Author: laurelanthenat

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On The LORD’S Day 

What Day is it?

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet Rev. 1:10

The phrase, “Lord’s Day” has raised questions as to whether this was the Sabbath or Sunday. The Sunday worshipers claim that Sabbath worship was replaced with Sunday worship. The Sabbath-keepers are equally sure that this is a reference to Sabbath or Saturday.

However, on careful consideration, we would like to offer a different opinion. Throughout the Revelation we see everyone wearing white. And the twenty-four elders have golden crowns and censors. These twenty-four elders or in Greek, presbuteros, (from where we get the word presbyters) are meant to represent the twenty-four courses of priests that served in the temple. [I Chron 24:7-18] It should be noted that the only time priests wore white was on Yom Kippur. [Lev. 16:4, 32]

Since the remainder of the book’s imagery is represented as happening on the Day of Atonement, it seems only natural that this “Lord’s Day” is the holiest day of the Biblical feast days, Yom Kippur.

What marks Yom Kippur out? It was the only day on which one could seek forgiveness for intentional sin. Every other day or sacrifice was for sins of omission or not knowing what the right thing to do was. But, for intentional sins, or sins of commission one had to wait till Yom Kippur to make things right before God.

The point of The Revelation is that it is ALWAYS the Day of Atonement before the Throne. On this one day, we can always repent and become righteous. On this one day, we can always make things right. On this one day, we can always seek forgiveness. Then the day ends, and the Book of Life is opened and one is either found in it or not. It will be too late to seek repentance and forgiveness for it is no longer available. Then the Day of Atonement that we live in, will be over.

Then there will dawn new heaven and a new earth.

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The Revelation is a Roadmap for God’s People or History, Prewritten

Beatus d’Osma, 11th century

God’s Direction Revealed in the Old Testament

In the Old Testament, God gave His people a look at their future through the prophets, thus providing them with guidance throughout their history. 

Sometimes the prophets gave a general warning or encouragement about the nation as a whole but, occasionally the information was very specific. Prophecies began in the Garden of Eden, leading through the ages of the death and resurrection of the Messiah. 

The Kingdom Age was foretold as the Kingdom being given to a people other than Israel after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. 

  • Genesis 15:13-24; Exodus 2: 8,12 The Sojourn in Canaan and Egypt
  • Genesis 49; Deuteronomy 33 Possession of the Land and the Distribution of the Tribes
  • Lev. 26:18, 21, 24; Daniel 4:25 The seven times curse or 2520 years of Gentile Imperial Rule
  • Numbers 14:33-34 Forty Years in the Wilderness
  • Judges 13:5 The Victories of Samson
  • 1 Samuel 15; 28; 1 Chronicles 28:5 The Reigns of David and Solomon
  • 1 Kings 11:31 The building of the Temple and the separation of the kingdoms
  • Isaiah 10; Joel 1; Hosea 8:11 The Assyrian Invasion and Following Captivity
  • Isaiah 7:8 The time of the Captivity
  • 2 Kings 10:30 The Reign of Jehu’s family
  • 1 Kings 13:2 The Reign of Josiah
  • Jeremiah 25:11,14 The Seventy Years Captivity
  • Dan 2, 7 The four Imperial Nations of Babylon, Medio-Persia, Greek and Rome
  • Daniel 9, Zechariah 9 The birth, ministry, and death of Messiah, His Resurrection, The spread of the Gospel, The Fall of Jerusalem and the Temple
  • Daniel 11 The succession of Persian kings, The reign of Alexander, the wars of Syria and Egypt
  • Zechariah 10 The scattering of Israel and the regathering of Israel

God’s Direction for the Saints Revealed in The New Testament

Our God is immutable, meaning He does not change. The same guidance He gave to His people in the Old Testament applies in the New Testament.

There are those that believe prophecies in The Revelation are largely about a future seven years of tribulation involving great destruction. If this is true, it has left His followers with no instructions or warnings for 2000 years. However, the text itself says otherwise.

