One New Man

Israel.

The church. 

Are they two different entities altogether, or does scripture clearly teach one new man?

I wrote about this concept a dozen years ago, but it bears repeating.  If you want to read it, click here.

The Greek word ekklesia appears 77 times in the Septuagint.  This word is used in the New Testament 118 times, and is usually translated into the word church.

Septuagint? What's that, you ask?  Several hundred years before the Messiah walked the earth, seventy Hebrew scholars - orthodox Jews - translated the Hebrew scriptures (aka Old Testament) into Greek.  It is an excellent resource that helps to bridge understanding between the Hebrew and the Greek scriptures.

So back to my statement.  The fact that ekklesia appears 77 times simply blows my mind. The church in the Hebrew scriptures?  (Don't even get me started on the significance of the number 77).

Yes.  Because the scriptures, in their entirety, tell a unified story that points to the Messiah and the redemption of the world.

There are a lot of last-days teachings these days.  I have sat through quite a few of them.  And rightfully so, because we truly are in the last days.  But one thing that keeps coming up in these teachings is the idea that we are in the "church age."

The "church age" is much longer that the church thinks it is.  It is not an entity that is separate from Israel, ready to be zapped away so that Israel can undergo horrible tribulation all by herself.  

Biblically speaking, the ekklesia has always been God's people.  God in His mercy has allowed Gentiles to be grafted into His kingdom, along with the Jews, as stated in Romans 11.  Granted, most Jews do not yet believe in Yeshua the Messiah, but God keeps His promises, and that day of recognition is coming soon.  They will be grafted back into the ekklesia, the community of God's people, through faith in the Messiah.

Without Israel, the nations were completely without hope of redemption.  Look at Ephesians 2:12... Remember that you were at that time separated from Messiah, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Many theologians teach that the "church" will be zapped away before God deals with Israel.  There is no clear passage that teaches this... these teachers will admit that the idea is inferred.  But it takes a lot of biblical gymnastics to get to that place.

Here is a quick example. Recently I heard a preacher say that Matthew 24:29-31 does not teach the "rapture," (I prefer to say the gathering of the saints) but the beginning of God's kingdom.  Really? This is what it says:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the starts will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet  call, and they will gather the ELECT from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Clearly, this scripture shows that there is a gathering of the saints at the return of the Messiah, at a loud trumpet call.  What is the Greek word for "elect"? It is eklektos - a variation of the word ekklesia. For those theologians who say this passage is just for Israel, and then they insist that we are in a separate ekklesia age, how do they reconcile this? They can't.

There are several other places where the scriptures teach us about the gathering together of the saints.  Check these out:

Behold! I tell you a mystery.  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Messiah will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

We are given another glimpse of the timing of this gathering in 2 Thessalonians 2:  Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.  Let no one deceive you in any way.  For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

Did you catch that?  Our gathering to Him (popularly called the "rapture") will not happen before the great rebellion (meaning apostosy, or falling away from the faith) and the revealing of the antichrist. Clearly we will still be around when the antichrist is revealed. So please, be ready. In this world you will have tribulation, according to Yeshua.

So what about that one new man that I referred to at the beginning of this post?  After we are told in Ephesians 2 that the nations had been excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and without hope in the world, we see this:

But now in Messiah Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.  For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down the flesh the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through he cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Dispensationalism is a fancy word that means division between the church and Israel, and dispensationalists claim that the church has to be gone before God can deal with unbelieving Israel.  There are actually some ultra-dispensationalists who teach that Christians will dwell in heaven with Jesus, and the Jews will in the kingdom on earth.  Not only does this fly in the face of scripture's claim of one new man, but it is also thinly-veiled anti-semitism.  As if we, the ekklesia, are to have nothing to do with those Jews.

Cringe.

I will leave you with the words of Yeshua in John 17, as He prayed for unity among His followers, both present and future:

I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.... I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Yeshua, the True King

So far, I have avoided posting about the elephant in the room.

I'm talking about the 'Rona.

I've been watching, praying, and taking it all in, ever since Covid 19 disrupted the planet over a year and a half ago.

Has there ever been anything that has affected the whole world in this way, in such a short time?  In my opinion, even World War 2 did not affect the world with such suddenness and entirety. This virus literally shut down the planet almost overnight.

For a long time, I have been pondering a connection between Covid and the white horse of Revelation 6:  And I looked, and behold, a white horse!  And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

The word that was standing out to me was crown.  The Greek word is stephanos, but the Latin word in the vulgate (scriptures translated into Latin by Jerome in the year 405 AD) is corona.

As I meditated on the possible connection, I sensed a strong whisper in my spirit from the Lord, "Corona is not king, I am."  This whisper occurred in the spring of 2020, in the early days of lockdown.

This whispered truth has been my constant reminder of Who is in charge. It is a reminder to bow down to Him only, and not to the virus and all its, um, stuff.

