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Topic Discussions, Uncategorized

The Silence of Zachariah

The book of Malachi marks the end of the Old Testament. Yes, we have the apocryphal accounts of the Maccabees and the Jewish revolt, but Malachi marks the end of the prophets and then for 400 years God is silent. God is silent until Zachariah entered the Holy of Holies, at which time Zachariah is struck dumb, i.e. rendered silent.

Let’s take a look at that, and let’s pay careful attention to the reason why Zachariah was forced silent, because God did it for a very special reason.

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

“Of the course of Abia” means that Zachariah was not just a normal Levite; he was the son of Aaron.

You can read in 1 Chronicles 23 where David divided the sons of Aaron into 24 groups. The eighth group being Abia. Eight, in biblical numerics, being new beginnings, and we are going to have a new beginning here.

You have to understand that the sons of Aaron were different from the rest of the Levites. God had given them several jobs that only they were to perform (it’s a study in and of itself), and they were the only ones allowed to go into the Holy of Holies. They also had several special duties that only they were allowed to perform. It was the job of the rest of the Levites to help to make sure that the sons of Aaron could do their jobs. Now let’s look at numbers 18:1 and tell me if that doesn’t get your Christian gears turning.

Numbers 18:1 And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

Okay, let’s head back to Luke.

Luke 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
(7) And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

Now, the reason that they were old was because the priesthood, as it was at that time, was also old.

Luke 1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, (9) According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. (10) And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

Meaning that he was alone in the Holy of Holies.

Luke 1:11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. (12) And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. (13) But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

The name John means God, or Yah, is a gracious giver. And He is a gracious giver because He is about to give us the last levitical priest.

Luke 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. (15) For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. (16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. (17) And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Remember how I brought up Malachi at the start of this article? Well this is the reason: because that was the last promise God gave before going silent.

Malachi 4:4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. (5) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: (6) And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Luke 1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

Okay guys, just for the record, if an angel of the Lord shows up and tells you something is going to happen, tells you that your prayers are answered, don’t ask stupid questions.

Luke 1:19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. (20) And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

Now, up until this time, Zachariah was a pretty good ‘ol boy. I mean, how many of us could it be said to be “righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless”? So I don’t want to beat up on Zachariah too much, but we have to understand the parallel God is giving us. Israel had turned from God. The book of Jeremiah tells us that He divorced Israel, and since the book of Malachi had been silent. Ever since Moses complained to God saying that he wasn’t good at speaking, Aaron and his sons have been speaking for God. God wants us to know that He had silenced them.

Luke 1:21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. (22) And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. (23) And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. (24) And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, (25) Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

Now, for the sake of this article, let’s jump down to verse 57.

Luke 1:57 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. (58) And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. (59) And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. (60) And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. (61) And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. (62) And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

This is interesting to note because John wasn’t going to be like any of his other kindred. He was the sign of something new, but he was also the symbol of all that came before. All the Law and the prophets that paved the way and told us of the coming of Jesus, just as John the Baptist was the man that made the path straight for Jesus. Can you see the parallel?

Luke 1:63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. (64) And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. (65) And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. (66) And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. (67) And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, (68) Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, (69) And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; (70) As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: (71) That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; (72) To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; (73) The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, (74) That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, (75) In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. (76) And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; (77) To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, (78) Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, (79) To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (80) And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

So we see that, even with the silence of Zachariah, God has a purpose. Just as He had a reason for John to come from old parents, to show John came from the old covenant. And He had a reason for Jesus to come from a young virgin: to show that, with Jesus, everything is made new, and that the greater covenant is ours if we will only accept it. He has a purpose for you, me, and everyone else, and it’s up to us to look for that purpose. To seek Him and His wisdom.

God Bless

Topic Discussions

Christ, Our Passover

The time is coming for the holiday in which we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Did you know that this event had been foreshadowed by God within the Bible for centuries, and even millennia before His birth?

God often teaches us about spiritual things in the Kingdom of God by using the physical things we experience in our lives within this physical world as metaphors, especially events that have taken place throughout history. This is an illustration of the multiple levels on which the Word of God teaches simultaneously.

Have you ever wondered why most Christians celebrate the eggs, and chocolate, and baby animals, and spring flowers, and a giant rabbit on a day we are supposed to be celebrating the greatest act of Jesus Christ, which allows for our salvation and eternal life? Do those actually have anything to do with Christianity? What about the day on which people traditionally celebrate those things, Easter, is this celebration really biblical? You may be surprised at the  answer to those questions.

Let’s start at the beginning, long before Jesus was on earth. To set the scene, Moses, a descendant of Levi, son of Jacob, is about to lead the Israelites, all descendants of Jacob as well, out of their enslavement within Egypt. God commands Moses to establish the observance of an ordinance among His people before they leave:

(Exo 12:1) And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

(Exo 12:2) This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

This first month month on the Hebrew calendar, Aviv or Nisan, is based on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, which occurs in March, generally on the twentieth or twenty-first day of the month. Through biblical study, we find that the first day of Aviv is supposed to begin on the first day after the equinox event, contrary to how man has come up with his own traditons of the Hebrew New Year. This is the month in which the barley crop becomes ready for harvest, and the Hebrew name, Aviv, indicates this fact.

(Exo 12:3) Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: (4) And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. (5) Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

These are very specific procedures God spelled out that were to be followed to prepare for the next stage of this ordinance. Now remember that all these things that happened before Christ were given to us as examples of how to be proper Christians, especially into the final generation.