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must SOON take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, Rev. 1:1

Would God not do the same for His people as He did for ancient Israel?  Would He leave us with 2000 years of silence-as the Dispensationalist’s teach? Everything about The Lord’s provision for Israel would lead us to expect a fuller and more detailed foretelling. Not scantier! 

And, so it is that He put it all down in one book, The Revelation. Then, added that no one should add anything to the book. The course of history is set out for all to read.

. . . and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. Rev. 22:19

The book of The Revelation is that foreordained history of God’s people from 98 AD to The New Jerusalem. It is our “roadmap,” our guiding light.

However, one must put in the time and read the history books, while comparing them to the prophecy. It is also a sound practice to read the Old Testament prophets and their fulfillments in order to understand the symbolic language of prophecy. [See Also: Hermeneutics ]

The Early Church understood these principles-not with complete clarity-but beginning brush strokes were being applied to the painting of history. Followers approached prophetic events with all dread and earnestness. They understood that the Gospel would triumph and cause the fall of the Roman Empire. But, they did not look forward to that day; they knew the Lawless-One would step into the void left by the Empire’s fall.

By the time of the Reformation, the Church began to understand that the Seal Judgments were fulfilled with the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and that the Trumpet Judgments were the Dark or Middle Ages. Finally, scholars that followed the Reformers witnessed the beginning the Bowls or Vial Judgments unfolding. The great twin persecutors of God’s children; the Roman Church; and the Ottoman Empire would soon be losing their power and prestige.

As the centuries rolled by, each new generation is gifted with a greater understanding as prophecy and corresponding events match up. More light is available as more events are fulfilled. Greater and brighter is the message as each detail becomes clearer in fulfillment.

Unfortunately, the Dispensationalists have clouded people’s minds with futile speculations. They rather recently invented, contrived, and supposed themselves into believing in things that are not in the Bible at all. There is no seven-year tribulation, there is no future political antichrist, and there is no rapture. These are all creations of their own imaginations. They jump from verse to verse in vain attempts to explain things that are simply not there. At the same time they neglect serious in-depth study of what is actually written in the Bible.

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We live in the End Times

At least that’s what many in today inherited churches are teaching. But is that valid?

If we are living in the End Times, what were Paul and Peter talking about?

Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come. 1Cor. 10:11

He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake. 1Pet. 1:20

The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers. 1Pet. 4:7 

For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1Pet. 4:17 

If they were living in the End Times, what ended? Obviously Paul and Peter did not use this phrase to mean the end of ALL time or the end of OUR time. They were not thinking it was the end of our time, They had no concept or our time. They must have been speaking of THEIR time. In their time, the kingdom of Judea was at its end. The Messiah had told them that the Kingdom of Heaven/God was here. (See Also: The Kingdom of Heaven)

The second problem we now have is most of the inherited churches in the twenty-first century have miss understood the nature of the Kingdom and teach that the Kingdom of Heaven/God is delayed. The Kingdom was announced by both John the Baptists and Messiah Himself, therefore unless one thinks they were false prophets, there is something about the nature of the Kingdom that those teaching a delayed Kingdom have missed.

Those that teach a delayed Kingdom want a perfect world with the Messiah on a physical throne sitting in a physical temple. Just as the Pharisees had wanted the perfect Jewish Kingdom, where the Jews ruled the Gentiles, and all nations would have to come to Jerusalem to worship in a physical temple. They didn’t like a non-temple kingdom, where all are sons of Abraham. 

There is a time coming for a New Jerusalem, but that is not The Kingdom John the Baptist, Messiah, Paul, or Petter were talking about.

