In this blog I am going to reveal scripture from the New Testiment that pertains to Jesus' 2nd coming. My next blog will show scripture from the Old Testiment that pertains to this event and what it will look like. When completing Revelation Chapter 9, we see Jesus returning with His saints to execute His wrath against the armies of the world. At this time, all the armies of the world will be under the direction of Satan. We know that 3 1/2 years before the end of this age that Satan and his demons are going to be cast down to the earth. This is revealed in Revelation Chapter 12, verses7-9;
(7)"And there was a war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the
dragon. And the dragon and his angels 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 serpant 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.
We know that even today that Satan has access to the earth from the heavenly realm. One place this has been revealed is in the apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians where he writes this in the 6th Chapter in verse 12;
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of
wickedness in the heavenly places."
Satan's role as of today is to war against the saints, with his demons from the spiritual realm. He also acts as the accuser of the saints before God day and night. This is revealed in Revelation Chapter 12, verse 10;
"And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation, and the power,
and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the
accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before God
day and night.'"
When Satan and his demons are cast down to the earth it is going to be a different type of manifestation than it is now. What exactly, I don't know. What I do know is that they will be allowed to cause much destruction. Will some of them be visible? I don't know either. If they are, then where will they say they came from?
In Revelation Chapter 13 it reveals how much time Satan is given when he is cast down to the earth, when in verse 5 it says this;
"And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies;
and authority to act for forty-two months was given him."
It is revealed in Revelation Chapter 16, verses 13 and 14, that this will occur right before Jesus returns with His saints;
(13)And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan) and out of the
mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean
spirits like frogs;(14) for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which
go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of
the great day of God, the Almighty."
Then in Revelation Chapter 11, verse 18, it reveals this about why His wrath is coming;
" and the nation were 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 those who fear Thy name, the small and the
great, AND TO DESTROY THOSE WHO ARE DESTROYING THE EARTH."
When Satan is cast down to the earth with 3 1/2 before Jesus returns, he will go on a spree of destruction such has never been. Jesus reveals this in the 24th Chapter of the gospel of Matthew, after being asked by the desciples as to the sign of His coming and the end of the age. In verses 15,16,21 and 22, Jesus told them this;
(15)"Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken
of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place,(16) then let those in
Judea flee to the mountains,(21) for then there will be a great tribulation, such
has not occured since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.
(22) And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved;
but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short."
If Jesus does not intervene, Satan would destroy all life from the face of the earth. After Jesus executes His wrath, He will rule over the earth for a thousand years. He will need some life to survive so man can repopulate the earth. The abomination of desolation comes right after the king of Tyre, who dies from a fatal wound at the same time Satan is cast out of heaven, comes back to life in the power of Satan. Then this Satan filled king will come against Israel and overtake them and seat himself in the temple in Jerusalem, making claims of being God. This is the abomination that makes desolate. After that he will go on a spree of destruction such has never been. The apostle Paul wrote about this in his 2nd letter to the the Thessalonians. Paul wrote this in response to claims by some people that the day of the Lord had already occured. In Chapter 2, verses 1-10;
(1)" Now we request you, brethren, with reguard to the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him,(2) that you may not be quickly
shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a
letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.(3) Let no one
in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy........
The apostasy is a falling away from the faith by those who were christians in name only and had never beeen born of the Spirit, as Jesus required, by a true trust in Jesus as their Savior. These who fall away will choose the deceptions of Satan in the first half of the tribulation period when there will be a false peace and safety and a time of prosperity. They will not be willing resist the belittling of the Christians by the world and they will choose to not be numbered in the company of the saints.
.....comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of DESTRUCTION,
(4) who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship,
so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
(5) Do you not remember that while I was with you, I was telling you these things?
(6) And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed.
(7) For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains
will do so untill he is taken out of the way.(8) And then the lawless one will be
revealed whom the Lord will remove with the breath of His mouth and bring to an
end by the appearance of His coming;(9) that is, the one whose coming is in accord
with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,(10) and with
all deception of wickedness for those who perish, because THEY DID NOT
RECEIVE THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH SO AS TO BE SAVED"
So Jesus' wrath will come to stop Satan from destroying the earth and murdering lives, and all the people who chose to reject Jesus' free gift of eternal life, will perish.
Then as we just covered in Revelation Chapter 19, verses 11-16;
(11)"And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is
called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.(12) And
His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a
name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.(13) And He is clothed
with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called the Word of God.(14) And the
armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean (the saints), were
following Him on white horses.(15) And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so
that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and
He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty."
In 1st Thessalonians Chapter 3, verses12 and 13, Paul gives a a beautiful prayer when he says this;
(12)"and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another,
and for all men, just as we also do for you,(13) so that He may establish your
hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our
Lord Jesus with all His saints.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Revelation Chapter 19 (Part 2) Jesus' 2nd Coming
Jesus' second coming is when He returns from heaven, after gathering all His believers, saints, to Himself. Jesus will return on a white horse. All the saints will be given white horses also. They will all return to execute the the wrath of God to stop Satan from destroying the earth and to avenge the blood of all the saints who were murdered for holding to their testimony of Jesus. John begins in Chapter 19, verse 11, with this;
"And I saw a heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he who sat upon
it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war."
