Monthly Archives: January 2021

Prophecy Practice: Out of Egypt, 14 of 15

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By Mighty acts of Judgment God delivers His people

When God’s people in the Old Testament were totally under the power of Pharaoh, and needed deliverance from the power of the Egypt of this world, so that they might have their own land in the promised land of Canaan, God led them to freedom by mighty acts of judgment on an evil ruler, the Pharaoh of Egypt and his people.

When in the New Testament God’s people will be totally under the power of the beast, and need deliverance so that they might have their own land in the promised land of Heaven, God will lead them to freedom by mighty acts of judgment on an evil ruler, the beast of this world and those who worship him.

This is for a relatively short period of time.

Satan is allowed to reign only for the short time a of time of 3-1/2 years, which called 1260 days (Rev 11:3), 42 months (Rev 11:2, 13:5), and “time, times, and half a time,” (Dan 7:25, 12:7, Rev 12:14). It does say that the beast “overcomes” the church, the saints. Daniel is told that this will last,

“… for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Dan 12:7

Further it should be noted that Daniel deals with both the final events, and also with ancient kings who are symbolic of the final events. So how is the release of God’s people to be accomplished?

God will respond with might acts of judgment on
the kingdom of the beast and his followers

Always remember that the book of Revelation is a series of parallel, overlapping, cumulative visions. Putting them end to end, makes no more sense than putting the parables of the kingdom in the Gospels end to end.

These mighty acts of judgement are mentioned Revelation 11 with the testimony of the two witnesses. More is in chapters 15 and 16 when it talks about the seven last bowls of wrath, the last plagues which will be poured out on the earth. It mentions specifically,

“The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain,”
Rev 16:10

The plagues that fall toward the end, are remarkably similar to the plagues
that fell on Egypt in the book of Exodus!

In Rev 16:2 it mentions “a harmful and evil sore on the people who had the mark of the beast, and who worshiped his image.” In Rev 16:3-4 “the sea become blood,” and the rivers and springs of water became blood. All of which seems to be described from a different point of view in Rev 8:8-9. These things are specifically mentioned as punishment for spilling the blood of Christians, Rev 16:5. The world is also scorched with heat from the sun. And Rev 9:3-11 seems to speaks a plague of locusts, which seem to spiritual locusts, to afflict only those who do not have the seal of God.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible WEB, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901.

Prophecy Practice: Out of Egypt, 13 of 15

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And the “god of this world” 2Cor 4:4, overcomes the church.

This is actually a subject of several prophesies, but the one that catches the eye of many is in Revelation 13. The passage in Revelation 13 is obviously parallel to 2Thessalonians 2, that is the say that the “beast” is the “man of sin,” (or “of lawlessness,” depending on your translation). Both are worshipped by the entire world, all of the lost. Both are destroyed by Jesus Second Coming (2Thes 2:8, Rev 19:20). The man of lawlessness / sin is produced by the “mystery of lawlessness, which is already at work in the first century of our era, 2Thes 2:7. In Rev 13:1-2 the organization which produces the beast is called “a beast,” and it has seven heads (men who direct the organization), and ten horns / crowns, rulers who are part of the beast organization. So ten national rulers are part o the “beast” organization, which evidently is existing from at least the first century of our age.

Then one of the seven heads of the organization has a fatal wound and that fatal wound is healed, Rev 13:3. The whole world is fascinated by this one who is killed, yet has some sort of recovery. This head, one of the seven heads of the beast organization, then becomes “the beast,” Rev 13:3.

“The beast” is allowed to make war for forty-two months, or 3-1/2 years, Rev 13:5. This period of time is also referred to by the prophet Daniel. This beast blasphemes God and claims he is the one and only God, Rev 13:6 and 2Thes 2:4. This beast is given great temporary authority.

“It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him.”
Rev 13:7

No man has had authority over “every … nation” up till now. And no one has overcome the church world wide up to now. So this has NOT happened yet!

Everyone, whose name has not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world, will worship this beast , Rev 13:8, Rev 17:8. This means that everyone will worship this beast who is not a faithful Christian.

Notice carefully, the beast has AUTHORITY to BOTH make WAR with the saints (all true Christians), AND to CONQUER them!

We are talking about a situation where the saints (those sanctified, cleansed by the blood of Jesus) are completely overwhelmed, and that is plainly stated by the text. The word used in Rev 13:7 for the church being “overcome” is the Greek word nikao and it means to overcome, overpower, conquer, prevail, have the victory over. Nike the Greek “goddess” of victory derives her name from this word, and it a regular word for conquering a foe in battle.

So here is a situation very similar to when God’s people were
under the power of Pharaoh in Egypt.

They will be totally under the power of “the god of this world,” 2Cor 4:4. They will need rescue from power of this evil one.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible WEB, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901.

Prophecy Practice: Out of Egypt, Part 12

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And the Christian is called out of Egypt

“1 Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.”
1Cor 10:1-4

In such symbolism then Pharaoh represents the god of this world, this age, 2Cor 4:4. He has indeed held in us bondage. Christ came and took part of flesh and blood,

“14 … that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
Heb 2:14-15

The fear of death has kept us in line with “those who by nature are not gods.” Gal 4:8. Egypt represents the world system which is so corrupt.

“We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
1Jn 5:19

“… If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him.”
1Jn 2:15

Baptism is our separation from this world.

“3 Or don’t you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism to death, that just like Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.”
Rom 6:3-4

“7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him;”
Rom 6:7-8

We do our own wandering in a wilderness in the Christian life.

Just as ancient Israel did, we often lose our bearing when things do not go as expected. As they often fell apart and blamed God, and reject their faithful leaders in the Lord, so do we very often when things seem to go wrong, when it seems things are beyond even God’s control. Of course things never are beyond God’s control.

It would be a blessing to enter the promised land early.

It would have been a blessing if Israel had been willing to enter Canaan when they were first instructed. But ancient Israel was intimidated by their worldly adversaries, as we also often are, and then fell into sin, as we frequently do.

Sometimes, like ancient Israel, we may just wander around
in our desolate places until we perish.

We were delivered from Egypt, but loved our bondage to sin so much we perished in it, after being delivered to where we could live. Israel’s sins are warnings to us.

It doesn’t have to be that way!

“Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.”
1Cor 10:11

Scriptures are from the World English Bible WEB, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901.