Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
(Malachi 4:5)
Before Jesus made His official debut, God sent
a “witness” to prepare the world. The Israelites were expecting Elijah to come
from Heaven and prepare the way. The Encyclopedia Britannica speaks about how
Israel looks at this event:
The fifth ceremonial
cup of wine poured during the family Seder dinner on Passover (Pesaḥ). It is
left untouched in honor of Elijah, who, according to tradition, will arrive one
day as an unknown guest to herald the advent of the Messiah. During the Seder
dinner, biblical verses are read while the door is briefly opened to welcome
Elijah, who, it is further said, will resolve all controversial questions
connected with the Law.
God’s people were so focused on the fact that
“Elijah” would be preparing the way for the Messiah’s reign that they forgot
one simple, undeniable fact: God is always the same. He never changes.
Babylon, the 1000 Year Reign and New Jerusalem Meeting
So far we have placed the following events in
this order according to what the Bible says:
●Breaking of the Seals: Appearing
of the Antichrist may happen before the Tribulation
●Signing of a Seven Year Agreement
- The predicted Tribulation, also known as Daniel’s Week
○Broken into two parts consisting
of 3.5 years
First Half of the Tribulation - 3.5
years
●Six Seals are broken
●Two Witnesses prophecy and declare
plagues
●Two Witnesses are killed after 3.5
years in Jerusalem
Second Half of the Daniel’s Week:
Great Tribulation
●Antichrist stops sacrifices in the
Temple of God and declares himself to be God
●Seventh Seal Broken
●144,000 are sealed for God
●Some are killed for not worshiping
the Beast
●Trumpets begin
●Two Witnesses rise at the sixth
Trumpet
After the Tribulation
●Rapture: check churches to see if
you will be one of them
○(Could happen as the Two Witnesses
rise)
●All are killed if they do not
accept the mark of the Beast and worship the Beast to buy or sell
●Blessed are those who are beheaded
for staying true to Jesus
●Wrath of God is poured out
These are the events we can place around the
Tribulation Week. There is a “fall of Babylon” that is spoken of, but it is
hard to say when exactly that will take place.
There are three different people groups spoken
of in the Book of Revelation:
The World - Non-Christians
The Church - All Christians also referred to
as “Jews”
Israel - Children of Israel (Jacob)
Israel does not necessarily mean the same as
“Jews.” Children of Abraham, included those adopted in are “Jews.” Jacob was
referred to as “Israel” so Children of Israel are those who are biologically
related to Jacob and settled the land called Israel.
After the sixth seal, before the trumpets are
released, God addresses the “Children of Israel” in Chapter 7 of Revelation.
After this I saw four
angels stationed at the four corners of the earth, firmly holding back the four
winds of the earth so that no wind should blow on the earth or sea or upon any
tree. (Revelation 7:1 AMPC)
Whether you have heard it referred to it as
the “Rapture” or the “Catching away of the Saints,” there is a belief among
many Christians that some or all of the children of God will escape the
terrible calamities prophesied in the Book of Revelation. We must look to the scriptures to see the truth of this matter.
It is important to remember that we do not
have to agree about this topic. We are saved by our relationship with Jesus as
Lord, not by what we believe concerning an impending rapture. Consider this
food for thought: May the Holy Spirit bring you wisdom about this topic.
As I meditated and sought the Lord before
giving this message, this is what happened in the Secret Place:
For in the day of
trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He
hide me; He will set me high upon a rock. (Psalms 27:5 AMPC)
In this Psalm David refers to the Secret Place
as the “tent” of the Lord. Jesus will visit with us there, not as the Lord who
reigns over Heaven and Earth, but as our beloved and our brother.
When I saw Him there last, He asked me to tell
you about this realm, a place that our Heavenly Father set apart, where we can
see not only Jesus, but Abba (Papa, Daddy) instead of Almighty God and the Holy
Spirit, our dear Friend. In order to visit with Him in the Secret Place on a
regular basis, we must “overcome” the enemy as described in Revelation. If we
will:
Before I began studying the churches in the
Book of Revelation, the Lord revealed something to me in the Secret Place. The
visit with Him began like many others, with us dancing in the gazebo of the
Secret Place. With great excitement, He took me by the hand and said, “I have
something I want to show you!”
