©2021 David E. Robinson www.asearchformessiah.net,
At the Gates of Yerushalayim Ministries
Go to Part 8
Go to Part Ten
Lessons from the Wilderness, Volume 33
…A Study in Revelation…
Part 9
A Search for the Truth at the end of the Age
…An Addendum…
Figure 1 https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F9pzQmy5MTos%2Fhqdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D9pzQmy5MTos&tbnid=V7RVPuf7_nkaCM&vet=12ahUKEwiauLrliKHuAhXOBzQIHd8ADIEQMygAegUIARCDAQ..i&docid=MsSP50
MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN
5 Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand
emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of
the king’s palace, and the king saw the 1back of the hand that did the writing. 6 Then the king’s 1aface grew pale and his thoughts alarmed
him, and his bhip joints went slack and his cknees began knocking together.
7 The king called aloud to bring in the aconjurers, the 1Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and
said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this inscription and
explain its interpretation to me shall be bclothed with purple and have a cnecklace of gold around his neck and have
authority as 2dthird ruler in the kingdom.”
8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but athey could not read the inscription or
make known its interpretation to the king. 9 Then King Belshazzar
was greatly aalarmed, his 1bface grew even paler, and his nobles were
perplexed.
10 The queen entered the banquet 1hall because of the words of the king and
his nobles; the queen spoke and said, “aO king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts
alarm you or your 2face be pale.
11 “There is a aman in your kingdom in whom is 1a bspirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your
father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found
in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father 2cthe king, appointed him chief of the 3magicians, conjurers, 4Chaldeans and diviners. 12 “This was because an aextraordinary spirit, knowledge and
insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of
difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named bBelteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned,
and he will declare the interpretation.”
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the
king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the
1aexiles from Judah, whom my father the king
bbrought from Judah?
14 “Now I have heard about you that 1a spirit of the gods is in you, and that
illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. 15 “Just now the awise men and the conjurers were brought in
before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation
known to me, but they bcould not declare the interpretation of the 1message. 16 “But I personally have heard about you,
that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if
you are able to read the inscription and make its ainterpretation known to me, you will be bclothed with purple and wear a
necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the 1third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the
king, “1Keep your agifts for yourself or give your rewards to
someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the
interpretation known to him.
18 “1O king, the aMost High God bgranted 2sovereignty, cgrandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your
father.
19 “Because of the grandeur which He bestowed
on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every 1language feared and trembled before him; awhomever he wished he killed and whomever
he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated and whomever he
wished he humbled.
20 “But when his heart was alifted up and his spirit became so 1bproud that he behaved arrogantly, he was cdeposed from his royal throne and his glory
was taken away from him.
21 “He was also adriven away from 1mankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts,
and his dwelling place was with the bwild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like
cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized
that the cMost High
God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever
He wishes.
22 “Yet you, his 1son, Belshazzar, have anot humbled your heart, 2even though you knew all this,
23 but you have aexalted yourself against the bLord of heaven; and they have brought the
vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your
concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the cgods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood,
and stone, which do not see, hear, or understand.
But the God din whose hand are your life-breath and all
your eways, you
have not glorified.
24 “Then the 1ahand was sent from Him and this
inscription was written out.
25 “Now this is the inscription that was
written out:
‘1MENĒ, 1MENĒ, 2TEKĒL, 3UPHARSIN.’
26 “This is the interpretation of the 1message:
‘MENĒ’—God has numbered your kingdom and aput an end to it.
27 “ ‘TEKĒL’—you have been aweighed on the scales and found deficient.
28 “ ‘PERĒS’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to
the aMedes
and 1Persians.”
[7]
MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN
A warning for
today. Many have made use of these passages from Scripture, mainly to chastise
or warn others of their actions. Some have used these words, MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN, as a warning to America,
its leaders, and its citizens, that our time as a free nation is at an end. What
do these words really mean?
“…In the text
the Aramaic is not given at all. As we have already seen, the verse which
corresponds to ver. 25 here is really the latter part of ver. 17 of the
Septuagint, “This is the writing: It hath been numbered; it is reckoned; it has
been carried away.” In the verses which are appended to the beginning of the
chapter, we have the Aramaic words, but given in a different order, and without
the repetition of the first word: “Mane, Phares, Thekel. Mane, It has been
numbered; Phares, It is carried away; Thekel, It has been set up.” Here not
only is the order different, but the meaning assigned to phares is singular. פְרַס means in Syriac, “spread out.” It would seem that ἐξαίρω meant “stretched out” as
well as “carried away.” It is still more difficult to understand how thekel can mean “set up,” unless the
words, ἐν ζυγῷ, “on the
balance,” are understood. The Septuagint of the best version is briefer than
the Massoretic, though less so than it is in some of the other passages,
“Numbered is the time of thy kingdom; ceases thy kingdom; cut short and ended
has been thy kingdom; to the Medes and the Persians has it been given.” The
word interpreted is not repeated as in the Massoretic text, and תְקִל is derived from קְלַל,
which in some of the conjugations means “destroyed,” whereas in ver. 17 it is
rendered κατελογίσθη, “it is
reckoned,” a rendering of תקל which makes it mean “weigh.” The Septuagint rendering of the
first clause is an evident attempt at explaining the numbering implied. The
Massoretic reading involves a pun in both the last words; there is a play
between תְקִל (teqel),
“to weigh,” and קְלַל (qelal),
“to be light,” although the introduction of שכח rather conceals this.
In the last the play is between פרס, “to divide,” and פרס, “a Persian.” Theodotion avoids the
repetition of the first word, otherwise he is in somewhat close agreement with
the Massoretic text. “Mane, God hath measured thy kingdom; Thekel, It is set on
the balance, and found wanting; Phares, Thy kingdom is cut asunder, and given
to the Medes and the Persians.” The Peshitta is in close agreement with the
Massoretic text. The
actual meaning of the words, taking them as they appear in the Massoretic text,
as Aramaic words, is, to give English equivalents, “a pound, a pound, an ounce,
and quarters;” hence the impossibility of interpreting the words…”[8]
“…a pound, a
pound, an ounce, and quarters…” Simple words, interpreted by Daniel as meaning
the Babylonian kingdom of Belshazzar
had reached its end, he had been found wanting, lacking in weight and stature
before God, and all he had was to be stripped away. The words in Aramaic are
puns, a play upon sounds, unknowable by any but Daniel with the leading of the
Spirit of God. Such as they are for us today, not only in America, but the
world at large.
So, now you may
say, what does all this have to do with a study on the Book of Revelation? Why have
I spent so much time (now on the ninth part of our study and we have not even touched
the Book yet!) bringing all this up? Well, short answer is that the world is
aflame. Just look around you. We see it in every country. Unrest, hate,
discontent… The poor are poorer, the rich do not give a wit about them, the
politicians are in bed with murderous regimes that oppress their own and want
to bring that style of oppression unto our shores here in America. You want the
Truth? These are JUST the beginnings of the birth pains of trouble and
tribulation! O believer, you here in America have not even tasted the
pain of persecution yet. Few of us here (in America) have suffered unto blood
in the struggle against sin:
Hebrews 12:1-29 (ESV)
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and wsin which clings so closely, and xlet us run ywith endurance the race that is zset before us, 2 looking
to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, awho for the joy that was set before him endured
the cross, despising bthe shame, and cis seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 dConsider him who endured from sinners such
hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or efainthearted.
4 In your struggle against sin you have not
yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation
that addresses you as sons?
f “My son, gdo not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when
reproved by him.
6 For hthe Lord disciplines the one he loves and
chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to
endure. iGod is
treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not
discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, jin which all have participated, then you
are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we
have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we
not much more be subject to kthe Father of spirits land live? 10 For they
disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us
for our good, mthat we may share his holiness. 11 nFor the moment all discipline seems
painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields othe peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore plift your drooping hands and strengthen
your weak knees, 13 and qmake straight paths for your feet, so that
what is lame may not be put out of joint rbut rather be healed. 14 sStrive for peace with everyone, and for
the tholiness uwithout which no one will see the Lord. 15
See to it that no one vfails to obtain the grace of God; that no w “root of bitterness” springs up and
causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one
is xsexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single
meal. 17 For you know that yafterward, when he desired to inherit the
blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought
it with tears.
18 For you have not come to zwhat may be touched, a blazing fire and
darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and athe sound of a trumpet and a voice whose
words bmade the
hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For
they could not endure the order that was given, c “If even a beast touches the
mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, dso terrifying was the sight that Moses
said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to eMount Zion and to the city of the living
God, fthe
heavenly Jerusalem, and to ginnumerable angels in festal gathering, 23
and to hthe assembly1 of the firstborn who are ienrolled in heaven, and to jGod, the judge of all, and to the spirits
of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, kthe mediator of a new covenant, and to lthe sprinkled blood mthat speaks a better word than the blood
of Abel.
