Join in the study and conversation.  Explore the Bible, study prophecies for our time and share in the Bible discussing.  One topic per week will be sent via email and the discussion link will be will be sent to all participants.   Tuesday evenings at 7PM, study starts August 11th, 2020.  Complete the form below to participate.

• Discover where we are in the light of Bible prophecy
• Unlock mysteries about God and His plan for you and our world.
• Know God better through His messages in the books of Daniel and Revelation.
• Discover that the Bible predicts accurately the rise and fall of nations.
• Understand the meaning of the Mark of the Beast, the Antichrist, and the Millennium.

The post Prophecy Seminar – Participate first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

Glimpse of Heaven

Prophecy Study 20 (Download PDF)

Heaven: to us here on earth it is an abstract notion.  A place of beauty, perfection and a place where there is no sin.  Because there is no sin, there is no death or sorrow or pain.  How could this be when all we have known in our existence is deterioration, sorrow and death.

I often when observing a beautiful forest or waves crashing on a sunny shore or a spectacular sunrise, wonder what these things must have looked like at creation before sin entered the world.  If we could have a momentary glimpse of what that forest, or sunrise would have looked like then.  We would see how drastic the change and how we have a degraded sense of beauty.

Many of us today that remember back to the 60’s and 70’s can remember what these things looked like even then.  When we compare the scenes of nature around the world then to now, in most cases there are obvious signs of ever more degradation.

Recently I was interviewing a local business owner and the conversation came up (as it often does) about faith.  He insisted that man is able to create heaven or utopia here on earth.  I considered carefully his well-crafted argument but finally reminded him that we do not see evidence of this ability for mankind to universally work together for good.  From what we observe in the local and broader world, harmony and heaven for some or all is impossible.

1 Thessalonians 5:3, “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”

In fact, the Bible gives us an indication of the way people will behave, and it points to things getting worse and not better before Jesus returns.

2 Timothy 3:13, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

Just above this in verse 1-5, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Consider that Paul is talking about the condition of some people that are in the church  “..having a form of godliness.”

Heaven

Think through your life and remember friends that you had when you were younger.  I can think of a few really good friends that I had for years.   At the time I thought we would be friends forever and yet, over the years the friendships faded, some were destroyed.  But all of them, I would enjoy an opportunity to meet them again to see how they are.

We have no greater friend than Jesus.

John 13:37-38, “37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.”

John 14:1-4, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”

Jesus loves us so much that even though He knew that Peter would deny Him, He told Peter not to be troubled, because of his belief.  Peter asked why he could not follow Jesus then.  Jesus explained that He was going to prepare a place and once He came back to collect the faithful, that where ever He went from then on, we would know where He is and the way to get there.

John 15:13-15, “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

Can you imagine spending eternity with a Creator like this?  It is hard to imagine since we are shaped in iniquity.  But this is a promise that Jesus has made to all who serve Him.

He has promised to prepare a place for us, and after His death and resurrection He did just that.  He has promised to not forget us but to come again to gather us to Him.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

The purpose of this study is to remind us of the glimpse of Heaven as described in the Bible.  But more importantly to remind us of God’s incomprehensible love for us.  The Bible in Revelation 21, tells us something so amazing that it is hard to understand.

Revelation 21:3, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”

In a previous study on the Millennium, saw how Christ revealed in the Bible that when He comes the second time, he gathers His elect from the four corners of the earth and the live and reign with Him 1000 years.  After that thousand years, Satan and the lost are destroyed after the second resurrection. The world is then destroyed by fire, and Christ recreates the world.  (Revelation 20:7-15).  John here in Revelation 21:3 is telling us that God Himself wants to live among us, that He Himself will be with us!  Imagine all of the other creation that God has created.  Worlds that we have no reason to believe had ever fallen to sin..  Therefore all the perfect worlds with perfects beings and God chooses us, to live among us and be our God.

John the disciple was given a glimpse of the holy city.  This city has our mansion in it, it is the city of God.

Revelation 21:2, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Revelation 21:16, “And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.”

This means the city is 1400 miles wide, 1400 miles deep and 1400 miles high.

1 Corinthians 2:9, “”Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Revelation 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Can you sense the love and care that God has for us?

Discuss: __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Revelation 22:1-17, “1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.  And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.  For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

Let’s take a look at Isaiah 65:17-25.  “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.  There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.  They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.  And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.  The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

It seems that in heaven there won’t be home builder companies and landscape companies.  You have eternity to build your home and occupy it.  To grow a garden and enjoy the yield.

Isaiah 66:22-23, “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.  And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”

There will be time for celebration and worship in heaven.  Here in heaven, we will understand the real and true meaning of worship.

Revelation 21:22-27, “22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.  And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The choice is clear.  To spend eternity with a perfect loving God who spent our lives here on earth pleading with us, forgiving us, protecting us, receiving and answering our prayers, comforting us and then saving us.  But not just saving us.  Saving us to live with Him in a perfect world where there is no night, no danger, no death or sorrow.  There is a tree that yields 12 different types of fruit and yields her fruit every month (Revelation 22:2).  A place where we can build our own house in the country then stay in our mansion in the city on the weekend.  A place where we will spend every Sabbath in face to face communion with God.

Or, to make this world our home where nothing lasts forever, not even time.

The post Prophecy 20 – Glimpse Of Heaven first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

Peculiar

Prophecy Study 19

Download PDF

Definition: 1. strange; odd.  2. uncommon; unusual:  3. distinctive in nature or character from others.  4. belonging characteristically (peculiar group of people).  5. belonging exclusively to some person, group, or thing.

The redheaded Grace Hester Gilbert was born on February 2nd in 1876 on a small farm near Nettle Lake, Ohio. She was the youngest of four children and the only one in the family to be born covered in a layer of silken hair. By the time she was 18 she was being exhibited full-time as a bearded lady.

 She signed her first contract with Ringling Bros. Circus in 1901. At the time her beard measured more than 18 inches in length, which was several inches longer than her closest rival and longer than the known record. Before long, Barnum and Baily stole Grace Gilbert away from Ringling Bros to replace the deceased Annie Jones and the arrangement proved to be lucrative.

http://www.thehumanmarvels.com

I would say that Grace Hester Gilbert was peculiar!

In this study, we will continue to explore God’s people as being “peculiar” in this sinful world.  What does it mean to you to be peculiar?

Deuteronomy 14:2; “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.”

Titus 2:14; “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

1 Peter 2:9; “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”

God identifies His own people as a “peculiar people”, but what does this mean? In both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible they mean, “that which is one’s own, belonging to one’s possessions; a people selected by God from the other nations for His own possession”.

It is a struggle to comprehend this.  “A holy people.”  “Above all nations.”  “Zealous of good works.” “A royal priesthood.”

We live in a world which thinks that the Bible changes with the times. God expects less of us in the New Testament and is much kinder.  God says in Malachi 3:6, “For I am the LORD, I change not …”.

God is the same today as at any other time.  His intent has not changed and His purpose for His people has not changed. It is up to us to make sure we truly understand exactly what our Lord is saying in any given part of His Word. I do need to make clear that if you are not a child of God, you cannot understand His Word since it is foolishness to you, but the Holy Spirit does reveal His Word to those who are truly His children.

1 Corinthians 1:18; “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:10; “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”

Proverbs1:2-7; “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;  To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;  To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.  A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:  To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Therefore we still as Christians must study God’s word before the Holy Spirit can reveal what He wants us to know.

2 Timothy 2:15; “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Being Peculiar, means standing out as different.

Being different will mean persecution.  It is no wonder that many of us from time to time are far from peculiar and fit right in with the world.

Titus 2

“But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:  That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.  The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;  That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,  To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”

6 “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.  In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,  Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.  Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;  Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.”

11 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

To the world, some of these things seems strange and not politically correct.

John 15:14, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

There is a selfish element that must die to be called the children of God.

What other things can you think of that sounds crazy to the non-Christian?

Matthew 5:39-45; “39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Turn the other cheek?  Give my cloak also?  These are hard things to hear and understand.  The Bible says to love your enemies.  Is this possible?  It is not only possible, but it is a requirement.  “..pray for them that despitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.”  In other words, for you to be a child of God, you are required to love your enemies, turn the other cheek and give your cloak also.

What else does the Bible command of God’s people that would make them peculiar?

What about Exodus 20:8-11; “8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:  But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Or even Exodus 20:16-17; “16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

Discuss: ____________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Consider the story of Jonah.  This is an interesting story of a servant of God, a prophet who was sent on a mission.  God’s only requirement was obedience.  God never changes.  Moses, Elijah, the disciples, you and me.  God wants a peculiar people that obey and put Him first.

In our day to day lives, do we ask what Gods wants us to do today?  Do we ask God to allow us to be a blessing to someone today.  Do we ask that His Holy Spirit would guide us in all things so that we stand out as His!  Obedient!  Obedience is foolishness to the world but precious in His sight.

1 Corinthians 7:22-23; “For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.  Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

Matthew 6:31-33; “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

How can this be lived practically?  Even Elijah took matters into his own hands and fled, hiding in a cave after God demonstrated His mighty work before him at Mount Carmel.  The temptation is there to rely on our own understanding.   How can we practically seek the kingdom of Heaven and TRUST that everything else will be supplied?  What does it even mean?  Peculiar is one thing, but this is just plain dangerous!

Discuss:  ____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Jesus wants an obedient people.  John 14:15, “if you love me, keep my commandments.”

