Christ is such a good attorney, not only is He our advocate he paid for our attorney fees.
All posts by Lightdancer
Moses Didn’t give Manna from Heaven John 6:30-57
We left off with Christ speaking to the group that crossed over the river Jordan without him. Now they want to know what they can do work the works of God. I have no doubt they wanted to know how they can have a couple of fish and keep eating. No doubt they had Elijah in mind and how God made sure that their oil and meal never ran out. Let’s back up to verse 30 to help pick up the thought.
John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? (31) Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
I think we all know this story.
John 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. (33)For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Jesus is the light of the world, it’s life. He is the Word and it is that word which is that bread. Remember what Paul told us? (1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come). That wasn’t just he things he mentioned in that chapter. It is the entire bible. That manna was a picture God showed us so that we could understand the larger spiritual truth.
John 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Sure this sounds good. It was nice when all they had to do was go out and gather the manna.
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Notice how you have to go to him. Just as you had to go out and gather the manna.
John 6:36But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
Eyes to see and ears to hear, but again they did not come to seek him. They came for the free lunch.
John 6:37All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (38)For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
This is the example that Christ gave us and that is simply to do the will of God. And how do you know what God’s will is? You eat the bread and put it inside of you. And what is the bread? The Word of God.
John 6:39And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
He’s coming back.
John 6:40And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
They key is to believe upon him, but that doesn’t mean you just believe that he exists. The demons he cast out knew who he was and believed he was the Son of God. This word believeth here is G4100
Πιστεύω, pisteuō, pist-yoo’-o From G4102; to havefaith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well being to Christ): – believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.
It takes faith that He is who he says he is and not just a magician running around performing tricks. This G4102 that the word comes from is persuasion or moral conviction. Are you completely convicted in your faith?
John 6:41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. (42) And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
See He was good enough to follow for a free lunch, but that is all they cared about. Be careful you are not the same. It is easy to just use Christ for your own gain or to make yourself seem something you are not. Look to your heart and see if you have the complete moral conviction it takes. If you don’t then you might as well leave because playing Christian doesn’t cut it. God knows your heart and he will not give you to Christ if your heart is not right.
John 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
You would think at the very least they could confront him about these issues. If they weren’t sure. What a bunch of wet noodles.
John 6:44No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (45)It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
This is one of those verses where you will have guys running around saying they don’t need to read the bible because God will teach them. Yes, God will teach you through the Holy Spirit, but he uses the Word to do it and you use the Word to correct you if what you think He taught you didn’t come from Him.
Let’s take a moment and look at what God has to say about this, since this topic comes up from time to time and some of you meet knuckleheads that think they don’t need to read or study the bible to know what God would want. What is ironic is they start off by quoting scripture to prove their point. Let’s look:
John 14:26But the Comforter,which isthe Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Taking this one verse they say since we have the Holy Spirit now we don’t need to do anything else, right? Heck by this reasoning we shouldn’t bother going to school because the Holy Spirit will teach us math, science, language. The first problem is they don’t read the whole chapter. Let’s back up some. John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Keep Christ’s words? Well golly, where might those words be? Are they not written in the Bible?
John 14:24He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
Wow seems to be that you could be in a look of trouble if you don’t keep His words. “But wait, I have a hard time reading and understanding and God knows this so he doesn’t make me have to read it. He does things differently with me, you just wouldn’t understand.” Really? That’s odd because for most of human history a majority of people couldn’t read which is why in the beginning God said this:
Deuteronomy 31:10-11 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, (11) When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
Every seven years thou shalt read this law. Do you have trouble reading? No problem, find yourself a good teacher. Cannot find a teacher? Guess what we have audiobooks in this day and age. But, perhaps your difficulty in understanding is a lack of desire to seek him out.
This isn’t a new thing and it isn’t a thing that God takes lightly because it is mentioned many times in the bible.
Isaiah 28:9-10 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. (10) For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
Notice how we again are to hear it all and take it step by step? Look at Ezra and Nehemiah:
Nehemiah 8:8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
Does your preacher cause you to understand the reading or does he just talk about french fries?
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Have you studied? Study what? I think you know. I have beaten this to death I know, but look at this: Matthew 12:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Do you know Christ asked the question ten times, Have you not read. Do you want him to ask you that when He returns? I pray He wont need to because you will have His stamp of approval in your forehead. His seal.
John 6:46Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. (47)Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (48)I am that bread of life. (49)Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
That whole generation in the wilderness died because for forty years they complained and wanted to go back to Egypt. So God let them die. Today the world is Egypt and when you turn your heart to God and accept Christ into your life you leave the bondage of Egypt. Remember Lot’s wife and do not look at on it, for there is death. Joshua and Caleb were the only ones of that generation that were allowed to go to the promised land. Think about that. Many are called and few are chosen.
John 6:50This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Do you want eternal life? Listen up.
