunamis,’ ability, strength, miraculous effort.
Might, ‘ischus,’ force, capacity, valor.
God, ‘theos,’ highest authority and sovereign.
Today in this world, the objects of worship are a dime a dozen. Whether they are false gods, idols, secular objects or philosophies, or simply relying one ones own opinion about life, they are all false and worthless and powerless.
God is everything that they are not. And Jesus Christ is the one and only God in all of creation and in heaven, on whom the entire Bible is focused.
Before you were born into this world, you had no say as to what your life would be like, and probably very little say as to what you could do with your life, during your life.
But, with respect to heaven and eternity, your next life, you have every opportunity to define and design what your life will be like then. That definition and design, comes through your daily study of the Word of God and your spiritual growth. Those who advance in their spiritual life will receive blessings beyond their imaginations. Those who do not advance, will receive nothing. Review the studies of the parables.
And were it not for the fact that every person has an opportunity to advance in their spiritual life, then people might have an excuse, but such is not the case. God provides us all with doctrine and opportunity. You have to decide if your future in heaven has any meaning to you at all, and what if anything you are going to do about it.
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
If you are a Facebook member, then please join the Bible Study Group that best suits you:
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Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Go to this quick links page, and save it in your bookmarks for quick access to the daily studies.
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Thursday, May 20, 2010
Revelation 7:11
This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:11
DailyBibleStudy.Org
11 And [kai] all [pas] the angels [aggelos] stood [histemi] round about [kuklo] the throne, [thronos] and [kai] about the elders [presbuteros] and [kai] the four [tessares] beasts, [zoon] and [kai] fell [pipto] before [enopion] the throne [thronos] on [epi] their [autos] faces, [prosopon] and [kai] worshipped [proskuneo] God, [theos] KJV-Interlinear
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, NASB
And now John has a clear picture of heaven, filled up with hosts and hosts of people and angels, with numbers so great that only God can count them.
Standing around the throne, the center of all that exists, Jesus Christ on whom all life rests and balances, are innumerable angels, who have been living for all of the time that creation has existed, and have seen all of history, both prior to, and during the existence of humanity.
They fall down to worship, and to recognize that it is God, Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate authority and sovereign in all of existence.
This then, gives us an indication of Satan’s rebellion, not just against God the Father or God in general, but against Jesus Christ in particular, just as Jesus Christ is our focus, so too, the angels here, demonstrate that they too point their worship toward Him, and to no one else.
Likewise, assembled are the glorified believers who already have their resurrection bodies, elders with golden crowns, or Church Age believers who were already Raptured away from the earth.
And, then there are the believers in white robes, who are the believers who have died, as of that point in the Tribulation, not yet glorified, not yet resurrected. And from this verse, we know that they will be coming to heaven in huge numbers. That means that of all the people who refused to believe in Christ, or simply were not interested, prior to the Rapture, were in fact going to believe in Christ, once the heat of life was turned up really high. And their high heat of life means their death. This also is a further indication of the horrible conditions on the earth, that will exist during the Tribulation.
Why are the Old Testament believers not mentioned here? They have not yet received their resurrection, and certainly with over four thousand years of history, their numbers will be huge as well.
But what is emphasized here, is the fact that even during this brief period in history, only seven years, the numbers of believers pouring into heaven, will be huge. As the population on the earth declines, the population in heaven will be increasing.
The missionary work of the Israelites of the past which failed, will be totally successful, even under the most extreme of circumstances.
What John is seeing is a snapshot of heaven as a result of the history being carried out on earth during the Tribulation. And though we have not yet covered all of the events of the Tribulation, this summary demonstrates that even under massive extremes of life, people will still turn to God, through Christ.
One might wonder, if they can and will, do it then, when the world is literally falling apart, why can’t people do it now (believe and/or advance in their spiritual life), when we have a much better world to live in now?
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
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Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Go to this quick links page, and save it in your bookmarks for quick access to the daily studies.
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DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
Revelation 7:11
DailyBibleStudy.Org
11 And [kai] all [pas] the angels [aggelos] stood [histemi] round about [kuklo] the throne, [thronos] and [kai] about the elders [presbuteros] and [kai] the four [tessares] beasts, [zoon] and [kai] fell [pipto] before [enopion] the throne [thronos] on [epi] their [autos] faces, [prosopon] and [kai] worshipped [proskuneo] God, [theos] KJV-Interlinear
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, NASB
And now John has a clear picture of heaven, filled up with hosts and hosts of people and angels, with numbers so great that only God can count them.
Standing around the throne, the center of all that exists, Jesus Christ on whom all life rests and balances, are innumerable angels, who have been living for all of the time that creation has existed, and have seen all of history, both prior to, and during the existence of humanity.
They fall down to worship, and to recognize that it is God, Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate authority and sovereign in all of existence.
This then, gives us an indication of Satan’s rebellion, not just against God the Father or God in general, but against Jesus Christ in particular, just as Jesus Christ is our focus, so too, the angels here, demonstrate that they too point their worship toward Him, and to no one else.
Likewise, assembled are the glorified believers who already have their resurrection bodies, elders with golden crowns, or Church Age believers who were already Raptured away from the earth.
And, then there are the believers in white robes, who are the believers who have died, as of that point in the Tribulation, not yet glorified, not yet resurrected. And from this verse, we know that they will be coming to heaven in huge numbers. That means that of all the people who refused to believe in Christ, or simply were not interested, prior to the Rapture, were in fact going to believe in Christ, once the heat of life was turned up really high. And their high heat of life means their death. This also is a further indication of the horrible conditions on the earth, that will exist during the Tribulation.
Why are the Old Testament believers not mentioned here? They have not yet received their resurrection, and certainly with over four thousand years of history, their numbers will be huge as well.
But what is emphasized here, is the fact that even during this brief period in history, only seven years, the numbers of believers pouring into heaven, will be huge. As the population on the earth declines, the population in heaven will be increasing.
The missionary work of the Israelites of the past which failed, will be totally successful, even under the most extreme of circumstances.
What John is seeing is a snapshot of heaven as a result of the history being carried out on earth during the Tribulation. And though we have not yet covered all of the events of the Tribulation, this summary demonstrates that even under massive extremes of life, people will still turn to God, through Christ.
One might wonder, if they can and will, do it then, when the world is literally falling apart, why can’t people do it now (believe and/or advance in their spiritual life), when we have a much better world to live in now?
