What we are going find in the next few verses is that the universe will undergo a massive change. The world will be different from how it has been from the creation of the earth and man, until the present. John writes in Chapter 12, verses 7 - 9;
(7)"And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.
And the dragon and his angel waged war, (8) and they were not strong enough, and
there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. (9) And the great dragon was
thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the
whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."
First we will take a look at Michael. Michael was first introduced by the prophet Enoch in the 40th Chapter of his writings. Enoch wrote about four presences he saw when he was caught up into the upper heavens and was told to write what he saw. Enoch was talking to someone that he refered to as the angel of peace. When Enoch asked the angel of peace, "who are these four presences which I have seen?", he was told this, 'These are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits,
The 1st is Michael - The merciful and long suffering.
The 2nd is Raphael - The one who is set over all the diseases and wounds of the children of men.
The 3rd is Gabriel - The one who is set over all the powers.
The 4th is Phanuel - The one who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal
life."
If you have read my blog about Revelation Chapter 4, it told about four living creatures that were in the center and around the throne of God. In the Bible we get a small peek at two of these angels. Daniel references both Michael and Gabriel. In Daniel Chapter 8, verse 16, Gabriel is asked, by a voice that Daniel heard standing between the banks of the Ulai, to give Daniel an understand as to the visions Daniel had seen pertaining to the time of the end. Gabriel then proceeded to explain the vision to Daniel. That vision pertains to what we are about to see here in Revelations. In the 9th Chapter of Daniel, verse 21, Gabriel is referenced again. After seeing the visions of events that will occur in the end times, Daniel was so disturbed that he was in prayer and supplication over it, when Gabriel appeared again to Daniel to give him insight and understanding. After Daniel was given insight, he went into mouning for three weeks. In Chapter 10, verse 13, Gabriel is referenced again, along with Michael for the first time. Gabiel told Daniel that God had been sent him to comfort him on the first day that he had set his heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God. In verse 13, Gabriel tells daniel this;
"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for 21 days; then
behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there
with the kings of Persia."
You are probably wondering why I am showing these things right now. To see the picture of what is taking place as Michael is waging war with the dragon, we have to have an understanding of what has been taking place in the spiritual realm as well as here on earth. God sent Gabriel on the first day of Daniels request to reveal the events of the end times and comfort Daniel. The prince of Persia, referring to a spirit of influence over Persia, most likely Satan, fought Gabriel for 21 days, to prevent him from getting to Daniel. Satan does not want people to know prophesy, because he knows that it will make it much harder for him to deceive people if they are aware of what is going on. It was such a fierce battle, that another one of the chief princes, Michael, had to come and help him. Is there any wonder why all the prophets of Israel were murdered. This is why it is so important to understand and why there is a blessing that comes with understanding the things that are written in Revelation. It will prevent many from being deceived. The Saints who have the hope of Jesus salvation and His coming, will be anticipating their gathering together with Jesus in the air. Daniel, through much dred of seeing the visions without understaning, was comforted when understanding this. When writing In his last Chapter 12, verses 1 -3, where Michael is referenced again;
(1) "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your
people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such has never occured since
there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is
found written in the book, will be rescued. (2) And many who sleep in the dust of the
ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting
contempt. (3) And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the
expanse of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever
and ever."
When Daniel finally saw the end goal, his heart found peace. He understood that all the things that must occur are not in vain.
In the Gospel of Luke, in the first Chapter, verses 19 and 26, Gabriel is referenced again. In verse 19, Gabriel appears to Zacharias, the father of John the baptist, to tell him about Johns birth. Then in verse 26, Gabriel appears to Mary, to tell her that she will give birth to the son of God, and to name Him Jesus.
I am trying to show, that in the spiritual realm, there is interaction between the spiritual forces of light and the spiritual forces of darkness. These forces sometimes affect what is happening in this physical realm, much more than we realize. There is a battle over the souls people. The Saints, through their prayers, determine a lot of what that activity will be. Believers are in a constant battle against the forces of darkness. The bigger threat you are, the more resistance you should expect. Boot camp, not much. The front lines, much battle. But greater is He (Jesus) who is in a New Creation, than he (Satan) who is in the world. In Jesus, a Believer has power over Satan through Jesus shed blood.
