God's Worldview (Gods Worldview Part 1: p1-p45)
God’s Worldview.
I know, it sounds preposterous for men to imply that they know God’s worldview. God certainly has the only absolute worldview. He also has the prerogative to reveal it to mankind, so that man can know the truth about himself, the state of the world he lives in and what His plans for mankind and our planet are. He gave answers to men’s basic questions: “What is our origin, what is our purpose in life, what is our destiny?” As the Father of His creation, He has always been lovingly involved through His spirit and word with His attentive children. Sadly, general humanity never wanted to know God’s Will and Worldview, the reality check, because men hated, persecuted and killed God’s messengers, the prophets, because they did not like the message. If you have some doubts, just keep on reading with an open mind, it may surprise you what you will discover.
The basis for this revelation is the Word of God, enlightened by the spirit of God. Various translations have been used. Emphases are mine.
Please use my companion paper: “Terminology and biblical prophetic symbolism.”
Preface:
Who is God? John 4:24
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
With our insufficient vocabulary and limited three dimensional five sensual perception, all attempts to describe the invisible spirit super intelligence, the greater reality than ours, will be inadequate. But God wants to be known and loved by mankind for our own good, and we can depend on His Revelations if we love Him and seek truth. The highest life giving knowledge is: “God is love;” He loves you and me. This He revealed to mankind in the most perceptible form, through His expressed image in the incarnation of Christ.
Heb 1:1-4
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
John 14:9-10
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
He, who is the Truth, emphatically reassured us of the Father’s love and interest in us.
1
I know, it sounds preposterous for men to imply that they know God’s worldview. God certainly has the only absolute worldview. He also has the prerogative to reveal it to mankind, so that man can know the truth about himself, the state of the world he lives in and what His plans for mankind and our planet are. He gave answers to men’s basic questions: “What is our origin, what is our purpose in life, what is our destiny?” As the Father of His creation, He has always been lovingly involved through His spirit and word with His attentive children. Sadly, general humanity never wanted to know God’s Will and Worldview, the reality check, because men hated, persecuted and killed God’s messengers, the prophets, because they did not like the message. If you have some doubts, just keep on reading with an open mind, it may surprise you what you will discover.
The basis for this revelation is the Word of God, enlightened by the spirit of God. Various translations have been used. Emphases are mine.
Please use my companion paper: “Terminology and biblical prophetic symbolism.”
Preface:
Who is God? John 4:24
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
With our insufficient vocabulary and limited three dimensional five sensual perception, all attempts to describe the invisible spirit super intelligence, the greater reality than ours, will be inadequate. But God wants to be known and loved by mankind for our own good, and we can depend on His Revelations if we love Him and seek truth. The highest life giving knowledge is: “God is love;” He loves you and me. This He revealed to mankind in the most perceptible form, through His expressed image in the incarnation of Christ.
Heb 1:1-4
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
John 14:9-10
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
He, who is the Truth, emphatically reassured us of the Father’s love and interest in us.
1
Matt 7:11-12
11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Rom 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
2 Cor 4:18
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
The, for us humans, imperceptible spiritual universe, the none dimensional creations, we simply define as heavens, are greater realities than ours. For heavenly beings, we use the term angels. Evil spirits we describe as Devil and demons.
Our planet has become the stage for a living spectacle to all beings of the universe. Good and evil will play out in humanity to full maturity. Men see only the players in front of the curtain. God reveals the spiritual actors behind the curtain.
1 Cor 4:9
We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.
For more revelation on the spiritual universe see my script: “The world’s two greatest mysteries revealed.” in my blog: thegodoflove.org.
Why did God create angels?
God is love. Love gives, it needs recipients, it needs to share.
1 John 4:16
...God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 Cor 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Why did evil originate in a perfect environment?
The foundation of love is free will for all. There is no force, nor fear in love. In God’s kingdom is only love, justice, truth, light and life. The opposites like darkness, evil and death only existed in theory and as a possibility if one would chose to meddle with it. Love instructed all beings: “Do not go there. Do not partake of that fruit, you will surely die.” Yet intelligent inquisitive
2
11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Rom 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
2 Cor 4:18
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
The, for us humans, imperceptible spiritual universe, the none dimensional creations, we simply define as heavens, are greater realities than ours. For heavenly beings, we use the term angels. Evil spirits we describe as Devil and demons.
Our planet has become the stage for a living spectacle to all beings of the universe. Good and evil will play out in humanity to full maturity. Men see only the players in front of the curtain. God reveals the spiritual actors behind the curtain.
1 Cor 4:9
We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.
For more revelation on the spiritual universe see my script: “The world’s two greatest mysteries revealed.” in my blog: thegodoflove.org.
Why did God create angels?
God is love. Love gives, it needs recipients, it needs to share.
1 John 4:16
...God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 Cor 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Why did evil originate in a perfect environment?
The foundation of love is free will for all. There is no force, nor fear in love. In God’s kingdom is only love, justice, truth, light and life. The opposites like darkness, evil and death only existed in theory and as a possibility if one would chose to meddle with it. Love instructed all beings: “Do not go there. Do not partake of that fruit, you will surely die.” Yet intelligent inquisitive
2
minds disobeyed and had to learn about the “Causality Law” of cause and effect. Know the Laws
of Life and live by them. Disobedience is sin and causes degeneration and death.
Rom 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death....
Lucifer, the light bearer became Satan the origin or father of evil because of his choice to disagree and disobey God.
Isa 14:12-15
How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
15 But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit.
This is how the mystery of iniquity works. Satan’s principles to rule are based on fear and force. Yet his presentation about governance of the universe was so convincing and appealing that one third of intelligent heavenly beings sided with him. You may think, how could this be possible? Yet, look at our world’s history, how it is marked by death and destruction. From the beginning until now, humanity has followed in the path of the deceiver. This does not say much for mankind’s intelligence and choices. In deed Satan is a sly peddler of his goods. You would think that intelligent men would have learned by now; but just look at the reality. They used to kill one another by the hundreds, then thousands, hundreds of thousands, and now by the millions. Our humanity is saturated with greed, deception, immorality, hate and murder. No, mankind is not smarter than the devil and his crew; men has chosen to join them. Yes, it is mind blowing.
God has set a time for evil to come to full maturity on our planet as a lesson to all inhabitants of the universe. See and experience humanity on their way to self-destruction, including their only habitation. Then comes the judgment, when all evil and unrepentant evil doers will be terminated. This will be the eternal death. Evil will never rise again. You and I are invited to choose eternal life through Christ, in that Godly, heavenly New World Order, that is soon to come.
1 Cor 4:9-10
We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.
3
Rom 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death....
Lucifer, the light bearer became Satan the origin or father of evil because of his choice to disagree and disobey God.
Isa 14:12-15
How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
15 But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit.
This is how the mystery of iniquity works. Satan’s principles to rule are based on fear and force. Yet his presentation about governance of the universe was so convincing and appealing that one third of intelligent heavenly beings sided with him. You may think, how could this be possible? Yet, look at our world’s history, how it is marked by death and destruction. From the beginning until now, humanity has followed in the path of the deceiver. This does not say much for mankind’s intelligence and choices. In deed Satan is a sly peddler of his goods. You would think that intelligent men would have learned by now; but just look at the reality. They used to kill one another by the hundreds, then thousands, hundreds of thousands, and now by the millions. Our humanity is saturated with greed, deception, immorality, hate and murder. No, mankind is not smarter than the devil and his crew; men has chosen to join them. Yes, it is mind blowing.
God has set a time for evil to come to full maturity on our planet as a lesson to all inhabitants of the universe. See and experience humanity on their way to self-destruction, including their only habitation. Then comes the judgment, when all evil and unrepentant evil doers will be terminated. This will be the eternal death. Evil will never rise again. You and I are invited to choose eternal life through Christ, in that Godly, heavenly New World Order, that is soon to come.
1 Cor 4:9-10
We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.
3
Mal 4:1
4 "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the Lord Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them.
What is the state of the world from God’s perspective?
The world mind, general mind set, zeitgeist, ideologies or state religions, are Satan inspired and controlled, evidenced by our world’s history of state and religion sanctioned wars, violence, hypocrisy, greed, immorality, perversion and deception.
Rev 12:9
.... that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
1 John 5:19
19 We know.... that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
John 3:19-20
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil.
What is the state of humanity from God’s perspective?
The word of God states that men, after their choice of disobedience to God, are the living dead, separated from the God of life, spiritually blind and dead, totally lost, deceived and confused under the spirit of their father Satan, the origin of evil and death.
Mankind needs to be saved.
Eph 2:1-5
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of
darkness, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
4 "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the Lord Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them.
What is the state of the world from God’s perspective?
The world mind, general mind set, zeitgeist, ideologies or state religions, are Satan inspired and controlled, evidenced by our world’s history of state and religion sanctioned wars, violence, hypocrisy, greed, immorality, perversion and deception.
Rev 12:9
.... that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
1 John 5:19
19 We know.... that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
John 3:19-20
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil.
What is the state of humanity from God’s perspective?
The word of God states that men, after their choice of disobedience to God, are the living dead, separated from the God of life, spiritually blind and dead, totally lost, deceived and confused under the spirit of their father Satan, the origin of evil and death.
Mankind needs to be saved.
Eph 2:1-5
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of
darkness, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
2 Cor 4:4
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In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine
unto them.
Jer 50:6
6 "My people have been lost sheep;
their shepherds have led them astray
and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place.
Also, the majority of religious people are deceived and confused in a confusing world.
They even murdered the God they confessed to believe in. When He came to them, they not to know Him.
Luke 19:10
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." John 1:10,11
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
God sees most of humanity as lost, controlled by Satan’s spirit. He also sees a minority as saved, led by His spirit.
Matt 7:13-14
13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
God loves the world.
John 3:16-18
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
God likes to make His worldview and plan known to mankind.
5
Jer 50:6
6 "My people have been lost sheep;
their shepherds have led them astray
and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place.
Also, the majority of religious people are deceived and confused in a confusing world.
They even murdered the God they confessed to believe in. When He came to them, they not to know Him.
Luke 19:10
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." John 1:10,11
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
God sees most of humanity as lost, controlled by Satan’s spirit. He also sees a minority as saved, led by His spirit.
Matt 7:13-14
13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
God loves the world.
John 3:16-18
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
God likes to make His worldview and plan known to mankind.
5
Amos 3:7
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.
This is what Jesus promised to His disciples:
John 16:13
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
God knows the history of our world from beginning to end. He is eternal, timeless. Past and future are present with Him. He loves and leads His children who listen to Him and respect Him. He is delighted to let them know what He thinks, plans and does with His world and what destructive forces are behind all the evil we see in our world. He has given us a way out by opening the way into His Eternal Kingdom.