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Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Revelation 7:10
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Revelation 7:10
DailyBibleStudy.Org
10 And [kai] cried [krazo] with a loud [megas] voice, [phone] saying, [lego] Salvation [soteria] to our [hemon] God [theos] which [ho] sitteth [kathemai] upon [epi] the throne, [thronos] and [kai] unto the Lamb. [arnion] KJV-Interlinear
10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." NASB
God and the Lamb both identified as specific persons, are here identified as one and the same person.
Just as you might toast the host at a party, saying several descriptive things, all referring to the host, so too, here the toast is of salvation, and it is ascribed to one person, namely God, the Lamb, the Son, and as we all have come to know Him, Jesus Christ.
And this is the cheer and the praise, all belonging to one person, the unique person of the universe, both God and man in one person, simultaneously.
As it has been repeated over and over, again and again, Deu. 6:4, ‘The Lord is God, the Lord is unique.’
Salvation belongs to God, and to God alone. There is no other source, no other alternate, no other alternative, to the one and only salvation presented in the Bible.
No other religion, no other belief system, no other philosophy, nothing else can replace or better, that which comes from God, Jesus Christ.
And when all of these people get to heaven, they (we), will all sing the same song of praise, and acknowledge that there is but one truth, one Lord, one salvation, and that is Christ.
Leaving behind the turmoil of the world will be a blessing, regardless of what pain and suffering many must endure before they are removed from the world.
And even though there are many opinions and beliefs, even within the Christian faith on this earth, all of those differences will fade away, and all will come to know the one and perfect truth regarding life and reality, in heaven.
Now in heaven there exists five groups – God, angels, elders, others mentioned previously, and those in white robes. Can you identify the last three groups?
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Revelation 7:10
DailyBibleStudy.Org
10 And [kai] cried [krazo] with a loud [megas] voice, [phone] saying, [lego] Salvation [soteria] to our [hemon] God [theos] which [ho] sitteth [kathemai] upon [epi] the throne, [thronos] and [kai] unto the Lamb. [arnion] KJV-Interlinear
10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." NASB
God and the Lamb both identified as specific persons, are here identified as one and the same person.
Just as you might toast the host at a party, saying several descriptive things, all referring to the host, so too, here the toast is of salvation, and it is ascribed to one person, namely God, the Lamb, the Son, and as we all have come to know Him, Jesus Christ.
And this is the cheer and the praise, all belonging to one person, the unique person of the universe, both God and man in one person, simultaneously.
As it has been repeated over and over, again and again, Deu. 6:4, ‘The Lord is God, the Lord is unique.’
Salvation belongs to God, and to God alone. There is no other source, no other alternate, no other alternative, to the one and only salvation presented in the Bible.
No other religion, no other belief system, no other philosophy, nothing else can replace or better, that which comes from God, Jesus Christ.
And when all of these people get to heaven, they (we), will all sing the same song of praise, and acknowledge that there is but one truth, one Lord, one salvation, and that is Christ.
Leaving behind the turmoil of the world will be a blessing, regardless of what pain and suffering many must endure before they are removed from the world.
And even though there are many opinions and beliefs, even within the Christian faith on this earth, all of those differences will fade away, and all will come to know the one and perfect truth regarding life and reality, in heaven.
Now in heaven there exists five groups – God, angels, elders, others mentioned previously, and those in white robes. Can you identify the last three groups?
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Revelation 7:9
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Revelation 7:9
DailyBibleStudy.Org
9 After [meta] this [tauta] I beheld, [eido] and, [kai] lo, [idou] a great [polus] multitude, [ochlos] which [hos] no man [oudeis] could [dunamai] number [arithmeo], [autos] of [ek] all [pas] nations, [ethnos] and [kai] kindreds, [phule] and [kai] people, [laos] and [kai] tongues, [glossa] stood [histemi] before [enopion] the throne, [thronos] and [kai] before [enopion] the Lamb, [arnion] clothed [periballo] with white [leukos] robes, [stole] and [kai] palms [phoinix] in [en] their [autos] hands; [cheir] KJV-Interlinear
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; NASB
During the dispensation of the Age of Israel, the dispensation which preceded ours, and of which our Church Age, or the Age of the Gentiles as we are also called, interrupted that former age, the Israelites had been placed with the honor and obligation to spread the gospel of the Messiah, to the world. They failed horribly.
During our dispensation, we of the Church Age, have that same obligation placed on us. That is, to spread the gospel to all of the world. And though you might think that we have some semblance of success in this effort, there still remains perhaps two-thirds of the world that rejects Christ in favor of other religions.
And as depicted in the letters to the churches, where five of them failed horribly, and with Pauls disclosure of a great apostasy in 2 Thess, then we can see that even in our current dispensation, there will be a great failure in bringing the gospel to the majority of the world, by the time our dispensation comes to an end – ‘the fullness of the gentiles,’ Rom. 11:25, which by the way will coincide with the Rapture.
And, in the most unexpected time in all of human history, when the numbers of new believers has halted due to the great apostasy, at the end of our dispensation, with the removal of all believers in the Rapture, and the simultaneous removal of the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit on the world, and with the rapid advancement of persecutions and terrors throughout the world because of the anti-christ, one would think that salvation for anyone would be impossible. Why would anyone, after so long a period of indifference, suddenly turn to Christ in faith?
And yet they will.
Israel was promised a role in the evangelism of the entire world, and while under the worst of circumstances in all of human history, these 144,000 first believers, all of Jewish heritage, all of the tribes of Israel, will go out to the entire world and bring so many converts, from all nations, including Israel, that they cannot be counted (an expression for a huge number).
And this all happens during the worst time of turmoil and trouble in all the world.
This is the time of Israels national salvation, Zech. 12, Rom 11:25-27.
Israel will become the light of the world, during the darkest days of history for the world, Isa 11:10, Isa 49:6, Isa 45:22, Isa 52:10, Joel 2:28-32. And, people will come to Christ by the millions. Note quickly that they did not believe in Christ prior to the Rapture, but did believe after the Rapture, thus the failure of Church Age evangelism.
The gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth, and then the end will come, Matt 24:14. During the Tribulation, this spreading of the gospel will occur in the face of the worst odds against its happening, in all of history.
The tribulation begins with unbelievers only, but during those seven years, the numbers of believers will grow by leaps and bounds, and they will die due to natural catastrophe, violence, starvation, and so forth. And, they will all stand before the Lord in heaven.
In this verse, they stand in white robes, purified and protected, however not yet glorified in resurrection bodies, and holding palm branches, all of which symbolize peace, contentment, happiness, and safety in Gods presence.
