Category Archives: Angels

The Kingdom of Glory has Territory, 5 of 15

Posted on by
Reply

“38 the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the kingdom; and the darnel are the children of the evil one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.”
Mtt 13:38-39

The owner of this “field” is the man who sowed good seed “in his field,” Mtt 13:24. Jesus said plainly that He was that man, Mtt 13:37 Further it is more than this present world, for once again Jesus said,

… “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.”
Mtt 28:18

For Jesus is source of ALL things

“For by him were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.”
Col 1:16

Everything is “for him.” If we serve Him we have only fulfilled our original purpose, and He is the only source of life.

“3 All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made.”
Jn 1:3

You see, sin is not just an earthly thing.

In fact it started in the spiritual world before it started in the material world. It was a powerful renegade from the spiritual world who first seduced mankind into sin. I am speaking of Satan himself. The angels are not perfect, as has been noted repeatedly in these blogs and in my books.

“Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones;
Yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight:”
Job 15:15

Or again,

“Behold, he puts no trust in his servants.
He charges his angels with error.”
Job 4:18

The angels, although much more powerful than men 2Pe 3:11, are moral being like us. Evidently most of the angels are still faithful to God. When Revelation describing the war in heaven in symbolic terms, it puts it this way.

“3 Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. 4 His tail drew one third of the stars of the sky, and threw them to the earth.”
Rev 12:3-4

We are told clearly that this great red dragon is “… is called the devil and Satan,. …” Rev 12:9. So Rev 12:3-4 is telling us that Satan was able to draw a third of the angels in all creation into his revolt. That means that two-thirds of them are still faithful to God.

Faithful … but not perfect beings!

And Jesus is not just reconciling mankind to himself.

“19 For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him; 20 and through him to reconcile ALL things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.”
Col 1:19-20

Jesus is the true Master of the Universe.

His territory includes ALL that exists, Mtt 28:18, both this universe and the one to come.

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

The Kingdom of Glory: Everyone MUST Submit to Jesus of Nazareth, 2 of 15

Posted on by
Reply

All powers, all individuals, must submit to Him.

Psalm 22 describes in detail Jesus death.

It was written about a thousand years before Christ by the prophet David, written in the first person of a Roman style crucifixion which happened centuries later. Only very subtly does it deal with His resurrection. Psalm 22 also says.

The book Prophecy Principles gives a detailed study of Psalm 22 and how Bible prophecy actually works. Avaialble from your bookseller.

“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.”
Psa 22:27 KJV

But in our day of course, we are still sending out missionaries, and have by no means reached the “ends of the world.” Then it says of this one who dies and yet lives, whom all the world will remember,

“All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him,
Even he who can’t keep his soul alive.”
Psa 22:29

Who will bow down before this One? Even the rich (the KJV says “All they that be fat upon earth”). And “All those who go down to the dust”? That would be everyone who has to die! And all of us have to die.

“Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment,”
Heb 9:27

So that means all of mankind, and that is also emphasized in the final phrase in Psa 22:29: “Even he who can’t keep his soul alive.”

Paul gives an even wider statement of these things.

He says in Philippians chapter two that we should also the mind of Christ, who was willing to humble Himself all the way to death on the cross, Phil 2:5-8.

“Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;”
Phil 2:9

How so Paul, how wide is to be Jesus power and dominance?

“10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ”
Phil 2:10-11

So it is just those on earth who have bow
and worship Jesus the Christ?

It is also everyone who is heaven, and everyone that is under the earth. We are not really fighting against other people.

“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Eph 6:12

We are actually fighting “the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Some of them are presently under the earth, although they will be released for short time just before the end of the age (Revelation 9, Rev 16:14, Rev 20:7, etc.).

But every king, every ruler, every spiritual power good or bad will have to bow before Jesus the Christ, and admit He is the supreme Lord to the glory of God the Father.

KJV is the King James Version, 1611.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripures are from the WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Out of Egypt, 15 of 15

Posted on by
Reply

And the grand Exodus occurs … from this world itself!

The beast is able force the entire world to worship him as god, except for a few Christians. Evidently many Christians also worship the beast. Many also are killed or imprisoned. But also there is

Once more in the wilderness, just like ancient Israel!

Many Christians also seek refuge from the beast by fleeing into the wilderness!

“The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty days.”
Rev 12:6

So many are protected in the wilderness during the entire reign of the beast, in “a place prepared by God,” Rev 12:6; and away “from the face of the serpent,” Rev 12:14.