John 6:51I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
We do communion in remembrance of Him and his sacrifice, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. Christ is the Word and it is in the Word that you will find that bread and yes the Holy Spirit will teach you all things if you stick to His word and seek him out. Many wont. This bunch of knuckleheads wont as we will see. They followed him for the bread. You could even say they became Christian until they learned what that entailed.
John 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? (53) Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.(54)Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (55)For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
It is time to put the milk aside and become men and women of God. Are you a Christian or not? Are you only interested in cute pictures on Facebook that say funny things or are you ready to be a soldier for God?
John 6:56He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Is Christ in you or are you just too busy to get the DAILY bread?
John 6:57As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. (58)This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. (59) These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
We will stop here today and I want you to ask yourself if you really want the manna from heaven or are you only interested in the bread of the flesh. Following God doesn’t mean this world is going to be easy. How easy was Christ’s trip through the flesh? Are you better than He was?
The Faithless Seek Christ John 6:22-30
The account of Christ feeding the five thousand and subsequently leaving the disciples before meeting up with them in the middle of the Sea of Galilee is one of the few stories told in all four of the gospels. That should tell us that this event is particularly important. What is equally important is to look at how the four accounts differ. I feel the differences are there to force us to “search the scriptures” to really understand what is going on or so we can see a truth God wants us to look at and other to emphasize one specific aspect of the event. John’s account is the only one that tells us what happened to the people after He fed them, but we need Mark to tell us where they were and where they were is the key to understanding the deeper lesson here. Mark tells us:
Mark 6:44-45 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. (45) And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.
And then later: Mark 6:53 And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.
Christ fed the five thousand at Bethsaida and they landed at the land of Gennesaret. So why is that important? The Sea of Galilee is part of the river Jordan. What is so important about that? The river Jordan is what the children of Israel crossed over to get into the promised land. Bethsaida is on the east side of the river Jordan and the land of Gennesaret is on the other. Remember that Jesus is the same name as Joshua and just as Joshua led the children of Israel into the promised land so will Jesus lead us into the promised land.
One more thing to note before we move on: the children of Israel were not allowed to into the promised land until all the Egypt generation was dead so the only people able to go over were the ones born in the wilderness. And how does that relate to this story you ask? Well, most, if not all, of the disciples were born or from Bethsaida or you could say the wilderness side and they have now crossed over and John is going to tell us about the people who didn’t cross over with Christ in their boat. I think I will to a larger and more specific study on this crossing the Jordan at a later date if anyone has an interest, but for now let’s get back to the topic at hand.
John 6:22 The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; (23) (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) (24) When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
That believe it or not is one sentence so let’s try to break it down.
First I want to point out that Christ had given thanks for the bounty of bread, and He had done it before He received the bounty, which shows a supreme level of faith. One could look for days on that alone. Can you imagine having the faith to give thanks for the surplus of food holding but a few loaves? To be truly thankful for something you don’t have or cannot see, but knowing without a doubt that God will give it. I wonder how many people today go unhealed because most, if not all of us, cannot muster that level of faith.
Anyway, the people saw that disciples left by themselves so they took some boats and found him in Capernaum. On the map you will see Gennesaret as a spot different from Capernaum. This isn’t a problem with our text as the land of Gennesaret is what they called a fertile crescent of land on the west side of the Sea of Galilee and included Capernaum.
Tiberias was my in large a gentile city and the capital of Herod Anipas’s Tetrarchy and while there was a Hebrew temple there the gospels never tell us that Christ ever visited the city. To some this may be a bit of a reach, but note that Tiberias is on the west side of the sea so the ships came from the west side and went east, which should bring to mind all those children of Israel that kept whining to Moses how things were better in Egypt and wanted to go back.
John 6:25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
These people sought after Jesus. They took shipping and searched for him. One could say they have done everything that God wants. Doesn’t God want us to follow and seek after him?
John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
Be careful he doesn’t say the same of you. How many times do we run about doing the “Christian” thing only we never stop to ask God what He wants? We run from bible study to bible study, sit in church on Sunday and sings songs of praise and move into Monday hardly thinking of him at all. Doing Christian isn’t what God wants. He wants your heart.
John 6:27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Does this mean we should stop farming and only study the bible? No, but when was the last time you labored in the word of God? “Give us this day our daily bread.” God will give it, but you still have to go to Him to get it. The manna that fell from heaven when the children of Israel were in the wilderness didn’t fall into their bowls. They had to go out and gather it. Then what? Well you have to eat it right? You have to actually stop and put the food inside of you. I know it sounds silly, but stop and think. It takes times to divide up what you’re eating. It takes time to chew it and it takes time to digest it and all those things have to happen before it can become a part of you.
John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Asked and answered.
John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
Apparently feeding the five thousand wasn’t enough for these jokers. Do you see the difference between these people and Jesus? Jesus showed faith before He had bread and these people want a sign before they will believe.
We will stop here for today, because I don’t want this to get too long and the Christ is going to get into explaining manna from heaven, which is going to lead to many people to stop following him. Pray that you don’t become one of them.
