So,, I have good news for you. In fact, I have GREAT NEWS for you. All those D list Christian movies you watched as a teenager, you know the ones where those who were raptured left behind notes for those who weren't Christians before the great 7 yr Tribulation... well, they aren't going to happen. As fantastical beast and horses with men's faces and tails like a scorpion...yeah... most would agree those are allegorical, where we diverge is TIMING.
Rescued from the kingdom of darkness, transferred to the kingdom of Christ Col 1:13 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Acts 8:12 And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. Acts 19:8
Acts 28: 17 And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, 18 who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death. 19 But when the [d]Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. 20 For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”
21 Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you. 22 But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.”
23 So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. 24 And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. 25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to [e]our fathers, 26 saying, (Isaiah 6:9)
‘Go to this people and say:
“Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.” ’
“Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.” ’
28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 [f]And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.
But there is more to that scripture Paul was quoting and THAT my friends is what we are going to be investigating
Isaiah 6 11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered,
“Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
12 “The Lord has removed men far away,
And the [h]forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump.”
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
12 “The Lord has removed men far away,
And the [h]forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump.”
Isaiah 7 13 Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a [l]virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name [m]Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey [n]at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. 16 For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.
Trials to Come for Judah
17 The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria.”
I would like to take you on a journey, one for me that started with one request I asked of my Savior..."Jesus, show me yourself throughout scripture." I wanted to know what Jesus told his disciples right before he ascended into Heaven. They weren't able to understand Moses and the prophets and where they had prophesied of His Coming. Once their understanding was enlightened and they received the power of the Holy Spirit, Christianity spread like wildfire. I grew up in the Church, I went to Bible College, but the one thing I feel no one really cared to teach us, was the most important revelation Jesus revealed to his disciples. He WAS the one they looked for. He DID fulfill the prophesies and yet he also had more to fulfill...in their generation.
Luke ch 24
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
On the Road to Emmaus
13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,[b] 43 and he took it and ate before them.
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for[c] the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension
50 And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing
"which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me... " and "beginning at Moses and all the prophets" was a way of designating the entire Old Testament. The Old Testament is broken up into three parts
Moses
Prophets
Moses
Prophets
Psalms
Now, I was familiar with places of a type and shadow of Jesus in Genesis, the serpent and Eve, Abraham and Issac, but I knew there was more. I usually make my time with God a time where I read through the Bible. I have done this several times. This past time, which took me much longer and I recently completed, I asked the Lord specifically to show me himself. And he did. The prophesies of Jesus began to come alive to me in ways I had never experienced and along the way I began to notice a pattern emerge. These prophesies have been fulfilled and are BEING fulfilled but something kept triggering something inside of me that made me more and more excited. I'll just give you the punch line... I started to see that my well intentioned pre-millenial friends were dissecting the Bible in ways that ought not be and don't make sense. This would explain the defeatest mindset of the Church for the past 100 years that has comforted persecuted believers with a false promise "it's okay, the Bible tells us things just have to get worse and worse in order for Jesus to come back. Then he defeats the devil and we reign for 1,000 yrs before the end of the world" My dear friends and family would post things such as "it's just prophesy, nothing we can do about it..." "I hope Jesus comes soon this world is so bad..." "rapture bout to happen" whenever they saw something bad happen in the news. "yup, Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars, it's just gotta be this way..."
But the picture I read in the VERY PASSAGES WHERE JESUS is being prophesied for his FIRST COMING, paint a very different picture.
I know many ministers who don't spend much time in the Old Testament. "We have the New Testament now, we don't need the Old..." "Yeah, that Old Testament God was a God of wrath, we kinda like to separate ourselves from that guy, we like the New Testament God better..."
It was always so weird to me. So God took me on a mission and I want to take you with me.
Now, I have recently discovered there are others who, through historical analysis, have come to some of the same conclusions, not all the same but the same basic premise. We'll get to that in minute. In fact, we will refer to these factual historians quite frequently in our study and exposition, in our Revelation Red Pill Academy. I don't pretend for a minute to have every scripture in the Word of God worked out. But there is a pattern here that when you see it emerge I pray your relationship with Christ, your prayer life, your own ministry, will burst forth in fruit like you've never experienced.