25 See that you do not refuse him who is
speaking. For nif they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much
less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At
that time ohis voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, p “Yet once more I will shake not
only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet
once more,” indicates qthe removal of things that are shaken—that is,
things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may
remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving ra kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus slet us offer to God acceptable worship,
with reverence and awe,
29 for our tGod is a consuming fire. [9]
Will we be found wanting, a lack of faith and determination?
MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN
“…a pound, a pound, an ounce, and quarters…”
The reason for all this long introduction is to get
you to understand what is at stake. It is the struggle against sin in our
lives, in this world that we cannot be found wanting, if we are to be conformed
to the image of our Messiah.
We struggle, we
agonize. These words are not to taken
lightly or just tossed about. We cannot
use these words “agonize” or “conformed to His image” if we are not fighting
and winning. So, how do you know you are
winning? When you struggle within
yourself over anger, over the slip of the tongue. When you find yourself out of patience or
that curse word slips out from your mouth and your heart rends. When you strive to put down the temptations,
when you have to draw deep from your wellspring to find joy in pain –when you
are forcing yourself to do right- then you are winning. I am not talking about a major win, a
flag-waving, triumphant parade win; I am talking about the day to day, minute
by minute victory. Not just the one that
lasts a moment, but the one that after being hard won is sustained through
continual searching and holding on, enduring till the end. Friends, these words are not easy for
me. My battles seem to take place inch
by inch. At times I wonder if I have
made any progress at all. But I can look
back, see I have gained ground and praise Him for it. Then it begins all over again.
Repentance does not just “rain down” upon us, instantly changing us into
a creature that won’t sin. We are saved
from the curse of sin, slave to it no more, yet sin we will. Make no mistake here. Yahveh will send fire upon us, trial after
trial, trouble upon trouble, till He, for lack of better words, “beats” the sin
up in us to the point we are finally sick of ourselves; this then is the
turning point. We try and try to hang on
to whatever it is we call “our life”, till one day we just quit and say, “This
doesn’t work.” Yahveh will use life to
wear us down, till we cry, “That’s it, I surrender, I quit!” You see, “I” is the problem. When “I” is removed, He steps in. We come to this place where we say “This word
of Yahveh is true. I’m tired and I cannot
live without it any longer.” We look
upon our covetousness, our affections, our wants, our hopes, our dreams and lay
them down. Now we can say in truth to
those we love: “Mom, Dad, sister, brother, son, daughter; I have prayed for you and
tried to intercede for you. I have done
my best to live by example a life that shows you Yahveh is real. But I am tired. I cannot pray you into heaven; I cannot change
you. I must just tell you the
truth. You either have to repent and
turn from your sin or die in it.”
Do you think this boldness will be well received or even
appreciated? No, you will agōn. But it must be done. Favoritism or partiality exists in us all,
and it is a hindrance to judging righteously.
We all suffer from it.
1
Corinthians 10:13 (KJV)
13There hath no temptation taken you,
but such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it. [10]
The
temptation here is to withhold Yahveh’s pronouncement of sin according to His
Word. We fight this impulse, we struggle
for this stronghold is mighty indeed, yet it must fall if we are to become like
Messiah. When we let go of those we have
favored, we learn something about them – or more likely, about ourselves.
Perhaps we are not who we thought we were, and this is usually the hardest
lesson of all.
I hope you
can see that in our journey through Yahveh’s word, we have to put aside what we
know, what we favor and exchange this for Yahveh’s terms and definitions. I know that this was a long explanation of
“seeing clearly”, but so many of us have muddled vision today, we just can’t
get beyond what we think we know, what our favorite “truth” is, this little box
we carry Messiah and the Ruach Ha’Kodesh in.
The Truth demands to be heard, and it is here in the corner we find ourselves
backed into, when we say to Yahveh, “No more of myself Lord, what is Thy
pleasure, what will You have me to believe?”
With this
humble and contrite spirit, He can then begin to teach us, and that is gift
priceless beyond measure. Let us then
let the Lord define things for us as we continue our study.
We are back
now to the glossary looking at what Yeshua wants us to see. It sometimes is hard to get the feeling for
what it is we miss when we just glance over a passage without really seeing
what there is to see in the words used.
Sometimes I wonder about that. We
are only on the third or fourth verse of chapter one, yet here it has taken us
nine parts to get here… That is how deep
Yahveh’s word is: He can say so much with so little and it takes us silly humans’
volumes to try to make sense of it.
There is a something about that, this digging into the word, which gives
me pause. Faith is what we live by; we
take Yahveh at His word, trusting Him that what He tells us is true:
1 John
5:14-15 (NLT)
And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for
anything in line with his will. 15 And if we know he is listening
when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for.
[11]
Is there a stumbling block in learning? Yes and no.
If the learning takes the place of Yahveh and becomes the focal point of
our relationship to Him, then all that is learned is in vain. What good is it to
gain all knowledge and lose Yahveh in the process? The other side of that coin is to take at face
value all we see and hear and are taught, and to never question the
teachers. This is where heresies creep
in, and we risk in believing in another gospel, another Jesus, and lose Yahveh
in the process. True learning, true
teaching, will always lead us back to Messiah, and to what His message to us
is: that Yahveh did not and does not need us, He was perfect in the beginning,
He was complete as the Master and Creator.
The message of Yahveh is that He wanted us. He has no need of any of us, His plans will
be carried to their end with or without us, but because He is YHVH, (יהוהH3068 ),
merciful and compassionate, He wanted us as His family. For this reason, we can now enter into His
presence, and call Him ‘Abba [Father]’, and He allows us to learn of Him, so
that we can ἀγαπάω agapaō (ag-ap-ah'-o) [love] Him.
“ἀγαπάω agapaō”
is not what we perceive it to be: agape
love was to walk in the commandments of a King or in the willing obedience to
the Father of a family. We have been
taught over and over again that it is “unconditional love”, yet the Bible
clearly points to this “willing obedience” as the type of “love” Messiah
expects from us:
Exodus 20:5-6 (CEV)
5 Do not bow
down and worship idols. I am the Lord your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me,
I will punish your families for three or four generations. 6 But if
you love [אהב אהב 'âhab
'âhêb aw-hab', aw-habe']
me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for
thousands of generations. [13]
Deuteronomy
5:9-10 (KJV)
9Thou shalt
not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I
the LORD thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate
me, 10And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love [אהב אהב 'âhab
'âhêb aw-hab', aw-habe'] me and keep my commandments. [15]
Psalm 91:14-16 (KJV)
14Because he hath set his love [חשׁק châshaq khaw-shak'] upon me,
therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15He
shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. 16With
longc
life will I satisfy him and shew him my salvation. [17]
John 14:21
(KJV)
21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is
that loveth* me: and he that loveth* me
shall be loved of my Father, and I will love*
him, and will manifest myself to him. [18]
(*All these translate as ἀγαπάω agapaō [ag-ap-ah'-o])
In all of these examples, a condition was placed
upon the love, the affection of Yahveh and the Son:
- … Do not bow down and worship
idols.…
- …obey my laws…
- …Thou shalt not
bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them…
- …keep my
commandments…
- …hath set his love upon me…
- …because he hath known my name…
- …hath my
commandments, and keepeth [keeps, guards] them…
For us to love Yahveh, we must obey
Yahveh. To obey Yahveh is to keep His
commandments and what are His commandments?
His Word. His Torah. His instructions and HIS definitions,
His clearly defined way of interpreting His law. This understanding helps to explain another
of the most misunderstood parts of Scripture, the Sermon on the Mount.
I would like to take the time to go into
this, but we would never get through Revelation, so, we will save it for
another time. This is why we study
though… to understand Who Yahveh is, and what His intent is through His words
in order that we love [willingly follow and obey] Him. We cannot keep His commandments if we truly
don’t understand them, and the only way to know them, is to know Him.
I realize that when you take a look at
this study, it goes so much farther than you were probably expecting; my hope
is that you see the value in going so deep.
Yahveh’s love is unsearchable; I can only try to scratch the surface of
it, to prayerfully bring you to a place where you hunger for more of Him, that
you just do not stop at what you see, but that you get yourself fully immersed
in Him and the majesty of His word and His Son.
This
is what I mean when I say that Chapter 1 of the Revelation is a glossary. The term glossary comes from the Greek
word “glossa” (γλῶσσα). Below is a brief explanation of the
history of the term:
“…Gloss, Glossary. A gloss is a note appended to any word or phrase for the purpose of
interpretation or illustration. “Sacred glosses” are such notes appended to
words or phrases occurring in the Scriptures. A glossary is a collection of such explanatory notes properly
arranged.
The word gloss
is borrowed from the Greek γλῶσσα. But in the sense above explained it has no support from
classical usage. The process, however, by which the word passed from its
original meaning to that in which it was used by mediæval writers, and in which
it is now used, may be traced. The Greek word γλῶσσα, meaning tongue or speech, came to
be used by the Greek grammarians in the sense of a word requiring to be explained.