I wrote about this in my last blog, quoting out of Isaiah's 24th Chapter, in which he wrote about the judgement of the earth. Isaiah wrote in verse 18;
"...................For the windows above are opened; and the foundations of the
earth are shaken."
This is what I wrote about the vail that seperates the earthly realm from the spiritual realm. That which seperates the two will be rolled apart and the inhabitants of the earth will be able to look into the spiritual realm and see Jesus coming with the saints, the New Creations.
John wrote about this in the first Chapter of Revelation in verse 8;
"Behold He is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those
who peirced Him; and all of the tribes will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen."
When the 6th seal was opened back in Chapter 6 we saw this in verse 14;
(14)"And thy sky was split apart like aa scroll when it is rolled up; and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places."
We saw that this event caused the great earthquake that caused the great city, Babylon the Great, to be split in three parts and all of the cities of the nations fall. This was when the seventh bowl of wrath was poured out in Chapter 16. John continues in Revelation Chapter 19, verses 12 and 13;
(12)"And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems;
and he has a name written upon Him which no one knows exept Himself.
(13) And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called
The Word of God."
His robe is dipped in blood because it was the shedding of His blood that purchased from every tribe, tongue and nation all who would except His sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sin, to gain eternal life. Jesus being called The Word of God is not surprising because that is who He always has been. It is His very essense. In the first Chapter of John's gospel, John wrote this in his first chapter, verses 1-5;
(1)"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.(2) He was in the beginning with God.(3) All things came
into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has
come into being."
What this is revealing is that the Word of God is God and the creator. and it cotinues with:
(4) "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.(5) And the light shines
in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
It is revealing that the life is light and the life shinned His light in this world and the world did not understand it. John contiues on in verse 6;
(10) "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the
world did not know Him. (11) He came unto His own, and His own did not
receive Him.
What is revealed is the Word, who is God and creator came to those who he created and they did not know Him. John goes on to say in verse 14;
"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
What is revealed here is that the Word, who is God and Creator, became flesh. This is revealing that Jesus is The Word of God and the creator and the life, which is the light. The Word became a man, and before He came, he revealed to Mary and Joseph the name that He wanted to be called and of course that was Jesus. He came to those He created and they did not recognize Him as their creator.
I am going to do a few blogs on how it is possible that Jesus could be God.
Back to Revelation 19 in verse 14;
"And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,
were following Him on white horses."
The armies in heaven are the saints who have now received their new glorified bodies. Their clothing is white and clean because they have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus, the rider on the white horse whose robe has been dipped in blood. John wrote this in his first epistle in the 1st Chapter, verse 7;
"but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship
with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son clenses us from all sin."
Paul wrote this in his letter to the Romans in the 5th Chapter, verse 9:
"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved
from the wrath to come."
These armies in heaven are those who believed the truth of Jesus and allowed themselves to be washed in the blood of the Lamb for the forgiveness of their sin. At that point they are seated in the heavenly realm, because they have been born of above. They are waiting to be clothed in glory when Jesus comes out to meet them in the air. Since this event is before the wrath of God, they obviously have been spared from the wrath. Paul wrote this about them in his letter to the Philippians in the 3rd Chapter, verses 20 and 21;
(20)"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eargerly wait for a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; (21) who will tranform the body of our humble
state into comformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power
that He has even to subject all things to Himself."
So right after this tranformation takes place, these armies who now resemble the body of His glory, will come with Jesus to execute the wrath of God. I am going to dedicate a couple blogs on this event looking at it from the writings of the prophets and apostles. It's too much to include here. John continues Revelation 19 in verses 15 and 16;
(15)"And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the
nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press
of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.(16) And on His robe and on His thigh
He has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."
The sharp sword that comes out of Jesus mouth is His word. He will speak His Judgements as He wills. The wine actually represents the blood that will be shed during the wrath against the armies of the world that Satan will gather to fight Jesus in the valley of Armageddon. We learned back in Revelation Chapter 14 about the two havestings. The first one will be done by Jesus when He puts in His sickle and gathers His saints to Himself. The second harvesting is when an angel puts in his sickle as written in Revelation Chapter 14, verses 19 and 20;
(19) And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from
the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of
God.(20) And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out
from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles."
And this is the place that Satan gets the armies of the world to gather as we learned this in Revelation Chapter16, verses13,14 and 16;
(13)"And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of
the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs;
(14) for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings
of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God,
the Almighty.(16) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew
is called Har-Magedon.
In Revelation Chapter 17, verse 14, we see this;
"These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them,
because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him
are the called and the chosen and faithful."
