Category: Improvement

Sacrifice?

Here we go again! It’s early morning, on a holiday weekend, but does it feel like the ones from the past? Not to me. Real life experiences and early morning thoughts inspire what I often write. So how appropriate to all of us is the topic of sacrifice right now? I’m betting this topic’s relatable to most of us.

Some words get overused, so while the meaning is known, it’s original meaning is diluted, or no longer thought about. So here is the definition:

sac·ri·fice/ˈsakrəˌfīs/ sacrifice; plural noun: sacrifices

  1. an act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to God or to a divine or supernatural figure.”they offer sacrifices to the spirits”
  2. Similar: ritual
    • an animal, person, or object offered in a sacrifice.
    • an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.”we must all be prepared to make sacrifices“

So the “sacrifice” concept is something that NEVER made sense to me in the Bible, until now. I seriously struggled with this, it didn’t make sense to me, but it does now. Anyone who truly believes there is a God, will understand this after I explain, but if you don’t believe in God, you’re going to have a hard time comprehending this. While reading the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, there is a lot of ugly, disgusting, repulsive stuff that happens and some of it, I don’t want to read again; it’s that bad. It’s historical “Netflix”, documented in the Bible, for real. At least on some of Netflix, a person can think: “it’s just a movie” or a “show” but this was real life and really happened.

I had so many questions: Why would God do this? Who made this “rule/ritual”? Why is “sacrifice” required? Why would God, who created everything and told us “not to kill” be okay with “sacrifice”? It certainly seemed to contradict the messages and made it confusing: “don’t kill”, then “slaughter this specific animal, in a certain process”…What? I think many of us who get that far, may stop and say…”Well I don’t believe in a God like that, so I’m going to ignore that. It doesn’t make sense.” I did that for awhile, but covering up your eyes and ears doesn’t make something go away. So then “why”?

First, let’s start with those who believe in God. If you truly believe in God, you believe in a spiritual being that you cannot see. Let that sink in. Sounds crazy, right? If you believe in God, you need to acknowledge that believing in God, to those who don’t, does sound primitive and crazy. And yes, I personally believe in God, but let’s be honest about it from the world’s view today. Then if you know the Bible, and even if you don’t, I’m telling you right now: The Bible is about a loving God, but a spiritual war that commenced with us in the middle shortly after God created people.

The Bible doesn’t explain, in detail, why this war started, it only tells us there was a dispute and Satan (the devil) was thrown, cast, hurled from Heaven down to earth.

So as I write this, I think, uh this sounds like a fictitious story we tell kids to make a point! I thought that for a long time. There is so much today that makes fun of those who bring up Satan, and maybe solidify or perpetuate the thought this is fictitious, like the “church lady,” which I personally find humorous, but disrespectful at the same time because it presents people who believe in a laughable way – and I’m one of those people, but I always thought we can’t be too serious all the time, it’s okay to laugh at ourselves, others might disagree with me about that? I disregard that comedy, just like it disregards Christians. But as soon as you realize the Bible lines up with history and historical events were predicted in the Bible by prophets and actually came true, and the people in the Bible are real people, with a documented lineage, ancestry; then that concept of “story-time” fails. You have to not only read the Bible, but study the Bible and compare to history books for this proof.

Anyway getting back to the explanation: Satan (the devil) is real, is part of that history and has a role/a place in the Bible from the beginning until the end. We need to acknowledge that, as weird as it sounds; it has a profound impact, back then and today. If you don’t comprehend that, you’re missing the warning for all of us given throughout the Bible. So this dispute between God and Satan occurred and I don’t know why God didn’t just immediately destroy Satan, but knowing God’s character from the Bible, it could be that He allowed Satan to continue in existence possibly because God is loving but just. He doesn’t act impulsively, He is patient, He gives people time, but in the end, God is just.

To put this into a modern day concept: think about a business leader/boss, who has a star performer employee and this star employee is phenomenal, but then pride takes over for the star employee and based on pride, selfishness, and love of money, the star employee starts thinking they are better than their leader – for this example, it is important to use the assumption here that the leader is a good one, a caring one, a fair person, honest, looks out for the employees, provides for them, etc. (because there are many leaders who don’t exhibit those qualities today) – but this star employee is no longer a team player, just out for their own personal benefit. So the star employee leaves and competes with the former employer to prove their superiority. The leader has been around a long time, with a loyal customer base and a proven business, so the leader just lets this former “star employee” have its own way. knowing eventually those character flaws/qualities of pride, selfishness and love of money will self destruct the former star employee. The leader doesn’t even need to fight it, the former star employee’s own motivation and actions will end up bringing the star employee to ruin. Haven’t we seen that today? Does it make more sense now? This leader is like God and Satan is like the star employee. Is fighting or immediate destruction even needed, for God to prove He is right? No. Also, knowing God’s character from the Bible, do you think maybe He loved Satan/Devil/Lucifer at one time? I do. Have you ever loved someone that turned on you? If you really loved them, then you wouldn’t want to destroy them, you’d be more hurt than anything.

