Joh 10:10 MKJV
(10) The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
People seeking the abundant life might be under the impression that once you receive Jesus, that life never has difficulties, or trials, or fill in the blank, because now you have received the 'abundant' life. The truth of the matter is quite the opposite. You still have the same trials and tribulations. However, the abundant life affords you the answer before the problem ever presents itself. God will never send you into a battle that you are not equipped to win.
Showing posts with label Tribulation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tribulation. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Psalm 110
Psalms 110:1-7 HNV
(1) The LORD says to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet."
(2) The LORD will send forth the rod of your strength out of Tziyon. Rule in the midst of your enemies.
(3) Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
(4) The LORD has sworn, and will not change his mind: "You are a Kohen forever in the order of Malki-Tzedek."
(5) The Lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.
(6) He will judge among the nations. He will heap up dead bodies. He will crush the ruler of the whole earth.
(7) He will drink of the brook in the way; therefore he will lift up his head.
There are scholars who believe Psalm 110 coincides with the year 2010. Whether true or not, it's a captivating Psalm - full of Prophecy. The Psalms 110-116 could indeed describe a 7-year period of rejoicing in Heaven, and not-so-good times on earth. Let's just examine it briefly.
Vs1: We know that Jesus will sit at the right hand of the Father until the Father says... GO, Get your children. I will now make your enemies my footstool.
Vs 2: The Rod of Strength out of Zion - a name for Jerusalem - is a picture of the rule of Jesus from the holy city. This is a future reference that would begin during Millennial Reign of Jesus. Yes, He will reign in peace, but that does not mean He will not have enemies. Even though Satan will be bound, people will still harbor evil thoughts.
Vs 3: This is quite captivating. I can't tell you dogmatically what it means, but I know what it says to me: God's people will be with Jesus during His day of Power. In Holy Array - means dressed for the task at hand, which is to return with the King, voluntarily, to watch the General reclaim what the enemy thought he would never lose - the world. "You have the dew of your youth." Perhaps this speaks of a glorified army following the King. An army who now has eternal youth and strength.
Vs 4: The beauty of the scriptures and the Hebrew language is that it is living, so may or may not say many things at once. This verse apparently is speaking of Jesus - the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. But it was just speaking of His people, who are... guess what... high priests in the order of Melchizedek because we are descended from Jesus!
Vs 5: Once again... the Lord is at your right hand. Yes, He is!
Vs 6: He will crush the ruler of the earth - this is the devil. His time is short.
Vs 7: This is a cryptic verse: He shall drink of the brook in the way. The Good Shepherd always finds water. The brook is the water and replenishment of the Holy Spirit. He shall lift his head; or He will lift His head in victory. The lifting of one's own head is a tout of victory.
The entire Psalm seems to indicate that the Father sends the Son to do a new thing. War. With Him are His holy ones... and the war is marked by total victory. This does seem to indicate an Armageddon reference. We'll study the following Psalms further.
(1) The LORD says to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet."
(2) The LORD will send forth the rod of your strength out of Tziyon. Rule in the midst of your enemies.
(3) Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
(4) The LORD has sworn, and will not change his mind: "You are a Kohen forever in the order of Malki-Tzedek."
(5) The Lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.
(6) He will judge among the nations. He will heap up dead bodies. He will crush the ruler of the whole earth.
(7) He will drink of the brook in the way; therefore he will lift up his head.
There are scholars who believe Psalm 110 coincides with the year 2010. Whether true or not, it's a captivating Psalm - full of Prophecy. The Psalms 110-116 could indeed describe a 7-year period of rejoicing in Heaven, and not-so-good times on earth. Let's just examine it briefly.
Vs1: We know that Jesus will sit at the right hand of the Father until the Father says... GO, Get your children. I will now make your enemies my footstool.
Vs 2: The Rod of Strength out of Zion - a name for Jerusalem - is a picture of the rule of Jesus from the holy city. This is a future reference that would begin during Millennial Reign of Jesus. Yes, He will reign in peace, but that does not mean He will not have enemies. Even though Satan will be bound, people will still harbor evil thoughts.
Vs 3: This is quite captivating. I can't tell you dogmatically what it means, but I know what it says to me: God's people will be with Jesus during His day of Power. In Holy Array - means dressed for the task at hand, which is to return with the King, voluntarily, to watch the General reclaim what the enemy thought he would never lose - the world. "You have the dew of your youth." Perhaps this speaks of a glorified army following the King. An army who now has eternal youth and strength.