What we see now is the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is a little different then what we would perceive as a marriage supper. The marriage is when Jesus calls the believers, that make up His body(Church), which is His bride, to come and join Him in heaven. Once this marriage, joining, takes place, then they go to the marriage supper. This supper will look like this as John finishes Revelation Chapter 19, in verses 17-21;
(17)" And I saw an angel standinging in the sun; and he cried out with a loud
voice, saying to all the birds who fly in midheaven, 'Come, assemble for the
great supper of God;(18) in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the
flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and slaves, and small and
great.'(19) And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and the armies,
assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His
army.(20) And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who
performed signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received
the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were
thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.(21) And the rest
were killed with the sword which came out of the mouth of Him who sat upon
the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh."
The beast and the false prophet will be in the lake of fire a thousand years before anyone will join them. Everyone else will have to wait until the great white throne judgement. Jesus pre-throned their judgement propably because their deception under Satan was deliberate, knowing they were willfully yielding to Satan.
May Jesus peace and understanding be with you.
"And I saw a heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he who sat upon
it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war."
I wrote about this in my last blog, quoting out of Isaiah's 24th Chapter, in which he wrote about the judgement of the earth. Isaiah wrote in verse 18;
"...................For the windows above are opened; and the foundations of the
earth are shaken."
This is what I wrote about the vail that seperates the earthly realm from the spiritual realm. That which seperates the two will be rolled apart and the inhabitants of the earth will be able to look into the spiritual realm and see Jesus coming with the saints, the New Creations.
John wrote about this in the first Chapter of Revelation in verse 8;
"Behold He is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those
who peirced Him; and all of the tribes will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen."
When the 6th seal was opened back in Chapter 6 we saw this in verse 14;
(14)"And thy sky was split apart like aa scroll when it is rolled up; and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places."
We saw that this event caused the great earthquake that caused the great city, Babylon the Great, to be split in three parts and all of the cities of the nations fall. This was when the seventh bowl of wrath was poured out in Chapter 16. John continues in Revelation Chapter 19, verses 12 and 13;
(12)"And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems;
and he has a name written upon Him which no one knows exept Himself.
(13) And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called
The Word of God."
His robe is dipped in blood because it was the shedding of His blood that purchased from every tribe, tongue and nation all who would except His sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sin, to gain eternal life. Jesus being called The Word of God is not surprising because that is who He always has been. It is His very essense. In the first Chapter of John's gospel, John wrote this in his first chapter, verses 1-5;
(1)"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.(2) He was in the beginning with God.(3) All things came
into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has
come into being."
What this is revealing is that the Word of God is God and the creator. and it cotinues with:
(4) "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.(5) And the light shines
in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
It is revealing that the life is light and the life shinned His light in this world and the world did not understand it. John contiues on in verse 6;
(10) "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the
world did not know Him. (11) He came unto His own, and His own did not
receive Him.
What is revealed is the Word, who is God and creator came to those who he created and they did not know Him. John goes on to say in verse 14;
"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
What is revealed here is that the Word, who is God and Creator, became flesh. This is revealing that Jesus is The Word of God and the creator and the life, which is the light. The Word became a man, and before He came, he revealed to Mary and Joseph the name that He wanted to be called and of course that was Jesus. He came to those He created and they did not recognize Him as their creator.
I am going to do a few blogs on how it is possible that Jesus could be God.
Back to Revelation 19 in verse 14;
"And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,
were following Him on white horses."
The armies in heaven are the saints who have now received their new glorified bodies. Their clothing is white and clean because they have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus, the rider on the white horse whose robe has been dipped in blood. John wrote this in his first epistle in the 1st Chapter, verse 7;
"but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship
with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son clenses us from all sin."
Paul wrote this in his letter to the Romans in the 5th Chapter, verse 9:
"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved
from the wrath to come."
These armies in heaven are those who believed the truth of Jesus and allowed themselves to be washed in the blood of the Lamb for the forgiveness of their sin. At that point they are seated in the heavenly realm, because they have been born of above. They are waiting to be clothed in glory when Jesus comes out to meet them in the air. Since this event is before the wrath of God, they obviously have been spared from the wrath. Paul wrote this about them in his letter to the Philippians in the 3rd Chapter, verses 20 and 21;
(20)"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eargerly wait for a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; (21) who will tranform the body of our humble
state into comformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power
that He has even to subject all things to Himself."
So right after this tranformation takes place, these armies who now resemble the body of His glory, will come with Jesus to execute the wrath of God. I am going to dedicate a couple blogs on this event looking at it from the writings of the prophets and apostles. It's too much to include here. John continues Revelation 19 in verses 15 and 16;
(15)"And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the
nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press
of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.(16) And on His robe and on His thigh
He has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."