Getting back to sacrifice. Sacrifice plain and simple is for atonement.

a·tone·ment/əˈtōnmənt/: atonement; plural noun: atonements

  1. reparation for a wrong or injury.”she wanted to make atonement for her husband’s behavior”
    • (in religious contexts) reparation or expiation for sin.”an annual ceremony of confession and atonement for sin”
    • CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY the reconciliation of God and humankind through Jesus Christ.noun: Atonement; noun: the Atonement

The presence of sin (starting in the Garden of Eden) caused death, pain and sacrifice. Sacrifice leads to atonement. Sin is also referred to as “death.” There is no death for God; he is eternal. Those who make it to heaven will also become immortal/eternal too. These are concepts given to us in the Bible through prophets and through Jesus. When people choose to sin, people are ultimately choosing death. Death is the experience for sin; sin separates people from God. Satan is competing with God. What better way to separate people from God, than to entice people through sin, separating people from God. Sin is deceptive: it might be fun (for the moment) but isn’t there a time when we look back on sin and realize maybe it wasn’t worth the consequence? If it were this clear to people, people wouldn’t choose sin. But Satan is also known as the ultimate deceiver and then the accuser. Has anyone ever deceived you before? You didn’t expect it, right? When someone is good at deceiving, it’s a surprise when we figure it out. If it’s something no one wants (death), wouldn’t you have to be deceitful to gain people, coax them into death? Then after you deceive someone into sinning…don’t let them turn back “repent” to repair their relationship …keep reminding them (accusing them) of their sin so they feel so worthless and like they can’t go back. (which is also a lie) That’s exactly how Satan operates with his ultimate goal of separating people from God. This was shown to us in the book of Job; Satan was using all he could to get Job to turn away from God!

I’m going to assume that most people would choose living over dying, because people are sad when someone dies. So what better way for Satan to separate people from God, than through death? A sacrifice is exactly that: death of something. Sacrifices started because of sin. God put an end to “living being sacrifices” through Jesus’ death on the cross. That was the ultimate sacrifice: “Jesus/God dying” and what Satan wanted from the beginning, “the ransom” as we understand from the Bible. But that wasn’t the end as we are told through the Bible by prophets and Jesus himself; there is more to come. (Read more about the future in this link).

In summary, God created the earth and everything on it out of love. He created people to love Him back. We all know that forced love is not real love, so God doesn’t force people; He lets people choose. We ended up in a spiritual warzone without knowing this when we were born, but at some point in life, we will figure this out. When we figure it out, then we have to make a choice. Satan is opposing God and working hard to separate as many people from God as possible through deceptive ways. God was not pleased with the living sacrifices and responded to that by offering Jesus as the ransom, the ultimate sacrifice for us, no one has the value Jesus has, so that is what made Jesus an acceptable sacrifice, more valuable than any of us. Jesus’ sacrifice saves those who want to be saved from eternal Hell. But we still have a choice. Do we believe in Jesus? Do we have faith in this? Do we accept this “gift” from God? If you said yes, you are “almost” saved. I felt strongly about making this clear to people, because I think there is a larger number of people who think when they answer this “I believe”, “they’re good to go!” but that is not the full truth based on what I found in the Bible, and I see many churches appeal to people in this way and it’s sad to me, because they are misleading people and possibly keeping them from heaven. It is true that by faith we are saved, but faith alone is death – Jesus’ brother James told us that in the Bible. We didn’t get “off the hook” that easily, there is something more required of us by God: we are required to be obedient to his commands. We can’t do enough good things to earn our way to heaven; that would cause pride and God hates a prideful person. So it is by faith, but proving our faith by our actions. Becoming obedient prepares people for living in eternity with God and shows God we mean what we say. How many people are good at “lip service,” telling us what we want to hear, but not supporting what they say by their actions? Well this is the same between us and God. Are we giving God “lip service” or are we proving it by our actions? The obedience part is probably the most challenging part for all of us. It is not natural for us to be obedient, but God requires it. Thankfully, God is forgiving, so it doesn’t matter what we’ve done; He promises forgiveness, but with forgiveness, He also requires us to change our future actions and not do whatever it was anymore. None of us will be perfect, even after we commit to changing our ways, because we are human, so making mistakes requires us to take personal responsibility for them immediately, apologize and change. If we don’t, then we are going against God, we are just giving God “lip service” and He’s not fooled. He knows our intentions; He created us! So not taking action is not going to be a “success story” for those who give God “lip service”. Sacrifice today is still required though not through the death of a living being, thank God for that, but it still requires painful decisions for us personally. It won’t be easy, change isn’t easy. We want the immediate reward “here and now,” but the reward God has planned is promised to be greater than what we sacrifice “here and now”. What do you chose?

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Are We experiencing the End of Times?

Recently, I’ve noticed more people talking about the end of times possibly arriving soon. There will always be people who thrive on sensationalizing events, but what I’ve found is best, is to look into it on your own before believing what anyone tells you. This is why I’m writing this post: I read Revelation once a few months ago, but with so many different events happening and people claiming the second coming of Jesus will be soon, I wanted to read it a second time.

Don’t be concerned: I’m not going to give you my comprehension after only reading it a few times (that would be ridiculous), but I found a reading plan on the YouVersion Bible app with an explanation of the Book of Revelation summarizing the main points. I’ve also listened to a few others who have been studying prophetic scripture about the things to come for over a century so I will use some of that too, for insight, then reference supporting Bible verses (via links to the Bible Verses so you can read it on your own).

When it comes to the future, truthfully, no one can predict it, people just get lucky with their guesses at times. But biblical prophets are different, their prophesies have proven truthful against historical events, and any biblical prophet doesn’t claim to have this ability on their own; they received the insight directly from God. The Bible is the truth, it’s not a bunch of fables. The more you read and study it, you will comprehend this. Symbolism is often used, which makes some of it challenging the first time reading, but over time it becomes clearer. Personally, since the bible is God’s word, I believe God provided it that way to grab our attention and curiosity keeping us engaged. Hopefully this will encourage you to explore the Book of Revelation and the bible further.

You can read/listen to it on the app, rather than reading the rest of this post if you prefer? Here is a link to the YouVersion website, where you can download the free app in iOS or Android form. Once you have the app, search the reading plans for “Revelation Explained” (Parts 1-7). The Book of Revelation is not the easiest to comprehend, so that means people will have differing opinions on interpretation. So seek on your own before arriving at a conclusion. The bible does say if we seek wisdom from God, He will provide it.