In process of time words often become obsolete or come to be used in senses
different from those in which they were originally used; new words are
introduced; and words frequently have special meanings attached to them of a
professional or technical character, familiar only to a portion of the
community. To the multitude such words need to be explained; and such words the
Greek grammarians called γλῶσσαι. Thus, Plutarch speaks of
certain expressions in the poets which were not commonly understood, and which
belonged to the idiotisms of particular regions or tribes, as τὰς
λεγομένας γλώττας
(De audiend. poet. c. 6). Galen
applies the same name to the antiquated words of Hippocrates and explains the
term thus: ὅσα τοίνυν τῶν ὀνομάτων ἐν μὲν τοῖς πάλαι χρόνοις συνήθη
ἦν νῦν δὲ οὐκ ἔτι ἐστί, τὰ μὲν τοιαῦτα γλώσσας καλοῦσι (Exeges. Gloss. Hippocrat. Proem.). Aristotle applies the same term
to provincialisms (De arte poet. c.
xxi, § 4–6; xxii, 3, 4, etc.). And, not to multiply quotations, a scholiast on
Dion. Halicarn., quoted by Wetstein on 1 Cor. 12:10, expressly says γλῶσσαι·
φωναὶ ἀρχαῖαι καὶ ἀποξενίσμεναι ἢ ἐπιχωριάζουσαι. Quintilian also says of the synonymous word glossemata, “Id est voces minus
usitatas” (Inst. Orat. i, 8, 15;
comp. also i, 1, 35).
The
next step was from calling a word needing explanation a gloss, to apply this term to the explanation itself. These
explanations at first consisted merely in adhibiting the word in common use (ὄνομα
κύριον, Aristot.)
to the obsolete and peculiar word; and thus, the two viewed as one whole came
to be called a gloss; and ultimately this name came to be given to that part
which was of most interest to the reader, viz. the explanation…”[19]
We can see that the practice of
creating a “glossary” of terms is well established. “Sacred Glosses” have existed since the
1200’s, with a dearth of them being produced from the 1500’s through the 1700’s. Many of these were formed from the marginal
notes those that were studying Scripture.
John Wesley’s Geneva Bible of 1587 is a prime example of this, as it was
published along with his marginal notes.
Notice what they called the gloss in the old days: the explanation. This
definition of “gloss” is where we get the term “Hermeneutics” from, as
explained by McClintock and Strong:
“…Hermeneutics (from ἑρμηνεύω, to explain), the technical or scientific name of that branch of
theology which consists in exposition
in general, as distinguished from exegesis (q. v.) in particular. Reserving for
the more usual and equivalent title Interpretation (of Scripture) the history
and literature of the subject, we propose to give in the present article only a
brief view of those principles or Canons
which should be observed in the elucidation of the meaning of the sacred text.
I.
The first and most essential process is to apply the natural and obvious
principles of a careful and conscientious exegesis to the passage and all its
terms. This may be called the philologic-historical rule. It embraces the
following elements:
1.
The diligent and discriminative use of an accurate and judicious Lexicon.
2.
The painstaking and constant reference to the best Grammars.
A
well-grounded knowledge of the language is implied in these prescriptions, yet
the interpreter needs to confirm or modify his judgment by these independent
authorities.
3.
An intimate acquaintance with the archæology
involved, including geography, chronology, and Oriental usages.
4.
The context should be carefully
consulted; and the general drift of the argument, as well as the author’s
special design in writing, must be kept in mind.
5.
Especially is a cordial sympathy with
spiritual truth a prerequisite in this task. A deep religious experience has
enlightened many an otherwise ill-instructed mind as to the meaning of much of
Holy Writ…”[20]
While there is more to the study of hermeneutics, you can see from
this portion of McClintock-Strong that this is the method that we are employing
here in our study. That is why we seek
to establish a glossary from Chapter one, for without it, we would be truly
unable to understand the subsequent parts of the Book. What we are doing now is making a “Sacred
Gloss”, as we study His word, as we seek His Truth. As we go on, write down those words and terms
that the Holy Spirit leads you to do.
Study them, let the true meanings sink into your heart, for is this not
why we study after all?
2
Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
15Study to shew thyself approved unto
God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth. [21]
As we build our definitions base, there
will be many things that we will look at, such as:
Candlesticks:
- Revelation
1:20
- Matthew
5:14-16
Clothing:
- Isaiah 11:5;
61:10
- Ephesians
6:14
- Revelation
19:8
White Head and hair:
- Daniel 7:9
- Matthew
17:1-2
- Acts
22:6-8
- 2 Peter
1:16-18
- Revelation
22:5
Eyes of fire:
- 2 Timothy
1:7-8
- Hebrews
12:29
Feet of brass:
- Proverbs
1:24-28
- Isaiah
48:4
- Luke
13:25-27
Voice of many waters:
- Daniel
10:6
- Revelation
14:2-3; 19:6
Seven stars:
- Daniel
12:3
- Malachi
2:7
- Revelation
1:20, 12:1
Two-edged sword:
- Ephesians
6:17
- Hebrews
4:12
Keys:
- Isaiah
22:20-22
- Matthew
16:19; 28:18
- Luke 11:52
- Revelation
3:7; 20:1
- John
20:22-23
- 1 Corinthians 12:4, 8
We will touch on each of these
subjects and more. What I cannot promise
you is a linear study. As we touch on
the many aspects of the Revelation, you will find that we have to jump ahead,
go backwards, maybe even sideways (just kidding… or not…).
There is a thread that runs
through Scripture, a thread that weaves throughout the pages stitching together
a story that has no beginning and no end, each part just as valuable as the
whole. To comprehend each part of the
amazing quilt that has been sewn together by the Hand of Yahveh there will be
times we must follow the thread back to its source. This is what I mean by not being able to do a
linear study. We have to examine the
illustrations John has given us in light of all Scripture, for did not Messiah
say in John 5:39 (1901
ASV):
“…Ye search the scriptures, because ye think
that in them ye have eternal life,
and these are they which bear witness of me…” [23]
What less then can we do?
The answer does not lie solely within the book of Revelation, but in the
BOOK, the whole Word of Yahveh.
Revelation is the sum of the total of Scripture. Have you ever pondered the Apostle John? Read what Matthew Henry wrote of him:
“…John was the beloved disciple. He was,
under the New Testament, as the prophet Daniel under the Old, a man greatly beloved. He was the
servant of Messiah; he was an apostle, an evangelist, and a prophet; he served
Messiah in all the three extraordinary offices of the church. James was an
apostle, but not a prophet, nor an evangelist; Matthew was an apostle and
evangelist, but not a prophet; Luke was an evangelist, but neither a prophet
nor an apostle; but John was all three; and so, Messiah calls him in an eminent
sense his servant John…”
When we
understand the scribe that Messiah picked to write out the dictates of the
Spirit concerning the final chapter of man’s history then we will begin to look
at his words a bit differently, maybe with more care and caution. Care because here was Messiah’s beloved
disciple, entrusted with the manifest words and vision of the resurrected
Savior; caution for to understand these words, we must not let ourselves think
that we do not have the ability to understand them. The Book of Revelation was written for us, but
not to us. It was written to the Jewish brethren of Messiah, but as such, all
the words and symbolism contained within the Book of Revelation are defined for
us within the Scripture itself. Revelation
will come through the Holy Spirit and in the entirety of Scripture will the
Truth be known to us. This is why we study,
this is why we let the context and the words define themselves, this is why we
search, turning page after page, pouring over line upon line, precept unto
precept, for this is our legal food.
“Legal food? What are you talkin’ about teacher?”
Messiah
said to satan in the wilderness:
Matthew
4:4 (1901 ASV)
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of
God. [25]
He also said:
John 6:48-58
(KJV)
48 rI
am that bread of life. 49 s Your
fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. 50 t This
is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not
die. 51 I am the living bread u which
came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and
the v bread that I will give is my flesh, which I
will give for the life of the world. 52 The Jews therefore w strove
among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except x you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye
have no life in you. 54 y Whoso
eats of my flesh, and drinks of my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise
him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is 2 meat indeed, and my 3 blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eats of my flesh,
and drinks of my blood z, dwells in
me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live
by the Father: so, he that eats of me, even he shall live by me. 58 a
This is that bread which came down from heaven: b
not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead:
he that eats of this bread shall live forever. [26]
You will see in the footnotes to the above
passages the translations found in the NU
(Nestle-Aland/United Bible Societies) text of true
food and true drink. This is what I mean by legal food. Cows eat cow
food. Horses eat horse food. And sheep eat sheep food. Let me say this; you will never make a sheep
angry if you feed it legal food. What
did Yeshua say about His sheep?
John 10:1-16
(NKJV)
10 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who
does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the
same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the
door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To
him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep
by aname
and leads them out.
4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them;
and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 Yet they will by no
means follow a bstranger,
but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6
Yeshua used this illustration, but they did not
understand the things which He spoke to them.
7 Then Yeshua said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8
All who ever
came 1before
Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
9 cI am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will
be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief does not come
except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have
life, and that they may have it more
abundantly.