The time of Jewish polity was ending, and the faith was going out to the Gentiles.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Rev. 22:13 

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Not One Tear

We are often accused of being anti-catholic. This is simply not true. Catholic is Latin for “universal.” We believe in the universal church although we prefer congregation. We just don’t believe that The Church of Rome is part of it. The Church of Rome’s history and teachings has been one of violence and intolerance. Like the Empire before them, they have violently put down any who said anything they didn’t want to hear. 

When confronted with these facts the common response is “that was then,” we’re not like that now. To which we respond “God has not forgotten one tear.”

Thou hast kept count of my tossings; put thou my tears in thy bottle! Are they not in thy book? Psa. 56:8

He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken. Is. 25:8

The Crusades and INQUISITION, are solely the Church of Rome’s responsibilities. She is truly drunk with the blood of the saints and anyone else that got in her way. This is not to say that there are no true believers in her ranks, but they need to recognize her for what she is and leave.

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; Rev. 18:4 

Her Judgment is Sure

And he called out with a mighty voice,  “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! It has become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt of every foul spirit, a haunt of every foul and hateful bird; Rev. 18:2

Fallen is in the indicative, which is past tense in English. To be fallen is to be judged. Babylon is judged as a completed fact, it has already happened. It is not “will be judged” it is a stated fact that she “has been judged.”

This verse is a quote from Isaiah.

And, behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!” And he answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the images of her gods he has shattered to the ground.”Isaiah 21:9

In Hebrew, there is no word for emphasis like the English surely or very, so the verb is double stated. Babylon is surely fallen. It is a done deal, and remember Isaiah wrote this before Babylon was an empire. 

Taken during Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S, Navy photo by Photographer’s mate 1st Class Arlo K Abrahamson.

This is what the imperial city looks like in its fallen state. Just melted mud bricks. So what will Rome look like?

“Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;  5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.  6 Render to her as she herself has rendered, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double draught for her in the cup she mixed. Rev. 18:4-6

What does a double draught look like?

The Millstone

21   Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So shall Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and shall be found no more;  22 and the sound of harpers and minstrels, of flute players and trumpeters, shall be heard in thee no more; and a craftsman of any craft shall be found in thee no more; and the sound of the millstone shall be heard in thee no more;  23 and the light of a lamp shall shine in thee no more; and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall be heard in thee no more; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, and all nations were deceived by thy sorcery.  24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.” Rev. 18:21-24 


There are six “no mores” her sins will no longer be tolerated. No amount of penance or indulgences will matter. The King of Kings has had enough.

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Matt. 18:6

Millstones are heavy things. There will be no coming back from purgatory.  How many little ones have been led astray by Rome’s lies? God has not forgotten — even one of them, not one tear. His judgments are true and just.

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Seven Headed Serpents

The first time a Western minded person reads the book of The Revelation they are confused by the truly weird imagery it presents. The seven headed serpent beast being one of the very strangest of them all. Western paganism has long since been removed from the minds of Western peoples. Only those ideas and images that could be Christianized remain. Yet, the average teacher of prophecy makes no mention that this is pagan imagery.

Paganism is and was full of seven headed serpents. They all have slightly different meaning in different parts of the world. They usually are connected with creation, knowledge, and life and death.

They are so frequent as to make one wonder what is going on? One can be sure however that the people of the seven churches in Asia Minor were not so unaware. As they were surrounded by pagan imagery on a day to day basis. They lived among pagans. Many of them came out of paganism, and, Pergamum was the center of the Mystery Religions.

Sumerian
Seven-headed serpent hydra Akkadian cylinder seal

Ankor Wat
Seven-headed Serpent protecting Vishnu
Siberia

Gnostic
Aztec Chico Macotal
Cambodian Naga at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

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Lessons​ From the Pilgrims

The Pilgrim Fathers were determined to follow the increasing  light that God had for them  This is clearly expressed in the parting counsels of their pastor, John Robinson (ca. 1575-1625), in 1620, just before they started on their long journey to the New World. He had ministered to a church near Norwich until he was suspended for his Puritan tendencies. In 1604 he ministered to church of dissenter at Scrooby. In 1608 he and his flock escaped to Amsterdam,  Later in the year he went to Leyden, and there in 1611 established a church. In 1620, after his memorable sermon, he saw the set sail for America. Referring to the solemnity of the parting, and admonishing them to follow him “no further than he followed Christ,” Robinson declared himself : very confident that the Lord had more truth and light yet to break fourth out of His holy Word.” And after deploring the condition of the Reformed churches that “would goe no further than the instruments of their Reformation,” he illustrated his point thus.