In the rest of this post, my intention is to provide an outline format for most of it, highlighting key points, important information, and insight from those who have spent more time studying this book.

CHAPTER ONE – JESUS REVEALED

  1. Jesus is introduced as the ultimate ruler of all; the book of Revelation is about his return to establish His Kingdom.
  2. Jesus freed all people from the bondage of sin by his death on the cross.
  3. During this process, of Jesus’ return, the world is judged. God’s wrath (for some) and mercy (for some) will be delivered.
  4. The author of the Book of Revelation, John, was exhiled on the island of Patmos due to his teaching the testimony of Jesus, when Jesus appeared to him among seven lamp stands. The revealing of Jesus occurs through descriptive symbolism, explained in this reading plan as follows:
    • the lamp stands represent seven churches (the “light” of the world)
    • “Son of Man” is a title Jesus called himself in each of the New Testament gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The robe and sash were clothes a judge and king would wear. The description of the Messiah from the Old Testament Book of Daniel is similar.
    • Hair as white as wool is a similar description found in the Old Testament Book of Daniel too.
    • Eyes of fire: Fire is dangerous, piercing, refines, and purifies. Jesus sees with eyes of fire.
    • Feet like bronze: Bronze represents judgement. Both of these descriptions are similar to the description in Daniel.
    • Voice like rushing waters: “majestic, powerful”
    • Out of his mouth: the double edged sword – meaning the Word of God pierces. The truth convicts us, feels painful to us.
  5. Jesus tells John: He is God, He is the Living One, He was dead and is alive. Jesus holds the keys to the gates of death and Hell.
  6. Jesus tells John to write down:
    • what he has seen (John saw Jesus) – Revelation 1
    • what is now (the present age, current time period, present church) – Revelation 2 and 3 and
    • what will take place later (the future, the end of times)- Revelation 4 – 22

CHAPTER 2 AND 3 – MESSAGES TO THE CHURCHES

Jesus spoke to John regarding each of the seven churches that were present at that time (approx. 95 AD) giving each of them direction, encouragement and correction.

  1. The Ephesians: they were hardworking, but forgot love; their love grew cold. He tells them to change their ways and return to love (the initial love they had) and their reward is in paradise. (Revelation 2: 2-7)
  2. To the church of Smyrna (present day: Izmir, Turkey): they were a persecuted church living in affliction and poverty. He tells them not be afraid, to rejoice because they will have a great reward, and will escape the second death (Hell). (Revelation 2: 8-11)
  3. To the church of Pergamum (Revelation 2: 12-17) : they were a compromised church (a marriage between church and state). Politics conquering under the sign of the cross, there were many hypocrites and genuine Christians were hard to find. The teaching of Balaam was having pagan girls seduce men of God into adultery and turn them to worshiping another god. These men cheated on their wives and God; they were destroyed by foolish lust. (idolatry and sexual immorality) Lots of pagans joined the church, but they didn’t truly become Christians, they brought with them many of the pagan customs and holidays and Christianized them, examples: Christmas trees, Easter eggs, lent, celibate priests, altars to anyone other than God etc. were all pagan traditions brought into the church. He tells the church: “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” Revelation 2:16 (The sword of his mouth is the Word, the Bible. The word of God pierces: it checks our motives.)
  4. To the church of Thyatira (Revelation 2: 18-29): Jesus commends the church for their good works, love, faith, service and perseverance, but they tolerated Jezebel, whose teaching was sexual immorality and “paying off sins” by donating to the church or turning over property to the church. He also speaks to those in the church who do not hold to this teaching and are faithful and he promises a reward. He warned this church: He will surprise them when He returns.
  5. To the church in Sardis (Revelation 3: 1-6): Jesus tells them they have a good reputation “name,” but they are dead and they need to “wake up,” he wants them to overcome this, repent and turn to Jesus again. He warned this church: He will surprise them when He returns. But also acknowledges there are a few faithful ones who are worthy.
  6. To the church of Philadelphia (Revelation 3: 7-13): They show faithfulness, love, have open doors, kept Jesus’ word; he promises to keep them from the hour of trial (Tribulation).
  7. To the church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22): They are the apathetic “lukewarm” church, they are rich, they have what they need so they really don’t have strong feelings about their faith. They need faith, hope and love. Jesus loves the church so he wants them to change their ways, and disciplines those He loves and the people will be rewarded for changing their ways.

THE FUTURE (CHAPTERS 4-22)

CHAPTER 4 – 5: THE RAPTURE AND THE CHURCH IN HEAVEN

Jesus will return for His church, the individual people (who are the church) will be caught up in the clouds. (“raptus “in Latin means “caught up,” and the English word is rapture, so this is why this event is called “the rapture”) John the author of Revelation is caught up to Heaven and describes what he sees.

This reading plan suggests the following possible symbolic meaning of the scroll with 7 seals as described in Chapter 5: In Jewish culture, a title deed to property was written on a scroll. If the owner went into default on the property debt, the owner would give up the deed and the price to redeem the property was written on the back side, then sealed with 7 seals which were not broken until the owner paid back the debt. The scroll in Chapter 5 is believed to be the title deed to the Earth. God gave the care of the earth to Adam along with a command of obedience, but when Adam defaulted, the earth was given to the rule of Satan. Satan has been described as the ruler of the kingdom of the air and spends time roaming the earth. Satan tried to tempt Jesus by telling Jesus that he would give Him all the Kingdoms. In doing so He would have been worshiping Satan, but Jesus didn’t submit. He paid back the debt for the earth by His death on the cross (a sacrifice). This was the redemption of the people of the earth through Jesus. No one in Heaven or on the Earth was worthy to break the 7 seals and repay the debt, except for the lamb which appears visibly slain (Jesus is the lamb of God)

Regarding the symbolic description of the lamb in the bible, the study plan suggests: the number 7 is the Bible’s number for “complete” or “perfect” and horns represent “power”: 7 horns is “all” powerful, 7 eyes is “all” seeing, 7 spirits is “all” present, omnipotent. The incense is the “prayers of the people.”

