There Is Only One True God

 The Power and Wisdom of God

 Book of Psalms Chapter 97

 Today, even in the Bible Belt, you can hardly meet someone on the streets who knows about the Lord Jesus Christ.

 People do not know who God is!

 They think He is just another god along with many other gods. They are so wrong!

 There is not one person except maybe infants and young children who God has not revealed Himself.

Before a person dies, God will have revealed Himself to them so that no one at the White Throne of judgment can use that as an excuse

 We know that God even speaks to babies while they are in the womb.

 Jer 1:4  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 

Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 

Jer 1:6  Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 

Jer 1:7  But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 

 Even John the Baptist knew the Lord Jesus Christ while He was in the womb of his mother.

 Luk 1:41  And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 

Luk 1:42  And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 

Luk 1:43  And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 

Luk 1:44  For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

 This proves that some babies have more wisdom than fully grown men and women, even while they are still in the womb of their mother.

This is why I will never accept that there is a right to abortion.

 The One major truth in our world is, that there is a God and He is our Creator and our Heavenly Father!

 There are not many gods there is only One True God!

 Those who reject God also reject the Word of God.

 The Word of God is just that, the Holy Ghost-inspired Word of God!

 Most people make up their minds about what a God should be like.

 They choose to believe some secular theory or something fabricated in their mind as to the origin of our universe and the origin of life.

 Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 

Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 

Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 

Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 

Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

 As you can see God knew all these things would happen.

 Many people deny the Holiness of God while declaring good to be evil and evil to be good.

 God knew these people before they were born just, as He does everyone else.

 Some people believe in God but deny the "judgment" of God.

 Our world is so confused today that some men think God made a mistake and they were supposed to be women, and some women think they were supposed to be men, but they reject that God simply does not make mistakes.

 Across the globe, countless people are trapped in false religions and those who would change are filled with so much fear they live their lives as best they can all their days afraid to speak up.

 This Psalm is an encouragement to all who would truly follow God.

 I send a message today that no matter where you are, if you claim the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and even in secret, pray that sinner’s prayer, He will hear you and He will save you.

 He knows what conditions you are under, and He will not hold that against you.

 My God can save anybody anywhere at any time!

 This Psalm is a big help to you.

 *****Psa 97:1  The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. 

 If we take a logical view of our world, we will see the evidence of our earth and all we can see with our eyes or that new telescope that circles.

 We see that these things exist.

 Because something cannot come from nothing, there must be an original cause that is the reason for the world's existence.

 Because it is evident that these things exist then, there had to be a Creator of these things.

 If you have ever witnessed an accident, you will see that accidents are a cause of destruction and not creation.

 Every effect must have a cause!

 What is the truth? The Lord reigns over all His creations! Jehovah is King, He is the Almighty Ruler of His threefold kingdom.

 Psa 96:11  Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. 

 The earth is in perfect balance. It has just the right amount of water and the right amount of dirt.

 In fact, we can say that the entire universe is in perfect harmony so there must be a Creator.

 God's harmony is observed throughout this universe!

 The sun is ninety-three million miles from Earth which is exactly where it needs to be for our comfort.

 The temperatures vary from location to location so everyone can find a place where they are comfortable.

 The moon is two hundred and forty thousand miles from Earth to provide tides at the proper level.

 The more we change the moon the more our sea levels will change!

 The earth's tilt provides our four seasons.

 None of these things could have happened by accident!

 Yes, our Lord reigns as King of this earth!

 Psa 8:3  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 

Psa 8:4  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 

 The naysayers would have you believe that we live in a universe in chaos, but this is not true.

 Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 

Psa 19:2  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 

Psa 19:3  There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 

Psa 19:4  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 

 The alternative is that all these things, plus all the other things we can see are no more possible than a monkey being able to create a work of Shakespeare on a typewriter by haphazard play on the keys.

 Yes, the Lord reigns upon this Earth!

 The Earth refers to the continents, all the large land masses. In contrast, with the multitude of isles are the small islands that dot the seas.

 *****Psa 97:2  Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. 

Psa 97:3  A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. 

Psa 97:4  His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. 

Psa 97:5  The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 

Psa 97:6  The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.

 Heaven, where God's throne is located,  veiled in clouds and darkness says to us that God reigns above human sight and understanding.

 God must remain in these clouds of darkness because there is a need for God to conceal His radiant glory of His holiness that would destroy us instantly.

 God is the "Judge" of this Earth and He always, ALWAYS does what is right!

 Fire is a symbol of God's judgment!

 It is a fire that will consume all the enemies of God!

 Psa 21:8  Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. 

Psa 21:9  Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. 

 God bears witness to His holiness and justice through the forces of nature!

 Lightning, strong storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions with the earth melting like wax, all remind us of God's tremendous power. 

Nature is also a creation of God.

 2Pe 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. 

2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 

2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 

 Everything in God's creation will bear witness to His holiness.

 We are to bear the truth that God reigns over all His creations, regardless of what the world says. 

The world is full of lies and liars.

 The Lord reigns over all the things that are going on around us.

 The Lord reigns over all the unbelief and lawlessness which is in our societies.

 The Lord reigns over all things that we are forced to endure.

 The Lord reigns and there is nothing this world can do about it, except to turn to Him in repentance!

 2Th 1:6  Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 

2Th 1:7  And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 

2Th 1:8  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 

2Th 1:9  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 

2Th 1:10  When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. 

 All those who worship false gods will become perplexed because they have been told a lie!

 The Heavens truly do declare the righteousness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Messiah!

 *****Psa 97:7  Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods. 

 When we mock and reject the Words of the One True God Jehovah then, we think we have become gods ourselves!

 We are not so dumb to not know that there are certain people who worship the idol of printed money and the idol of gold who are actually pulling the strings in America and most other countries in this world.

 They know which way to go to get more money printed which makes them richer and which way to go to get gold more valuable to make them richer and this little game they play is done over and over again.

 There is no regard for the people who work who actually pay the taxes.

 This little game will break out into war when those who are not so rich but are considered to be rich have to keep paying more and more of the taxes and they will rebel.

 It is the same for climate change. There are fifty-seven companies in this world that cause eighty percent of the pollution in this world and no one will talk to them about pollution and the carbon monoxide that is emitted by their companies.

 It is not even mentioned, or it would make them mad and governments just keep allowing it to take place.

 To these companies, money and gold are their gods!

 They may boast about their riches, but one day soon they will see their gods destroyed and they will be confounded.

 They are not the gods they think of themselves, but are only sinners in need of a Savior yet, they will never call on Him.

 They are like that Egyptian Pharaoh who thought he could defeat God but only perished in the Red Sea.

 Their idols are worthless!

 Isa 42:17  They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

 The Lord always knows what is going on!

 Isa 52:5  Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed. 

Isa 52:6  Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I. 

Isa 52:7  How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

 It is not long before these who have made themselves gods will meet the only true God.

 Isa 52:10  The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 

 God will judge this world, and this judgment is not that far off!

 *****Psa 97:8  Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD. 

Psa 97:9  For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods. 

 When the Lord returns to this earth the Rapture of the Church will have already taken place and the Church will return with the Lord in glorified bodies following the King of Zion, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 It is at this time that the daughters of Judah will rejoice because the Antichrist will have been defeated and Israel will have turned to the Lord in shame because it has taken them so long to do so.