What we see happening in verse 7, 8 and 9, is Michael, one of these chief princes, kicking Satan and his angels down to the earth. We have to ask ourselves, What will this be like? It will be different then how it has been. Satan and his fallen angels have had access to the earth, since it's creation, but they have been limited to doing so only in the spiritual realm. Now they are kicked down to this physical realm. We have to ask ourselves, What kind of manifestation this will be. We know at the present time that Satan and the fallen angels have been able to possess people. I wonder at what this might look like. If they can been seen, Where might they say they have come from?
Jesus peace to all of you.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Revelation Chapter 12 (Part 1) A Sign In Heaven
I hope everyone has had a chance to read my previous blogs, so that you will be able to see the picture that we are painting in it's proper light. Much of the things that we will be covering, as we complete Revelations, has already been covered in my previous blogs. Reading them will give you a much better understanding of what we will be seeing.
To understand what John has written here in Chapter 12, we have to look at what is symbolized in some of the things that he is describing. John writes in verses 1 and 2;
(1) And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars; (2) and she was with child;
and she cried out , being in labor and in pain to give birth."
I don't want to make this complicated to understand, so I will use common deduction to help you see this picture.
1) The great sign is a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet.
This woman is Israel, why?
2) Her crown has twelve stars.
One star for each of the 12 Tribes of Israel (Jacob)
3) She is pregnant and about to give birth.
Coming forth the Tribe of Judah, the linage of David, through a humble
servant of the Lord, Mary, is God Himself as Savior Jesus.
Jehovah Yeshua ( the Lord our Salvation )
4) The woman being in labor and in pain.
From the very conception of Israel (Jacob) there has been a constant attempt by
Satan to destroy the decendants of Israel. The entire Old Testiment is about events
that occured where God had to intervene to preserve Israel from the attacks by
men motivated by Satan to destroy Israel from their very existence. You hear
mockers today who say that the Old Testiment is full of violence and that Israel
killed and God killed, when the Ten Commandments say "Thou shall not kill."
First of all, It is "Thou shall not Murder." Is there a difference? Of course there
is. When you murder someone, you are taking the life of innocent blood. When
you defend innocent blood by taking the life of a murderer, you are killing them.
"There is no greater love then someone laying down their life for a friend."
God had to intervene many times to protect the people of Israel from those who
were motivated by Satan to Murder them. God many times also instructed Israel
to kill those who would murder their people. If God had not done it this way, then
Israel would have been destroyed. He needed Israel to survive, because it was
through them that He would come into this world.
John contiues in verses 3 and 4;
(3) "And another sign appeared in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon having
seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. (4) And his tail
swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and though them to the earth. And the
dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave
birth he might devour her child."
1) The great red dragon is Satan, of course.
2) The seven heads are revealed in Chapter 17, verse 9 as seven mountains.
These seven mountains are the seven Continents on the earth, Africa, Antarctica,
Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.
3) Ten horns are ten kings who Satan gives authority to.
4) The seven diadems are a symbol of Satans kingship over the seven Contintents.
5) His tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and throws them to the earth.
A third of the angels were decieved and seduced by satan to follow him and
rebell against the Most High God. They end up choosing Satan over their Creator.
From that point on they were considered as fallen angels, now referred to as
demons. Satan along with the demons have been controlling the earth since its
creation. As of now their influence has been from the spiritual realm, but that will
change during the last 3 1/2 years of this age. There will be a new manifestation
of their presence on the earth.
6) The dragon standing before the woman who is about to give birth.
This is what I talked about when I was saying that God had to protect Israel
from Satan. Satan and his demons have always tried to destroy Israel to
prevent the birth of this child, Jesus, who would be the Savior of all who would
come to Him. When coming to Jesus, a person is transfered from the kingdom
of darkness into the kingdom of light. Satan knows where his final destination
is. This would be the lake of fire, where Satan and his demons will suffer
eternal death. It is eternal death because everything God creates is eternal,
therefore it can not cease from existing. This means that they will be their
forever. Satans goal is to take as many souls with him as possible. Every
person ever born has an eternal soul, they can not cease from existing.
