Wrath Of The Lamb: The Revelation Of Jesus Christ

Revelation Chapter 9:

The First Woe:

    "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!" (Revelation 8:13 KJV)

    The "first woe" is a placeholder for the First Angel's Message of Revelation Chapter Fourteen.

The Fifth Trumpet:

    See Also: Fifth Church | Fifth Seal | Fifth Plague

    "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. 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." (Revelation 9:1-2 KJV)

    The Star that falls from heaven represents the Angel of one of the Seven Churches, symbolized by the Seven Stars held in Jesus right hand at the beginning of John's vision.

      "The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." (Revelation 1:20 KJV)

    The bottomless pit (or 'pit of the abyss') is metaphor for the Holy Apartment of the sanctuary of the Tabernacle of Witness. It is 'bottomless' because as sinners who would have to sacrifice animals to blot out our sins, there would be no end to the blood and sacrifices we would have to make without Jesus.

    Beginning with the Fifth Trumpet, completion of our salvation is accomplished in three phases, represented by the cries of the Three Angels of Revelation 14:6-9. These are also the Angels of the last three Churches addressed by Jesus in Revelation Chapters Two and Three.

    The Fifth Trumpet of Revelation represents the First Angel that announces the first phase of the Completion of the Plan of Salvation.

    The three historical phases announced by the Three Angels of Revelation chapter 14 are:

    1. Preach the Gospel - SARDIS: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

    2. Fall of Babylon - PHILADELPHIA: "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

    3. Call out of Babylon, join together, witness Jesus - LAODICEA: "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb..." (Revelation 14:6-10 KJV)

    Jesus through John says that this first phase, preaching the everlasting gospel to all that dwell on the earth, will last for five prophetic months, or 150 years.

    Subtracting 150 years from 2001 takes us to 1851, the year that the leading church to come out of the "Great Second Advent Movement", Seventh-Day Adventists, finally consolidated their major doctrines - especially the seventh-day sabbath - and began accepting converts to Jesus by renouncing their "shut door" doctrine.

    The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is the church represented by the Angel who is "given the key to the bottomless pit", meaning a key to the prophecy of Revelation reached through understanding the sanctuary service of the sacrificial system.

    The Seventh-Day Adventist Church grew from the Millerite Movement, the followers of which had carefully studied the book of Daniel and reached the conclusion that the 2300 days (prophetic years) predicted therein would end in the year 1844. At that time, said the angel who came to Daniel in his vision, "the sanctuary will be cleansed". The Millerite followers took this to mean that Jesus, now our High Priest in heaven, would return to earth at that time.

    The 'Cleansing of the Sanctuary' was a crucial part of the new knowledge that had been discovered by Advent believers through extensive study of the Bible. Since nearly all prophecy in the Bible references the sacrificial system that Moses had set up for Israel on the instructions of God, understanding that system was essential to understanding Bible prophecy - especially the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.

    By understanding the sacrificial system, for example, we can understand why Jesus was called by John the Baptist, "the Lamb of God".

    After the great disappointment of 1844 as the date set for Jesus' return passed into history, for seven years Adventists stubbornly clung to what was called the 'shut door' doctrine. This was a doctrine based on a vision of Ellen White that seemed to represent that only people who were converted before October, 1844, could still be saved.

    In September, 1851, however, Ellen White's husband James White published the information that three new converts had been accepted, since these converts were undeniably converted to Jesus, though after 1844. During the seven years of their support of the 'shut door' doctrine, Adventists also adopted the Ten Commandments doctrine of the Seventh Day Sabbath, and renounced Sunday keeping as non-Biblical:

      "Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people... Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." (Exodus 31:14-17 KJV)

    Thus was born God's great northern army of Evangelists whose purpose in the Plan of Salvation was to restore true Biblical knowledge - and especially re-establish the Ten Commandments as more than just ancient laws of Moses up to that time were largely ignored by Christianity:

      "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

      A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 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. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness." (Joel 2:1-6 KJV)

    So well-known was the Seventh-Day Adventist Church for its members' evangelical enthusiasm, when it had grown to only 100,000 members contemporaries commented, "From the energy and zeal with which they work one would judge that there were two million of them".

