An audio lesson.
How the end of the world is in many ways like when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. They were going to the earthly promised land of Canaan, and we are going a heavenly promised land in the New Heavens and the New Earth, Isa 65:17, and Isa 66:22, and 2Pe 3:13.
Listen to this audio lesson here, or click on the Audio Player to download as an MP3 file.
The basics of how Bible prophecy works is discussed in detail in Prophecy Principles.Available from you bookseller.
An audio lesson.
How the end of the world is many ways like when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. They were going to the earthly promised land of Canaan, and we are going a heavenly promised land in the New Heavens and the New Earth, Isa 65:17, and Isa 66:22, and 2Pe 3:13.
Listen to this audio lesson here, or click on the Audio Player to download as an MP3 file.
The basics of how Bible prophecy works is discussed in detail in Prophecy Principles.Available from you bookseller.
It starts here in the hearts of men.
“20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The Kingdom of God doesn’t come with observation; 21 neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”
Lk 17:20-21
Many kingdoms and powers exercise great authority without the source of the power being visible, or noticed, at least by most. The occult powers are especially aware of many powers exercising their influence and control without being seen. Two great mystery religions of the Christian Age exercise considerable influence and control all through the Christian Age. Some call these the “Deep State.” They are the Mystery of Lawlessness of 2Thessalonians 2, and Mystery Babylon the Great of the book of Revelation.These are important world swaying powers. The Mystery of Lawlessness is basically a Satanic group. I call Mystery Babylon the Great a “a religio-commerical entity” in Revealing the Christian Age.
“He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”
Mtt 13:33
So once again we have a verse of this Kingdom in time influencing this entire world to the point that (which is yet in the future for you and me) the leaven of this Kingdom is an influence all over this world “until it was all leavened.” There is to come a world-wide influence of Christianity which has not been seen so far.
The author of Hebrews speaks of these things, and says,
“For he didn’t subject the world to come, whereof we speak, to angels.”
Heb 2:5
You see this present universe will pass away. In Hebrews 1 it picture God as rolling up this present universe like an old coat and putting it away, Heb 1:10-12. Peter tells us of,
“But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness.”
2Pe 3:13
Isaiah also speaks of this perfect place.
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
Isa 65:17
What will it be like?
“23 They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Yahweh, and their offspring with them. 24 It shall happen that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, says Yahweh.”
Isa 65:23-25
A real world, without decay or things running down. A world which some call “heaven.”
Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
It seems Jesus is about half way through His ministry. He has sent his apostles out on the limited commission to just the Jews in Matthew 10. He warns them of dangers yet to come. Many good things have happened, but the Jews as a group have not been turning in repentance. Jesus is now causing conflict here on earth.
“34 Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 A man’s foes will be those of his own household.”
Mtt 10:34-37
John the Baptist has been seized and is now in prison, and there under confinement even needs some reassurance in Matthew 11.
Of those who turn to Jesus, Paul says,
“who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love;”
Col 1:13
That Greek word that is rendered as “translated” means someone whose state or status of being has been changed. They have become citizens of this embryonic kingdom. Even us gentiles now, “are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,” Eph 2:20.
This stone cut out of a mountain without hands (Dan 2:34), this kingdom, will yet, even in this age, become a great mountain which will fill the entire earth (Dan 2:35). Which means there many more things yet to happen, even in this age.
“All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.”
Mtt 11:27
None of us can do anything, except as God allows! And now the Father passes control of all to Jesus.
“he Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.”
Jn 3:35
“… “All things have been delivered to me by my Father.”
Lk 10:22
There is no need to be afraid.
“Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”
Lk 12:32
“27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
Jn 10:27-29
There are aspects and dimensions to this kingdom in the world to come, but its citizens and rulers are being assembled NOW!
“He who overcomes, … to him I will give authority over the nations.”
Rev 2:26
Things do not just wait for the end of the age. They are working now.
Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
With Jethro, Moses father in law, we need to understand,
“Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all gods because of the thing in which they dealt arrogantly against them.”
Ex 18:11
Perhaps the greatest tribute to God in all of Scripture is by David toward the end of his life.
“… You are blessed, Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come of you, and you rule over all; and in your hand is power and might; and it is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all.”
1Chron 29:10-13
He will indeed be treated in holy ways by all that come near Him. When the sons of Aaron treated lightly the rules for worshipping God, fire cam from before the Lord and killed them.
“Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying,
“‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, And before all the people I will be glorified.’””
Lev 10:3
As David wrote,
“Stand in awe, and don’t sin.
Search your own heart on your bed, and be still.”