We ran into the forest surrounding the meadow
where the tiny table for tea sits. Deep into the forest the Lord led me into a
cave. It took seconds for my eyes to adjust to the glowing light on the cave walls.
Jesus led me deeper and deeper into smaller and smaller jagged-walled caverns
until we were stooping over, traveling single-file through a narrow passageway.
Despite the soft ambient light, the closing in of the walls had me feeling
slightly worried as I thought, “What could possibly be exciting in this place?”
About that time, we emerged into an enormous
cavern. Crystals on the ceiling and walls glowed with a brighter light so the
entire area was revealed. A waterfall at one end created a small lake in the
middle of the room. The water was luminescent; glowing with diffused light from
the walls. Without hesitation, the Lord dove into the water and I followed.
The liquid seemed different than the water at
the river in the Secret Place: it was colder and seemed lighter, or perhaps we
were more buoyant here. I followed Jesus deep into the water, remembering that
I could breathe in the water of Heaven.
Deep below the surface at the bottom, in a far
corner, the Lord turned and handed me a green gem which resembled an emerald.
It was the size of my fist. (Green is healing and provision). I gladly accepted
this great treasure. Next He began pointing out other treasures in this corner
of the pool: coins (financial provision), rubies (wisdom), sapphires, (communion
and revelation from God).
“What is all this?” I thought to Him.
The Lord’s words came clearly through to my
mind, “This is the blessing from studying Revelation. At first, it seemed dark
when you entered the cave, then there was just enough light to make your way
forward. Now you are coming to the place where you must squeeze through, the
narrow place before this cavern. Those who choose to look closely at their
lives with the information (light) provided, will find their way through where
these blessings await.”
It is time to go through the narrow way and
see what God is saying about His church. The last scripture given before the
churches are addressed reveal what will be spoken about:
The mystery of the
seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks.
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven
candlesticks which you saw are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:20 AMPC)
Many people don’t want to talk about the Book
of Revelation. They ask, “How could a
loving God pour out wrath upon people?” If you read the Old Testament, you
will find out why.
All scripture is
given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness… (2 Timothy 3:16 AKJV)
Paul is instructing his new young leader about
scripture found in the Old Testament. When we follow Paul’s advice, it is easy
to see a decided trend in the stories of God’s people. Our Father would let
them continue in sin for a certain period of time. Then, consequences would
come - sometimes hundreds of years later. Several verses in the New Testament
seem to contradict this aspect of God. Let’s look at one of those very closely:
Keep reminding God's
people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it
is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. (2 Timothy 2:14 NIV)
In this scripture Paul is instructing a young
leader, Timothy. The items in Revelation that we have no absolute
interpretation of should not cause petty disagreements. We should be able to
look at the items we can definitely identify and agree to disagree about the
rest. The last three trumpets are events we must be willing to disagree about
for they most definitely could be metaphorical.
Three Woes
And I beheld, and
heard an angel flying through the middle of heaven, saying with a loud voice,
Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of
the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! (Revelation 8:13)
The next three trumpets are known as the
“three woes” because of the severity of what happens when they are sounded. It
is hard to believe that something could be worse than an earthquake that darkens
the skies and meteorites hitting the earth, but the final trumpets will be more
fierce than what has come before.
Blessed is he that
reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things
which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:3 AKJV)
The Apostle John was confined to an island by
the leaders of his time. He wrote the Book of Revelation during his confinement.
It begins with a blessing for those who hear and “keep” the things written
within this book. The Greek word tereo translated “keep” means to “attend to
carefully.” That is what we are doing here today.