    Scores of Evangelical denominations grew from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, many because they appreciated but disagreed with the prophetic interpretations of Adventism, and some could not abide by other doctrines that Adventists held such as the Adventist health message.

    The result has been a great re-awakening of Christianity and Bible study over the last century and a half, which has prepared us all for understanding what we have done wrong in order to reach this point of near self-destruction. We have failed to love God and keep His commandments.

    In Revelation John represents these evangelical Christians, with their new knowledge of the sanctuary service, as 'locusts' that come forth upon the earth out of the smoke of God's wrath. These locusts are given power like scorpions...

    "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.

    "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. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them." (Rev 9:4-6 KJVA)

    • Should not kill them: People who already had the seal of God were also immune. Others would desire to die, but death would flee from them.

      The use of "kill", "death", and "die" in Revelation: Remember, Jesus said:

        "For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him." (Luke 20:38 KJV)

      So expect life in Revelation! The type of "death" mainly discussed in Revelation is rendered in the spirit of the Apostle Paul's description of being born again:

        "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him." (Romans 6:6-8 KJV)

      Thus our 'sinful' self (as Paul saw it) must die for us to live in Jesus' grace.

    • Torment of a scorpion: This is another metaphorical representation of self-righteous rebukes - and/or criticism - as physical pain. When He had sent out the 70 disciples to minister to the poor and sinners, Jesus rejoiced when they returned, saying:

        "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19 KJV)

      The serpents and scorpions Jesus referred to were the Pharisees and Saducees - and the stings of their rebukes and remonstrations - an example of the way overly enthusiastic and self-righteous evangelicals tend to talk down to the 'sinners' they are trying to 'save'.

    • And in those days men shall seek death: Of the people firmly established in apostate Christian religions, most would not accept the doctrines of Seventh-Day Adventists. Yet Many agreed with the Biblical truths they were shown - such as the truth of the seventh-day Sabbath being a covenant between people and God. But they did not want to leave friends, churches, and family behind by accepting conversion to Adventist truths.

      These were the truths (scorpion stings) by which Adventists would pass judgment on them... Yet they would refuse to be 'killed' of their apostate old beliefs and reborn into the truths presented so aggressively by SDA evangelists, and defended so aggressively by SDAs who loved to debate scripture.

      Added to that group of miserable apostates would the many people who initially accepted Adventist beliefs, but became discouraged by the harsh judgment of others within the Adventist church. The Adventist church is well known for its tenancy to fall into pharisaism and legalism. The people thus rejected because of such legalism are now scattered throughout the world - but they know truth, so they cannot ethically accept anything less with any real enthusiasm.

      People thus described would seek to "die" and be reborn into their own religion or into other religions, but could not because they now they knew the truth of Biblical teachings after being told by Seventh-Day Adventists, or other evangelical group.

      The apostle Peter described the situation of people like these, who were convinced of truth yet would not accept it completely into their lives, well:

        "For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." (2 Peter 2:20-22 KJV)

     

    "And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions." (Revelation 9:7-8 KJV)

    • Like unto horses: The book of Psalms provides a definition of prophetic 'horses' for us:

        "Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee." (Psalms 32:9 KJV)

      This verse describes believers who accept the comfort of others' doctrine without searching the Bible for knowledge themselves. The person whose doctrine they have received as truth actually holds their reins, and they believe as they are told.

      Crowns like gold: A favorite phrase of Seventh-Day Adventists who witnessed Jesus to others was the phrase "adding a jewel to your crown". This meant that somehow when a conversion was made because of one's own efforts to teach the gospel, the person thus witnessing to the convert would be rewarded in heaven with an additional jewel in his or her crown. This idea is probably based on a verse by Paul in Second Timothy:

        "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8 KJV)

      But Paul is talking about a metaphorical crown of righteousness, not an actual crown, thus these horses wear "as it were" crowns like gold. Most Adventists surely recognized the metaphorical nature of the crown, but unthinkingly use the phrase anyway. The idea of converts becoming jewels in one's crown would be rather insulting to the convert - being thought of as an object rather than as a person valued for who they are.