Anyway, back to the white horse.  Most scholars agree that the white horse here in chapter 6 is a picture of deception.  Revelation 19:11 depicts our TRUE King seated on a white horse when He returns to conquer His enemies, and in that passage He is called Faithful and True.  

White is the color of purity and also of victory.  It is interesting to note that in ancient times, Roman Generals entered their conquered cities in chariots drawn by white horses.

Our enemy the devil is the Father of Lies and can only mimic and deceive.  So it is no surprise that scripture portrays his deception by the use of a white horse.  And he is going to try and conquer, but he will get only so far.

Wisdom is needed, saints.

If we look back to 2 Thessalonians 2, the context is the Day of the Lord, and the return of our King.  Verse 3 warns believers not to be deceived: Let no one deceive you in any way.  For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.

Further on in the chapter, we are told about the great deception that will take place on earth: The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,  and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Dang.  So much of this seems to be taking place right under our noses. 

Ok, let's go back to our white horse in Revelation 6, so that I can geek out with more original language stuff.

What is this bow that the rider is holding? The Greek word is toxon.  I will let Wikipedia define the origin of the word toxon:  

The modern terms "toxic" and "toxin" derive from the ancient Greek word for "bow", toxon, from Old Persian *taxa-, "an arrow". ... In the Kingdom of Kush, arrows were often poison-tipped. There is some indication that poisoned arrows were used in battle against the Romans from 27 BC to 22 BC.

Chew on that idea for awhile.  Is there a modern (or moderna) equivalent of something that will stab us and contains poison?  I'm not going to be dogmatic about this, but it is definitely worth considering.  Is there a current worldwide campaign to convince us to take a poisonous skin prick? Are people with dissenting opinions silenced?  I think the answer is obvious.

There is one more biblical word I want to geek out on.  It is found in Galatians 5:20, Revelation 9:21, and Revelation 18:23.  The Greek word is pharmakeia, and the ESV translates the word as sorceries.  But let's look at the outline of Biblical usage as found in Blue Letter Bible:

Let those definitions sink in.  And then I urge you to pray,  seek the Lord, and ask for wisdom in all these matters. 

Because He is the King, He is in charge, and He is coming soon... on a white horse.

I want to end this post on a high note, so let's look at Psalm 45. It is easy to see the coming King and Kingdom in this beautiful psalm:

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song.

(A WEDDING song!  Did you catch that?  Our bridegroom is coming soon!)

My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

You are the most excellent of men
and your lips have been anointed with grace,
since God has blessed you forever.

Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one;
clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.

In your majesty ride forth victoriously (on a white horse?)
in the cause of truth, humility and justice;
let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.

Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;  

(the arrows of the TRUE king)
let the nations fall beneath your feet.

Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.

All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.

Daughters of kings are among your honored women;
at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:
Forget your people and your father’s house.

Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;
honor him, for he is your lord.

The city of Tyre will come with a gift,
people of wealth will seek your favor.

All glorious is the princess within her chamber;
her gown is interwoven with gold.

In embroidered garments she is led to the king;
her virgin companions follow her—
those brought to be with her.

Led in with joy and gladness,
they enter the palace of the king.

Your sons will take the place of your fathers;
you will make them princes throughout the land.

I will perpetuate your memory through all generations;
therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

And since I want to end on a high note, I will look at the next three horses in a future post...

The Spirit of God is Moved

Short post today.  I just wanted to put into writing an insight that the Lord gave me this past week.

Last week, I finished reading all the way through the Bible.  It took me nearly four years, because I like to stop and ponder (and investigate) the meanings of words.  I then went back to Genesis 1:1 to start over.  I wondered if it were possible to get new insights this time around that were different from last time.  I was not disappointed.

In verse 2, we read this:
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Wanting just a little more insight, I went to my trusty Blue Letter Bible app and clicked on the interlinear to peek at the original Hebrew.  The word for hovering (or moving, in some translations) is rachaph, which means to be soft, or to be moved, to cherish.  Figuratively, it is used in the sense of a mother hen brooding over her chicks.

Isn't that a beautiful thought?  That Elohim thought so highly of the earth He was creating?   That He cherished it?  I find it very heartwarming that He cared so very much about the abode that He was preparing for us.

Then today, another verse popped into my head, which really brought it home for me.  Matthew 23:37 says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Can you see how Yeshua cherishes His people as He weeps over Jerusalem?  It breaks my heart, knowing the grief He felt for His Israeli kinspeople, knowing the time of terrible testing that was coming for them.

But two verses later, we have the blessed hope:  Yeshua says, For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say,"blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."  It is one of my very favorite Hebrew sayings:  Baruch haba b'shem Adonai!

The Jewish people will say it again soon, when Yeshua returns, for He cherishes them!  And at the same time, we who know Him now will get to see Him face to face!

BDS - What Are They Really After?

This post may seem like it is political in nature, but bear with me. I will connect the dots biblically, I promise.