 There is so much difference between the Divine Power of God and the supposed power of the rich who have followed the Antichrist, that even they will fall in shame recognizing the power of Jehovah the triune God.

 All evildoers will be judged this day, but this is not the White Throne judgment, for the Lord Jesus will rule this earth from Zion for one thousand years.

 Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 

Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 

Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 Because the Lord humbled Himself in humiliation and obedience to Jehovah, He has been exalted by His Father and given a name which is above every name and made Him King of kings and Lord of lords, superior majesty above every creature.

 This wicked world or what is left of it, will bow at the feet of Jesus!

 Then the Lord will remake this earth.

 The Lord Jesus will continue keeping all His promises to those who love Him.

 These will be those who have survived the seven years of the Tribulation years, the last three and one-half years known as the Great Tribulation.

 The Church will be with Him, but the Church was not the object of God's wrath but already glorified!

 *****Psa 97:10  Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. 

 How do we know real love?

 If I love Jesus Christ, I will love all His people!

If I love Jesus Christ, I will love everything that He loves!

If I love Jesus Christ, I will hate what He hates which is sin!

 There is no small sin or large sin, there is only sin!

 If we love the Lord, we will hate evil!

 Psa 45:7  Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

 It is evil that separates us from our Loving God.

 It is because of evil that the wicked will be destroyed.

 It is because we do not love the Lord Jesus Christ that we are subject to the assaults of Satan!

 God watches tenderly over the souls of His saints at all times and preserves us by keeping us from destruction.

 The Lord Jesus Christ will certainly deliver us out of the hands of the wicked!

 The Lord Jesus Christ is that Light that outshines the darkness of this wicked world we live in.

 *****Psa 97:11  Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. 

 Light is sown for the righteous!

 Psa 112:4  Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. 

 That Light is the Lord Jesus Christ!

 Jhn_8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

 Jhn_9:5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

 People just love darkness far too much!

 Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

 Because the Lord loves us, He will deliver us from evil!

Because the Lord loves us, He will preserve our souls on this earth till He finally takes us home where we are preserved forever and ever.

Because the Lord loves us, He will deliver us out of the hands of the wicked!

*****Psa 97:11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. 

Psa 97:12  Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 

We know that the Light of Jesus is the Word of God!

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

It is the Word of God that lights our path to righteousness!

Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 

The Lord Jesus is that true Light who leads us to that path of salvation.

Mat 7:12  Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. 

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 

Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

There is no other pathway to Heaven!

Amen

Blind To the Word of God

 A Departed Glory

Book of 1 Samuel Chapter 4

A great lesson to learn in this passage of the Bible is that unbelievers will not be able to use Jehovah God to reach their own personal goals.

Israel was seeing something new from God.

Jehovah would begin speaking to Israel through the voice of a child.

We can also begin to see the importance of "childlike faith".

We must encourage our children to have the right ideas about the Lord Jesus Christ, and not to get caught up in the things of this wicked world that is not going to get any better.

We must prepare our children, our grandchildren, and our great grandchildren for what lies ahead of them, and it is not limited to climate change.

God brought Samuel along to revive the truth of God and to restore true worship to Jehovah.

Samuel would also be the last Judge of Israel deciding all cases according to the Word of God.

All of Israel began to notice that Samuel was established to be the voice of God.

Another reality we will see is God's judgment is a sure thing! 

God's judgment will take place just as He teaches us in His infallible Word.

Today we are surrounded by evil!

Bad men and terrible things are all around us.

Corruption is dictating politics in America!

Wicked bullies are in charge of many nations including our own nation.

According to the Word of God, tyranny is a doomed thing! Thank Goodness.

*****1Sa 3:21  And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD. 

1Sa 4:1  And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.

The Philistines were the bitter enemy enemies of Israel. 

Most Christians believe that the Palestinians in Israel are the remnants of the Philistines.

These Philistines were the fiercest of the oppressors of Israel as they tried to conquer the Promised Land given to them of Jehovah God.

The Philistines had the same goal which was to conquer all of Palestine and the Palestinians have that same goal today.

Palestine gets its name from the Philistines.

They want to push Israel off into the Mediterranean Sea. They hate Israel.

The Scriptures say they came from Caphtor. Some say this was the island of Crete, but it could also be a part of Egypt, which is more realistic.

The Philistines began oppressing Israel during the period of the Judges and continued their dominance all the time of the "Judges Era" until the time of Samuel, all because Israel lost their love for Jehovah.

They thought they could use Jehovah to meet their own goals. 

They did not understand the ways of God and treated God as an idol.

Israel had fallen away from Jehovah and God used the Philistines to humble them and be a punishment for their sins.

The present invasion of the Philistines into Israel came when the soldiers of the Philistines marched their soldiers into Aphek and made camp.

Aphek was a city that belonged to the tribe Issachar not far from Jezreel.

Aphek had been the royal city of the Canaanites whose king Joshua had killed.

This city is not a great distance from Jerusalem which King David made the capitol of all of Israel.

The Philistines were bold and ruthless.

Israel came out to fight with the Philistines and they camped at Ebenezer.

*****1Sa 4:2  And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. 

We should understand that when Joshua led the armies of Israel, they had lost very few battles and each loss was because they had not been obedient to Jehovah.

Israel felt they could defeat any enemy at any time, but they had forgotten how they won those battles. 

They won when the Lord was on their side, and they lost when He was not.

We would think they would realize this truth, but they had become blind to the Word of God and their hearts were gross.

Jdg 21:25  In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 

This is not the way of God!

The pure truth is that most people think the right way is their way and the way of everyone else is the wrong way.

This is the theme going on in America today!

One small group of people are trying to push their way of life upon all people by force and the government is helping them.

Only the Lord Jesus Christ has shown us the right way and that right way is to be more like Him and His ways!

Four thousand soldiers lost their life in that first skirmish because Israel was disobedient to the Lord.

Israel was guilty of the most horrible sins and wickedness.

All these gross sins are described in the Book of Judges.

You see God does not hide these things from us. 

Most authors would have left out mentioning all those wicked things in the Book of Judges.

*****1Sa 4:3  And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. 

Why was Israel losing this war with the Philistines?

Isa 59:1  Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 

Isa 59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 

Isa 59:3  For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 

Isa 59:4  None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

The officers of the armies of Israel held a council of war to decide the best way to defeat these Philistines, but when they should have repented and turned to God, they chose to use the sacred things of God instead of faith.

There is nothing in this world that can replace our faith!

It is true that the priest of Israel carried the Ark of God in the time of Joshua, but then the Ark was located in the Tabernacle at Shiloh after the battle of Jericho.

It was then time for "faith" to lead the armies of Israel and not the Ark which symbolized the presence of God, but the actions of Israel showed disdain for the things of God.

Eze 39:23  And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 

Eze 39:24  According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. 

The judgement of God is terrible, and Israel should have known the truth of God.

They had forgotten their own national history.

The death of Eli and his two sons and the capture of the Ark were a clear picture of the "judgment of God upon Israel"!

The Ark taken from the Tabernacle brought a false hope for victory!

*****1Sa 4:4  So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 

1Sa 4:5  And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 

What is going on in the Church today? God is treated more like an idol than the Supreme God and a corrupt priesthood are making things much worse.

The army of Israel was puzzled because the Philistines had so easily won that first battle, wondering why God had allowed such a thing.