The sharp sword that comes out of Jesus mouth is His word. He will speak His Judgements as He wills. The wine actually represents the blood that will be shed during the wrath against the armies of the world that Satan will gather to fight Jesus in the valley of Armageddon. We learned back in Revelation Chapter 14 about the two havestings. The first one will be done by Jesus when He puts in His sickle and gathers His saints to Himself. The second harvesting is when an angel puts in his sickle as written in Revelation Chapter 14, verses 19 and 20;
(19) And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from
the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of
God.(20) And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out
from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles."
And this is the place that Satan gets the armies of the world to gather as we learned this in Revelation Chapter16, verses13,14 and 16;
(13)"And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of
the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs;
(14) for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings
of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God,
the Almighty.(16) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew
is called Har-Magedon.
In Revelation Chapter 17, verse 14, we see this;
"These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them,
because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him
are the called and the chosen and faithful."
What we see now is the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is a little different then what we would perceive as a marriage supper. The marriage is when Jesus calls the believers, that make up His body(Church), which is His bride, to come and join Him in heaven. Once this marriage, joining, takes place, then they go to the marriage supper. This supper will look like this as John finishes Revelation Chapter 19, in verses 17-21;
(17)" And I saw an angel standinging in the sun; and he cried out with a loud
voice, saying to all the birds who fly in midheaven, 'Come, assemble for the
great supper of God;(18) in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the
flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and slaves, and small and
great.'(19) And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and the armies,
assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His
army.(20) And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who
performed signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received
the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were
thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.(21) And the rest
were killed with the sword which came out of the mouth of Him who sat upon
the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh."
The beast and the false prophet will be in the lake of fire a thousand years before anyone will join them. Everyone else will have to wait until the great white throne judgement. Jesus pre-throned their judgement propably because their deception under Satan was deliberate, knowing they were willfully yielding to Satan.
May Jesus peace and understanding be with you.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Revelation Chapter 19 Jesus' Pre Return
Chapter 19 focuses on Jesus preparing to return. Then Jesus will return with His bride, which is His body made up of all the saints. These are the New Creations, who received the gospel of the truth as to be saved. They will come to execute judgement on those who are destroying the earth under the direction of Satan. At the end of Chapter 18 we saw the fall of the world's capital city, Tyre. In the last verse it says that in this city was found the blood of the prophets and the saints and of all who have been slain on the earth. The apostle John begins in verses 1-3 with this;
(1)"After these things I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in
heaven, saying,
'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our
God;(2) because His Judgements are true and righteous;
for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the
earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood
of His bond-servants on her.'
(3) And a second time they said,
'Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.'
When we covered Chapter 6, we saw the seals opened up, which were a short snap shot, of what we have later read in an expanded version, of all that will take place in the last 7 years of this age. In verses 9-11, when the fifth seal was broken by Jesus, we saw this;
(9)" And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls
of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the
testimony they maintained;(10) and they cried out with a loud voice,saying,
'How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from
judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the
earth?'
(10) And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told
that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow
servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been,
should be complete also."
So before Jesus would come to execute His wrath, He would wait until the number of saints who were to be killed was complete. We see at the breaking of the sixth seal, in Chapter 6, the result of the destruction of the capital city, Tyre. It says this in verse 12;
"And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake;
and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon
became like blood.
Back in Chapter 16, verses 18 and 19, when the world capital city, Tyre, is destoyed as the seventh bowl of wrath is poured out, it said this;
(18)"And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and
there was such a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came
to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty.(19) And
the great city [Tyre] was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.
And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of
His fierce wrath.
The prophet Isaiah wrote in his 24th Chapter, when he was descibing the destrution that would come upon the earth, this in verses 18-20;
(18)".................For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the
earth shake.(19) The earth is broken asunder, The earth is split through, The
earth is shaken violently,(20) The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard, And it
totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it............................."
So we see the great city destroyed with an earthquke that is so big that all the cities of the world fall, and the smoke of her destuction, because of all the blood that is found in her, causes the moon to become like blood. Then back in Chapter 6, verse 14, right after this occurs, says this;
"And the sky split apart like a scroll and like a scroll when it is rolled up;
and every mountain and island were moved out of their places."
We saw from Isaiah, the windows of heaven open up. In Revelation Chapter 6, verse 14, John saw the sky split apart like a scroll. We will see in Revelation Chapter 19,verse 11, John sees heaven opened. This is when Jesus returns with His saints to execute His wrath. The sky will slit open. The veil that seperates this earthly realm from the spiritual realm will split open. This will cause the great earthquake. Those who are left on the earth, because they refused to believe the truth as to be saved, will see Jesus coming in the clouds with His saints to execute His wrath. In Chapter 6, verses 15-17, John sees this after the sky splits apart like a scroll;
(15)"And the Kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and
the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the
caves andamong the rocks of the mountains;(16) and they said to the mountains
and the rocks,
'Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on
the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;(17) for the great
day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?'
John continues Chapter 19 with this in verses 5-7;
(5)'' And a voice from the throne, saying;
'Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who
fear Him, the small and the great.'