Vs 4: The beauty of the scriptures and the Hebrew language is that it is living, so may or may not say many things at once. This verse apparently is speaking of Jesus - the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. But it was just speaking of His people, who are... guess what... high priests in the order of Melchizedek because we are descended from Jesus!
Vs 5: Once again... the Lord is at your right hand. Yes, He is!
Vs 6: He will crush the ruler of the earth - this is the devil. His time is short.
Vs 7: This is a cryptic verse: He shall drink of the brook in the way. The Good Shepherd always finds water. The brook is the water and replenishment of the Holy Spirit. He shall lift his head; or He will lift His head in victory. The lifting of one's own head is a tout of victory.
The entire Psalm seems to indicate that the Father sends the Son to do a new thing. War. With Him are His holy ones... and the war is marked by total victory. This does seem to indicate an Armageddon reference. We'll study the following Psalms further.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Great Tribulation
The end times present some scary scenarios. If taken out of context, the scriptures can be desparaging. If the Tribulation period is right around the corner (or have we turned that corner already?) what does that mean for Christians? Will Christians have to go through that horrific time?
Just to clarify, what is the Tribulation? The Tribulation is another word for Daniel's 70th week. In Daniel chapter 9, the angel Gabriel gives Daniel a prophetic timeline for just how the end-time scenario is laid out.
Dan 9:24-27 MKJV
(24) Seventy weeks are decreed as to your people and as to your holy city, to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
(25) Know therefore and understand, that from the going out of the command to restore and to build Jerusalem, to Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in times of affliction.
(26) And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. And the people of the ruler who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end of it shall be with the flood, and ruins are determined, until the end shall be war.
(27) And he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and on a corner of the altar desolating abominations, even until the end. And that which was decreed shall be poured on the desolator.
Seventy weeks are decreed that Israel owes God. That's right. Israel. It's all about Israel. That's why this time is also known as the time of Jacob's Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). These aren't just weeks of days... they are weeks of years. This 490 year period is divided up into 62 weeks (434 years) and 7 weeks (49 years) and finally in verse 27 comes the last week (7 years). From the information Gabriel gave, we know, historically, exactly when the edict was signed to restore and rebuild Jerusalem and what to add to that date in order to find out when the streets and walls were rebuilt, and then when Jesus was crucified 434 years later. Messiah 'was' cut off (crucified), but not for Himself (then for whom?). He was killed for 'us'.
Verse 27 talks about the final week which begins with a 7-year 'covenant' with Israel. Mid-way through this 7-year period this leader (the antichrist) violates his covenant and causes the sacrifice and offering to cease in the Jewish temple. This is his effort to change the Jewish customs.
Dan 7:25 MKJV
(25) And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and plot to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time.
Notice, they shall be given unto the hand of the antichrist for 3.5 years. This is the last half of the Tribulation period known as the Great Tribulation. Regarding the Great Tribulation (last 3.5 years of the Tribulation) Jesus said this:
Mat 24:20-21 MKJV
(20) But pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day;
(21) for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be.
Lets start with what we know. There will be saved people during the Great Tribulation. That seems obvious from the above verses. The antichrist will 'wear out the saints of the Most High'. Also, the book of Revelation mentions the tribulation saints:
Rev 7:14 MKJV
(14) And I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes, and have whitened them in the blood of the Lamb.
Dan 7:21 MKJV
(21) I watched, and that horn made war with the saints and overcame them
Rev 13:7 MKJV
(7) And it was given to it to war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given to it over every tribe and tongue and nation.
Ahh it seems hopeless! We are destined to endure horrible things! Indeed... many of us are enduring horrible things every day. Followers of Jesus are imprisoned, tortured, and killed daily because of their testomonies. These are our brothers and sisters. But this is not the Tribulation, for even in the day of Jesus, men such as Steven were stoned because of his witness. Jesus, again, said "then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be."
It will be worse. But there is good news for the church.
1Th 1:10 MKJV
(10) and to wait for His Son from Heaven (whom He raised from the dead), Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come.
1Th 5:9-10 MKJV
(9) For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, (10) who died for us, so that whether we watch or sleep we should live together with Him.
The church is not appointed unto wrath. Or perhaps we should ask this: at what point does anyone or anything - antichrist included - prevail over the church? At NO point!
Mat 16:18 MKJV
(18) And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Isa 54:17 MKJV
(17) No weapon that is formed against you shall be blessed; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the inheritance of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness is from Me, says Jehovah.
So these saints spoken of in Daniel and Revelation are those truly blessed individuals who take advantage of their last chance to receive Jesus. Are they a part of the bride of Christ, the Church? No. The bride makes herself spotless and without blemish 'now', not later.