The Ark was a symbol of the presence of God, but in fact it was just an ornate wooden box that had no power to change the outcome of any battle.

We cannot be superstitious in our worship of Jehovah God!

So, when the Ark was brought to the battlefield the result was catastrophic.

It is the same for our salvation.

If we treat God like an idol and only call upon Him when we think it will do us some good and then spend the rest of our time doing things our own way, we may find that instead of salvation we will see the "judgement of God".

The truth of God cannot be viewed superstitiously!

The Ark of God was not some good luck charm!

If the world and the flesh still rule in our heart, we certainly will not make it to Heaven because it is the Lord Jesus Christ who must rule in our hearts!

The Levites may have carried the Ark according to the Laws of Moses, but with the two sons Eli with them, it did not ensure the presence of God, in fact, it only insured Israel's defeat.

Many already knew the prophecy of Samuel and the prophecy of God is always true and it is always real.

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 

Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

In other words, to remain an unbeliever and blame everything on God's people is a sure way to see the wrath of God.

Though the shouts of the army of Israel was loud enough for the Philistines to hear them, they would have no victory this day.

*****1Sa 4:6  And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp. 

1Sa 4:7  And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. 

The Philistines considered the Israelites to be foreigners even though they themselves were also foreigners having no place to call their home.

The same thing can be said of the Palestinians today. The land of Palestine was never their homeland. Those that did own some of the land taken over by Israel, were paid for that land and they left.

No matter what Israel thought of the Ark of God, God will not be used as some good luck charm!

It was wrong for Israel to do this thing!

For Hophni and Phinehas to be associated with this event, should have shown these Israelites that God was not in this thing. 

All of Israel knew the sin of these two sons of Eli.

The Philistines became curious of what was happening in the camp of Israel and then realized, according to their frame of mind, that Israel had brought its god to the battlefield.

We have to realize that we cannot take God anywhere.

If God is in any such activity, He will already be there.

They had never seen such a thing before in all their battles.

Saying to themselves that it was Israel's gods that defeated Egypt and the Amorites who these Philistines could not defeat.

The Philistines then determined to fight with everything they had, or they would become slaves of the Israelites.

They said, "woe to us" if we lose this battle.

Then these things gave them added strength.

*****1Sa 4:8  Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 

1Sa 4:9  Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight. 

1Sa 4:10  And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 

These Philistines had openly admitted that the God of Israel was stronger than their own false gods.

They rightly said Elohim, the plural form for God is a Trinity.

In fact God had destroyed Egypt before Israel entered into the wilderness.

This despair before Israel only made them more determined to defeat Israel which they accomplished, and thirty thousand more soldiers met with death on the battlefield because of a corrupt government.

A complete victory for the Philistines.

The Philistines saw Israel as only a band of escaped slaves and not a nation at all.

These Philistines became aroused to fight for their lives and launched a fierce attack on Israel killing many not realizing that Israel suffered from the "judgment" of the God who sat on that Ark.

Israel was so much in despair they did not return to their camp, but each soldier went back home in fear of their lives and of their family's lives.

They realized that God had not fought for them on this day.

When we feel like God must act in our defense no matter how we treat Him, we are thinking wrong.

God will not be used to satisfy our own whims.

It is we that are to be in the will of God and not the other way round!

When we are unfaithful and have not repented of our sin, God is not obligated to come to our defense!

In fact God is not obligated to us in any way if we are not committed to Him.

Our hope is in the promises of God and our faith is that God will remain faithful to His promises.

It is us who must be committed to the will of God!

God will always conduct His sovereign plan, but for us to be a part of that plan, then we must obey the Word of God and repent of our sin showing faith in the truth of God.

Sinful, wicked behavior will always result in the "Judgment of God"!

Even in their wicked behavior, Israel made the necessary sacrifices and came to the Tabernacle at the appropriate time, but their hearts had waxed gross, and God looks into the heart.

These people were returning to the days of Noah.

Gen_6:5  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

The world we live in is doing the same thing today!

What had God required of Israel?

Deu_10:12  And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

Israel was failing in this.

Notice that phrase "to walk in His ways".

A true child of God will walk in the ways of God and the example He has given to us is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God knows what is in our hearts!

Psa_44:21  Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Far too many innocent people fall in wars that are unnecessary.

The Philistines were the enemies of Israel, but God will sometimes use our enemies to bring His judgement!

Even the Ark of the Covenant to Israel was taken by a people who did not know the truth of God.

*****1Sa 4:11  And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. 

The fact that Hophni and Phinehas died was a fulfillment of the prophecy given to Samuel and Samuel had made Eli aware of what God had said.

These things took place because of national wickedness and a corrupt priesthood.

If we look at America today, we see national wickedness and a corrupt priesthood, and it cannot be denied.

Why in the world would we think that God would do anything different today than He did in the time of Samuel.

The Philistines would regret that they had taken the Ark of God, but God would take care of this Himself without the help of Israel.

God will not be in the same space as a false god!

Once the Holy Spirit has moved into the heart of a Christian, the Devil nor his demons can move back into that Christian, but we can be sure he will do his best to make our lives miserable if we allow him to do.

Jas_4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Wicked behavior may be idolatry or a corrupt priesthood.

As for Eli, he had allowed his sons to continue in committing adultery in the House of God and stealing from offerings that were made to the Lord. 

Eli had allowed his two sons to take the Ark of God into battle knowing what God had said about his two sons.

God will punish unworthy hands that refuse to repent!

So, no matter who that person is, God will bring judgment upon them!

If we remember where we came from, we will not expect God to do anything less than bring judgment!

1Co 6:9  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, 

1Co 6:10  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 

1Co 6:11  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. 

Eli also died that same day again fulfilling the prophecy given to Samuel.

*****1Sa 4:17  And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 

1Sa 4:18  And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. 

It was twenty miles from the battlefield to Shiloh, but a messenger thought it was best for Eli to know that the Ark had been taken.

Eli did not respond much to this message of this messenger, until he found out the Ark of God was stolen.

The Ark had been Eli's greatest concern, but he had allowed it to be taken from the House of God.

1Sa 4:13  And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.

As Eli became excited and tried to stand, he fell, and his neck was broken, and he died the same day of his sons.

Meaning that when God speaks, we need to listen and when God warns us, He is very serious!

Eli had judged Israel for forty years, but he had also indulged in the sin of his sons and most all of Israel was aware of his sin.

The Bible mentions Eli being obese to warn all God's priests that it is not good to live a life of indulgence in the riches of sin.

God's judgment is fixed!

God's judgment will definitely take place!

All those who reject the Word of God will face the judgment of God!

All those playing church without being sincere will face the judgment of God!

Mar 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 

Mar 8:35  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 

Mar 8:36  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 

Mar 8:37  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 

Mar 8:38  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. 

Jesus Christ is specific.

We must deny ourselves and take up our own cross and follow Him.

The cross is a sign of death so, we must be willing to give our life in our own pursuit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The God of Glory had departed from Israel on this day.

Amen

Those Who Reject the Truth

The Great War on Earth

Chapter 11 verse 15 through Chapter 12

Since Chapter 9 we have been learning about three woes mentioned in these Scriptures of destiny from the Book of Revelation. John the Apostle wrote down things that he saw in a vision and he wrote down some things he was just told to write.