(6) And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of
many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying;
'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God , the Almighty, reigns.'
(7)"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of
the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."
What John Is seeing here is what he wrote about in Chapter 10, verses 5-7;
(5)"and the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up
his right hand to heaven,(6) and swore by Him who lives forever and ever,
who created heaven and the the things in it, and the earth and the things in
it, and the sea and the things in it, that there shall be delay no longer,(7) but
in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then
the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets."
The mystery of God is what it has been all about. It is finished when the saints are tranformed into their new glorified bodies, the new creations, that are able to enter the kingdom of God. The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians in Chapter 5, verses 25- 27, this about the church His bride;
(25)"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and
gave Himself for her;(26) that He might sanctify her, having clensed her by
the washing of water with the word,(27) that He might present to Himself the
church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that
she should be holy and blameless."
The bride, the church, the body of Jesus, will make herself ready by shedding the earthly body when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet as the apostle Paul wrote about in his First letter to the Corinthians in the 15th Chapter, verses 49-54;
(49)"And just as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear
the image of the heavenly.(50) Now I say this brethren, that flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the
imperishable.(51) Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shal not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed,(52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we shall be changed.(53) For this perishable must put on the imperishable,
and this mortal must put on immortality.(54) But when the perishable will
put on the imperishable, and the mortal will have put on immortallity, then
will come about the saying that is written, 'Death is swollowed up in victory."
Paul again writes in his first letter to the Thessalonians Chapter 4, verses13-18;
(13)"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who
have fallen asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.
(14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring
with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.(15) For this we say to you
by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming
of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.(16) for the Lord
Himself will decend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise
first.(17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be
with the Lord.(18) Therefore comfort one another with these word."
John continues in Revelation Chapter 19, verse 8;
(8)"And it was given to her to cloth herself in fine linen, bright and clean;
for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
The righteous acts of the saints are probably 90% just one thing, and that is the act of receiving what Jesus did for all of us when He died on the cross for our sin. He washed our sin away with His own blood, and kept us clensed with His word. Through His resurrection we can be born of above, born of the Spirit that raised Him from the dead, giving us eternal life. There is only one sin that will keep someone out of the kingdom of God, and that is blasphmie of the Holy Spirit. By refusing the drawing of His Spirit and saying I don't want you Jesus, it is telling the Creator, "Jesus you're not good enough for me." This is what is known as the only unpardonable sin. You chose you fate.
John continues in Chapter 19, verse 9 and 10;
(9)"And d to me ,'Write , Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage
supper of the Lamb.' And he said to me, 'These are true words of God.'
(10) And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, "I am a fellow
servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship
God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
John fell to worship the one who was talking to him. He had to think that this was some kind of heavenly being. The one who was talking to John is one of his fellow saints in their gloified state, as he was seeing heaven after the resurrection. After that John knew what was in store for him.
Jesus' peace and understanding be with you.
(1)"After these things I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in
heaven, saying,
'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our
God;(2) because His Judgements are true and righteous;
for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the
earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood
of His bond-servants on her.'
(3) And a second time they said,
'Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.'
When we covered Chapter 6, we saw the seals opened up, which were a short snap shot, of what we have later read in an expanded version, of all that will take place in the last 7 years of this age. In verses 9-11, when the fifth seal was broken by Jesus, we saw this;
(9)" And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls
of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the
testimony they maintained;(10) and they cried out with a loud voice,saying,
'How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from
judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the
earth?'
(10) And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told
that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow
servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been,
should be complete also."
So before Jesus would come to execute His wrath, He would wait until the number of saints who were to be killed was complete. We see at the breaking of the sixth seal, in Chapter 6, the result of the destruction of the capital city, Tyre. It says this in verse 12;
"And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake;
and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon
became like blood.
Back in Chapter 16, verses 18 and 19, when the world capital city, Tyre, is destoyed as the seventh bowl of wrath is poured out, it said this;
(18)"And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and
there was such a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came
to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty.(19) And
the great city [Tyre] was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.
And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of
His fierce wrath.
The prophet Isaiah wrote in his 24th Chapter, when he was descibing the destrution that would come upon the earth, this in verses 18-20;
(18)".................For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the
earth shake.(19) The earth is broken asunder, The earth is split through, The
earth is shaken violently,(20) The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard, And it
totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it............................."
So we see the great city destroyed with an earthquke that is so big that all the cities of the world fall, and the smoke of her destuction, because of all the blood that is found in her, causes the moon to become like blood. Then back in Chapter 6, verse 14, right after this occurs, says this;
"And the sky split apart like a scroll and like a scroll when it is rolled up;
and every mountain and island were moved out of their places."