(1Co 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.

Something to keep in mind is that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. This may help you to begin to see where this is going.

(Joh 1:32-36) And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. (33) And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.  (34) And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. (35) Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; (36) And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

(Exo 12:6) And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (7) And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. (8) And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. (9) Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. (10) And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. (11) And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.

This lamb was to be readied in order to  be eaten during the celebration that was to take place on the fourteenth day of the month, which would be known as Passover.  Let’s find out why it’s called the Passover.

(Exo 12:12) For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. (13) And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. (14) And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

Forever. These instructions are supposed to be followed until the end of time by God’s people. God is sparing those households that are obedient to Him from certain death, and that death would pass over all those who were faithful to God in this. Those who have not received these instructions or who choose not to follow them will suffer.

This is the message throughout the Bible: that, if we trust God and have faith in Him over anything or anyone else, He will always take care of us. Sometimes we may not understand why He would have us do certain things, or why we would even have to go through trials in our lives, but it is always for our benefit in the end.

(Exo 12:15) Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

In the Old Testament times, the focus was on the physical aspect of religion. God expected everyone to follow tangible rules to show their obedience. There was to be no leavened bread in your home at the time of this celebration if you were a faithful Israelite.

Today, as we read above, we are to continue observing what we see here, but instead, we are now to follow it in a spiritual manner.

(Exo 12:16) And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. (17) And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. (18) In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. (19) Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. (20) Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

You can begin to see just how seriously He takes this leavened and unleavened bread. With as much emphasis He puts on this subject, I wouldn’t recommend dismissing it.

Now, as I mentioned a little bit earlier, we are now to observe ordinances on a spiritual level, rather than physically, though we are ordered to observe Passover forever. So how does this work?

Let’s start by looking at the leavened bread:

(Mat 16:5-12) And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?  Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

So, what is the leaven we are to beware of today? It is the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees and Sadducees are known to have added a lot of fluff and junk into the Israelite religion, and Jesus is warning the apostles, and us today, to stay away from those things that have nothing to do with God, and to stick with His Word. It is even worse if that leaven is related to pagan religions. So during this Passover week, it would certainly be a bad thing for us to have in our homes items related to celebrations in pagan religions. Even more importantly, as the term house represents our heart and where our focus is, we are not to be partaking in rituals and pastimes that are against God during this time.

Research the origins of the rituals related to the celebration of the goddess Ishtar (Ashteroth), which have been carried over to the modern celebration of Easter. They are not at all innocent; in fact they are very evil.

But since we are now to observe ordinances of God on a spiritual level, how do we apply the rest of God’s commands?

(1Co 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: (8) Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

So now we begin to see the whole picture. Paul tells us here that Christ is our Passover, and that we are to continue to keep the feast of unleavened bread, and to purge the leaven out of our lives, and to celebrate with unleavened–the truth of God, with nothing added in to fluff it up. But, if Christ is the Passover, does that still mean we are to slay a lamb for the feast? Well, what did we read a little earlier?

(Joh 1:35) Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples. (36) And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

Jesus is that unblemished Lamb and He has already been sacrificed for us, once and for all times! And He rose from the grave, death having passed Him over to show us what would await the faithful after our bodies were done. But what about the feast? Jesus instructed us about this shortly before His crucifixion.

(Mar 14:22) And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. (23) And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. (24) And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

(1Co 10:16) The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? (17) For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

When we take communion, as Christians, we are partaking of that feast of the unleavened bread that God mandated in Exodus 12, but we now observe it under the new covenant.

I might also suggest that, in place of Lamb’s blood, you can anoint your home, and your family and self with olive oil, which is elaya in Greek (in Hebrew, El and Ya are two names of God). And, with your families, you should read about our Passover in the Bible, just as we are told to do in Exodus, but then make the connection with the Lord, Jesus Christ.

(Joh 6:47) 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. (50) This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. (51) I 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.

So, we are to believe in Jesus Christ and know that He is our Lord and Savior, Who died for our sins. We are to participate in the feast of communion to demonstrate our faith in obedience to the ordinance God demanded us to observe. As a result, we will have everlasting life and we will not perish with those who are not living according to God. When we do this, we become spiritual Israelites, whether we were of the family of Jacob (Israel) or not. If you are a spiritual Israelite, you are one of God’s people, and the ordinance of Passover applies to you. And after all, if you are one of God’s people, you want to make God happy, don’t you?

Of course you want to please God. And the way to do that is to study His Word, which will bring you closer with Jesus, and learn how to live by His ways. This is what He has wanted us to do all along. It doesn’t matter how badly you think you’ve messed up, it’s not to late to turn around and repent and come back to God!

God Bless!

 

 

 

 

Topic Discussions, Uncategorized

Behold a Virgin shall Conceive Part 3

We began this series by examining the word virgin in Isaiah 7:14, and continued by looking at the historical aspects surrounding the verse, and finally, we are going to tie this all together as to why this chapter is about not only the Messiah, but also why there had to be two advents.

To do this, we have to actually back up to chapter 6, which begins with Isaiah seeing the Lord, to Whom he cries out:

Isaiah 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

He is, no doubt, thinking of when Moses was allowed to see only the hinder parts of God least he die.

Isaiah 6:6-7 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: (7) And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

This could be a study in and of itself, but for the sake of brevity just note that his sins are forgiven.