John 15:10, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”

John 14:21, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

Hebrews 4:9-11, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

1 John 2:3-5, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”

Let us strive to know God.  To really know God is to love Him.  and if we love Him, we must do whatever He commands us to do.  This may not be popular.  It may make you a minority of religious people.  It will make you peculiar and bring upon you persecution.  He has done it all for us; we just have to be obedient to His will.

Discuss: _______________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

The post Prophecy 19 – Peculiar People first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

The 2,300 Day Prophecy
The Tribulation & The Judgment Hour – 2

Lesson 18 Part 2

Download PDF

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

“Seventy weeks are determined” (or lit. trans. “cut off”) “for thy people” – The Israelites. So 70 weeks are cut off from 2,300 days. Now in 70 weeks there are 490 days. And remember a day is symbolic of a year. The 2,300 day prophecy then can be broken into two segments: The first 490 days or years for the Israelites; then the remaining 1810 years bring you down to the time when the sanctuary would be cleansed, the time of the end. Now several things were to happen in the 70 weeks or 490 years, but first we must have a beginning date.

Before we go further, lets reconfirm the principle in prophecy of using a day for a year.

Number 14:34 …’After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.’

Ezekiel 4:6 …’And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.’

In Daniel 9:25 we find the event that marks the beginning date. Daniel 9:25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

 “The command to restore Jerusalem.” When was that? Turn to Ezra 7:13, 20, 23, 27, “I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure house. Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.”

This command went forth in 457 B.C. Artaxerxes gave the command and this date is fully established by history. So we have our beginning date 457 B.C. Now verse 24 said 70 weeks, or 490 years were cut off for the Jewish nation. Let’s do some arithmetic. Our beginning date, 457 B.C. , minus 490 years brings us to 34 A.D. What happened in 34 A.D. in Jerusalem and with the Jews? That was the year Stephen, the first Christian martyr was stoned after his last appeal to the Jews. They had rejected Christ and the apostles, and from that point on the apostles began preaching to the Gentiles and Israel was “cut off” as a nation. Notice these verses regarding how it took place, and how all believers are now God’s chosen people: Acts 13:46-50; Matthew 21:43; Galatians 3:28, 29; Romans 10:12; Romans 2:28, 29. So we see the 70 weeks, or 490 years were precisely fulfilled on time as all prophecy is.

But even more amazing is verses 25-26. In this 490 year period, several more predictions are made about Christ. Notice verse 25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” Seven weeks and three score and two weeks equal 69 weeks. That equals 483 days or years. Subtract 483 years from our starting point in 457 B.C. and what do we have? A.D. 27. According to verse 25 the Messiah would come that year! And Christ did!

Christ was baptized in A.D. 27. Luke 3:1 says it was the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, and many Roman records show that date was 27 A.D. Christ Himself said, “The time is fulfilled,” He knew the prophecies! Do you remember also what He said in Matthew 3:15?

To “fulfill all righteousness” just like Daniel 9:24. The prophecy is precise!

Did you ever wonder why Jesus spent 30 years in an obscure carpenters shop before He went out and declared He was the Messiah? Jesus read the same prophecy you are right now. Based on this Jesus knew the exact year He was to appear!

Verse 26, “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

He would be “cut off” or crucified sometime after A.D. 27. And it continues on to say that the city and the sanctuary would be destroyed, and be made desolate. Jesus often referred to this passage when He was here on earth. He saw the Jews rejecting Him, and prophesied these things. Matthew 23:37-38, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathered her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”

Matthew 24:2, “And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

In A.D. 70, this verse was fulfilled as the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem and destroyed the city and sanctuary. History records it as one of the most terrible events that ever took place. To this day the temple has never been rebuilt again. Verse 27 then zeros in on the exact time for the crucifixion. “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

Jesus did confirm His covenant with the Jews for one week, or seven years. From 27 A.D. to 34 A.D. At this time they cut themselves off as we just studied. In the midst or “middle” of the week, He (Jesus) would cause the sacrifices, the oblations to cease. Seven days in a week equals seven years. So the middle, or three and half years from A.D. 27, brings us to the spring of A.D. 31. It was at this precise time, at the feast of the Passover, that Christ was crucified. Thus the sacrifices and oblations ended. The veil in the sanctuary was torn in two. In A.D. 34, the other three and a half years as the prophecy predicted saw the Jews total rejection. All right on time! With perfect precision, the prophet predicted the time of Christ’s baptism, crucifixion, and rejection of the Jewish nation.

So the 70 weeks or 490 years, ending in A.D. 34, pertains to the nation of Israel. Let’s pause here for a moment to discuss another topic. This one week, (seven years), has been the subject of much speculation in the last few years. Even for a child it’s obvious that this seven years is part of the 70. You have a total of 70 weeks or 490 years. You have 69 weeks, or 483 years to the Messiah, and that leaves one week or seven years in between. We also see the perfect fulfillment of this one week in Jesus.

Today, however, some people take this one week, and without any biblical evidence lift it out of the context, and move it over 2,000 years into the future to apply to a future seven year tribulation period which is supposed to take place. Incredible as that seems, it’s really being done! The great seven year tribulation is supposed to be preceeded by the secret rapture, (another deception not taught in the Bible, we have previously discussed this). Then after the secret rapture, in three and a half years, the Antichrist is supposed to come, and after the full seven years, the end is to come.

One will search the Bible in vain to find any evidence for this doctrine. There will be a period of tribulation, yes, but nowhere is it said to be seven years. The word tribulation in the Bible occurs about 20 times, and in every case, God’s people are in it, go through it, and God preserves and honors them. A few examples:

John 16:33 In the world you will “have tribulation: but be of good cheer.”

Acts 14:22 We must “through much tribulation enter into the kingdom.”

Romans 5:3. “We glory in tribulation.”

Romans 12:12. Be “patient in tribulation.”

2 Corinthians 1:4. “Who comforts in all our tribulation.”

2 Corinthians 7:4. “I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.”

1 Thessalonians 3:4. “We told you before that we should suffertribulation.”

2 Thessalonians 1:4. “In all your persecutions and tribulations” that you endure.

Revelation 1:9. “John … your brother and companion in tribulation.”

Revelation 7:9-14, speaks of the saved of the earth and says, “These are they which came out of great tribulation!”

I hope that this is clear

Also Daniel 9 says the prophecy of the 70 weeks was to be “sealed up” by Christ. A further dilemma comes for those who support this false teaching when we look at the Antichrist. When will the Antichrist appear? After the rapture, during the tribulation? No way!

2 Thessalonians 2:1, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.” Notice the second coming and rapture is the same event. Verses 3-4, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,” (the coming of Jesus and our gathering unto Him) “except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposed and exalteth himself above all that is called God, shewing himself that he is God.” “That day” (the coming of our Lord and rapture, verse 1) will not come until Antichrist appears! Verse 7 says, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work.” And verse 8 clearly says, “that Wicked” will be destroyed with the brightness of Jesus’ coming! This totally refutes any possibility of supporting the seven-year Antichrist tribulation period.

Compare this with Revelation 20:4-6. Those raised in the first resurrection will be the ones who did not worship the beast or receive his mark!

The devil is intelligent. The prophecy of Daniel 9 which so beautifully uplifts Jesus Christ as Messiah, Savior and Redeemer of all men has been twisted into a fable that glorify the Antichrist.

Now as we continue the prophecy in Daniel, we can find out when the cleansing of the sanctuary begins. We know positively the beginning date of the prophecy is correct, 457 B.C. Jesus confirmed that. Look at Daniel 8:14 and can calculate this.

When did this cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary begin? Simply calculate 457 B.C. minus 2,300 years and it brings us to the year 1844. Over 150 years ago, according to this prophecy, the cleansing of the sanctuary began, and we entered the “time of the end.”

We, today, are living in the judgment hour. That’s a sobering thought. Christ is right now cleansing the sanctuary of all its sins, and each person who has ever lived is being judged. How long it will take, no one knows, but today my friend, your name could come up. Are you ready for Jesus to come? This scene is made real by Daniel.

“Daniel 7:9-10, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.”

 This is happening as you read this page!  There are only two sides today; those who are willing to stand up for Jesus and those who are not.

And so for encouragement, let’s read Revelation 3:5, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”

Jesus will stand for you in the judgement. When Jesus comes, He is not coming as a little babe, but in heaven He will lay aside His priestly robes, and in their place put on the regal garments of King of Kings, and come quickly. Every case will be decided.

Revelation 22:11-12, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Oh how we need to be ready today!

In closing, let’s read Revelation 14:6-7. “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgement is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” The judgment is come. Since the fulfillment of this prophecy the message of Revelation is relevant. A real understanding of this message will change our lives! We are not living in ordinary time, we’re living in the judgment hour!

Jesus has sent this message in love, He wants us to be ready! How will you fare when your name comes up? Thank God for Jesus, who longs to represent us. He can take the most wicked sinner, wash away his sin, clothe him in His righteousness, and present him faultless before God’s throne.

STORY OF MARTIN LUTHER

Martin Luther was a great reformer, but he felt himself to be a very great sinner. Discouragement distressed him. Many times he reasoned as we do, “What’s the use of trying?”

One night he had a dream, perhaps it was a vision direct from God.  That night it seemed as though the devil stood before him holding a long sheet of parchment that reached right to the floor. Martin Luther knew that it was a list of his own sins!