    • Hair as the hair of women: This is a reference to the many ordinances Adventists were expected to follow, from strict vegetarian diets to dressing modestly without any jewelry. In this way they resembled the Nazarites, a sect of the Jews who periodically took vows to behave, dress, and eat a certain way. While under the vow, Nazarites could not cut their hair. The most famous Nazarite was Samson, who drew strength from his long hair. The apostle Paul also took the Nazarite vow.

       

    • Teeth as the teeth of lions: This means that the metaphorical locusts were very aggressive in passing judgement and pointing out faults of 'sinners'. See 'lion' in the Prophetic Dictionary.

        "My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." (Psalms 57:4)

        "For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion." (Joel 1:6)

        "But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not: With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth. Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions." (Psalms 35:15-17 KJV)

    "And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months." (Revelation 9:9-10 KJV)

    • Breastplates of iron: The armor of God, in this case the armor of Jesus since the breastplates are of iron. Iron is used to represent Jesus' reign over His Kingdom (see the page on Daniel Chapter Two). The sound of the 'wings' indicates that the locusts were driven by the Holy Spirit, like chariots - their dedication to their doctrine was so heartfelt.

    • Tails like unto scorpions:

        "Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed." (Isaiah 9:14-16 KJV)

      Seventh-Day Adventists (other evangelicals too, of course) have continued for over 150 years to teach an interpretation of the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation that was set forth in the mid-nineteenth century by early SDA pioneers. Men like Uriah Smith and J.N. Andrews studied these books extensively - under the impression that they themselves were living very near to the time of Jesus' Second Coming.

      God's people are supposed to study prophecy, of course, and the work of these early pioneers was laudable.

      However, interpretation of prophecy should never become doctrine before the prophetic event in question has been confirmed to have happened.

      SDA Evangelists and church administrators were admonished continuously by their own messenger of God, Ellen White, to study, study, study - to search the scriptures constantly under the power of the Holy Spirit:

        "Every church has need of the Holy Spirit's searching power. This alone can enable them to seek peace, to pursue that course which will bring peace to their own souls, to be faithful witnesses to Christ, testifying by their circumspect course of action that they have the mind of Christ. . . " {2MR 12.2}

      She wrote that every generation will receive new truths as the scripture unfolds:

        "The Scriptures are constantly opening to the people of God. There always has been and always will be a truth specially applicable to each generation. The message given to Noah was present truth for that time; and if the people had accepted that message, they would have been saved from drinking the waters of the flood. Now suppose a certain people should say, "We have all the truth that our fathers had; we don't want any more," and the God of heaven should send them a message as he did to Nineveh. What would be the result?" {RH, June 29, 1886 par. 9}

      Warnings, warnings, and more warnings...

        "God calls for His watchmen to awake and be faithful sentinels. Begin anew to yoke up with Christ and with all who have a knowledge of the truth. Arouse from your deathlike slumbers, and learn the simple lessons that lie at the foundation of true godliness."

      Yet the Seventh-Day Adventist Church has stuck to these stale, 150-year old interpretations of the most important books that exist in the Bible regarding the second coming!

      So, "the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail" means everyone who has actively participated in SDA evangelism, teaching as gospel the interpretations of Daniel and Revelation created by men of 150 years ago.

      Such teachings have resulted in much spiritual darkness within their own church as thousands of interested Bible students who were baptized into that church were restricted to prophecies wrongfully adopted as unchangeable doctrine.

      It is notable that since the Gospel these churches were to teach was to be preached around the world, the churches represented by the Fifth Trumpet are not represented as limited to only a third part of the Spiritual earth.

    "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." (Revelation 9:11 KJV)

    Abaddon means 'destruction' in Hebrew, as Apollyon means 'destroyer' in Greek.

