The City

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asher, benjamin, book, Christ, city, dan, foundation, gad, joseph, LAMB, levi, life, naphatli, pearl, reuben, simeon, son, zebulun

Rev 21:8  But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.

Rev 21:9  And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

Now when we think of a wife a bride what do we really think of?  Do we think of a lovely visage in a sparkling white veiled and trained gown?  What else is there about the wife the bride?  She is a help meet a companion someone who completes the man who stands with him, carries his name and posterity in the womb, and allows the name to pass to the next generation.  She belongs with him and makes him look good.  Some consider a good couple to be like peas in a pod, like the salt and pepper shakers and a matched set.   In this wise the city and the one who it is built for go together. Likewise the church is seen as the Bride of Christ.  Yet Revelation is clear when the angel says I will show you the bride the wife of the Lamb.  As He inhabits the city so then is that the MARRIAGE of the The LAMB.  Yet the city and the church seem to be part and parcel of one another.  Us He redeems from among the heathen nations, the great city four square, was built for Him.  It is its own TEMPLE.

Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,

Rev 21:11  having the glory of God: her light was like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal:

Rev 21:12  having a wall great and high; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

Rev 21:13  on the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

Rev 21:14  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Ok there is a series of images right here.  There are twelve gates and each gate was named to a tribe of Israel.  Each gate is a pearl. It has walls and being as massive as the measurement state it will need serious foundations. In fact there are twelve of them.  We have heard of the tribes and the foundational teachings of the Apostles and the Prophets.  Each foundation is a stone or a color.  Each foundational color has its own meaning to God.  It would be an interesting study to see if Scripture has any light to shed on that meaning. This city has an effulgence of light clear as a crystal looking like a “most precious” jasper stone.  Some say this particular stone may be a diamond.  We know this stone’s name was mentioned in the beginning and in chapter five.  It was mentioned in connection with He who sits on the Throne.  If it is a diamond that will explain the refractive colors of the diamond’s prismatic effect when light is around or through it.  This may explain the color around the Throne.

The gates being pearls is sort of like the string of pearls that one might wear.  Israel is said to be a POSSESSION of God.  In the Song of Solomon, the chorus talks about adorning the “bride” and here the angel calls the City, Jesus bride.   So then it is not surprising that Earthly adornments are either represented or actually used in their heavenly counterparts. We do know that in Exodus when Moses was on the mountain receiving the pattern for the Tabernacle it was to be built of specific Earthly material according to the HEAVENLY PATTERN.

Rev 21:15  And he that spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

Rev 21:16  And the city lieth foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs: the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal.

According to conversion tables there are eight furlongs to the mile. So then the math gives me 1500 miles square.  That is a huge footprint for a city.  The wall measurement is apparently it’s height, which in conversion from roman cubit to foot, is 64 ft 1 9/64 inches.  This is a massive thing, so twelve foundations is not unreasonable.

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

Rev 21:18  And the building of the wall thereof was jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass.

Rev 21:19  The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;