Isaiah 6:9-10 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. (10) Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

God told Isaiah that they would not understand. Understand what? Well, the next several chapters, especially chapters 7-14, if not all of what He would say, but it is particularly important to note that Jesus tells us that this is part of the first advent. Observe:

Matthew 13:10-16 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? (11) He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (12) For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. (13) Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. (14) And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: (15) For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (16) But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Isaiah 6:11-12 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, (12) And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

This means that they are going to be taken all away, and they are not going to understand until AFTER their return. They still have not returned, not all, and certainly not the House of Israel, that is to say the ten northern tribes.

Take special note of this final verse of the chapter:

Isaiah 6:13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

This translation really doesn’t cover what the Bible is saying here because we don’t eat teil trees or oaks, as they are deciduous trees, and the word eaten, here, is more along the lines of “used up,” not “consumed”. What it is really saying is that the trees (note there are two trees for both the houses of Israel and Judah) are going to shed their leaves, and their substance will be in them, just like how a deciduous tree moves it’s sap, etc., down into the roots (remember the root of Jesse?) to survive winter or a dry season.

“So the Holy Seed shall be the substance thereof.” This is the exact same seed God spoke about, and has been protecting, way back since the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

And that, my friends, is the first prophecy concerning Jesus Christ.

This brings us back to chapter 7.

Isaiah 7:3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;

When God gives us a specific place and specific people, it’s time to open those eyes. A fuller’s job was to cleanse impurities from cloth or wool, and the fuller’s field is where they did their work. So, why did God tell him to speak to Ahaz here? It was to let us know that all the crud is going to get scrubbed, that is to say the wickedness and sinful behavior will be removed. If we then pair that location with Isaiah’s son, Shearjashub, which means, “a remnant will return,” it gives us the message that Israel shall return after they are cleansed.

Isaiah had two sons (that we know of), and this is the only place this son is mentioned. His other son, Mahershalalhashbaz, which means, “hastened-booty speedy spoil,” is only mentioned at the beginning of chapter 8. Most students of the Bible recognize that the second child, Mahershalalhashbaz, is the sign promised to Ahaz, and that the name itself (given by God in Isaiah 8:1) tells us how the Assyrian will come.

Isaiah 8:3-4 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz. (4) For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

What most people read over is:

Isaiah 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

That is “children,” plural. This means both children, and Isaiah (which means, “Yahaveh’s Salvation.”) himself. What does that mean if we put all of this together? It means, “From Yahaveh’s Salvation (Isaiah) comes two children, Shearjashub and Mahershalalhashbaz.” This tells us that God’s salvation plan has two parts, and if we pay attention, we will know that means two advents. That is why John asked:

Luke 7:19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

He didn’t ask if we should look for another because he didn’t know who Jesus was at this point: he had already baptized Him, and the Holy Spirit announced who He was. He asked because he knew that God’s salvation plan had TWO parts.

Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

These verses do not describe Mahershalalhashbaz. That child was only the type to prove the words of Isaiah were true. I didn’t really want this article to turn solely into a post about the two advents (I feel that should be a topic in a of itself). I began by just wanting to address some of the criticisms that the word, “virgin,” receives, and it has turned into all of this. I hope you have learned something worth-while, and it has caused you to look deeper into His word for yourself. I can’t help but close with these two verses:

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

This is the first advent.

Zechariah 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

This is the second advent.

Until next time, May God bless you and keep you.

Topic Discussions

Behold a Virgin shall Conceive Part 2

In Part 1, we addressed the use of the Hebrew word, almah (virgin), as it is used in Isaiah 7:14. Today we are going to look at the whole of chapter 7 and onwards to understand the historical aspects of what is written, which will lead to how it pertains to the birth of Christ, and then into His future return.

Many people ask why the historical context is important, and the answer is really twofold. First, it’s important because God gave us a very specific set of instructions to tell whether a prophet came from Him or not.

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. (21) And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? (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.

Many scholars will look at historical prophecies, like those given in Daniel, and say that they have already come to pass, and that they were given to those specific people for that specific period of time, and that those prophecies don’t have any more meaning for us today. The problem with that is there are many parts of Daniel and this book of Isaiah that have not come to pass even to this day. Why? Because God gave us the prophecy and allowed it to be partially fulfilled to show that prophets like Isaiah and Daniel truly came from Him. If we only have prophecy given for the end of the world then we wouldn’t know if they came from Him until after the end of the world and by then it wouldn’t matter. God wants us to know before hand.

Mark 13:23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

The second reason is that the historical context gives us the example for the future. Thus, if we can see the physical past events that happened, it helps us to understand not only the physical events that will happen, but also the spiritual ones.

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.

Therefore, we need to know and understand what happened historically during the time of Isaiah.

Isaiah 7:1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.

What did the world look like at this point in history? The kingdoms of Judah and Israel, having been split, are sometimes called the northern and southern kingdoms.  The northern kingdom didn’t want to go down to Jerusalem to worship, and instead they set up two golden calves to worship.

To the north of the northern kingdom, you have Syria, and to its east you have the big daddy superpower of the world Assyria. The Assyrian empire was extremely aggressive and had, in the not too distant past, threatened the northern kingdom during the reign of Menahem. Menahem decided to pay tribute to Assyria instead of fighting, however as anyone knows, if you feed a problem it only makes it hungrier.

Israel was a mess and was well past the four sons that God had promised Jehu would sit on the throne, Jehoadaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II and Zechariah. Now we have a pile of evil generals and politicos that started with Shallum and there is even some evidence that supports the notion that the northern kingdom was split between Israel and Ephraim. Regardless, God wasn’t happy with any of it.