“As for example, the Lutherans they could not be drawne to goe beyond what Luther saw, for whatever part of Gods will be had further imparted and revealed to Calvin, they will rather die then embrace it. And so also, saith he, you see the Calvinists, they stick where he left them: A misery much to bee lamented; For though they were precious shining lights in their times, yet God had not revealed his whole will to them: And were they now living saith hee, they would bee as ready and willing to embrace further light, as that they had received. Here also he put us in mind of our Church-covenant (at least that part of it) whereby wee promise and covenant with God and one another, to receive whatsoever light or truth shall be made known to us from his written Work: but withall exhorted us to take heed what we received for truth, and well to examine and compare, and weigh it with other Scriptures of truth  before we received it; For siath he It is not possible the Christian world should come so lately our os such thick Antichristian darknesses, and that full perfection of knowledge should break fourth at once.”

The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers vol 3;  Leroy Edwin Froom page 20

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The Temple of Hadrian at Ephesus, Ionia (Turkey)

The Temple of Hadrian on Curetes Street, built before 138 AD by a wealthy Ephesian, P. Vedius Antoninus Sabinus, and was dedicated to Hadrian, who came to visit the city in 124 and 129 AD, Ephesus, Turkey

written by Carole Raddato

The Temple of Hadrian at Ephesus is regarded one of the most famous monuments of the ancient city of Ephesus. It lies on the south side of Curates Street, one of Ephesus’ main arteries connecting the Gate of Hercules with the Library of Celsus.

The remains of the Temple were unearthed in 1956 during excavations carried out by the Austrian Archaeological Institute (ÖAI). Due to its excellent state of preservation and cultural and historical importance it was rebuilt with original building elements in 1957/1958.

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Psalm 74 – The Leviathan

 A Maskil of Asaph.  

What is A Maskil?

There are 13 Psalms that are designated a maskil. They are 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89 and 142.

The Hebrew word maskil means instruction and is either:

  1.  A psalm with something special to teach, like 32 and 78, or
  2.  A psalm that the Psalmist wrote in a very clever way.

Who was Asaph?

There are three different men with the name of Asaph.[Neh. 2:8; 1Chr. 6:39;  Is. 36:3] The Asaph identified with twelve Psalms; 50, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83,  is said to be the son of Berechiah who is said to be the pro-generator of the Asaphites. [1 Chronicles 6:39 ; 2 Chronicles 5:12]

FYI: When ever one runs into something in the Bible that makes little sense at first reading, it is important to look at all the passages that cover the same subject. As the theologians say “the Bible is its own best commentary.” So there is a list of other verses for your comparison at the end of the post of all Leviathans, sea monsters, and dragon passages that come to mind.

The Psalm

Now let us examine our clever psalm. It is a psalm of both typology and symbolism. The Psalmist asks Why?

A Maskil of Asaph.

1 O God, why dost thou cast us off for ever? Why does thy anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?  

2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thy heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where thou hast dwelt.  

3 Direct thy steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!  

The psalmist predicts a time of judgment by God on the sheep of Thy pasture. This is the first indication of symbology, as the people are called sheep. A time is coming when the sanctuary shall be in perpetual ruins. This is both about the (type) Babylonian Captivity of the Jews and the (antitype) Babylonian Corruption of the Church.