Christ comes to the Disciples at Night John 6:16 to 6:21
Welcome back. Here we are Christ has just fed the 5000 then slipped away when they tried to make him king. Let’s dig in.
John 6:16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, (17) And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
Do you remember a couple of posts ago I mentioned this whole thing should remind you of the millennium? If it didn’t before maybe this will make it a little clearer and if nothing else, I hope you can see how this is an overlay of Christ’s return.
We know that the return of Christ will be like the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37, Luke 17:27). We also know that God shut him in (Genesis 7:16) or sealed if you will.
So we have the disciples entering a ship without Christ and it’s DARK. This darkness should call a few things to mind. Let’s start with:
John 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. (36)While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.
Do you see the parallel? How about this one:
Matthew 25:1-12Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.(2)And five of them were wise, and fivewerefoolish.(3)They thatwerefoolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:(4)But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.(5)While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.(6)And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.(7)Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.(8)And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.(9)But the wise answered, saying,Not so;lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.(10)And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.(11)Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.(12)But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
We will cover more about when the Lord says, “I know you not” in the next post, for today notice how it is midnight and they need their light because it is DARK.
John 6:18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.
Let’s pull up this word wind here in the Greek: G417 (ἄνεμος anemos an’-em-os), From the base of G109; wind; (plural) by implication (the four) quarters (of the earth): – wind. Does this four quarters of the earth ring any bells as it pertains to the end?
Revelation 7:1-3 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. (2) And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, (3) Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Did you know these verses come right after the seals are listed in chapter 6? Do you see why I brought up Noah and how he was sealed by God?
John 6:19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. (20) But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.
I think that if I was on a ship in the dark and getting tossed about then see a man walking on water, I’d be afraid too, but when we have Christ in our ship we don’t need to be afraid. This world belongs to Satan, but he isn’t going to last long. He might be able to cast out his flood of lies from his mouth (Revelation 12:15) and cause some waves to toss us about and we may even get a little seasick, but he CANNOT sink the boat if we WILLINGLY accept Christ into our boat as the disciples do in the next verse.
The numbers here are interesting twenty five is a bit harder to explain quickly so I’ll just tell you that it means forgiveness of sins. Thirty means the blood of Christ as it was the amount of silver paid to Judas.
One more thing I would like to mention is that twenty-five to thirty furlongs is about half the distance of the sea of Galilee and it is interesting to note that Christ appeared to them halfway.
John 6:21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
Christ comes like a thief in the night and he comes quickly and when he does Satan’s game is over. We will pick this up in the next post and we will see what Christ says to those who didn’t have him in their boat.
We will have Jesus as our King 6:14-15
Last time we spent our time together digging deep into the meanings behind what was being said and true to form I’d like to take you back there, but first we are going to look at things from a more historical perspective. To begin with, you have to understand that the Israelites did not have a unified belief just as Christians. Even though we all believe that God is God and almost all believe that Christ is God that does not mean that Baptist, Catholics and Pentecostals all believe the same thing. For example, the Pharisees held to an Oral Law that they used to further explain the Torah, where as the Sadducees believed that you only needed the Torah and they put great stock in the temple all the while the Essenes rejected the temple and instead moved to wilderness. Scholars say that for the most part Israel was looking for not one, but two Messiahs. For Christians today this may seem odd because the Messiah is God right? No. Messiah simply means anointed one. David was a messiah, as he was anointed, as should be every priest. Exodus 28:41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
Who then were these two messiahs that Israel was looking for? First they were looking for a priest like unto Ezra and second a king like unto Nehemiah (who, though it cannot be confirmed, was believed to be of the tribe of Judah). I could post a lot of scripture, but I’ll just give you these to compare on your own, Deuteronomy 18:18 (priest) and Isaiah 7:14 (king from the house of David).
Jesus was not the messiah Israel was looking for. They wanted a king to rise up and free them from the Romans and retake the land that God had given them.
John 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
These are the five thousand that Jesus just fed and they are excited. Their bellies are full and they are ready to take back the promised land.
John 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
You could say that these people are not looking for two messiahs. They see the prophet and the king as one man, but remember David was a prophet and certainly no priest.
Putting all of that aside, why didn’t Jesus let them make him king? He is the king after all, isn’t he? I am sure most of you reading this know that Christ’s kingdom was not of this flesh world, but even knowing that isn’t this what God is after? Doesn’t He want the people to accept him as king? Yes, but you noticed they were going to FORCE Him? Next time you try and force God to do anything let me know how that works out for you.
There is also another point that the Gospel is trying to point us to. Do you remember the first time Israel forced someone to be king? Do you remember Saul? Whose name means desired. Saul was the man king Israel wanted and Christ is showing us that he is the exact opposite of Saul. You can, and I encourage you to, read how Saul became king beginning in I Samuel 9. Here we are just going to pull up the first few verses: 1 Samuel 9:2-3 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. (3) And the asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.