Perhaps you are already familiar with the BDS Movement against Israel.  Or perhaps you have no idea what I am talking about. If not, it is time to unpack this movement so you can understand what is going on today.

BDS stands for Boycott, Divest, and Sanction.  It is merely a continuation of 4000 years of hatred that is inspired by satan himself, who knows his time window for mischief is short.  This time, it is wrapped in "justice for Palestine" packaging, but when it is seen for what it is, you can see that there is nothing new under the sun.

The early boycott movement began before Israel was a nation, when the Arab League voted on December 2, 1945, to boycott Zionist goods in the British Mandate of Palestine.  When Israel became a legal nation in 1948, the Arab League broadened the boycott to include all companies throughout the world that do business with Israel, as well as their business partners. 

The objective was to isolate the Jewish state from the international community, as well as to inflict economic harm.

Drats.  It didn't work, as Israel became one of the most successful and prosperous nations in the world, despite being the size of a postage stamp and being surrounded by hostile enemies.  

In 2001, a new approach was begun by those who wished to destroy Israel as a nation.  Trying to legitimize their boycott, they adopted human rights language and falsely accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and "apartheid."  

Let's just stop right there and look at several facts.

• Arabs living in Israel with full citizenship:  about 1,500,000.  
• Jews living with full citizenship (or no citizenship) in Jordan (formerly 77% of Palestine): 0. 
• Jews living in Saudi Arabia:  0.  (They are not even allowed in)
• Jews living in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Iraq, Iran, etc:  Maybe a handful.

After Israel became a nation, Jews that were living in these various Middle Eastern countries had to flee due to persecution, many with just the clothes on their backs.  The postage-stamp-sized country of Israel took them in and gave them citizenship.

Who cleansed who?  Who really practices apartheid?   SMH.   (That means Shakes My Head, in case you are like me and didn't know what it meant until I asked my children).

The BDS movement picked up steam in 2005 when a group of Arab Palestinian organizations formed a coalition (ironically, the same year that Israel vacated Gaza, which did NOT lead to peace but to the launching of many rockets into Israel and two wars).

Here are the stated goals and objectives of the BDS movement against Israel:

1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.

Well, number 2 has already happened.  See above... remember the 1,500,000?  Some of them are members of the Knesset and one is even a judge on Israel's Supreme Court.

Numbers 1 and 3 have nothing to do with land or justice and everything to do with wiping out the Nation of Israel.  

Regarding number 1:  God gave Israel this land as an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:7).  It is only right that Israel should "occupy" their God-given land.  The wall was erected as a protective measure, after the second Arab Intifada (uprising) in the early 2000s.  It cut down on the suicide bombers by at least 90 percent.  I travel frequently through Tijuana and see a similar wall to the one I saw in Bethlehem.  Nobody accuses Mexico or the United States as being "apartheid."  Also, that little blurb in number 1 about "All Arab lands"?  They don't just mean "the West Bank and Gaza." When you hear them at the rallies chanting "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" they are referring to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean sea.  They mean all of Israel.

Regarding number 3:  The Arabs would have you believe that Resolution 194 is simply a call for the return to Israel by the Palestinian Arab people who fled when the surrounding Arab leadership initiated the war against Israel.  It's not.  Out of the 15 paragraphs of Resolution 194, only one paragraph dealt with the return of refugees.  One of the stipulations of that paragraph stated that the returning refugees be willing to live in peace with their neighbors.  There are numerous things that are very interesting to note about Number 3:

• Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen all voted against Resolution 194. 
• Israel is not mentioned at all by name in resolution 194.
• There is no call for justice for the many Jewish refugees that were forced to flee Middle Eastern countries after 1948. 
• No Arab country will offer citizenship to the Palestinian Arabs that were displaced by the war.
• 50,000 displaced Palestinian Arabs HAVE returned to Israel and gained citizenship.
• When they mean "refugee right of return" they do not mean the original 500,000-700,000 people who fled during the War of Independence.  They mean the 5 million descendants of them as well.  Goodbye Jewish demographic.

Moving on... Do you know about the BDS-sponsored Israeli Apartheid Week in colleges and universities?  In its own words, "Israeli Apartheid Week  (IAW) is an international series of events that seeks to raise awareness about Israel's apartheid policies towards the Palestinians and to build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign."

So there you have it.  This campaign takes place annually in Feb/March at colleges and universities across the US, Canada, Britain, South Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.  They bring in speakers and have all sorts of events and rallies that try to delegitimize the nation of Israel.

One of the saddest things about this insidious BDS malarkey is that CHURCHES have believed this nonsense and jumped on board.  Some of the churches that have voted to boycott Israel are Presbyterian USA, Church of Scotland, the worldwide United Methodist Churches, and most recently, the United Church of Christ.  In addition, many para-church organizations have jumped on board as well.