That soul, when it choses Jesus, receives His gift of eternal life, and will live
forever with Jesus. The soul that refuses Jesus will live forever with Satan and
His demons in the lake of fire. This is not what God wills.
The apostle Peter wrote in his second letter Chapter 3, verse 9;
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some may count slowness,
but He is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all
to come to repentance."
John writes this in verses 5 and 6;
(5) And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations
with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and His throne.
(6) And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared
by God, so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred
and sixty days."
Obviously the child that is born is Jesus. In Revelations Chapter 7, we learned that there are going to be 144,000 Israelites, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel (Jacob), who will be sealed with the seal of God on their foreheads. These are 144,000 of the decendents of Jacob who have chosen to follow Jesus. These will be protected from any harm during the last 1260 days (3 1/2 years) of this age. All other believers who are still alive will soon be caught up to meet Jesus in the air. These 144,000 are the remnent that Jesus referred to, who He will bring back to Jerusalem. These are the ones who will carry out the earthly rule of Jesus as Jesus rules over the earth for a Thousand years. Jesus will rule over the earth, along with the saints (those who chose Jesus and became New Creations), from His Heavenly Kingdom, the Heavenly Jerusalem, the place He is now preparing for the New Creations.
Jesus peace be with all of you.
To understand what John has written here in Chapter 12, we have to look at what is symbolized in some of the things that he is describing. John writes in verses 1 and 2;
(1) And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars; (2) and she was with child;
and she cried out , being in labor and in pain to give birth."
I don't want to make this complicated to understand, so I will use common deduction to help you see this picture.
1) The great sign is a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet.
This woman is Israel, why?
2) Her crown has twelve stars.
One star for each of the 12 Tribes of Israel (Jacob)
3) She is pregnant and about to give birth.
Coming forth the Tribe of Judah, the linage of David, through a humble
servant of the Lord, Mary, is God Himself as Savior Jesus.
Jehovah Yeshua ( the Lord our Salvation )
4) The woman being in labor and in pain.
From the very conception of Israel (Jacob) there has been a constant attempt by
Satan to destroy the decendants of Israel. The entire Old Testiment is about events
that occured where God had to intervene to preserve Israel from the attacks by
men motivated by Satan to destroy Israel from their very existence. You hear
mockers today who say that the Old Testiment is full of violence and that Israel
killed and God killed, when the Ten Commandments say "Thou shall not kill."
First of all, It is "Thou shall not Murder." Is there a difference? Of course there
is. When you murder someone, you are taking the life of innocent blood. When
you defend innocent blood by taking the life of a murderer, you are killing them.
"There is no greater love then someone laying down their life for a friend."
God had to intervene many times to protect the people of Israel from those who
were motivated by Satan to Murder them. God many times also instructed Israel
to kill those who would murder their people. If God had not done it this way, then
Israel would have been destroyed. He needed Israel to survive, because it was
through them that He would come into this world.
John contiues in verses 3 and 4;
(3) "And another sign appeared in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon having
seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. (4) And his tail
swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and though them to the earth. And the
dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave
birth he might devour her child."
1) The great red dragon is Satan, of course.
2) The seven heads are revealed in Chapter 17, verse 9 as seven mountains.
These seven mountains are the seven Continents on the earth, Africa, Antarctica,
Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.
3) Ten horns are ten kings who Satan gives authority to.
4) The seven diadems are a symbol of Satans kingship over the seven Contintents.
5) His tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and throws them to the earth.
A third of the angels were decieved and seduced by satan to follow him and
rebell against the Most High God. They end up choosing Satan over their Creator.
From that point on they were considered as fallen angels, now referred to as
demons. Satan along with the demons have been controlling the earth since its
creation. As of now their influence has been from the spiritual realm, but that will
change during the last 3 1/2 years of this age. There will be a new manifestation
of their presence on the earth.
6) The dragon standing before the woman who is about to give birth.