CHAPTER 6 – 19: TRIBULATION AND JUDGEMENT

Each opened seal contains a judgement of the earth, this begins the Tribulation. The Tribulation is the last 7 years on the earth and one final effort for all to be saved. The timetable for the Tribulation was provided in the Book of Daniel written around 600 BC. Daniel accurately predicted many empires, leaders and wars for many centuries in this book. In Chapter 9 an angel lays out God’s out the timetable for Israel and the world. The timetable is seventy-sevens, or 490 years (the other time frames given lead precisely to Jesus’ death) then there was a pause (the church age, discussed in Chapters 2 and 3), as soon as the church is raptured, the clock is ticking again and begins the last 7 years (the Tribulation). (There are differing opinions on this rapture part, you may want to check out, I’m simply using the study plan I’m reading, so search the various opinions about the Tribulation, then compare it to your reading and understanding of the Bible) The main point, whenever it happens is for a purpose: The purpose of the Tribulation is one last chance to stop sinning and repent.

The Six Seals are broken:

Seal #1 broken: A white horse rode out – this is the beginning of the Apocalypse, which is the symbolic depiction of real things: the Rider on the white horse carries a bow and was given a crown- the study plan suggested: this rider is one who tries to look like a savior, like Christ, possibly the AntiChrist

Seal #2 broken: A red horse rode out (war)- take peace from the earth, make people kill each other

Seal #3 broken: A black horse rode out (famine)- scarcity and poverty, the poor suffering while rich enjoy life and luxuries; 95% of famines are caused by politics, ie. man-made. War is how man makes peace

Seal #4 broken: A pale-green horse road out (death) – a 4th of the earth will be killed by sword, famine, plague and wild beast

Seal #5 broken: Faithful souls who were killed as martyrs for their faith, they are given white robes for their righteousness but told to wait for their brothers and sisters

Seal #6 broken: a great earthquake occurs, the moon looks like blood, stars fell, people hid from the wrath, then the angels who are holding the winds back, possibly hurricanes, are told to not harm the earth until the angel arriving from the east, with others seal the foreheads of 144,000 people from all the tribes of Israel who are God’s people and will be saved.

The people who died in the Tribulation are then seen by John at the Throne of God, serving him day and night. (See also Revelation 14 below…so it seems to me that there is some overlap of how this information in the book of Revelation is provided – John sees them after the 6th seal is broken, but then there is chapter 14 dedicated to them later-, maybe this summary of the seals is an outline of events, but the detail is given further into Revelation?)

Seal #7 broken: 30 minutes of silence in Heaven occurs.

Seven angels are given 7 trumpets. Prayers to God are mixing with the burning incense and an angel pours them out, then the angel filled the incense burner with fire and through it down upon the earth; there was thunder, lightning and a terrible earthquake.

The Trumpets: (1- 4)

(The Trumpet sounding is another part with various interpretations, some believe that several of these trumpets have already sounded as follows: Trumpet 1 being World War 1, Trumpet 2: World War 2 (because 1/3 of the ships were destroyed and Hiroshima), Trumpet 3: Chernobyl (because of the Wormwood reference), Trumpet 4: is unclear, Trumpet 5: the Gulf War (but this actually lasted 7 months, not 5 as the book predicts, but oil wells were ignited causing smoke, the helicopters could have been “locust” to John due to him seeing these things in 95 AD) but these are purely human opinions and assumptions….and that would mean all the seals have been broken, if the unfolding of the events follow the order presented in Revelation where the seals are broken before the trumpets sound, wouldn’t it? To me personally these references are great examples of applying the symbolism and making sense of it, with historical events. I believe this book is the truth and we truly won’t know until it’s in the past and we look back! But for now, it will keep some engaged trying to figure it out. The important part is the overall message in Revelation)

Trumpet 1: Hail, Fire and Blood thrown at earth, 1/3 of the earth was set on fire, 1/3 of the trees were burned and all the green grass was burned

Trumpet 2: A great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. 1/3 of the water in the sea became blood, 1/3 of all living things in the sea died and 1/3 of all the ships on the sea were destroyed

Trumpet 3: A great star fell from the sky burning like a torch, falling on 1/3 of the rivers and springs (the name of the star was Wormwood), many people died from drinking the bitter water. Could this be Chernobyl? Some suggest it could. See this article too.

Trumpet 4: 1/3 of the sun was struck, 1/3 of the moon and 1/3 of the stars and they became dark. 1/3 of the day was dark and 1/3 of the night. An eagle flew through the air crying “Woe, Woe, Woe!”

Trumpets 5 and 6:

Trumpet 5: the first terror: a star that had fallen to earth from the sky was given the key to the bottomless pit. When the pit was opened smoke poured out, sunlight and air turned dark from the smoke rising, and what looked like locust came from the smoke and descended on the earth. The locust were given power to torture people, but not kill them, and were not allowed to harm the earth, only the people. They also did not harm the people sealed by God’s angels. This occurred for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).

Trumpet 6: the second terror: Four Angels were released to kill 1/3 of mankind. The number of mounted troops were “twice ten thousand times ten thousand” (200,000,000) “The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (Revelation 9:20-21)

The point to emphasize here is an unwillingness to repent by some, despite these terrors.