Do they not understand Genesis 12:3?  Isaiah 40:1?  The heart of our Lord in Matthew 23:39 as He WEPT over Jerusalem and His brethren?

So how does this connect to the Bible?  I alluded to it earlier when I said that satan knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12).  He has been trying to destroy the Jewish people since they became a nation thousands of years ago in Egypt. 

Revelation 12:17 gives us a little insight as to satan's order of attack (which incidentally parallels God's order of things... to the Jew first):  

And the dragon was enraged with the woman (Israel), and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.  (That's us).  

Satan hates it that he just can't seem to win against Israel. 

In Revelation 3, the church at Philadelphia, the sixth of the seven churches, was commended for its faithfulness and was promised protection within the sphere of danger.  Maybe this is a stretch, but could that prophetic church example be connected to the sheep in Matthew 25, who blessed "the least of these my brethren?"  Brethren in Greek is adelphos, and literally means close kinsmen.  Philadelphia means loving the brethren.  Could this be why very few churches are actively blessing Israel and most are turning away from them... because it was prophesied in Revelation? One church in seven loving the brethren??

Psalm 83 gives us further insight into the motives of Israel's enemies.  It really isn't about land, or justice, or "apartheid."  It's about hatred.

You can read the Psalm on your own and see for yourselves the long list of Israel's surrounding enemies, but let me highlight two verses. 

Verse 4:  They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,

That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

Verse 12 (in referring to punishment for Israel's enemies)  Who said, “Let us take for ourselves
The pastures of God for a possession.”

Do you wish to stand firmly with Israel?  We need a BDS alternative!

How about this:  Bless, Defend, and Support!

Blood Moons

We are in the midst of a tetrad of blood moons - four total lunar eclipses that coincide with four Biblical Holy Days in a row.  Passover 2014, Sukkot 2014, Passover 2015, and Sukkot 2015.  For more on the odds of this happening, see the highlighted blue print at end of this post.  For now, let's just say the odds are beyond tiny.

The Word of God says right in Genesis 1:14 that God put the sun, moon, and stars in the sky for several reasons.  They are for signs, seasons, days, years, and to provide a night light for us. 

Days, years, and night lights are pretty straightforward.  But what about the others?

The Hebrew word for sign is ot, which means a sign, a signal, a remembrance, a warning, an omen.

The Hebrew word for season is mo'ed, which means appointed time, or appointed meeting.

The Bible speaks of the moon turning to blood (total lunar eclipse) several times.  Joel 2:31 tells us The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.  This passage is quoted in Acts 2:20.  The theme of signs in the heavens before the Lord's return continues in Revelation 6:12, Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24, and Luke 21:25.  

Something's up.

I had the privilege of being in Israel last summer for Shavuot (Pentecost for you Greek speakers), which was seven weeks after the first blood moon of the tetrad.  Five days after my return home, three Israeli teens were kidnapped and murdered near the ancient Biblical town of Hebron.  

This tragic event led directly to the Gaza War - Operation Protective Edge - during which the IDF discovered many terror tunnels leading into Israel.  It was also discovered that Hamas intended to use these tunnels for a massive terror attack on the first fall Biblical feast of Yom Teruah (aka Rosh Hashanah). The soldiers found IDF uniforms, ropes, syringes, and other items that were to be used to take Israeli hostages.  The IDF destroyed the tunnels, the war ended after 50 days, and the planned terrorist attack of Rosh Hashanah was averted.

In the meantime, the evil entity of ISIS arose, seemingly of of nowhere.  I won't elaborate on their "activities," because if you don't know, you are quite possibly living under a rock.

The second of the four blood moons just happened a couple weeks ago, as Sukkot was beginning.  Since then, the Silent Intifada (uprising) by Arabs has begun.  Just yesterday, a terrorist who was previously imprisoned for his terrorist activities, rammed his car into people at a light rail stop in Jerusalem, killing three-month-old Chaya Brown.

Chaya Zisel Brown, just hours before her murder

As tragic as the murders of this precious girl and the three teens near Hebron are, occurrences like these serve to unite the people of Israel like nothing else.  The three teens did not die in vain; because of their murders, a massive terror attack was averted.  It remains to be seen how this little girl's tragedy will change the course of history.

So what comes next?  

Scripture does not tell us exactly what to expect with each blood moon.  We are to be ready and watchful, knowing that the Messiah will be coming soon. 

Elaboration on Lunar Tetrads

NASA says there will be 12,064 lunar eclipses between -1999 BC and +3000 AD. 

Of these 12,064 lunar eclipses, 3,479 will be total lunar eclipses.  That’s an average of less than one total lunar eclipse per year.   It is an average of 2.5 lunar eclipses per year of "total plus partial" lunar eclipses.