We must remember John knew all the things he saw were in the future! He saw things he knew nothing about, and he described them as best he could with the understanding that he had.

John was an Apostle chosen personally by the Lord! Trained for three years! He was from a wealthy family, but before he met Jesus, he was just a fisherman. Nothing wrong with fishermen and praise God for each of them for their place in the food chain of the world.

John had never seen the machines of modern warfare and it would be hard for him to describe them. These machines could be of our day, which is what I believe but they could be further into the future but not much further. We are in those last days!

We should understand that most of the things John describes could not have taken place in the past.

For instance, the rebirth of the Nation of Israel had to take place, but it did not take place until May 14, 1948.

Many of the war machines John describe seem to resemble things used in war today.

We are seeing the perfect evidence of pestilences in this Covid-19 virus that has put a pause in most actions of the world except the militaries and corrupt governments.

Corrupt governments will hide most all the atrocities of pestilences until they are found out!

The technology that is available today with phones, television, satellites, GPS, and some other things, including some military things we do not know about, that are available today, had to be in place for many of the things that John describes to take place.

What do we know from John? Two woes had passed and the most devastating woe this world has ever seen was about to take place.

The two witnesses that had preached the things of Jehovah had completed their work and the Lord had called them back to Heaven and just as soon as they disappeared in the clouds there was a great earthquake.

Rev 11:13  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Rev 11:14  The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

The Antichrist wants a war, a war he would get.

The followers of the Antichrist who were so defiant would now seek shelter from the Lamb, who is a King, who is a Holy and Righteous God.

It is time for the seventh Angel to sound his trumpet.

The Lord will reveal to John, "Judgment" on those who reject the truth.

*****Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

The seventh trumpet sounded, and the announcement was made "all the kingdoms of this world would now belong to the Messiah.

The Messiah, the Deliverer of the Hebrew people, and the Anointed One of God, the Deliverer of this World, the Creator will come to show this world the true God.

All those who have challenged our Creator will get to meet Him and it will not be a pleasant meeting.

Isa 44:23  Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

We will certainly see a New World Order then and only then.

No nation upon this earth and no conglomeration of nations upon this earth will ever be able to build a workable world government so our Lord Jesus Christ will build a Kingdom and He will sit as King and rule with a "rod of iron" which means the nations will be ruled according to the will of God!

And yes, the Lord Jesus Christ, King Jesus will rule from Jerusalem!

This is just the beginning of the seventh seal.
This is the beginning of the seventh trumpet.
This will include the seven vials and all the other "Judgments", as we progress through this Book of Destiny.

King Jesus cannot die so His rule will be forevermore!

All of Heaven has taken notice of what is going on.

*****Rev 11:16  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 11:17  Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

Why will these things take place? Because of the "Great Power" of our Creator.

You know if more of the world would have accepted that we have a Creator and humanity has never been part of any part of Evolution, much of the suffering of these years would have been avoided.

We are not a bunch of accidents.
We did not come by some single cell of life that survived some catastrophe.
We did not evolve from some apelike creature.
We are handmade by our Creator, each one of us just a little different from each other.

Remember those twenty-four elders, represent the Church that is in Heaven.

They are excited because the Church, the Raptured Saints of God will return with the Lord Jesus and we the Church will reign with Him!

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

The phrase "the day of the Lord" is used thirty-one times, and this day will have officially arrived!

Isa_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.

Zep_1:18  Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

The Lord Jesus will appear at a time that no one knew and the first reaction will be, that all those who remain will get angry because all their beliefs and all their false realities are destroyed, because the truth has prevailed as truth always does.

*****Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

If we just stop and look at these things that are happening which will be true, why would people remain so rebellious.

To see what they have seen and still deny the Lord makes no sense to me at all, but this also will be true.

These people are angry that they have been wrong all their days!

They are angry the Lord Jesus Christ is the truth just like the Bible says He is.

These people are angry because they have been so deceived by the Antichrist that they still cannot believe they are wrong.

The truth says that when the world sees God working and the results of the truth are evident the world gets mad at God. Who can understand this one?

The truth says that all those that reject the Lord Jesus Christ will be judged and they will be judged at the end of the 1000-year rule, of Christ.

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  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.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

They cannot stand for this passage to be true, in fact they still deny it, but it will be true. Remember, they do not even believe in a place called Hell.

They get mad because the very ones they hate the most besides the Lord, will rule this earth with Him for 1000 years and get rewarded for being faithful.

They get mad because all the things they cherish the most will also be destroyed. The thieves, the gamblers, the bars, the liquor stores, the drugs, including the over the counter and prescription drugs, and the money lenders, the politicians will all be out of work and destroyed and every other evil, wicked, and immoral thing that is upon this earth today, including the slavery and trafficking of human beings that no one will even discuss.

If i was a descendant of some slave, I would do my very best to stop slavery that exist today, no matter where it takes place, but no one really cares about slavery.

You know, not one of these things would make me mad if they were all gone today!

Heaven will be rejoicing!

Jehovah will fulfill His promises to Israel.

The judgments that follow after the sounding of the seventh trumpet will be the most intense of the Tribulation Years!

*****Rev 12:1  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:
Rev 12:2  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

There are some great signs mentioned in the Bible. None, much greater than the "Virgin Birth" of our Savior but among the rest this sign will be a great sign.

This sign will take us back to the Book of Genesis. The first eleven chapters deal with creation and all the concepts of the Bible including salvation. After these chapters Jehovah begins to deal with Jacob who will be Israel from which all the Hebrew children are born creating the Nation of Israel that still exist today because of certain promises made to them.

Jehovah God, the Holy Trinity will never break a promise to anyone!

Throughout the Word of God, we see where He tells us signs and parables and we need to study these but the remainder of the Word of God we need to accept just as written only rightly divided.

First the woman clothed with the sun is the nation of Israel.

She is not the virgin Mary!
She is not the Church!

We should remember Joseph's dream.

Gen 37:9  And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. Eleven stars because he was number twelve.

Joseph's dream was about the beginning of the nation of Israel.

Isa 54:1  Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

Again we see Israel as a woman.

Israel is seen as a "Widow".
Israel is seen as "Divorced".
Israel is seen as an "Adulterous Wife"

In fact most all nations are referred to in the female sense.

The Church is already in Heaven and the Lord will begin dealing with Israel.

This woman clothed with the sun is no doubt a symbol for the nation of Israel.

Only the false church considers the church to be a mother!

The Church is the "Bride of Christ" only Israel can be the Mother of Christ by the virgin mother Mary!

Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Rom 9:4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

The crown she wore had a star for each of the original twelve sons of Israel.

The child she was in travail with a child that would be the Messiah

There was another sign witnessed by John and all of Heaven.

*****Rev 12:3  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.
Rev 12:4  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.

Now let us meet the Antichrist or Satan in the flesh.

We can be sure it is he because of verse 9!

He is the "red dragon" because he is a murderer!

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

People wonder where viruses, along with all the things that cause the murder of innocent people come from. They come from this evil wicked murderer Satan!

Jehovah may allow many of  these things if it suits His purpose and plan. Jehovah uses Satan to test His people and keep in mind if a Saint of God dies, they just go home to Heaven.