2 Peter 1:19-21
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns
and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that
no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The book of apokalupsis or Revelation means “unveiling, uncovering revealing”. It contains messages from God, meant to be understood. It is not a book of mysteries
to His children. Students of the bible are familiar with symbolism in prophetic language and are enlightened by the Holy Spirit to think as God thinks.
Please read my compendium paper: “Biblical Prophetic Terminology and Symbolism”.
Rev 1:1-3
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
2 who testifies to everything he saw — that is, the word of God and the testimony
of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
As your fellow- servant of God, I invite you to partake in the promised blessings, by respectfully reading, meditating and taking to heart these revelations of our Lord. Let us be mindful not to
6
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.
This is what Jesus promised to His disciples:
John 16:13
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
God knows the history of our world from beginning to end. He is eternal, timeless. Past and future are present with Him. He loves and leads His children who listen to Him and respect Him. He is delighted to let them know what He thinks, plans and does with His world and what destructive forces are behind all the evil we see in our world. He has given us a way out by opening the way into His Eternal Kingdom.
2 Peter 1:19-21
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns
and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that
no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The book of apokalupsis or Revelation means “unveiling, uncovering revealing”. It contains messages from God, meant to be understood. It is not a book of mysteries
to His children. Students of the bible are familiar with symbolism in prophetic language and are enlightened by the Holy Spirit to think as God thinks.
Please read my compendium paper: “Biblical Prophetic Terminology and Symbolism”.
Rev 1:1-3
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
2 who testifies to everything he saw — that is, the word of God and the testimony
of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
As your fellow- servant of God, I invite you to partake in the promised blessings, by respectfully reading, meditating and taking to heart these revelations of our Lord. Let us be mindful not to
6
add nor take away from the words of this prophecy by dogmatizing our interpretations, because
our understanding is “in part” and in need of progressive enlightenment.
Rev 22:18-19
18 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone
adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
God has given timely revelations to open minds through prophets whom He instructed since the beginning of time.
Prophets are the seers of the spiritual realm. They know the covert players in the spiritual theatre of our world; they are familiar with the script, the marionettes, the string handlers and the grand finale. Through visions, God keeps them up to date as the events in history unfold. Scripture names this communication: “Spirit of prophecy”. 2.Kings 6:15-17 gives us a glimpse behind the curtain. The Prophet Elisha’s helper noticed with fear the human reality: “They were surrounded by the armies of the enemy”. Elisha the seer said calmly: “Do not be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” The young men did not see, nor understand. Than Elisha prayed: “Lord open his eyes”. Then he saw in vision the calming invisible realities. All heaven was with them and for them.
God always provides for His children the “behind the curtain” calming overview of the playing field. They share God’s world view and are not moved by the variable “Zeit Geists”, nor are they effected by the mind engineers of religionists, philosophers and politicians. They understand the great controversy between good and evil as it unfolds toward its grand finale when God’s eternal kingdom of love and peace is finalized and forever established. But for a better understanding prophecies relating to future events, it is essential to look at the complete picture of world history in prophecy. Writers of history books usually deal with the physical observable realm, while God reveals the causative extraterrestrial spiritual forces that inspire the ideologies of empires and influence by conviction the will of men, to shape the history of our world.
How does Good portray humanity in prophecy?
Fundamentally, there are only two classes of men in this world:
“The children of God, who are born of His Spirit and live by His Spirit.
and
“The children of Satan, who are born of his spirit and live by his spirit.
But from God’s perspective, the children of the devil are divided into two classes. Here is the symbolic divide in prophecy:
7
Rev 22:18-19
18 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone
adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
God has given timely revelations to open minds through prophets whom He instructed since the beginning of time.
Prophets are the seers of the spiritual realm. They know the covert players in the spiritual theatre of our world; they are familiar with the script, the marionettes, the string handlers and the grand finale. Through visions, God keeps them up to date as the events in history unfold. Scripture names this communication: “Spirit of prophecy”. 2.Kings 6:15-17 gives us a glimpse behind the curtain. The Prophet Elisha’s helper noticed with fear the human reality: “They were surrounded by the armies of the enemy”. Elisha the seer said calmly: “Do not be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” The young men did not see, nor understand. Than Elisha prayed: “Lord open his eyes”. Then he saw in vision the calming invisible realities. All heaven was with them and for them.
God always provides for His children the “behind the curtain” calming overview of the playing field. They share God’s world view and are not moved by the variable “Zeit Geists”, nor are they effected by the mind engineers of religionists, philosophers and politicians. They understand the great controversy between good and evil as it unfolds toward its grand finale when God’s eternal kingdom of love and peace is finalized and forever established. But for a better understanding prophecies relating to future events, it is essential to look at the complete picture of world history in prophecy. Writers of history books usually deal with the physical observable realm, while God reveals the causative extraterrestrial spiritual forces that inspire the ideologies of empires and influence by conviction the will of men, to shape the history of our world.
How does Good portray humanity in prophecy?
Fundamentally, there are only two classes of men in this world:
“The children of God, who are born of His Spirit and live by His Spirit.
and
“The children of Satan, who are born of his spirit and live by his spirit.
But from God’s perspective, the children of the devil are divided into two classes. Here is the symbolic divide in prophecy:
7
The symbol of a Virgin:
Identifies God’s obedient children, the saved, the bride of Christ. Sanctified by the will and power of God. Pure, undefiled in body, soul and spirit. Recognized by the fruit of God’s spirit in their daily lives. These are the faithful to their only one bridegroom Jesus, who is “The Way, The Life, The Truth,” unchanging, eternal. He loves, supports and grooms His bride, the Virgin. He gave His life for her which is His Universal Community.
Gal 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
2 Cor 11:2
2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.
Rev 19:7-8
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear."
Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.
Rev 12:1-2
12 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
What a close and intimate personal relationship we have as the bride to Christ, our husband. He does not permit anyone or anything to come in between. Do you? His side is always stable. Is yours? There is no room in this intimate relationship for kings, popes or priests not even a mother in law. He lovingly reminds us:
Identifies God’s obedient children, the saved, the bride of Christ. Sanctified by the will and power of God. Pure, undefiled in body, soul and spirit. Recognized by the fruit of God’s spirit in their daily lives. These are the faithful to their only one bridegroom Jesus, who is “The Way, The Life, The Truth,” unchanging, eternal. He loves, supports and grooms His bride, the Virgin. He gave His life for her which is His Universal Community.
Gal 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
2 Cor 11:2
2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.
Rev 19:7-8
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear."
Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.
Rev 12:1-2
12 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
What a close and intimate personal relationship we have as the bride to Christ, our husband. He does not permit anyone or anything to come in between. Do you? His side is always stable. Is yours? There is no room in this intimate relationship for kings, popes or priests not even a mother in law. He lovingly reminds us:
Heb 13:5
God has said,
God has said,
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"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
The Prostitute or Harlot.
This is Satan’s favored lady he uses in his attempt by any means to destroy Christ the bridegroom, the virgin His bride and their faithful loving relationship.
The nation Israel, with its capital Jerusalem, including her hierarchy, had rejected the principles and guidance of God. He named her spiritual “Harlot”.
But in the book of Revelation He identifies the Satan inspired adulterated “Christian” ruling authority of Europe and beyond, that perverted Christianity into Churchianity with its hierarchical system and syncretism as “Babylon, the Mother of Harlots”. She distorted the image of Christ and God as well as His Word, the Good News, the truth. Under this system are Satan’s religious children identified, as the defiled, deceived, compromised in thought and life. This system along with its spawned off prostituted descendants, the many other churches, are irreversebly corrupt. Once a denominational hierarchy is established, their modus operandi becomes centered around self-preservation and self-promotion. Money, bottom lines and numbers take priority, in the name of God. Their peculiar interpretations of scripture become dogmatized and untouchable despite inconsistencies and deviances from the truth. New light is banned as heresy. They have inherited traits from their mother Babylon in spirit and in practice. They all imply to be the authority of God on earth; the reformed church, the end time remnant church etc. They fell for the tempter’s deception: “I will give you numbers, money, success and honors, when you compromise with me.” Disobedience to the Word of God is unfaithfulness, spiritual adultery and prostitution. It brings captivity of mind to man-made rules and interpretations.
Rev 17:1-6
1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."
2 Cor 11:13-15
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The Prostitute or Harlot.
This is Satan’s favored lady he uses in his attempt by any means to destroy Christ the bridegroom, the virgin His bride and their faithful loving relationship.
The nation Israel, with its capital Jerusalem, including her hierarchy, had rejected the principles and guidance of God. He named her spiritual “Harlot”.
But in the book of Revelation He identifies the Satan inspired adulterated “Christian” ruling authority of Europe and beyond, that perverted Christianity into Churchianity with its hierarchical system and syncretism as “Babylon, the Mother of Harlots”. She distorted the image of Christ and God as well as His Word, the Good News, the truth. Under this system are Satan’s religious children identified, as the defiled, deceived, compromised in thought and life. This system along with its spawned off prostituted descendants, the many other churches, are irreversebly corrupt. Once a denominational hierarchy is established, their modus operandi becomes centered around self-preservation and self-promotion. Money, bottom lines and numbers take priority, in the name of God. Their peculiar interpretations of scripture become dogmatized and untouchable despite inconsistencies and deviances from the truth. New light is banned as heresy. They have inherited traits from their mother Babylon in spirit and in practice. They all imply to be the authority of God on earth; the reformed church, the end time remnant church etc. They fell for the tempter’s deception: “I will give you numbers, money, success and honors, when you compromise with me.” Disobedience to the Word of God is unfaithfulness, spiritual adultery and prostitution. It brings captivity of mind to man-made rules and interpretations.
Rev 17:1-6
1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."
2 Cor 11:13-15
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13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles
of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of
righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Spiritual harlotry dates to the beginning of mankind and was very prevalent in the nation Israel, which we will consider later in greater detail. But the Harlot that is revealed in the book of Revelation, is time specific, as we will see in the chapter “The Spiritual Babylonic Captivity”.
For greater detail about that spiritual evolvement of this harlot, please see the section: “The Spiritual Babylonic Captivity.”
The Symbol of a beast, identifies Satan inspired godless, worldly, political, pagan, secular empires, kingdoms, nations as well as their kings and population. They bear the marks of his spirit: “They do the works of Satan on earth. They destroy the works of God, including tempting, deceiving, persecuting and killing His children. Power and wealth, violence, hypocrisy, lies, and murder are his workmanship.
The seven heads represent the consecutive blasphemous ideologies that gave the beasts their identity and vitality.