Saul seemed like a good guy and he was taller than everyone else. Wouldn’t be make for a nice king? But compare him to David. David was a shepherd and defended his flock against lions and bears. Saul, on the other hand, lost his asses and had to go on a mission to find them. Saul was the flesh king that Israel wanted, even after God warned them that a king would take their sons to be warriors and their daughters to be dancers and cooks. Even after God said they would take their fields, they wanted a king. Christ was not going to be that kind of king. Not then and not now.
The Parable of the Householder and His Vineyard
Have you ever wondered about God’s plan? Or do you wonder why He exhibits His wrath on those who refuse to revere Him, and instead decide they want to do what feels good to them and disregard and disrespect His message? This parable put forth by Jesus gives us a little taste of His point of view and what will happen in His response.
Jesus gives us this parable that was addressed to the Pharisees who questioned His authority to do the great things that He was doing:
(Mat 21:33) Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
This householder is none other than the Father Himself. He created and established this vineyard, which represents the world in which we live in this flesh age. He put a hedge around this vineyard, which is a border that prevents us from leaving it. Everything we know is inside this vineyard. Everything outside this hedge or fence is not of the physical world. The grapes themselves represent those who live in this world, and the husbandmen are those who are supposed to tend to the grapes and make sure that they are taken care of and grown properly so that there is a bountiful harvest when the time comes. Once the grapes are harvested, they are put in the winepress to make wine. This winepress is reserved for the return of Jesus at the end of this flesh period.
(Rev 14:15) And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
(Rev 14:16) And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
(Rev 14:17) And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
(Rev 14:18) And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
(Rev 14:19) And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
(Rev 14:20) And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
God the Father also placed a watchtower in this vineyard. The watchmen, those appointed by God to oversee the world and warn the world of what is to come, are placed on top of this watchtower. These are God’s elect who are here to guide the world in the right direction by sharing the truth of God. Many of these elect, or watchmen, are given the role of prophets of God, among other roles.
This vineyard was leased out by God to priests, husbandmen, for them to take care of it, for better or for worse. Notice that these priests are leasing this vineyard and are not servants hired by the householder. They were not chosen or appointed, but chose to take the role, but are held responsible for the crop none-the-less, because the vineyard is still owned by the Householder, and they will be held responsible for the results. After the Householder set up this vineyard, and leased it out to caretakers, He left the vineyard and went outside the hedge that was placed around it, outside this physical world and left them in charge.
(Mat 21:34) And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
As time went on, the vineyard matured and grew closer to harvest time. So the householder sent his personal servants to the vineyard to collect the grapes that were already matured and ready to be picked. A vineyard in the northern hemisphere is generally harvested between late August and early October. September is the main space of time that the harvest occurs. So these servants are sent to collect those early grapes. These early grapes are those who are more spiritually mature and ready to hear a deeper message from God. So God sends these servants, His prophets, to give them His message and help them come closer to Him.
(Mat 21:35) And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
These earlier servants are the earlier prophets who warned of the coming doom that would be seen if God’s children didn’t return to Him. They warned that His kingdom would go into captivity if they didn’t make a correction. Many of these grapes were matured and ready to hear the message and be gathered by the servants of the householder. But the priests had been tending to the vineyard and not doing it justice, so many of the grapes weren’t ready and those people didn’t listen. The priests didn’t like this, and instead they totally disregarded God’s prophets and continued leading God’s children astray, and did what they wanted, which basically amounts to idolatry. They put their own desires between them and God.
(Mat 21:36) Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.
Then, because the householder never heard back from his servants, he sent more. So, God sent further prophets to try to guide His children back to Him. They warned that if they didn’t return to Him, there would be consequences. They were again there to gather those who were matured and ready back to God. Of course, the priests didn’t like this idea this time either. They wanted to be the big dogs and run the vineyard their own way and reap the reward. They didn’t want anyone else to receive the credit or the benefits. So they also completely disregarded these servants of God and continued leading His children astray.
(Mat 21:37) But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
Because he also didn’t hear back from the second group of servants, what did he do?
These householders had absolutely no respect for the householder’s servants. So if they should have respect for anyone, it should be his own son. They should revere his son just as they revere him right. After all, his son is his closest kin and representative. If they don’t respect his son, who will they respect? They certainly wouldn’t have reverence for him if they don’t even revere his son. So God sent His Son, this is His representative to man. Whatever way we treat His Son, Jesus Christ, is how we are also treating His Father, our Father, because Jesus is God. For all intents and purposes, the son was the householder. Jesus is the form God takes to present Himself in a form we are able to comprehend. We could never even comprehend our Father in Heaven.
So this son of the householder should have been treated just as they would treat the householder himself. Right?
(Mat 21:38) But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
But, instead, they treated the son even worse. They understood how they should have treated the householder’s son, but they decided to choose to serve their own personal gain. The husbandmen knew that this son would inherit the entire vineyard, but they didn’t want to have to give it up to him eventually.