Did Israel care? No, of course not. So they decided to join up with Syria and attack Judah. Now it’s hard to say for sure why Israel decided to attack Judah. Some speculate that Israel and Syria joined forces to stave off the mounting pressure of Assyria and wanted Ahaz to join them. Ahaz refused so they attacked him. It would seem strange for a pair of kings, worried about an Assyrian assault, to attack a southern neighbor, but it isn’t unheard of. I mean, Hitler did the same thing with Russia while fighting the west. The bottom line is people do strange things when they don’t stop to consult our Father.

Now Ahaz wasn’t a peach. He was just as evil as… well he was a bad dude. He sacrificed, not only to other gods, but he participated in Molechism, which is tossing children into fire. But when you decide to join up with a foreigner (Syria) and attack your brother (Judah), you’re going to be in a heap of hurt. Those of you that have kids can relate. If your sons or daughters have a fight with one another, that’s one thing, but if one of your sons grabs some other kid and uses him to beat up their brother that is crossing the line. Quite frankly, it’s unthinkable for most of us, but that is what Pekah did.

Reading on in Isaiah chapter 7, we will find that God sends Isaiah and specifically tells him to bring his son Shearjashub (this will be important to remember in the next part) to meet with Ahaz and tell him that Syria and Ephraim are not going to prevail, and that within 65 years they are not going to even be a people. Then God says:

Isaiah 7:10-11  Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, (11) Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

Pause a moment. God tells you to ask for a sign would you ask? I mean He didn’t say I’ll give you one if you would like. He TOLD him to ask, but what does the mighty Ahaz do?

Isaiah 7:12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.

He can sacrifice children to Molech, but he won’t tempt God by doing what He tells him to do. That calls to mind a verse earlier in this book of Isaiah doesn’t it?

Isaiah 3:4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

Anyway, that brings us to the well-known verse 14

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.

This is the SIGN for the above prophecy. Namely, that God is going to make it so that Syria and Ephraim are no longer a people. Historically, this happened which is why most of Israel is scattered to this day, not knowing who they are.

Fast-forward to chapter 8:

Isaiah 8:1-4  Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. (2) And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. (3) And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz. (4) For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

Clearly the prophetess isn’t a virgin (though she could’ve been prior), but obviously this is the child of which God spoke that would come, but only in part. This child is a proof that what Isaiah said was true. How do we know Mahershalalhashbaz isn’t the child Immanuel? Because if you read on through to chapter 9 you come to:

Isaiah 9:6-7  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Did Mahershalalhashbaz accomplish this? No, and because he wasn’t of the house of David, we know that ultimately this isn’t the child God intended. Thus, we know that God intended this for a future messiah.  Also if you read on through to chapter 14, where this whole sequence continues on to, you will see that Mahershalalhashbaz doesn’t come close to fitting the bill in it’s entirety.

But, was Mahershalalhashbaz the one Isaiah (or God rather) was speaking about in 7:14? Well Isaiah seemed to think so:

Isaiah 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

But wait, it says Children not child. Hey I’m glad you noticed that. It does say that, doesn’t it? That’s why I told you to note how God told Isaiah to bring his son, Shearjashub which means, a remnant shall return. And we will cover what that sign means prophecically even onto this day when we return in part 3.

If this was helpful please share and God bless.

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Behold a Virgin shall Conceive Part 1

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Critics like to attack the book of Matthew, and they usually begin those attacks in the very first chapter.

Matthew 1:21-23 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (22) Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, (23) Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

For Christians we call these verses to mind every year, and it becomes a large bedrock of our faith. Others will say that the prophecy he is referring to doesn’t use the word virgin, nor is it speaking about the Messiah.

When I began this post I thought that I was going to just going to look at the prophecy it comes from:

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,

and examine the Hebrew word that the King James Bible translates as ‘virgin’ and leave it at that, but it would seem that God wouldn’t let me stop there and what began as a single article has grown into what will be probably three or four.

So without further ado, let’s pull up the word virgin in Isaiah 7:14:

H5959  עַלְמָה  ‛almâh
al-maw’
Feminine of H5958; a lass (as veiled or private): – damsel, maid, virgin.

So what’s the problem? Clearly virgin is on the list of possible translations right? It is, but there is a group of Hebrew scholars that say it shouldn’t mean virgin, but rather it should be a young girl or woman. Now if that’s true, then why was it ever translated virgin? Good question. The claim is that the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), completed probably around the 3rd century, used the Greek word for virgin instead of young woman, and that it was the Septuagint that Matthew referenced to compose his gospel. So, they say that Christians have been using the wrong translation ever since. A point which I feel is rendered moot when you consider the Septuagint was translated by 70 or more Hebrew Scholars that didn’t have any Christian influence since it was translated 2-300 years before Jesus was born.

Where does that leave us? First if you think about it, even if the word meant young unmarried woman or maid, it would almost certainly imply she is a virgin. But let’s not just say that because Hebrew scholars will say that, if it meant virgin, it would have used the word ‘bethulah,’ which leaves us with the fact that, if you grab from Christian sources, you will find many reasons (some good and some bad) as to why the word should be ‘virgin,’ and if you grab from Jewish sources (some good and some bad) you will find a myriad of reasons why ‘almah’ doesn’t mean virgin.

For now let’s back up from the word a bit and look at the context.

Isaiah 7:10-14 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, (11) Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. (12) But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. (13) And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? (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.