These are Satan’s secular children.
The role of ideology or religion in empires.
The heart and soul of empires was their religion, which gave them their identity and unity. The king was the absolute ruler, because he was believed to be the representative of the gods. His word was the word of a god. The minds of all citizens were under his complete control. Clerics were held in high esteem and well cared for, because they indoctrinated and captivated the public mind from cradle to grave to be loyal patriots to the state. Only one religion was tolerated and that was the state religion, the Zeitgeist. Expressing doubt or non- compliance was treason. Punishment was public execution. Intelligent young men from conquered nations were brought to the Universities of the States for education and brainwashing, to become faithful servants of the state.
A biblical example of this, is recorded in the book of Daniel.
Dan 1:3-4
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.
Spiritual harlotry dates to the beginning of mankind and was very prevalent in the nation Israel, which we will consider later in greater detail. But the Harlot that is revealed in the book of Revelation, is time specific, as we will see in the chapter “The Spiritual Babylonic Captivity”.
For greater detail about that spiritual evolvement of this harlot, please see the section: “The Spiritual Babylonic Captivity.”
The Symbol of a beast, identifies Satan inspired godless, worldly, political, pagan, secular empires, kingdoms, nations as well as their kings and population. They bear the marks of his spirit: “They do the works of Satan on earth. They destroy the works of God, including tempting, deceiving, persecuting and killing His children. Power and wealth, violence, hypocrisy, lies, and murder are his workmanship.
The seven heads represent the consecutive blasphemous ideologies that gave the beasts their identity and vitality.
These are Satan’s secular children.
The role of ideology or religion in empires.
The heart and soul of empires was their religion, which gave them their identity and unity. The king was the absolute ruler, because he was believed to be the representative of the gods. His word was the word of a god. The minds of all citizens were under his complete control. Clerics were held in high esteem and well cared for, because they indoctrinated and captivated the public mind from cradle to grave to be loyal patriots to the state. Only one religion was tolerated and that was the state religion, the Zeitgeist. Expressing doubt or non- compliance was treason. Punishment was public execution. Intelligent young men from conquered nations were brought to the Universities of the States for education and brainwashing, to become faithful servants of the state.
A biblical example of this, is recorded in the book of Daniel.
Dan 1:3-4
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.
Dan 3:1-6
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3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up
on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects,
governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come
to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers,
treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication
of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
In principle, this mode of operandi is characteristic of all empires, no matter what their size and religion is. In recent history, the symbol, representing a nation, is no longer a statue; it has been replaced by a flag to which allegiance is pledged. The practice of bowing to the ground when the national anthem was played, as expression of loyalty to the state has been replaced by standing, with the right hand placed over the heart, or the raised arm with the stretched hand or fist. Loyalty and patriotism to the state are repeatedly expressed with pledges of allegiance by citizens from cradle to grave. Forms may have changed, but the spirit is the same.
All minds had to be unified and kept under control.
In order to understand the revelations pertaining to present events, we need to take an overview of the “prophetic history book” named after the prophet Daniel, dating back to 600 BC, together with the book of Revelation, recorded by the prophet and disciple of Christ, John, about 100 AD.
The Nation of Israel captive in Babylon for 70 years.
The unfaithful nation of Israel had strayed from God into idolatry. God announced through the prophet Jeremiah, His plan to send the nation into captivity to Babylon for 70 years, giving them the opportunity to repent and come back to God who loved them.
Jer 25:4-12
4 And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5 They said, "Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you."
7 "But you did not listen to me," declares the Lord, "and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves."
8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: "Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the Lord, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the
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4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
In principle, this mode of operandi is characteristic of all empires, no matter what their size and religion is. In recent history, the symbol, representing a nation, is no longer a statue; it has been replaced by a flag to which allegiance is pledged. The practice of bowing to the ground when the national anthem was played, as expression of loyalty to the state has been replaced by standing, with the right hand placed over the heart, or the raised arm with the stretched hand or fist. Loyalty and patriotism to the state are repeatedly expressed with pledges of allegiance by citizens from cradle to grave. Forms may have changed, but the spirit is the same.
All minds had to be unified and kept under control.
In order to understand the revelations pertaining to present events, we need to take an overview of the “prophetic history book” named after the prophet Daniel, dating back to 600 BC, together with the book of Revelation, recorded by the prophet and disciple of Christ, John, about 100 AD.
The Nation of Israel captive in Babylon for 70 years.
The unfaithful nation of Israel had strayed from God into idolatry. God announced through the prophet Jeremiah, His plan to send the nation into captivity to Babylon for 70 years, giving them the opportunity to repent and come back to God who loved them.
Jer 25:4-12
4 And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5 They said, "Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you."
7 "But you did not listen to me," declares the Lord, "and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves."
8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: "Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the Lord, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the
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voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole
country serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 "But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and
the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the Lord, "and will make it desolate forever.
Cause and effect: Wrong choices bring spiritual blindness, disobedience and rejection of the will of God, and ends in physical and spiritual captivity and death.
God revealed our World’s History before it began to unfold.
God’s concise Prophetic World History Lesson between 600 BC,
and the End of The World.
Daniel received a panoramic view of future world events and of the completion of God’s Kingdom.
12 "But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and
the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the Lord, "and will make it desolate forever.
Cause and effect: Wrong choices bring spiritual blindness, disobedience and rejection of the will of God, and ends in physical and spiritual captivity and death.
God revealed our World’s History before it began to unfold.
God’s concise Prophetic World History Lesson between 600 BC,
and the End of The World.
Daniel received a panoramic view of future world events and of the completion of God’s Kingdom.
12
Dan. 2:32-35; 38-45.
13
God deeply disturbed the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar in a dream. When he awoke,
he could not remember the dream. He summoned his nationally esteemed wise men and
demanded under a threat of capital punishment to tell him the dream and the interpretation,
but none could do it. Their final answer was: “Only God, who does not dwell among men, could
reveal such an impossible request”. But God revealed this mystery to the young prophet Daniel,
an exile from Jerusalem who was enrolled at the royal college for international affairs. This was
his presentation to the King:
Dan 2:27-30
27 Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to
the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:
29 "As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the
revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
Dan 2:32-35, 38-45
32 This image's head [you saw] was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs* of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.* 34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the
image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
38 Wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all —
you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to
yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces
and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be
in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly
fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44
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Dan 2:27-30
27 Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to
the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:
29 "As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the
revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
Dan 2:32-35, 38-45
32 This image's head [you saw] was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs* of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.* 34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the
image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
38 Wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all —
you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to
yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces
and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be
in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly
fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44
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And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold — the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure."
The head of gold, the lion: King Nebuchadnezzar and the empire of Babylon, 625to 539 BC.
Under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the golden empire of Neo Babylon had reached its heights of authority, power, wealth and luxury, never reached by his successors. Nebuchadnezzar bragged about his metropolitan city Babylon:
Dan 4:30
30 he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?
Herodotus, [considered the father of history 448-425 BC [Vol.1, Page 178-186] and other early historians gave us the following description of the city of Babylon:[ Also see McClintock & Strong Encyclopedia]
“The walls of Babylon were double, the outer line being 56 miles in circumference, built of large bricks cemented together with bitumen and raised around the city in the form of an exact square; hence they measured 14 miles along each face. They were 87 feet thick and 350 feet high. Cuintus Curtius reports that four horse-chariots cold pass each other on them without danger.
The walls were on the outside protected by a vast ditch lined with the same material, and proportioned in depth and width to the elevation of the walls. The city was entered by twenty- five gates on each side, made of solid brass and additionally strengthened by 250 towers, so placed that between every two gates were four towers and four additional ones at the four corners. From all the gates proceeded streets running in straight lines, each street being nearly fifteen miles in length, fifty in number and crossing each other at right angles. The whole city contained 676 squares, each about two miles and a quarter in circumference. The houses were frequently three and four stories high. The river Euphrates ran through the city from north to south, and on each side, was a quay of the same thickness as the walls of the city, and 100 stadia in length. In these quays were gates of brass, and from each of them steps descending into the river.
A bridge crossed the river of great beauty and admirable contrivance, a 1/8 mile in length and 30 feet wide. On each side of the bridge was a palace with subterraneous communication. There were numerous temples, palaces and fortresses throughout the city. Two canals were built to channel excess water into the Tigris. Much has been written about the richness, beauty and luxury of the city, the hanging gardens with their exquisite fauna and the marvelous architecture.
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in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold — the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure."
The head of gold, the lion: King Nebuchadnezzar and the empire of Babylon, 625to 539 BC.
Under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the golden empire of Neo Babylon had reached its heights of authority, power, wealth and luxury, never reached by his successors. Nebuchadnezzar bragged about his metropolitan city Babylon:
Dan 4:30
30 he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?
Herodotus, [considered the father of history 448-425 BC [Vol.1, Page 178-186] and other early historians gave us the following description of the city of Babylon:[ Also see McClintock & Strong Encyclopedia]
“The walls of Babylon were double, the outer line being 56 miles in circumference, built of large bricks cemented together with bitumen and raised around the city in the form of an exact square; hence they measured 14 miles along each face. They were 87 feet thick and 350 feet high. Cuintus Curtius reports that four horse-chariots cold pass each other on them without danger.
The walls were on the outside protected by a vast ditch lined with the same material, and proportioned in depth and width to the elevation of the walls. The city was entered by twenty- five gates on each side, made of solid brass and additionally strengthened by 250 towers, so placed that between every two gates were four towers and four additional ones at the four corners. From all the gates proceeded streets running in straight lines, each street being nearly fifteen miles in length, fifty in number and crossing each other at right angles. The whole city contained 676 squares, each about two miles and a quarter in circumference. The houses were frequently three and four stories high. The river Euphrates ran through the city from north to south, and on each side, was a quay of the same thickness as the walls of the city, and 100 stadia in length. In these quays were gates of brass, and from each of them steps descending into the river.
A bridge crossed the river of great beauty and admirable contrivance, a 1/8 mile in length and 30 feet wide. On each side of the bridge was a palace with subterraneous communication. There were numerous temples, palaces and fortresses throughout the city. Two canals were built to channel excess water into the Tigris. Much has been written about the richness, beauty and luxury of the city, the hanging gardens with their exquisite fauna and the marvelous architecture.
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[See picture of the Ishtar Gate, reconstructed at the Pergamum Museum in Berlin.]
Ishtar Gate.
Ishtar Gate.
A few more highlights from the life of Emperor Nebuchadnezzar that are beneficial today for
anyone with an imperial complex.
Please read the whole chapter of Daniel four.