Psa 4:4
At the end of his life David told his son Solomon,
“… if you seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.”
2Chron 28:9
When Jehoshaphat went to fight agains a large force of Moabites and Ammonites, the prophet told him,
“You shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand you still, and see the salvation of Yahweh with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed: tomorrow go out against them: for Yahweh is with you.”
2Chr 20:17
And God arranged, as He often does, for their enemies to destroy each other. As Paul put it,
“31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things?”
Rom 8:31-32
God is a sure refuge in a time of trouble. It has been that way from the beginning, and it will be that way all the way to the very end … no matter how bad it looks from a fleshly point of view. Even when the earth begins to melt.
Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
So Scripture pictures an open revolt against God, and His authority, and ALL rule and authority on earth. This is one of the main subjects of the book of Revelation, but is probably first pictured clearly in Psalm 2.
“Why do the nations rage,
And the peoples plot a vain thing?”
Psa 2:1
So it is the “nations,” plural that are in an uproar, are raging against God and His commandments, and it is “peoples” plural that are plotting against God! Further it is also the kings and presidents and dictators of the earth taking a stand against God Almighty.
“2 The kings of the earth take a stand,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against Yahweh, and against his anointed, saying, 3 “Let’s break their bonds apart,
And cast away their cords from us.””
Psa 2:2-3
They want their connections to Almighty God ended, their bonds to Him ended. Historically, such a wide open revolt against God has never happened! It is clearly pictured in the book of Revelation. This is, indeed, insanity in the extreme. Clearly they do not understand about God that,
“14 If he set his heart on himself,
If he gathered to himself his spirit and his breath;
15 All flesh would perish together,
And man would turn again to dust.”
Job 34:14-15
As we have seen, this world wide raging against God is also pictured in Psalm 46.
“4 He who sits in the heavens will laugh.
The Lord will have them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his anger,
And terrify them in his wrath:”
Psa 2:4-5
In Psalm 46 this is pictured as,
That is a summary of those chapters 19 and 20 in the book of Revelation.
There were some preliminaries of course. Trumpets of warning included famine, sword and plagues turning the sea to blood, and more, Revelation chapters 6 to 8. Other things are listed in Revelation chapters 14 to 16. Remember always that Revelation is a series of parallel visions, with the final visions placing more emphasis on the end things. David speaks of some of these things in Psalm 65.
“Who stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the turmoil of the nations.”
Psa 65:7
Jesus says,
“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;”
Lk 21:25
These are signs of the end.
“But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”
Lk 21:28
“… and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
2Pe 3:10
But it will be alright for God’s chosen ones.
Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
Yes, God is with her, this city, the city of God, the kingdom of God. At the right time He will help her.
But first must come the night ! Jesus warned of these things.
“I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.”
Jn 9:4
Jesus worked while He was here, and He has sent us also to work in His behalf. Even so, Jesus here points to a time when it will be impossible to work, that the labor to save souls will be over, that all who could be saved, will have been saved. It will be a point in time when all that is lacking is judgment. Jesus Himself told when the end would come.
“This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Mtt 24:14
The beast, the man of sin, man of lawlessness (depending on your translation) will be “revealed, the son of destruction,” 2Thes 2:3. In other words this man is characterized by destructive behavior.
“he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.”
2Thes 2:4
All those who do not have the love of God in their hearts will be turned over to this beast, by the Lord our God.
“10 … they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie; 12 that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
2Thes 2:10-12
No man up till now has had such power world wide. One man will for 3-1/2 years very near the end of our age. That will be the night, when no man can work. Then comes the dawn.
“The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the works of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.”
Rom 13:12
This may also be referred to in verses like,
“For his anger is but for a moment;
His favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may stay for the night,
But joy comes in the morning.”
Psa 30:5
Of the wicked, their dominion will have ended. Of the wicked it says,
“ They are appointed as a flock for Sheol.
Death shall be their shepherd.
… The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning.
Their beauty shall decay in Sheol,
Far from their mansion. ”
Psa 49:14
“Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”
Psa 90:14
Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
The first point here is that God is with this city of God, “In her midst.” Zechariah speaks of “the daughter of Zion,” Zech 2:10; and says,
“… and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that Yahweh of Hosts has sent me to you. ”
Zech 2:11
Moses said a similar thing to Israel of old.
”You shall not be scared of them; for Yahweh your God is in the midst of you, a great and awesome God.”
Deut 7:21
And he counseled Israel,
“for Yahweh your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you, and to give up your enemies before you; therefore shall your camp be holy, that he may not see an unclean thing in you, and turn away from you.”