God tells Ahaz to ask for a sign. Ahaz refuses and God says He is going to give one anyway. Right? So think on this a moment. God says there is going to be a sign, whether Ahaz wants one or not, which must mean this sign is pretty important. It would also mean that the sign would be special. Correct? In the book of John, when God gives us a sign, He raises the dead. When He wanted to give Egypt a sign, He split the Red Sea. So here, when God wants to give a special sign, He says that a woman will give birth? I don’t know about you guys, but it doesn’t seem to me that a woman giving birth is very earth-shattering.  I mean, I don’t want to make it sound that I think the miracle of birth isn’t special, but it isn’t rare. It happens every few seconds.

That being said, chapter 8 gives us the birth of Mahershalalhashbaz (which means hasten-booty speed spoil) who God names. This is probably the real reason that they used the word, almah, and not ‘bethulah,’ because the first child wasn’t born from a virgin, and that child didn’t complete everything given in the prophecy (we will cover more on this in the next post), whereas the second, Jesus of Nazareth, did.

The next segment is where things really start to get interesting because you see that “A virgin shall conceive” isn’t the prophecy, not really. It is the sign God would give so that we would know that the prophecy in Isaiah 7 was not only true, but that we would have the time frame of the whole thing. Until next time, may God bless you and keep you.

 

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Space: The Primal Frontier

Have you ever looked up at the night’s sky and wondered about the Creation and the beginnings of the universe, and what existed before God created all these beautiful stars, nebulae, and galaxies billions of years ago? What is beyond the edges of space, the edges of the very universe? Into what space is the Universe expanding at rates faster than the speed of light? How can the universe warp space and time to expand at such a rate, which is a supposed speed barrier in the universe?

All those are intriguing questions, but for the purposes of this article we will, for now, focus on this question: What existed before the universe erupted by the so-called Big Bang? And what part did God play in all this?

If the universe one day decided to erupt into what is now practically an infinite expanse that is always getting bigger, then there was something which existed outside the singular point that scientists theorize once contained all of the matter in the universe, a point with billions of times more mass than any black hole, all contained within a tiny, probably microscopic dot. All matter which we can detect would have been crammed into this infinitesimal space, and we aren’t going to argue whether or not this was the case, but let’s assume this was the case, which is fine with me as this doesn’t contradict anything in the Bible if you truly study what is written. I think we can then all agree that there was something that was beyond the edges of this invisibly small point, something that existed before the “Big Bang”: something much larger and older than the universe itself. What do we call this and how did it look?

Well, we currently can’t remember what it looked like, and that doesn’t really matter, but take some time to think about it and try to picture it. Imagine what space existed before the so-called “Big Bang”. What color was it? What did that tiny dot look like, if you were able to see it? Were there other tiny dots as well? Other universes? Was there any life at all at this point in time? And extra-universal life? Life that is possible outside of our universal context?

Can this expanse outside our universe have possibly existed without a consciousness to observe it? Think about this: if there was no conscious being to observe this universe before it was created, “Big Bang” or otherwise, then did it really exist? Well, according to most scientists, there was no life or consciousness before this time, so therefore what was there? The point of all of this, as they view all life as accidental and a chance happening, is that it could just as easily have not come to be, in their collective view. If life had not come to be, in any form, then would anything actually exist? If there was no one there to see, or sense in any other way, the universe, then what kind of existence would it have had? Really there could have been none.

For example, the only way the colors of spectrum exist is that God created in us these things called eyes that take the light frequencies, and translate them into what our brain interprets as color. Without organisms, or some other entity to observe these colors, they could not and would not exist.

Sound exists only because we have ears that sense pressure waves that our brain interprets as sound. Sound could not and would not exist without an observer.

The chemicals with which our noses and tongues come into contact send signals to our brains that interpret them as smell and taste. Those would also not exist.

Touch? That’s obvious. You must have physical contact and nerve cells to sense touch the way we do. You can see that those 5 senses would not even be, if there were no organisms to detect those stimuli.

So in a sense, as we know existence, the universe would not even exist without someone to observe it. There would not be any known way to perceive the universe, and as far as we, or any living entity is concerned, it would not exist. Therefore, there would be no reality. Needless to say, if there were no reality, then there would be nothing at all, which is impossible to even imagine. Can you imagine an existence without any existence? Well before the so-called “Big Bang”, without a God, this is what we would have because there would be no observer to validate and confirm the existence of the universe. All there would be is empty, void nothingness. Nothing. Nothing at all.

So what then? Is there any other way that the universe could be, without there having been a consciousness before a Big Bang? Well, have you ever heard of the great thought experiment called Schrödinger’s Cat?

If you aren’t familiar with Schrödinger’s Cat, Erwin Schrödinger postulated that if a cat was locked up in a box for one hour, isolated from observation, with an assembly set up, which has a slowly decaying radioactive material, that if even one atom is detected by a Geiger counter having decayed from this material, then the contraption would cause a hammer to be released smashing a vial of an extremely poisonous gas, which would kill the cat, we could not predict whether the cat would be alive or dead after that hour. Whether or not this material had decayed within that hour is a completely random situation, as there would be an equal chance that it would have decayed or that it would not have decayed in that hour, into the Geiger counter. Thus, there would be an equal probability that cat was alive or dead after that one-hour period.