We saw from Isaiah, the windows of heaven open up. In Revelation Chapter 6, verse 14, John saw the sky split apart like a scroll. We will see in Revelation Chapter 19,verse 11, John sees heaven opened. This is when Jesus returns with His saints to execute His wrath. The sky will slit open. The veil that seperates this earthly realm from the spiritual realm will split open. This will cause the great earthquake. Those who are left on the earth, because they refused to believe the truth as to be saved, will see Jesus coming in the clouds with His saints to execute His wrath. In Chapter 6, verses 15-17, John sees this after the sky splits apart like a scroll;
(15)"And the Kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and
the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the
caves andamong the rocks of the mountains;(16) and they said to the mountains
and the rocks,
'Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on
the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;(17) for the great
day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?'
John continues Chapter 19 with this in verses 5-7;
(5)'' And a voice from the throne, saying;
'Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who
fear Him, the small and the great.'
(6) And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of
many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying;
'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God , the Almighty, reigns.'
(7)"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of
the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."
What John Is seeing here is what he wrote about in Chapter 10, verses 5-7;
(5)"and the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up
his right hand to heaven,(6) and swore by Him who lives forever and ever,
who created heaven and the the things in it, and the earth and the things in
it, and the sea and the things in it, that there shall be delay no longer,(7) but
in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then
the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets."
The mystery of God is what it has been all about. It is finished when the saints are tranformed into their new glorified bodies, the new creations, that are able to enter the kingdom of God. The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians in Chapter 5, verses 25- 27, this about the church His bride;
(25)"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and
gave Himself for her;(26) that He might sanctify her, having clensed her by
the washing of water with the word,(27) that He might present to Himself the
church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that
she should be holy and blameless."
The bride, the church, the body of Jesus, will make herself ready by shedding the earthly body when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet as the apostle Paul wrote about in his First letter to the Corinthians in the 15th Chapter, verses 49-54;
(49)"And just as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear
the image of the heavenly.(50) Now I say this brethren, that flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the
imperishable.(51) Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shal not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed,(52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we shall be changed.(53) For this perishable must put on the imperishable,
and this mortal must put on immortality.(54) But when the perishable will
put on the imperishable, and the mortal will have put on immortallity, then
will come about the saying that is written, 'Death is swollowed up in victory."
Paul again writes in his first letter to the Thessalonians Chapter 4, verses13-18;
(13)"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who
have fallen asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.
(14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring
with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.(15) For this we say to you
by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming
of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.(16) for the Lord
Himself will decend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise
first.(17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be
with the Lord.(18) Therefore comfort one another with these word."
John continues in Revelation Chapter 19, verse 8;
(8)"And it was given to her to cloth herself in fine linen, bright and clean;
for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
The righteous acts of the saints are probably 90% just one thing, and that is the act of receiving what Jesus did for all of us when He died on the cross for our sin. He washed our sin away with His own blood, and kept us clensed with His word. Through His resurrection we can be born of above, born of the Spirit that raised Him from the dead, giving us eternal life. There is only one sin that will keep someone out of the kingdom of God, and that is blasphmie of the Holy Spirit. By refusing the drawing of His Spirit and saying I don't want you Jesus, it is telling the Creator, "Jesus you're not good enough for me." This is what is known as the only unpardonable sin. You chose you fate.
John continues in Chapter 19, verse 9 and 10;
(9)"And d to me ,'Write , Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage
supper of the Lamb.' And he said to me, 'These are true words of God.'
(10) And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, "I am a fellow
servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship
God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
John fell to worship the one who was talking to him. He had to think that this was some kind of heavenly being. The one who was talking to John is one of his fellow saints in their gloified state, as he was seeing heaven after the resurrection. After that John knew what was in store for him.
Jesus' peace and understanding be with you.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Revelation Chapter 18 (Part 2) The World Weeps Over Babylon's Fall
There were many people who benefited financially from this world City, Tyre. Not only did many people become wealthy from the construction and shipping required to build and maintain this global Capital, but many people were falsely enriched by this city's beauty and it's goods. They will look on with disbelief that this magnificent city could be destroyed as it will, in one hour. John completes Chapter 18, verses 9-24, with this;
(9)"And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived
sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke
of her burning,(10) standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment,
'Woe,woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your
judgment has come.'
They called it a strong city because the military from almost all the nations on the earth will have a presence their. This is because the whole concept of this city, as a peace keeper, will be introduced as a necessity to mantain peace in the middle east area. Following Iran's attempt to take over the region and the worlds response to stop them, will result in the 7 year peace covenant that will be made among the nations in the area. This is the peace that will allow Israel to rebuild their temple and start back up the regular sacrifices. At the same time, they will suggest that there be peace keeping city in the region, and thus we have Babylon,Tyre. Satan is building a snare for Israel. He knows that he is going to be kicked out of heaven, so when he gets here, he will have a vessel to occupy, the king of Tyre, and a military at his disposal. Satan has made it to where Israel can, after many years, begin to have regular sacrifices again in their newly built temple in Jerusalem. His desire is that, with these sacrifices now being done, it would bring many Jews to make pilgramages from the nations to Jerusalem for the passover feasts. Gathering as many Jews into one place as he could, Satan would then come down from Tyre into Israel to kill as many as possible. This will take place half way through the 7 year period as the leader of Tyre is killed and comes back to life, with the power of Satan, as Satan is kicked out of heaven.