2Co_5:6  Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
2Co_5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Jehovah, The Lord does test His people for rewards. Satan cannot touch a Saint of God unless the Lord allows it and if the Lord allows it, it is for us to learn some lesson, or to be a bright and shining light in the work of the Lord.

Rom_8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Until he is removed, and he will be removed, he is still the prince of the power of the air, (this also includes air waves, broadcast, etc.).

Notice in this passage, that as soon as this child of this woman is born, this red dragon is in place to murder Him.

We know from the "Gospels" (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) that this is exactly what happened!

From the day the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem and every day until Jesus went to the cross, Satan tried his best to kill our Savior which was impossible for him to do.

Jesus Christ came to give His life for all sinners and that is what He did.

He gave His life because, no one could take His life! Since He gave His life then He could take His life back because He is God!

Joh 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

Mat 20:28  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Joh 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Joh 10:18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Jesus is God in the flesh who came to this earth to lay claim to His creation and to give His life as a ransom for all who would believe He did these things. He paid for all sin, but this must be acknowledged for you to receive the "pardon" from our righteous God, Jehovah.

This same Red Dragon, Satan will be poised to kill Jesus when He returns, but again it is impossible to kill the One True Living God, or He would not be God!

This dragon had seven heads. The number seven still is a perfect number and Satan is perfect in his wickedness!

He has none of the attributes of Jehovah, but he does have the power of an angel, though that power is limited by Jehovah and is used by Jehovah to accomplish certain task according to His plan.

Satan is never free to do as he pleases.

We know the Church is in Heaven.

Jehovah turns His attention back to the descendants of Abraham but only those who are the descendants of Jacob.

Remember it is the time of “Jacob's trouble”, not Esau, not Ishmael, nor any other descendant of Abraham.

We know that it is Satan who has brought wickedness to the world.

1Jn 5:19  And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

We know that the Lord Jesus will return to put an end to the wickedness that Satan has caused in this world.

1Jn 5:20  And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

We know that those seven crowns signify that Satan has been given earthly power over the governments that remain under his control.

Those ten horns represent those nations who have placed all their resources into the hands of Satan, the true Antichrist.

He is that Beast out of the Sea in our next chapter.

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

And we should notice that the beast does not appear until Satan is cast out of the heavens above us now, for he was cast out of Heaven where the Lord's domain exists many years ago.

Jesus was the greatest witness of this event.

Luke 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

In this chapter we will see Satan cast down to earth and he will no longer be prince of the power of the air.

These are important things and we should not miss these little events.

When Satan was expelled from Heaven, he took with him one third of the angels.

Though many are chained in darkness we could say that those remained are the demons so often seen in the New Testament and who still exist today also with limited power.

2Pe_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;

Mat 8:28  And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
Mat 8:29  And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
Mat 8:30  And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
Mat 8:31  So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
Mat 8:32  And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
Mat 8:33  And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
Mat 8:34  And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

We can be sure these demons are still at work today but not for much longer.

Nothing Satan had the power to do could stop the Virgin Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Nothing that Satan had the power to do could stop Jehovah's plan of Salvation.
Nothing Satan could stop the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Nothing Satan can do to stop the return of Jesus Christ to take His Church home.
Nothing Satan can do to stop the return of Christ to reclaim this world and remove Satan who has caused enough trouble.

*****Rev 12:5  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.
Rev 12:6  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.

Jesus first came to provide a means of salvation for all world, but this salvation is only available to those who trust Him and the work He has already done to save us from the pits of Hell.

This salvation is open to everyone form anywhere in this world. It just takes faith!

When Jesus returns to begin to deal with Israel and after He removes Satan for a period of time (1000 years) He will begin to deal with Israel and He will rule this earth with a "rod of Iron" which means everyone we live according to the same Word of God we have today without exception!

Before this takes place, the Lord will protect Israel.

Many things will happen during the time we call the Great Tribulation but one thing for sure is the God will protect and care for the true Children of Israel.

What do we know is that ever since the Lord Jesus has returned to Heaven, Israel has been scattered throughout this world, but the Lord has not forgotten any of them and has provided a means for them to return to their homeland.

All these things fulfilling prophesy!

God has provided the means for Israel to return to their homeland something that so many in the world would not be possible yet in 1948 it became official when Israel was recognized by the UN. Jehovah has never needed UN approval nor any nations approval for Him to do as He pleases and He has written it all down for us and these things will happen, just as they are written!

This time that Israel will flee into the wilderness has not taken place as of yet, and it will happen almost at the end of the Great Tribulation.

None of us have a clue to just how terrible life will be in those days other than what we read in the Scriptures and remember the Lord would not allow John to write of the "Seven Thunders".

*****Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

We might ask ourselves when will Satan have nowhere to hide except upon this earth. It is after this war in the firmament as described in the Book of Genesis. This is not a war in the third Heaven, where the throne room of God is located.

That would make Jesus a liar when He told His disciples He saw Satan tossed out of Heaven.

Luk_10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Obviously since Jesus always lives in eternity this could meant He saw Satan at any time, but He gave His disciples the impression and myself the impression, that this had already taken place before He came to this earth.

Heaven is not a place for wars. Our family and our friends and our loved ones are not in Heaven worried about some war that will take place.

Satan is right now the prince, (not the king) of the power of the air!

Eph_2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

We must understand that we have a guardian angel and most all the world believes this is true so there is every reason to believe that when the Satan goes to war against those future saints of God who are saved during the Great Tribulation those angels will certainly come to their rescue and Satan and his crowd will never be allowed back into the third Heaven or the Heaven of heavens.

What is happening even today in the Church Age?

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Besides the "Gospel" what are our men of God to preach and teach?

Eph 3:1  For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
Eph 3:2  If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Eph 3:3  How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Eph 3:4  Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Eph 3:5  Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Eph 3:6  That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Eph 3:7  Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
Eph 3:8  Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Eph 3:12  In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Satan knows all about God's house!

Isa 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Eze 28:14  Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:15  Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Satan will be tossed to the ground and in our next chapter guess what, this is where we will find him.

He is no longer even allowed in to the first and the second heavens. His days are numbered, and his home is in the pit of fire and he knows it.

What has Satan done since he was cast out of Heaven?

 "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him".

What will happen next? There will be that great war upon this earth which will consume much of the remaining chapters in this Book of the Reveling of Christ Jesus.

This is the Book of the Second Coming of our Lord.

*****Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 
Satan has been nothing but an "accuser" of the saints of God since the Church Age began! Since the Lord Jesus Christ washed us in His blood!

Satan has his demon helpers upon this earth but for the most part Satan spends most of his days accusing God's children of remaining sinners and unworthy of salvation which is the exact truth.

Notice Satan is not in Heaven doing this. He is not allowed in Heaven. What we forget is that every time God's children gather to worship, Satan is that old accuser pointing out our sins which makes it more important that we repent of our sin as soon as we realize we have sinned.

Satan and more specifically one or more of his followers are in every church, in fact many have moved into leadership roles!

When Jesus was on the cross, He died for all our sin. All the sin of our past, all the sin as we live day by day, and all our future sin until we go home to be with the Lord.

Jesus died for all sin for every sinner, even those who do not recognize what He has done for them, which is the most important decision we must make while we are alive.

Joh_16:8  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh_16:9  Of sin, because they believe not on me;

When we reject the conviction of the Holy Spirit who only tries to teach us of the work the Jesus has done for us, we doom ourselves to the same place of torment that Satan will find himself one day soon.