(Mat 21:39) And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
They figured they could kill the son and take over the control of the vineyard themselves. So they killed God’s Son, His representative on earth. They killed God in the flesh. That should have been the end of it…or so they thought.
(Mat 21:40) When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?
When harvest time comes, then the householder returns to see how the vineyard turned out. What do you think the householder will do to those men who were supposed to take care of his vineyard and respect his servants and his own son?
(Mat 21:41) They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
These husbandmen who were so disobedient aren’t going to have a fun time once the householder returns on the Lord’s Day. This flesh world is going to pass away in fervent heat. All that offends will be destroyed and we will enter into a period called the Millennium, a thousand year period in which Christ will rule on earth firsthand.
(2Pe 3:10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
He will return with a rod of iron and will not be meek as most would expect Him to be. If you accept Christ and submit to Him and listen to His words, and remain faithful to him until He returns as a good servant, then you will be put in charge of this next vineyard crop in the Millennium. If not, then, well just use your imagination.
Hopefully, He will give you a chance to be part of that vineyard crop to become spiritually mature and part of the good final harvest, at the end of the Millennium.
These who He puts in charge of His vineyard in the Millennium are those who He knows will bear good fruit because they have already proven themselves.
(Mat 21:42) Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
This Stone the builders rejected, the Son, is the very Stone that the Kingdom of God is built upon. The cornerstone is a stone that is put in the foundation of a building for its strength. It is a symbol of strength in the building’s foundation, and often, in ancient times, it was even anointed, just as Christ is anointed, and so are His servants. Christ is the most marvelous anointed one. There is no one above Him.
(Mat 21:43) Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
Jesus is getting to the point of this message to these Pharisees He’s talking to. He is telling them they will soon lose the priesthood and it will be given to those who are worthy. This not only applies to those Pharisees, but anyone who considers himself a priest of God, but leads God’s children astray. Do you know any of these? Beware of them.
(Mat 21:44) And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
Ultimately if these do not correct their ways, they will be destroyed in the second death of the Lake of Fire at the end of the Millennium.
(Rev 21:8) But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
(Mat 21:45) And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
The Pharisees knew exactly who Jesus was talking about. It was them, and they hated Him for it. They hated the Son of the Householder. This is the very thing that He just warned them of.
(Mat 21:46) But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.
They knew that they could not kill the Son right now though, because so many that were around did, in fact, revere Him.
Though they knew He was talking of them, they still didn’t get the bigger picture, or even heed His warning.
Will you heed His warning and be a faithful servant?
Why did Christ feed 5000? John 6:1-13
The Gospel of John is considered by historians to be the last of the canonical gospels to be written. Because of this and how is differs from the other three gospels many of them dismiss the book entirely. I am often amazed why they dismiss it. Have you ever noticed how these same “historians” will quote Josephus one minute and the next they will say how he is wrong about this and that. Some historians are of course better than others, but what most of them lack is one of the best tools God has given us to identify His fingerprint and it is that fingerprint we are going to look at today so let’s get started.
John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.
Galilee again means circuit.
John 6:2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
Note why they are following him.
John 6:3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
Mountain’s always symbolize a nation or place of power.
John 6:4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
Notice how John explains what Passover is? There are some so called scholars that claim the gospels were written in Aramaic and later translated into Greek. It is true that Aramaic was the language of the Jews at that time and was the language that Christ himself spoke, but there wasn’t a single Jew living at the time that didn’t know what Passover was. If his audience was the Aramaic speaking Jews, then he wouldn’t have had to tell us what Passover is. It would be like having to explain Christmas.
John 6:5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? (6:6) And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
Obviously, this is a rhetorical question, but there is more to it than you would at first think. This is the first part of that fingerprint I told you about. Bread is symbolic of the manna from heaven, the Word of God, the body of Christ. So ask yourself, “Do you buy the word of God?”
John 6:7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
Remember Christ asked this question to prove Philip, but it’s also to prove you and to prove to us that His finger is upon this scripture. So let’s prove ourselves and take a look at this two hundred number.
In Joshua, right after the battle of Jericho, God told Israel not to take anything from the city (Joshua 6:18-19) but not everyone listened.
Joshua 7:20-21 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: (21) When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
We have our two hundred number here along with the number fifty and a Babylonish garment. This garment was one of their priests garments. So what does that tell us about what he really took? What does God really want us to glean from this? That Achan was putting on the clothes (or wanting to) of a false religion (idolatry) and the numbers here drill the point home. Fifty is the number for the Holy Spirit, but in this case it is the number for the false spirit or you could go so far as to say Antichrist. Two hundred shows us the same thing that it does in John, namely that it is not sufficent. The garmets and spirit and bread or a false religion, if you will, are not sufficient to save you.