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Please read the whole chapter of Daniel four.
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About 50 years later, Daniel received additional visions dealing with the same periods of world history.
Here God revealed the real character of the empires through the symbols of predatory beasts. Empires
have been the greatest terrorists. Their military [sharpest teeth and largest claws] had to subdue and
control the world. Every resistance or disagreement had to be crushed. All the world’s resources were in
their national interest and had to brought under their control. Their murderous enormous civilian
casualties were justified as collateral damage. Preempted and Preventive strikes against innocent potential
future enemies were rationalized. The empire could do no wrong, it did the will of the gods. [Sounds
familiar?]
Dan 7:2-4
Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
4 "The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it. [Sea, symbolizes the population around the Mediterranean Sea.] [See “Biblical Prophetic Terminology and Symbolism.
Hab 1:6-8
6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own. 7 They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. 8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong ; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like a vulture swooping to devour.
Jer 50:17
17 "Israel is a scattered flock
that lions have chased away.
The first to devour him
was the king of Assyria;
the last to crush his bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon."
Babylon was that swift winged lion. After Nebuchadnezzar’s recovery from his insanity he received a humane and submissive spirit.
Dan 4:34-37
34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"
36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my
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Dan 7:2-4
Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
4 "The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it. [Sea, symbolizes the population around the Mediterranean Sea.] [See “Biblical Prophetic Terminology and Symbolism.
Hab 1:6-8
6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own. 7 They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. 8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong ; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like a vulture swooping to devour.
Jer 50:17
17 "Israel is a scattered flock
that lions have chased away.
The first to devour him
was the king of Assyria;
the last to crush his bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon."
Babylon was that swift winged lion. After Nebuchadnezzar’s recovery from his insanity he received a humane and submissive spirit.
Dan 4:34-37
34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"
36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my
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throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and
glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And
those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
The end of the Babylonian empire is described in the book of Daniel chapter 5
Dan 5:1,4,5,6,25-31
King Belshazzar [descendant of Nebuchadnezzar] gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.
As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.
This is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN
This is what these words mean; as translated to the king by the prophet Daniel:
Mene : God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel : You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
That very night Belshazzar,[ co-regent with his father Nabonidus and grandson of Nebuchadnezzar] the last rulers over the Babylonians, were slain, and Darius the king of Media took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two in the year 539 BC.
God had foretold this event through the prophet Jeremiah. [627-580] Jer 51:11
11 "Sharpen the arrows,
take up the shields!
The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon.
Isa 45:1
45 "This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut.
Isa 45:13
13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight.
He will rebuild my city
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The end of the Babylonian empire is described in the book of Daniel chapter 5
Dan 5:1,4,5,6,25-31
King Belshazzar [descendant of Nebuchadnezzar] gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.
As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.
This is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN
This is what these words mean; as translated to the king by the prophet Daniel:
Mene : God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel : You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
That very night Belshazzar,[ co-regent with his father Nabonidus and grandson of Nebuchadnezzar] the last rulers over the Babylonians, were slain, and Darius the king of Media took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two in the year 539 BC.
God had foretold this event through the prophet Jeremiah. [627-580] Jer 51:11
11 "Sharpen the arrows,
take up the shields!
The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon.
Isa 45:1
45 "This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut.
Isa 45:13
13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight.
He will rebuild my city
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and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward, says the Lord Almighty."
This prophecy by Isaiah was given long before Cyrus was born. And amazingly, God even revealed his name.
The prophet Daniel received three more visions in about the same time span, each giving some more detailed information. Later, about 100 AD, the prophet John received visions with even more detailed information about the future political and religious developments, beginning with Imperial Rome and ending with the termination of this world’s governments and the completion of the eternal Kingdom of God. In order not to miss pertinent revelations, we will superimpose all visions to get a more complete overview of foretold world history and the World View of God.
The chest and arms of silver, the bear and the ram: The empire of Medo-Persia. 539 to 331 BC.
Dan 2:31-32
31 "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue — an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32,....... its chest and arms of silver,
Dan 7:2,5
2 Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. [Population around the Mediterranean]
5 "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'
Dan 8:3-4
3 I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. 4 I watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
Dan 8:20
20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.
The two arms of the chest, the raised-up side of the bear and the unequal size of the two horns on the ram are indicative of the dual aspects of the Medo-Persian Empire. The three ribs in the Bear’s mouth indicate its major conquests of Babylon, Egypt and Lydia.
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but not for a price or reward, says the Lord Almighty."
This prophecy by Isaiah was given long before Cyrus was born. And amazingly, God even revealed his name.
The prophet Daniel received three more visions in about the same time span, each giving some more detailed information. Later, about 100 AD, the prophet John received visions with even more detailed information about the future political and religious developments, beginning with Imperial Rome and ending with the termination of this world’s governments and the completion of the eternal Kingdom of God. In order not to miss pertinent revelations, we will superimpose all visions to get a more complete overview of foretold world history and the World View of God.
The chest and arms of silver, the bear and the ram: The empire of Medo-Persia. 539 to 331 BC.
Dan 2:31-32
31 "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue — an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32,....... its chest and arms of silver,
Dan 7:2,5
2 Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. [Population around the Mediterranean]
5 "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'
Dan 8:3-4
3 I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. 4 I watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
Dan 8:20
20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.
The two arms of the chest, the raised-up side of the bear and the unequal size of the two horns on the ram are indicative of the dual aspects of the Medo-Persian Empire. The three ribs in the Bear’s mouth indicate its major conquests of Babylon, Egypt and Lydia.
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Cyrus had defeated the Babylonian armies. The city Babylon was the last stronghold of the
declining empire. The city was considered impregnable and their supplies could have lasted for
over 20 years.
Even as Cyrus laid siege to the city, the insiders felt secure and celebrated.
But Cyrus had a strategy. He placed his troops at the in and out flow of the Euphrates that flowed through the city. By night he diverted the flow of the river into a nearby lake so his army could enter the river bed. The high walls along the river bed could not have been breached if it would not have been for the carelessness of the guards leaving some gates to the river open. Cyrus and Darius terminated that golden empire Babylon in 539 BC.
Please note: Darius is also called Cyaxares. He called on his nephew Cyrus the Persian king to help him in his war against the Babylonians.
Cyrus agreed that the highest authority in the kingdom would go to his uncle Darius. After his death two years later in 536 BC. Cyrus became the sole monarch of the empire.
The Persian empire ended when Alexander the Great with his Grecian army defeated the Persian army at Issus in 333 BC.
The belly and thighs of bronze, the leopard, the goat: The empire of Greece 331to 168 BC.
In the three visions, God revealed some details on the Grecian role on the world scene.
Dan 2:39-40
a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.
Dan 7:6
6 "After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
Dan 8:5-8
5 As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. 6 He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage. 7 I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power. 8 The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off..
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Even as Cyrus laid siege to the city, the insiders felt secure and celebrated.
But Cyrus had a strategy. He placed his troops at the in and out flow of the Euphrates that flowed through the city. By night he diverted the flow of the river into a nearby lake so his army could enter the river bed. The high walls along the river bed could not have been breached if it would not have been for the carelessness of the guards leaving some gates to the river open. Cyrus and Darius terminated that golden empire Babylon in 539 BC.
Please note: Darius is also called Cyaxares. He called on his nephew Cyrus the Persian king to help him in his war against the Babylonians.
Cyrus agreed that the highest authority in the kingdom would go to his uncle Darius. After his death two years later in 536 BC. Cyrus became the sole monarch of the empire.
The Persian empire ended when Alexander the Great with his Grecian army defeated the Persian army at Issus in 333 BC.
The belly and thighs of bronze, the leopard, the goat: The empire of Greece 331to 168 BC.
In the three visions, God revealed some details on the Grecian role on the world scene.
Dan 2:39-40
a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.
Dan 7:6
6 "After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
Dan 8:5-8
5 As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. 6 He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage. 7 I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power. 8 The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off..
20
It is remarkable that this vision was given in the third year of King Belshazzar's reign over
Babylon. Which was the year 550 BC. that is 219 years before Greece became a world
empire under Alexander the great.
Now follows God’s interpretation through an angel: “make this man understand the vision” V.16 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. 22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.
Alexander’s speedy world conquest is aptly symbolized by the leopard with four wings, and the goat crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. The mighty Persian Empire was defeated in the battles of Issus in 333 BC and Arbela in 331 BC. But at the pinnacle of his power, Alexander died at the age of 32. The large horn was broken off. His two sons Alexander IV and Heracles were murdered and the 40-year succession power struggle gave rise to the Diadochi kingdoms. The Grecian kingdom was finally divided between four Generals who settled their territorial battles at Ipsus in 301 BC . Western Asia Minor and Thrace went to Lysimachus, Asia, from Phrygia to India to Seleucus, Ptolemy became the king of Egypt, and Cassander became ruler of Macedonia. The ideological split was indicated by the four- headed leopard and the four contending horns of the goat. Why the division, among the many contenders, ended in just four?
Yes, it is amazing how accurate divine prophetic history has been, is, and will be.
Chapter 10 gives us a glimpse of the spiritual forces behind the visible players in the history of the world. God was, is, and will be the Sovereign.
Dan 10:10-14, 18-21
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."
18 Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. 19 "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong."
When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength."
20 So he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; 21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.
These are the invisible spiritual forces behind the world’s decision makers.
21
Now follows God’s interpretation through an angel: “make this man understand the vision” V.16 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. 22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.
Alexander’s speedy world conquest is aptly symbolized by the leopard with four wings, and the goat crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. The mighty Persian Empire was defeated in the battles of Issus in 333 BC and Arbela in 331 BC. But at the pinnacle of his power, Alexander died at the age of 32. The large horn was broken off. His two sons Alexander IV and Heracles were murdered and the 40-year succession power struggle gave rise to the Diadochi kingdoms. The Grecian kingdom was finally divided between four Generals who settled their territorial battles at Ipsus in 301 BC . Western Asia Minor and Thrace went to Lysimachus, Asia, from Phrygia to India to Seleucus, Ptolemy became the king of Egypt, and Cassander became ruler of Macedonia. The ideological split was indicated by the four- headed leopard and the four contending horns of the goat. Why the division, among the many contenders, ended in just four?
Yes, it is amazing how accurate divine prophetic history has been, is, and will be.
Chapter 10 gives us a glimpse of the spiritual forces behind the visible players in the history of the world. God was, is, and will be the Sovereign.
Dan 10:10-14, 18-21
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."
18 Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. 19 "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong."
When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength."
20 So he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; 21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.
These are the invisible spiritual forces behind the world’s decision makers.