They stand before the throne, and before the lamb, referring to their faith in Christ (not from some other religious doctrine).
They come from all nations, meaning that this evangelism actually will spread to all of the world and that the violence will be against them, throughout the entire world. There will be no safe haven or place for believers to live and thrive on the earth. All nations will have gone evil to the maximum, and will be guilty of persecutions in horrifying numbers.
And this, all during the course of the removal of the first six seals, which we saw in the previous chapter. While Satan, and the anti-christ try to portray themselves as heroes on white horses, which portrayal turns to horrific disasters and atrocities.
John begins this verse with, ‘I beheld,’ meaning that what he saw was both startling and shocking, and the accomplishment of something that all odds would have made impossible. And yet for God, nothing is impossible. Not even the salvation of millions during the release of Satan’s phenomenal powers and efforts to destroy the human race.
Evangelism during our dispensation, will fail due to indifference toward sound study and instruction in the spiritual life. Far too many will look to emotional outlets, to speculative predictions, to things that do not inculcate or manifest themselves into the edification of a powerful spiritual life.
That will be the sadness of our age, but the glory of God, in the next.
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Revelation 7:9
DailyBibleStudy.Org
9 After [meta] this [tauta] I beheld, [eido] and, [kai] lo, [idou] a great [polus] multitude, [ochlos] which [hos] no man [oudeis] could [dunamai] number [arithmeo], [autos] of [ek] all [pas] nations, [ethnos] and [kai] kindreds, [phule] and [kai] people, [laos] and [kai] tongues, [glossa] stood [histemi] before [enopion] the throne, [thronos] and [kai] before [enopion] the Lamb, [arnion] clothed [periballo] with white [leukos] robes, [stole] and [kai] palms [phoinix] in [en] their [autos] hands; [cheir] KJV-Interlinear
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; NASB
During the dispensation of the Age of Israel, the dispensation which preceded ours, and of which our Church Age, or the Age of the Gentiles as we are also called, interrupted that former age, the Israelites had been placed with the honor and obligation to spread the gospel of the Messiah, to the world. They failed horribly.
During our dispensation, we of the Church Age, have that same obligation placed on us. That is, to spread the gospel to all of the world. And though you might think that we have some semblance of success in this effort, there still remains perhaps two-thirds of the world that rejects Christ in favor of other religions.
And as depicted in the letters to the churches, where five of them failed horribly, and with Pauls disclosure of a great apostasy in 2 Thess, then we can see that even in our current dispensation, there will be a great failure in bringing the gospel to the majority of the world, by the time our dispensation comes to an end – ‘the fullness of the gentiles,’ Rom. 11:25, which by the way will coincide with the Rapture.
And, in the most unexpected time in all of human history, when the numbers of new believers has halted due to the great apostasy, at the end of our dispensation, with the removal of all believers in the Rapture, and the simultaneous removal of the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit on the world, and with the rapid advancement of persecutions and terrors throughout the world because of the anti-christ, one would think that salvation for anyone would be impossible. Why would anyone, after so long a period of indifference, suddenly turn to Christ in faith?
And yet they will.
Israel was promised a role in the evangelism of the entire world, and while under the worst of circumstances in all of human history, these 144,000 first believers, all of Jewish heritage, all of the tribes of Israel, will go out to the entire world and bring so many converts, from all nations, including Israel, that they cannot be counted (an expression for a huge number).
And this all happens during the worst time of turmoil and trouble in all the world.
This is the time of Israels national salvation, Zech. 12, Rom 11:25-27.
Israel will become the light of the world, during the darkest days of history for the world, Isa 11:10, Isa 49:6, Isa 45:22, Isa 52:10, Joel 2:28-32. And, people will come to Christ by the millions. Note quickly that they did not believe in Christ prior to the Rapture, but did believe after the Rapture, thus the failure of Church Age evangelism.
The gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth, and then the end will come, Matt 24:14. During the Tribulation, this spreading of the gospel will occur in the face of the worst odds against its happening, in all of history.
The tribulation begins with unbelievers only, but during those seven years, the numbers of believers will grow by leaps and bounds, and they will die due to natural catastrophe, violence, starvation, and so forth. And, they will all stand before the Lord in heaven.
In this verse, they stand in white robes, purified and protected, however not yet glorified in resurrection bodies, and holding palm branches, all of which symbolize peace, contentment, happiness, and safety in Gods presence.
They stand before the throne, and before the lamb, referring to their faith in Christ (not from some other religious doctrine).
They come from all nations, meaning that this evangelism actually will spread to all of the world and that the violence will be against them, throughout the entire world. There will be no safe haven or place for believers to live and thrive on the earth. All nations will have gone evil to the maximum, and will be guilty of persecutions in horrifying numbers.
And this, all during the course of the removal of the first six seals, which we saw in the previous chapter. While Satan, and the anti-christ try to portray themselves as heroes on white horses, which portrayal turns to horrific disasters and atrocities.
John begins this verse with, ‘I beheld,’ meaning that what he saw was both startling and shocking, and the accomplishment of something that all odds would have made impossible. And yet for God, nothing is impossible. Not even the salvation of millions during the release of Satan’s phenomenal powers and efforts to destroy the human race.
Evangelism during our dispensation, will fail due to indifference toward sound study and instruction in the spiritual life. Far too many will look to emotional outlets, to speculative predictions, to things that do not inculcate or manifest themselves into the edification of a powerful spiritual life.
That will be the sadness of our age, but the glory of God, in the next.
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Monday, May 17, 2010
Revelation 7:5-8
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Revelation 7:5-8
DailyBibleStudy.Org
5 Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Juda [Ioudas] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Reuben [Rhouben] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Gad [Gad] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias]
6 Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Aser [Aser] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Nepthalim [Nephthaleim] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Manasses [Manasses] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias]
7 Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Simeon [Sumeon] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Levi [Leui] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Issachar [Isachar] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias]
8 Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Zabulon [Zaboulon] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Joseph [Ioseph] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Benjamin [Beniamin] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] KJV-Interlinear
5 from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,
7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed. NASB
And now the order of the tribes is given, excluding Ephraim and Dan, but including Levi, Joseph and Manasseh, making the total of twelve tribes, out of which these many evangelists will come, for the purpose of evangelizing the entire world.
The number is exact and the number is exact for each of the tribes.
The order does not seem to have any significance, because throughout the Old Testament there are several different orders of their listing, for several different reasons.