Revelation 10

Trumpet 7: The study plan author suggests this could be Jesus based on the similar descriptions in other places of the Bible. (But this is an assumption) The “angel” comes down from heaven surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head and a small scroll in his hand. Could this be Jesus claiming the earth, since the debt was paid; therefore he has the scroll? But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. (Revelation 10:7) John was told not to write down what was said.

Revelation 11 – The two Witnesses and the Temple (Matthew 24, Daniel – 3 verses)

Remember: as was mentioned earlier: The Tribulation is 7 years

This is where it gets very interesting and possibly “current” for today based on what is happening in world politics and some are talking about this now. But first, all should be reminded back in 1967 people thought these last 7 years might have been happening because Israel reoccupied the territory. So today, (not from this bible study plan though) there is focus on Trump’s Peace Plan which is in the works, has been delayed many times moving forward, but may be agreed upon before the end of this year (2020) between Israel and the Palestinians.

Getting back to the details in Revelation 11: John is told: “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.” (42 months is 3.5 years, midway through 7 years). Recently some archaeologists have suggested the ruins of the prior Temple may NOT be located UNDER the present day Mosque, so it is possible that the Mosque is located on the “outer court.” The following is not from the study plan but from another source: If the Peace Plan reaches consensus, Israel may build the 3rd Temple (as plans are prepared).

Back to the Bible: There will be two witnesses appointed by Jesus for 1,260 days (about 3.5 years). They will have supernatural powers according to Revelation. Could this be God’s final attempt for people to believe and repent by using supernatural examples during the Tribulation? The witnesses end up getting killed, their bodies lie in the streets, but are raised after 3.5 days when God breathes life into them and takes them up to Heaven. An earthquake occurs when this happens.

Midway through the 7 years, at the 3.5 year mark, the AntiChrist is revealed. with the “abomination of desolation” in the temple. The Book of Daniel 7-8 also refers to this.

The 7th Angel sounds the Trumpet and says: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” This is a little confusing to me personally because this sounds to me like it’s over when this statement is made. But this is still at the 1/2 way point (3.5 years into the Tribulation)

This statement is my own thought, not from the study plan, about the next chapter: Revelation 12 seems to pause with the chronological events prior to this giving a broad overview or clarification as to why all of this is happens (a quick history).

Revelation 12 – The Woman and the Dragon

What are the symbols?

  • The Pregnant Woman: Some think it’s Mary (the Mother of Jesus) and others think it’s Israel (the whole nation), the sun and moon from Joseph’s dream explain this connection further here , the 12 stars are the 12 tribes of Israel, there is another reference by a prophet that compares Jerusalem to a female, so I can see how this woman could be symbolic of Israel.
  • The Child: The Messiah, Jesus who ascended into Heaven
  • The Dragon: Satan, the Devil- Satan was an angel, but was rebellious and 1/3 of the angels joined him (demons) when he was thrown from Heaven, his ongoing goal was to kill the Messiah, prevent Jesus from becoming King
  • 7 Heads and 7 Horns: represent Power

The war in Heaven occurs and ends with Satan hurled to the earth. Symbolism explained by the study plan: Satan is angry so he continually has pursued Israel (the symbolic woman) throughout time on earth because Jesus was the descendant of Israel and becomes King. Israel takes shelter during this next 3.5 years and Satan goes after all the people who keep God’s commands and continue to believe in Jesus. As the study plan mentions: all of this is symbolic but tells the story of real things that happened and are to come in the future. Why did God make it so confusing to understand all this? We don’t truly know the answer, but a good probability is to make us seek Him….make us curious enough to spend time figuring out the puzzle, where eventually we will learn something from it.

Revelation 13 – The Beast coming out of the Sea

You’ll need to read Revelation 13 (linked above), but here is a guide to the symbolism from the study plan:

  • Horns are symbolic of power and represent individual kingdoms
  • The First beast from the sea is made up of 10 kingdoms (A unification of 10 Kingdoms)
  • Seven is the symbol for “complete”
  • again we see a reference to 42 months where the beast is given power and control for 3.5 years and all the people (except those who follow God) are impressed and support the beast (super powers)
  • The bible says during this time: “This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.”
  • The Second beast from the earth has 2 horns (so 2 Kingdoms together) supporting the first beast and this second beast (from the Bible): “It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.”

Revelation 14 – The Lamb and the 144,000

These 144,000 are the ones mentioned earlier whom the angels marked with God’s seal and they are in Heaven. Then 3 Angels announce that judgement will commence and give every remaining person on earth one more chance to repent. (Revelation 14: 6)

This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Revelation 14: 12-13

Then came blood flow as the first part of judgement.

Revelation 15: Seven Angels with 7 Plagues (next part of judgement)

Revelation 16: All these events then occur during God’s wrath (justice): Sores, blood, fire, demonic spirits release from the dragon in preparation for war with God, earthquake, hail stones and plague. The people curse God.

Revelation 17: Babylon the Prostitute on the Beast

  • Symbolism:
  • Babylon the Prostitute: this requires knowledge from reading the bible for the symbolism here. Many times God compares making anything (money, power, our own knowledge or abilities, control, materialism, lust, etc) more important than God, basically cheating on God, to adultery. The Prostitute part is getting paid for making anything more important than God.
  • Babylon the City: Throughout the bible, you will notice there are two primary cities referenced: Babylon and Jerusalem. Babylon represents “worldly focus” as opposed to “God focused” – two opposing viewpoints: including world religion (which is godless) and a world economic system (one that focuses on becoming “like God” or becoming a god through not recognizing God, not giving God the credit for the abilities, denying God, denying the existence or importance of God)
  • The 7 heads according to the angel’s explanation represent the seven hills where the “woman” sits: the study plan suggests this could be the city of Rome because of the seven hills. But the 7 heads also represent 7 kings and the beast is the 8th King belonging with the 7 others until his destruction. The 10 horns or 10 kings only are in authority for 1 hour, then they give their power to the beast. They will fight against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph. (Lamb: is Jesus) The water represents people, multitudes, nations and languages. The woman is a city that rules over the leaders of the earth.