It is true that they try to pursue them in the wilderness, and it is daunting to think of such pursuit thinking of modern imaging techniques. But it says,

“15 The serpent spewed water out of his mouth after the woman like a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream. 16 The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon spewed out of his mouth.”
Rev 12:15-16

So even the earth will help the righteous in those terrible last days.

It will be terrible times on ALL men, not just Christians. Even Jesus, though, asks,

“… Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Lk 18:8

Then will come the greatest Exodus of all time.

There will all sort of signs on the earth and in the heavens. Notice carefully, we will NOT know the day or the hour, but we will know when it is near.

“But you, brothers, aren’t in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief.”
1Thes 5:4

Jesus says,

“25 There WILL be SIGNS in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; 26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
Lk 21:25-26

Again Jesus says,

“But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”
Lk 21:28

That is clearly not written of the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem. That did NOT bring redemption near for either Jews, or gentiles, or Christians. It only fits the end of this universe.

And finally to heaven itself … the true promised land.

This will be when God’s faithful of all ages are raised from the dead, in sight of all of their enemies. The angels will gather God’s

“… chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Mtt 24:31 KJV

“17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever.”
1Thes 4:17

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

KJV is the King James Version of 1611

Prophecy Practice: Out of Egypt, 7 of 15

Posted on by
Reply

Egypt is also a place of magic and enchantments.

Much is told about these things history, and in the monuments of Egypt, and it shows up in Scripture from time to time. When the Pharaoh of the time of Joseph had his troubling dream, he first approached “all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men of it,” Gen 41:8. Such was common in the ancient world.

So when Aaron threw his rod down and it became a snake,

Pharaoh called “his wise men and the sorcerers,” and they did the same with “their enchantments,” Ex 7:11.

Paul compares the magicians of Egypt to
false teachers of the Christian age.

There has always been a certain fascination among some with secret knowledge. Some of this was mere tricks such as is seen with modern stage magicians. Some of this was primitive forms of chemistry and drugs, and indeed the later alchemists of medieval times sort of morphed into what is now modern chemistry. Some of this relied on hypnotizing the audience, with or without drugs, so that people “saw” what was intended.

Finally, some at least pretended that they were relying on supernatural spirits or so called “gods.” This last is the most ambiguous of all. It is true that angels are more powerful than men, 2Pe 2:11. Satan is powerful angel who has gone bad, and we saw in earlier lessons that he is capable of powerful works in nature (Job chapters 1 and 2), and that he can put ideas into men’s heads, as we can also see in Job 1 and 2, and also in our own lives. He is called “the devil and his angels,” Mtt 25:41. Further, these angels turned bad are also called demons, and “principalities” and “powers” and “the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age,” Eph 6:12, and that is what we as human beings are fighting against. Moreover when we worship other “gods” we are actually worshiping demons, Deut 32:17, 1Cor 10:19-20.

Two of the Egyptian magicians are named by Paul in 2Tim 3:8, Jannes and Jambres, and they are viewed as men who know that their own claims were fraudulent, but were still opposing Moses. Modern false teachers are said to be like these men.

“Even as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so do these also oppose the truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith.”
2Tim 2:8

These are things we should avoid.

It is not a matter of whether these things sometimes may seem to “work.” Sorcery/witchcraft is one of the works of the flesh in Gal 5:20.

“There shall not be found with you anyone … who practices sorcery, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, 11 or a charmer, … or a wizard, or a necromancer.”
Deut 18:10-11

Spectacular signs will be given by Satan before the
final Exodus out of this world.

The man of lawlessness/the beast,

“even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,”
2Thes 2:9

These signs will almost be enough to fool the chosen of God, Mtt 24:24.

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

The Rapture? Part 2 of 3

Posted on by
Reply

“Rapture” teachings that you hear are also filled with many other ideas. Not least is both a Second Coming and a perhaps a third coming. A third coming is implicit in much premillenial teaching. In some of these teachings there is even a “secret” coming of Christ to covertly snatch up His faithful ones. However,

The Second Coming will not be secret.

“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and EVERY eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen. ”
Rev 1:7 WEB

“26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will SEE the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
Lk 21:26-27 WEB (emphasis added)

Scripture does NOT teach both a second and third coming,

but only a Second Coming. In Scripture the Second Coming is associated with the passing away of this present universe.

“24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.”
Mk 13:24 KJV

“26 whose voice shook the earth, then, but now he has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken, let us have grace, through which we serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe”
Heb 12:26-28 WEB

Perhaps a Secret (??) Taking Out
of the Followers of Christ.

When the “man of lawlessness,” 2Thes 2:3, “sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God,” 2Thes 2:4, then the active suppression of all Christians starts.