In the Old Testament the lists are as follows:
the order of birth, (Gen 29:32-35:18),
the order of Jacob's blessing them (Gen 49:3-27),
the order encampment (Num 2:3-31),
the order of the census before the invasion of Canaan (Num 26:4-51),
the order of blessing and cursing (Deut 27:12-13),
the order of Moses' blessing (Deut 33:6-25),
the order of ‘the princes’ (Num 1:5-15),
the order of inheritance (Josh 13:7-22:34),
the order by the wives and concubines (1 Chron 2-8),
the order of the gates of the city (Ezek 48:31-34).
And in this order, the list is completely different from all of the above.
The order of Judah is switched with Reuben because it was he forfeited his ‘firstborn’ birthright as punishment for his sexual misconduct with his father's concubine, 1 Chron 5:1.
Dan is excluded probably because it is the tribe of cursing and idolatry. It is said that the evil one, the anti-christ’s evil other out of Israel, will come from this tribe, Gen 49:17, Dan. 11:37, Jere. 8:16, Rev 12:9; 20:2. The tribe of Dan does still exist and it will share in the millennial blessings, Eze. 48:1-2, 32.
Ephraim is omitted in favor of his father Joseph because Ephraim defected from the ruling house of Judah, Isa 7:17. Also Ephraim, like Dan, was consumed with idolatry, Hos 4:17.
Manasseh is included because he was the faithful son of Joseph.
Levi is mentioned, and even though that tribe had no inheritance in Israel, it was the source of the spiritual priesthood.
The number is not merely an application of some perfect numbering system, like using four and three to multiply out to twelve, and then using one-thousand multiplied by twelve to get twelve-thousand and so forth. If that were the case, then John would have approached it in that manner. He did not.
And now after so many centuries have passed, with these specific details concerning the tribes of Israel, none of these things could possibly occur by mere chance. Only God can retain a genealogy so complete for each individual tribe, keep track of everyone within those tribes, and raise up, after an almost total apostate state, a group of believers, who will go out into the world and evangelize it, with a phenomenal rate of success, as we will see in the next verse.
Most of Judaism is anti-Jesus. They are still looking for their savior. Their unbelief in Christ is so hard core, that all of this is seemingly impossible. And yet when the Tribulation begins, the instant after the Rapture occurs, then these 144,000 people, will begin recognizing the changes and the events occurring in the world and they will relate them correctly to the prophecies from the Bible. They will abandon their old faith and adopt Christ as their savior, and they will go out to the world to evangelize it, with great success.
The timing of their belief is not given. Since the destructive forces are delayed, but not delayed indefinitely, then we can assume that these people will all believe in Christ relatively quickly and early in the Tribulation.
And when we get to chapter 14, we will see that they will all be martyred, along with millions and perhaps billions, of others.
The numbers of believers is intentionally not stated, for if it were, then that might get people to try projecting the date of the Rapture, which since the time of John, has been and is always imminent.
So you see, if John stated that there would be ten-billion martyred believers, then that might discourage many folks, knowing that the population of the world would have to be far greater and therefore events more distant into the future. If the number were stated as perhaps only a million, then that might discourage folks in the Tribulation, by thinking that they might not be included.
And yes, there is the mention of a two-hundred million military, coming up soon, but that army is not human, but demons locked up in the Abyss. Disclosing that number, does not compromise the timing of these events.
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Revelation 7:5-8
DailyBibleStudy.Org
5 Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Juda [Ioudas] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Reuben [Rhouben] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Gad [Gad] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias]
6 Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Aser [Aser] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Nepthalim [Nephthaleim] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Manasses [Manasses] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias]
7 Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Simeon [Sumeon] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Levi [Leui] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Issachar [Isachar] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias]
8 Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Zabulon [Zaboulon] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Joseph [Ioseph] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] Of [ek] the tribe [phule] of Benjamin [Beniamin] were sealed [sphragizo] twelve [dodeka] thousand. [chilias] KJV-Interlinear
5 from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,
7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed. NASB
And now the order of the tribes is given, excluding Ephraim and Dan, but including Levi, Joseph and Manasseh, making the total of twelve tribes, out of which these many evangelists will come, for the purpose of evangelizing the entire world.
The number is exact and the number is exact for each of the tribes.
The order does not seem to have any significance, because throughout the Old Testament there are several different orders of their listing, for several different reasons.
In the Old Testament the lists are as follows:
the order of birth, (Gen 29:32-35:18),
the order of Jacob's blessing them (Gen 49:3-27),
the order encampment (Num 2:3-31),
the order of the census before the invasion of Canaan (Num 26:4-51),
the order of blessing and cursing (Deut 27:12-13),
the order of Moses' blessing (Deut 33:6-25),
the order of ‘the princes’ (Num 1:5-15),
the order of inheritance (Josh 13:7-22:34),
the order by the wives and concubines (1 Chron 2-8),
the order of the gates of the city (Ezek 48:31-34).
And in this order, the list is completely different from all of the above.
The order of Judah is switched with Reuben because it was he forfeited his ‘firstborn’ birthright as punishment for his sexual misconduct with his father's concubine, 1 Chron 5:1.
Dan is excluded probably because it is the tribe of cursing and idolatry. It is said that the evil one, the anti-christ’s evil other out of Israel, will come from this tribe, Gen 49:17, Dan. 11:37, Jere. 8:16, Rev 12:9; 20:2. The tribe of Dan does still exist and it will share in the millennial blessings, Eze. 48:1-2, 32.
Ephraim is omitted in favor of his father Joseph because Ephraim defected from the ruling house of Judah, Isa 7:17. Also Ephraim, like Dan, was consumed with idolatry, Hos 4:17.
Manasseh is included because he was the faithful son of Joseph.
Levi is mentioned, and even though that tribe had no inheritance in Israel, it was the source of the spiritual priesthood.
The number is not merely an application of some perfect numbering system, like using four and three to multiply out to twelve, and then using one-thousand multiplied by twelve to get twelve-thousand and so forth. If that were the case, then John would have approached it in that manner. He did not.
And now after so many centuries have passed, with these specific details concerning the tribes of Israel, none of these things could possibly occur by mere chance. Only God can retain a genealogy so complete for each individual tribe, keep track of everyone within those tribes, and raise up, after an almost total apostate state, a group of believers, who will go out into the world and evangelize it, with a phenomenal rate of success, as we will see in the next verse.