With a smirk the devil questioned, “Did you commit these sins, Martin?” And Luther was obliged to reply, “Yes, every one of them.”

The devil asserted, “Then there is no hope for you.”

Luther sank down in despair. But suddenly he noticed the devil was holding his hand over one corner of the sheet.

“What is under your hand?” Luther demanded. And when the devil lifted his hand, what do you suppose Martin Luther saw written there above the long list of his sins?

“THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST… CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN.” 1 John 1:7.

If any of us had to stand alone, we would have absolutely no hope.  But praise the Lord, Jesus, our heavenly Priest, will stand for us in the judgment. He will represent us at the tribunal of the universe. If we are willing to surrender our lives to Him and live for Him here, He will represent us there. If we are willing to repent of sin and confess it, He will cover it with His blood and present us clothed in His righteousness in the judgment. Won’t you make that decision today?

The post Prophecy 18-2 -The 2300 Day Prophecy first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

Prophecy Study 16

Download PDF

Recently in a conversation with an acquaintance, she said she believed that God demonstrated amazing power in the Old Testament, but we do not see the same power demonstrated now.  With a mighty hand, God liberated His people and with His mighty hand He led His people out of Egypt and so on.

When we struggle with sin, or life’s difficulties, we often cry out for a demonstration of God’s mighty hand in our lives to deliver us from the temptation we face, or the financial bondage we are going through.  Sometimes when we struggle and fall and feel that God has abandoned us or we may never gain the victory over an issue that plagues us day-in and day-out.

Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:30, “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”

Wisdom

James 1:3-5, “3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Proverbs 1:20-25,  “Wisdom cries without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?  Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof.”

Proverbs 2:6, “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

Righteousness

Psalms 112:6, “Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.”

Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

James 3:18, “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

James 4:8, Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Sanctification

2 Timothy 2:21, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Redemption

Colossians 1:14, “In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Colossians 1:20-22, “And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”

Ephesians 5:1-8, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.  But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.  For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.  Be not ye therefore partakers with them.  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.”

What are the tools that God uses to change us? Is this of our own strength?  Why should this be of great comfort?

How does this help us understand the unpardonable  sin? 

The post Prophecy 16 – God’s Transforming Power first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

With the many mentions of the remnant in the Bible, it is surprising that the remnant are not spoken about often in churches. However it seems that it is critically important we not only know who or what the remnant is, but if we are not part of it, we need desperately to come out of where we are as Christians and become part of this remnant! Understanding that we are nearing the end of this world, the remnant must already exist.

This week, we will study this important topic. We will explore what the Bible says and we will identify who the remnant is.

As of today, according to the Yearbook of Churches, we have over 30,000 Protestant denominations in the world. If you add all the others that claim to believe in Christ, and follow the Bible, you will come up with over 33,000 groups all calling themselves Christian.

Now that should tell us something is wrong. There was only one Christ. Then why do we have 33,000 groups claiming to follow Christ, yet all are different?

Let’s ask some logical questions. Are all these groups right? The obvious answer is NO, they cannot all be right. The problem is, most are part right and part wrong.

The devil is called the “deceiver” (Revelation 12:9), and deception is the co-mingling of truth and error. The devil has this advantage over God. He can use truth and error. God can only use truth. And whenever the devil mixes truth and error, he deceives. Naked lies don’t deceive people, but when Lie wears Truth’s clothes, he becomes deadly!

It’s interesting to ask people why they belong to the church do. One man was on a walk one day and met his neighbor coming out of church. He asked, “Are you a member here?” “Yes I am,” he replied. “Tell me what your church believes?” “Oh, my church believes what I do.” “Well then what do you believe?” “The same thing the church does.”

Now that’s a sorry answer! And yet most people are like that. But friends, we ought to have a reason for going where we go, and believing what we believe. First Peter 3:15 says we should always have an answer for our faith. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”

Let’s make a proposition as we begin. Jesus does have a church! He said so in Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Christ has a church. He is the foundation of the church.

First Corinthians 3:11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” You see, a church is not a building only; it is an assembly of people called out of darkness into His light. It is a group called out of error into truth, from disobedience to obedience, and from sin into salvation! Paul clearly wrote why we are to be a member of a church.

First Timothy 3:15, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, The pillar and ground of the truth.” The true church is to be the pillar and ground of truth. Therefore, if the church we are attending is not following all the truth, then God would have us seriously consider whether we are attending the right church.

God has one church, based on the Bible and not on tradition, on the commands of God and not men. Ephesians 4:5 says there is only one faith. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Jesus also said this in John 10:16, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” There is one fold, and one shepherd. Christians who follow one Bible, one law, and one Christ ought to believe the same thing! The reason we have so many different churches is because all in degrees accept or reject the truth. If Christians would throw out all the tradition and false teaching and go straight to the Bible alone, we would all be in one accord. The Bible could bring us together!

Down through the ages, God’s church has been characterized by people who were faithful to Him. And it’s interesting to note that God’s church hasn’t always been the biggest church. Deuteronomy 7:6-7, “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor chose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people.” His church was often just a few. Whenever His people strayed from the truth, He called out the few. In Haggai 1:12 a name is applied to this group. “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD.” “The Remnant.” Now in the New Testament, as we progress, you still see this remnant. Romans 11:5, “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”

Through the Bible, God has always had a “remnant” – a small group faithful to the pillar and ground of truth. Let’s go to Matthew as we begin our study to discover the Remnant Church today.

Matthew 7:20- 23, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” God says to check the fruits–not the church’s name, or the eloquence of the preacher, the size of the choir, the power of the organ, or beauty of the stained glass! God has given us some “fruit” to identify, clues to distinguish His true church. We don’t have to go through 33,000 churches! The list will narrow down so fast in Revelation it’s amazing! God said there would be a “remnant.” A church like Christ’s original church. In the end of time, Revelation clearly talks of the Remnant Church. Who are they?

Identifier 1: Revelation 12:17, “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the REMNANT OF HER SEED, which keep the commandments of God, and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ.” The “Remnant” are commandment keepers. Now that’s so simple a child can understand! Friends, with that verse alone you can do away with 99 percent of all religious churches. Revelation 14:12 again describes the saints as commandment keepers. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” So if you want to find God’s true church, you need to find a church that keeps all the commandments–not just nine, all ten! James 2:10 says if you break one commandment you break them all.

Identifier 2: Revelation 12:17, “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ,” What is the “testimony of Jesus” ? Revelation 19:10 says it’s the “Spirit of Prophecy.” “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Who are the “brethren” that have this gift? Revelation 22:9 says the Old Testament prophets! So, God’s last church will believe all the Bible. They will not take away the Old Testament or New Testament, but believe “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” And they will be known as a church that believes and teaches Bible prophecy. When you find a church that keeps all the law, and believes in all the Bible, and teaches the prophecies-you have found the Remnant Church! A sure test friends, is found in this verse, Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

Identifier 3: Another identifying mark of God’s Remnant Church is the message they proclaim. Do you remember we read in Matthew 24:14 the gospel must go to the whole world? “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” And we read what that gospel was in Revelation 14:6, “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” The three angels message. Verse 7 talks about proclaiming the hour of judgment is come. The latter part of verse 7 calls us to “worship Him who made…” calling people back to the fourth commandment. Then verse 8 is a message that Babylon is fallen, come out of it, do not follow its teachings or practices (Revelation 18:2-4). Then verses 9-10 says a message will go out warning against worshiping the Beast, its image, or receiving its mark. And so God’s marks of identification for His true church line up as follows.

• It’s built on the one faith of Jesus.
• It’s a “remnant” exactly like the original church in all its doctrines and teachings.
• It keeps all of God’s commandments.
• It has the testimony of Jesus–the Spirit of Prophecy.
• It believes and teaches prophecy.
• It believes all the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament.
• It carries the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14 to all the world, which contain the following four messages.
     o The judgment hour is come.
     o Worship Him that made heaven and earth.
     o Babylon is fallen, come out of her my people.
     o Don’t worship the Beast, its image, or receive its mark.

As we look at these points, there is only one church today that fits the Bible tests. Only one church today has carried this gospel to the whole world–God’s Remnant Church!

We must each ask ourselves the question, “How does my church meet the Bible standard?” Serious things are at stake. God is not concerned with how famous or popular a church is. There are some people who are married to churches. If our reason for attending a particular church is: “Mom and dad went there,” or “We have friends there,” or “We like the preacher,” then we better re-think our position! Any church that does not fit all the points is not Christ’s Remnant Church! And Christ invites us to step out and follow His church of truth.

As we face this decision, it’s encouraging to know that Jesus also faced this decision. He too had to change churches. Christ in the beginning of His ministry referred to the church as “My church” (John 2:16). It was an exquisitely beautiful church, built out of gold and marble. Nothing ever has matched its beauty. Jesus’ family had been members there for many years. But there came a time when those people rejected truth, a time when they were more interested in how they looked and impressed people than how they looked to God. The time came when form and ceremony were more important than worshiping in spirit and in truth. Yes, the time came when the tradition of men was accepted rather than a plain “thus saith the Lord.” And finally Christ said in Matthew 15:8-9, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me, But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” In vain they worship!