But that when the
days come when the trumpet call of the seventh angel is about to be sounded,
then God’s mystery (His secret design, His hidden purpose), as He had announced
the glad tidings to His servants the prophets, should be fulfilled
(accomplished, completed). (Revelation 10:7 AMPC)
The Greek word for mystery is mysterion and it means “a hidden or
secret thing, not obvious to the understanding.” Only in His time, by His
spirit can we understand them.It isn’t
necessary or even possible to understand all of what is written in Revelation,
until God reveals it or possibly while it is happening.
When you therefore
shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand
in the holy place, (whoever reads, let him understand:) (Matthew 24:15)
We were told by our Lord that we should look
for and recognize this event as being close to persecution and His return to
rule and reign. Discussing the events surrounding the return of our Lord should
invigorate the body of Christ. After all, we are all expectantly waiting for
this time. Unfortunately, instead of uniting us as a body working for the
Kingdom of Heaven, it often creates division and strife.
As we continue looking into the Book of
Revelation, please remember that what we choose to believe concerning the
return of the Lord doesn’t affect our salvation. We are all brothers and
sisters, adopted into the family of God. If what you believe doesn’t line up
with what I believe, that is okay. We can agree to disagree and celebrate the
fact that one day, we will all know the truth!
Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred three score (60) and six. (Revelation 13:18)
Because God created man on the sixth day, metaphorically speaking, the number six represents man. A score is 20 years. We are told to watch for the number 666 which is a sign of the beast which is described in the rest of the chapter.
Microsoft has received a patent number: WO2020060606. Let’s break down that number:
WO-2020-060606
WO - refers to the fact that the patent is worldwide
2020 - the year the patent was established
060606 - zero means, literally, nothing. 06 is actually the number six. three of them make the number 666 which is the number of the beast - the Antichrist according to Revelation 13
It is well known that the Jewish feast of Passover is a foreshadow of Jesus and the sacrifice of the cross. It is a feast they were told to celebrate for all time. Here is a quick review of how Passover represents what Jesus would do.
At the salon, when the stylist was blow-drying my hair, the Holy Spirit nudged me to practice visiting the Secret Place amid distractions. Closing my eyes, a few lines to a worship song appeared. It was easy to focus on the Lord with love in my heart. Within seconds, I saw us dancing in the gazebo in the Secret Place designed for me by God.
It was challenging to remain focused as my hair was combed and moved about. When I was distracted, the images would become blurry. The Lord led me over to the bench and as we sat together, a dozen or so fuzzy images bounced and gathered around my feet. They reminded me of the little “imp-like” demons I had seen in the past.
Recently, the local news announced that although the CoronaVirus (Covid-19) was not yet in my city or even my state, it wasn’t a matter of if, but when this deadly disease would appear. The long incubation period with no symptoms, along with the contagious nature of this flu, enables it to spread despite the in-home quarantine measures imposed.
What would you do to keep from catching this disease?
There is a way to stop this virus from spreading to you and your loved ones. During a time of worship the Lord brought me into a face-to-face visit with Him. The situation with the virus was heavy upon my heart. I asked Him, “What can we do about the CoronaVirus?”
On Sunday, I spent some time focusing on the Lord in Worship. This often opens up a visit with Him in the Secret Place. When I closed my eyes, a disturbing vision played out in my mind:
I was standing a few feet away from the Lord, watching an image of myself laughing exuberantly. The scene reminded me of the times I had seen “holy laughter.”
“What is this?” I asked the Lord as the image of me kept laughing, “Why am I laughing? I don’t feel like doing that right now.” Usually what I feel inside plays out in the visions in the Secret Place, but this vision didn’t seem to match what I felt at that moment.
While writing this article centered around a visit to the Secret Place, the Lord led to me 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul speaks about this life and the next to demonstrate why He was revealing our abilities in Heaven. The apostle begins in verses 37-40 with a metaphor about seeds which must die to receive their full glory, relaying it to our existence in this way:
It is sown in corruption - it is raised in incorruption
It is sown in dishonor - it is raised in glory
It is sown in weakness - it is raised in power
(1 Corinthians 15:42-43)
The definition of the two topics stated as “it” are seen in verse 44:
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