Most of Judaism is anti-Jesus. They are still looking for their savior. Their unbelief in Christ is so hard core, that all of this is seemingly impossible. And yet when the Tribulation begins, the instant after the Rapture occurs, then these 144,000 people, will begin recognizing the changes and the events occurring in the world and they will relate them correctly to the prophecies from the Bible. They will abandon their old faith and adopt Christ as their savior, and they will go out to the world to evangelize it, with great success.
The timing of their belief is not given. Since the destructive forces are delayed, but not delayed indefinitely, then we can assume that these people will all believe in Christ relatively quickly and early in the Tribulation.
And when we get to chapter 14, we will see that they will all be martyred, along with millions and perhaps billions, of others.
The numbers of believers is intentionally not stated, for if it were, then that might get people to try projecting the date of the Rapture, which since the time of John, has been and is always imminent.
So you see, if John stated that there would be ten-billion martyred believers, then that might discourage many folks, knowing that the population of the world would have to be far greater and therefore events more distant into the future. If the number were stated as perhaps only a million, then that might discourage folks in the Tribulation, by thinking that they might not be included.
And yes, there is the mention of a two-hundred million military, coming up soon, but that army is not human, but demons locked up in the Abyss. Disclosing that number, does not compromise the timing of these events.
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Sunday, May 16, 2010
Revelation 7:4
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Revelation 7:4
DailyBibleStudy.Org
4 And [kai] I heard [akouo] the number [arithmos] of them which were sealed: [sphragizo] and there were sealed [sphragizo] an hundred [hekaton] and forty [tessarakonta] and four [tessares] thousand [chilias] of [ek] all [pas] the tribes [phule] of the children [huios] of Israel. [Israel] KJV-Interlinear
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: NASB
Some have said that Israel was a finished race as far back as 70 A.D. And obviously that is not true. There are millions of Jewish peoples all over the world and always have been and always will be Jewish peoples living throughout history.
Satan’s effort to rid the world of the Israelites, from the time of Abraham, has failed miserably. In more recent years, the Jewish people have been the target of Hitler’s genocide, and the hate of others. However, being spread out across the planet, their numbers have been protected because of that dispersion.
In recent times, the attempts to re-gather the Jewish people into the nation of Israel, and likewise to rid them of their defenses (nukes and so forth), also have failed, as God still has a plan for the Jewish people. That plan is still future, and therefore means that they will definitely be around to see their role come into existence.
Here in this verse, the number and source of these new believers in Christ, makes it very clear that God has a phenomenal role for Israel.
Having failed in the Old Testament, to bring the gospel to the world, they will during those future seven years of the Tribulation, be the center of the worlds largest missionary force, ever. And, their success will be phenomenl.
Many folks want to make a big deal about the number mentioned, however, it is specific and assigned in detail to a specific number of the tribes of Israel. If John wanted to mean simply a large number, then he would have made his numbers plural, like using thousands of thousands, or he would have used some ambiguous term, such as myriads. But John used a specific number, namely 144,000.
Likewise, John mentions that these new believers, will come out of twelve of the tribes of Israel, with exactly 12,000 coming from each tribe. Again a specific number.
This does two things for us. First, the genealogies of the tribes of Israel were lost when Judah was sacked by Rome in 70 A.D. There is not one Jewish person who can prove objectively, from which tribe that they come. Though you will get arguments on that point. But hard proof, such as birth certificates, marriage documents, property ownership, death certificates, membership lists, and so forth, for the last 2000 years is virtually impossible. It is one thing to believe something, and quite another to prove it.
However, God knows where every person came from and who belongs to which tribe, with perfect accuracy.
To have this many believers, evangelists, coming out of what is typically an unbelieving nation, and so divided up perfectly among the tribes, can only be deemed the work of God. This could never occur by chance or some natural tendency of human events. Remember that all of these folks are in the Tribulation, because they were unbelievers when the Rapture occurred.
And by the way, this is not a reference to the Church, for the gentiles are not mentioned here as they were mentioned in the opening chapters of this book. John clearly makes that distinction.
Likewise, these are not the only believers, as some radically thinking denominations would have you believe. There will be millions more believers, both from the Jewish people, and from people (gentiles, etc.) all over the world.
Also, remember that the Tribulation will be filled with turmoil and judgments. These judgments will be held off while these 144,000 become believers through their own decision to believe in Christ. And by the way, all of them will be martyred, and they know it. Yet they will still pursue their fulfillment of the plan which God has designed specifically for each of them.
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Revelation 7:4
DailyBibleStudy.Org
4 And [kai] I heard [akouo] the number [arithmos] of them which were sealed: [sphragizo] and there were sealed [sphragizo] an hundred [hekaton] and forty [tessarakonta] and four [tessares] thousand [chilias] of [ek] all [pas] the tribes [phule] of the children [huios] of Israel. [Israel] KJV-Interlinear
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: NASB
Some have said that Israel was a finished race as far back as 70 A.D. And obviously that is not true. There are millions of Jewish peoples all over the world and always have been and always will be Jewish peoples living throughout history.
Satan’s effort to rid the world of the Israelites, from the time of Abraham, has failed miserably. In more recent years, the Jewish people have been the target of Hitler’s genocide, and the hate of others. However, being spread out across the planet, their numbers have been protected because of that dispersion.
In recent times, the attempts to re-gather the Jewish people into the nation of Israel, and likewise to rid them of their defenses (nukes and so forth), also have failed, as God still has a plan for the Jewish people. That plan is still future, and therefore means that they will definitely be around to see their role come into existence.
Here in this verse, the number and source of these new believers in Christ, makes it very clear that God has a phenomenal role for Israel.
Having failed in the Old Testament, to bring the gospel to the world, they will during those future seven years of the Tribulation, be the center of the worlds largest missionary force, ever. And, their success will be phenomenl.
Many folks want to make a big deal about the number mentioned, however, it is specific and assigned in detail to a specific number of the tribes of Israel. If John wanted to mean simply a large number, then he would have made his numbers plural, like using thousands of thousands, or he would have used some ambiguous term, such as myriads. But John used a specific number, namely 144,000.
Likewise, John mentions that these new believers, will come out of twelve of the tribes of Israel, with exactly 12,000 coming from each tribe. Again a specific number.
This does two things for us. First, the genealogies of the tribes of Israel were lost when Judah was sacked by Rome in 70 A.D. There is not one Jewish person who can prove objectively, from which tribe that they come. Though you will get arguments on that point. But hard proof, such as birth certificates, marriage documents, property ownership, death certificates, membership lists, and so forth, for the last 2000 years is virtually impossible. It is one thing to believe something, and quite another to prove it.