John continues in verse 11;
(11)"And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one
buys their cargoes any more;(12) cargoes of gold and silverand precious stones
and pearls and fine linen and purple silk and scarlet, and every kind of citon wood
and every article of ivory and every article made from costly wood and bronze
and iron and marble,(13) and cinnamon and spices and incense and perfume and
frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep,
and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives."
These are all the worlds most valuble resources. At the end of these verses you will notice that this city will be brought humans to be slaves. When Satan implements his system of not being able to buy or sell unless you receive the mark of the beast on your right hand or forehead, there will be many saints who will not receive it. With the saints not participating in the new monitary system, they will be rounded up and some of them will be sent on ships to Tyre to be slaves. This will not happen until half way through the 7 year tribulation period, when Satan will come down from Tyre against Israel and sits himself in the temple claiming to be God. If you remember, back in Revelation Chapter 13, verses 5-10, John wrote this pertaining to the beast whose fatal wound was healed;
(5)"And it was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies;
and authority to act for fourty-two months was given to him.(6) And he opened
his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blasphemies His name, and His
tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.(7) And it was given to him to make
war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over ever tribe and
people and tongue and nation was given to him.(8) And all who dwell on the earth
will worship him, everyone whose names has not been written in the book of life
of the Lamb slain before the foudation of the world.(9) If anyone has an ear, let
him hear.(10) If anyone is destined for captivity,to captivity he goes; If anyone
kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance
and faith of the saints."
This is the one who will come in the power of Satan. His claim of being God is the blasphemie.
He will then mock Jesus and all that exist in heaven. Then he will come against the saints and take many into capivity. Jesus tells his saints to persevere and remain faithful despite the circumstance.
John continues in Chapter 18, verse 14-19, about Babylons fate writing this;
(14)"And the fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were
luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men well no longer find
them.(15) The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at
a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying,
'Woe, woe, the great city, she was clothed in fine linen and
purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones
and pearls;(17) for in one hour such great wealth has been
laid waste!'
And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their
living by the sea, stood at a distance,(18) and were crying out as they saw the
smoke of her burning, saying,'What city is like the great city?"(19) and they threw
dust on their heads and were crying out weeping and mourning, saying,
'Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea
became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid
waste!'
Notice that all the people who were involved in the shipping were standing at a distance and saw the smoke of her burning. They saw the citys destuction from the sea. This gives evidence to the fact that it will be a coastal city. Tyre is a coastal city and its location and geography make it a perfect coastal port as it was once before.
John concludes the Chapter with this in verses 20-24;
"(20) Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets,
because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.(21) And a strong
angel took up a stone like a great millestone and threw it into the sea, saying,
'Thus will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with
violence, and will not be found any longer.'
(22) And the sound of the harpists and musicians and flute-players and
trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer ,and no craftsmen of craft will
be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you
any longer.(23) and the light of a lamp will not be found in you any longer;
and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will not be found in you any
longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the
nations were deceived by your sorcery. (24) And in her was found the blood
of all who have been slain on the earth."
All the saints, apostles and prophets, will be in heaven at this time with Jesus. All the activity of this vibrant city will come to an end. All the nations of the earth will be deceived by the supernatural powers the will be used, in the power of Satan. This is what the apostle Paul wrote about in his 2nd letter to the Thessalonians in the 2nd Chapter, verses 8-10;
(8)"And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will remove
with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearof His coming;
(9) that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with
all power and signs and FALSE wonders, (10) and with all DECEPTION of
wickedness for those who perish, BECAUSE THEY DID NOT RECEIVE
THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH SO AS TO BE SAVED."
Please, if you haven't yet, receive the love of the truth and be saved. The famous passage of scripture written in John's gospel Chapter 3, verse 16, says it best and that is why you might see it so much;
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
God Himself came to this world in the person of Jesus, and gave up His own human life, that he might purchase you, with the shedding of His own blood, for the forgiveness of sins and in Him we are transformed from the kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of His glorious light. Becoming part of His body, He becomes the Ark that carries us from this earthly realm, that will perish as we know it, into the spiritual realm that is eternal.
May Jesus bless you with understanding and His peace.
(9)"And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived
sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke
of her burning,(10) standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment,
'Woe,woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your
judgment has come.'