Under the Copenhagen Interpretation of this thought experiment, the cat would be both alive and dead at the same time until the lid to the box was opened and the fate of the cat was revealed. We know, and most scientists agree, that this is impossible–the cat must either be dead or be alive. But, until the observer opens the box, in our minds the life and the death of the cat are blurred into an equal probability. Under this interpretation, unless there was a God, or until life began somewhere in the universe, the Big Bang would have both happened (creating the universe as we know it), and it would have not happened (resulting in no universe at all).

But, just as in Schrödinger’s Cat, where once the box was opened this probability collapsed into a definite state of life or death, as soon as there was either a being such as God, or life such as us, the state of our universe would collapse into a state of existence or non-existence; but, until then, we could not be sure the universe was actually existent.

Really, this is the Relational Interpretation, which says that the existence of the universe would be dependent on what the observer perceives. It isn’t a matter of the universe both existing and not existing at the same time, but a matter of existence being dependent on an observer. Of course, if it was a state of non-existence, then we wouldn’t be here discussing this topic. Therefore, at any point, for the universe to exist definitely, there must need be a conscious being somewhere to observe it.

In the Schrodinger’s Cat thought experiment, there was a whole world outside the box, so it was only the state of the cat that was in question, while the world kept on turning outside the box. In the scenario we are discussing, the entire universe is inside the box, and it is dependent on an observer outside the box to validate the state of us (the cat) inside the box. Thus, according to the Relational Interpretation there must be an observer observing from outside the box.

However, the Relational Interpretation assumes that there can be nothing outside the universe, and therefore, there could not be an external observer. This seems to be counter-intuitive because there must be some space into which the universe can expand, so this belief that there could not be an observer outside the known universe is merely a close-minded assumption, and this would seem to indicate that the universe did not exist until the first life began. This idea is a clear paradox, and would suggest that the universe could not exist.

Obviously, now we also have an observer inside the box as well, us, just as the cat could observe his own state, but this wasn’t always the case, and that would not work according to the Relational Interpretation. So what was there before the first physical life came into being?

The Objective Collapse Theories state that the cat, us again, could observe the universe itself and thus the quantum states would collapse into one reality. But there is a problem with this: without a God having pre-existed the universe, then the universe could not observe itself, and thus, still could not exist. If the universe didn’t exist up to that point, then life could not have begun. There had to be an observer present before the universe was formed to begin with. 

So let’s call this observer God. If God existed before the “Big Bang”, then what could we say about Him? Well, being that the space into which the universe expands would have to be formless (otherwise we would keep having to explain how the next particular space was created and observed), then God would also have to be formless. This space would also have to be infinite, and God would have to be infinite. And if God is infinite in an infinite space, then He would also have to be omnipresent. If God is omnipresent in an infinite space, then the space into which our universe is expanding would have to be God Himself. And, and infinite being occupying all of an infinite space Who Himself is omnipresent, would also then be omniscient, and therefore omnipotent as well.

You cannot describe any of this without realizing that, at some point, you are going to get to a place that cannot be understood or explained by man, and therefore will seem like magic. But is it magic, or is it advanced science? It really doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you realize that there is a point beyond which you cannot explain scientifically. And if you cannot explain it, then how can you doubt it as not agreeing with science? All science and technology was viewed as magic before it was understood. If we can see scientifically that a God would be omnipresent, then all argument against omniscience and omnipresence go out the window.

Let’s continue this in a subsequent God in Science discussion, as this cold go on forever. I hope, by this point, we have established that in order for the universe to have existed for the billions of years it has, there must have been a consciousness that pre-existed it’s beginning. In future articles we will dig deeper into the nature of this consciousness.

God Bless

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The Ark of Truth

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You may have heard or even read the story of Noah’s flood, but have you given thought to what the events of this flood are teaching us for the end times? As we know, everything in the Bible has not only the basic lesson taught on the surface, but also a deeper lesson we are to gain from it, three levels in fact.

The deepest levels of knowledge in the Bible always apply to the last generation in particular, the generation of the fig tree. The story of Noah is no exception to that rule.

We are told in Matthew 24 and Luke 17 that the end days will be as in the days of Noah.

(Mat 24:37) But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

(Mat 24:38) For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

(Mat 24:39) And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

The story of Noah picks up when angels were coming down from heaven, at which point they became fallen angels not only because they came down from heaven, but that they also decided to contradict God’s natural plan for us.

(Gen 6:1) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

(Gen 6:2) That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

(Gen 6:3) And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

(Gen 6:4) There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God (nephilim) came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men (gibborem) which were of old, men of renown.

(Gen 6:5) And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

These fallen angels, nephilim in the Hebrew (fallen ones), came to earth and saw those souls who had been born as women and decided they would like to take advantage of them. As a result, offspring were born and these offspring were mighty men, called gibborem in the Hebrew, many of whom were giants in stature, as well as giants of intellect, strength and so on. The Bible uses the term giant and we know that is true much of the time because, later on, Goliath and many other biblical giants of stature were born, but this doesn’t mean that all gibborem were giants in terms of height, as the term gibbor simply means ‘mighty man’.

These gibborem were literal offspring of the sons of God, the angels who came down to earth refusing to be born as flesh babies without recollection of the world that was, and, just as the nephilim had no respect for God or His plan for us, neither did they.

(Gen 6:6) And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Both these nephilim and these gibborem brought nothing but wickedness to the earth and to us as mankind. They had intermingled with almost everyone, and God was disgusted by it, to the point that He deeply regretted that He had to place us in these corruptible, weak flesh bodies. But He also knew that was the way it had to be because that is what He had predetermined as the best course of action after satan’s rebellion.