Mat 12:30  He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
Mat 12:31  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
Mat 12:32  And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Satan wastes his time accusing the children of God who are pure because they are under the blood of our Savior and their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Rev_20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

In Heaven we will rejoice over every new child of God that is washed in the blood of Jesus.

On earth, the Great Tribulation will be the worst of the seven years of Tribulation, because Satan has nowhere else to go, and he will be very mad and he will take it out on his own followers and those who are left upon this world at that time the Hebrew Children, still the "apple of God's eyes".

*****Rev 12:12  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabited of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

We see that the Lord takes time to warn the earth of why the last half of those seven years of Tribulation will be far worse than the first half.

Satan was tossed out of Heaven some 6000 plus years ago.

Satan has spent those years in the first and second heaven and upon the earth since that time.

At the beginning of the Great Tribulation, Satan is tossed out of the first and second heavens and will have no place to go but upon this earth with those who remain and he is full of wrath and he will go after the children of Israel who he had made friends with but now he will return to be their greatest enemy as he always has been.

He will seek to destroy them from off the face of the earth as so many have tried before him all these years. They were also Antichrist.

Among them Syria, Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar, Hitler and we can also add the Arabian Nations, the Palestinians, and I believe we can add the UN for all the actions they have taken against this tiny nation.

We should understand the UN is a Satan controlled unit, against Christianity, against the Jews, and against freedom!

The rise of the Antichrist is a part of the judgment of God.

After the Church is removed (rapture) the ungodly will run rampant all over this world, having their own way until near the end they would by their arrogance destroy this earth, if it were not for the Lord Jesus Christ.

God will use Satan to bring havoc in the Great Tribulation. He will be even more vicious than he ever was!

Notice he has been described as a roaring lion and wounded lion will be even more vicious.

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

This is the Satan that will be guiding the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation!

He is the great dragon and will act like one.
He is that old serpent who ruined the lives of Adam and Eve.
He is the Devil because he acts like a devil.
He is Satan the enemy of the Church and the enemy of the Jews.
He is Satan who has deceived all those who remain as unbelievers in the work the Jesus the Messiah did to save them!

The Church is in Heaven, Satan will now do everything he can to destroy the Hebrew children, but the Lord will stop him from even doing this.

Michael the warrior angel will stand up to deliver these that are still "the apple of God's eye".

*****Rev 12:13  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
Rev 12:14  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.
Rev 12:15  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 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.

Everything in the arsenal of the Antichrist will be aimed at Israel who is this woman!

We already know about the 144,000 missionaries sent out from God.
We already know about the Two Witnesses who brought havoc during this same period and all the world hated them and Satan thought he destroyed them, but God raptured them also back to Heaven.

All these things just irritated Satan even more till he cannot stand himself and he will attempt to destroy God's creation.

We must not forget Satan has had over 6000 years to study the Bible and we know he does read the Bible.

Mat 4:5  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Mat 4:6  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

This is Satan quoting Scripture to Jesus.

He thinks he knows the Word of God, but we know without the Holy Spirit all he sees is words. Many are easily understood by all readers, but the important things of God require the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Since the third Temple was built the Jews and maybe a few converts had been trying to obey the commandments of God. Those would be the commandments given to Moses as they worshipped in that rebuilt Temple.

We know that once the Antichrist turned against these Hebrew children then all the Muslim world would also turn against them again for, they had never really liked the fact that they had to allowed this third Temple to be built.

We know this is something the Antichrist accomplished in the first three and a half years of the Tribulation.

Almost the entire world will now be against Israel.

Many of the Prophets have already taught us these things!

Also many who since studying the Scriptures and realizing the Church was in Heaven now knew the truth of Jesus Christ.

Rom 11:14  If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
Rom 11:15  For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
Rom 11:16  For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
Rom 11:17  And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Rom 11:18  Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19  Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Rom 11:23  And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
Rom 11:24  For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

The eyes of the blind will be made to open and Satan will be in a rage during the Great Tribulation.

Amen

The Seventh Seal, The Trumpets of Judgment

The Seventh Seal; the Trumpet Judgments

Book of Revelation Chapters 8 and 9

In our last lesson there had been a small break between the sixth seal and the seventh seal and 144,000 Evangelist from the children of Israel, 12,000 from each tribe had been selected and sealed in the name of the Lord.

We next see that a number of people had accepted the truth of Jesus Christ. This number was a very large number of people, but we see them in Heaven which meant that they did not live very long after their salvation experience.

The earth was in total turmoil as it was the last three and a half years of the Tribulation which is called the Great Tribulation.

Things were terrible, and very terrible for anyone who rejected the Antichrist.

We will see in a later lesson that all of those 144,000 did live until these things were over.

Now we will see that God's "Judgment" will begin upon all those who rejected the Lamb of God.

The Saints of God were washed in the Blood of the Lamb.

With the seventh seal which contained the seven trumpets, those who remain, besides those 144,000, would see more blood than they could ever have imagined, but it would be their own blood that had no power except to cleanse the earth of wickedness.

There had been singing and rejoicing in Heaven for those who had come home, but now all singing and rejoicing would stop and there was a great silence.

Heaven is not a silent place it is a place of rejoicing but not for this moment.

Zec 2:13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

Heaven is never in joy over the "Judgment of God"!

All the signs of the Lord's Second Coming are being fulfilled.

*****Rev 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

These angels did not have these trumpets, these seven trumpets were given to seven angels and they took up their positions.

Whenever God calls us to His service, He will provide the tools we need for that service, just as He did these seven angels!

The trumpets of the Jews had many meanings.

1) The call to war

2) The call to worship

3) The call to convocation (Political and legal matters were settled)

4) The call to proclaim the festivals.

Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

What were these seven trumpets about?

Zep 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

Zep 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

Zep 1:16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

Zep 1:17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: "and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung".

It will be a terrible time for those who remain upon this earth. Those who die and those who will live through it.

Now, there was silence in Heaven for about a thirty-minute time as on the earth. There is no time in Heaven. Heaven is a place of eternity and endless life.

John still lived in his own time.

*****Rev 8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Rev 8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

We see that once we are called and God provides the tools for the work He has given us to do, then there must be a time of preparation.

These angels had to prepare themselves for the "Trumpet Judgments".

Yes, the "Trumpet Judgments" are the judgments contained in the "Seventh Seal"!

Before we go further, we had better realize that we must take these things just as they are written.

There was no confusion on John's part, and we must not spiritualize these Scriptures!

There is proof upon this earth that these things have happened before on a smaller scale.

We had better not doubt the God of truth, but even in all these things we will still see God's "Mercy"!

Joe 2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

Joe 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

You see, the Lord will return to this earth so He only took a third part of the trees and a third part of the grasses and yes these would the edible fruits and wheat and grasses for those who will live through these things.

The Lord means business and there is a lesson here for the Church, not for the lost.

The Bible was not written for the lost! The Bible is written for the saved!

Those who are lost cannot understand the Word of God because of the need of the Holy Spirit, so the Word of God can speak to us and do not make some big deal out of this, it is just the truth!

The first trumpet brought hail and fire mingled with blood.

This means hail with lightening so terrible that they bring destruction and death.