Let's dig in to some of these Jesus scriptures to give you a little understanding of what Jesus would have explained about himself to his disciples.
Dueteronomy 18:15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet[d] like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet."16 This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” 17 Then the Lord replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet[f] like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet,[g] who shall speak to them everything that I command. 19 Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet[h] shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. 20 But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die.”
What constantly blows my mind is when I get to see, yup, done baby, FULL-FILLED with a corresponding New Testament scripture.
So, in Acts 3 17 “And now, friends,[e] I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah[f] would suffer. 19 Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, 20 so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, 21 who must remain in heaven until the time of the restoration of all things that God announced long ago through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you from your own people[h] a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. 23 And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly rooted out of the people.’ 24 And all the prophets, as many as have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, also predicted these days. 25 You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant,[i] he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
Now, wait, I get the whole Jesus would be a prophet like Moses thing but what about that part where Jesus must remain in Heaven until the restoration of all things? Certainly that is referring to premillenial end times, right?
Well, you see the disciples were speaking to fellow Jews, who, like themselves, were waiting for the Messiah to RULE AND REIGN in Jerusalem. To literally sit on a throne in physical Jerusalem but as we will discover, the Jerusalem and kingdom that Jesus came to bring and to build, and there are so many scriptures for this, is a SPIRITUAL KINGDOM. Right before Jesus' ascension into Heaven, they were still asking "when will you restore Israel..."
Acts 1 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Acts 1 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
So, Peter, who is preaching in Acts 3 needs them to know, Christ is reigning IN HEAVENLY PLACES right now. BUT, and here's the kicker...the restoration of all things had begun. Say what? I thought that was the 1,000 yr reign. Well, don't take it up with me, take it up with Jesus.
Matthew 17 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; 12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
Now, many who take the view that we are going to present to you may start with the Olivet discourse in Matthew 24, 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21 and we will certainly get there but the picture I want to bring is so much greater than an eschatological ie, end time, latter days, debate. You see, I asked Jesus to highlight, underline, bold, italics where HE was in scripture, to show me the cross references in the Old and New Testament, REVEAL Christ, the Word, the LIGHT, the Life throughout Holy Scripture. I didn't set out to debunk rapture theology and to this point that is not my goal. I want to show you Jesus, all of him. All he came to do and all He accomplished. I know that is a loftly unattainable goal, for if all that Jesus is were written down there would not be paper enough to contain him. But what I do hope to do is lift the artificially placed lid that has hampered the Church from boldly and confidently going forth and fulfilling the Great Commission.
If you believe that the world must get worse and worse in order for Jesus to come, you may just be self fulfilling prophesy. Certainly those missionaries and visionaries who have gone before us and spread the Gospel could not take this view, and the Pilgrims came with a 500 yr plan to build a Christian nation. Our founding fathers would not have fought and bled to build a better nation if they believed wars and oppression were good signs Jesus would return. Indeed, like allowing a wound to fester with puss and not clean or disinfect it in hopes of miraculous healing, the Body of Christ allows sin to fester when some washing and regeneration of the Word would clear up much of the infectious diseases we see in society today.
Jesus mentioned John the Baptist as being that Elijah the people of God had long been waiting for to prepare the way of the Lord. I'm sure you are familiar with John's most famous line John 1:23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord --just as Isaiah the prophet said.”
I think I like the New Living Translation here
John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Clear the way for the LORD’s coming!’”
CLEAR THE WAY!!! That certainly gives a visual!
But wait, let's go to Isaiah, ch 40, to give ourselves a little context.
A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever.
9 Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;[a]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,[b]
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever.
9 Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;[a]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,[b]
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.
So, let's go check out the birth and prophesy of John the Baptist.