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God has given a set time to mankind on this planet to choose between good and evil. Get to
know the princes that are for you and the ones that are against you.
Please read my script: “The two greatest mysteries of the world”.
The legs of iron, the dreadful, terrible beast: The Empire of Rome 168 BC. to 475 AD.
Dan 2:40-41
40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron — for iron breaks and smashes everything — and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.
Dan 7:7
7 "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast — terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
In Vision, Daniel sees the picture of Rome, from its beginning as a republic and after Julius Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, when it changed into an empire under Octavian in 27 BC, after he defeated his rival Mark Antony in the battle at Actium in 31 BC, annexing Egypt and unifying Rome again. The senate conferred the titles Princeps “the foremost most eminent” and Augustus “the illustrious one” on him. He was the spiritual, political and military dictator until his death in 14 AD. Rome had become that terrifying, frightening powerful beast that ground the world into submission. Caesars were worshipped as the authorities of the gods, as gods on earth to whom all creatures had to bow.
Daniel also sees the administrative split of the empire by Diocletian [284 – 305 AD], into West Rome with its capital seat in Milan, and East Rome with its capital in Istanbul, represented by the “two legs” of the prophetic image. later Constantin renamed Istanbul Constantinople.
Daniel also sees the ideological, political, economic and military decline of the Roman Empire. Their religion, the unifying backbone was disintegrating.
Rev 13:3
3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.
Despite Rome’s, at times brutal attempts, to eradicate the Christian religion, which was considered a threat to its foundation, Christianity, in the daily love filled life of the Lord’s persecuted disciples, had become admirable and even desirable among their pagan neighbors. Christians were enabled to love their enemies and to bless those who cursed and mistreated them. They were peace makers, not conflict makers. What a novel concept for a peaceful world. The all-inclusive Love of God in His children had overcome pagan spirits. Eventually Rome recognized the political benefits of the new religion and included the, by that time Romanized form of “Christianity” named “Catholic {Universal} Church”, as part of their State Religion. It
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Please read my script: “The two greatest mysteries of the world”.
The legs of iron, the dreadful, terrible beast: The Empire of Rome 168 BC. to 475 AD.
Dan 2:40-41
40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron — for iron breaks and smashes everything — and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.
Dan 7:7
7 "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast — terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
In Vision, Daniel sees the picture of Rome, from its beginning as a republic and after Julius Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, when it changed into an empire under Octavian in 27 BC, after he defeated his rival Mark Antony in the battle at Actium in 31 BC, annexing Egypt and unifying Rome again. The senate conferred the titles Princeps “the foremost most eminent” and Augustus “the illustrious one” on him. He was the spiritual, political and military dictator until his death in 14 AD. Rome had become that terrifying, frightening powerful beast that ground the world into submission. Caesars were worshipped as the authorities of the gods, as gods on earth to whom all creatures had to bow.
Daniel also sees the administrative split of the empire by Diocletian [284 – 305 AD], into West Rome with its capital seat in Milan, and East Rome with its capital in Istanbul, represented by the “two legs” of the prophetic image. later Constantin renamed Istanbul Constantinople.
Daniel also sees the ideological, political, economic and military decline of the Roman Empire. Their religion, the unifying backbone was disintegrating.
Rev 13:3
3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.
Despite Rome’s, at times brutal attempts, to eradicate the Christian religion, which was considered a threat to its foundation, Christianity, in the daily love filled life of the Lord’s persecuted disciples, had become admirable and even desirable among their pagan neighbors. Christians were enabled to love their enemies and to bless those who cursed and mistreated them. They were peace makers, not conflict makers. What a novel concept for a peaceful world. The all-inclusive Love of God in His children had overcome pagan spirits. Eventually Rome recognized the political benefits of the new religion and included the, by that time Romanized form of “Christianity” named “Catholic {Universal} Church”, as part of their State Religion. It
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was done under Constantine the Great, by his edict of Milan in 313 AD. Emperor Theodosius
made Catholic “Christianity” the exclusive state religion of the empire in the 380s and outlawed
worship in pagan temples by 391 AD. The fatal wound to the Roman spiritual head had healed
and extended the imperial power till 476 AD, when Odoacer King of the Ostrogoth’s deposed the
emperor Romulus and terminated the Western Roman Empire. Now the ten Horns are dividing
the territories of the former empire to form the European nations.
The 10 Horns:
The ten northern and eastern tribes that invaded and divided the Western Roman Empire:
The 10 Horns:
The ten northern and eastern tribes that invaded and divided the Western Roman Empire:
AD 351 Alemanni
AD 351 Franks
AD 406 Burgundians AD 406 Suevi
AD 406 Vandals AD 408 Visigoths AD 449 Saxons AD 453 Ostrogoths AD 453 Lombards AD 476 Heruli
E.R. Thiele
AD 406 Burgundians AD 406 Suevi
AD 406 Vandals AD 408 Visigoths AD 449 Saxons AD 453 Ostrogoths AD 453 Lombards AD 476 Heruli
E.R. Thiele
Germany
France
Switzerland Portugal Africa Spain
Britain Italy
Italy Italy
Switzerland Portugal Africa Spain
Britain Italy
Italy Italy
By the latter part of the 5th century, the papacy had already gained the spiritual control over
seven of the ten horns.
Emperor Justinian’s armies of the Eastern Roman Empire defeated the 3 tribes that opposed the Papacy and brought them under his control:
AD 493 Heruli
AD 534 Vandals AD 538 Ostrogoths
This was the beginning of the “Harlot’s ascent upon the “Beast” which she controlled for 1260 years.
Please note: According to Rev. 13:3-5, the deadly wound and it’s healing took place before the 42 month or 3 1/2 times prophetic time. It was the Roman Empire and not the Papacy that suffered from the deadly wound, as some interpreters have implied. To justify their view, they take the liberty to place verse 3 after verse 5, and so distort God’s important revelation of future events.
Greater detail of this prophecy will be considered later.
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Emperor Justinian’s armies of the Eastern Roman Empire defeated the 3 tribes that opposed the Papacy and brought them under his control:
AD 493 Heruli
AD 534 Vandals AD 538 Ostrogoths
This was the beginning of the “Harlot’s ascent upon the “Beast” which she controlled for 1260 years.
Please note: According to Rev. 13:3-5, the deadly wound and it’s healing took place before the 42 month or 3 1/2 times prophetic time. It was the Roman Empire and not the Papacy that suffered from the deadly wound, as some interpreters have implied. To justify their view, they take the liberty to place verse 3 after verse 5, and so distort God’s important revelation of future events.
Greater detail of this prophecy will be considered later.
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The Universal Principle:
The history of mankind reveals this universal principle: “Disobedience to God, to His Law and His Word is separation from God, it leads to spiritual blindness, captivity of mind and spiritual death.”
Preface: Since we are studying various biblical prophecies, it will be helpful to keep open my script:” Terminology of biblical prophetic symbolism”.
Also, my scripts titled: “God’s World view”,” The two greatest mysteries of our world,” and “The Mystery of the Kingdom of God,” would give additional answers to questions I may not answer in detail in this paper.
The Book of Revelation:
John, the disciple of Christ, was inspired by God to reveal to His children His Son Jesus as the Sovereign King of the Universe, who foretold the major future events of our political social and religious world, and that He will return to our planet to bring an end to this world’s disorder and to finalize His Eternal Kingdom. The book was written toward the end of the first century AD.
The Book of Daniel:
Through the prophet Daniel, God gave us a prophetic overview of our worlds history, beginning about 700 BC, and ending in the termination of all the evil of Satan’s inspired man made ideologies and governments, and the finalization of the establishment of the eternal Kingdom of God.
Our dualistic world.
Through experience and observation, we know about good and evil. The Bible introduces the origin, or Father of good, as God, and the origin, or father of evil, as Satan. What we experience in our daily lives, reflects the great universal spiritual controversy between good and evil. Our world and every individual is the theatre of this spiritual battle. We are created with freedom to choose. God’s Holy Spirit shows us the way of blessings and life. Satan’s evil spirit leads us, under clever disguises, in the way of curses, slavery and death. History and statistics prove that Satan, with his multitude of spiritual and human agents, is very clever and successful in his deception and mind control. What we perceive, has its origin in the invisible spiritual universe. The spirit of God, through His Word gives us a glimpse behind the curtain to make us aware of the powerful forces that influence our personal lives and the affaires of our world. Disharmony or disobedience to the God of life, is sin which ends in cessation of life. As a loving Father, He tells
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The history of mankind reveals this universal principle: “Disobedience to God, to His Law and His Word is separation from God, it leads to spiritual blindness, captivity of mind and spiritual death.”
Preface: Since we are studying various biblical prophecies, it will be helpful to keep open my script:” Terminology of biblical prophetic symbolism”.
Also, my scripts titled: “God’s World view”,” The two greatest mysteries of our world,” and “The Mystery of the Kingdom of God,” would give additional answers to questions I may not answer in detail in this paper.
The Book of Revelation:
John, the disciple of Christ, was inspired by God to reveal to His children His Son Jesus as the Sovereign King of the Universe, who foretold the major future events of our political social and religious world, and that He will return to our planet to bring an end to this world’s disorder and to finalize His Eternal Kingdom. The book was written toward the end of the first century AD.
The Book of Daniel:
Through the prophet Daniel, God gave us a prophetic overview of our worlds history, beginning about 700 BC, and ending in the termination of all the evil of Satan’s inspired man made ideologies and governments, and the finalization of the establishment of the eternal Kingdom of God.
Our dualistic world.
Through experience and observation, we know about good and evil. The Bible introduces the origin, or Father of good, as God, and the origin, or father of evil, as Satan. What we experience in our daily lives, reflects the great universal spiritual controversy between good and evil. Our world and every individual is the theatre of this spiritual battle. We are created with freedom to choose. God’s Holy Spirit shows us the way of blessings and life. Satan’s evil spirit leads us, under clever disguises, in the way of curses, slavery and death. History and statistics prove that Satan, with his multitude of spiritual and human agents, is very clever and successful in his deception and mind control. What we perceive, has its origin in the invisible spiritual universe. The spirit of God, through His Word gives us a glimpse behind the curtain to make us aware of the powerful forces that influence our personal lives and the affaires of our world. Disharmony or disobedience to the God of life, is sin which ends in cessation of life. As a loving Father, He tells
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us: “Do not go there. Choose thoughtfully under the guidance of My Spirit,
because some consequences of your choices are irreversible”.
The causality Law: “Cause and effect”. “Blessing or curse”.
Blessings are the positive effects of living in the will of God.
Curses are the negative consequences of an ungodly life. It has nothing to do with evil spells. But it has all to do with your choices.