However, God knows where every person came from and who belongs to which tribe, with perfect accuracy.
To have this many believers, evangelists, coming out of what is typically an unbelieving nation, and so divided up perfectly among the tribes, can only be deemed the work of God. This could never occur by chance or some natural tendency of human events. Remember that all of these folks are in the Tribulation, because they were unbelievers when the Rapture occurred.
And by the way, this is not a reference to the Church, for the gentiles are not mentioned here as they were mentioned in the opening chapters of this book. John clearly makes that distinction.
Likewise, these are not the only believers, as some radically thinking denominations would have you believe. There will be millions more believers, both from the Jewish people, and from people (gentiles, etc.) all over the world.
Also, remember that the Tribulation will be filled with turmoil and judgments. These judgments will be held off while these 144,000 become believers through their own decision to believe in Christ. And by the way, all of them will be martyred, and they know it. Yet they will still pursue their fulfillment of the plan which God has designed specifically for each of them.
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Saturday, May 15, 2010
Revelation 7:3
This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
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Revelation 7:3
DailyBibleStudy.Org
3 Saying, [lego] Hurt [adikeo] not [me] the earth, [ge] neither [mete] the sea, [thalassa] nor [mete] the trees, [dendron] till [achri] [hos] we have sealed [sphragizo] [sphragizo] the servants [doulos] of our [hemon] God [theos] in [epi] their [autos] foreheads. [metopon] KJV-Interlinear
3 saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads." NASB
And the message of the fifth angel, to the first four, is that they should restrain and continue restraining the actions of judgment (hurt not), against the evils of the world.
This restraint was to last only until a certain group of people were sealed in their faith in Christ.
The ‘earth, sea, and the trees’ is an expression, or terms, indicating the entire world.
The sealing, is the action of the Holy Spirit, who ‘seals’ eternal life in those who believe in Christ, Eph. 1:13, 4:30.
For more of the role of the Holy Spirit in the spiritual life, see the special study in that library, online on the Bible Study web site, on the Holy Spirit.
Once the devastation of the world, from the judgments that are to be unleashed, begins, then evangelism will be difficult, and people who need it, will have a disadvantage in obtaining it.
But God is omniscient, knowing everything, and He possesses foreknowledge, knowing what exactly people will do in the future.
And knowing that there will be millions who will believe in Christ, if given the chance, during the extreme times of the Tribulation, then God (Jesus Christ), will give the order to hold off the judgments on the earth, until a specific group of people will in fact believe in Christ themselves.
Remember that when the Tribulation begins, all believers are gone from the earth due to the Rapture. All people left behind will be unbelievers.
Were it not for positive volition toward faith in Christ, the judgment of the world would begin immediately. However, Christ sees positive volition and millions of people who will believe. These people will hear the gospel from evangelists, who themselves will be Jews, directing their message of the gospel to their fellow Jews in Israel, and around the world.
Others around the world will also hear the gospel, but the Jewish people are in view here in these verses.
These evangelists will be unbelievers when the Rapture occurs. However, they will recognize it as the prophecy ending the dispensation of the Church Age, and the prophecy which will mark the beginning of the ‘last days’ prophecies.
Perhaps they will be familiar with Daniel, perhaps they will see the political, social, economic, and even military events unfolding around them. But from whatever source, they will come to the conclusion that their religion, Judaism, or whatever they happen to have been believing at the time, was not the right faith. They will believe in Christ.
And that is the moment that they will be sealed with eternal life, just as you were sealed with eternal life at the moment when you believed in Christ.
In their forehead, does not mean a sign placed ‘on’ their forehead. The forehead is often used as the symbol for ones life or soul. Anyone could have a mark placed on their skin, and it would mean nothing. But only believers can have a mark placed on their soul, which designates them as saved, as family of God, as the elected, as sealed.
And if you look in the mirror really close, and even wash your forehead first, will you see your mark?
No.
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Revelation 7:3
DailyBibleStudy.Org
3 Saying, [lego] Hurt [adikeo] not [me] the earth, [ge] neither [mete] the sea, [thalassa] nor [mete] the trees, [dendron] till [achri] [hos] we have sealed [sphragizo] [sphragizo] the servants [doulos] of our [hemon] God [theos] in [epi] their [autos] foreheads. [metopon] KJV-Interlinear
3 saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads." NASB
And the message of the fifth angel, to the first four, is that they should restrain and continue restraining the actions of judgment (hurt not), against the evils of the world.
This restraint was to last only until a certain group of people were sealed in their faith in Christ.
The ‘earth, sea, and the trees’ is an expression, or terms, indicating the entire world.
The sealing, is the action of the Holy Spirit, who ‘seals’ eternal life in those who believe in Christ, Eph. 1:13, 4:30.
For more of the role of the Holy Spirit in the spiritual life, see the special study in that library, online on the Bible Study web site, on the Holy Spirit.
Once the devastation of the world, from the judgments that are to be unleashed, begins, then evangelism will be difficult, and people who need it, will have a disadvantage in obtaining it.
But God is omniscient, knowing everything, and He possesses foreknowledge, knowing what exactly people will do in the future.
And knowing that there will be millions who will believe in Christ, if given the chance, during the extreme times of the Tribulation, then God (Jesus Christ), will give the order to hold off the judgments on the earth, until a specific group of people will in fact believe in Christ themselves.
Remember that when the Tribulation begins, all believers are gone from the earth due to the Rapture. All people left behind will be unbelievers.
Were it not for positive volition toward faith in Christ, the judgment of the world would begin immediately. However, Christ sees positive volition and millions of people who will believe. These people will hear the gospel from evangelists, who themselves will be Jews, directing their message of the gospel to their fellow Jews in Israel, and around the world.
Others around the world will also hear the gospel, but the Jewish people are in view here in these verses.
These evangelists will be unbelievers when the Rapture occurs. However, they will recognize it as the prophecy ending the dispensation of the Church Age, and the prophecy which will mark the beginning of the ‘last days’ prophecies.
Perhaps they will be familiar with Daniel, perhaps they will see the political, social, economic, and even military events unfolding around them. But from whatever source, they will come to the conclusion that their religion, Judaism, or whatever they happen to have been believing at the time, was not the right faith. They will believe in Christ.
And that is the moment that they will be sealed with eternal life, just as you were sealed with eternal life at the moment when you believed in Christ.