When it starts that “All who dwell on the earth will worship him,” Rev 13:8, and the abomination of desolation is set up, then,

Christians are to IMMEDIATELY run for cover

“16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house. 18 Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes.”
Mtt 24:16-19 WEB

Armies are sent to capture all Christians

“8 … the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up over the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, …”
Rev 20:8-9 WEB

Physical Israel (who will be Christians in those days) and all true believers, will have to be rounded up. Ezekiel 38 pictures Gog and Magog combing the globe for believers.

KJV is the King James Version, 1611.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Keys To Prophecy: Yes, God Protects His Own.

Posted on by
Reply

It is true that the wicked aims to kill the righteous.

“For, behold, the wicked bend their bows.
They set their arrows on the strings,
That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.”
Psa 11:2

These are the very ones,

“Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
And aim their arrows, deadly words,”
Psa 64:3

Still we should see that the threats of the wicked are not all of the story, for God shoots back, Psa 64:7, and so on. Further,

If you live with God, He WILL protect you.

We are talking about the man who places his confidence in God’s protection. The man who lives with God.

“1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in whom I trust.” ”
Psa 91:1-2

What then will God do for this man?

“3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler,
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
Under his wings you will take refuge.
His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.”
Psa 91:3-6

You will only see these things

“7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes,
And see the recompense of the wicked. ”
Psa 91:7-8

In verse 8 at least, it jumps to eternal things, “you” seeing the punishment of the wicked!

Why would God do these things?

“9 Because you have made Yahweh your refuge,
And the Most High your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall happen to you,
Neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11 For he will give his angels charge over you,
To guard you in all your ways. ”
Psa 91:9

That is definitely in line with Psalm 34.

“The angel of Yahweh encamps round about those who fear him,
And delivers them. ”
Psa 34:7

But, Wait a minute Preacher, Psalm 91 is about Jesus!

Yes, it is quoted by the devil in Mtt 4:6 and Lk 4:10-11. OK, then you tell me how it fits Jesus, who died on a cross! It is all the same issue! But Jesus still says not a jot or a tittle of Scripture can fail, Mtt 5:18. However, Jesus survived the cross and lived! And you my Christian friend, are you not in Jesus, having the same protection!

Of you who dwell In the shadow of the Most High it says,

“He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him, and honor him.” Psa 91:15

Or did you not believe? Or where do you really live?

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

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 5 of 12

Posted on by
Reply

Please excuse this small aside on some
basics about prophecy.

Time after time we see the prophets turn from the immediate thing they are forecasting, to the end of all things. An excellent example can be seen in Hebrews chapter one.

“10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the works of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you continue.
They all will grow old like a garment does.
12 As a mantle you will roll them up,
And they will be changed;
But you are the same.
Your years will not fail.””
Heb 1:10-12

In Hebrew one the author is comparing the role of angels and the role of the Son, Jesus the Christ. In Heb 1:8-9 it quotes Psalm 45 “of the Son,” and then in verse 10 he says, “And,” and then quotes Psa 102:25-27 in verses 10-12 as seen above.

Now what does Heb 1:10-12 say?

Well, in the beginning (how far back is that?) God created the heavens and the earth. Then he points out in verse 11 that the heavens and the earth will grow old, and then in verse 12 the author says the heavens and earth will be rolled up and put away like an old coat that is worn out! Well! That clearly has not happened yet! So how much time is between Heb 1:10 and Heb 1:12? I honestly have no idea, but it is a great deal of time in human terms. Still there is no indication of the passage of time, except perhaps the assumption of time for the heavens and the earth to grow old!

Unfulfilled prophecies

Even so, notice clearly that Heb 1:12 is talking about the end of this present world! As we have noted, that has NOT happened yet. So here is an unfulfilled prophecy in the New Testament, and that is a quoted from Psa 102:26 and that is clearly an unfulfilled prophecy from the Old Testament.

And what does the author of Hebrews
do next?

He goes right back to discussing how things are setup in this world at this present time.

“But of which of the angels has he said at any time,
“Sit at my right hand,
Until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?””
Heb 1:13

But wait a minute! That was the end of
the world in Heb 1:12!

Right! And then he goes right back to talking about the present in verses 13 and 14, and all the rest of the book of Hebrews. At times he comes back to the subject of the end of the world again, for instance in Heb 12:26-29.

And so do ALL the prophets!

They will talk about the subject at hand, as Mic 4:2 talks about the coming of the gospel, then relates how all of these things will turn out, as when Jesus makes all wars cease, as Micah 4:3, and later talk about other things which must happen before the end.

This is a consistent pattern in prophecy, and you should expect it.