(Gen 6:7) And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

God was going to send this flood to destroy all of the fallen angels, and those who had mixed with them and their offspring.  All those who did not follow in God’s ways would be wiped off the map.

(Gen 6:8) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

(Gen 6:9) These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Although God saw nothing but utter wickedness, there was one man and his family that had stayed true to God, and had not intermixed with these sons of God, and that man was Noah.

Generation, in this verse, is ‘dor’ in the Hebrew, which means posterity or lineage. This simply meant that Noah’s pedigree remained pure because he didn’t mate with the sons of God.

Noah was a representation, for the end times, of God’s elect, including the 144,000, because he was righteous. Just as in the days of Noah, the end times currently has an influx of another group of fallen angels, which has long preceded the flood just like in Noah’s time (This is the third influx. The first would be destroyed in Noah’s flood, and the second is the origin of Goliath and his contemporaries).

The end times has its own flood, however God told us He would never again destroy the land with a flood of water. The flood of the end times is the flood of lies from satan’s mouth, which is so deceptive and convincing that it will sweep away anyone without an excellent understanding of God’s Word. This flood occurs during the Tribulation by way of antichrist and his lieutenants.

(Rev 12:15) And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

 

(Luk 17:26) And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

(Luk 17:27) They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Those who do not care enough for the Lord to study and understand His message to us will be taken and swept away in this flood and will become spiritually dead, until they receive a chance to fix it in the Millennium.

(2Th 2:7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

(2Th 2:8) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

(2Th 2:9) Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

(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.

(2Th 2:11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

(2Th 2:12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

God will allow these people to be deceived because they do not truly care for Him enough to take what He says seriously. They will learn from the deception and delusion they receive by being swept away by the flood during the tribulation, but it will be a long, hard road for them get into God’s good graces.

(Mat 24:39) And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

(Mat 24:40) Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

(Mat 24:41) Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

The ones who are not swept away by this flood will remain working in God’s field and grinding at His mill until the end at the return of Jesus.

(Mar 13:11) But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

(Mar 13:12) Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.

(Mar 13:13) And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

We are to remain strong to the end and not be swept away by this flood that will be coming from antichrist and through his henchmen dressed as godly servants. But how are we to do this when we are told that the entire world will be deceived? Well how did Noah remain safe through his flood?

God told him to build an ark.

(Gen 6:11) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

(Gen 6:12) And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

(Gen 6:13) And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

(Gen 6:14) Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

(Gen 6:15) And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

(Gen 6:16) A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

(Gen 6:17) And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

(Gen 6:18) But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

This ark is our Ark of Truth, and it will keep us afloat during the tribulation. It will keep us floating above the ways of the world, which are represented by the seas throughout the Bible. It is pitched, or sealed, with God’s Word.

Do you remember when Jesus walked on water, and when the disciples saw Him, He called out and Peter stepped out of their boat to walk on the water himself? This is also part of this lesson. This ark will keep us above the ways of the world and the filth it contains in the end times, but even if we step out and into the world, if we keep our eyes on Jesus, we will not sink into those disgusting ways. What happened when Peter took his eyes off Jesus? He sunk right down.

So, we must build this ark and board it too. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, and we will be able to come to Him at His return with a clean conscience and a white robe.

Of course there is much more to this lesson for the end times, but we can discuss that in future articles.

God Bless

Topic Discussions

Antichrist’s Banner

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With all the gay pride celebrations taking place you have to wonder where it all fits into prophecy. We were foretold that the last days would be just like the days of Noah and the days of Lot, and in their times this type of behavior ran rampant, among other things. But how does the symbology fit in, such as the gay flag?

(Rev 6:2) And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Each of the four horses, of the first four seals in Revelation, represents one of the four “dynasties” run by Satan and his cronies. The white is religion, red is politics, black is economy, and pale is education. These are the four sectors that guide the world, during the tribulation, into the one world nation of the first beast, which then leads to the one world religion of the second beast.

This white horse, being that of the religious dynasty, is ridden symbolically by antichrist himself. The seals are opened in the order that those particular aspects begin, and then the dynasties are finalized in reverse order. The religious dynasty was the first that was established thousands of years ago by the kenites working in the temple, and it will be finalized last when antichrist comes pretending to be God.

The rider of this white horse conquers the people of the world by deception through the various religious systems of the world. And he carries a bow, or rainbow, but in the Greek this rainbow is specifically is ‘toxon’.

Toxon (G5115) – From the base of G5088; a bow (apparently as the simplest fabric): – bow.

In other words, this bow is a cheap fabric imitation of God’s promise to us, which is represented by the rainbow. If you remember in Genesis 8, God told us He would never again flood the land with water to destroy the life there, and He gave us the rainbow as a symbol to remind us. When antichrist comes, there will once again be a flood, and this one will cover the entire earth, however it is not one of water, but of lies issued out of the mouth of satan, who at that time will be on earth as antichrist.

(Rev 12:15) And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

(Rev 12:16) And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

This flood of lies will sweep people away in a frenzy of deception and they will buy into everything he and his system tells them, especially that what ministers have taught from the Bible for millennia about decency and morality has been wrong, and that it is more important for people to be happy, and to be “good people.” They are now teaching that God doesn’t hold us to the same standards that He did in the olden times.

Well today we have what seems to be a cheap fabric imitation of God’s rainbow, one which most people of the world, even so many churches, are swallowing up as the new age “doctrine of God.” We are told God never changes, and His Word is good from the beginning to the end for doctrine and reproof.