They called it a strong city because the military from almost all the nations on the earth will have a presence their. This is because the whole concept of this city, as a peace keeper, will be introduced as a necessity to mantain peace in the middle east area. Following Iran's attempt to take over the region and the worlds response to stop them, will result in the 7 year peace covenant that will be made among the nations in the area. This is the peace that will allow Israel to rebuild their temple and start back up the regular sacrifices. At the same time, they will suggest that there be peace keeping city in the region, and thus we have Babylon,Tyre. Satan is building a snare for Israel. He knows that he is going to be kicked out of heaven, so when he gets here, he will have a vessel to occupy, the king of Tyre, and a military at his disposal. Satan has made it to where Israel can, after many years, begin to have regular sacrifices again in their newly built temple in Jerusalem. His desire is that, with these sacrifices now being done, it would bring many Jews to make pilgramages from the nations to Jerusalem for the passover feasts. Gathering as many Jews into one place as he could, Satan would then come down from Tyre into Israel to kill as many as possible. This will take place half way through the 7 year period as the leader of Tyre is killed and comes back to life, with the power of Satan, as Satan is kicked out of heaven.
John continues in verse 11;
(11)"And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one
buys their cargoes any more;(12) cargoes of gold and silverand precious stones
and pearls and fine linen and purple silk and scarlet, and every kind of citon wood
and every article of ivory and every article made from costly wood and bronze
and iron and marble,(13) and cinnamon and spices and incense and perfume and
frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep,
and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives."
These are all the worlds most valuble resources. At the end of these verses you will notice that this city will be brought humans to be slaves. When Satan implements his system of not being able to buy or sell unless you receive the mark of the beast on your right hand or forehead, there will be many saints who will not receive it. With the saints not participating in the new monitary system, they will be rounded up and some of them will be sent on ships to Tyre to be slaves. This will not happen until half way through the 7 year tribulation period, when Satan will come down from Tyre against Israel and sits himself in the temple claiming to be God. If you remember, back in Revelation Chapter 13, verses 5-10, John wrote this pertaining to the beast whose fatal wound was healed;
(5)"And it was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies;
and authority to act for fourty-two months was given to him.(6) And he opened
his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blasphemies His name, and His
tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.(7) And it was given to him to make
war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over ever tribe and
people and tongue and nation was given to him.(8) And all who dwell on the earth
will worship him, everyone whose names has not been written in the book of life
of the Lamb slain before the foudation of the world.(9) If anyone has an ear, let
him hear.(10) If anyone is destined for captivity,to captivity he goes; If anyone
kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance
and faith of the saints."
This is the one who will come in the power of Satan. His claim of being God is the blasphemie.
He will then mock Jesus and all that exist in heaven. Then he will come against the saints and take many into capivity. Jesus tells his saints to persevere and remain faithful despite the circumstance.
John continues in Chapter 18, verse 14-19, about Babylons fate writing this;
(14)"And the fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were
luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men well no longer find
them.(15) The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at
a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying,
'Woe, woe, the great city, she was clothed in fine linen and
purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones
and pearls;(17) for in one hour such great wealth has been
laid waste!'
And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their
living by the sea, stood at a distance,(18) and were crying out as they saw the
smoke of her burning, saying,'What city is like the great city?"(19) and they threw
dust on their heads and were crying out weeping and mourning, saying,
'Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea
became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid
waste!'
Notice that all the people who were involved in the shipping were standing at a distance and saw the smoke of her burning. They saw the citys destuction from the sea. This gives evidence to the fact that it will be a coastal city. Tyre is a coastal city and its location and geography make it a perfect coastal port as it was once before.
John concludes the Chapter with this in verses 20-24;
"(20) Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets,
because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.(21) And a strong
angel took up a stone like a great millestone and threw it into the sea, saying,
'Thus will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with
violence, and will not be found any longer.'
(22) And the sound of the harpists and musicians and flute-players and
trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer ,and no craftsmen of craft will
be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you
any longer.(23) and the light of a lamp will not be found in you any longer;
and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will not be found in you any
longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the
nations were deceived by your sorcery. (24) And in her was found the blood
of all who have been slain on the earth."
All the saints, apostles and prophets, will be in heaven at this time with Jesus. All the activity of this vibrant city will come to an end. All the nations of the earth will be deceived by the supernatural powers the will be used, in the power of Satan. This is what the apostle Paul wrote about in his 2nd letter to the Thessalonians in the 2nd Chapter, verses 8-10;
(8)"And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will remove
with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearof His coming;
(9) that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with
all power and signs and FALSE wonders, (10) and with all DECEPTION of
wickedness for those who perish, BECAUSE THEY DID NOT RECEIVE
THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH SO AS TO BE SAVED."
Please, if you haven't yet, receive the love of the truth and be saved. The famous passage of scripture written in John's gospel Chapter 3, verse 16, says it best and that is why you might see it so much;
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
God Himself came to this world in the person of Jesus, and gave up His own human life, that he might purchase you, with the shedding of His own blood, for the forgiveness of sins and in Him we are transformed from the kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of His glorious light. Becoming part of His body, He becomes the Ark that carries us from this earthly realm, that will perish as we know it, into the spiritual realm that is eternal.
May Jesus bless you with understanding and His peace.
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