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

Common Pitfalls in Interpretation, Part 13

Posted on by
Reply

Misunderstandings can cause confusion.

Now saints and the holy ones are a big subject in Scripture. The main Hebrew word is qodesh. It has the idea of setting something apart, dedicating it to a special service, or work. It can refer to special day that is set aside, as the Sabbath day, Ex 20:8. It can refer to a spirit, the living God, of whom it is said,

“Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods?
Who is like you, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders? ”
Ex 15:11 WEB

It can refer to an assembly for a holy purpose (Ex 12:16), or a holy place (Ex 3:5), or even a holy nation, the people of God (Ex 19:6). It is the Old Testament word for the saints, those purified by the Lord,

“As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.”
Psa 16:3 WEB

And there is the phrase “holy ones.”

It might refer to a place or a thing that is holy, or even a person or an angel that is holy. The New Testament word is hagios, and it has the same range of meanings.

And certain beings come with God, both in history,
and at the Second Coming.

It is clearly angels which are spoken of iater times.

“ …Yahweh came from Sinai, …
He came from the ten thousands of holy ones:”
Deut 33:2 WEB

It is clearly not talking about men. There are “holy angels,” and one appeared to Cornelius in Acts 10:22.

But who does Jesus come with at the end of our age?

And there are some startling passages.

“… Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, ”
Jude 14 KJV

The Lord is coming with His “saints”? How does this come to be? When Paul discusses this he says that those who are alive will arise to meet Jesus in the air, 1Thes 4:17, preceded by the resurrected saints of old, 1Thes 4:16. But in Jude 14 KJV it has Jesus coming with saints! What is going on here? How can this be? I never stopped to study it out as a young man, but this greatly mystified me.

Qodesh or hagios can mean EITHER a holy person
(a saint), OR a holy angel, OR
a holy thing or place.

The phrase is often just the word “holy” by itself, with the context left to determine if it is a holy thing, or person, or angel. Sometimes translations simply say “holy ones,” as many translations have it Jude 14.

So who does Jesus come with at the end?

He comes with his holy angels, and can be easily proved from verse after verse.

“… the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Mk 8:38 WEB

And when Jesus comes again He will send out his angels to gather His elect, Mtt 24:31. When even some translators confuse the issues, it can muddle the thinking of many.

KJV is the King James Version, 1611.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Common Pitfalls in Interpretation, Part 11

Posted on by
Reply

We have False Expectations about what will happen,
or what God will do.

Such things are all over the map, depending on what your particular beliefs are. Quite often our personal beliefs about God and the Bible are not really from Scripture but from popular summaries or narratives about Scripture. Even among Christians these things are often so. Or to put it another way, our faith is often in the doctrines and commandments of men (compare Mtt 15:9). Our faith is often not genuine Biblical faith. We are often NOT like the noble Bereans (Acts 17:11), we are not searching the Scriptures to see if these things are so. Often we need to not merely confirm what an individual verse says, but also need to see how the impressions we initially receive fit with the rest of Scripture.

Sometimes we are merely unnecessarily dogmatic about what God does or doesn’t do, without really searching for possible exceptions from what we might read in one place.

These sorts of things can dumb us down in our reactions to what we hear.

The Sadducees had a “this is all about this
present world” view of Scripture.

“For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess all of these.”
Acts 23:8

That means they had an tremendous amount of Scripture to explain away or to deny it authenticity. These were very dark lenses through which they were reading the Bible. Hopefully you and I are not making such gross mistakes in perspective, but still, even without realizing it, we may almost unconsciously put on light blocking shades when we read certain passages, or study certain subjects, and these things often make it hard for us to see certain Bible subjects clearly.

The Sadducees approached Jesus with a question
about eternity in Matthew 22.

Seven men had at one time or another married one particular woman, but none of them had a child by the woman. One by one they all died, and lastly the woman died (Mtt 22:23-27). Then they at last sprang what they thought was a foolproof trap to show the absurdity of believing in a resurrection from the dead.

“In the resurrection therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her.”
Mtt 22:28

Jesus said they were “mistaken, not knowing the
Scriptures, nor the power of God.” Mtt 22:29

Although they probably read the Scriptures everyday, they were so blinded by their own overviews of Scripture that they came to not really know the Scriptures. Their strange glasses distorted everything that they read in the Bible.

And they did not know or understand the power of God. If an almighty God can take mere dirt and turn it into something as complex as a human being, how small a thing would it be for Him to raise them from death? He went on to say that in the resurrection people neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven, Mtt 22:30.

We need to really listen to whatever God says,

and not push our own expectations off on God.

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