This is what I talked about when I was saying that God had to protect Israel
from Satan. Satan and his demons have always tried to destroy Israel to
prevent the birth of this child, Jesus, who would be the Savior of all who would
come to Him. When coming to Jesus, a person is transfered from the kingdom
of darkness into the kingdom of light. Satan knows where his final destination
is. This would be the lake of fire, where Satan and his demons will suffer
eternal death. It is eternal death because everything God creates is eternal,
therefore it can not cease from existing. This means that they will be their
forever. Satans goal is to take as many souls with him as possible. Every
person ever born has an eternal soul, they can not cease from existing.
That soul, when it choses Jesus, receives His gift of eternal life, and will live
forever with Jesus. The soul that refuses Jesus will live forever with Satan and
His demons in the lake of fire. This is not what God wills.
The apostle Peter wrote in his second letter Chapter 3, verse 9;
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some may count slowness,
but He is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all
to come to repentance."
John writes this in verses 5 and 6;
(5) And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations
with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and His throne.
(6) And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared
by God, so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred
and sixty days."
Obviously the child that is born is Jesus. In Revelations Chapter 7, we learned that there are going to be 144,000 Israelites, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel (Jacob), who will be sealed with the seal of God on their foreheads. These are 144,000 of the decendents of Jacob who have chosen to follow Jesus. These will be protected from any harm during the last 1260 days (3 1/2 years) of this age. All other believers who are still alive will soon be caught up to meet Jesus in the air. These 144,000 are the remnent that Jesus referred to, who He will bring back to Jerusalem. These are the ones who will carry out the earthly rule of Jesus as Jesus rules over the earth for a Thousand years. Jesus will rule over the earth, along with the saints (those who chose Jesus and became New Creations), from His Heavenly Kingdom, the Heavenly Jerusalem, the place He is now preparing for the New Creations.
Jesus peace be with all of you.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Revelation From Here On
I am going to take a week to let all the readers read my blogs up to this point. Please, if you can, go back and read my blogs from the first to the present. As we procede on in Revelation, there will be a lot of information that I have already covered that will be very important in helping us to see the picture of prophesy in it's proper light. I don't want to have to repeat many of the things that I have aleady written. Reading my previous blogs will help you gain a better understanding as we procede on. Next week we will continue on starting Chapter 12 of Revelation, Lord willing.
Jesus peace be with all of you.
Jesus peace be with all of you.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Revelation Chapter 11 (Part 4) The 3rd Woe
The 2nd Woe is complete as the two witnesses, Enoch and Elijah, complete their ministry to the world. At this point everyone has had the opportunity to respond to their call. Those who did, have gained eternal life. Those who have rejected the truth, and have chose to mock Jesus and His offer (Gift) of eternal life, will now have to experience the 3rd Woe. Verse 14 ends with:
" The second Woe has past; behold the third Woe is coming"
John writes in verses 15 - 17:
(15)"And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying,
'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of the Lord, and of His Christ;
and He will reign forever and ever.' (16) And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their
thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, (17) saying, 'We give thee
thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou hast taken
Thy great power and hast begun to reign."
If you notice what was written in verse 15, when the seventh angel sounds the last trumpet, it says that the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of the Lord, and of His Christ. How many times have we heard someone say," If there is a God, then why would He allow these bad things to happen?" The truth is, bad things happen because the god of the earth, during this age, is Satan. Although Satan has been allowed to be the god of this world for a time, he does have limitations of what Jesus will not allow him to do. If Jesus did not put limitations on Satan, can you imagine how bad things could be. Paul wrote this in his second letter to the Corinthians Chapter 4, verse 3 and 4;
(3) "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, (4) in whose
case the god of this world (Age) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they
might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
So if Satan is the God of this world, for a time, then what is Jesus doing? Jesus is doing what He said he was going to be doing in the gospel of John Chapter 14, verses 2 and 3;
(2) In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told
you; for I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
Also, John writes what Jesus said to Pilate in Chapter 18, verse 36;
"My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants
would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom
is not of this realm.