After three years of desperately trying to get people to accept truth, His heart-broken soul in anguish cried, Matthew 23:37- 38, “0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” He said, “your house is left unto you desolate.” Christ had to change churches! And He did. He called out a remnant–the few who were willing to believe and step out when everyone laughed and went the other way. Those faithful ones stepped out on the narrow road and began to go all the way with Jesus! And today as God calls out His remnant, there are those who say like David, Psalm 86:11, “Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.”

As we continue studying prophecy, we find God reveals His true church even clearer. In Revelation we see two women. One in Revelation 12 and one in Revelation 17. These represent two churches–the bride of Christ, and the whore of Babylon.

In Revelation 12:1- 5 the woman brings forth the man child Jesus. “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” The woman is shown as pure and holy, clothed in symbolisms of righteousness and truth–the 12 stars represent the 12 apostles as she goes forth proclaiming the truth as it is in Christ. However, in verse 6 the picture changes. “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days,” The woman or church fled into the wilderness to escape the 1260 years of persecution while Pagan and Papal Rome rule the world. Verse 14, “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” As time goes on, we do not see the woman in the wilderness reappear until chapter 17:3, “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”
Notice the startling change of the woman! In Revelation 12 she (the church) goes into the wilderness pure and holy. But during the 1260 years to follow she becomes corrupted. Now she is a full-fledged harlot! Revelation 17:4-6, “And he woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” Now she (the church) sits on a scarlet beast with seven heads. What do the seven heads represent? Verse 9 says they represent the seven mountains on which she sits. “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” What city is the city of seven mountains? Rome! Therefore verse 18 says the woman is that great city, Rome, having turned from a Pagan empire to a Papal church empire!

What God pictures here is this simple fact. His pure church became corrupted by the leaching in of pagan practices. Through the false teachings of Babylon it became the mother church, spreading the false pagan teachings throughout the world.

Then comes another revelation. The woman is beyond restoration, she is fallen, and therefore, it is only a “remnant” of her seed that is saved. Revelation 12:17,”And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Let’s be part of that remnant!

As we continue on in Revelation 17, we notice another alarming fact. The woman is no longer a virgin, but has committed spiritual adultery with Babylon. From this union, she has produced daughters. Revelation 17:4- 5, “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” The “mother of Harlots.” Not only is she the mother church, but she has daughters–other churches who are called harlots for they are like her. Why? Because for 1260 years the world went down in the Dark Ages until men like Martin Luther, John Wesley, and other reformers began to protest and return to the Bible. But it’s hard to reverse steps and get back on the right path after walking so long in darkness! And today most churches are still in some degree or another following Rome’s doctrines and that’s what makes them her daughters. The names may be changed, but the false teachings are the same. Many churches follow false teachings of Rome like baptism by sprinkling, the immortal soul, the change of the ten commandments, Sunday worship, traditions, et cetera. This is why we have so many churches in the world today.

But, praise the Lord, even though this happened, God said He would have a Remnant Church. He slowly began to restore the truth step by step through the Dark Ages. Truth is progressive (Proverbs 4:18, “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”). God couldn’t send all the truth at once, it would have been too much, so little by little He restored truth. And we can rejoice today knowing that what God started in the reformation, He will complete.

As the Dark Ages reached their peak, God sent out a man–the “Morning Star of the Reformation,” John Wycliffe in the 1300s. He translated the Bible into English, and with the Word came the light! He made the first steps in restoring the truth. Being the first real reformer, the Papacy did not know exactly how to deal with him. After he died peacefully in 1384, the real blood bath of martyrs began. Forty-four years later when Papal Rome discovered what he had done, they angrily dug up his bones and burned them in the city center. They then threw his ashes in the river to show their anger toward this man who brought the Bible back to the people. God had another great man ready, John Huss, who made the next step declaring the Bible as infallible and the only rule of faith and practice. He stood firm for the Word and it cost him his life. In 1415 he was arrayed before the priests while they disposed his soul from heaven, gave it to the devil and marched him to the stake to be burned to death. But he went singing with no fear! At the stake they stripped him and tied him with chains and burned him alive for his faith! Do we still have that kind of faith and courage in our world today?

Then came Martin Luther. He built on the work of those before him and established the beautiful truth of faith, “the just shall live by faith.” Then John Calvin came along and brought forth the teaching that “we are saved by grace.” John Wesley brought in the teaching of the new birth and living through the power of God. Then Roger Williams clearly taught Bible baptism by immersion. And so truth progressed.

But a problem arose. The people began to put their eyes on these reformers and not on the truths the reformers were bringing out. They got stuck with “denominations.” For example, the “Hussites” would go no farther than John Huss taught them even in the light of the plain teachings of Luther who had more truth. So the Brethren Churches came forth. But Lutherans had the same problem. They wouldn’t follow farther than Luther had light. John Calvin and John Knox after Luther had increased light, but Lutheran people wouldn’t go on. So we have the Lutheran Church. From Calvin and Knox came the Presbyterian Church. So this is why we have so many denominations today. All have some light, but all still hold on to some doctrines of Rome. Paul had the same problem in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 3:4-6, “For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” Paul said we ought to follow Christ.

But truth continued to progress through the years in spite of these sad developments. Now as we live in the end of time, God has shown complete truth. Revelation says there will be a “remnant,” a church exactly like the original. Today God’s Remnant Church does exist on earth. We have found it in Scripture. It is the only church that is like the original.

As truth progressed we come to the late 1700s when the 1260 year prophecy of Daniel ended. As the dominating Beast power came to its end during the French Revolution, we find several developments taking place. First was the invention of the printing press and with it the development of Bible Societies. Within a few years, everyone was able to get a Bible for the first time. At the same time came the emphasis on education. Reading and writing was being taught. Through these two developments, there came a great religious awakening throughout the world especially in Europe and North America. Christians of all churches began reading and studying. As time progressed the common people began to ask: “If we all have the same Bible, why don’t we believe the same thing?” Putting denominational barriers aside fellow Christians began to search for the truth. Each church had some truth to contribute, each church had to also let go of some error. But in a spirit of love and desire to follow Jesus fully, these Christians united truth with truth. From this beginning of thousands of Christians, all united under the pillar and ground of truth, came forth God’s Remnant Church.

What church today keeps the Commandments of God?

What church today has the testimony of Jesus, the spirit of prophecy?

What church today is unashamed to proclaim these truths in love to the whole world?

What are the tree angles messages?

Who is the Remnant Church?
The final three angels’ message of warning began to be proclaimed to the world, and from these humble beginnings, the Seventh-day Adventist Church now surrounds the globe, in every country of the world. The movement of the early 1800s as never stopped, rather it has accelerated to the point that today the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the fastest growing church in the world! What happened in the early 1800s has continued in this Bible study.

In recent time, we have been covered in the news about our health message and our longer life spans, The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) operates in 120 countries and in some cases are able to operate where other relief agencies are not able to go. The Adventist education system is the 2nd largest in the world with 7,598 institutions in over 100 countries. And the Adventist Health Care that operates hospitals and medical centres is the largest not-for-profit Protestant healthcare provider in the nation.

Sincere people, who long to follow the truth as it is in Jesus, have come together from all walks of life, and all faiths. Together we have opened the precious Bible, and that Bible has led us together. We are following one Christ, one law, and one Word. Around the world today men and women are taking hold of this message and becoming part of God’s Remnant Church. Thousands of people today are hearing God’s call and stepping out in faith. You are privileged to hear this truth. God has led you this far, and today He invites you to become a member of His Remnant Church. In John 10:16 Jesus says, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

As you make this decision to join with God’s commandment-keeping people, your life will be filled with joy and blessings. May God bless you as you make this decision today.

The post Prophecy 15 – The Remnant first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

Jesus
Prophecy 14

Click to download PDF

The study of Jesus is one of the most important studies that a person can do.  Who is Jesus?  Was He or is He?

But before we delve into this important topic, I will first explore the Old and the New testaments.

Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
Malachi 3:6, “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”
Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

I have heard it said that God is different, meaner, more exacting in the Old Testament.  But in the New Testament, because of Jesus, we see a kinder than God depicted in the Old Testament.

Let’s take a brief look at the two parts of the book, The Bible.

While the Bible is a unified book, there are differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament, however they are complementary. The Old Testament is foundational; the New Testament builds on that foundation with further revelation from God. The Old Testament establishes principles that are seen to be illustrative and consistent with New Testament truths. The Old Testament contains many prophecies that are fulfilled in the New. The Old Testament provides the history of a people; the New Testament picks up on that story and gives additional prophecy and insight as God’s people approach the end of the world. The Old Testament shows the wrath of God against sin; the New Testament shows the wrath of God against sin at the final earth shattering climax.  The Old Testament shows God’s mercy, patience and long suffering because of His love for mankind.  The New Testament continues by showing the lengths that God has gone so that none would perish and all would have everlasting life.

The Old Testament predicts a Messiah (see Isaiah 53), and the New Testament reveals who the Messiah is (John 4:25–26). The Old Testament records the giving of God’s Law, and the New Testament shows how Jesus the Messiah keeping and reinforcing each of God’s Ten Commandment Laws.  The Old Testament sees God establishing The Mosaic Law and the New Testament shows how Jesus fulfilled that Law (Matthew 5:17; Hebrews 10:9). In the Old Testament, God’s people, the Jews; are to be a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy People (Exodus 19:6, Deuteronomy 14:2),  in the New Testament, God’s calls His people to be a Holy Nation and  Royal Priesthood(1 Peter 2:9)

Jesus:  The Bible refers to Jesus many different ways.  I found over 200 names by which Jesus is called or referred to.   Some are: Alpha and Omega, Arm of God, Beginning of Creation of God, Beloved Son, Branch, Creator, Deliverer, Faithful Witness, God, Great High Priest, Head of the Church, I Am, Immanuel, King of Kings, Lawgiver, Lamb, The Life, Light of the World, redeemer, Resurrection and Life, Root of David, Savior, Word.  Just to name a few.