In their forehead, does not mean a sign placed ‘on’ their forehead. The forehead is often used as the symbol for ones life or soul. Anyone could have a mark placed on their skin, and it would mean nothing. But only believers can have a mark placed on their soul, which designates them as saved, as family of God, as the elected, as sealed.
And if you look in the mirror really close, and even wash your forehead first, will you see your mark?
No.
Feel Free to make a comment about this study: Comment Page
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Friday, May 14, 2010
Revelation 7:2
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Revelation 7:2
DailyBibleStudy.Org
2 And [kai] I saw [eido] another [allos] angel [aggelos] ascending [anabaino] [anabaino] from [apo] the east [anatole], [helios] having [echo] the seal [sphragis] of the living [zao] God: [theos] and [kai] he cried [krazo] with a loud [megas] voice [phone] to the four [tessares] angels, [aggelos] to whom [hos] it [autos] was given [didomi] to hurt [adikeo] the earth [ge] and [kai] the sea, [thalassa] KJV-Interlinear
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, NASB
A fifth angel is seen by John. Some feel that this is actually Jesus Christ, as He was often referred to with the title, ‘Angel of the Lord’ in the Old Testament.
However, the word for another,’allos,’ refers to something of the same type, or more of the same kind.
Since the first four angels are referred to as such, so this fifth angel has the same designation.
He carries with him, the credentials of God, indicated here as the ‘living God,’ so as not to be confused with any of the many false gods, that do not possess life.
The seal is an indicator of credentials. The nature of the seal is not indicated, however that is not the focus of this verse anyway. Nor is the angel, per se.
What is important, is that the angel comes with a message, or command. That command comes from God, and the angel brings sufficient authoritative credentials to substantiate that his message originates from God and from no other source.
Ascending from the rising of the sun, further illuminates, so to speak, his origin and message. The sun rises in the east, and brings the first light of day along with it. This only serves to further symbolize the source and origin of the angel and his message.
Jesus Christ controls history. No one else does, nor can they.
And even as the winds of the earth (symbolical of judgment) are restless and anxious to break out with their judgments, they cannot because God has four angels restraining them. And, this fifth angel gives them further instructions, from God, to continue holding them back (holding back judgments), until they are told to release them.
The earth and the sea is a reference to the entire planet.
Hurt, ‘adikeo,’ refers to social, moral and physical harm, punishment, vengeance, to be unjust. And as evil has brought unjust treatment on the earth, so then, justice will bring the same treatment against evil. Evil brings a certain level of violence, and justice will bring a greater level of violence to quash it.
Evil would not hesitate to destroy the earth, forfeiting the rights of everyone. God postpones the punishment of evil, in order that many will be saved.
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Revelation 7:2
DailyBibleStudy.Org
2 And [kai] I saw [eido] another [allos] angel [aggelos] ascending [anabaino] [anabaino] from [apo] the east [anatole], [helios] having [echo] the seal [sphragis] of the living [zao] God: [theos] and [kai] he cried [krazo] with a loud [megas] voice [phone] to the four [tessares] angels, [aggelos] to whom [hos] it [autos] was given [didomi] to hurt [adikeo] the earth [ge] and [kai] the sea, [thalassa] KJV-Interlinear
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, NASB
A fifth angel is seen by John. Some feel that this is actually Jesus Christ, as He was often referred to with the title, ‘Angel of the Lord’ in the Old Testament.
However, the word for another,’allos,’ refers to something of the same type, or more of the same kind.
Since the first four angels are referred to as such, so this fifth angel has the same designation.
He carries with him, the credentials of God, indicated here as the ‘living God,’ so as not to be confused with any of the many false gods, that do not possess life.
The seal is an indicator of credentials. The nature of the seal is not indicated, however that is not the focus of this verse anyway. Nor is the angel, per se.
What is important, is that the angel comes with a message, or command. That command comes from God, and the angel brings sufficient authoritative credentials to substantiate that his message originates from God and from no other source.
Ascending from the rising of the sun, further illuminates, so to speak, his origin and message. The sun rises in the east, and brings the first light of day along with it. This only serves to further symbolize the source and origin of the angel and his message.
Jesus Christ controls history. No one else does, nor can they.
And even as the winds of the earth (symbolical of judgment) are restless and anxious to break out with their judgments, they cannot because God has four angels restraining them. And, this fifth angel gives them further instructions, from God, to continue holding them back (holding back judgments), until they are told to release them.
The earth and the sea is a reference to the entire planet.
Hurt, ‘adikeo,’ refers to social, moral and physical harm, punishment, vengeance, to be unjust. And as evil has brought unjust treatment on the earth, so then, justice will bring the same treatment against evil. Evil brings a certain level of violence, and justice will bring a greater level of violence to quash it.
Evil would not hesitate to destroy the earth, forfeiting the rights of everyone. God postpones the punishment of evil, in order that many will be saved.
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Thursday, May 13, 2010
Revelation 7:1b
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Revelation 7:1b
DailyBibleStudy.Org
1 And [kai] after [meta] these things [tauta] I saw [eido] four [tessares] angels [aggelos] standing [histemi] on [epi] the four [tessares] corners [gonia] of the earth, [ge] holding [krateo] the four [tessares] winds [anemos] of the earth, [ge] that [hina me] the wind [anemos] should [pneo] not [hina me] blow [pneo] on [epi] the earth, [ge] nor [mete] on [epi] the sea, [thalassa] nor [mete] on [epi] any [pas] tree. [dendron] KJV-Interlinear
1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind should blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. NASB
First and foremost, remember that we are still within the sixth seal. The seventh seal has not yet been removed from the scroll.
The first six seals, when removed, reveal the highlights of what has been written in eternity past in the Divine Decrees, and sealed up until revealed to John.
In eternity past, God looked down through time and considered all possible scenarios for history. Without interfering with the free will volition of any creature, God chose the best possible historical stream which will produce the best possible outcome for everyone. God wrote this historical record down in what theology calls the Divine Decrees.
Within the decrees, God decided when you would be born into history, along with everyone else. God knew what you would think and do, along with everyone else. God knew what technology would exist and when, what storm would occur and when, along with every other aspect, event, occurrence, and so forth, in history.
God placed you into history right now, because this is the most perfect time in history for your life. What you do with it of course is up to you, but if God had placed you into history at some other time, then your life would most probably have turned out much, much worse.
‘But,’ you say, ‘How can my life get any worse?’
Well, consider the Tribulation, which we just happen to be studying now. That will be the absolute worst time in all of human history. Be grateful that you will not live during those days.