The way of life:
Deut. 11:26-28
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse — the blessing if you
obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which means to submit to other authorities and influence of ungodly men.
Deut. 30:115, 19
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you, life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.
Deut. 28:8-9
8 The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.
Lev. 25:21
21 Then I will command My blessing on you.
God’s commandments, His Will, is our blessing. Do not miss even one. His many blessings are like a long chain link. When you are making a decision between obeying, or disobeying a commandment of God, you are dealing with either breaking the first link of that long chain of blessings and losing them, or keeping the links intact and receiving them. Your choices have far reaching consequences. God is merciful to forgive our stumbling when we repent and come to Him with new resolve to abide by His power on His blessed path of life.
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The causality Law: “Cause and effect”. “Blessing or curse”.
Blessings are the positive effects of living in the will of God.
Curses are the negative consequences of an ungodly life. It has nothing to do with evil spells. But it has all to do with your choices.
The way of life:
Deut. 11:26-28
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse — the blessing if you
obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which means to submit to other authorities and influence of ungodly men.
Deut. 30:115, 19
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you, life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.
Deut. 28:8-9
8 The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.
Lev. 25:21
21 Then I will command My blessing on you.
God’s commandments, His Will, is our blessing. Do not miss even one. His many blessings are like a long chain link. When you are making a decision between obeying, or disobeying a commandment of God, you are dealing with either breaking the first link of that long chain of blessings and losing them, or keeping the links intact and receiving them. Your choices have far reaching consequences. God is merciful to forgive our stumbling when we repent and come to Him with new resolve to abide by His power on His blessed path of life.
25
Jas. 2:10.11
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. [You have broken your chain of blessings. This formula applies to all commandments of God.]
The way of sin and death:
1 John 3:4
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
The law of God is the law of Life.
Rom 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
No matter how old you are, or how ugly and evil your past has been, God in Christ personally offers you a new life, complete forgiveness of all sins, freedom from all sins and guilt; and then a new mind, a new heart and eternal life. This is His “Good News” for every individual of our world. All these blessings begin to flood your life when you choose to accept His undeserved gift in the Anointed Savior.
You do not have to work for it, just to work it out in your mind that you are ready to receive it. Then you become God’s Workmanship and you will be willing to let Him complete you in accordance with His plan. Your will becomes God’s Will, so that obedience to Him is your new nature. What God does is always 100%, never less. Only you can limit Him in what He wants to do for you and with you.
The nation Israel an example and a lesson:
1 Cor 10:11
11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. That means us.
26
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. [You have broken your chain of blessings. This formula applies to all commandments of God.]
The way of sin and death:
1 John 3:4
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
The law of God is the law of Life.
Rom 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
No matter how old you are, or how ugly and evil your past has been, God in Christ personally offers you a new life, complete forgiveness of all sins, freedom from all sins and guilt; and then a new mind, a new heart and eternal life. This is His “Good News” for every individual of our world. All these blessings begin to flood your life when you choose to accept His undeserved gift in the Anointed Savior.
You do not have to work for it, just to work it out in your mind that you are ready to receive it. Then you become God’s Workmanship and you will be willing to let Him complete you in accordance with His plan. Your will becomes God’s Will, so that obedience to Him is your new nature. What God does is always 100%, never less. Only you can limit Him in what He wants to do for you and with you.
The nation Israel an example and a lesson:
1 Cor 10:11
11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. That means us.
26
Jer 2:13
13 "My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water, [the life- giving word of God, the gospel = the good news from God]
and have dug their own cisterns, [men made theologies, ideologies, philosophies, doctrines, regulations, interpretations.] broken cisterns that cannot hold water. [they do not sustain life.]
Deut 28:15-20
15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all His commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20 The Lord will permit on you curses, [consequences] confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.
64 Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods — gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot.
All our history books confirm this spiritual causality law in the Jewish nation, and we experience it also in our personal lives today.
God had chosen Israel to be HIS light to the world. To be examples of how to live in love and peace in the will of God their King, who is love, thereby lovingly extending His invitation to all peoples to join them in His Kingdom. But they felt arrogantly superior in their God given mission to the world, despising others instead of lovingly serving them, to find a relationship with the God who loves them. God had to remind them that they had done nothing to deserve that mission; it was purely an opportunity given to them by His compassion and grace.
27
13 "My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water, [the life- giving word of God, the gospel = the good news from God]
and have dug their own cisterns, [men made theologies, ideologies, philosophies, doctrines, regulations, interpretations.] broken cisterns that cannot hold water. [they do not sustain life.]
Deut 28:15-20
15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all His commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20 The Lord will permit on you curses, [consequences] confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.
64 Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods — gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot.
All our history books confirm this spiritual causality law in the Jewish nation, and we experience it also in our personal lives today.
God had chosen Israel to be HIS light to the world. To be examples of how to live in love and peace in the will of God their King, who is love, thereby lovingly extending His invitation to all peoples to join them in His Kingdom. But they felt arrogantly superior in their God given mission to the world, despising others instead of lovingly serving them, to find a relationship with the God who loves them. God had to remind them that they had done nothing to deserve that mission; it was purely an opportunity given to them by His compassion and grace.
27
Ezek 16:1-19,22,32,44,45
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, confront Jerusalem [symbolic term for the nation Israel] with her detestable practices 3 and say, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor where you washed with water to make you clean, nor where you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.
6 "'Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, "Live!" 7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, you who were naked and bare.
8 "'Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
9 "'I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. 11 I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. 14 And your fame spread among the nations because your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 "'But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. Such things should not happen; nor should they ever occur. 17 You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them. 18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense before them. 19 Also the food I provided for you — the fine flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat — you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign Lord.
28
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, confront Jerusalem [symbolic term for the nation Israel] with her detestable practices 3 and say, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor where you washed with water to make you clean, nor where you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.
6 "'Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, "Live!" 7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, you who were naked and bare.
8 "'Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
9 "'I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. 11 I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. 14 And your fame spread among the nations because your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 "'But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. 16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. Such things should not happen; nor should they ever occur. 17 You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them. 18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense before them. 19 Also the food I provided for you — the fine flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat — you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign Lord.
28
22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the
days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood.
32 "'You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!
44 "'Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: "Like mother, like daughter." 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised her husband. [in relationship to God]
This was spiritual adultery and harlotry. [Please keep this metaphor active in your mind when we identify the present day “mother harlot Babylon” and her daughters.]
Israel rejected their God. They chose human authority and organization. Satan’s spirit prevailed.
1 Sam 8:6-8
6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so, he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.
Even after repeated warnings by the Lord, the leaders and the majority of the people persisted. Deut.28:36-68; 1. Sam.8:5,9-22.
They got what they asked for and had to live with the consequences.
We plainly recognize the strategy of Satan. He manages to displace God’s Spirit and Authority by meninvented authorities, kings, presidents, hierarchies, organizations etc. under guidance of his spirit, in the name of God. Children of God had only one King, and He was God.
Human authorities called them anarchists because their king is invisible and therefore does not exist. With seeing eyes, they do not see.
Ezek 5:5-6
5 "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.
29
44 "'Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: "Like mother, like daughter." 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised her husband. [in relationship to God]
This was spiritual adultery and harlotry. [Please keep this metaphor active in your mind when we identify the present day “mother harlot Babylon” and her daughters.]
Israel rejected their God. They chose human authority and organization. Satan’s spirit prevailed.
1 Sam 8:6-8
6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so, he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.
Even after repeated warnings by the Lord, the leaders and the majority of the people persisted. Deut.28:36-68; 1. Sam.8:5,9-22.
They got what they asked for and had to live with the consequences.
We plainly recognize the strategy of Satan. He manages to displace God’s Spirit and Authority by meninvented authorities, kings, presidents, hierarchies, organizations etc. under guidance of his spirit, in the name of God. Children of God had only one King, and He was God.
Human authorities called them anarchists because their king is invisible and therefore does not exist. With seeing eyes, they do not see.
Ezek 5:5-6
5 "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.
29
2 Chron 24:20
20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, "This is what God says: 'Why do you disobey the Lord's commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has forsaken you.'
Isa 1:2-6, 9-11, 21
2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
"I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows his master,
the donkey his owner's manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand."
4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people loaded with guilt,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.
5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness –
9 Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant, [among the millions of Israelites, only a minority were God’s children.]
We would have become like Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the law of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 "The multitude of your sacrifices —
what are they to me?" says the Lord.
30
20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, "This is what God says: 'Why do you disobey the Lord's commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has forsaken you.'
Isa 1:2-6, 9-11, 21
2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
"I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows his master,
the donkey his owner's manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand."
4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people loaded with guilt,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.
5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness –
9 Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant, [among the millions of Israelites, only a minority were God’s children.]
We would have become like Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the law of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 "The multitude of your sacrifices —
what are they to me?" says the Lord.
30
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 21 See how the faithful city
has become a harlot! [remember this prophetic metaphor. The same process happened in the Christian area and is proceeding today.]
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her —
but now murderers!
Unfaithfulness to God is spiritual adultery and harlotry. But praise God, there
always was a faithful remnant in the world, who trusted and obeyed God.
Amos 5:21-24
1 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
God wanted to have a loving intimate spiritual trust relationship with His children. He always loved every human being and saved everyone who was willing. But the majority did not even recognize that they had rejected God and lived in spiritual adultery and blindness. They rather rejected God’s messages and killed His messengers than to reexamine their lives, to repent and reform.
Jer 18:18
18 Then they said, "Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah [the prophet of God.] Surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the sage, nor the divine word to the prophet! [their chosen and paid professional priests and prophets]. Come on and let us strike at him with our tongue, and let us give no heed to any of his words."
31
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 21 See how the faithful city
has become a harlot! [remember this prophetic metaphor. The same process happened in the Christian area and is proceeding today.]
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her —
but now murderers!
Unfaithfulness to God is spiritual adultery and harlotry. But praise God, there
always was a faithful remnant in the world, who trusted and obeyed God.
Amos 5:21-24
1 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
God wanted to have a loving intimate spiritual trust relationship with His children. He always loved every human being and saved everyone who was willing. But the majority did not even recognize that they had rejected God and lived in spiritual adultery and blindness. They rather rejected God’s messages and killed His messengers than to reexamine their lives, to repent and reform.
Jer 18:18
18 Then they said, "Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah [the prophet of God.] Surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the sage, nor the divine word to the prophet! [their chosen and paid professional priests and prophets]. Come on and let us strike at him with our tongue, and let us give no heed to any of his words."
31
They were so comfortable and secure with their dead religion and rituals, and the
guidance of their political and religious leaders, but they were blind and deaf to the
word of God and His Spirit of life.