This flag appears to be this toxon that will be carried by the rider of the white horse to unite the world under a new world religion or belief system.

It is no coincidence that, in this last generation, at this exact time, we are seeing this symbol everywhere including our own Christian religious systems, which are really supposed to uphold the Bible, but instead are trampling God’s Word. It is a lie that it is OK with God to practice things He Himself has told us are an abomination to Him. This trend is not just about being with those of the same sex, but about a total disregard and hatred of God, for the purpose of doing what feels good to the person and not what pleases God.

This symbol is now coming to represent everything that God is against because it is dividing the world between people that have a love and respect for God and His Word, and people who could not care any less for Him.

Now God’s rainbow has 7 bands of color, and biblically 7 means spiritual completion. The rainbow flag has 6 bands; 6 represents man and spiritual imperfection in the Bible. Which color is missing? Indigo. Indigo is a dark bluish color, which has come to represent, especially in flags, wisdom. Well guess what is missing from this counterfeit flag: you guessed it, wisdom. Add to that, without all 7 colors of the spectrum, you cannot have true white light, which represents purity. God’s pure white light is the Truth, and His rainbow, as a whole, represents His truth. The rainbow flag, by not being comprised of all 7 colors, cannot represent the truth of God.

A symbol that was set by God to represent all that is God in His Word and His promise, has been perverted to stand for everything that is against God. It is a symbol of rebellion against God, and it will be the banner flown by the rider of the white horse.

Remember why we are on earth and what is the meaning of life. Do you choose God, or do you choose anything but God? That is the choice.

God Bless

 

Topic Discussions

Are You Truly Repentant?

Repenting is to feel bad for what you have done and ask forgiveness. Once you sincerely repent, it means that you try your best to stay away from that sin, not that you might not fall short sometimes, but every time you do, you feel bad about it and repent and ask forgiveness. True, sincere repentance through Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation.

If someone’s life is based around a particular sin, with no changes being made to correct it, it is hard to say that that person is truly repentant or sincere. If someone is happy about that sin, and brags about it or celebrates it, it is also hard to say that person is truly repentant. That would mean they are celebrating making God angry and disobeying Him. Not smart, especially for a Christian.

You can’t really support and celebrate something that is against God and be a Christian–that is being two-faced. God knows how you feel about it; you can’t hide it. Do you support God? Or do you support whatever makes you happy?

*[[Gal 1:9-10/KJV]]*
(9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
(10) For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Please strongly consider whether you are truly doing the things that demonstrate you are a Christian, or whether the things you are doing and the way you live show that you put the world and your desires first. Everyone falls short, and everyone can be forgiven, but not everyone cares enough to truly repent, even within the body of professed Christians.

God Bless

Topic Discussions

The Ignorance of Modern Science

Rom 1:16-23
(16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
(17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
(18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
(19) Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
(20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
(21) Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
(22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
(23) And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

There is no science that can disprove what is written by God in the Bible. The problem is that there are so many assumptions made by people of what the Bible says, because they really don’t understand what is written or care to take the time to read and study.

Another problem is that many so-called scientists, so-called intellectual people, don’t have a very good grasp on science either, and don’t realize that there are a couple theories in a vast sea of good science that actually contradict the laws of good science. And this lack of understanding of science comes not only from laymen, but also from those who are regarded as heroes in the world of science, the scientists themselves.

The science from these frauds does not stand up to actual, real scientific scrutiny, and they go unchallenged because of lack of understanding of the general population, and lack of intelligence of the so-called intellectuals. Also because of a desire to disprove anything related to God, these people will grasp onto anything, no matter how futile and juvenile, in order to feel like they can still have total control over the universe, as well as to assuage their own feelings of inadequacy because of their lack of ability to truly understand everything about everything, while this actually shows that they either are desperate and are afraid to challenge the theories to which they cling, or that they have very little actual intelligence of which to speak.

In fact, true scientists should be comforted to realize that, in the universe, there is unlimited knowledge to pursue and that only one being can have all of this knowledge completely, and that is God our Father. Couple that with the fact that through Jesus, anyone, including them, cannot be limited to a finite lifespan, with which they would otherwise have to attain this knowledge, but would instead have an eternity to scientifically increase their knowledge and understanding forever, infinitely. All they need to do is to first humble themselves.

If people actually put real effort into understanding what God has written for us, through dozens and dozens of different men over many centuries, which miraculously never contradicts itself (even though these men did not truly understand what they wrote on the deepest levels when they put pen to scroll, and no one has really understood until recent years), which deeper and deeper understanding is given on a daily basis, they would find that every mystery has already been explained to us, and that it parallels all true science, without fail. As time goes on, we see that modern science is catching up to the Bible, but there’s still a long way to go and it will take many serious intellects to get science to where it needs to be. Of course it is up to us to get further detail in this science, but that detail also never contradicts the Word of God.

The whole problem, of which we have been warned for thousands of years, is that people don’t care to study what was written for us, and then the following generations get away from God’s Word, and so those people believe the assumptions as to what was written in the Bible, made by people that really don’t have a clue, and then those assumptions are believed to be what is actually written in the Bible. The only way to break this trend is to read it for yourself and realize that this problem comes only from ignorance on all sides.

Are you going to take the chance that what you know as reality has been false–and then actually try to understand what has been laid in front of us, or will you continue to go on ignorant as so many generations have?

God Bless

*There will be a series of articles to follow this exploring the relationship between God and science.