11 d“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
gives His life for the sheep. 12 But a 2hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does
not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and eleaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf
catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care
about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and fI
know My sheep, and gam
known by My own.
15 hAs the Father knows Me, even so I know the
Father; iand
I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And jother sheep
I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring,
and
they will hear My voice;
kand there will be one flock and one shepherd. [27]
The sheep know His voice and will
follow. Friends and brethren, I am not
here to convince you to think the way I do.
I am not here to change your beliefs or your interpretations of Yahveh’s
word. If you are His sheep and if what I
present to you is legal and true food, then you will hear His voice and follow
the Truth no matter where it leads. I cannot
make you angry if you hear His voice, for you will know the truth is being
spoken. If on the other hand, you hear
these words and they bother you, well, think about that for a moment, if you
will.
The word of Yahveh
is our legal food.
Truth is legal. When Messiah spoke in Matthew about “binding
and loosing” (see Matt. 16:19 and Matt. 18:18) what He meant was this: “to
bind” was to declare “illegal” and “to loose” was to declare legal.
“…Bind (represented by numerous Heb. words). To bind and to loose (δέω and λύω) are figurative expressions, used as synonymous with command and forbid; they are also taken for condemning
and absolving (Matt. 16:19). Binding
and loosing, in the language of the Jews, expressed permitting or forbidding,
or judicially declaring anything to be permitted or forbidden (comp. John
20:23; 16:13). In the admission of their doctors to interpret the Law and the
Prophets, they put a key and a table-book into their hands, with these words;
“Receive the power of binding and loosing,” to which there seems to be an
allusion in Luke 11:52. (See Lightfoot, Hor.
Heb. in loc.) So, Christ says, “I am not come to destroy,” to unloose or
dissolve, “the law, but to fulfil it,” that is, to confirm and establish it
(Matt. 5:17). The expression “to bind the law upon one’s hand for a sign,”
etc., is figurative, and implies an acquaintance with it, and a constant regard
to its precepts; but the Jews construed the phrase literally, and bound parts
of the law about their wrists; hence the custom of wearing phylacteries. Rolls
or volumes of writing were tied up; hence the expression in Isa. 1:8, 16…” [28]
Illegal food, that is the Word of Yahveh twisted and
contorted to fit man’s interpretation, binds the ekklesia today. David was
troubled by this:
Psalm 56 (ESV)
1 To the choirmaster: according
to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths.
A Miktam of David when the
Philistines seized him in Gath.
Be gracious to me, O God, for
man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; 2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What
can flesh do to me? 5 All day long they
injure my cause; all their thoughts are
against me for evil. 6 They stir up strife,
they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life. 7 For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God! 8 You have kept count of my tossing; put my tears in your
bottle. Are they not in your book? 9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know that
God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I
praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to
you. 13 For you have delivered my soul
from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light
of life. [29]
Peter warned about it in 2 Peter
3:14-18 (KJV):
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye
look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without
spot, and blameless. 15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to
the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some
things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest,
as they do also the other scriptures,
unto their own destruction. 17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye
know these things before, beware lest
ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.
18 But grow in grace, and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Messiah.
To him be
glory both now and forever.
Amen. [30]
Now, I can
only pass on legal food to sheep. They are
the only ones who will hear it and recognize the shepherd. That is why we cannot
convince anyone of the Truth of what we say.
You have to be born again, γεννάω [gennaō
ghen-nah'-o] ἄνωθεν
[anōthen an'-o-then], which means to
be begat from above, which is the providence of Yahveh, and not man as stated
in John 1:13 (KJV):
Which were born, not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God… [31]
Without the new birth no one can be convinced
of the things of Yahveh, as Paul said in Romans
8:5-9 (NKJV):
5 For hthose
who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the
Spirit, ithe things of the Spirit. 6 For jto
be 2carnally
minded is death, but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because kthe 3carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God,
lnor indeed can be. 8
So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you
are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in
you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, he is not His. [32]
A
goat cannot be convinced he is a sheep, just as a sheep cannot be convinced he
is a goat. Only the sovereign will of
Yahveh can affect the change that is required to hear His voice. Thus, Truth becomes our legal, true
food. Messiah said that He is the Truth,
the Life, and the Way, so this is what He meant when He said “…He
that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him…”
For me to
come before you and argue about the true doctrines of the Bible would be
foolishness on my part. It is not my
office to convince anyone; my calling consists of the laying out of the food
and whosoever will, will eat thereof. A
farmer does not go out and argue with the chickens about whether or not they
are chickens, or whether or not they ought to lay eggs; so then, a teacher does
not argue about doctrines and truth. Those
that are Yahveh’s hear His voice and will respond to the Truth and eat the
legal food. Those that are not will
cling to their “Jesus”, their “God” and will turn away from the Truth, for it
interferes with the path they have chosen and are destined to follow. The lies of satan are many and manifold, yet
they are attractive because they hold just enough of a shadow of truth to
deceive the many. All I am speaking on now will tie into Revelation, on one
word found in Rev. 1:3, a word we need to add to our glossa. Let me continue in my thoughts though…
The pride of
satan was his downfall. Let us look at
this in Scripture:
Isaiah
14:3-23 (Tanakh)
3 And when the Lord
has given you rest from your sorrow and trouble, and from the hard service that
you were made to serve,
4 you shall
recite this song of scorn over the king of Babylon: How is the taskmaster vanished, How is oppression
ended! 5 The Lord has broken
the staff of the wicked,
The rod of tyrants,
6 That smote
peoples in wrath With stroke
unceasing, That belabored
nations in fury In relentless
pursuit. 7 All the earth is
calm, untroubled; Loudly it
cheers. 8 Even pines rejoice at
your fate, And cedars of
Lebanon: “Now that you
have lain down, None shall
come up to fell us.” 9 Sheol below was astir To greet your coming— Rousing for you the
shades Of all
earth’s chieftains, Raising from
their thrones All the kings
of nations. 10 All speak up and say
to you, “So you have
been stricken as we were,
You have become like us! 11 Your pomp is
brought down to Sheol,
And the strains of your lutes! Worms are to be your bed, Maggots your blanket!”
12 How are you
fallen from heaven, O Shining One, son of Dawn! How are you felled to
earth, O vanquisher
of nations! 13 Once you thought in
your heart, “I will climb
to the sky; Higher than
the stars of God
I will set my throne. I will sit in the mount of assembly, On the summit of
Zaphon: 14 I will mount
the back of a cloud— I will match the Most High.”
15 Instead, you
are brought down to Sheol, To the bottom of the Pit. 16 They who
behold you stare; They peer at
you closely: “Is this the
man Who shook the
earth, Who made
realms tremble, 17 Who made the world
like a waste And wrecked
its towns, Who never
released his prisoners to their homes?” 18 All the kings
of nations Were laid,
every one, in honor Each in his
tomb; 19 While you were left
lying unburied, Like
loathsome carrion, Like a trampled
corpse [In] the
clothing of slain gashed by the sword Who sink to the very stones of the Pit. 20 You shall not have a burial like them; Because you destroyed
your country, Murdered your
people. Let the breed
of evildoers Nevermore be
named! 21 Prepare a
slaughtering block for his sons Because of the guilt of their father. Let them not arise to possess the earth! Then the world’s face shall be covered with
towns. 22 I will rise up
against them—declares the Lord of Hosts—and will wipe out from Babylon name and
remnant, kith and kin—declares the Lord— 23 and I will
make it a home of bitterns, pools of water. I will sweep it with a broom of
extermination—declares the Lord of Hosts. [33]
Look at the portion in
bold. satan did not say “I’ll establish
for myself a kingdom of devil-worshippers, running around in calf-leggings and
goat horns!”; he said “…I will mount the back of a cloud— I will
match the Most High.”
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 (NKJV):
12 But what
I do, I will also continue to do, sthat I may cut off the opportunity
from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the
things of which they boast. 13 For such tare
false apostles, udeceitful workers, transforming themselves
into apostles of Messiah. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms
himself into van angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers
also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, wwhose
end will be according to their works. [34]
There are
many who profess the name of Jesus but it is a “Jesus” of their own making, a
ways and means of gain:
1
Timothy 6:1-5 (NKJV)
6 Let as
many abondservants
as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the
name of God and His doctrine may not
be blasphemed. 2 And those who have believing masters, let them not
despise them because they are
brethren, but rather serve them
because those who are benefited are believers and beloved. Teach and exhort
these things. 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to bwholesome
words, even the words of our Lord
Jesus Messiah, cand to the 1doctrine which accords with godliness,
4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and
arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, 5
2useless
wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that
godliness is a means of gain.
3From dsuch withdraw yourself. [35]
Paul also
warned in 2 Tim. 3:1-9:
3 But know
this, that ain the last days 1perilous times will come: 2
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving,
2unforgiving,
slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 btraitors,
headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5
chaving
a form of godliness but ddenying its power. And efrom
such people turn away! 6 For fof this sort are those who creep into
households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away
by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able gto
come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 hNow as Jannes and Jambres resisted
Moses, so do these also resist the truth: imen of corrupt minds, jdisapproved
concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their
folly will be manifest to all, kas theirs also was. [36]
Notice that it is not sinners and
unbelievers Paul is warning us of; it is those who call themselves “brethren”
and “believers”!