Rev 21:20  the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

If the jasper is considered to be diamond, then we are looking at the One who sits on the Throne.  The second layer down is sapphire which is usually blue which represents the Throne itself, as it is said in scripture to be, Lapis Lazul or blue.  This then speaks of the Suzerain authority of Him who sits on the Throne. Chalcedony is a quartz it can be reddish, white or bluish. Both the reddish and bluish speak to the blood and the throne and the white refers to purity.  This stone may well represent the nature of God.  Quartz is a transmissible stone, it can be used for radio signals.  When I was a little girl my father got me a quartz crystal radio with coils and the quartz and you had a tuner knob and I made it and found actual stations.  This then may also be indicative of the transmissible qualities of God, those that are not immutable.  Then there is the Emerald.  Again this stone which is usually associated with green but can also be red blue pink or yellow. However the classical gem is some shade or hue of green which represents growth and living things, like plants; or Zoe Life.  For He came to give us LIFE and that more abundantly.  The next layer down is sardonyx which is oddly enough sort of a compound representation.  The onyx of sardonyx is black, which represents sin.  Then there is the sard aspect of sardonyx which is a reddish color which of course is the BLOOD. This stone is banded with the black and red and perhaps white as well which represents purity.  Taken together this stone is its own gospel in a rock.  Sin atoned for in His blood leaves us pure. The next layer down is Sardius which is a blood red stone.  It is interesting that the compound sardonyx is sandwiched between the Emerald of Everlasting Life and the Sardius of the Blood of Jesus.  The next down is chrysolite which is a stone type which include Topaz, which this is not.  It runs from a green to a yellow color.  It is usually greenish yellow.  Yellow or gold is the immutable substance impervious to time and most chemicals and speaks of the immutable nature of He who sits on the Throne. But in this gem quality stone the blended yellow green show us the Glory of God who is Life Eternal.  The next layer down is the Beryl, classically in ancient times it was considered in the name given it for the pale blue green color not unlike seawater.  Now that is interesting because sea water is naturally salted water.  It reminds us of the Scripture and the Law and the WORD.  We are renewed in our minds as we are washed with WATER and THE WORD. It is also indicative of the Holy Spirit who is figured as the WATER THAT WASHES.   Next layer down is the Topaz.  Topaz is a crysolite stone but in that it is that name means is has specific qualities and as in all these foundations we want to look at the classical presentation. Now while topaz can present in colors from wine to yellow red blue and pale to clear the precious Topaz is orange.  The image is unmistakable.  Whereas the previous Beryl indicated the Holy Spirit as WATER to renew the mind this stone represents the Holy Spirit as the Flame of YAH.  This is the aspect of the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit to remove the words of Belial from the soul and to purify the soul and burn out the cares of the world which choke out the WORD.  The next level of foundation is the Chrysoprase which comes in a layered bluish green with nickel in it.  It is both the colors of life and water and may well represent human life which is born in “waters”.  It also tells us that God is in the midst.  The next to last layer down is the Jacinth stone.  It is red to bluish to purple and it is transparent.  Most of the rest of these stones are not particularly transparent but this one is.  It may well represent the human soul as it were.  It shows us as Redeemed in the Blood of Jesus, washed in the Water of the Holy Spirit and Made Royal in priesthood unto God.  The bottom layer is Amethyst. It only ever comes in one color, Purple.  Purple is the royal sovereignty of Jesus in His Humanity as King and in His Divinity as God.  Because before all things were… He is.

Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the several gates was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

Hence we find Aspects of God as Father Son and Holy Spirit in the Apostolic foundations of the city, but what of its gates? In Nehemiah where Jerusalem’s walls were broken down and the GATES destroyed by fire, which was important as Gates determined what came in and what went out.  They were also the place where civil matters and politics were conducted and where the prophets preached.  We have seen the meaning of the various stones as far as I was able to determine them, and I will admit there are greater scholars than myself who could add volumes.  The City walls are one thing but all the gates are alike.  All the gates are pearls.  Pearls are interesting things. They are NOT made of the Earth and they are not mineral unless you want to count the rock that is in the center. Pearls are organic and occur when a little sand (the rock in the middle) enters and lodges in an oyster and does not come out in the water.  SO the oyster thus irritated begins to secrete a substance to coat the irritant and over time it goes from a tiny sand grain to this nice size orb which depending on many factors can become quite priceless.  Because these orbs possess a toughness to them where in they can be drilled and strung, or merely set in metallic settings, they are considered jewelry as are their neighbors the gemstones.  Israel is considered of God to be His possession as I have mentioned before and thus maybe even considered to be like a string of pearls to God.  They came from a promise to one man to sire a lineage that would become a Nation among the nations of the planet and a people most often an irritant to God.  Consider what God did to these people to cause them to be what they were when His Son came among them.  He had established a means of appropriate expression of worship to Himself, and LAW to govern them according to His dictates but from them He “suffered much”.  He allowed them to have kings which led the people quite often contrary to the LAW He gave them and away from His heart.  Surely like the stone this one race chosen to be God’s own possession has had much glossing over with LAW and Judgment until they were ready to receive the Son whose work on them was the greatest of all.  For who but God would have cared enough to permit Himself to be crucified and then raise up to prove His identity to a people who wanted the death of not only The Son but any who had associated with The Son and even today those of Judaism who “convert” are persecuted relentlessly.  In this light I see the tribes themselves like so many irritants that the coatings of Law and Redemption makes beautified in Salvation.  Each pearl has a name on it, and one has to wonder of the anmes themselves and what they might say about The LAMB.