We see this same idea again with Absalom (David’s son that tried to take the throne). 2 Samuel 14:26 tells us how his hair was beautiful and weighed two hundred shekels and later in 2 Samuel 18 it is this same hair that got caught in a tree, ultimately causing his death. This is another example pointing us to this number two hundred not only being insufficient to save you, but also it is a hindrance to God.
I’ll give you one more example before we move on. Prior to David slaying Goliath, Saul said that anyone who slayed the giant may have his daughter’s hand in marriage. After David did, Saul said he wanted to have the foreskins of one hundred Philistines before he would give her to David. David went out to do just that, but he didn’t stop at one hundred. He gathered two hundred, but guess what? He got the daughter…but despite saving Israel from Goliath and despite gathering the two hundred foreskins it wasn’t sufficient to win over Saul.
It is easy for scholars to know what the number seven means, but two hundred? Scholars don’t look at those numbers the way we do and back before we had computers and databases to pull up and cross reference scriptures I daresay few, if any, in the ancient world knew the meaning of the word or even thought about it. God did and He put this number in here for us to know that despite what the world says about the scriptures we can have faith in Him and his word.
John 6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, (6:9) There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
Don’t over look who has the bread here. It was the lad. Remember Christ said? Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
See all the money in the world isn’t going to be enough if you look to the world for your bread, (read Matthew 25 and compare the foolish virgins that went to buy their oil) but if you go to Christ for your bread it will always be enough.
Now let’s look at the numbers here, as they are so important to understand the deeper meanings of the scriptures. Adding the number five and the number two (from verse 6:9) together give you seven which is the number for spiritual completion, but also we are given the element involved in that completion. Five means grace and two can means either division or union. What does this tell us? First, that without Christ’s sacrifice you cannot receive grace. But that is only a small faction of what he is showing us here. It’s also showing us a symbol of the bread and meat. Similar to the way God feed the tribes of Israel in the desert after they left Egypt. God feed them with manna and quail. Also, do you remember in verse four it said this is Passover? Do you remember what they were to do on Passover? They ate of the unleavened bread (barley loaves) and ate of the sacrificial lamb (fishes). Remember: 1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Christ is our Passover and we are to pray for our DAILY bread. This can be a study in and of itself so for the sake of brevity I will just give you this to chew on: Exodus 16:12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.
John 6:10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
Numbers, numbers everywhere today. Five thousand again drives home the point that Christ has been trying to show us right from the beginning. One thousand is divine completeness and five again is grace, so we see ultimately for the masses, that are only interested in Christ’s miracles, this is pointing to the day of the Lord or the millennium.
John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
Notice how it is the disciples that distributed the food and not Christ, this is true today, but again should remind you of the millennium. If it doesn’t then keep in His Word.
John 6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
In the other gospels it tells us why they were to gather up these fragments. It symbolizes the extra crap that gets spread around by would be teachers and gossip hounds. In the desert, when Israel was fed with manna and the quail, they also did not keep leftovers but looked to God to provide their daily Bread.
John 6:13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
Twelve, points to governmental order and the twelve tribes. In the millennium the elect will do their job and keep the crap at bay.
I pray I didn’t overload your boat today and if I did just remember that everyone gathers the manna from heaven according to their eating. God Bless
Christ explains His Credentials John 5:37-47
Today we are going to finish up John chapter 5. Have you liked the smaller posts? I think writing them is a bit easier to fit into my schedule. Anyway, Christ continues.
John 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. (38) And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
They were not seeking Christ. They were not excited for the Messiah. They were worried that Christ was going to upset their way of doing things. Let’s say they were really concerned that Christ was not sent from God. Did God give them anything to go on so that they could check his credentials? Yes He did.
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
Did Christ ever tell anyone to worship a golden calf or speak to other Gods? Of course not.
Deuteronomy 18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
God does not leave us hanging. If you study his word he has the answer there.
Deuteronomy 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Did the things that Christ said come to pass? Did he say rise up and walk and the man walked? Yes. So what on earth was the problem with these priests? It’s just as Christ said, “ye have not hs word abiding in you.” The people at this time were not like today. They knew the word. This is why so many of the people followed him. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to get this guys. It takes God. If you have him with you then you will not be led into darkness.
Let’s now back up to the verses just prior to to these and see if the scriptures speak of Christ.
Deuteronomy 18:15-19 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; (16) According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. (17) And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. (18) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. (19) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
This verse chapter was written to the levities. They should have known this. Christ was born from their seed line. “But wait, I thought he was from the tribe of Judah,” yes he was, but he was also half levite on Mary’s side.
John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
We just did that, but that isn’t the only place where we are told of Christ coming. Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Again they don’t care about Christ or what he has to day. They just want to kill him for messing up their little priest show. The people knew they didn’t have anything to say except, “This pharisee said this, but this pharisee said that.” Christ was giving them meat and he wasn’t extorting them at the money tables to do it either.
John 5:41 I receive not honour from men.