Did He arrive on the scene late in Earth’s history, over 4000 years after creation?  Can Jesus be found in the Old Testament.  Not just referred to as the “coming Messiah”, but is there evidence that Jesus interacted with mankind before He came as a babe in Bethlehem?

Daniel 3:22-25, “Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.  Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

How can this be?  Is Jesus not the Son of God, yet clearly in Daniel, Jesus appears with the three in the furnace.

Witness: One who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced. (Free Dictionary.com)

Acts 10:43, “To Him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”   Peter here is stating that to Jesus give all the prophets witness. 

Testify: To make a statement based on personal knowledge in support of an asserted fact; bear witness”

John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

Read John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”

John 5:37, “37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.”

If this is the case, then who was it that Moses saw, when placed in the cleft of the rock,  as He passed by?

Can you think of other places in the Old Testament where God’s voice was heard of shape was seen?

John 1:18, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

These two scriptures teach us an important fact: The Father has not directly spoken to or been seen by any human being at any time.

The Word, described in John 1:1-3, the Bible goes on to say in verse 14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

The Word was made Flesh must mean that the Word existed at some time in a non-flesh state, then became flesh.

Jesus also said that He knew and saw Abraham.  John 8:56-58, “56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.  Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

By identifying Himself as “I AM,” Jesus claimed that He had eternally existed. Christ identified Himself as the God of Abraham and Moses, and the One who led Israel out of Egypt.  1 Corinthians 10:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

How can this be? Jesus the Creator? 

Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Colossians 1:16-18, “ For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Psalms 33:6, “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.”

Why did Jesus, the Creator have to come and be born, live and die?

John 3:16,  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:8, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, evenwhen we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved”

1 John 4:9-1, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Love, yes, God Loves us and wants all to live.  Jesus made a way.

He came to do away with the Mosaic law.  This law is described as a curse, and against the people.  Jesus through his life, fulfilled the law and through His death became the ultimate sacrifice.

Galations 3:10-13, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”

What is the significance of the Lamb of God dying for our sins?

How does that make sense in light of what we know about the Mosaic Law?

What does this tell us about the Character of Jesus?

What does this tell us about the Character of God?

Read John 15:1-10.  What does this tell us about the requirements of benefiting from the sacrifice that Jesus made?

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.   As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

The post Prophecy 14 – Jesus first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

Click here to download PDF

The following subject has to do with another fascinating time period. Revelation’s 1,000 years of peace. Often this is referred to as the “millennium” in the religious world although that word is not found in the Scriptures. It comes from two Latin words: “Milli” meaning 1,000 and “Anum” meaning years.  Often the millennium is referred to the 1000 years of peace.

Recently this subject has been popularized more than ever before, and that has some significance. Some say it will be a great time of peace on earth where all men will be as one, and all will have a second chance to accept Christ. Others say it’s a time of peace for the Jews with no war. Again, with all these different ideas, we need to let the Word of God speak. You will see how very simple this whole subject is, for God’s Word is always simple if you let it interpret itself.

As Jesus returned to heaven, He gave the wonderful promise that has been the hope of Christians ever since. John 14:1- 3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Jesus is coming again!

When Jesus comes, there will be two classes of people on earth. The righteous and the wicked. In Isaiah 66:5 you can read of these two classes. “Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.“

He will come to the “joy” of some, and the “shame” of others. Let’s be a part of that group of “joy.”

Isaiah described this group of joy and their testimony in Isaiah 25:9, “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” The other group of shame is contrasted in Revelation 6:14-17,”And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” We won’t want to be part of that group!

It’s important that we understand that when Jesus comes, every person’s case is decided, there will be no second chance. The second chance is a false deception Satan has brought in to lull people into false security. Revelation 22:11-12 teaches before Jesus comes all will have made a choice, and every individual will either be saved or lost. “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

As Jesus comes. He will usher in this 1,000 year period. The second coming marks the beginning of the millennium. Revelation 19 gives us a symbolic picture of His coming. This chapter precedes chapter 20 which tells of the millennium. So let’s turn to Revelation 19 for a moment and see. Revelation 19:11, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” Here is a symbolic picture of Jesus coming on a white horse. Verses 13-15 continue with all heaven coming with Him. “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” The sword proceeding from His mouth represents the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” and Hebrews 4:12, “17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”).

Then verses 17-18, “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” We see here the same wicked who cried for the rocks and mountains to fall on them as Jesus comes (Revelation 6:14-17). The fowls are filled with their flesh. Then in verses 19- 20 we see something interesting. “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” God singles out the Beast and the False Prophet from the rest of the wicked, and places them in “a lake of fire.” while the rest of the wicked are destroyed. Verse 21, “And the remnant were slain with he sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”

Let’s turn to Matthew 24 and read what Jesus Himself spoke in regard to this matter. Matthew 24:27- 28, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” The second coming will bring death! Read on in verses 29- 31, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” All the tribes “mourn.” So it’s clear that before the millennium begins, Jesus will come in power and glory and all these events take place as follows:

1. Second Coming
   2. First Resurrection
   3. The Rapture
   4. Wicked Slain
   5. First Death
   6. Fowls Feast
   7. A lake of fire for the Beast and False Prophet.

Let’s pick up immediately from that point then and go right into Revelation 20:1- 3, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” Satan is bound for 1,000 years, and then after the 1,000 years is past, he is loosed a short season. Notice verse 3, “that he should deceive the nations no more.” That must mean, then, that he is deceiving them now ! But Praise the Lord, the devil’s work is going to come to an end! Sin will cease and the devil will be forced to stop his work! All will come to an end!

Then in Revelation 20:4 the picture changes to another group. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” The righteous live and reign with Christ during the 1,000 years. What about the wicked who were destroyed we read about a few minutes ago! Revelation 20:5, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” They lived not again until the 1,000 years were over. This is the first resurrection. This is the one we want to be in! For Revelation 20:6 says we are “blessed” if we are in this one. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

Now let’s get the four keys that will make this subject so clear that any child could understand it. We studied in the beginning that there will be only two classes of people on earth–the wicked and the righteous. These come in two ways though, living and dead. So we actually have four classes:

1. Righteous Living
   2. Righteous Dead
   3. Wicked Living
   4. Wicked Dead

Today we have many classes which are man made. We separate by race, education, financial status, et cetera. But God doesn’t look at people that way, and we’re foolish if we do. He is no respecter of persons, and in His eyes there are only four classes. All man-made divisions will be as the dew before the sun. All people in the world will be in one of four classes, and Christ’s coming will settle each groups destination.

There will be two resurrections as we read in this chapter, the first and the second resurrection. To establish this further let’s hear Jesus’ own words regarding this. John 5:28-29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” There is a resurrection of “life” before the 1,000 years, and a resurrection of “damnation” after the 1,000 years.

Let’s cover first then the resurrection of life for the righteous. First Thessalonians 4:16- 17, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” That’s why Jesus said in John 14:1- 3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” At this time all the righteous from Adam to those living at the end of time will go to heaven–both the righteous living and righteous (resurrected) dead. So that takes care of the first two groups. They are in heaven during the 1,000 years.

Next we have the wicked living. We read earlier that they cried for the rocks and mountains to fall and hide them. Let’s see why. Second Thessalonians 2:8, “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” They are destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming. A wicked man cannot see God and live. No sin can live in God’s presence. That’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8.

Let’s see what Jesus also said in Luke 17:26- 30, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” It “destroyed them all.” Note verses 36- 37, “Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.” “Where the eagles are gathered” just like Revelation said. One more verse to make this crystal clear. Isaiah 13:9, “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.”

And then we have the last group, the wicked dead. They just stay dead until after the 1,000 years. Revelation 20:5, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” Now let’s review. The righteous living are caught up to heaven, and the righteous dead are resurrected and also go to heaven. Then they live and reign with Christ. The wicked living are destroyed, the fowls eat their flesh, and the wicked dead stay dead.

So then, who is left alive on earth after the second coming and beginning of the millennium? Not one. The millennium is not an era of peace and progress, with no war on earth, but actually a time of total desolation. Several Bible prophets foresaw this earth during the millennium and described it. Notice Jeremiah 4:23- 28, “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.” After Jesus comes, the power of His coming leaves the earth desolate. All the cities leveled and darkness covers the earth. Yet God says “He will not make a full end.” Why? Because the 1,000 years must pass and then comes the full end.

Isaiah 24 gives a similar picture. Verses 1, 3- 5, 19, 20, describe the earth in chaos. “Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.” Then verses 21- 22 says the wicked are gathered in the “pit.” “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.” Satan also is bound in the pit (Revelation 20:3). And after many days (1,000 years), they will be visited for their final destruction. You may wonder, “What is the pit?” The word in the Greek is “ABUSOS.” In the Septuagint Scriptures it is used in Genesis 1:2, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” This earth in a state of darkness and void is the “pit.”