Jesus kingdom is not of this realm, it is being prepared in a spiritual realm. This is what Jesus has been doing since He has ascended into the heavens. With the power of His Holy Spirit, He has been calling people to come to Him and receive eternal life. A person must be born again of the Spirit of God to be able to enter the place that Jesus is preparing. Jesus said in the 3rd Chapter of Revelation, verse 20;
"Behold, I stand at the the door (of the soul) and knock; if ANYONE hears my voice
and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me."
When a person opens their hearts door to Jesus and lets Him come in, they are now born of the Spirit of God and receive eternal life. This is what Jesus is interested in. He let's Satan do his evil and then Jesus uses it for good. If everything were always wonderful, then people would get complaisant and not look to what is true. This is how Satan is going to deceive many, with a false wonderful peace. After this, sudden destuction will come such has never been. If you notice in this world that people who are blinded to the truth have very little struggles in this world and those who believe the truth always seem to be in trials. Satan whats to make those who are blinded to the truth as comfortable as possible so that he can keep them blinded as he drags them into the lake of fire with him. The earth is as close as believers will get to hell, and unbelievers will get to heaven. Every individual is responsible for their own decision as to which road they will go.
So when the 7th trumpet is sounded Jesus then removes the rule over the earth from Satan, Then the kingdom of the world will become Jesus kingdom forever. When this occurs, we see the twenty-elders giving thanks because Jesus has begun to reign. In verse 18, John writes what the elders continued to say:
"And the nations become enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the
dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets
and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to
destroy those who are destoying the earth."
The reward is the resurrection of the believers who will receive their new glorified bodies that will join with their spirits. As Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians Chapter 15, verse 51 and 52;
(51) "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all die, but we shall be changed, (52) In
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound,
and the dead shall rise imperishable, and we shall be change."
Those who are left on the earth, those who chose to mock the truth and not receive it, will become enraged. At this time, Satan will gather all the armies of the world to the valley called Armageddon, and try to stop Jesus from coming and executing His wrath. They will fall short. Jesus wrath will come because man and their armies, at the anti-christ hand, had been destoying the earth and innocent lives.
John completes Chapter 11, in verse 19 with;
"And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant
appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals
of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm."
This passage is very interesting. The temple of God in heaven is opened and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. What will occur at this time, is that there will an opening between the heavenly realm and the physical realm. Those who are left on the earth, by their choice, will see heaven open up and they will see the ark of the covenant. I have wrote in earlier blogs, that the ark of Noah, which recued his family, because they were the only ones who wanted to get on board, is a shadow of what God would do in Himself. All who receive Jesus, become a part of Him, His body
(The Church). This is how we are recued from the wrath (Fire). Jesus is the ark in which believers are rescued. This is what is seen when heaven is opened up. The last thing to note here is the great hailstorm. In Revelation 16, verse 21, it says;
"And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven
upon men,........."
Now this is just my theory as to why such huge hailstones could fall from heaven. At the resurrection, as the believers, who are alive at that time, are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, their old bodies are tranformed into a new glorified spiritual body. At that momented, as Jesus said, "flesh and blood can not enter the kingdom of God," would mean that the old bodies, which are made of 98% water would have to be shed. As these bodies pass through the upper atmosphere of very cold weather, they freeze leaving about one hundred pounds of ice, that will fall to the earth.
My next blog will ask readers to read my previous blogs, from the beginning forward. In the coming blogs on Revelation, it will be important to know what I have already written, because I don't want to have to repeat everything that I have already written. What I have already written will help put things in the proper perspective as we continue.
May Jesus peace be with you.
" The second Woe has past; behold the third Woe is coming"
John writes in verses 15 - 17:
(15)"And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying,
'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of the Lord, and of His Christ;
and He will reign forever and ever.' (16) And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their
thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, (17) saying, 'We give thee
thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou hast taken
Thy great power and hast begun to reign."