    Seventh-Day Adventists - and the evangelical churches that grew from their pioneer work and the Great Second Advent - Destroyed Biblical ignorance and false doctrines resulting from centuries of suppression of Biblical Truths by other well meaning churches established before them. In addition:

    • They brought the statutes of the Ten Commandments back into the conscience of society as the Law of Divine Justice to be loved, not amended.

    • Seventh-Day Denominations including Adventists once again brought the true Seventh-Day Sabbath to the forefront of theology, restoring God's Sabbath covenant with man.

    • Through countless selfless pastors, educators, health workers, and courageous missionaries, Seventh-Day Adventists and others spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ - the original, hopeful, optimistic gospel of His return - throughout the western world.

    In the process they have also left the earth spiritually desolate.

    Why do I say that?

    Because all of these religions have slowly slipped into apostasy. They have accepted bribes from government in the form of tax-exempt corporate status, and now vouchers for private education.

    In exchange for these rewards these religions have kept quiet as God's poor, fatherless, and destitute have been robbed and oppressed under successive conservative governments, and as our government has become an oppressive empire builder overseas, and as they themselves have allowed government to disenfranchise their own members.

    Click here to read about how that happened.

    From Spirit-driven, mostly volunteer, private organizations, most Christian religions have allowed themselves to develop into corporations, paying billions of donated dollars to employees and executives and becoming woefully out of touch with the needs of God's people.

    Thus saith the LORD:

      "Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood. In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.

      "Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my Sabbaths. In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness. In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.

      "And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

      "In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 22:6-12 KJV)

 

Fifth Trumpet Summary (Church of Sardis): The work of the Evangelical churches that grew out of the Great Second Advent was to spread the Gospel, restore Knowledge of God's covenants with His people, and to bring the original Ten Commandments to the forefront of Christianity once more. The renewed knowledge of the ceremonies of the Tabernacle of Witness and the Children of Israel's system of animal sacrifice, allowed us once more to attempt the interpretation of exciting Biblical prophecies.

Through the inevitable apostasy that historically follows religious revivals, and through the persecution of religion by modern atheism, by 2001 the world was deep in spiritual darkness. The Second Advent of Jesus Christ was all but forgotten as the religious were disenfranchised by their government, and criticized mercilessly in the media after many highly publicized scandals involving cults and immoral church leaders.

The Second Woe:

    "One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter." (Revelation 9:12 KJV)

    The "second woe" is a placeholder for the Second Angel's Message of Revelation Chapter Fourteen.

The Sixth Trumpet:

    See Also: Sixth Church | Sixth Seal | Sixth Plague

    "And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 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." (Revelation 9:13-15 KJV)

    This trumpet announces the exciting times since September 11, 2001.

    Note that the third part of men referred to here means believers in Judeo-Christianity.

    • The Four Horns of the golden altar: Horns normally represent the Holy Spirit in some way, especially laws or principles of the Spirit. The Apostle Paul tells us:

        "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin." (Romans 7:14 KJV)

      The ten horns of the Beast of Daniel Chapter Seven, for example, represent The Ten Commandments. Horns represent the Spirit, and the Commandments are Spiritual Laws. The Ten Commandments are also represented by the ten horns of the Dragon of Revelation Chapter Twelve and the First Beast of Revelation Chapter Thirteen.

      The Horns of the golden altar of incense before God represent the first four Laws of the Ten Commandments - the Laws that tell us how we must Love God.

      The first four commandments really specify that we must love God completely - emotionally, spiritually, physically, and intellectually - in order to achieve His Kingdom of brotherhood. Jesus' version of these first four commandments was:

        "And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." (Luke 10:27 KJV)

      God does not want us to be robots, He truly delights in our uniqueness. He is our Creator and thus is responsible for all of unique talents, tastes, and even weaknesses! If we love Him perfectly, we will also love our fellow creations perfectly because He loves them also.

      The government of the Kingdom of Heaven is that simple. We just love the Good Shepherd and the rest is taken care of.

      It is the Good Shepherd's voice, right after September 11, that said to the sixth angel that had the trumpet: "Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates".