Luke 1:5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
So, here's where it gets amazing... John is born, Zechariah's mouth is opened and this powerful prophesy, and indeed, REVEALING of Old Testament prophesy is confirmed... listen
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Now, here's where we can dive deep right from the beginning or I can take you over the surface first... Michelle told me "show them by the way God showed you..." so, here we go ya'll...put your seat buckles on.
Right here I should probably interject the most important aspect of what we are calling the Revelation Red Pill.
What does the term Revelation actually mean? Does it mean apocalypse as in doom and gloom and the end of the world? Well, you are half right but 100% wrong.
Revelation 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Revelation= apokalypsis
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
That word also translated "to lighten" to reveal something hidden.
One cannot study Revelation without knowing the underlying purpose of not just the book but the Gospel- to reveal Christ and God's plan through his son for the salvation of the world. Revelation then, is the revealing of Christ from Genesis to, yes, Revelation.
Now, back to John the Baptist and Luke 1 because there are some things ya'll need to see.
vs. 68 = Ps 111:9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
vs 69 = Ps 132 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his habitation:14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will reside, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless its provisions;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16 Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
and its faithful will shout for joy.
17 There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18 His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
but on him, his crown will gleam.”
and Ez 29: 21 21 On that day I will cause a horn to sprout up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
(there is an interesting side note which we can go into later but Ezekiel goes on right after this scripture to prophesy destruction on Egypt because the two prophets in Revelation 11 that are killed and who come to life again are killed in Jerusalem with is called "Sodom and Eygpt" Rev 11
7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit[a] will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically[b] is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. I just wanted you to begin to see a pattern here that Old Testament scriptures weave into the new in a spectacular way)
vs 72= Lev 26:42 42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
and Ezekiel 16:60 60 yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. 61 Then you will remember your ways, and be ashamed when I[h] take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my[i] covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 in order that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I forgive you all that you have done, says the Lord God. (there is more to this if you read the entire chapter, you begin to see a picture develop of the whore of Bablyon spoken on in the Book of Revelation that is very similar. You also see the mention of Sodom with the connection to Revelation 11. We will go deeper into this later)
vs 73 = Heb 6:12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,[b] having patiently waited, obtained the promise
vs 75= Jer 32 37 Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
Eph 4 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self,[f] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
vs 76= Well, this is a big one.... You really need to read the entire book of Malachai. It's the last book in the Old Testament and it ends with a bang. In fact, it explains why Jesus is coming and how he is coming. God's people had been faithless, going through the motions, doing lip service. Remember when Jesus went into the Temple and threw the tables over? This is why- they had been offering lame animals. What that means is they were not offering God their best. God doesn't take pleasure in sacrificing animals but in His people giving Him their best and trusting him.
Malachi 1 But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord's table may be despised. 8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. 9 And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. 10 Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be[b] great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that the Lord's table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. 13 But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. 14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.
Ch 2 3 Behold, I will rebuke your offspring,[a] and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.[b] 4 So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction[c] was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. 7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people[d] should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, 9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”
What we see in Revelation is a whore, and adulterer... Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem are all lumped into one s? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant[e] of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!
So, here's where we start to get a little into the Revelation Red Pill. The Messiah has ALWAYS BEEN seen as coming with SALVATION and JUDGEMENT. What happens when we break off the salvation part from the judgement part is a disjointed view of the Gospel itself. We will see later in Matthew 23 Jesus utterly upbraid the religious leaders of the day. Why? Because the King of kings the literal Son of the living God was in their presence, doing all the signs and miracles that were prophesied and not only did they reject the Son of God, they set out to kill him...and not only him, but they persecuted and brought to the Roman authorities to put to death those who preached in the name of the God they were supposed to be serving.
Please take a minute and think about that.
Matt 23 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?
“Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city.
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar
Jesus looked them straight in the eyes and said I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.