Jer 3:6-10
6 During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8 I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister, Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense declares the Lord.
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Since in human perception, the marriage relationship between spouses is the most sacred union, God chose this as a metaphor of His closely loving bond with us. He is faithful; are you?
Jer 31:3-4
3 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:
"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
4 I will build you up again
and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. [another metaphor to keep in mind]
Deut 31:8
8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Jer 17:7-8
7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.
32
Jer 3:6-10
6 During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8 I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister, Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense declares the Lord.
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Since in human perception, the marriage relationship between spouses is the most sacred union, God chose this as a metaphor of His closely loving bond with us. He is faithful; are you?
Jer 31:3-4
3 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:
"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
4 I will build you up again
and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. [another metaphor to keep in mind]
Deut 31:8
8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Jer 17:7-8
7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.
32
8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
From God’s side, that relationship is perfect and consistent for eternity.
It was mankind that always broke that relationship. His wayward children got so accustomed to their adulterous life styles, that they considered it normal and acceptable. This was the spiritual depraved “Sodom and Gomorra” condition of Israel that Christ also found and had to contend with, when He came to this planet to save these people, who thought they were so firm in their religious saddle and did not realize that they were not even on the horse.
Please listen to the word of God through Jesus. The same spiritual depravity will and does exist in our days:
Luke 17:28-31
28 "It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
Jer 3:20
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,"
declares the Lord.
God had given His people ample evidence that He is a trustworthy, loving, always present God. He was not an absentee king. But the history of mankind indicates that the natural man cannot live by faith in the invisible, all powerful, ever present, loving Father to trust in His benevolent guidance in the life of every individual. Here are a few examples:
In the life of David:
The shepherd boy against the giant warrior Goliath:
Ps 71:5
5 For You are my hope, O Lord God;
33
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
From God’s side, that relationship is perfect and consistent for eternity.
It was mankind that always broke that relationship. His wayward children got so accustomed to their adulterous life styles, that they considered it normal and acceptable. This was the spiritual depraved “Sodom and Gomorra” condition of Israel that Christ also found and had to contend with, when He came to this planet to save these people, who thought they were so firm in their religious saddle and did not realize that they were not even on the horse.
Please listen to the word of God through Jesus. The same spiritual depravity will and does exist in our days:
Luke 17:28-31
28 "It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
Jer 3:20
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,"
declares the Lord.
God had given His people ample evidence that He is a trustworthy, loving, always present God. He was not an absentee king. But the history of mankind indicates that the natural man cannot live by faith in the invisible, all powerful, ever present, loving Father to trust in His benevolent guidance in the life of every individual. Here are a few examples:
In the life of David:
The shepherd boy against the giant warrior Goliath:
Ps 71:5
5 For You are my hope, O Lord God;
33
You are my trust from my youth.
1 Sam 17:45-47
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
Here we see the faith and trust relationship with God in this young man. He was not sidetracked by the size of that giant, nor by his superior armor. He saw by faith the invisible Almighty God and the entire heavenly host in whom he trusted. By faith, victory was already a fact in his mind.
Later as a mighty king of Israel and commander of a powerful army, he dishonored God by his illusion that there is “strength in numbers.”
1 Chron 21:1-17, 27
21 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are."
3 But Joab replied, "May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?"
4 The king's word, however, overruled Joab; so, Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 5 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.
6 But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him. 7 This command was also evil in the sight of God; so, he punished Israel.
8 Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."
34
1 Sam 17:45-47
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
Here we see the faith and trust relationship with God in this young man. He was not sidetracked by the size of that giant, nor by his superior armor. He saw by faith the invisible Almighty God and the entire heavenly host in whom he trusted. By faith, victory was already a fact in his mind.
Later as a mighty king of Israel and commander of a powerful army, he dishonored God by his illusion that there is “strength in numbers.”
1 Chron 21:1-17, 27
21 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are."
3 But Joab replied, "May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?"
4 The king's word, however, overruled Joab; so, Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 5 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.
6 But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him. 7 This command was also evil in the sight of God; so, he punished Israel.
8 Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."
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9 The Lord said to Gad, David's seer, 10 "Go and tell David, 'This is what the
Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry
out against you.'"
11 So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: 'Take your choice: 12 three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord- days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me."
13 David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."
14 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. 15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
17 David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O Lord my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people."
27 Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
After this tragic incident, David repented and returned to his trust relationship with God, because He is the only real security. He wrote:
Ps 20:7-8
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
Jer 3:23
23 Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,
And from the multitude of mountains; [man made institutions of power and influence]
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11 So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: 'Take your choice: 12 three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord- days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me."
13 David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."
14 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. 15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
17 David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O Lord my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people."
27 Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
After this tragic incident, David repented and returned to his trust relationship with God, because He is the only real security. He wrote:
Ps 20:7-8
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
Jer 3:23
23 Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,
And from the multitude of mountains; [man made institutions of power and influence]
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Truly, in the Lord our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
Another lesson is given to us from the experience of Gideon:
Judg 6:33-34
33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
Judg 7:2-4. 7-8
2 The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, 3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."
7 The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Judg 7:12, 22
12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled...
Judg 8:22-24
22 The Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us — you, your son and your grandson — because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian."
23 But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you."
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Another lesson is given to us from the experience of Gideon:
Judg 6:33-34
33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
Judg 7:2-4. 7-8
2 The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, 3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."
7 The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Judg 7:12, 22
12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled...
Judg 8:22-24
22 The Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us — you, your son and your grandson — because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian."
23 But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you."
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God proved over and over that He has unlimited means and ways to save and
provide for His children who trust Him.
Angels eliminated whole armies over night; manna came from heaven and fed a nation for 40 years, while water flowed in the desert for over a million people and their livestock. The examples of His loving care for His children are too numerous, to include in this paper, but His greatest act of love is this:
John 3:16
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Consequences of not trusting God.
Ezek 39:23
23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.
Hos 4:12
A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;
Lam 2:14
14 The visions of your prophets were false and worthless;
they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you
were false and misleading.
Their decent into Satan’s spiritual captivity also resulted in physical captivity and bondage. Adversity, humiliation and suffering are often the only remedy against pride and spiritual blindness, because they can lead to repentance, reformation and return to God.
Jer 5:31
31 The prophets prophesy lies,
the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?
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Angels eliminated whole armies over night; manna came from heaven and fed a nation for 40 years, while water flowed in the desert for over a million people and their livestock. The examples of His loving care for His children are too numerous, to include in this paper, but His greatest act of love is this:
John 3:16
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Consequences of not trusting God.
Ezek 39:23
23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.
Hos 4:12
A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;
Lam 2:14
14 The visions of your prophets were false and worthless;
they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you
were false and misleading.
Their decent into Satan’s spiritual captivity also resulted in physical captivity and bondage. Adversity, humiliation and suffering are often the only remedy against pride and spiritual blindness, because they can lead to repentance, reformation and return to God.
Jer 5:31
31 The prophets prophesy lies,
the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?
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1 Chron 9:1
9 All Israel was listed in the genealogies recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.
The people of Judah were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.
Ezra 5:12
12 But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
Jer 25:8-9,11,12
8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: "Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the Lord, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations.
11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 "But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the Lord, "and will make it desolate forever.
Jer 51:6-8
6 "Flee from Babylon! [the same message is given to end time Christians Rev. 18:4]
Run for your lives!
Do not be destroyed because of her sins.
It is time for the Lord's vengeance;
he will pay her what she deserves.
7 Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord's hand;
she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine; [ Please keep this metaphor in mind when we identify the present- day harlot with her golden cup who makes the whole world drunk.]
therefore they have now gone mad.
8 Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken.
Wail over her!
Get balm for her pain;
perhaps she can be healed.
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9 All Israel was listed in the genealogies recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.
The people of Judah were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.
Ezra 5:12
12 But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
Jer 25:8-9,11,12
8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: "Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the Lord, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations.
11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 "But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the Lord, "and will make it desolate forever.
Jer 51:6-8
6 "Flee from Babylon! [the same message is given to end time Christians Rev. 18:4]
Run for your lives!
Do not be destroyed because of her sins.
It is time for the Lord's vengeance;
he will pay her what she deserves.
7 Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord's hand;
she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine; [ Please keep this metaphor in mind when we identify the present- day harlot with her golden cup who makes the whole world drunk.]
therefore they have now gone mad.
8 Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken.
Wail over her!
Get balm for her pain;
perhaps she can be healed.
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The Babylonian captivity ended when the Darius with his Medio-Persian army
defeated the Babylonians in 536 BC and the Persian kings Cyrus, Darius and
Artaxerxes granted the Israelites freedom and autonomy in their home land in 457
BC. Some preferred to stay in Babylon; many returned to their home land and
some brought the spirit and customs of Babylon with them, which soon infected
the new reborn nation with the satanic spirit of bondage and adulterous rejection of
God. Yes, they loved religion and the “god” they had made in their own image.
In 539 BC, the prophet Daniel received in a vision specific information about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the time allotted for Israel as God’s chosen people.
The time scale of this prophecy is symbolic: “one day equals one year”.
Please see details in: “Terminology of Biblical Prophetic Symbolism” Section: The Symbolic Prophetic Time Scale: “One Day equals one Year”.
Dan 9:24-27
24 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
25 "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate."
NKJV
70 weeks x 7 = 490 days, symbolic scale 490 years. 69 weeks x 7 = 483 days “ 483 years
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In 539 BC, the prophet Daniel received in a vision specific information about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the time allotted for Israel as God’s chosen people.
The time scale of this prophecy is symbolic: “one day equals one year”.
Please see details in: “Terminology of Biblical Prophetic Symbolism” Section: The Symbolic Prophetic Time Scale: “One Day equals one Year”.
Dan 9:24-27
24 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
25 "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate."
NKJV
70 weeks x 7 = 490 days, symbolic scale 490 years. 69 weeks x 7 = 483 days “ 483 years
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62 weeks x 7 = 434 days
“ 434 years.
“ 49 years. __________ 7_year_______
490 years
“middle of the week” 3 1⁄2 years
“ 49 years. __________ 7_year_______
490 years
“middle of the week” 3 1⁄2 years
7 weeks x 7 =
1 week x 7 = Total:
1⁄2 week
1 week x 7 = Total:
1⁄2 week
49 days
7 days
3 1⁄2 days
3 1⁄2 days
What is the beginning date for this prophecy?
The command to restore and build Jerusalem was given by emperor Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 BC.
Ezra 7:11-26
11 This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and teacher, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel:
12 Artaxerxes, king of kings,
To Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven:
Greetings.