Christ didn’t seek to receive honor among men. Do you? Who is it more important for you to receive honor from?
John 5:42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
This is where the rubber meets the road. Do you love God or not? Is the first commandment really your first commandment? Does it even have to be a command? It shouldn’t because even if loving someone is hard it shouldn’t take a command to do it.
John 5:43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
“You see this church I made? Isn’t it great? Just send me more of your cash because we borrowed to build it.”
John 5:44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
God’s honor is the only thing that matters friends.
Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
Nothing you can receive from men will last. Only the love of our Father and his word lasts.
John 5:45-47 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. (46) For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
(47) But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
And we coved that Deuteronomy 18:19. If you don’t hear Christ’s words God is going to require your head. That is what Christ prayed would pass in the garden of Gethsemane. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be crucified. He didn’t want to have to have to pour out the cup of wrath written of in the book of Revelation.
It all comes down to a simple choice. Do you love God? Do you believe his words and accept them as a child? Or do you just want to fight with them and spend your days trying to prove them wrong. God will accommodate you either way. The choice is up to you.
The Fourth Reich? – The Bear
Is Putin pulling a Hitler again and planning to militarily annex another nation or region, while the rest of the nations of the world stand around doing almost nothing?
I think Russia preparing for an assault against Turkey and that this is why they are trying to procure land directly across the sea from it. Turkey is against the Assad Regime and supports rebels there instead and Putin is against anyone who supports the rebels. It is all part of his plan to ultimately come, with its allies, against Jerusalem.
There’s also a huge petition by citizens in Alaska to allow Alaska to join Russia. This would end up being another, huge, annex of Russia. The petition has a lot of support there. Regardless if it goes through, I believe Russia is contending for strategic land all around the globe, that will bring us to the deadly wound in the middle east.
It’s like a giant, global game of Risk.
Ukraine crisis: Could Trans-Dniester be next? – BBC article
The Deadly Wound
One doesn’t need to study end time prophecy long before coming to the deadly wound, but you don’t have to be an expert to understand the deadly wound. We are going to take a walk through the events leading up to and constituting the deadly wound that is given to one of the heads of the beast.
Let’s first take a look at what Revelation has to say about it:
(Rev 13:1) And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
(Rev 13:2) And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
(Rev 13:3) And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Now let’s break down this image and take a look at it together:
Rev 13:1
This beast is the one world political system that gains its momentum during the first half of the tribulation and precedes the one world religious system that is in place under antichrist. This political system has seven divisions which are roughly by continent. Of course seven is the number that represents spiritual completion of God’s will. The seven-headed beast has ten positions of leadership, or offices, or estates, which are headed by ten kings or officials – the number ten means law here. Each one of these seven divisions, or world nations, serve the purpose of satan’s will, though overall, it is all according to God’s will. But in serving satan’s will, they do not give glory to God. Instead, they are trying to circumvent God and bring their own salvation to the world, just as Nimrod, and the men that followed him, were doing in building the Tower of Babel. This world government is trying to bring peace to the world by its own means, however God said that until He returns, there will be no peace, and that anyone who claims they will bring world peace is lying. There shall be no peace in this flesh.
(Jer 6:13) For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
(Jer 6:14) They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
(Jer 8:9) The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
(Jer 8:10) Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
(Jer 8:11) For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
(Eze 13:8) Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.
(Eze 13:9) And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
(Eze 13:10) Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:
(Eze 13:11) Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.
(Jer 12:12) The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.
(1Th 5:1) But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
(1Th 5:2) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
(1Th 5:3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
The peace of this modern day Tower of Babel is built with untempered mortar, meaning that it is weak and this tower will not stand for long. It will begin to fall just as soon as it begins to achieve some height. God didn’t allow the builders of the original Tower of Babel to succeed and He won’t allow the builders of this one to succeed either.
We saw the foundation of this modern day tower begin to be laid in the early 1900’s just after the first world war, and in the late 1940’s, the United Nations was established. Now the nations of the earth belong to this tower and are the builders of its structure. They are even the bricks of its structure. The untempered mortar is the thin thread of the illusion of peace that they are working to achieve. But we know from the Bible that no true peace can be attained except with the love of God. The builders of this tower are doing their work and are completely and purposely leaving God out of everything, just as in the building of the original tower in Genesis 11. When peace is enforced, the hostility isn’t magically removed from the hearts of those who hate each other. It still exists there and festers, and eventually, it will explode into war. The only way to have true peace is to have God and the only way to have God the Father is to have God the Son, Jesus Christ and to dedicate your life to serving Him. Anything short of that will fail. True love cannot be forced, and it cannot be enforced.
(Joh 14:6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
(Joh 14:7) If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Rev 13:2
(Rev 13:2) And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
This seven-headed beast, the same as the fouth beast in Daniel 7, has traits from each of the three beasts that preceded it.
(Dan 7:4) The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
The United States who was made great by the providence of God, but began to turn away from Him just as ancient Israel did, for which reason it was knocked off its pedestal and made to stand on its own like the rest of the nations of the world.