We have an example:

Exo 9:23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

Exo 9:24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

At this time of Moses, God did not bring the death that will come in this time of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

God said we would see these things again and God never lies!

Jer 23:7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

Jer 23:8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

The seven years of Tribulation is the "judgment" of non-believers, but it is also to get the Jews to see the truth of the Power of Jehovah and the Coming of the Messiah.

So there will be great destruction and there will be great death! There will be blood, blood, and more blood.

This world does not believe in the salvation power of the blood of Jesus, so they will see blood!

The second trumpet sounds.

*****Rev 8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

Rev 8:9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

As the first trumpet when it sounded it affected the land, the second trumpet sounding affects the Sea!

This great mountain could be a volcano and probably is.

In his 100-year lifetime, we would think John had seen a volcano somewhere in his travels. It is a volcano but then it blasted apart as it exploded like none that he had ever seen.

Some suggest that it is possibly a huge meteor, ablaze with fire as it burnt through the earth's orbit and blasted into a mountain near the Sea.

Some people do not believe in waters turning to blood, but this is a regular occurrence in Australia that is said to be caused by a red, algae.

It happens also in the waters near Florida.

Blood red waters have appeared on the coast of China which was blamed on illegal dumping and there are other places where the waters of the Seas have turned blood red but not on the scale as it will be when this trumpet sounds.

We also see red in our own drinking water in many places. It is those pink stains in our sinks and drains and this is because of Iron Ferrous in our water supplies.

In this vision of John, the impact of this mountain destroyed a third of the ships and there was the blood of men spilled into the Seas and the lakes and the streams.

These ships could very well be ships involved in the war on Israel or at least in the war of the Antichrist upon mankind.

In this same occurrence that destroyed a third part of all sea creatures and their blood was also mingled in the water.

We should just believe the water will turn blood red and not doubt the Word of God!

This was a terrible thing and of course this also caused a loss of some of the world's food supply.

There are blood red waters in the Bible and John was familiar with them.

Exo 7:17 Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

Exo 7:18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.

Exo 7:19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

Exo 7:20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

Exo 7:21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

John was also familiar with the words from Jeremiah, where similar words were used of Babylon.

Jer 51:24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.

Jer 51:25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

Babylon, in the Book of Revelation, is the worldly systems put in place by the Antichrist.

The financial system and the religious system.

In either case, we as the Church will not be involved in any part of these things and we are certainly not to have any fear.

Psa 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psa 46:2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Psa 46:3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

It is just best to take the Word of God as it is written!

While we are on this subject of just believing the promises of the Lord, let me mention that a lot is being said about some shot or some injection what will heal this virus that is plaguing our world today. Some are comparing to the "mark of the Beast".

Just so we understand. As true Christians, we cannot lose our salvation. Nothing and no one can remove us from the hand of the Lord, not even ourselves!

Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

Joh 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

So, if someone comes up with a working solution to end this plague in the form of a shot or injection or even a pill, we do not have to be afraid of it. In fact if it happens then the Lord allowed it and He would expect us to do whatever it takes to protect our families.

1Ti_5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

The Lord will never go back on His Word and we need the "faith" to accept all the Word of God!

Now after the Church is in Heaven these things could have an entirely different meaning!

The third trumpet sounds.

*****Rev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

Rev 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

We see shooting stars very often today. There are also Comets making their lonesome orbits through the galaxies and they are also wonderful to see.

On this day at least one of them did not miss this place called earth and will make deadly contact.

Wormwood in the Old Testament is a sign of bitter calamity and sorrow, and this certainly describes life in the time of the Great Tribulation!

Jer 9:13 And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;

Jer 9:14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:

Jer 9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

Drinking water will be scarce in many places and much of the drinking water will be poisoned by the Antichrist in his attempt to control the population, and many will die for lack of water. The average persons can only go two or three days without water.

This is a reminder of what was offered to Jesus. Remember the Book of Revelation is about the reveling of Jesus Christ.

Why should we expect to be treated any better than the world has treated Jesus?

Mat 27:34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

Jesus would not drink poison when He was dying. Alcohol is poison!

Will you drink the waters laced with wormwood when you are dying during these days of the Great Tribulation?

I will not be here! This should also be your answer!

The fourth trumpet sounds.

*****Rev 8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

We should understand that everyone who is living during the time of the Great Tribulation are there because they chose to be there!

They all had an opportunity to be in Heaven, but they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, the only way to get into God's Heaven.

They would not give up their sin!

What we should understand is that for a third part of the world, they could not see the sun, they could not see the moon, they could not even see the nighttime sky!

They were placed in total darkness!

We can only imagine the things going on around them that caused this thing to happen.

What had Jesus said?

Luk 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Luk 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

This is also similar to the plague of Egypt.

Exo 10:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.

Exo 10:22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:

Exo 10:23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

Notice that just as in this day of Moses. God allowed the darkness to be only in a certain area and God's people still had light.

Two thirds of the world would still have the light of the Sun and the Moon and the nighttime sky.

We should not doubt what people were in darkness and those who had light!

In fact we could say that this darkness will be so dark that it can be felt. The world of today is not aware of true darkness because of the lights that are on in darkness!

Exo_10:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.

Then came the announcement that things were only going to get worse.

*****Rev 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

There are three "woes", a woe for each of the trumpets that remain.

Things never get better during the "Great Tribulation"!

That word "Holocaust" has been used and certainly Hitler's destruction of the Jews was a true holocaust. There are some things going on in Africa, and Syria, and maybe a few other places that might be called a holocaust by Christians, but none of these things will compare to those last three years of the "Great Tribulation"!

The Antichrist has assumed rule of this world and he is showing his true side!

He has demanded total allegiance!

He will demand that all people focus on his government.

Never a government has ever existed that were as deceptive and as cruel as his government! Yet there are so many people today that just cannot wait till there is a One World government where the rights of people will be non-existent!

We can compare it somewhat to some of those "want to be" Antichrist that have come before him.

1Jn_2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

Throughout the centuries there have been antichrist in place as rulers as the Caesars, Hitler just to name a couple.

With them came war and death and all the atrocities of war.

It will be much worse when this last but true Antichrist is on the scene and ruler of this world! The ruler of the One World government.

He was welcomed with open arms because of his deception but he can only be what he is, "the duplicate of the Devil"!

The first four trumpets brought devastation to the earth.

The last three trumpets will bring devastation to the people of the earth!

God will judge the ungodly and the evil and not those who trust in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Woe, Woe, Woe, to the inhabitants of the earth.

****Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

Rev 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

As we read, we see that John saw a "star" fall to the earth, but it was not an actual star it was a being, it was a person, or it was an angel.

It is in fact an angelic being for no human being has this capability!

This angelic being has the key to the bottomless pit.

We would be foolish to believe that God would give any keys to Satan.

This same angel comes later to bind Satan.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

Rev 20:3 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.

We here of a lot of things about Hell and the Burning Lake of Fire and how hot and horrible it is.

We read of the rich man from the Book of Luke is in Hell in torments and he would welcome just one drop of water from a beggar that he despised, just to cool his tongue for a moment.

Hell is a terrible place.

Here we read that Hell is a bottomless pit.

I do not know how many have ever had that dream of falling and then wake up knowing how terrible it was and is more than a dream but a nightmare.

I cannot imagine how terrible it would be to continuously be falling throughout eternity it takes be back to another place in the Scriptures.