Let’s establish that further in Isaiah 14:12- 14, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou rut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Here we see Satan has always had an obsession to be God. But notice what will happen to him. verse 15, “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” He will be brought down to the sides of the pit.“ Then verses 19- 20, “But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden underfeet. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.” Again Satan joins the wicked in the pit, but does not join them in burial. And so the pieces fit together perfectly. Satan is bound to this earth in a state of darkness and ruin not with a literal chain, but with a chain of circumstances. What are the circumstances’! The devil is effective only when he has someone to tempt. He needs people. But now there is no one. AII the righteous are in heaven, and the wicked are all dead. At last sin will cease.

Satan then has 1,000 years to contemplate. What is he going to do? The earth is covered with darkness, dead bodies are everywhere, and all is absolute desolation. Satan is now forced to live with himself for 1,000 years with no one to deceive at all–just thinking, thinking, thinking.

I suppose, that he’ll think about the people he tempted while here on earth. Maybe he remembers a poor man who was addicted to alcohol. He remembers how that man struggled with the habit, and how he fell again and again into the gutter. Yet he got up, tried to clean himself up and came back to his family and asked them to forgive him and give him another chance. The poor fellow failed again and came back again. Until one day he met Jesus. A little flame of hope was sparked as he heard of God’s unconditional love and willingness to forgive. His heart was filled with peace and power as he stepped out in faith and accepted Jesus. His life was changed, day by day he grew, and overcame, until Jesus came and took him home. The old devil knows that that man is not here on the earth; he’s up in heaven during the thousand years. All because he dared to take his stand for Jesus.

Then suddenly perhaps the devil looks down, and maybe there`s just a small bit of light in that area and he looks upon the upturned face of another man. A man who was slain by the glory of God. He recognizes the man. It is someone he knew very well while he still lived here in this world. He was a good moral man. Everybody liked him. He was honest, and he paid his debts. There were times this man really wanted to make a decision to follow the Lord all the way, but the devil was right there to say, “No, No, No. Wait. Don’t do it now. Just give yourself a little bit more time. Things will look better. You’ll have a better chance later.” So that man did not make his decision, and now theres no hope at all for the man on the ground. He never had the courage to follow Jesus. He lost everything!

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

You ask, “What will the saints do in heaven for 1,000 years?” Revelation 20:4, 12, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” We are going to be set on thrones and judgment will be given us. You see, there will be three surprises when you get to heaven:

1. You’re there.
2. A lot of folks will be missing you thought would make it for sure.
3. A lot of folks you knew would never make it, did!

God will take all the saints, those who here were oppressed and looked down upon, those who were tempted and tried, all who were faithful to Jesus, and He will say. “You judge.” And for 1,000 years we will be able to see and know God’s justice. You see, Satan has accused God of not being fair, and to be sure, God will say,”Okay saints, you open the books and see.” Let’s say you know someone you thought should be in heaven and isn’t and you ask, “Why Lord?” God will say “check and see.” And as you do, you will see God is just and good! Turn to 1 Corinthians 6:2, “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?” The saints will judge the world. Verse 3, “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?” We will also judge angels, that’s the fallen angels. Second Peter 2:4, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.” Gods character of love and justice must be vindicated before the entire universe–for 1,000 years. God is in no hurry and we won’t be either. Malachi said it this way, Malachi 3:17-18, “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them,  as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” We will return and judge. What a day that will be, for 1,000 years enjoying heaven, forgetting heartaches. One thousand years without a sneeze, headache, eyeglasses, pills, crime, accidents, or pain! Basking in the sunlight of God’s love for 1,000 years! Time heals. During this time, God will wipe away all tears. Whatever holds you back from following Jesus on this earth now, let it go. What is it worth compared to all eternity?

Then after 1,000 years we are going to come back down to this earth. You see, God created this earth to be inhabited. The devil has seemingly held up that plan for a few years, but not ultimately. Jesus said in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” The meek will inherit the earth. Today, the proud and the wealthy seem to have inherited it. But one day, Christ will come with His people, and they will inherit the earth.

Let’s go back to Revelation and see this, Revelation 21:1- 2, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Notice New Jerusalem comes down, the heavenly (Hebrews 12:22). This great city will come down after the millennium. It’s an awesome city over 350 miles high, wide, and long (Revelation 21:16). God’s people will be inside. The prophet Zechariah says it will land on the Mount of Olives. Then the final events of earth’s history take place.

As the New Jerusalem descends from heaven, the rest of the dead rise in the second resurrection and we enter the “short season” spoken of in Revelation 20:5, 7, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.” Satan is loosed now because the wicked have been resurrected and he has people to work with. Revelation 20:8, “And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” The majority of people are here–all the wicked from all the ages. The devil deceives them now that God has raised them from the dead and convinces them they can take the holy city. With warfare, they go up against the city and try to capture it.

Imagine going up to this city. The walls are transparent. The saints are inside, but those who refused to do God’s will are on the outside. Each of us will be either in or out. In their rage, they try to take the holy city, and then our great King of Kings at last puts an end to sin. Revelation 20:9, 14- 15, “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” That’s hell-fire and it puts an end to sin. Praise the Lord! Then out of this sin-sick world, which God will purify with fire, He will create a new earth. Isaiah 65:17-19, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy, And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” Revelation 21:1- 4 paints a beautiful picture of it. All is new. In our new home, we will live as it was in the beginning. We will each have a city mansion and a country estate, in the beauty of heaven, we will not remember this former earth. There will be no temptation or sin. May God give us the grace to count everything but loss, except to be ready for that day!

The post Prophecy 12 – The Millennium first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

What happens when a person dies?  This is a question that has puzzled people all through the ages.  And today we have many theories.  Some say the dead go straight to heaven, while others say they go to hell or purgatory, and still others say the dead sleep in their grave until the resurrection.  There are still those that believe in reincarnation while others believe that the spirit of the dead roam the earth affecting the living either for good or for bad.

However, we want to know what the Bible says, for none of us has died and come back – except Jesus.  In Revelation 1:18, Jesus states that He alone has the answer to this important subject.  “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive forever more, Amen, and have the keys of hell and of death.”

In the beginning, since the garden of Eden, Satan has sought to confuse people about death.  In Genesis 3:1 the devil questioned Eve.  “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”  Eve was quick to defend God in Genesis:2-3,  “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”

Then came the first recorded lie in the Bible, verse 4, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.”

How cunning.  The devil admits you are going to die, but not surely.  And that lie has come down through the ages so that the majority of people in the world believe that people are dead, but not “surely dead.”  This is why the majority of people in the world would not take a walk in a dark graveyard at midnight for anything.  Sure they believe those folks are dead, but not surely dead.

Again, for everyone of God’s truths, Satan has a counterfeit.  He said you will not surely die, and he was a liar.  John 8:44, speaking of the devil, says he is the father of lies.

Let’s go then to the Word and see the truth. Going back to the beginning of life in Genesis 2:7, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” God formed man of the dust (earth). In fact, a few years ago someone analyzed how much the average man was worth: the iron, iodine, zinc, et cetera. The found the average man was worth about 160 dollars!

Here we have two elements: a clay body and God’s breath of life. Through the union of these, man became a living soul. It’s important to note that man was not given a “soul” as something separate from the body, but became a soul through the union of body and God’s breath. Body + Breath = Soul. Soul – Breath = Death. Let’s see this procedure in reverse in Psalms 104:29, “Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.” Take away the breath, it equals death. Verse 30 puts it again in forward, “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.” You send forth “spirit” or breath and they are created.

Now let’s discuss the teaching some of us are acquainted with regarding the “never dying soul” or “immortal soul.” You will often hear people say when a man dies his “soul” goes on to heaven or hell. Now I want to shock you. There are over 1,700 references to the word “soul” in the Bible, and not even once is it mentioned as immortal or undying. That ought to shock you! There is only one text in the Bible that even uses the word immortal. 1 Timothy 1:17, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Only God is immortal. You say what about the “immortal soul?” It’s not taught in the Bible! The word “immortality” is used only five times in the Bible and it never speaks of the “immortal soul.”

What then is a soul? Remember in Genesis 2:7 the body and breath equals a soul. You are a soul. A soul is not a little person inside you who upon your death goes flying out! The Bible teaches the exact opposite. Notice Ezekiel 18:4, “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Souls die because souls are living beings like a father, or son. Let’s look back a few other verses to see what a soul really is. You will find in every case it means a man or animal, any creature with the union of a body and breath. Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” The Old Testament says the same in Genesis 46:27, “And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.” Acts 27:37, “And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.” Man is not the only thing that is a soul. Notice Revelation 16:3, “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea.” All souls in the sea died. So the Bible is abundantly clear on this matter.

Our next question, What does happen when a man dies? Ecclesiastes 12:7 answers simply, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Now that word spirit is the Hebrew word “ruwach” [Strong’s H7307]. It is translated 117 times as “wind” and 33 times as “breath.” This word “spirit” in any concordance or dictionary means “breath.” That’s why it returns to God who gave it. Notice the many other Scriptures where spirit simply means the breath of life. Job 27:3, “All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils.” Now what did God put in man’s nostrils? Genesis 2:7, The breath of life. Let’s look at Jesus on the cross. Luke 23:46, “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” “Into thy hands I commend My spirit” or breath of life. Jesus didn’t go to paradise until the following Sunday, three days later. After His death He simply died and His breath or spirit returned to God.