People in the Tribulation will be among the most stubborn in spiritual terms, in all of history. That should be obvious, because most folks would change their minds about God much earlier when disaster strikes, than those folks.
But in those days, people will need a bit more nudging to help them change their minds about God, Christ and doctrine. Quite a bit actually, as we have already seen, and we have seen only the highlights thus far.
Jesus Christ controls history. And when there is even the slightest evidence of positive volition toward faith and eternal life, then Christ will hold off the worst, so that those who will believe, will actually have the opportunity and will do so.
The winds in scripture are typically used to designate judgment, Jer 49:36; Dan 7:2; Hos 13:15.
These winds are being held back by those under the command of God (Jesus Christ).
They are being held back, ‘krateo,’ which means to hold with great restraint. The winds are eager to go, and like a wild horse on a rope, are bucking and snorting against the restraint, fighting it to the maximum. But held, they are.
They are not to go out on the earth, the sea or any tree. From the largest of continents, and oceans, to the smallest of living things, the tree, the winds of Gods judgment, even of the worlds great instability, are being restrained, for a time.
So, backtracking a little bit within our highlights in the first six seals, judgment will be postponed for a little while.
Once the Rapture occurs, there is no earthly restraint against evil. In principle, judgment should occur instantly after all believers leave the world.
But, what do we know? In the fifth seal there will be many martyred believers. And before they can be martyred believers, they must be living believers. And before they can be believers, they must believe in Christ. And before they believe in Christ, they have to come to some awareness of the gospel.
For some, there will be the gospel in their memory, from prior hearing, someplace, at sometime.
But remember that, prior to the Rapture, there will be a great apostasy, which means not very much gospel teaching. That means that studies like this one, and certainly many others, most likely will fade from life as we near the end of our dispensation. They will fade because people will not support them and because people will grow less and less interested in doctrine.
And with little evangelism, then knowledge of the gospel will be slim to none. That means evangelists have to be raised up so that those who will believe in Christ, will have the opportunity to hear the gospel.
Therefore, God will hold back judgment (following the Rapture), for a time, while those who will become the seed evangelists for the Tribulation, will themselves realize the truth, will believe in Christ and will come to the realization of their role, for which God has brought them into history at this future point in time.
These folks will not be born and grow up during the Tribulation, for the Tribulation has only seven years total, so they will already be adults, probably of varying ages. They missed the Rapture, but realize its significance, and believe in Christ rather quickly.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves a bit.
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Revelation 7:1b
DailyBibleStudy.Org
1 And [kai] after [meta] these things [tauta] I saw [eido] four [tessares] angels [aggelos] standing [histemi] on [epi] the four [tessares] corners [gonia] of the earth, [ge] holding [krateo] the four [tessares] winds [anemos] of the earth, [ge] that [hina me] the wind [anemos] should [pneo] not [hina me] blow [pneo] on [epi] the earth, [ge] nor [mete] on [epi] the sea, [thalassa] nor [mete] on [epi] any [pas] tree. [dendron] KJV-Interlinear
1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind should blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. NASB
First and foremost, remember that we are still within the sixth seal. The seventh seal has not yet been removed from the scroll.
The first six seals, when removed, reveal the highlights of what has been written in eternity past in the Divine Decrees, and sealed up until revealed to John.
In eternity past, God looked down through time and considered all possible scenarios for history. Without interfering with the free will volition of any creature, God chose the best possible historical stream which will produce the best possible outcome for everyone. God wrote this historical record down in what theology calls the Divine Decrees.
Within the decrees, God decided when you would be born into history, along with everyone else. God knew what you would think and do, along with everyone else. God knew what technology would exist and when, what storm would occur and when, along with every other aspect, event, occurrence, and so forth, in history.
God placed you into history right now, because this is the most perfect time in history for your life. What you do with it of course is up to you, but if God had placed you into history at some other time, then your life would most probably have turned out much, much worse.
‘But,’ you say, ‘How can my life get any worse?’
Well, consider the Tribulation, which we just happen to be studying now. That will be the absolute worst time in all of human history. Be grateful that you will not live during those days.
People in the Tribulation will be among the most stubborn in spiritual terms, in all of history. That should be obvious, because most folks would change their minds about God much earlier when disaster strikes, than those folks.
But in those days, people will need a bit more nudging to help them change their minds about God, Christ and doctrine. Quite a bit actually, as we have already seen, and we have seen only the highlights thus far.
Jesus Christ controls history. And when there is even the slightest evidence of positive volition toward faith and eternal life, then Christ will hold off the worst, so that those who will believe, will actually have the opportunity and will do so.
The winds in scripture are typically used to designate judgment, Jer 49:36; Dan 7:2; Hos 13:15.
These winds are being held back by those under the command of God (Jesus Christ).
They are being held back, ‘krateo,’ which means to hold with great restraint. The winds are eager to go, and like a wild horse on a rope, are bucking and snorting against the restraint, fighting it to the maximum. But held, they are.
They are not to go out on the earth, the sea or any tree. From the largest of continents, and oceans, to the smallest of living things, the tree, the winds of Gods judgment, even of the worlds great instability, are being restrained, for a time.
So, backtracking a little bit within our highlights in the first six seals, judgment will be postponed for a little while.
Once the Rapture occurs, there is no earthly restraint against evil. In principle, judgment should occur instantly after all believers leave the world.
But, what do we know? In the fifth seal there will be many martyred believers. And before they can be martyred believers, they must be living believers. And before they can be believers, they must believe in Christ. And before they believe in Christ, they have to come to some awareness of the gospel.
For some, there will be the gospel in their memory, from prior hearing, someplace, at sometime.
But remember that, prior to the Rapture, there will be a great apostasy, which means not very much gospel teaching. That means that studies like this one, and certainly many others, most likely will fade from life as we near the end of our dispensation. They will fade because people will not support them and because people will grow less and less interested in doctrine.
And with little evangelism, then knowledge of the gospel will be slim to none. That means evangelists have to be raised up so that those who will believe in Christ, will have the opportunity to hear the gospel.
Therefore, God will hold back judgment (following the Rapture), for a time, while those who will become the seed evangelists for the Tribulation, will themselves realize the truth, will believe in Christ and will come to the realization of their role, for which God has brought them into history at this future point in time.
These folks will not be born and grow up during the Tribulation, for the Tribulation has only seven years total, so they will already be adults, probably of varying ages. They missed the Rapture, but realize its significance, and believe in Christ rather quickly.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves a bit.
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