I will admit to a little cheating here and went online for the meanings of the names to http://www.pray4zion.org/SignificanceoftheTwelveTribesofIsrael.html

This is in brief their listing of name and meaning.

Reuben – seeing (Strongs lists this as See you a son.  This is a compound name.)

Simeon – hearing (Strongs concurs this is the correct meaning)

Levi – joined (Strongs concurs choosing the word, attached)

Judah – praise   (Strongs uses the more proper word, celebrated. Hence the proper understanding may be “Praised”)

Dan – God is judge (Strongs tells us the word is merely “Judge”)

Naphtali – wrestling (The “i” ending makes it personal, so Strongs lists the word as my wrestling)

Gad – a troop comes (Strongs does not give a definition for the name but it is derived from a primitive root meaning to attack)

Asher – blessed (Strongs uses the word “happy”)

Issachar – wages (Strongs lists this meaning as He will bring a reward)

Zebulun – dwelling with husband (Strongs uses the word, Habitation)

Joseph – God will add a son (Strongs lists this as “Let him add”)

Benjamin – son of the right hand (Strongs concurs)

 

Mannasah (Strongs lists this as “causing to forget”)

Ephraim (Strongs lists this as “double fruit”)

 

Each one of these tribes talks about Jesus in one way or another.  In Reuben we “see the Son” or Behold the Son.  In Simeon we find God is hearing both His people and His Son and through Christ ourselves as Believers.  In Levi we see the attachment of God to His people Israel, to His Son and through His Son to the Believers today. That attachment is in the Atonement. In Judah we see that in Christ God is “celebrated” praised and worshipped.  We also see that Jesus is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, or the King of that Tribe. It is in the Triumphal Entry that we discover the scepter of Judah and out of the mouths of the young as prophesized God was CELEBRATED.  In Dan we see the final judge taking His place on the instrument of His own judgment to pay the penalty of His own judgment on the sins of His own people Israel and consequently due to the nature of the payment to all the Elect in all the other ethnic groups and locations of the world who were not Hebrew but pagan.  In Naphtali we see Gethsemane where the wrestling of Christ Himself came and He was victorious to resolve to perform the will of The Father in the PRESCRIBED METHOD laid out.  In gad we indeed see the troops that came and hauled the Christ off to His preordained place. He was attacked and assaulted repeatedly as well.  In Asher we see Christ facing the cross with Joy set before Him, knowing the outcome and the blessing He would both impart unto man and receive unto Himself upon the set day. In Issachar we see Him paying the penalty as sacrifice atonement propitiation and expiation of the sins of His people and all the Elect globally and all who come to believe down the corridors of time as well as all who were in the “bosom of Abraham” prior to the resurrection.  We also see the day spent in the tomb and in hell and the resurrection which qualifies the prior death and all its legal ramifications before God and the devil.  Without the Resurrection we have not a Savior of power and position to make null the Enemy’s power and claim and enforce the work of the Cross. In Zebulun we see Christ becoming after the resurrection and ascension the Habitation in which we are seated according to the writings of Paul where in this is revealed from God.  In Joseph we see God adding His Son in the sonship of the Believer where in it is written in Revelation I will be His God and He shall be MY SON.  For we are dead and our lives are hid in Christ.  We will be AS HE IS. In Benjamin we see the words of Jesus to the Assembly of the Priesthood, that they would see the Son as the RIGHT HAND OF THE POWER ON HIGH or of the Father.  In that these are represented in the Pearl is because each gate speaks of Him who told us He is the Door or Gate of the Sheepfold and no man comes unto the Father save by Him AS GATEWAY.  The Pearl then also represents the Earthly Kingdom’s entrance into the Heavenly realm…  selah.

Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof.

Rev 21:23  And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb.

Rev 21:24  And the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it.