During that time there will be 142 Lunar Tetrads (four total lunar eclipses in a row, with no intervening partial lunar eclipse).  62 will occur between 1 AD and 2100 AD.  Of the 62, 8 will occur on Biblical Feast Days, so they are called "Biblical Tetrads".  The 8th "Biblical Tetrad" occurs in 2014-2015 and there will not be another "Biblical Tetrad" for almost 600 years.  We are in the time of this tetrad now.

The chances of any lunar eclipse occurring on any particular day, whether total or partial, is less than 3/365.  The chances of one occurring on particular days 4 times in a row would be 3/365 x 3/365 x 3/365 x 3/365 = or about one in 100 x 100 x 100 x 100 = one in 100 million days, or once in 273,000 years.  Nevertheless they have occurred on the first day of Passover and Tabernacles 7 times since 1 AD, and the eighth is in process.  Statistically, they should probably NEVER HAPPEN.

I repeat, something's up, so keep looking up!

The Church as a Midwife

We owe a huge debt to Israel.

Without the Jews, we would have no covenants, no prophets, no apostles, no Bible, and no Messiah!  Yeshua Himself declared in John 4:22, "Salvation is of the Jews."

But God's plan was not only for the Jews.  They were His starting point, to be a light to the nations.  But they are also going to be His ending point as well.  Romans 11 tells us that it was for our benefit (the Gentiles) that the natural branches (Israel) were blinded in part, so that salvation could go out to the rest of the world, and then the nation of Israel would be saved.  We are also warned in Romans 11 not to be arrogant toward those natural branches.

Sadly, church history shows that the opposite happened.

Replacement Theology arose in the second century among the early church fathers.  This theology (wrongfully) teaches that God is done with the Jews for good, and that all blessings and promises have been transferred to the church.  Perhaps these church fathers were well-meaning; after all, the Jews had been kicked out of the Holy Land with no prospect of ever returning.  That would take a miracle!

However, this dangerous theology has led to the death of millions of Jews throughout the 19 centuries of their exile.  There has been persecution, pogroms, expulsions, the Crusades, blood libel accusations, forced conversions, accusations toward the Jews of deicide (aka "Christ killers"), the Spanish Inquisition, and the Holocaust, all too often perpetuated in the name of the Jewish Messiah.

This theology also continues today in many (if not most) mainline denominations, in spite of the totally miraculous return of the Jews to their Promised Land.  Whoa!  Talk about messing with one's theology!  This explains why so many Christians today are actually AGAINST the rebirth of the nation of Israel - treating it as a renegade nation instead of the fulfillment of God's promise, thousands of years ago, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But God has given the church a very special role to play in these last days.  We actually get to be the midwife for Israel's spiritual rebirth - forerunners, so to speak.  Intercessors.  What a privilege!  There are four things that Scripture calls us to do.  (He who has ears to hear, let him hear!)

**Update!  Four years later, I realize that I forgot one.  So make that five ways!

#1 - Bless Israel

Genesis 12:1-3 says, Now the Lord had said to Abram:  “Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

This promise was repeated to Isaac in Genesis 26 and Jacob in Genesis 28.  This promise to Israel, regarding the Land, the Seed, and the Blessing, is the Abrahamic covenant.  It is everlasting and was never rescinded.

Notice the promise of blessing to those who bless God's people.  Scripture also gives us warnings if we neglect to bless them.  There are two words used for curse in the above reference.  The second word for curse actually means to lightly esteem, or to treat as unimportant.

Zechariah 2:8-9 says, For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.

#2 - Comfort Israel

Isaiah 40:1-2 says

Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”

Says your God.  (Think of the pronouns used here... comfort MY people says YOUR God)
 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”

Matt 25:37-40, in the context of the last days, says “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’  (The Greek word for brethren literally means relatives or close kinsmen).

#3 - Make Israel Envious

Deuteronomy 32:21 (repeated in Romans 10:19) says,
But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;

I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.

Romans 11:11 - I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.

Romans 11:14 (Paul is speaking here) if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.

#4 - Intercede for Israel:

Psalm 122:6 says –  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.  (Another scripture with a promise!)

Is 62:6-7 - I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;

They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

And just who are these watchmen?  It's you who make mention of the LORD.  Do YOU make mention of the LORD?  Are you His follower?  If so, He's talking to you.  You must not keep silent!

**Here it is, the missing fifth directive in regard to our treatment of Israel.

#5 - Support Israel

Acts 11:27-29

And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.

Romans 14:27

For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they (us) owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings

Romans 15:25-27

But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.

1 Cor 16:1-3

Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.

Musings on the Fifth Commandment

Exodus 20:12 tells us, Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Obedience to the fifth commandment comes with a special blessing, unlike the other nine.  Could there be more to this commandment than meets the eye?

I have said before that Yeshua did not come to Earth to start a new religion called Christianity. (I know, I am changing the subject, but bear with me). 