There is so much to cover, so much that needs to be explained before
we can even start a study of this type. I think that you are beginning to see
that this is not like any studies you have run across; look with me again at
the title of this epistle (way back there on page one…) “…A Search for Truth at
the end of the Age…” To find the Truth
we have to be ready to confront all that hinders us, expose the darkness in our
lives and bend our knees to Him who sits upon the throne.
Many have taken the broad path
that leads to destruction, many that profess the name of Messiah. Many wrest the scriptures, failing in their
vain attempts to make them say and justify the winds of doctrine that blow all
around us, the doctrines of man that bring to none affect the doctrines of
Yahveh. The daily dying of self, the
godly sorrow that brings the meat of repentance, the mortifying of the flesh;
these are concepts ignored in most “churches” today. Being Messiah like does not always “feel”
good – sometimes it hurts. It feels good
before Yahveh, but not before men. Paul
knew this. That is why he could sing
while chained in prison (Acts 16:25).
That is why Peter and the other apostles could rejoice after being
beaten for preaching Messiah Yeshua (Acts 5:41). This is the contentment the Apostles
understood – being content before Yahveh in His peace and His presence. It was not the contentment of the world, with
its pleasures and its riches.
1 Timothy
6:9 (KJV)
9 But they that will be rich fall into
temptation and a snare, and into many
foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. [37]
Do we not see
this, my brethren? Just look at the
economic and political mess that not only the United States is in, but the
whole world roils in. Powerful
interests, by lust for money and power, have served themselves and the result
has been to try and bring this nation to its knees, something many of its
enemies have tried but could never accomplish throughout its 300+ year
history. Those that wanted more, be it
power or money, allowed their souls to be corrupted and it troubled them not
who was hurt in the outcome.
Foolish, hurtful destruction.
MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN
“…a pound, a pound, an ounce, and quarters…”
The end is
not yet upon us as millions of Americans alone have lost trillions of dollars,
and in the desperation of those that have been charged with the public good in
a futile attempt by theft or deception to regain what power they had thought
they lost, the future legacy of this nation, nay, the world, is drowning in
debt and sin – exactly as Yahveh’s word has predicted…
Revelation
18:1-19 (NKJV)
18 After athese
things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, band
the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried 1mightily
with a loud voice, saying, c“Babylon the great is fallen, is
fallen, and dhas become a dwelling place of demons, a
prison for every foul spirit, and ea cage for every unclean and hated
bird! 3 For all the nations fhave drunk of the wine of the wrath of
her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, gand
the merchants of the earth have become rich through the 2abundance
of her luxury.”
4 And I
heard another voice from heaven saying, h“Come out of her, my people, lest you
share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 iFor
her sins 3have reached to heaven, and jGod
has remembered her iniquities. 6 kRender to her just as she rendered 4to
you and repay her double according to her works; lin the cup which she has mixed, mmix
double for her. 7 nIn the measure that she glorified herself
and lived 5luxuriously, in the same measure give her
torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as oqueen, and am no widow, and will not see
sorrow.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come pin
one day—death and mourning and famine. And qshe will be utterly burned with fire, rfor
strong is the Lord God who 6judges
her.
9 s“The
kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her twill
weep and lament for her, uwhen they see the smoke of her
burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, v‘Alas,
alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city!
wFor
in one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “And xthe
merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their
merchandise anymore: 12 ymerchandise of gold and silver,
precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind
of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most
precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and
incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat,
cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and zsouls
of men. 14 The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you,
and all the things which are rich and splendid have 7gone from you, and you shall find them
no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, who became rich by
her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16
and saying, ‘Alas, alas, athat great city bthat
was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and
precious stones and pearls!
17 cFor
in one hour such great riches 8came to nothing.’
dEvery shipmaster, all who travel by
ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance 18
eand
cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, f‘What
is like this great city?’
19 g“They
threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying,
‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich
by her wealth!
hFor in one hour she 9is
made desolate.’ [38]
It is interesting to note, that back in the space of one hour in the
crash of September 2008, the financial troubles of the United States erupted when
over 500 billion dollars was taken out of mutual fund markets by parties yet
undisclosed. It was this initial one
hour run that started the melt down of Wall Street and the banking system. Now with no end in sight of this problem, it
will only be those whose lives are turned to the L-rd, in simplicity and trust,
that will be spared in what is to come. In 2021, more will come, for evil has
stolen an election, looted, and burned cities across the land for months and
those who worship Moloch have seized power.
1
Timothy 6:10 (KJV)
10 For the love of money is the root of
all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erredc
from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. [39]
Notice also what type of merchandise was sold: it included the bodies
and souls of men. Do we not slave after
the wealth and power, and do not our souls become corrupt for the lust of the
flesh? The term “love of money” is the
Greek word φιλαργυρία philarguria fil-ar-goo-ree'-ah [Strong’s number
G5365] , which also means avarice or greed.
Now where have we seen that definition before? Look back to the word πλεονεξία pleonexia pleh-on-ex-ee'-ah [G4124]. This is “covetness”. Look again at the root of the word. “Philarguria”
(or in some texts ‘philigyria’) comes from:
‘Phil-arguria’
‘philos’
‘arguros’
…love,
befriended, an affection for…
…silver or shining…
“…A
love or affection for silver…” What do
we set our eyes upon? Remember “to serve
what we see”? O brethren: do you not see
how all the words, thoughts, and precepts of Yahveh tie in with one
another?
When
our affections turn to silver and from Yahveh, then goes our own ties, our
circumstances, our relationships. Then
do we “err from the faith” and are “pierced through with many sorrows…” Are we always to be looking for “a piece of
the action?” For the affection for
silver or something “shining” (be it material goods or a ‘name’ for ourselves…)
we turn away from the agōn for that which is temporal and away from that
which is eternal, the likeness of Messiah.
How many ministries have fallen because of “philarguria”? How many have “erred from the faith” for the
shining – the spotlight, the power, the fame, the name, the wealth of the
faithful of Yahveh – turning the saints away from Yeshua Messiah toward
themselves in cults of personality? We
sacrifice Yahveh’s principles to be that “shining” beacon in the eyes of
others, not realizing that if we do not preach the full council of Yahveh then
we have done no one any favors – despite our attempts to garner that self-same
favoritism.
IF
– and it is a big IF – we believe the word of Yahveh – that every word
in the Bible has meaning and purpose, and that every word is true (based upon
Yahveh’s interpretation, not our own), then we must hold to the doctrine of
pre-destination, that salvation is of Yahveh given out to those He has chosen
from before the foundation of the world.
Those that we are showing favoritism toward, the ones we hold back from
the conviction of the Holy Spirit (by telling them what is pleasant to hear and
not the truth), we are in essence saying we do not believe the word of
Yahveh. If we truly believe Yahveh’s
word, then we must believe this: that if they are His, they will be saved, so
we have no reason to hold back the truth.
If they are not His, chosen to be vessels of honor, but elected to be
vessel of wrath, then nothing we do will matter. That should never deter us from speaking the
Truth, for we don’t know who His are, and who are not.
One
thing is certain though: a truth we have
to face is to that quite possibly someone we care about may be destined to be
lost. All we can do is to be true to Yahveh and speak His words – the rest is
up to Him. I cannot save my family; I
hold fast to His words and promises, yet I do no good by withholding Truth from
them –
“Repent! For the kingdom of Yahveh is at
hand! REPENT! Or perish in the wrath to come…”
Do
I love them more if I speak these words to them, or if I do not? I will never stop praying for the saving
knowledge of Messiah to come upon them, but the truth is I might not see them
on the other side of eternity. Does this
mean I compromise? So that I can curry
their favor on this earth, should I tone down the message of the Gospel? Nay, I must continue to agōn, no matter what, for as I am conformed into the image of the Son, I know
not who is brought along also – so I must keep moving, ever pushing for the prize
in hopes that by my life I might convince others.
The hard thing then is to know
what to do and do it. There are those
(and we all know someone who fits this description) that we are to shake the
dust off our feet and move on. For those
that are our mothers and brothers, sisters and fathers are those who do the
will of the L-rd. These ones are the
family we have now. The others?
2
Corinthians 6:14-18 (KJV)
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord
hath Messiah with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of
the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and
ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. [40]
Now, how do we reconcile this? Beloved, this has to be one of the most
painful decisions we will probably make.