    • Loose the Four Angels: These four angels represent the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are the books of the Holy Bible that contain the teachings of Jesus Christ and the story of His life and crucifixion.

      These four Gospels are represented as bound (tied up). They appear this way in Revelation because Christian churches have preferred to concentrate on the New Testament books written by Peter, Paul, James, and others - they have even preferred to concentrate on the Old Testament - rather than on Jesus' teachings.

      This is because the teachings of Jesus are plainly at odds with the way most churches function.

      Why this is so is explained below:

    • The Great River Euphrates: The Great River Euphrates is made up of prophetic water, which is knowledge - most often the Knowledge of God, taught through the Holy Spirit. This is the water as Jesus offered the Samarian woman at Jacob's well:

        "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." (John 4:10 KJV)

      Waters, waters, everywhere! Zechariah Chapters Ten through Fourteen describe the spiritual times we are living through today. In chapter Twelve God promises:

        "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness." (Zechariah 13:1 KJV)

      And in Isaiah:

        "And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall." (Isaiah 30:25 KJV)

      The River Euphrates is used as metaphor for the knowledge of God used to rise up in defense against the flood of the godless knowledge of atheism and idolatry (Egypt) prophesied by Jeremiah:

        "Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates. Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?

        "Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.

        "Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.

        "For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates." (Jeremiah 46:5-10 KJV)

      Because of the Internet and television, books and magazines, today the earth is filled with the knowledge of God, "as the waters cover the sea", if we but search for it. Prior to September 11, knowledge of God was at low ebb:

        "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters." (Jeremiah 17:13 KJV)

      Since September 11, 2001, people have been turning to God in record numbers. With our nation (the USA) continuing to take the path of oppression and violence instead of the obvious humanitarian path, more and more people who still have compassionate souls will be turning to God, and more and more knowledge of Him is becoming available:

        "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious." (Isaiah 11:9-10 KJV)

      Perhaps even Mel Gibson's "Passion" appears in prophecy as the story, recounted in the last day, of the crucifixion:

        "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zechariah 12:10 KJV)

    • Which were prepared for an Hour, and a Day, and a Month, and a Year: "An hour, and a day, and a month, and a year" in prophetic time (1 prophetic day = 1 year of 360 days) works out to 15 days + 1 year + 30 years + 360 years, for a total of 391 years and 15 days. 2001 minus 391 = 1610. In the year 1610 AD the King James Translation of the Holy Bible was completed. From that time, the Bible has become more and more available to the common people - the sheep of Jesus.

      Despite this availability, the truths of the Bible and Jesus have largely remained hidden until recently.

      This is true because, against Jesus' specific teachings, all churches that have been founded since the time of the Apostles have formed themselves as organizations that required a human hierarchy to administer them.

      The requirement of an administration to run things meant that some of people within the church were to be designated as more valuable than others - as deacons, pastors, ministers, priests, board members, cardinals, popes, vice presidents, presidents, etc...

      Yet the entire concept of a church hierarchy is completely opposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Son of God these churches were supposed to be worshipping.

      Jesus taught:

        "But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

        "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

        "But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

        "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in." (Matthew 23:8-13 KJV)

      The government of God has always been a simple government based completely on love: No man rules over another in God's government. Under the Covenant of Promise of Jesus, God alone rules each one of us.

      Before each church appointed its hierarchy, the church first had to establish common doctrine that would define what its members believe. In other words, they had to define what those who exalted themselves above others should teach and be responsible for rebuking others about. These doctrines they established would become the knowledge of God which that church had to offer.

      They also had to create rules for excommunicating members. By doing so, they created rules that once again allowed men to judge the sheep of Jesus.

      Once these doctrines and rules were established, they were practically unchangeable because the church that established them began treating these doctrines as divine. Rather than change doctrine, nearly all churches prefer to build upon existing doctrine.

      The result is usually anything but divine. Jesus said, "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Scribes", but churches did not understand. Thus today we can see why we have over 2,000 denominations of Christianity. In order for more knowledge of God to be available under any hierarchical system, an entirely new church has to be founded that includes other doctrines containing that knowledge.