(Dan 7:5) And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
The Soviet Union/Russia who introduced the idea of communism into the world and put it into practice, and began to slip at its peak, but also recovered while still giving the impression that it is lying dormant, just to rise up again at an opportune time to deceive supposed allies and regain its place as a superpower.
(Dan 7:6) After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
The kenite nation along with its four hidden dynasties that slowly gnaw away at the freedoms of the citizens of the world and gently lead them into captivity and prepare them for the next beast.
(Dan 7:7) After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
The one world political system of the first half of the tribulation is used by satan to prepare his way as antichrist and form the structure that he will use for his second beast, the one world religious system. This seven-headed beast will utilize the methods of control of the leopard beast. It will operate just like the communist system of the bear beast. And it will speak and make itself sound and appear that it is a great civilization just like the eagle beast.
(Dan 7:8) I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
But never fear. Christ will not allow this horn or power to stand for very long. Keep your faith that all of this happens according to God’s plan and for very good reason.
Rev 13:3
There will be an event that occurs to one of these seven world nations, and that nation will be the Middle Eastern head. A kingdom divided against itself shall not stand, and this is what the deadly head wound will be. War will begin in the Middle Eastern head between many muslim nations and the nation of Israel. Those nations that come against the nation of Israel will be backed by Russia and many Christian nations will come to the aid of the nation of Israel, whom they see as an ally.
Ezekiel 38-39 tells of a similar war to what is being seen here, but that chapter actually details the entry into Armageddon, which happens at the end of this flesh age between God’s elect and satan and his forces. Satan will have God’s elect surrounded, true Israel, those who remain faithful to Jesus Christ throughout the tribulation, but Jesus will come in just before antichrist acts to destroy His elect and destroys his forces. However, antichrist loves to try to copy everything that God has, but on a more fleshly level. So in this deadly wound, this happens on a more literal level as the forces of Rosh, Gog and Magog, which represent Russia, will surround the physical city of Jerusalem in the nation of Israel, at which time satan will come in to stop this war and impersonate Jesus. None-the-less, this is one head that is divided against itself and you cannot have a stable governance with the chaos of civil war.
(Mat 12:25) And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
(Mat 12:26) And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
This is satan’s kingdom (as all the nations serve him) and satan knows it can’t stand if it’s divided against itself, so he knows he must do something to prevent it from crashing down to the ground, so He will come in at the nick of time to halt the impending doom. The whole world, except those sealed by the Holy Spirit with the truth of God, will believe that this war is the war of Armageddon, and this is just the deception that satan needs to achieve his goal. He will come in just as the city of Jerusalem is surrounded and end this war and bring in a false world peace, and the world will believe that this is Jesus Christ coming to bring in a new age of love and peace. Antichrist will have finally arrived to usher in the second half of the tribulation.
(Luk 21:20) And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
Satan coming as antichrist is this desolation, as he is the desolator.
(Luk 21:21) Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
Once he arrives he will take his seat in Jerusalem claiming to be God/Jesus Christ. This is not a place you want to be when he is here, and in the near future, God will rain down hailstones on this city over a hundred pounds.
(Luk 21:22) For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
(2Th 2:1) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
Before Jesus Christ will return at the 7th trump, there must be some things that take place first.
(2Th 2:2) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Do not be deceived.
(2Th 2:3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Before Jesus Christ returns there will be a falling away, an apostasy, in which people will be led away from the God they love and to a false Christ. Satan, as antichrist, is this son of perdition—he is the first one who was sentenced to death for his rebellion from God. His only goal is to have God’s children follow and worship him instead, and he will sit on his throne in Jerusalem pretending to be God.
(2Th 2:4) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
(Rev 13:4) And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
When satan ends this war, the world will be in euphoria because they will believe they have just witnessed the end of all war. As mentioned earlier, this peace is a false peace because man will still be flesh and God said that flesh shall never have peace. Peace can’t be enforced because no one can force you to get rid of the hatred that is inside you. The only way to truly rid yourself of that hatred is through the love of Jesus Christ. This hatred will always fester just to be released when it is under enough pressure. This may appear to be the end of all war, but this is just the beginning of a major spiritual battle—the biggest war ever seen on earth in this flesh age.
(2Ti 2:15) Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
(2Th 2:10) And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Jesus Christ is the Word of God, the Truth. If you love Him, you will spend time with Him. The best way to spend time with Him is to know Him and study Him. Study the Word of God.
(2Th 2:11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
If you don’t, you will be one of these who is led astray in the tribulation as you will believe all of satan’s lies, and God will allow it for His ultimate purpose.
(2Th 2:12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Study the signs of the times so that you’re not led astray by all of this cunning deception planned by satan. He knows scripture better than almost anyone and he knows just how to twist it to deceive all but the most skilled biblical students, those sealed with the truth of the Holy Spirit.