We are torn by our natural affections, between our families on earth and
our Father in heaven. It is only when we
make the decision whether to follow Yahveh or not that we reconcile this. We can only be content when we follow Him and
surround ourselves with those that do the Father’s will. I am not saying that we stop reaching out to
the lost, for if we did that, we are most wretched among people, but understand
no matter what we do, we will never convince an unbelieving family member that
Messiah is the only way. For one reason,
it is not our place anyway. Our place is
to speak the Truth, to tell them that they will die in their sins if they do
not repent. If they are elect of Yahveh,
then this will not chase them away; it could quite possibly be the catalyst
needed in their lives to help them call upon the L-rd. If they are not of the elect, nothing will ever
change them. Yahveh will continue to present opportunity after opportunity to
repent into their lives, and they will not take it. He knows their heart – whatever happens,
Yahveh will see to it. We are to come
out from among them, to be separate.
Yes, this is hard, but what is harder?
Walking away from them, or Yahveh?
To stay loyal to them is to say “no thanks” to Yahveh. There are only to choices – we are loyal to
unbelievers, yoked to them, or we let the dead bury their dead and follow Him.
Matthew
8:21-22 (KJV)
21 And another of his disciples said
unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22 But
Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury
their dead. [41]
Luke 9:57-62 (NET)
57 As
they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you
wherever you go.” 58
Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the
sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 Jesus said
to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my
father.” 60 But Jesus
said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim
the kingdom of God.” 61
Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let
me say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand
to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” [42]
What
I am about to say is hard, but understand Yahveh only loves His family, the family,
and people He has chosen from before the foundation of the world. Do you have family in rebellion? Does our favoring them change the election of
Yahveh which He has ordained from the beginning? We have to let them go. If they belong to Yahveh, He will get them;
if they do not, He will not.
Friends,
how will we win them? They are not ours
to win. Our favoring them, excusing
their sins does no good. How can we justify letting them slide in their sins
when Yahveh will not? This is tough
folks. But in the face of it, we have to
be objective, and the Truth is always objective. The Bible is what it is – the true inspired
Word of Yahveh in the original autographs – there is no arguing about it. We either decide to believe it, and that
means every word, every precept and every line or we do not. When we pick and choose “cherry-picking’” our
way through it, keeping only the good or those things that appeal to our world
view, then we are making a “god” that fits the desires we have of a “god” that
is what we want it to be. My brethren –
and I know of no kind way to say this – if this is what we do then WE ARE NO
BETTER THAN THE HEATHENS AND WE ARE LOST.
Only when we bow our knees and agree with Yahveh and His Word and His
Son and His Spirit – do we live and find contentment. It is what it is. Do I favor man and displease Yahveh, or do I
displease man and do Yahveh’s will? That
is the agōn. O how we
will suffer for His righteousness sake.
There is no other way.
Beloved, some of us
struggle because we had followed different paths till Yahveh pulled us from the
mire. Now, on looking at these paths, we
can see the damage our sinful ways inflicted upon those we love, and it is easy
to rationalize and say they are what they are because of us. Do you know what I say? LIES – from the father of lies. O child of Yahveh – you were ordained to
walk the path you walked. Yahveh ordered
your footsteps [Ps. 37:33]; your heart may have thought it controlled your path,
but you were directed by Yahveh every inch of the way [Pro. 16:9]. At just the right place and time Messiah
saved you [Rom. 5:6-8] and you now tread the narrow path Yahveh always intended
for you to be on. There was nothing you
could have done differently, for Yahveh had planned it and carried it out. So how can you blame what you had no choice
in? Hold on to Yahveh’s words – claim
them – live with the salvation of your family in your periphery but stop
looking back. Embrace the new family
Yahveh has given you. Caring for the
lost is one thing. Being lost
pre-supposes that you can be found – praise Yahveh for His mercy and
grace! Caring for the unrepentant is
something else entirely. The unrepentant
are called [G279] ἀμετανόητος ametanoētos am-et-an-o'-ay-tos, [see Rom. 2:1-10] or impenitent. The literal sense of the word is “without
change of mind”. This is the direct
opposite of “metanoia”, the “after-mind” or repentance. The point is that to be unrepentant involves
a conscious decision to reject grace.
Now, I know, this seemingly contradicts the role of pre-destination, but
it truly does not. I know this, for I
was one of the unrepentant. I had offer
after offer put before me and pushed grace aside. When the time was right, Yahveh used the
things of the world to beat me into submission (and beloved, this is the only
way I can describe it – Yahveh’s tough love…), where my only cry could be
“Yahveh help me”. He elected me to this
grace, for His reasons, for His pleasure.
If it pleased Him to make His Son suffer, then, I have to assume that it
was His pleasure to wound me before He choose to call me to salvation. Why me and not another? Only Yahveh knows the answer to this, but it
is His choice to make.
The unrepentant turns from grace because they are ordained to; Yahveh
turns the unrepentant because He knows that is what they want to do – they want
to reject His grace. That is the
Sovereignty of Yahveh. What place do you
have in such a situation? Seek out the
ones that do His will to call them mother or brother or sister. I must say this again – we HAVE to come to the
place where we do it by the BOOK, the Living Word of Yahveh and give no place
to the devil [Eph. 4:27]! For whose son
or daughter are you? Whose will do you
follow? Will it be like that of the
Pharisees [John 8:44] or that of Messiah’s [John 8:55]?
Let us go back to 1 Tim. 6:10. Remember we defined “love of money”
[philarguria] as an affection for silver (or shining), or the simpler “to serve
what we see”. This “root of all evil” does
not have to be money though money is invariably tied to it. It can be fame, power, things, the desire for
glory or the hunger of ambition. These
things can and will cause the believer as well as the unsaved to “err from the
faith” and cause them to be “pierced” “…with many sorrows…” What are we admonished to do then? (vs. 11) “…flee these things…” Now, some “scholars” like Scofield
believe “these things” means simply “the love of money”. Unless though we take this unnatural
affection deeper into ALL desires of the flesh, are we truly crucifying
it? If any part of self remains, that leaven
will spread and ruin the entire batch – it must all be dealt with. Paul mentions in verse eleven of 1 Tim. 6 six
things we need to pursue:
1.
Righteousness: to conform to Yahveh’s will in action, word, and deed
2.
Godliness: reverence and obedience to Yahveh’s commandments
3.
Faith: our trust in Him
4.
Love: the Greek word (G26) ἀγάπη agapē
ag-ah’-pay best defined by Vine as: “…Christian
love has Yahveh for its primary object and expresses itself first of all
[emphasis mine] in implicit obedience to
His commandments…”
5.
Patience: perseverance (Long-suffering)
6.
Meekness: gentle, quiet strength [humbleness – brokenness toward
Messiah]
We obtain
these by:
(v12) “Fight the good fight of faith…”
"Fight" =
ἀγωνίζομαι
agōnizomai ag-o-nid’-zom-ahee "fight"= ἀγών
agōn ag-one’
Struggle. Agon. Daily dying to self; mortifying the flesh;
crucifying the flesh; carrying our cross.
Repentance, not just turning but the returning
to where we came from – Yahveh. Hardships, adversities, trials, tribulations,
troubles, heartaches, weeping between the porch and the altar:
-WARFARE-
Warfare with ourselves, for the crown of
Glory, Messiah Yeshua.
The struggle for the inner man; is He {God} winning? Or does
the outer man rebel and insist upon his way?
Inch by inch the inner man should progress, peeling away the layers that
make up the outer man. As we agōnizomai
the agōn, we lay ahold of eternal life – our salvation, our σώζω sōzō sode'-zo,
the journey from death to life, to glory at the side of our L-rd Yeshua. As we win, we (G3528) νικάω nikaō nik-ah'-o:
that is, we overcome, we triumph.
Overcome [nikaō] comes from the Greek word (G3529) νίκη nikē nee'-kay
meaning victory. And what is the victory that overcomes the world? (1 John
5:4) Is it not our faith? For if we’ve overcome the world then we are
dead to sin through faith in Him who was crucified for our sins; therefore we
have died to SELF! Agōn! Agōnizomai!
SELF is our enemy, SELF is our demon, our devils…FIGHT to cast them out,
to cast them away! If we do not, then we know what awaits…
MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN
“…a pound, a pound, an ounce, and quarters…”
Remember
the sin of satan: “I will mount
the back of a cloud— I will match the Most High.”
satan is not coming at the elect of Yahveh as an evil
sulfur-smelling creature from the pit of Hades; he is coming as a minister of
light, speaking smooth words, and promising all to those who will bow down and
worship him and his version of Yeshua.
This is probably the foremost reason we have to know the Truth of
Yahveh’s word, so that when we hear these words, we can reject them for we know
the Truth, and it is He who sets us free.
What the whole purpose of discourse is about is to get those who hear it
to reconsider their previous convictions, to see things in a new light. Webster puts it this way:
"...Discourse
DISCOURSE, n. Discors. [L., to run.]
1. The act
of the undertaking, by which it passes from premises to consequences; the act
which connects propositions and deduces conclusions from them. [This sense is
now obsolete.]
2.
Literally, a running over a subject in speech; hence, a communication of
thoughts by words, either to individuals, to companies, or to public
assemblies. Discourse to an individual or to a small company is called
conversation or talk; mutual interchange or thoughts; mutual intercourse of
language. It is applied to the familiar communication of thoughts by an
individual, or to the mutual communication of two or more. We say:
I
was pleased with his discourse, and he heard our discourse.