James 2:26. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” So when a man dies, his breath or spirit returns back to God, and the body returns to dust. The same happens with animals. The Bible clearly teaches this. Ecclesiastes 3:19- 20, “For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.”

Next question, What happens in the grave? Where are the dead? Are they in heaven or hell? Let’s see what the apostles said in Acts 2:29, “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. … For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand.” David is not in heaven. Let’s see what Jesus said, and here we come to a very important key. John 11:11- 14, “These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.”

Death is referred to as a sleep 66 times in the Bible. Notice these references:

• Deuteronomy 31:16, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; …”
• 2 Samuel 7:12, “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou (David) shalt sleep with thy fathers, …”
• 1 Kings 1:21, “Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, …” 1 Kings 2:10, “So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.”
• 1 Kings 11:21, “And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, … ”
• 1 Kings 14:20, “And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, …”
• 1 Kings 14:31, “And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David.” …
• 1 Kings 15:8, “And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David:” …
• 1 Kings 15:24, “And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David …”
• 1 Kings 16:6, “So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah:” …
• 1 Kings 16:28, “So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria:” …
• 1 Kings 22:40, “So Ahab slept with his fathers; …”
• 1 Kings 22:50, “And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David …”
• 2 Kings 8:24, “And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: …”
• 2 Kings 10:35, “And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. …”
• 2 Kings 13:9, “And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: …” Job 3:13, “For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,”
• Job 7:21, “… for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.”
• Psalms 76:5, “The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: …”
• Jeremiah 51:39, “… I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.”
• Daniel 12:2, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, …”
• Matthew 9:24, “He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.”John 11:11, “These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; …”
• 1 Corinthians 15:6, “… but some are fallen asleep.”
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, …”
• 2 Peter 3:4, “… for since the fathers fell asleep, …”

“Sleep” is clearly the biblical term for death. Look up the rest of the texts which refer to death as “sleep,” they are: (2 Kings 13:13; 2 Kings 14:16, 22, 29; 15:7, 22, 38; 16:20; 20:21; 21:18; 24:6; 2 Chronicles 9:31; 12:16; 14:1; 16:13; 21:1; 26:2, 23; 27:9; 28:27; 32:33; 33:20; Job 14:12; Psalm 13:3, 76:6; 90:5; Jeremiah 51:57; Matthew 27:52; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52; Acts 7:60; 13:36; 1 Corinthians 11:30; 15:18, 20; 1 Thessalonians 4:14, 15).

Clearly, then, in both Old and New Testaments this is the term the Bible writers used to describe death. To them it was a sleep in Jesus. Sleep is a beautiful illustration of death. It is like going to bed at night, when we are tired, with assurance of waking in the morning. This takes fear out of death for the Christian. They lie down to sleep, with the quiet assurance that Jesus will awaken them in the morning of the resurrection at His second coming.

We are to regard death as a sound, dreamless sleep. A person may have been in the tomb 1,000 years, but when raised at the resurrection it will seem to him that he merely dozed off for a moment. When angels meet God’s resurrected saints at their grave side, it will be like a loving mother greeting her child after a brief nap. Matthew 24:31, “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Man is not immortal. He is subject to death. But God’s people do, indeed, have eternal life now. Eternal life is that miraculous, new, Jesus-filled life, which begins at conversion and will be continued in heaven. God’s promise is that His faithful people, who now have eternal life, will not suffer the second death. Revelation 2:11, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” From this death there is no resurrection. The first death, which all men must die, does not remove the gift of eternal life. It only interrupts it while the saints sleep briefly. It continues in heaven after the resurrection.

Think of it for a moment. If your mother died and was in heaven, would she be happy? How could she be seeing you struggle and seeing war, poverty, problems, and hardship? No! God’s plan is much better! Our loved ones are peacefully sleeping. Let’s go on now and see what the Bible says. Ecclesiastes 9:5- 6, “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” The “dead know not anything, no love, have no hate or envy,” et cetera.

Here, however, we run into a real question. If the dead sleep in Jesus, and they know not anything, then what about all we read and hear about dead people who seem to return and appear to others? What about the spirits of the dead that communicates with the living, and these spirit beings that channel messages? What about those who actively communicate with various loved ones who have died? If this is really our deceased loved ones and truly the dead who have come back, then the Bible is a lie. Make no mistake about it, the devil can work miracles too. Revelation 16:14, “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.”

The devil take advantage of grieving hearts and knows people would do anything to see their loved ones, and he can impersonate them to make people believe his lie, that “you shall not surely die.” All the spiritualism, the New Age, and witchcraft is based on this teaching. Satan can deceive us unless we know the truth. The Bible makes it clear. Job 7:8- 10, “The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him anymore.” Job 16:22, “When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.”

In Ecclesiastes 9:10, God says “there is no work, device, or knowledge in the grave.  “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

There is a story of a young boy, going to his first funeral. There in an open casket lay a deceased gentleman, Mr. Jones. As the service went on the minister said, “I can just see Mr. Jones up in heaven, walking on streets of gold, in the company of angels.” The young lad was thinking, “That’s funny, I am looking at Mr. Jones and he’s right here in the casket!” It became more complicated though when he got to the grave site where the casket was lowered. Here the same minister then spoke of how we didn’t have to grieve because on the resurrection day Mr. Jones would rise from the grave and be caught up to heaven! The young boy was confused! He saw Mr. Jones in the casket, then the preacher said he was in heaven, and now he said he’s in the grave waiting for the resurrection? Something’s wrong! Where is He? Let’s make it simple. First do the dead praise the Lord? Psalms 115:17, “The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.”

Let’s put it all together.

Job makes it so simple. Job 14:12- 14, “So man lies down, and rises not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that thou would hide me in the grave, that thou would keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.”

Three points. Man is in the grave until:

• “The heavens be no more.” 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
• “Till thy wrath is past.” Revelation 15:1, “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.”
• “Till my change comes.” When will the dead be changed? At the second coming! 1 Corinthians 15:51- 54, “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Notice all three passages refer to the second coming of Jesus. It just makes sense! If you really didn’t die, then why would you need a resurrection? Our eternal life will begin at the second coming! Mark 10:29- 30, “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” So when we die, we wait to be resurrected, and while we wait for the resurrection, we sleep in the grave. Job 17:13, “If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.”

And God will not forget you. He has guardian angels that follows you through life, death and the funeral. (Psalm 91:11, Psalm 34:7, Hebrews 1:14) When the Lord comes He will tell the angels to “gather my elect from the four corners of the earth.” (Matthew 24:31) Jesus shall say to the north “give up” and to the south, “keep not back” bring my sons and daughters from afar.  (Isaiah 43:6)

There will be two groups of people when Jesus comes. The righteous and the wicked. Both will come up at the resurrection. And both are in the grave until then. None of the dead are in purgatory or in heaven, all are waiting until Jesus comes. 1 Thessalonians 4:13- 18, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” That’s beautiful! The dead shall rise! When will they rise? When Jesus comes! Then we all go together. The Lord will raise our loved ones who have been sleeping! All are going together, getting excited together, and are changed together! Then this mortal becomes immortal and this corruptible puts on incorruption. Jesus said in John 14:1- 3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

When Jesus comes, the wicked will be slain by the brightness of His coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8, “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” They will not live again until after the 1,000 years. Revelation 20:5, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” In verse 6, God says blessed are the ones in the first resurrection! Therefore we can look forward to that glorious day as did Paul! 2 Timothy 4:6- 8, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” Paul knew he would receive his reward on that day – Christ’s appearing.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

And because He lives, we too shall live! For death will be the last enemy destroyed. Revelation 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Let’s determine that whether we live to see Jesus come, or if we die and sleep until the resurrection day, we will be ready at each moment to meet our Lord.

BIBLE PASSAGES ABOUT DEATH EXPLAINED.

Question: Didn’t Jesus tell the thief “Today you will be with me in paradise?”

The text in question is Luke 23:42- 43, “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

From reading this it appears that Jesus did promise the thief he would go to paradise that day. However if that’s true we are faced with three problems.

1. The thief did not ask to go that day. He had his theology straight, and asked to be

remembered when Jesus comes in His kingdom.

2. Jesus did not go that day. Three days after He told Mary not to touch Him, for He

had not ascended to the Father (John 20:17).

3. The thief could not have gone that day! John 19:30- 34 records how the thieves

legs were broken as the sabbath began. This was because the Jews did not want crosses up on the sabbath, so they would take them down and break the legs of those on the cross to hasten death and prevent escape. The thieves lived on after Jesus died.

The simple answer to this is in the Greek text. Greek does not have punctuation as we know it. This is supplied by scholars as they translated into English. However in Luke 23:43 the scholars simply misplaced a comma that changed the entire meaning of the verse. They put the comma before the word today. Change it, and the text is in perfect harmony with all the other Bible verses. It now reads “Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.” Jesus gave the thief the assurance of salvation that day, and will remember him just when he asked to be, when Jesus comes in His kingdom.  (There are other examples of this, one such is Acts 19:12.)

Question: Doesn’t Paul teach “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord?”

This text has been misquoted for so long, people assume that’s what it says. It doesn’t. Let’s read it – 2 Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

The question here is when will this take place? Paul would rather be absent from the body and present with the Lord. So would all of us!