Revelation 18: The destruction of Babylon

A voice from Heaven gives another warning to people to leave before the destruction of this City. (Revelation 18:4-8) then the city is destroyed and many are shocked.

CHAPTER 19: JESUS TRIUMPHS

First there is tremendous celebration in Heaven over the destruction of Babylon, then Jesus (the Heavenly Warrior defeats the Beast).

(THIS IS THE END OF THE EARTH WE KNOW)

CHAPTER 20: THE MILLENNIUM- JESUS REIGNS FOR 1000 YEARS

The Devil or Satan, different from the beast, is imprisoned for 1,000. The souls of the people who had not taken the mark of the beast were brought back to life and reigned with Jesus for 1,000 years. (First Resurrection)

After the 1,000 years, Satan is released, deceives nations and gathers nations to fight. They surround the camp of Gods people, but fire came down from Heaven and devoured them. Then the devil is “thrown into the lake of sulfur” where the beast and false prophet (AntiChrist) were thrown where they will be tormented for ever and ever.

Then all dead were judged according to what they had done. (Non-believers) This is the second judgement. All those names who were not found in the book of life were thrown into the “lake of fire”.

CHAPTER 21 – 22: A NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH

This Chapter is best in full text: “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.””

The New Jerusalem – God’s Kingdom is described in great detail here.

Chapter 22:

Eden is restored and described, John and the Angel have a conversation and the book of Revelation ends with this message:

12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you[a] this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

In summary, the main message is we won’t know until after it happens, but we are given clues, even by Jesus to understand when it’s getting close. But who wants to not be prepared? The longer we wait to prepare ourselves, the higher the personal consequences. God keeps giving people chances to repent (meaning change our mind, don’t follow the world) all the way until the very end. But if we make up our mind BEFORE the very end, we may avoid some of the hardships that will happen someday to those who wait until the last minute. I guess it all comes down to what is your personal level of risk aversion? God encourages us and promises us that our personal worldly sacrifice will be worth it; He has something wonderful planned for us in the end.

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Predicting the Future

Who doesn’t desire knowledge regarding the future? Isn’t “the future” often the subject matter discussed at many conferences? If we learn about the future we feel more comfortable, have more certainty, or do we?

Have you ever been disappointed, expecting more than you received?

If you answered “Yes,” this could be the reality once again, if we don’t prepare for the future. The greatest, most valuable and limited resource we have is TIME.

We anticipate life returning to “normal” in the future. But if we truly return to “normal” then we will miss an opportunity. Hopefully we DON’T return to “normal” but instead return to “better.” We all know setbacks are opportunities for improving; there is always a lesson learned. Did we use this time to become better? To improve what we do? To improve ourselves? Did we learn anything?

Time is all of this: certain, yet uncertain and limited. Our time is limited by God. Our time is uncertain: we don’t know when our time will end or why the time will be chosen, but we know the time is set by God for the purpose He intends. Our time is certain because it will end someday; we can’t delay or eliminate that fact by ignoring it or expecting it won’t happen for a long time.

Isn’t it better to first become prepared, then be able to relax and enjoy life? Any anxiety will go away, if we prepare in advance.

The only way to overcome fear is to face it, then replace it.

This current experience we are having may be a test of our faith and trust in God. Going forward, we can lose fear and anxiety if we replace our fear with trust in God. God is love and there is no fear in love.

What we are experiencing right may have a greater purpose so if we haven’t felt this already, maybe it’s time to make “obedience” to God a real commitment? surrender to God: placing God first as our priority, then doing our best each and every day, obeying Him, giving up things that may seem “fun” to us, but are sinful according to God, obeying the 10 Commandments and avoiding what God hates:

These are undoubtedly tough rules/commands to follow for most of us, but they are fact and we have been warned. The choice is personal. No person has the right to judge another person, judgement is God’s right, not ours. All sin is equally bad in God’s eyes, so none of us can think we are better than another. We all sin in some way. Those who say they don’t aren’t being honest. God knows the intent inside each of us, and that is what will ultimately matter in our future.

The future has been predicted. The prediction is in the Bible. There will be an end; there will be judgement. The choice is ours and our time left is unknown (even to the angels).

The positive message from this: if we keep God’s commands, we can avoid God’s wrath. Don’t delay.

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Broken Trust

One commonality we share is broken trust at some point in our lives. Now that some of us have more time than we ever had before, our minds are more activated: contemplating: “What is truly going on?” Many of us can’t stay still, if we are not busy doing something, then we are busy thinking something. The novelty and desire for more time has worn off for many people (those not on the “front lines”) during this pandemic. Most people are ready to get back to what was known to be “normal.”

As time goes on, I see a mixture of: those filled with hope, those filled with fear and those who react by avoidance (doing whatever they can to “escape” reality.)

Time is the most valuable resource we have on earth. Time is valuable because we can never “make more of it,” once it’s gone, it’s gone. Realizing this, how we spend our time matters.

Getting back to broken trust, or mistrust, there is a humorous viewpoint of what’s happening now that’s been circulated on social media recently, by an unknown author:

“All. Of. This. 🤣

May this share help straighten out some of the confusion and misinformation out there, thanks to fake-stream media… Here is my understanding of the current findings in a short summary 😊:

1. Basically, you can’t leave the house for any reason, but if you have to, then you can.

2. Masks are useless, but maybe you have to wear one, it can save you, it is useless, but maybe it is mandatory as well.

3. Stores are closed, except those that are open.

4. You should not go to hospitals unless you have to go there. Same applies to doctors, you should only go there in case of emergency, provided you are not too sick.