For those of us who are God-hungry Jesus-followers, we have a duty regarding the time of the end. We must be about the Father's business of winning souls and showing the love of Jesus. But we have a prayer duty as well:
Luk 21:36 MKJV
(36) Watch therefore, praying in every season that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things which shall occur, and to stand before the Son of Man.
Zep 2:3 DRB
(3) Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, you that have wrought his judgment: seek the just, seek the meek: if by any means you may be hid in the day of the Lord's indignation.
Just to clarify, what is the Tribulation? The Tribulation is another word for Daniel's 70th week. In Daniel chapter 9, the angel Gabriel gives Daniel a prophetic timeline for just how the end-time scenario is laid out.
Dan 9:24-27 MKJV
(24) Seventy weeks are decreed as to your people and as to your holy city, to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
(25) Know therefore and understand, that from the going out of the command to restore and to build Jerusalem, to Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in times of affliction.
(26) And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. And the people of the ruler who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end of it shall be with the flood, and ruins are determined, until the end shall be war.
(27) And he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and on a corner of the altar desolating abominations, even until the end. And that which was decreed shall be poured on the desolator.
Seventy weeks are decreed that Israel owes God. That's right. Israel. It's all about Israel. That's why this time is also known as the time of Jacob's Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). These aren't just weeks of days... they are weeks of years. This 490 year period is divided up into 62 weeks (434 years) and 7 weeks (49 years) and finally in verse 27 comes the last week (7 years). From the information Gabriel gave, we know, historically, exactly when the edict was signed to restore and rebuild Jerusalem and what to add to that date in order to find out when the streets and walls were rebuilt, and then when Jesus was crucified 434 years later. Messiah 'was' cut off (crucified), but not for Himself (then for whom?). He was killed for 'us'.
Verse 27 talks about the final week which begins with a 7-year 'covenant' with Israel. Mid-way through this 7-year period this leader (the antichrist) violates his covenant and causes the sacrifice and offering to cease in the Jewish temple. This is his effort to change the Jewish customs.
Dan 7:25 MKJV
(25) And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and plot to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time.
Notice, they shall be given unto the hand of the antichrist for 3.5 years. This is the last half of the Tribulation period known as the Great Tribulation. Regarding the Great Tribulation (last 3.5 years of the Tribulation) Jesus said this:
Mat 24:20-21 MKJV
(20) But pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day;
(21) for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be.
Lets start with what we know. There will be saved people during the Great Tribulation. That seems obvious from the above verses. The antichrist will 'wear out the saints of the Most High'. Also, the book of Revelation mentions the tribulation saints:
Rev 7:14 MKJV
(14) And I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes, and have whitened them in the blood of the Lamb.
Dan 7:21 MKJV
(21) I watched, and that horn made war with the saints and overcame them
Rev 13:7 MKJV
(7) And it was given to it to war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given to it over every tribe and tongue and nation.
Ahh it seems hopeless! We are destined to endure horrible things! Indeed... many of us are enduring horrible things every day. Followers of Jesus are imprisoned, tortured, and killed daily because of their testomonies. These are our brothers and sisters. But this is not the Tribulation, for even in the day of Jesus, men such as Steven were stoned because of his witness. Jesus, again, said "then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be."
It will be worse. But there is good news for the church.
1Th 1:10 MKJV
(10) and to wait for His Son from Heaven (whom He raised from the dead), Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come.
1Th 5:9-10 MKJV
(9) For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, (10) who died for us, so that whether we watch or sleep we should live together with Him.
The church is not appointed unto wrath. Or perhaps we should ask this: at what point does anyone or anything - antichrist included - prevail over the church? At NO point!
Mat 16:18 MKJV
(18) And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Isa 54:17 MKJV
(17) No weapon that is formed against you shall be blessed; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the inheritance of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness is from Me, says Jehovah.
So these saints spoken of in Daniel and Revelation are those truly blessed individuals who take advantage of their last chance to receive Jesus. Are they a part of the bride of Christ, the Church? No. The bride makes herself spotless and without blemish 'now', not later.
For those of us who are God-hungry Jesus-followers, we have a duty regarding the time of the end. We must be about the Father's business of winning souls and showing the love of Jesus. But we have a prayer duty as well:
Luk 21:36 MKJV
(36) Watch therefore, praying in every season that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things which shall occur, and to stand before the Son of Man.
Zep 2:3 DRB
(3) Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, you that have wrought his judgment: seek the just, seek the meek: if by any means you may be hid in the day of the Lord's indignation.
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