13 Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who wish to go to Jerusalem with you, may go. 14 You are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand. 15 Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his advisers have freely given to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 together with all the silver and gold you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests for the temple of their God in Jerusalem. 17 With this money be sure to buy bulls, rams and male lambs, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and sacrifice them on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem. 18 You and your brother Jews may then do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, in accordance with the will of your God. 19 Deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles entrusted to you for worship in the temple of your God. 20 And anything else needed for the temple of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may provide from the royal treasury. 21 Now I, King Artaxerxes, order all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you— 22 up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of olive oil, and salt without limit. 23 Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the
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The command to restore and build Jerusalem was given by emperor Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 BC.
Ezra 7:11-26
11 This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and teacher, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel:
12 Artaxerxes, king of kings,
To Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven:
Greetings.
13 Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who wish to go to Jerusalem with you, may go. 14 You are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand. 15 Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his advisers have freely given to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 together with all the silver and gold you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests for the temple of their God in Jerusalem. 17 With this money be sure to buy bulls, rams and male lambs, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and sacrifice them on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem. 18 You and your brother Jews may then do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, in accordance with the will of your God. 19 Deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles entrusted to you for worship in the temple of your God. 20 And anything else needed for the temple of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may provide from the royal treasury. 21 Now I, King Artaxerxes, order all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you— 22 up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of olive oil, and salt without limit. 23 Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the
40
temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath against the realm of the
king and of his sons? 24 You are also to know that you have no authority to impose
taxes, tribute or duty on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple
servants or other workers at this house of God. 25 And you, Ezra, in accordance
with the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint magistrates and judges
to administer justice to all the people of Trans-Euphrates — all who know the laws
of your God. And you are to teach any who do not know them. 26 Whoever does
not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be punished by
death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.
The time for the rebuilding Jerusalem, the Sanctuary and the restauration of the Nation Israel was 7 weeks = 49 days of years that ended in 408 BC.
“The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
Time for the Messiah, Jesus Christ to arrive:
“until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;”
After the 7 plus 62 weeks = 69 weeks = 483 days of years, The Messiah arrived to begin His Ministry. Decree of Artaxerxes: 457 BC minus 483 years = 26 AD.
Luke 3:21-22
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Jesus was anointed as Savior, High Priest and King.
Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
The prophesied time of His coming was fulfilled. The Messiah established His Spiritual Kingdom in all who believed in Him.
Luke 3:23
23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.
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The time for the rebuilding Jerusalem, the Sanctuary and the restauration of the Nation Israel was 7 weeks = 49 days of years that ended in 408 BC.
“The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
Time for the Messiah, Jesus Christ to arrive:
“until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;”
After the 7 plus 62 weeks = 69 weeks = 483 days of years, The Messiah arrived to begin His Ministry. Decree of Artaxerxes: 457 BC minus 483 years = 26 AD.
Luke 3:21-22
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Jesus was anointed as Savior, High Priest and King.
Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
The prophesied time of His coming was fulfilled. The Messiah established His Spiritual Kingdom in all who believed in Him.
Luke 3:23
23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.
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Yes, in 26 AD, Christ was 30 years old. He was born in the year 4 BC prior to the
death of Herod the Great.
Kepler noted that Christ was born during the reign of King Herod the
Great (2:1–18), whose death he placed in 4 BC. According to Josephus,
Herod died in the year 4 or 3 BC.[19][20]
Most scholarship concerning the date of Herod's death follows Emil
Schürer's calculations, which revised a traditional death date of 1 BCE to 4
BCE.[65][1][3][66][67] Wikipedia
The middle of the week:
“there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;” = 69 weeks “after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah shall be cut off,”
7 x 7 = 49 day- years
62 x7 = 434 day- years
62 +7 = 69 x 7 = 483 day-years; 457 BC minus 483 years = 26 AD
1 week = 7 day-years
1⁄2 week = 31⁄2 day-years
“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering”.
“To finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy [One].” [See God’s Word translation’
During the 31⁄2 years of His Ministry, Christ had established the New Covenant and the Kingdom of God in all who received and believed in Him. In His crucifixion death, He was the “Lamb of God”, the atoning sacrifice that brought salvation and gave eternal life to every believing repenting sinner with citizenship in God’s Kingdom. He ended the old covenant with the entire sacrificial system.
What took place at the end of the 70 weeks:
70 weeks x 7 = 490 day-years; 457 BC minus 490 years = 33 AD. "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city,”
“The people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.”
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“there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;” = 69 weeks “after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah shall be cut off,”
7 x 7 = 49 day- years
62 x7 = 434 day- years
62 +7 = 69 x 7 = 483 day-years; 457 BC minus 483 years = 26 AD
1 week = 7 day-years
1⁄2 week = 31⁄2 day-years
“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering”.
“To finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy [One].” [See God’s Word translation’
During the 31⁄2 years of His Ministry, Christ had established the New Covenant and the Kingdom of God in all who received and believed in Him. In His crucifixion death, He was the “Lamb of God”, the atoning sacrifice that brought salvation and gave eternal life to every believing repenting sinner with citizenship in God’s Kingdom. He ended the old covenant with the entire sacrificial system.
What took place at the end of the 70 weeks:
70 weeks x 7 = 490 day-years; 457 BC minus 490 years = 33 AD. "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city,”
“The people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.”
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Israel’s time of being God’s chosen people had come to its end. Its leaders had
rejected His final offer through His Son. They killed in Christ their Way, their
Truth and their Life, asking pagan Rome to be their executioner and testifying:
“We have no king but Caesar”.
Matt 23:37-39
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate.
Matt 21:43
43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Matt 8:11-12
11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Under the new covenant, no nation, denomination, church etc. are God’s children. Only individuals that are born of God’s Spirit who live in Christ and Christ in them will be citizens in the Kingdom of God.
3 1⁄2 years after Christ’s crucifixion, death and resurrection, when the 70 weeks prophecy ended, Peter, through a vision, received the order from Jesus to bring the Good News of Salvation to the gentiles. He was sent and invited to the residence of the Roman Centurion Cornelius to bring them the Gospel of Christ. When Peter saw that the Holy Spirit was granted to them, Peter baptized Cornelius and his household. Later, Paul was converted and anointed by the Spirit to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Christ’s leading presence and the Spirit filled disciples brought the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the world without discrimination.
In 70 AD, the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem including the temple, and it never was rebuilt.
It is amazing how precise and trustworthy God’s Word and His Spirit of Prophecy is, and this is just a small sample of what is still to come.
The prophet Daniel described and interpreted several visions he received from God, to show His children the future of the world. Beginning with the Babylonian Empire, symbolized by a head of Gold and a lion. Next the Medo-Persian Empire,
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Matt 23:37-39
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate.
Matt 21:43
43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Matt 8:11-12
11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Under the new covenant, no nation, denomination, church etc. are God’s children. Only individuals that are born of God’s Spirit who live in Christ and Christ in them will be citizens in the Kingdom of God.
3 1⁄2 years after Christ’s crucifixion, death and resurrection, when the 70 weeks prophecy ended, Peter, through a vision, received the order from Jesus to bring the Good News of Salvation to the gentiles. He was sent and invited to the residence of the Roman Centurion Cornelius to bring them the Gospel of Christ. When Peter saw that the Holy Spirit was granted to them, Peter baptized Cornelius and his household. Later, Paul was converted and anointed by the Spirit to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Christ’s leading presence and the Spirit filled disciples brought the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the world without discrimination.
In 70 AD, the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem including the temple, and it never was rebuilt.
It is amazing how precise and trustworthy God’s Word and His Spirit of Prophecy is, and this is just a small sample of what is still to come.
The prophet Daniel described and interpreted several visions he received from God, to show His children the future of the world. Beginning with the Babylonian Empire, symbolized by a head of Gold and a lion. Next the Medo-Persian Empire,
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symbolized by a chest and arms of silver, a bear and a ram. Then the Grecian
Empire, symbolized by thighs of bronze, a leopard and a goat. And the fourth, the
Roman Empire, symbolized by legs of iron and a dreadful and terrible beast,
followed by the States of Europe, symbolized by the feet with ten toes and seven
heads with ten horns. At the time of the European States, God will end all human
government, and establish His Eternal Kingdom. [Daniel chapters 2and 6.]
Toward the end of the first century AD, the disciple of Christ John, received
prophetic visions pertaining to the same historic time span, supplementing and
augmenting important information, Divine guidance, support and encouragement
in perilous times, and a deeper understanding of the spiritual forces behind the
scenes. The book of Revelation.
Both prophets saw in each vision an outline of the entire future world. Each vision complimenting the other, with more detail. By superimposing them, we get the God intended total picture about our world. He wants to protect His children from the deceptive influence of the philosophies, theologies, politics and the glamor of the empires and kingdoms, which are all inspired by Satan, the god of this world. Ignorance makes loyal, patriotic spiritual captives of that “god” and his inspired human leaders and decision makers.
Heaven offers peace to the world in the Son of God:
Luke 2:13-14
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
God’s extraordinary entry into our world through the incarnation of His Son Jesus, The Life, The Truth, The Living Way to Eternal Life and The Omnipotent.
The Christianity that Christ brought to the world:
Jesus is the embodiment of the Will of God for humanity. In Him, human senses can now perceive the attributes of the invisible God, who is spirit.
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Both prophets saw in each vision an outline of the entire future world. Each vision complimenting the other, with more detail. By superimposing them, we get the God intended total picture about our world. He wants to protect His children from the deceptive influence of the philosophies, theologies, politics and the glamor of the empires and kingdoms, which are all inspired by Satan, the god of this world. Ignorance makes loyal, patriotic spiritual captives of that “god” and his inspired human leaders and decision makers.
Heaven offers peace to the world in the Son of God:
Luke 2:13-14
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
God’s extraordinary entry into our world through the incarnation of His Son Jesus, The Life, The Truth, The Living Way to Eternal Life and The Omnipotent.
The Christianity that Christ brought to the world:
Jesus is the embodiment of the Will of God for humanity. In Him, human senses can now perceive the attributes of the invisible God, who is spirit.
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Heb 1:1-3
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word.
Mark 9:7
Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my son whom I love.
Listen to him”.
Matt 4:4
4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
To live on every word of God, requires one to know them. To know them means to read, listen and internalize them. He who loves God, loves every word of His. He who says: I love God and does not take time for His words, is a liar.
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word.
Mark 9:7
Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my son whom I love.
Listen to him”.
Matt 4:4
4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
To live on every word of God, requires one to know them. To know them means to read, listen and internalize them. He who loves God, loves every word of His. He who says: I love God and does not take time for His words, is a liar.
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