He is the Messiah, the fulfillment of all that was written about Him in the Tanakh, the Hebrew scriptures (aka the "Old Testament"). Christianity is simply a continuation of YHVH's plan. He was first promised in Genesis 3:15 as the Seed of the woman... the first suggestion of parenthood in scripture. 

Biblical Judaism and Christianity were both birthed from the ultimate parent, YHVH Himself.  But scriptures are filled with all sorts of family analogies.  We can also say that Christianity was birthed out of Biblical Judaism, after Yeshua came to earth - as the Seed of the Woman - and was sacrificed for our sins.  In this way, Biblical Judaism can be called our parent faith.  (Rabbinic Judaism, birthed after the destruction of the temple, re-wrote Biblical Judaism).

The early church was all Jewish.  But as it grew and expanded, it became more and more Gentile.  By the fourth century, the Roman Emperor Constantine had adopted Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.  Tragically, he (and so many others) did not like the Jews.  He forbade any Jewish expression of faith within the Roman church.  The Sabbath was abolished and the day of worship was changed to Sunday.  The Biblical feasts - which ALL point to Yeshua - were made illegal, and are still generally not taught in the church today.  The faith became something that was totally unrecognizable to the Jewish people (much like Joseph, who had fully taken on the look of an Egyptian and was not known by his brothers).

Even worse, the disassociation did not stop here.  Throughout history, Jewish people have been horribly persecuted, many times in the name of Christ.  Major events like the crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Pogroms, and the Holocaust, are accompanied by hundreds of lesser-known tragedies such as forced conversions, expulsions, tortures, and massacres.  It is not hard at all to understand why Jews would distrust Christians.

We did not honor our parent faith. 

Genesis 12:3 says this:  I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

There is a promise of blessing when we bless Israel.  There is also a curse attached to cursing them.  But it is important to know that two different Hebrew words are used for curse here.  The first one, arar, means to curse, and the second one, qalal, means to lightly esteem, or treat as unimportant. 

The very last verse in the Tanakh, Malachai 4:6, is in the context of the Day of the Lord, when Messiah returns to Earth. 

And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

Can this mean that the historical rifts between the Jews and the Christians will be healed in the days leading up to Yeshua's return?  I hope so!
 
The church has a lot of repenting to do for its sins against the Jews.  And many in the church still cling to Replacement Theology, the idea that YHVH is done with the Jews, has disowned them, and has instead given all the Biblically-promised blessings to the church.

To the early church fathers, Replacement Theology seemed logical.  The Jews had been scattered to the four corners of the Earth after the temple was destroyed 70 AD.  No ethnic group could possibly keep their cultural identity and then be re-gathered from such a scattering abroad, not even after one generation.  No, that was humanly impossible; it had never happened in the history of the world.

All that changed in 1948.  The miraculous  rebirth of Israel took place, as foretold in the scriptures.  The Jewish people came - and are still coming - from the four corners of the earth to settle in that little gem of land no bigger than New Jersey.

To cling to the idea that YHVH has disowned His chosen people is to miss the heart of the Father for His chosen people.  Yeshua gave us the story of the Prodigal Son.  It is a terrible thing for the church to take on the attitude of the arrogant older brother.

Now more than ever, we need to bless and esteem the members of our parent faith.  Very soon, Yeshua will return to the very soil of Israel and reveal Himself to those who do not yet believe.

Living in the End Times... How Can We Know?

Yes, I know - people have been saying the Lord is returning soon ever since He went back to His Father, nearly two thousand years ago. So how can anyone really know that the time is near?

The Word gives us many clues.  And all we have to do is look around us to see those things taking place right under our very noses.

Although there are many more than this, I will focus on three different Biblical reasons why we can believe that Yeshua is returning very, very soon.

 

1.  The Pattern of Seven

This pattern shows up over and over in the Word.  In Genesis, God created the world in six days, and rested on the seventh.  Seven means completeness.  Human history has been around for 6000 years (although there are many who would dispute this, even in the church).  There were about two thousand years from Adam to Abraham, about two thousand years from Abraham to the Messiah, and about two thousand years from the Messiah to now.  Revelation talks about a millenium of peace that the Messiah will set up here on Earth when He returns - could this be our Sabbath Millenium?

In Revelation, God gave us the letters to the Seven Churches.  These letters are not just instruction to those seven actual churches in Asia Minor.  They are a prophetic picture of the age we are now in.  The churches, in order, line up with church history, from the end of Acts to the present.  Right now, we are on the cusp of Philadelphia/Laodicea.  (For more information on the Seven Churches, feel free to click on the "Seven Churches" label to the right.

There are also seven feasts (appointed times) of the Lord, which are outlined in Leviticus 23.  The Messiah has fulfilled the first four with His first coming:  Passover with His death, Unleavened Bread with His Burial, Firstfruits with His resurrection, and Shavuot (Pentecost) when He sent the Holy Spirit.  The "long, hot summer" between the Feasts is the time period we are now in - the church age, in which the gospel is offered to the nations.  He will return to fulfill Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets, aka Rosh Hashanah), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). 