Rev 21:25  And the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day (for there shall be no night there):

Rev 21:26  and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it:

Rev 21:27  and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Finally we see that there is no Temple yet God is in the midst as THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.  He is the source of illumining which causes the sun and moon to pale to nonexistence so far as the city is concerned.  Notice it doesn’t say there is no sun or moon just that they are NOT NEEDED there.  Now the reason I put forth that this city is the TEMPLE is because He dwells in a temple NOT MADE WITH HUMAN HANDS.  He has lived in us His creation by His Spirit but now, here, we see He has built Himself a house.  The nations are both governed and provided for by the will of the LAMB in His city, And although the tribute will pour in, no thing or person or creature that is deemed unworthy to enter shall enter the city.  Worth is defined as being of that which is WRITTEN IN THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE.

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The Showdown

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armies, beast, Christ, dragon, eternal, fire, God, king, priest, second death, white

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

Here you go.  This is the Revelation, this whole book has been penned to house.  In the very first chapter of Revelation we saw this personage.  Rev 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

Rev 1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Rev 1:14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Compare that to the figure mounted astride and riding forth.  In the first chapter there is the garment and wrapped around the “breast” or pectoral area, I suppose, would be the golden girdle or sash.  Don’t forget this is not just a king but He is also HIGH PRIEST.  Here nineteen chapters and much drama later, He is clothed in a garment “dipped in blood”.  Stop right there.  When we think dipped what do we think?  KitKat bars have this running drama in advertisements about the two factories and that one DIPS and the other CLOAKS and its two entirely different processes?  Either way the cookie wafer portion is COVERED in chocolate.  But what does the Greek think about “dipped”? Well this is surprising.

Strongs # 911 baptō. A primary verb; to whelm, that is, cover wholly with a fluid; in the New Testament only in a qualified or specific sense, that is, (literally) to moisten (a part of one’s person), or (by implication) to stain (as with dye): – dip.

To cover completely to stain…where have we heard this before?  Isaiah 63:1-6.  Isa 63:1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.

Isa 63:2  Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat?

Isa 63:3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment.

Isa 63:4  For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

Isa 63:5  And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my wrath, it upheld me.

Isa 63:6  And I trod down the peoples in mine anger, and made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.

This concept of “sprinkling” or “staining”, is best illustrated with those who tread grapes. If you have ever looked at grape “dancers”, they are whatever color the vintage is from like the knees down at least and grape juice is the sort of thing that is hard to wash out of garments and off of skin.  People who do this for a living really stand out in a crowd.  But this grape juice is the life blood of Christ’s enemies.    This is the person astride the horse.  It means He is the warrior who HAS CONQUERED.

Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Now look at the entourage by comparison.  Clean white bright raiment on white horses… the pure victorious army or “Host”.  It is an army but the only one who is looking like He’s seen battle is Their King.  It’s the oddest military act ever!

I am going to go out on a limb here and I may have a valid point and I may not.  We know from Paul’s writings that the remnant remaining at His coming are caught up to meet Him in the air and forever to be with Him. Moreover the raiment of the “bride” is the righteousness of saints, or rather, is Christ who is the righteousness of the saints.  Are we not instructed to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ”? I put that this army may very well be… us.  We the Body of Believers are also called the Bride who has made herself ready.  I am reminded of the concept of first the blade then the ear then the corn in the ear (Mk 4:28), or as John the Apostle put it children young men and fathers (1Jn 2:13).  Paul made mention that we to at some point become “a mature man to the measure of the stature of Christ”, for these reasons I suggest that we are the ARMY OF WITNESSES to the Mighty Deed about to be done.  For if you have been following along you will note that many of the white robed are already IN HEAVEN because they were Martyred Up. Think about it.

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

In the first chapter of Revelation we see mention of the sharp sword that goes out of the mouth, and that is also the description of the Word of God. (Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.) (Isa 55:11  so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.)  In the case of Revelation this verse certainly applies; (Isa 11:4)  “but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”

Consider this from God’s angle, whoever is on the opposing side out in that field of battle IS HIS ENEMY AND WICKED.

Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

This stained raiment of the Warrior who has conquered and on His thigh is a title that world rulers use.  King of kings and Lord of lords is the title given to the suzerain who has conquered the known world of his day. In this time of this kind of title you would have many people groups with headmen over them as leaders and those leaders might establish dynastic rule and bear an emblem or artifact that marked them out as a “king”. But if another comes and begins to absorb these little kingdoms and bring them “under one banner” whilst leaving them culturally intact with their “headman” or “king”, but owing fealty and homage and tribute to the one absorbing them under his banner, that man is said to be “King of kings”. Jesus is setting down His opposition and will rule ALL THE WORLD or the planet for one thousand years.  I think this eminently qualifies Him to bear THAT title by Earthly standards.

Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

Rev 19:18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

Rev 19:19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

Here is the prophecy of this event. Eze 39:17  And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood.

Eze 39:18  Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.

Eze 39:19  And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.

Eze 39:20  And ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord Jehovah.

This really isn’t much of a battle.  He has the two trouble makers the Beast and the False Prophet… this is the first time we have a name for the second beast and how do I know this?  The words “that wrought miracles before him” stand out.  If you will recall,” Rev 13:11  And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Rev 13:12  And he exerciseth all the authority of the first beast in his sight. And he maketh the earth and them dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed.

Rev 13:13  And he doeth great signs, that he should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men.

Rev 13:14  And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived.

Rev 13:15  And it was given unto him to give breath to it, even to the image to the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead;

Rev 13:17  and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, even the name of the beast or the number of his name.

This we now see is called the False Prophet.  A prophet, any prophet is speaking for a deity.  Muhammad is considered the “prophet of God”, the God of the Muslims. Now, it is said that the God of the Muslim is not actually the God of the Old Testament, but I am not arguing that point.  A prophet is the spokesman for a god.  This god is false so his prophet is false also.  Now we understand who is who.

Rev 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Rev 19:21  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

In classic battle theory, if you can strike down the head of the army that is opposing you, they will scatter and be demoralized before you.  Jesus, ever the consummate at whatever He does, takes out and casts into the lake the leadership which was influencing the opposition.  He then SPEAKS and they are slain.

But just as you have Father Son and Holy Spirit you also have Beast of the sea, Beast of the land and … The Dragon. The two beasts have served their part and are immediately cast into their eternal punishment. But you would think the Dragon would be joining them, but he’s not. Take a look at the next few verses.

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,

Rev 20:3  and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.

Now you see Jesus came and won the day and all the associated prophecies have been by now fulfilled. But this is one of two confrontations with the Dragon or should I say one of THREE.  You see when on Earth Jesus faced off with the Dragon while in flesh, in the wilderness. (Matt 4:1-11, Lk 4:2-13) Now the Dragon is bound over to be released in one thousand years to deceive a whole new set of people, or to test the loyalties of the end generation of that era.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Here is what we call the inheritance reception as it were. The souls… of those beheaded for the testimony and those who neither worshipped the beast nor bore the mark.  Now stop right there.  Anyone telling you that the bearing of the mark and worship of the beast are separate needs to read this verse, it is that they worshipped not, AND had NO MARK.  Both these camps the dead who raised up and the living who remained are found here.  Somewhere along the line whatever the rapture is, has taken place.

Rev 20:5  The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 

These are the Priest Kings of whom Jesus is the High Priest and King of kings over. Can you begin to get a picture of who we are and what we will do?  Consider that there is power in the second death.  For we have been told only to fear the One who can kill both body and soul…

Mat 10:28  And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 

Timing Part One

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Alexander, Christ, daniel, God, israel, Jeremiah, Jesus, Lord, Nebuchadnezzar, prophecy, Prophecy of Seventy Weeks, seventy, Temple

First off please understand this is not date setting, or my theories on the math of “well if you calculate from this date in antiquity…”, no this is exposing certain scriptures and looking at them. Are we in the last days, according to some, yes. You see when Jesus became flesh the last days began. One must always take into account the already- not yet dynamic. So in many noticeable ways the last days and the Kingdom are now upon us and yet there is the dynamic of the passage of linear time. Unlike the time travelers we can’t just flit through time and space even if Einstein’s theories and those of the men who have built upon him say that it can be done. Happily we don’t have the technology for it either. Add to this the fact that prophecy can repeat itself in pattern application time and again to certain points in history and still apply to the time of the “beasts”. Having said all this lets take another look at Daniel.
The weeks of prophecy:

Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.