Num 16:28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.

Num 16:29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.

Num 16:30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.

Num 16:31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:

Num 16:32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

Num 16:33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

Num 16:34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.

I can only imagine that these are still falling in this bottomless pit, which is very possible with the rotation of the earth.

You fall and fall and then you fall some more the bottom always being out of reach!

Another thing we see that when this pit is opened there was smoke as a furnace.

Does anyone believe this pit of Hell is not a fiery furnace just so miserably hot that it cooks and cooks and then, cooks some more.

It does not cause death because it is our Holy Father and His Son Jesus who by having life also hold the power of death!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Hell is a terrible place and then the Burning Lake of Fire and a Bottomless Pit.

Some say this bottomless pit is the home of the Fallen Angels or wicked and evil demons.

Not only does this place house those that have rejected the truth of God, but there are terrible things also in this pit.

Locusts with the power of a scorpion.

Locusts crave grass and all green things, but God will not allow them to eat these things. I do not think they will be very happy about it.

You can call this foolishness if you so choose, but locusts are real, and they destroy crops every year in many places upon this earth.

These are different in they will attack humans because they have no food, but not all humans. They will not attack those 144,000 Jews that have God's seal of approval!

*****Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

Rev 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

The scorpion looks somewhat like a miniature lobster. They have a very active tail, with six joints which ends with a crooked point like a claw.

They are carnivorous in their habits. In that claw or stinger there is a gland which discharges a poisonous fluid and it makes a painful wound in humans and animals which can have fatal results in some species and in some people.

This scorpion mentioned here will not cause death, but it will cause a pain so terrible you will wish you were dead!

Locusts travel in swarms, so they are more likely to cause multiple stings upon each and every human and all the animals that remain.

These things will be so bad that the world will seek to die, but God holds the power of life and death and He will not allow them to die, but suffer through this terrible thing for five months which is about the life span of a grass hopper today.

What we can believe is that God will not allow anyone to die during this five-month period.

They will not even be able to commit suicide, though they may even try and make their own matters even worse.

These will be terrible looking things but let us look at another prophesy.

Joe 2:4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

Joe 2:5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.

Joe 2:6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

Joe 2:7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:

Joe 2:8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

Joe 2:9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

Joe 2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

We know that horses cannot fly nor can they climb walls, but these creatures in this passage would be able to.

We also know this as the Day of the Lord in the Book of Revelation.

Joe 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

These things have a king, which locusts, do not have.

Pro 30:27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

Nowhere in the Scriptures is Satan called Abaddon nor Apollyon so this king must not be Satan.

In reality those who are alive may now see the wicked demons who have been at work but never seen all these years!

These will be terrible days for all those who wear or carry the mark of the beast!

*****Rev 9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

Rev 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

Rev 9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

As we can see, more "woes" lie ahead for all those who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ by their own choice.

The patience of the Lord has reached its peak. He will no longer hold back "Judgment" on all unbelievers.

Eze 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

Eze 3:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Heb 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

It is our Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ who stands at this golden altar.

He is our Legal Advocate. He is our Supreme Head of life.

This Golden Altar is in fact a "type of Calvary" where our Savior bled and died. Those horns represent the power of the blood!

Those who were about to die would shed their own blood because they rejected the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

It is those who kept not the commandment of the Lord who remain upon this earth, and most of them were about to die.

We cannot bypass Calvary in our search for life!

We cannot bypass the washing of water by the Word of God!

We cannot forego the Living Bread at the table of our Lord and Savior!

We cannot bypass our Intercessor as these that remain on earth are trying to do!

It is our Intercessor who cries out from the Golden Altar to the sixth angel!

These people had witnessed the Church.

Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

Heb 10:21 And having an high priest over the house of God;

Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Now they would witness the Judgment of the Lord.

There are many thoughts about these angels, and they were bound which seemed to make them fallen angels that Satan has prepared for this specific day.

Let us take another look.

They were bound near the River Euphrates which is the most probable location of the Garden of Eden.

This is the location of where Satan caused the first sin of man.

This is the place where because of sin, death came to all humans.

This is the place where God himself placed His Cherubim to protect the way to the tree of life.

Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

It is my opinion that it is these angels who have been bound at this place all these years defending the way to the tree of life, and it is who they have been prepared for this specific day!

The number of them being four because of the four directions, North, South, East, and West.

When released, they will slay a third part of the men left upon this earth during the Great Tribulation. They will never be able to reach the tree of life!

Remember one fourth of those that remained had already been killed and that leaves three fourths.

This would mean that almost half of the population of this planet would already be dead!

Today there are near 8 billion (7.8 Billion) people upon this planet.

What was the number of those who would be slain?

*****Rev 9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

Rev 9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

Rev 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

Rev 9:19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

These four angels will use the Devil's own cavalry, a vast invading army, to accomplish this task.

We can see that the great Tribulation is just one horror followed by an even worse horror, under the direction of Heaven but taking place by the Antichrist.

This army will appear indestructible and we can only describe them as John saw them.

What comes from them is fire and brimstone and fire is a great destructor which goes on until its fuel goes out and is accelerated by the winds of doom.

Psa 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

Psa 11:5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

Psa 11:6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

Psa 11:7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

We know that John did his best to describe these evil army that I believe describes our modern warfare machinery, but it could still be in our future.

No doubt a horrible time will be this Great Tribulation where half of the world has already died.

Still let us listen to those who were not killed and notice who they are.

*****Rev 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

These are the elite. These are the ones closest to the Antichrist. These are the ones who have allowed the others to be on the front lines.

With half of the world that remained they became even more angry at Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ, and more attached to the Antichrist.

They had so many gods, one for each of their miseries, but none seemed to be working, but they clanged to them hoping one would have some power to stop the Lion of the tribe of Juda, but He will prevail!

Notice there is no mention of any righteous because there are none at this time upon the earth, only the unrighteous remain!

There also no mentioned of any saved because we cannot be saved on our terms but only on the Lord's terms.

This was the time to say, "Lord I give up" but the Lord would not have allowed that!

It is always a good time to repent but these still refused to repent!

Noticed they worshiped devils.

They worshiped gold.

They worshiped silver.

They worshiped brass.

They worshiped stone their great structures.

They worshiped wood their great homes.

None of these could see their problems.

None of these could hear their prayers.

None of these could walk over to help them even as they reached out to them for help.

You see you must be broken to receive the Lord. Your pride must be non-existent.

Broken soil produces crops.

Broken clouds give us rain.

Broken grain gives us bread.

Breaking the bread gives us strength.

It is a broken heart that the Lord can heal.

It is a bruised and broken soul that can be saved.

None of these could be broken!

They were still murderers even with murder going on all around them.

They still relished in their drugs. Yes sorceries are the use of drugs.

The English word “sorceries” comes from the Greek word “pharmakeia”

far-mak-i'-ah

From G5332 in the Strong's dictionary of Greek and Hebrew words; medication (“pharmacy”),

They still rejected marriage and remained open to all infidelity and immorality.

They remained thieves, taking away from those who could not protect themselves.

It was like the wild west with no sheriff.

Everyone did just what they wanted to do regardless of the harm it caused others.

The Great Tribulation will be a horrible time to be upon this earth!

Each of them was the enemy of the one closest to them!

Amen