The
vanquished party with the victors joined, nor wanted sweet discourse, the
banquet of the mind.
3. Effusion
of language; speech.
4. A
written treatise; a formal dissertation; as the discourse of Plutarch on
garrulity; of Cicero on old age.
5. A
sermon, uttered or written.
We
say, an extemporaneous discourse, or a written discourse.
DISCOURSE, v.i.
1. To
talk; to converse; to but it expresses rather more formality than talk.
He
discoursed with us an hour on the events of the war. We discoursed together on
our mutual concerns.
2. To
communicate thoughts or ideas in a formal manner; to treat upon in a solemn,
set manner; as:
to discourse on the
properties of the circle; or
The
preacher discoursed on the nature and effects of faith.
3. To reason; to pass from premises
to consequences.
DISCOURSE, v.t. To treat of; to talk over; to
discuss. [Not used.]
Let
use discourse our fortunes..."
“To reason; to pass from premises to
consequences…” Where have we heard this
before?
Isaiah
1:10-20 (KJV)
10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers
of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 11
To what purpose is the multitude of
your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of
rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or
of lambs, or of he-goatse. 12 When ye come to appearf
before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13
Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons
and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquityg,
even the solemn meeting. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15 And when ye spread
forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers,
I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash you, make you clean; put away
the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieveh the oppressed, judge the
fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come
now, and let us reason
together, saith the LORD:
though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20
But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth
of the LORD hath spoken it. [46]
“Reason” used here is the Hebrew word (H3198) יכח
yâkach yaw-kakh' defined by
Strong as:
“…A
primitive root; to be right (that is, correct); reciprocally
to argue; causatively to decide, justify or convict: - appoint,
argue, chasten, convince, correct (-ion), daysman, dispute, judge, maintain,
plead, reason (together), rebuke, reprove (-r), surely, in any wise…”
Here in this passage from Isaiah, Yahveh is challenging Israel to a
trial, to a justification of its ways before Yahveh. “…willing and obedient…” must they become to
live; otherwise, they perish. It is no
different for us today. The way we reason with Yahveh is to hear, to ‘shema
[hear and obey]. No conversation is
one-sided. We have to be willing to hear
from the other’s point of view. How many
of us do that with Yahveh? How many of
us have already formed our opinions, have garnered our “facts”, and stand ready
to justify our positions before the Sovereign L-rd of the universe? This is why
I have taken such pains to bring out the fact that we have to shed our ideas
and our pre-conceptions and approach the Word of Yahveh with trembling
hands.
“…A solemn manner…” said Webster; that is what we approach in
Revelation, a solemn matter. I hope you
are still with me, but we cannot approach this subject unless we agree upon the
method. That is why such a lengthy
discourse has been necessary, to prepare each of us for the new look, to agōnizomai,
to prepare our hearts for the plan of Yahveh, not just what we think it has to
be, but what He has always intended it to be.
We will begin again in Revelation, but understand, there is so much to
cover, that it takes this type of approach to take it all in, may Father Yahveh
lead us all in the Truth…
We can now approach the
Revelation with a better understanding of what is required of us, namely that
we must:
-
Shed ourselves of our own interpretations of Scripture
-
Open our eyes to Yahveh’s…
-
Prepare our hearts to ‘shema…
-
Rid ourselves of favoritism…
-
Of what we think we know…
-
Of what we want to believe
that the Word says…
-
For in this vein, we need to let go and let Yahveh show us His intent…
We favor
our idea of Yahveh – yet if this “ideal” Yahveh does not square with what the Scriptures
[and Yahveh Himself] say who He is, then we have actually built for ourselves
an idol – a golden calf. This is
partially the reason that Yahveh had Moshe (Moses) record for us the
illustration of the golden calf in Exodus 32…
“…Aaron said to
them, "Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your
sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." (Exodus 32:2)
When we attempt to "do religion"
without first consulting God's instructions, we end up with golden calves. The
Torah tells the story of the golden calf in juxtaposition to the instructions
for the building of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle represents God's way of
doing spirituality. The golden calf represents man's way of doing spirituality.
God and Israel were both striving for the same end: they were each attempting
to create a medium whereby Israel could worship God and celebrate their
relationship with Him. Their methods of accomplishing that end were very
different, though.
The golden calf was a poor substitute for
the glory of the Tabernacle. The Torah tells about the work of making the
golden calf to contrast it against the work of the Tabernacle. Aaron did not know that God had chosen to
make him the high priest over Israel. When the people asked him to make an idol
for them, he took the role of priesthood himself. If he had waited for Moses to
return, he would have learned that God had chosen to install him as a priest in
the Tabernacle. The people did not know that God had
ordered them to raise a contribution of gold and precious materials for the
building of the Tabernacle. If they had waited, Moses would have told them.
Instead, Aaron told them to donate the gold of their jewelry for the idol.
The people were to fashion the furnishings
of the Tabernacle of gold. Instead, Aaron fashioned the idol "with a
graving tool and made it into a molten calf" (Exodus 32:4). The people
were to build a bronze altar for burnt offerings and a golden altar for
incense. Instead, we read that "he built an altar" (Exodus 32:5) for
the idol. The people were to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings on the
altar in the Tabernacle. Instead, we read that the people "offered burnt
offerings, and brought peace offerings" (Exodus 32:6) to the idol. The
Tabernacle was to be a resting place of God's divine, invisible presence.
Instead, the people made a
visible, idolatrous representation of God. All the things that Israel desired,
God had already planned to give them…”
Notice the high-lighted portion of the
previous commentary: “the
people made a visible, idolatrous representation of God”. Beloved, how is this possible? When Scripture is plain, when the words of
the L-rd explain to us clearly Who He
is, how do we fall so easily for less than what it is we so desire?
The answer lies above in the simple statement “if they had waited…” If we wait upon the L-rd, all that yearns
within our hearts will be so; if we do not, then we open ourselves to the vain
imaginations of our minds and our wants.
The two results may be similar but only one can succeed, and that is the
one that has Yahveh in it. What does it
matter if I can achieve the same goal my way, but without Yahveh? What have I achieved? What does it matter if I interpret Scripture
and all hail me as some bright scholar, yet my interpretation falls just a
little short of Yahveh’s? What it means
is that I have spoken falsely about His word, and the consequences of that may
be I have contributed to making one of His into a child hell-bound, instead of
a child glorious.
This
much I have to say: I am not a great
scholar. I agōnizomai over this
word of Yahveh, I struggle with what I seek to give to you. At times I go for days without writing a single
word because I do not feel His presence near me, guiding my hands. When I do write, I carefully read, look, and
search out the information that in my soul I know the L-rd has led me to share
with you, yet I still tremble, for the question is always on my heart “Did I
hear Him correctly?” This is why in my,
for lack of a better explanation, in my insecurity I always say to you, study,
search Yahveh’s word for yourself! Do
not take my word or anyone else’s as truth; I just might get something wrong. I
cannot be presumptuous and think that all I say and do is straight from Yahveh;
I am just a man looking for truth and hoping to be counted worthy enough to pass
it on. I wait; I pray; I repent daily,
for I know that within me no good thing dwells unless the Messiah is
present. Do you understand? Do you see why it has to be this way, this
long journey to the truth? I want you to
know the same Yahveh I know; to feel the presence of the Son and the Spirit the
way I have felt them. I can only paint
you pictures with words; I cannot bring you into that place of fellowship – no
one but He can. What I am humbled by is
that He has allowed me this chance to speak to you and hope that what you hear
stirs up a hunger within yourself for the legal food, the manna from heaven,
the true Bread, Yeshua Ha’Mashiach.
We
have been at this a long time now, so here we will stop.
Until
next time:
May
Yahveh richly bless you all, my beloved.
Amein
1 Lit brightness changed for him
c Ezek 7:17; 21:7; Nah 2:10
a Is 44:25; 47:13; Dan 4:6, 7; 5:11, 15
b Gen 41:42–44; Dan 5:16, 29
d Dan 2:48; 5:16, 29; 6:2, 3
a Gen 41:8; Dan 2:27; 4:7; 5:15
a Job 18:11; Is 21:2–4; Jer 6:24; Dan 2:1; 5:6
1 Lit brightness was changing upon him
2 Lit brightness be changed
1 Or possibly the Spirit of the holy God
a Ezra 4:1; 6:16, 19, 20; Dan 2:25; 6:13
1 Or possibly the Spirit of God
a Dan 2:12, 13; 3:6; 11:3, 16, 36
a Ex 9:17; Job 15:25; Is 14:13–15; Dan 4:30, 31
b 2 Kin 17:14; 2 Chr 36:13
c Job 40:11, 12; Jer 13:18
a Job 30:3–7; Dan 4:32, 33
c Ex 9:14–16; Ps 83:17, 18; Ezek 17:24; Dan 4:17, 34, 35
a Ex 10:3; 2 Chr 33:23; 36:12
a 2 Kin 14:10; Is 2:12; 37:23; Jer 50:29; Dan 5:3, 4
c Ps 115:4–8; Is 37:19; Hab 2:18, 19
e Job 31:4; Ps 139:3; Prov 20:24; Jer 10:23
1 Or a mina (50 shekels) from verb “to number”
1 Or a mina (50 shekels) from verb “to number”
2 Or a shekel from verb “to weigh”
3 Or and half-shekels (sing: perēs) from verb “to divide”
a Is 13:6, 17–19; Jer 50:41–43
a Is 13:17; 21:2; 45:1, 2; Dan 5:31; 6:8, 28; Acts 2:9
[7] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update.