To make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness… finish transgression and make an end of sins…. All of these have a peculiar familiarity don’t they? For instance the Hebrew word for reconciliation is Kaphar… one of its definitions is to expiate and another is to cover. That’s the Cross Work of Jesus Christ. This is Atonement for …. Iniquity and the Hebrew word here, Amon, has to do with perversion and that bent toward evil. Humanity can get really fascinated with the dark secretive world of occult. It can applaud the daring do of the really clever thief or even the murderer. But all this is an affront to a Holy God so we have this interior flaw. Iniquity because it is so ingrained in us from the Fall and the Curse, needs to worked out from within by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, but it starts with a need to “cover over” the mess within until there is no more need to be “covered” for the Sanctification is complete. Bringing … Everlasting (Olam) or the vanishing point wherein time goes “out of memory” or is “incalculable”, in other words… Forever. Righteousness or tsedek meaning right, equity, prosperity, justice etc; which is the Crux of Salvation. This is the Plan of long ago which God the Son fulfills in human flesh for all time without end. To finish transgression and make an end of sins… this is further on then Salvation and yet Salvation does exactly this. Yet within the Church transgression still happens and so does sin and iniquity. Why? Because the work is both done and complete and still in progress, the point of the work is the cleansing of the Bride and the Land and God’s People Israel. When the Seventh Trump was sounded we heard a statement: “Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever.” Actually it reads that the Kingdom of the world is become of our Lord and His Christ… this is a literal change of possession. What was done in a Spiritual sense from the Cross is completed in the Physical sense. We will see it with the Lady who give birth and the “baby” is caught up. Now after all the dust of the birth and the catching away of the Baby and the Dragon who she faced off with during her great Labor and Delivery not only losing the baby but being defeated in combat with Archangel Michael and his “warrior group” and the Dragon trying to kill the woman, which fails spectacularly, as the dust settles and a furious Dragon finds himself deposed as Prince of the Power of the Air…. There is another statement. It reads: “Rev 12:10 And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.” Now while this is the beginning a massive campaign of persecution against the Believer’s which even makes the Holocaust, or anything more recent to now, pale in comparison, this one line “Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ” completely matches the function of the prophesy of Daniel: “To finish transgression and make an end of sins” because at this point the reality hits. You see the Kingdom of the world was owned by someone… and changed owners. But now the “Power” and the “Kingdom” of the Godhead is established. You see? Therefore in the first place of the seventy weeks, we find the historical data of the second Temple in the time of Zerubabel being built with Joshua as the new high priest. After that we have this countdown that matches the statue of Nebuchadnezzar in that it is a countdown of kingdoms until Christ. We also know it was a “week /year” ratio. Seventy years of time or Ten Sabbath years of fallow time was determined to let the land rest. That was the prophecy: “Jer 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Jer 25:12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith Jehovah, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it desolate forever.” The Seventy Years unto the time when the Temple was complete did finally happen.

Dan 9:25 Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times.
The Anointed one in this instance is Cyrus whose edict sent Israelis home. But we have this curious split of seven years and sixty two years.

Dan 9:26 And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate.
Now what you need to understand is that there is a whole chapter dedicated to explaining these weeks. It has to do Alexander the Great and the rise of the Seleucid Ptolemy wars over Israel and the final person of Antiochus Epiphanies and the reaction of those Jews who felt the desolation of the pig’s blood and the idol that was stood up in the Temple and the Maccabean revolt that got the Temple back… even Channukah. But there is a wider circle here… the second Temple was rebuilt and we have Jesus who is “cut off” in the middle of things. We are finally left with three and a half years.
Some interpretations take this as a cycle of Sabbaths or 490 years.  Some say that from the time of the edict of Cyrus to the rise of one Alexander Yannai, the last Hasmonean high priest who in his brutal rule slaughtered some fifty thousand Pharisees, is the time of the last Anointed One or legal high priest. Others add that the finishing up of the iniquity is the rejection of Christ, to which Jesus does allude that there was to be a “filling up” of the sins of the people, Mat 23:32 “Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.”, though I find this to be quoted out of its context of a real punishing tirade against the leaders of the Temple of His day. Yet there is a sense that this rejection factors into this prophecy.