Deut 23:14
So for instance in context Moses says they must bury their excrement, lest God walking through the camp see any unclean thing and be offended, and leave.
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:”
Heb 12:14 KJV
Oh? What does that mean? It means first of all that you cannot be in filthiness, sexually or figuratively. You cannot be walking in hatred of God or man, or in malice and anger. Further, to really be holy you must be washed in the blood of the lamb, Rev 7:14. You have to be living a committed life to the Lord, trusting Him to make good what is missing.
Of the assault on the city in Zechariah it is so.
“For thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘For honor he has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye. “ Zech 2:8
Further,
“ … I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured.”
Zech 12:3 NASB 95 ed.
“I have set Yahweh always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
Psa 16:8
In the Old Testament Jerusalem was nearly taken in Hezekiah’s time, and was taken, and destroyed in the time of King Zedekiah, 2Kings 25. Similarly in Revelation 11 all “the city” but the inner court of the temple is trampled underfoot foot.
“… They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months.,” Rev 11:2d
Naturally, “the city” of Revelation ultimately is “Jerusalem that is above,” Gal 4:26, Revelation 21, but additionally physical Jerusalem may also be in view in Revelation 11. Further it says of the beast,
“It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. …” Rev 13:7a
And to overcome them? I thought God was with the city?
Is this psalm false, or is Revelation true or not?
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
“The holy place of the tents of the Most High. ”
Psa 46:5
“2 Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken about you, city of God.”
Psa 87:2-3
Mount Zion is in essence “capital hill” in Jerusalem. There it was that Solomon’s temple was built to the Lord. There the kings palaces were built. Plainly many passages speak of Jerusalem as God’s city. For instance,
“Blessed be Yahweh from Zion,
Who dwells at Jerusalem.
Praise Yah!”
Psa 135:21
Because you see, Jerusalem is built on a mountain top! There are no major rivers on mountain tops. In fact Jerusalem was so water poor that it was big news when a tunnel was built to a spring outside the walls of Jerusalem. So a “a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad”? Of what could that be speaking?
Paul also writes of these things.
“25 For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”
Gal 4:25-26
So there is a Jerusalem “that exists now,” a Jerusalem below if you will, of this physical world, which is compared to a Jerusalem which is “above.” Jerusalem below is mentioned in Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah speaks of “the daughter of Zion” being isolated in Isa 1:8. Then Isaiah addresses the rulers and people of what we might call Jerusalem “below.”
“Hear the word of Yahweh, you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!”
Isa 1:10
But Isaiah is not speaking of the actual Sodom and Gomorrah, but of Israel and Judah. There are many passages in both the Old and New Testament that address either Jerusalem below, or Jerusalem above. Matthew writes of some coming out of the tombs at Jesus death, and says,
“and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many. ”
Mtt 27:53
And yes, once again Jerusalem will again become “the holy city.”
After the end of this universe, and it has passed away with a roar (2Pe 3:10-12), then we see coming down out of heaven a new Jerusalem.
“1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more. 2 I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, …”
Rev 21:1-2
“He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,”
Rev 22:1
So there is indeed river which makes glad the city of God.
Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
So if “God is our refuge … A very present help in trouble,” Psa 46:1
“Though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;”
Psa 46:2
Such will of course happen, and it is mentioned of those final times of this earth in passage after passage. In a section of Revelation which mentions those powers at work during the Christian Age, it talks about the end of this universe this way.
“12 I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood. 13 The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind. 14 The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”
Rev 6:12-14
is mentioned in almost every description of the end. In a parallel description in Isaiah 24 it says,
“19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is torn apart, the earth is shaken violently. 20 The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway back and forth like a hammock; and the disobedience of it shall be heavy on it, and it shall fall, and not rise again.”
Isa 24:19-20
Of course there are huge changes that have already happened. There has a indeed been an ice age, and world wide flood for which there is abundant evidence. Moses mentions,
“To Eber were born two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days was the earth divided. His brother’s name was Joktan.”
Gen 10:25
This is speaking of the third millennium BC. Clearly huge disasters come near the end “on the throne of the beast,” Rev 16:10. Something like an asteroid falls into the ocean (“a great burning mountain”), and the sea turns to “blood” and a third of the ships at sea are sunk, and a third of the fish in the sea die, Rev 8:8-9.
“Though the waters of it roar and are troubled,
Though the mountains tremble with their swelling.”
Psa 46:2
That would clearly be a climate change issue.
“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
However Jesus mentions these things, not as something to fear, rather as signs of approaching deliverance of God chosen ones.
“But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”
Surely these things are nothing to fear if our redemption is near.
Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901