1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]
H. D. M. Spence (Editor), Joseph
S. Exell (Editor). The Pulpit Commentary. Vol. 12. Vol. 12 of 23 vols. Homiletic
by Spence, H. D. M. (1909); Daniel (p. 171). London; New York:
Funk & Wagnalls Company n.d. Electronic
Edition, Logos Software Ver. 9 ©2020.
a Luke 24:26; Phil. 2:8; [Isai. 53:11]
b Ps. 22:6, 7; 69:19; Isai. 53:3
d [Matt. 10:24; Rev. 2:3]
f Cited from Prov. 3:11, 12
h Ps. 94:12; 119:67, 75; Rev. 3:19
i Deut. 8:5; 2 Sam. 7:14; [Prov. 13:24; 19:18; 23:13]
m [2 Pet. 1:4]; See Lev. 11:44
p Cited from Isai. 35:3; [Job 4:3, 4]
u Matt. 5:8; [2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 21:27; 22:4]
v ch. 4:1; [2 Cor. 6:1; Gal. 5:4]
z Ex. 19:18; 20:18; Deut. 4:11; 5:22; [2 Cor. 3:9]
b Ex. 20:19; Deut. 5:5; 18:16
c Cited from Ex. 19:12, 13
d [Ex. 19:16; Deut. 9:19]
p Cited from Hag. 2:6; [Hag. 2:21]
t Cited from Deut. 4:24; See 2 Thess. 1:8
[9] The Holy Bible : English standard version.
2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
[10] The
Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (Electronic edition of the 1769
edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research
Systems, Inc.
[11] Holy
Bible : New Living Translation. 1997, c1996 (electronic ed.). Wheaton:
Tyndale House.
[13] The
Contemporary English Version : With Apocrypha. 1997, c1995 (electronic
ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[15] The Holy
Bible : King James Version. 1995 (Electronic edition of the 1769 edition of
the 1611 Authorized Version.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
c long...: Heb. length of days
The Holy
Bible : King James Version. ©1995 (Electronic edition of the 1769 edition
of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
The Holy
Bible : King James Version. ©1995 (Electronic edition of the 1769 edition
of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[19] McClintock, J., & Strong, J. (1891). Gloss,
Glossary. In Cyclopædia of Biblical,
Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (Vol. 3, p. 888). New York:
Harper & Brothers, Publishers.
q.
v. quod vide
= which see.
[20]
McClintock, J., & Strong, J. (1891). Hermeneutics.
In Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological,
and Ecclesiastical Literature (Vol. 4, p. 205). New York: Harper &
Brothers, Publishers.
The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995 (Electronic edition of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.).
Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
THE CONCISE BIBLE COMMENTARY: A CLEAR AND UNDERSTANDABLE OVERVIEW OF THE OLD AND NEW
TESTAMENTS COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME. By JAMES M. GRAY, D.D., AGES Software Albany, OR USA,
Version 1.0 © 1999
American
Standard Version. 1995 (Electronic edition.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos
Research Systems, Inc.
Matthew
Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, by Matthew
Henry; ©1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.
American Standard Version.
1995 (Electronic edition.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
John 6:33, 35 [Gal. 2:20; Col.
3:3,4]
John 6:31, 58
John 6:51, 58
John 3:13
Heb. 10:5
John 7:43; 9:16; 10:19
Matt 2:26
John 4:14; 6:27, 40
NU ( Nestle-Aland/United Bible Societies Text) true food
NU true drink
1 John 3:24; 4:15, 16
John 6:49-51
Ex. 6:14-35
d Gen. 49:24; Is. 40:11; Ezek. 34:23; [Heb. 13:20]; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4; Rev.
7:17
f Is. 40:11; Nah. 1:7; Zech. 13:7; John 6:64; 2 Tim. 2:19
i Matt. 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46; [John 15:13; 19:30]; 1 John 3:16
j Is. 42:6; 56:8; Acts 10:45; 11:18; 13:46
k Ezek. 37:22; John 11:52; 17:20; Eph. 2:13–18; 1 Pet. 2:25
[27] The New
King James Version. 1996, ©1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[28]
McClintock, J., & Strong, J. (1880). Bind.
In Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological,
and Ecclesiastical Literature (Vol. 1, p. 814). New York: Harper &
Brothers, Publishers.
[29] The Holy Bible : English standard version.
2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
The Holy
Bible : King James Version. ©1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems,
Inc.
The
Holy Bible : King James Version. ©1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research
Systems, Inc.
The New
King James Version. ©1996, ©1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[33] Jewish Publication Society. (1997, c1985). Tanakh:
The Holy Scriptures : A new translation of the Holy Scriptures according to the
traditional Hebrew text. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
t Acts 15:24; Rom. 16:18; Gal. 1:7; Phil. 1:15; 2 Pet. 2:1; Rev. 2:2
[34] The New
King James Version. 1996, c1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
a Eph. 6:5; Titus 2:9; 1 Pet. 2:18
2 NU, M constant friction
3 NU omits the rest of v. 5.
[35] The New
King James Version. ©1996, ©1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
a 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Pet. 3:3; 1 John 2:18; Jude 17, 18
e Matt. 23:3; 2 Thess. 3:6; 1 Tim. 6:5
f Matt. 23:14; Titus 1:11
h Ex. 7:11, 12, 22; 8:7; 9:11
k Ex. 7:11, 12; 8:18; 9:11
[36] The New
King James Version. ©1996, ©1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[37] The
Holy Bible : King James Version. ©1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research
Systems, Inc.
c Is. 13:19; 21:9; Jer. 51:8; Rev. 14:8
d Is. 13:21; 34:11, 13–15; Jer. 50:39; 51:37; Zeph. 2:14
3 NU, M have been heaped up
k Ps. 137:8; Jer. 50:15, 29
o Is. 47:7, 8; Zeph. 2:15
p Is. 47:9; Jer. 50:31; Rev. 18:10
r Jer. 50:34; Heb. 10:31; Rev. 11:17
t Jer. 50:46; Rev. 17:2; 18:3
y Ezek. 27:12–22; Rev. 17:4
z 1 Chr. 5:21; Ezek. 27:13
g Josh. 7:6; Job 2:12; Lam. 2:10; Ezek. 27:30
[38] The New
King James Version. 1996, c1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
c erred: or, been seduced
[39] The Holy
Bible : King James Version. 1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems,
Inc.
[40] The Holy
Bible : King James Version. 1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems,
Inc.
[41] The Holy
Bible : King James Version. 1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[42] Biblical
Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English.
NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
“…Scofield believed that between creation and the
final judgment there were seven distinct eras of God's dealing with man and
that these eras were a framework around which the message of the Bible could be
explained. It was largely through the influence of Scofield's notes that
dispensationalism and premillennialism became influential among fundamentalist Christians in the United States… Dispensationalism is a theological system
which developed from a twisted, theological interpretation of Scripture that
dates from the late nineteenth century. Before that time it was not know as a
theological system. The first record of Dispensationalism in the USA is 1864-65,
when J.N. Darby twice visited the country…
Dispensationalism contradicts the fundamental tenants of the Christian
faith, namely: the inspiration of the
Scriptures; the virgin birth of Messiah; the bodily resurrection of Messiah;
the miracle of Messiah; and the substitutionary atonement… Scofield Dispensationalism brought a new kind
of fundamentalism into many churches. This new dispensationalism in its
unscriptural, unreformed, and uncalvinistic teaching came on the religious
scene to fill a vacuum-a vacuum which existed because of liberalism. The
churches had drifted away from the doctrinal roots expressed in the old
confessions and creeds. Many of the best schools and seminaries had been taken
over by liberals and modernists-beginning in the colleges and seminaries and
spreading to the pulpits and the pews.
This vacuum which Liberalism created in the churches provided a prime
opportunity for the establishment and spread of the new Dispensational
teaching… This resulted in the
independent church movement, the independent Bible conference movement and the
Bible school movement. Those who participated in them were almost all carrying
Scofield Bibles and their leaders were predominantly Dispensational in their
views…” (From the article “A History of Dispensationalism in America”
by Ernest Reisinger )
e he goats: Heb. great he goats
f to appear: Heb. to be seen
The Holy
Bible : King James Version. 1995. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems,
Inc.