Assuming that nothing in Scripture is “up for grabs” then I have some grave misgivings about a lot of the interpretations of these texts. You see Scripture MUST be the Source of its own interpretation as wisdom is given by the Holy Spirit. In light of this I will confess to looking online in Wikipedia to find out just what was being said. Jewish thought regards the seventy years as seventy Sabbath cycles. Thus departing from the Seventy year/week idea we look at the possibility at of actual time lapse. First off one must understand that the Old and New Testament fit together as hand in glove or as a right and left glove (matched set). They must be regarded TOGETHER. So to understand the seventy week prophecy which in all fairness if you truly look at it, seventy years is NOT how long the Babylonian Diaspora was, one must look at the starting point and understand the Torah or Mosaic Law. This is the law of Sabbath (Shabbat) Lev 25:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto Jehovah.
Lev 25:3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruits thereof;
Lev 25:4 but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath unto Jehovah: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
Lev 25:5 That which groweth of itself of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thy undressed vine thou shalt not gather: it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land.
The “bumper crop” of the previous year would last and the land would “go to seed” for one year. I won’t pretend to understand how the complexities of a farming system and cattle management if the land is to truly “lay fallow”, but the point is the observance of a marked out year. Now then, the math goes something like this: Seventy times seven equaling four hundred and ninety years, will be marked out and the land will enjoy its Shabbats.
However this is the prophecy as it is recorded in 2 Chronicles. 2Ch 36:21 to fulfil the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths: for as long as it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. The words here are precise. Seventy literal years of fallow time for the land, not seventy cycles of years. But Daniel records….Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Something has to give…   More in the next section.

The Seventh Trump; The Last Trump of God Pt 1

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Christ, God, last trump, revelation

Now this is just two of three and this is the sixth trumpet blast. Now come the “last trump” recorded in scripture.

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever.

Look at this. The last trump brings out this declaration. In the King James it says Kingdoms but in the American Standard Version it’s kingdom. That word Basilea does not connote a plural use or a singular use but maybe more correctly is understood as realm of rule. In other words, the realm or nations or rule are now become… Also the way the scripture has it seems to add the words “the kingdom” of our LORD. Read like this: the realm of rule of the world is now become “of our LORD and His Christ” makes more sense. In other words this is a declaration of intent to set up dominion. Now contrast this please to the first horseman who sat astride his mighty white horse and has his weapon and possibly brandished it with much fuss and rode forth overcoming to overcome and this simple statement from “great voices” (or is it very loud voices?) in the heavens. Ouranos which is the Greek word used here (Strongs Greek #3772) literally means the sky, indicating elevation, so then from up on high in the sky this really loud statement rings out and there is no rider… no bow… no white horse.. not yet at any rate. Now this is interesting because we see this in the New Testament many times and in almost only one place; the Gospels. (Matt 3:17, Mk 1:11, Lk 3:22, Jn 12:28,) It does appear one in the book of Acts to Peter in his vision. (Acts 11:9) But for the most part this is God the Father bearing witness to His Son. This is God the Holy Spirit making the declarative announcement on behalf of the Father and the Son, note the language of our Lord AND His Christ or Messiah. You might just be able to juxtapose it this way, “of our LORD or YHVH and His Anointed One. However you look at it note one thing, Christ is NOT on Earth. But there will now come a pretender wont there?

Rev 11:16 And the four and twenty elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshipped God,
Rev 11:17 saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast; because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign.
Rev 11:18 And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth.

“That destroy the Earth” One might think of this as industrialists and their waste or loggers deforesting or strip miners or litterbugs or illegal chemical dumping or the many manifold issues of this post industrial world we live in but you might be wrong. If you look on this book alone and see the destruction of ecosystems and land and sea with them, it is the UNREPENTANT ones who are the “destroyers of the Earth”, all this comes on them. It is time to destroy the destroyers of the Earth… It is quite possible where in this begins the “day of the wrath of God” but… the church is still here. So far beyond the taking up of the witnesses do you see any splitting of the Eastern Sky or harpezo or anything? I don’t.

Rev 11:19 And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Now can we see this or is this confined just to heaven itself? We can see however another earthquake to go along with the one that rocked and devastated one tenth of Jerusalem, and “great” or big hail. The lightening and thunder might mask “voices” from on high but suffice it to say another major storm has just hit.
I also want my readers to understand the vastness of this planet and what it can take and there would still be some form of civilization. In fact the whole mess might be confined in some ways and adjusted to in others. Does it not say that men remained UNREPENTANT?

A lot is happening in this last Trump so this will be in parts.