      Today, however, things are different for all of us because of computers. The Internet, especially, has set us free to find knowledge of God for ourselves. If someone wants us to believe their doctrine, we have scores of tools that allow us to test God's witnesses in the Bible and elsewhere in order to discover Truth.

      God has promised each one of us, from the least of us the greatest, that we can figure out for ourselves who He is and what He want's us to do.

      For 391 prior to September 11, 2001, most church members were collectively fed the truth, measure by measure, by established religions that controlled what their members believe.

      This 391 day time period is confirmed in the book of Ezekiel, when God instructs the prophet to set up a mock siege of Jerusalem for 390 days. Ezekiel's diet of 'bread' (the word of God) was to be specially prepared:

        "Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.

        "And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it. Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.

        "Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.

        "Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith." (Ezekiel 4:9-15 KJV)

      During this 390 year period most of God's people in churches were to get their knowledge of God measure by measure because of the fixed doctrine the churches adopted. Individual Bible study was not encouraged.

      In other words: Most the knowledge of God available to church members was prepared for them by men who had the hidden agenda of protecting their church's fixed doctrines. Doctrines which were also often times false doctrine created entirely by men.

      Why does Jesus specify a time period of 390 days in Ezekiel, rather than 391 days as He specifies in Revelation?

      Because while the four Gospels contained in the King James Translation of the Holy Bible have been prepared since that translation was finished in 1610 AD - the first King James Translations were not actually printed until 1611 AD

      That was the year the King James Bible actually became available for 'measured' release of the Truth.

      As the Quran says, "God is all-knowing and wise":

        "...The word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken." (Isaiah 28:13 KJV)

    • To slay a third part of men: To slay with the sword, meaning to convert to the Gospel of Jesus. The old, sinful person dies when an individual is born again by the Holy Spirit. This 'third part of men' represents the belief system of Judeo-Christianity.

      Click here to read the sidebar explaining the Spiritual Thirds of the Earth that God has prepared - Judeo-Christianity, Islam, and Eastern Religions, if you need to.

    "And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thou-sand: and I heard the number of them." (Revelation 9:16 KJV)

    • Number of the Army of the Horsemen: This verse is usually misunderstood to mean "an army of two hundred thousand thousand horsemen".

      However, that's not what the verse says. The verse actually tells us that the army used by the Horsemen is an army that numbers two hundred thousand thousand.

      Thus John tells us that the Horsemen have an army of two hundred thousand thousand at their disposal.

      The Young's Literal Translation is a little clearer: "And the number of the forces of the horsemen is two myriads of myriads".

    • Two Hundred Thousand Thousand: 'Two hundred thousand thousand' is literally two hundred million.

      The King James translators in this verse translated the "thousand" from the original Greek word meaning myriad. So the verse actually reads, "two myriads of myriads". A "myriad' in Strong's Concordance is defined thusly:

        1) ten thousand
        2) an innumerable multitude, an unlimited number
        3) innumerable hosts

      The Modern King James Translation, the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible, and the Young's Literal Translation, all relate this number as "myriads of myriads". However, the King James translators chose to represent this verse as "two hundred thousand thousand", that is: 200 million.

      There is a strong case for interpreting "myriads of myriads" as an actual number, because John records "and I heard the number of them". Thus if the number he heard was meant to imply innumerable or unlimited, he likely would not have stated that he heard the number of the horsemen's army.

      Yet in actual application either translation is accurate because both apply to the "army" John describes. Consider the following quotes from several on-line sources:

      • The Digital Society, March 19, 2001:. "There are currently more than a million Web sites on the Internet, potentially available to some 200 million computers around the world."

      • eCampus, 2001: "The Internet connects over 200 million computers world-wide."

      • The Sans Institute - 'Exploit In Action', January, 2003: "With an estimated 200 million computers connected to the Internet (as of 2002)..."

      • The Tobacco Law Project. March, 2002: "In 1996 the Internet served a few million users. Today well over 200 million computers are connected."

      • Glosite.com, 2001: "The Internet has nearly 200 million computers connected to it worldwide."