Interestingly, Yom Teruah is the feast known as "no man knows the day or the hour," because the priests had to search for the new moon.  (The other six feasts take place later in the lunar month when the moon is visible). Without knowing the Jewish roots of this expression, people today get all whipped up over "date-setting." Luke 21:7 says, "So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”  And Yeshua proceeded to explain to them all the signs that will precede the end of the age.

 

2.  The Increase of Knowledge

Daniel 12:4 says, “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” 

Is that true today, or what?  The beginning of the industrial age was marked by the invention of the steam engine in the 1700s.  From there, we progressed to all manner of machines and inventions, leading right up to the current information age.  Google gives us any factoid we want to know, right at our fingertips.  It is easy to look at modern history and see how knowledge has increased exponentially.  I find it interesting that the bicycle, the car, and the airplane were invented all within a few decades of each other. 

 

3.  The Modern State of Israel

This one is my favorite. 

No other sign shows God's power and faithfulness better than His miraculous regathering of the exiles from all over the Earth.   No people group has ever been able to maintain their identity once expelled from their homeland the way the Jewish people have.  Especially when so many in history have tried to hard to annihilate them!


The Palestine Post, founded in 1932, was re-named The Jerusalem Post in 1950

The Jewish people experienced two expulsions from the land that was promised to Abraham as an everlasting possession in Genesis 17:7 (and later confirmed to both Isaac and Jacob).  The first dispersion was due to idolatry and disobedience to the Moses covenant made at Sinai.  They were sent to Babylon, remained there for 70 years, and were then sent back by King Cyrus - just as Isaiah had prophesied many years earlier.

The second expulsion happened because the Jewish leaders rejected Yeshua as Israel's Messiah; thereby leading many of their people astray.  The temple was destroyed in 70 AD (forty years after the death and resurrection of the Messiah) and the Jewish people were scattered, not just to Babylon, but to the four corners of the Earth.

Some of the early church fathers didn't know what to make of this.  They developed "Replacement Theology," which says that the Church replaced Israel in God's plan; that God is done with Israel for good.  And for many centuries, it may have seemed that way to them, since the Jews were no longer in their homeland.  But to cling to this theology, they needed to either ignore or allegorize so many scriptures.  Here are a few examples (and there are many, many more):

Isaiah 41:9
You [Israel] whom I [God] have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away...
 
Jeremiah 31:37
Thus says the Lord:

“If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done," says the Lord.

 

Isaiah 14:1

For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob.

 

Amos 9:14-15

I will bring back the captives of My people Israel;
They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
 I will plant them in their land,
And no longer shall they be pulled up
From the land I have given them,”Says the Lord your God.

Joel 2:18-19
Then the Lord will be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
The Lord will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied by them;
I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.

 

Romans 11:1

I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I [Paul] also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

 

Here's the thing.  God made an unconditional covenant with Abraham, and it is not in His nature to go back on that promise.  Israel was not permanantly rejected.  Just as fathers discipline their children out of love and necessity, so too does God discipline his Chosen People.  Rather than viewing Israel as accursed, Christians should regard Israel as siblings.  We need to understand the Father's heart of love regarding his Prodigal Son, and not become arrogant like the older brother.

 

I have digressed a little here, but the fact that the State of Israel was born in 1948 shows us that God's plan is rapidly moving forward.  Then in 1967, Israel once again regained control over the holy city of Jerusalem, for the first time in thousands of years.  The last days are centered on Jerusalem!

 

Satan is hard at work to see that Israel does not succeed as a nation, because he knows that his time is very short.  The fact that the international media spends an inordinate amount of time on every little thing that goes on in the tiny State of Israel - that is about 1/8 the size of Florida - further emphasizes that this is a spiritual battle.

 

This battle will culminate when the Lord returns and the nation of Israel receives her Messiah once and for all.

 

Zechariah 12:10 says, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 

 

 

 

And Romans 11:26-27 says, And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written [in Isaiah 59:20-21],

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

 

We as gentile believers were once "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise" (Ephesians 2:12), but are now "grafted in, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree" (Romans 11:17).

God's plan is centered on the people of Israel, and so as we look for the return of the Lord, it is wise for believers to pay close attention to, and pray for, Israel in these last days. 

 

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
May they prosper who love you.

Psalm 122:6

Tongues of Men and Angels?

Ahh, the gift of tongues.

I believe no other subject causes more division in the church (unless you count music styles or which Bible version one must use).

For the sake of this post, let's say there are two groups of people - Christians that speak in tongues (Group A), and Christians who do not (Group B).