John the Baptist channels Malachi, he is literally the messenger and he knows his message. He also knows to WHOM is message is given. You see, the judgement and wrath of God that we see coupled with the salvation message are ALL ON THE PEOPLE OF GOD WHO BREAK THEIR COVENANT WITH HIM, ESPECIALLY THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS. We need to use our logical brains and see if Jesus' prophesies of "behold I come quickly and my reward is with me" and "this judgement will fall on this very generation", we need to see if in history that there could have been fulfillment of this. And there is quite frankly and RESOUNDING YES!!!!!!! In part 2 we are going to delve into Joel and the Olivet Discourse- you know the place where Jesus talks about wars and rumors of wars and pray that your flight not be on the Sabbath or you're pregnant... yeah, he's talking about judgement day- the very judgement he prophesies here and so do Malachi and John.
Mal 16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
Are you ready???
The Great Day of the Lord
4 [a] “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.
4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules[b] that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
And we know that the religious leaders and even many of the people in Jerusalem did not turn and they sealed their judgement, which John knew was about to come.
In Matthew 3 and Luke 3 John channels Malachi to the T...
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Many people say that the separating of the wheat and the chaff is at the end of the world. But that clearly is not what Malachi prophesies, what John is telling the evil viper religious leaders who were rejecting Jesus of his day, nor is Jesus talking about some great day in the future.
God had entrusted the instruction of his Word to spiritual leaders. Those leaders became horrible shepherds, people who actually hurt the sheep. There are many scriptures on this... "I saw none to save so my own arm saved..." Isaiah 63:5
Are you ready to have your mind blown and world view shaken to it's core?
Matthew 13: 24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
The Parable of the Leaven
33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three [c]measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
Prophecy and the Parables
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
The Parable of the Tares Explained
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
vs 35= Psalm 78 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
which is also worth reading the entire chapter because the narrative here is the unfaithful spouse, the overthrowing of the Old Testament aka Old Covenant, the destruction of an earthly Temple and the creation of a Heavenly Kingdom through Christ.
The end of the Age here is very pertinent, for indeed, at the time where Christ is giving this message the Temple is still standing, the Synagoues are still meeting, the priests are still offering up animals on the altar and yet Jesus came to eliminate, yes, even utterly destroy all of this. As we get into the Olivet Discourse, we see Jesus start out by pointing to the Temple, the very place where God was said to dwell with mankind. The heart and joy of all of Judea... he said not stone one would be left upon another ...
Mark 13 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings! "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
Matthew 24 adds... the "end of the age" 3While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
I hope you come back for Revelation Red Pill Part 2. The End of the Age, The Olivet Discourse
What John is explaining in detail, Jesus lays out in a couple of chapters in a very specific way. He makes no bones about it. "This generation will not pass." The ENTIRE conversation is based upon the disciples oohing and awing of the newly renovated Temple...Oh, you didn't know that Herod the Great in order to curry favor with the Jews had the Temple undergo such a remodel that it became a wonder of the ancient world. Yes sir ree bob... that temple was a beauty and the pride of Judea. Jerusalem was on a major trade route and people came from all over the ancient world to view the Great Temple of the Jews. Even the disciples were like "Hey, Jesus, don't you just love the remodel? Isn't it grand?"
He quite quickly burst their bubble and replied "It's all coming down and this generation (a generation was 40 yrs) is going to see it come to pass. They will see this grand Temple so brought to utter ruin that not one stone will stand upon another. And friends... within 40 yrs in AD 70 that actually happened. Jerusalem was ransacked. In the matter of a few short years from about AD 67-AD 70 Jerusalem underwent such tremendous horror, the likes that have never been seen and never will be seen.
What John is explaining in detail, Jesus lays out in a couple of chapters in a very specific way. He makes no bones about it. "This generation will not pass." The ENTIRE conversation is based upon the disciples oohing and awing of the newly renovated Temple...Oh, you didn't know that Herod the Great in order to curry favor with the Jews had the Temple undergo such a remodel that it became a wonder of the ancient world. Yes sir ree bob... that temple was a beauty and the pride of Judea. Jerusalem was on a major trade route and people came from all over the ancient world to view the Great Temple of the Jews. Even the disciples were like "Hey, Jesus, don't you just love the remodel? Isn't it grand?"