5. This virus is deadly but still not too scary, except that sometimes it actually leads to a global disaster.

6. Gloves won’t help, but they can still help.

7. Everyone needs to stay HOME, but it’s important to GO OUT.

8. There is no shortage of groceries in the supermarket, but there are many things missing when you go there in the evening, but not in the morning. Sometimes.

9. The virus has no effect on children except those it affects.

10. Animals are not affected, but there is still a cat that tested positive in Belgium in February when no one had been tested, plus a few tigers here and there…

11. You will have many symptoms when you are sick, but you can also get sick without symptoms, have symptoms without being sick, or be contagious without having symptoms. Oh, my..

12. In order not to get sick, you have to eat well and exercise, but eat whatever you have on hand and it’s better not to go out, well, but no…

13. It’s better to get some fresh air, but you get looked at very wrong when you get some fresh air, and most importantly, you don’t go to parks or walk. But don’t sit down, except that you can do that now if you are old, but not for too long or if you are pregnant (but not too old).

14. You can’t go to retirement homes, but you have to take care of the elderly and bring food and medication.

15. If you are sick, you can’t go out, but you can go to the pharmacy.

16. You can get restaurant food delivered to the house, which may have been prepared by people who didn’t wear masks or gloves. But you have to have your groceries decontaminated outside for 3 hours. Pizza too?

17. Every disturbing article or disturbing interview starts with ” I don’t want to trigger panic, but…”

18. You can’t see your older mother or grandmother, but you can take a taxi and meet an older taxi driver.

19. You can walk around with a friend but not with your family if they don’t live under the same roof.

20. You are safe if you maintain the appropriate social distance, but you can’t go out with friends or strangers at the safe social distance.

21. The virus remains active on different surfaces for two hours, no, four, no, six, no, we didn’t say hours, maybe days? But it takes a damp environment. Oh no, not necessarily.

22. The virus stays in the air – well no, or yes, maybe, especially in a closed room, in one hour a sick person can infect ten, so if it falls, all our children were already infected at school before it was closed. But remember, if you stay at the recommended social distance, however in certain circumstances you should maintain a greater distance, which, studies show, the virus can travel further, maybe.

23. We count the number of deaths but we don’t know how many people are infected, as we have only tested, so far, those who were “almost dead” to find out if that’s what they will die of…

24. We have no treatment, except that there may be one that apparently is not dangerous unless you take too much (which is the case with all medications). Orange man bad.

25. We should stay locked up until the virus disappears, but it will only disappear if we achieve collective immunity, so when it circulates… but we must no longer be locked up for that?”

The reality is: this is confusing and people do not know whom to trust.

There is a new documentary (linked here) that went into circulation on Monday, April 13, 2020, which only intensifies the question of who is trustworthy? Whether or not a person watching this believes the content or doesn’t believe it, the obvious message from the documentary is:

use your mind, your critical thinking capabilities, pay attention to how you spend your time and what you “feed” your mind

The truth is there is good and bad in this world. We can’t control that fact, but we have a personal choice in what we choose and how we spend our time: good or bad BUT, WE ARE NOT “HELPLESS”: each of us can make a difference with the time we have been given and what we do with that time.

So who can we trust? GOD.

God is eternal and God protects those who have faith and obey his commands. We are wasting our time if we put our trust in ANYTHING other than God. Why? Because trust in anything else can and will eventually go away, someday. Anything else is temporary and won’t be there for us through eternity.

While some people are good people, none are perfect, so we honestly can’t blindly trust people. But that doesn’t mean we live in fear, it just means that we trust someone proven throughout history to be trustworthy: God.

When we have any kind of fear, realize it’s temporary, ask God to handle it but do the best with what God has given us (don’t give up), but in addition to doing what we can , ask God to send the Holy Spirit to help. In some situations, we are not strong enough on our own, but God is the ultimate “power” source.

I realize this “solution” isn’t going to be meaningful to those who don’t believe, so if this is you: why not take this time to get to know God by praying (talking to him in your own personal thoughts) and reading the Bible (searching for answers to your personal questions)? (Here is a bible resource link, if you don’t have one) God will respond if you truthfully seek Him with your heart. If you are a person that feels you’ve done too much wrong in life for this to work for you; please know the Bible tells us the exact opposite: you will be forgiven by God, when you ask for forgiveness and make every effort to become a better person.

Regarding good and bad people and how do we know who are more (not completely) trustworthy than others? It is only by their actions, not what they say, look for: people who show love, joy, are peaceful, faithful, gentle and exhibit self control. Those are the most trustworthy people.

How do we recognize untrustworthy people? Look for: sexual immorality, impurity, excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, participate in orgies, those who prioritize anything or anyone as more important than God, those who practice witchcraft, express hate, those who are jealous people, people with uncontrolled tempers, people with selfish ambition, people who are envious of others, people who get drunk, and so forth. Don’t put trust in people who fit this description; these are the least trustworthy people.

The solution to broken trust is making God your priority over EVERYTHING else in life. When we recognize ourselves as “children of God” and not “children of this world,” We can trust Him; He will protect us. (linked to 1 John 5: 18-19)

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One Change: making a Difference

This “change” has been on my mind for days now, so I’m giving in and writing about it. There are countless books on “Do This” subject matter for those seeking personal improvement. But it wasn’t until I was listening to a podcast, that I truly absorbed the enormity of this realizing this ONE, singular, simple change makes all the difference in literally EVERY relationship we have (family, friends, business, and even strangers)! And it’s a personal change I can make and you can make and once the change is made, it will impact however many people we interact with throughout life: the count could be thousands, millions or billions of people impacted! It’s not easy; but it IS SIMPLE! A simple concept, similar to golf: one that takes continual effort to master the skill; it requires daily, realistically every minute focus, to change and improve, because it’s not natural, but it can make a difference INSTANTLY when applied.