Notice this is Second Corinthians or the second letter Paul wrote the Corinthians. In the first letter I Corinthians 15 Paul had already told them when he would be absent from the body and with the Lord. Verses 51- 55, “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Also in His closing testimony Paul again affirmed when. 2 Tim 4:6- 8, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

All Paul is saying here quite literally is that he would rather be absent from the body and not just absent from the body; and to be present with the Lord.

Our next study, we will study the topic of Hell and Hellfire.  How does the topic of Hell and hellfire square with God’s love and mercy.

The post Prophecy 11 – Death first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

Since the Ten Commandments are a transcript of God’s character it comes as no surprise to discover that they contain the seal of the living God. While some commandments contain God’s name, the fourth commandment alone contains all three elements.

Exodus 20:8-11, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” 

Those elements of the seal of God are found in verse 11: God’s name—the Lord; His authority—made (Creator), His region of governance—heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is. There is a most important reason why the seal of the living God is located in the fourth commandment. This commandment commences, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8)

There is only one manner in which we can truly keep God’s Sabbath and that is in holiness. In order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. If one has stolen a hundred dollars during the week and has not confessed that sin nor made restitution, no matter how earnestly that individual may worship the Lord on the holy Sabbath day, he has not kept the Sabbath day holy. It is little wonder that the Jews referred to Friday as the preparation day. It was a day to examine each heart and make right any wrongs so that the Sabbath could be kept in holiness unto the Lord.

Thus the Sabbath is the key to obedience to God’s law, for it is only as we obey each one of the other nine commandments that we can keep the Sabbath holy. The Sabbath commandment with its intrinsic call to a holy life is the only commandment which centers on our total character. Thus it was most appropriate that God placed His seal within this commandment, for the seal of the living God is Christ’s character within the heart. Indeed the entire Bible has as its theme God’s loving offer of the gift of His seal. This is the purpose for its presence in the very first verse of Scripture. It is the reason that it is found in the very last message God in His love gives to mankind.

When Christ related the signs of His coming to His disciples, He made a very important promise which was also a prophecy.  Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”  

It will be observed that at this time Christ did not specify the precise content of this last message to mankind to be presented prior to His Second Coming. However, in the Book of Revelation this message is expounded. It is termed, for obvious reasons, the three angels’ messages. We have already referred to the third angel’s message concerning God’s wrath upon those who receive the mark of the beast. This is the last of the three angels’ messages. The introduction to these messages specifically states that they are the gospel messages to be taken worldwide.

Revelation 14:6, “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”  If we examine the first of these three messages we discover that it contains the seal of the living God. Indeed the final portion, referring to the all-important subject of worship, is almost an exact quotation of the last portion of the fourth commandment.  Revelation 14:7, “Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”  Notice that this message contains the three mandatory elements of the seal—God’s name (God), His authority (made), and the territory of His rulership (heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of water).

Indeed the great purpose of Scripture is to offer to every human being the seal of the living God, for God is unwilling that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9).

The Sabbath day is of the greatest significance, for full obedience to this commandment ensures a sanctified life.  Ezekiel 20:12, “Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.”  The Sabbath will be observed in the new earth, for only holy people reside there.  Isaiah 66:22, 23, “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.”

If Sabbath observance is the external sign of the seal of the living God, then clearly the adherence to a counterfeit Sabbath, one which God has never blessed or hallowed, is the external sign of the mark of the beast as we come to the close of earth’s history. Each symbolizes the character of its founder. The seventh-day Sabbath was instituted by Christ; the counterfeit Sabbath promoted in the pope’s 1998 Apostolic Letter, Dies Domini, entered the Christian church via paganism, as confirmed by the Baptist author, Dr. Edward Hiscox.

There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath Day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week. . . . Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament—absolutely not. . . . Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from the Christian Fathers, and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, when adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism! (Dr. Edward T. Hiscox (author of the Baptist Manual), Source Book, pp. 513, 514).

The pope’s claim that Sunday worship was instituted to remember the resurrection of Christ carries with it no thread of biblical unction. It is not “Easter which returns week by week,” as the pope asserted. If we are to construct a human basis for the selection of a day of worship, some surely would select Friday, the day of Christ’s crucifixion. Others would select Thursday, the day of the first Communion service.

It was the lack of Scriptural support for Sunday observance which caused the Council of Trent (convened 1545—1563) to deny the Bible as the lone rule of faith. The Council of Trent was called to counter the Protestant Reformation. At one point the bishops present were evenly divided as to whether it would be a good ploy to follow the Protestant lead and declare the Bible as the sole source of faith and doctrine, or to retain church authority and tradition, in addition to Scripture, as the rule of faith.

The newly founded Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) perceptively recognized that if the Scriptures alone were the rule of faith, the Catholic Church would lose its mandate for Sunday observance.  The Jesuits found in Cardinal Gaspare de Fosso, Archbishop of Reggio, a city in the “toe” of Italy, one who acknowledged their reasoning. The day following his discussions with the Jesuits, January 18, 1562, Cardinal de Fosso arose in the Council of Trent and stated, Such is the condition of the heretics [Protestants] of this age that on nothing do they rely more than that, under the pretence of the Word of God, they overthrow the authority of the Church. . . . The authority of the Church, then, is illustrated most clearly by the Scriptures; for while on the one hand she recommends them, declares them to be divine . . . on the other hand, the legal precepts in the Scriptures taught by the Lord have ceased by virtue of the same authority. The Sabbath, the most glorious day of the law, has been changed into the Lord’s day.

Here church authority and church tradition are placed above the Scripture. Cardinal de Fosso’s argument swayed the thinking of the assembled bishops; and the Council of Trent entrenched church authority as at least equal, and in practice, above Scripture, as its authority for faith, practice, and doctrine. Unfortunately, the rash of Christian “conversions” from paganism which transpired after the “conversion” of Emperor Constantine I, led to the introduction of many pagan religious practices to which a veneer of Christianity was applied. Worship on the first day of the week, Sunday, was just one of these practices. The truth that Christ rose on that day was a convenient veneer to apply to that rite of paganism.

The end-time prophecy of Revelation 13:15—17, warning of the enactment of dire penalties for those who refuse to receive the mark of the beast, provides cause to ponder John Paul’s call for civil legislation to ensure Sunday observance. The new canons call for unspecified penalties for any person who teaches contrary to the Roman Catholic Church. The new canon 1371 states:

The following are to be punished with a just penalty:

1.  a person who, apart from the case mentioned in canon 1364, teaches a doctrine condemned by the Roman Pontiff, or by an Ecumenical Council, or obstinately rejects the teachings mentioned in Canon 750 s 2, or in Canon 752 and, when warned by the Apostolic See or by the Ordinary, does not retract;
2.  a person who in any other way does not obey the lawful command or prohibition of the Apostolic See or the Ordinary or the Superior and, after being warned, persists in disobedience. (Canon 1371 cited in the pope’s Apostolic Letter of May 28, 1998 entitled Ad Tuendam Fidem)

Such a canon generates considerable concern for all lovers of the principles of religious liberty and freedom of conscience. We emphasize that this was a twentieth century canon, not one enacted in the fifteenth century.  It is time to raise, once more, the cry of religious liberty around the lands of this earth. (See the book entitled, Liberty in the Balance authored by Colin and Russell Standish.) It is time to study Scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is time to “make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). It is time to eschew all non-Scriptural doctrines and practices. It is time to seek God with the whole heart.

Let us recapitulate the Biblical evidence defining the seal of the living God and mark of the beast.  At the close of earth’s history every individual will have heard the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14:6—12. It is preached “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6). Those who accept Christ’s salvation receive the seal of the living God. Those who reject it receive the mark of the beast.  Those who receive the seal of the living God will have developed the character of Christ which the Bible summarizes as two characteristics—He did no sin and no guile was found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). This is demonstrated in the life by true Sabbath keeping, for the Sabbath is the commandment of character, since it may be kept only in holiness. Holiness is the possession of Christ’s character.

The mark of the beast is received by those who develop the character of Satan, a character of rebellion against God. This is manifested by observing a counterfeit day of worship—the day of paganism, Sunday, a day of worship for which the Bible provides no mandate.  Those who receive the mark of the beast will receive eternal destruction. This is an act of love by God, for they would never find happiness among holy beings, and their continued sin would insure the eternal pollution of the universe.  Those who receive the seal of the living God receive eternal life; for in Christ’s strength and through His spilled blood, they have been fitted for heaven. The choice is ours today.

Consider this story.  I use this story to illustrate the issue of the Sabbath.

The creator tells us that he loves us and wants to know us.  He understands we are busy, but has set aside time to spend with us every Sabbath, or Saturday and He will be in the park in the centre of the city.  You are excited, but you can’t go on Saturday, but Sunday works for you.  And every Sunday you go to the park.  It feels great to go every week, and you feel connected with God.  You even invite people to go with you to the park on Sunday, some of them even making signs and holding them up declaring their love for God.  Every Sunday the park gets more full with happy devoted people that are there to spend time with God.  But sadly at the end, as Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, they realize that they did not make it into heaven.  The ask God desperately “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?”  Sadly, Jesus speaks of people that thought they were doing His will.  Think on this, in order to prophecy, or do wonderful works, or cast out devils, i am sure they spent much time in prayer!  But Jesus declares that He never knew them and called them workers on iniquity.

It is possible to believe that you are doing God’s will and be lost.  So how do you know?  How do you know that you actually know God?  Well, what does God say about this in His word? 1 John 3:3,4, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Philippians 2:12, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

The post Prophecy 10 – The Sabbath first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.