      • The Future Of Telecommunications. D.E. Raphael, April 29, 1998: "Today, some 30 million terminals are connected to the Internet worldwide. By the year 2001, an estimated 200 million computers and terminals will be linked to it."

      The number of computers actually connected to the Internet at the end of 2001 is impossible to verify.

      Since a literal army of 200 million would also be very difficult to count precisely, perhaps "two myriads of myriads" is John's way of saying "an army of an estimated 200 million".

      The army is made up of computers connected to the Internet. On the Internet the Word of God is now freely available. The Internet is a tool that allows everyone to find the Truth of God themselves - without being taught by others.

      Since September 11, 2001, thousands have been searching and finding Jesus for themselves, listening to the Good Shepherd's voice and following the Light of the World to discover TRUTH for themselves. Everything one needs, from different translations to historical background and commentaries, all can now be acquired on-line.

      God's Word no longer need be doled out precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little!

      And those Horsemen simply must put up Web sites like this one! When you have it, you just cannot hide your light under a bushel basket.

    "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. 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. 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." (Revelation 9:17-19 KJV)

    Here goes...

    The Horses:

    • For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: Tails like unto serpents, with heads, and with them they do hurt: The power plug that every computer has.

    • Heads of the Horses were as the heads of lions: See the definition of Lion in the Dictionary of Prophetic Metaphor. In this case preaching like a lion would come from where the person being preached to is reading what is being preached... Thus right now for you the 'horse's head like lion' is your computer's monitor or screen. You are looking into the mouth of the 'horse's head like a lion' now (unless you've printed this out!).

    • Out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone: As a person finds the Knowledge of God through reading the Bible and other Web sites that make sense to them (following light rather than darkness), they should undergo the astonishment of finding out that Jesus is not only alive and coming soon, but the most awesome being in the universe.

      He is that Great General of Heaven that has led us through history so we could 'find ourselves' and our need for perfect Love of God.

      When you find out that everyone will be saved and changed - all of your relatives and friends - because He has arranged it that way out His great love for us as His unique creations and His friends, you will change too.

      His Words and Truths proceeding from your computer will begin the purifying process of being born again into His Kingdom of Heaven - a process that takes you through the smoke, fire, and brimstone of becoming purified as gold before Him.

        "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you" (I Peter 4:12).

        "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." (Matthew 3:11 KJV)

    • By these three was a third part of men killed: The third part mentioned here refers to Judeo-Christianity.

      Being purified, sanctified, and born again in Christ means the person you used to be is dead - killed.

        "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God." (Zec 13:9 KJVA)

    The Horsemen:

    • Breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: As one of these Horsemen posting Web sites and teaching Jesus wherever I can, I can attest to my own breastplate, the armour of God that Jesus has provided me with.

      The jacinth gemstone represents the tribe of Joseph. Each tribe of the Children of Israel was represented by a gemstone on the High Priest's breastplate, called the 'ephod', in the Old Testament. Ephraim was Joseph's adopted son - it consists of the scattered children of the tribe of Ephraim that are referred to in the books of the prophets as watchmen.

      We Ephraimites have known the Lord but left him sometime during our lives, only to return as we see the world we thought could make it on its own reaching the fail safe point on the road to destruction. Here's an excerpt about Ephraim from Jeremiah:

        "For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God." (Jeremiah 31:6 KJV)

        "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

        "Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD. Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man." (Jeremiah 31:18-22 KJV)

      Getting the attention of the daughter of Zion is pretty tough, but Ephraimites are trying. If you feel the powerful pull of Jesus, you should mount your horse and join us.

      The fire and brimstone on my own breastplate are constant - every day I learn some incredible new thing about the extent of God's love. Once you start searching for Truth, the fountain of living waters - the Knowledge of God - it just never stops amazing you.

    "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: (Revelation 9:20 KJV)

    They will repent, sooner or later. TV, radio, cars, food, whatever... none of that is interesting anymore! God has a tapestry of life threaded around the world, the learning of which can keep you occupied indefinitely.

 

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