What is it? Changing our mindset from being self-centered and selfish to selfless. I loved this clever statement when I heard it: “being selfless requires thinking of my self LESS” by Rick Warren (link).

Immediately upon stating this, I realize there are some selfless people who are used or abused by others. While everyone should be selfless, there are abusive situations where avoiding or removing yourself from a situation like that is the right thing to do. The book of Proverbs is a source for wisdom about this. It is written: “do not associate with…” In an abusive situation, remember that God values YOU and you do not deserve abuse. God rescued people from abusive situations: The Israelites from slavery in Egypt, Joseph from his abusive brothers, Paul from bondage in prison, Peter from prison, to name a few examples and rescued all of us from something even worse, eternal death, through Jesus Christ.

This is more than relevant this week, because this week is Holy Week , it started this past Sunday and leads to the ultimate act of selfLESSness by anyone ever: Jesus’ death on the cross, offering his own life as a sacrifice for all of our sins, making it possible for every single person to have eternal life with God.

Why “a sacrifice” of physical death was ever a solution to remove sin still leaves me with many questions, especially when something/someone innocent was used as the sacrifice. This is ultimately a law of the Universe, but it doesn’t seem to fulfill justice when innocent die so I still struggle with that. I could understand why those who do wrong could be punished (from a justice viewpoint), but not the innocent, especially as a sacrifice. I think there is more to this “law” than we will know while we are living.

Sacrifice is not something any of us WANT to do, we want to avoid it, if at all possible, even in a minimal way (when our comfort is challenged). But self sacrifice is the ultimate expression of love. When we let go of something we want for the benefit of others or when we give up something for the benefit of others, we are self sacrificing, being self LESS; we are being Christlike. So the life sacrifice that Jesus made proves God’s love for all people. Prior to Jesus’ sacrifice, innocent animals were used for this horrible sacrifice, but God was not pleased by those sacrifices and Jesus was the final solution to end this. (this link explains it more)

Many of us have heard the story of Holy Week and Easter, but we’ve heard it so many times, it loses the impact today, for some. It is so “distant,” so long ago, today it becomes Easter eggs and candy, but this year it will be different. Maybe this is our opportunity to really contemplate the significance of this week? The significance of what Jesus did: This season’s MOST IMPORTANT meaning to ALL of us. To be thankful, that Jesus didn’t eternally die and that death isn’t “forever” for those of us who believe!

Jesus rose from his physical death (witnessed by others living at the time and documented in the Bible) to prove to us there is life after death; death is not to be feared, there is a future beyond our physical death and it is a future worth preparing.

Truly comprehending what Jesus did for us makes any of our sacrifices seem small in comparison. But also, it gives me reason for introspection: am I being selfish, self-centered, or self LESS in living my life? This is one mindset change that will make a tremendous difference for both others (now) and our eternity (later).

Wishing you a Happy Easter and hoping we all change for the better this year!

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What Marriage should be…

It’s interesting how one idea leads to another when there are no other distractions! Yesterday I wrote “Marriage doesn’t exist in God’s Kingdom” and after I finished, I thought more should be said about marriage because it truly is something very important, it is a union envisioned and created by God, but in our culture, marriage is viewed as “disposable.”

Why should I write about this?

Because many people, even strangers surprisingly, have asked for advice and I’m not even a psychologist! I think back to when I was a teen, after my parents’ divorce, I was on my own quest for relationship advice, I didn’t know where to get it, so I kept reading books. But even in books there is a lot of bad advice out there, as I’ve finally learned, but now know the truth. So who can be trusted? There’s only one trusted source: God. So what follows is NOT MY advice; this is from the Bible, summarized here:

What marriage should be:

  1. Two people honestly focused on God as the priority

This point is the most important part of a marriage, and the emphasis is on “two,” both people, not just one person. If you both aren’t focused on God as a priority there is a very high probability that you will go through a divorce. If you’re not married yet, you should hold off and save yourself the headache, if both of you are not God focused; that should happen first. So if you choose to get married without taking this step first, then plan on giving away whatever you accumulated and be prepared to live a more simple life than you are right now because that is reality.

So how does having God as a priority make a marriage successful?

Marriage is hard work. Each person will need help with marriage because no one is perfect and we truly can’t do it on our own; we will need God’s strength at some point to continue, or to change. Because honestly some situations are just too challenging to deal with on our own. Trust in God.

If a couple is God focused, they commit to obeying the 10 commandments. These are the laws from God that should not be broken.

If both people are focused on God and follow the ways Jesus instructed, then each person will NOT be focused on:

  • sexual immorality
  • impurity
  • lust
  • evil desires
  • greed
  • anger, rage
  • malice
  • slander
  • filthy language
  • lies
  • getting drunk

But they WILL be focused on:

  • compassion
  • kindness
  • humility
  • gentleness
  • patience
  • forgiveness
  • love
  • peace
  • thankfulness, gratitude

2. Two people should know what “LOVE” truly means and be prepared to make that commitment to each other

I wrote about this in detail recently: “Real Love”

3. The husband should desire to do/be the following in marriage:

4. The wife should desire to do/be the following in marriage:

I truly believe that if people followed these guidelines from the Bible, there would no longer be divorce. All the underlined text above has links from the bible for reference. I hope this is helpful to someone who reads.

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