He quite quickly burst their bubble and replied "It's all coming down and this generation (a generation was 40 yrs) is going to see it come to pass. They will see this grand Temple so brought to utter ruin that not one stone will stand upon another. And friends... within 40 yrs in AD 70 that actually happened. Jerusalem was ransacked. In the matter of a few short years from about AD 67-AD 70 Jerusalem underwent such tremendous horror, the likes that have never been seen and never will be seen.
Josephus (b. 37 C.E.) is our best literary source for the practice of crucifixion in Palestine during the Greco-Roman period. As a general in command of the Jewish forces of Galilee in the Great Revolt against Rome (66-73 C.E.)
Joshephus, a Jewish historian, the most respected from that era, was on the ground. I want to give you just a little background on what was happening in Rome and in Jerusalem before the great and terrible day of the Lord, or during actually... this is history we all need to know and without it premillenialists unwittingly fall into a trap of interpreting scripture based on their own feelings and their own experiences rather than fact. There is just so much overwhelming evidence that Christ came in a Part B if you will of His First coming in AD 70 to pronounce Judgement and in affect, a divorce with the Old Marriage and the ushering in of a new Wedding, a Virgin bride, a New Jerusalem.
What Joshephus described was utter horror, and he was not a Christian, but even he could see God's judgement in what transcribed. Estimates of between 600,000-1.4 million people slaughtered.
What Joshephus described was utter horror, and he was not a Christian, but even he could see God's judgement in what transcribed. Estimates of between 600,000-1.4 million people slaughtered.
The Roman troops and mercenaries left no one in the city alive. They did take about 200,000 for slaves. At one point before the entire city was completely overtaken, Titus (who we will discuss in later programs) crucified 500 in hopes that those who had revolted against Rome inside of Jerusalem would give up. They did not
War 5: Chapter 6
Josephus reports that the Romans crucified many before the walls of Jerusalem during the siege of 70 C.E. The idea was to terrorize the population and force a surrender. The number reached 500 a day at one point until there was no wood left in the area for this purpose!
5. Now it happened at this fight that a certain Jew was taken alive, who, by Titus’s order, was crucified before the wall, to see whether the rest of them would be aftrighted, and abate of their obstinacy. But after the Jews were retired, John, who was commander of the Idumeans, and was talking to a certain soldier of his acquaintance before the wall, was wounded by a dart shot at him by an Arabian, and died immediately, leaving the greatest lamentation to the Jews, and sorrow to the seditious. For he was a man of great eminence, both for his actions and his conduct also.
Chapter 11
1. So now Titus’s banks were advanced a great way, notwithstanding his soldiers had been very much distressed from the wall. He then sent a party of horsemen, and ordered they should lay ambushes for those that went out into the valleys to gather food. Some of these were indeed fighting men, who were not contented with what they got by rapine; but the greater part of them were poor people, who were deterred from deserting by the concern they were under for their own relations; for they could not hope to escape away, together with their wives and children, without the knowledge of the seditious; nor could they think of leaving these relations to be slain by the robbers on their account; nay, the severity of the famine made them bold in thus going out; so nothing remained but that, when they were concealed from the robbers, they should be taken by the enemy; and when they were going to be taken, they were forced to defend themselves for fear of being punished; as after they had fought, they thought it too late to make any supplications for mercy; so they were first whipped, and then tormented with all sorts of tortures, before they died, and were then crucified before the wall of the city. This miserable procedure made Titus greatly to pity them, while they caught every day five hundred Jews; nay, some days they caught more: yet it did not appear to be safe for him to let those that were taken by force go their way, and to set a guard over so many he saw would be to make such as great deal them useless to him. The main reason why he did not forbid that cruelty was this, that he hoped the Jews might perhaps yield at that sight, out of fear lest they might themselves afterwards be liable to the same cruel treatment. So the soldiers, out of the wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest, when their multitude was so great, that room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies.
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