Sanctuary Burned

4 Thy foes have roared in the midst of thy holy place; they set up their own signs for signs.  

5 At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes.  

6 And then all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers.  

7 They set thy sanctuary on fire; to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of thy name.  

8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.  

9 We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.  

Loudness in the holy place is always a sign that something is amiss. It is one thing for a preacher to be loud enough to be heard at the back of the crowd, it is another for the noice to be riotous and unruly.

The sanctuary is where one meets the Lord with humility and reverence. These fellows revel in their supposed victory over the true believers. They think that they are now the masters the King’s sanctuary.

Signs for signs is hard to get the meaning of. In Hebrew something double stated is a negative. As in Captivity captive, which means to be released. Signs for signs would mean no signs or false signs.

Verses five and six are completely inaccurate in translation. They merely state that the wood of the temple was cut down with axes and burned. There is no entrance or wooden trellis mentioned in the Hebrew. In life the temple had a wooden roof and door.

How Long?

10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile thy name for ever?  

11 Why dost thou hold back thy hand, why dost thou keep thy right hand in thy bosom?  

The lament that there is no one who knows how long the captivity would last. This is not because the information was not given but because the people did not heed Jeremiah. Nor does the church seek out the numbers in Daniel and the Revelation, as to how long the corruption of the church is to last. Instead of reading the passages for what they said, they always sought the Second Coming. Turning their eyes from seeing their own judgment.

The great question of both Lamentations and the church of the Dark Ages. How long? The suffering went on and on, even though the Roman church was claiming victory as the true church suffered for over 400 years of the INQUISITION.

Leviathan

The Beast Comes Out of the Sea by Giusto De’ Menabuoi (c. 1320–1391)

12 Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.  

13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy might; thou didst break the heads of the dragons on the waters.  

14 Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan, thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.  

15 Thou didst cleave open springs and brooks; thou didst dry up ever-flowing streams.  

16 Thine is the day, thine also the night; thou hast established the luminaries and the sun.  

17 Thou hast fixed all the bounds of the earth; thou hast made summer and winter.  

Job and the 104th Psalm refer to leviathan as a real sea creature. However here it is multi-headed. This cannot be a real animal. This animal is symbolic just like God calling His people, sheep.

Isaiah called him the twisting serpent of the sea. [Is. 27:1] And later names it Rahab which in Hebrew means to be defiant, arrogant, boisterous or stormy. [Is. 51:9]

However we don’t get a real description of it until Revelation 13, where it is called the beast from the sea. It is described as having ten horns and seven heads and is made up of all the beasts from the sea in Daniel 7. It represents all the imperial powers that have ruled the Western World from the time of Babylon. It gets its authority from Satan [Rev. 13:4]

Now Satan is the ruler of this world, and he has ruled through these imperial powers for 2520 years. [John 12:; 14:30; 16:11; Eph. 6:12]

We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one. 1John 5:19 

Satan is now out of time. Soon his heads will be crushed, and the imperial powers will blow away like chaff according to Daniel 2, on the day of our deliverance.

Deliverance

18 Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles thy name.  

19 Do not deliver the soul of thy dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of thy poor for ever.  

20 Have regard for thy covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.  

21 Let not the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise thy name.  

22 Arise, O God, plead thy cause; remember how the impious scoff at thee all the day!  

23 Do not forget the clamor of thy foes, the uproar of thy adversaries which goes up continually! 

This is our prayer and our hope. Let Leviathan be no more. No king but Jesus/Yeshua.

Verses

Let those curse it who curse the day, who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan. Job 3:8

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down his tongue with a cord? Job 41:1 

There go the ships, and Leviathan which thou didst form to sport in it. Psa. 104:26

In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. Is. 27:1 

 2 Daniel said, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.  3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. Dan 7:2-3

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads.  2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bears, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.  Rev. 13:1 

And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bears, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. Rev. 13:2

The sea or waters

And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. Rev. 17:15 

And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. Rev. 19:20