If you notice what was written in verse 15, when the seventh angel sounds the last trumpet, it says that the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of the Lord, and of His Christ. How many times have we heard someone say," If there is a God, then why would He allow these bad things to happen?" The truth is, bad things happen because the god of the earth, during this age, is Satan. Although Satan has been allowed to be the god of this world for a time, he does have limitations of what Jesus will not allow him to do. If Jesus did not put limitations on Satan, can you imagine how bad things could be. Paul wrote this in his second letter to the Corinthians Chapter 4, verse 3 and 4;
(3) "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, (4) in whose
case the god of this world (Age) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they
might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
So if Satan is the God of this world, for a time, then what is Jesus doing? Jesus is doing what He said he was going to be doing in the gospel of John Chapter 14, verses 2 and 3;
(2) In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told
you; for I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
Also, John writes what Jesus said to Pilate in Chapter 18, verse 36;
"My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants
would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom
is not of this realm.
Jesus kingdom is not of this realm, it is being prepared in a spiritual realm. This is what Jesus has been doing since He has ascended into the heavens. With the power of His Holy Spirit, He has been calling people to come to Him and receive eternal life. A person must be born again of the Spirit of God to be able to enter the place that Jesus is preparing. Jesus said in the 3rd Chapter of Revelation, verse 20;
"Behold, I stand at the the door (of the soul) and knock; if ANYONE hears my voice
and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me."
When a person opens their hearts door to Jesus and lets Him come in, they are now born of the Spirit of God and receive eternal life. This is what Jesus is interested in. He let's Satan do his evil and then Jesus uses it for good. If everything were always wonderful, then people would get complaisant and not look to what is true. This is how Satan is going to deceive many, with a false wonderful peace. After this, sudden destuction will come such has never been. If you notice in this world that people who are blinded to the truth have very little struggles in this world and those who believe the truth always seem to be in trials. Satan whats to make those who are blinded to the truth as comfortable as possible so that he can keep them blinded as he drags them into the lake of fire with him. The earth is as close as believers will get to hell, and unbelievers will get to heaven. Every individual is responsible for their own decision as to which road they will go.
So when the 7th trumpet is sounded Jesus then removes the rule over the earth from Satan, Then the kingdom of the world will become Jesus kingdom forever. When this occurs, we see the twenty-elders giving thanks because Jesus has begun to reign. In verse 18, John writes what the elders continued to say:
"And the nations become enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the
dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets
and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to
destroy those who are destoying the earth."
The reward is the resurrection of the believers who will receive their new glorified bodies that will join with their spirits. As Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians Chapter 15, verse 51 and 52;
(51) "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all die, but we shall be changed, (52) In
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound,
and the dead shall rise imperishable, and we shall be change."
Those who are left on the earth, those who chose to mock the truth and not receive it, will become enraged. At this time, Satan will gather all the armies of the world to the valley called Armageddon, and try to stop Jesus from coming and executing His wrath. They will fall short. Jesus wrath will come because man and their armies, at the anti-christ hand, had been destoying the earth and innocent lives.
John completes Chapter 11, in verse 19 with;
"And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant
appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals
of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm."
This passage is very interesting. The temple of God in heaven is opened and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. What will occur at this time, is that there will an opening between the heavenly realm and the physical realm. Those who are left on the earth, by their choice, will see heaven open up and they will see the ark of the covenant. I have wrote in earlier blogs, that the ark of Noah, which recued his family, because they were the only ones who wanted to get on board, is a shadow of what God would do in Himself. All who receive Jesus, become a part of Him, His body
(The Church). This is how we are recued from the wrath (Fire). Jesus is the ark in which believers are rescued. This is what is seen when heaven is opened up. The last thing to note here is the great hailstorm. In Revelation 16, verse 21, it says;
"And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven
upon men,........."
Now this is just my theory as to why such huge hailstones could fall from heaven. At the resurrection, as the believers, who are alive at that time, are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, their old bodies are tranformed into a new glorified spiritual body. At that momented, as Jesus said, "flesh and blood can not enter the kingdom of God," would mean that the old bodies, which are made of 98% water would have to be shed. As these bodies pass through the upper atmosphere of very cold weather, they freeze leaving about one hundred pounds of ice, that will fall to the earth.
My next blog will ask readers to read my previous blogs, from the beginning forward. In the coming blogs on Revelation, it will be important to know what I have already written, because I don't want to have to repeat everything that I have already written. What I have already written will help put things in the proper perspective as we continue.
May Jesus peace be with you.
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