I belonged to Group B for about the first 15 years of being a believer, and didn't have too much exposure to Group A.  I was born again in a church that taught that the spiritual gifts are no longer for today, because the Bible was complete and the Holy Spirit power gifts (such as tongues, prophecy, miracles, etc) weren't needed anymore.  There was always this unspoken implication (okay, I have actually heard people speak it, too) that speaking in tongues verged on the demonic, and that it blasphemed the Holy Spirit.  And frankly, the idea of speaking in tongues was a little weird!

But I kept meeting people who had this strange gift.   I grew curious about it, because the people didn't SEEM like they were the spawn of satan.  (Although I WAS really irritated by the woman who told me that I was probably not born again because I didn't speak in tongues).

I reached a turning point almost three years ago when I went on a mission trip to Mexico.  I was blown away by the presence of God in the place we visited.  I purchased a book written by the founder, Charla Pereau, in which she gives her testimony, called Charla's Children.  She'd been saved as a child and was a good Lutheran housewife in her 40s - looking forward to her youngest child entering school so that she would have more free time to have coffee and grocery coupon parties with other moms while the kids were at school.

The Holy Spirit wrecked her comfortable life.

Like me, she had been taught that tongues or the other miraculous gifts were NOT for today.  But for her, the subject kept coming up through different people that she came in contact with.  Eventually, she received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (along with the gift of tongues), all the while kicking and vehemently protesting!  But the Holy Spirit really got ahold of her and changed her life.  She will be the first to say that it was because of His power in her life that she was led to found the orphanage in Mexico that eventually grew into a full-fledged mission featuring many ministries and outreaches.

It was a combination of seeing the fruit of the mission, and then reading her book, that totally changed my thinking on the matter of tongues (and the other gifts of the Holy Spirit as well).  I prayed for, and received, the gift of tongues just over a year ago.

When studying any doctrine, it is important to study everything the Word says about it and not use a "proof-text"  (which is a verse taken out of context to prove a point).  For example, when Paul is encouraging the Corinthian church to make sure there is an interpreter, he is chiding that congregation for its absolute chaos.  They were immoral, carnal, full of strife... spiritual babes not ready yet for meat.  He was trying to teach them to tone it down a little, for heaven's sake. 

Putting all the passages on a topic together and then studying them out is called "systematic theology."  Doing so gives one a much more balanced doctrinal viewpoint.

One thing to remember is that scripture teaches that there are different kinds of tongues.  There is the kind in Acts 2, when the apostles were able to speak the languages of all the people visiting Jerusalem for Shavuot (Pentecost).  This happened to my friend Patty - she was able to speak Spanish in an emergency when she didn't know Spanish.

1 Corinthians 14:2 gives us a glimpse of another kind of tongue -  For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.  Chapter 12 lists a variety of gifts, including tongues, that the Holy Spirit distributes according to the will of God.  Mark 16:17 promises that this would happen - And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues - the Greek word for "new," kainos, means just that:  a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, previously unheard of.

So are they wrong?  Those denominations and seminaries who claim that tongues are not for today? After all, scripture teaches that where there are tongues, they will cease (1 Corinthians 13:8).

I do believe that they have legitimate reasons for what they teach, and it has to do with church history.

The letter to the seven churches in Revelation gives us a prophetic and sequential picture of what was going to happen in the church throughout the messianic age, leading up to the return of Jesus.  Each one, in order, coincides with what took place, and is taking place, in church history.  (Seven represents completeness in scripture).  If you would like more information, click on the "Seven Churches" label on the right side of this page and have a look.

Anyway, the church separated itself from her Jewish roots beginning in about the fourth century, which led to mass confusion and corruption.  The church in the middle ages is represented by the church at Thyratira (the corrupt church), followed by the Reformation Age church, represented by Sardis (the dead church).  These were eras where there wasn't a whole lot of Holy Spirit action.  (I struggled with the Reformation church being called dead, until I realized that, in the words of Jesus, a grain of seed must fall to the ground and die before new life could spring up.) 

The next church, Philadelphia, is a church that sprang to life after the turmoil of the Reformation.   The great Missionary age was born, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit began to return.

Here is where it gets exciting!  The Pentecostal movement was born at the same time as modern day Zionism, which really took off in the late 1800s.  Think of the Welsh Revival and the Azuza Street revival in the early 1900s, and there have been many other great revivals since then.  Now that Israel has become a nation again, the words of Joel 2 (he is speaking of the last days) are literally being fulfilled now: 

And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
 
I know that not everyone will agree with me, and that is fine, but I believe that people on both sides of this doctrine really need to take 1 Corinthians 13:1 to heart:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

Please, no matter which side you are on, be kind to those who hold to a different doctrine than you do.  Please don't point fingers and call them demonic, blasphemers, unsaved, a lesser Christian, etc. etc.  Remember the prayer that Jesus prayed in the garden before His death, that his believers will be one in Him.  (John 17:20-23). 

Faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest of these is LOVE!  1 Cor 13:13
 

The Gathering, Part 2

Daniel's seventieth week, the seven years leading up to the Lord's return, will be hard. And I have to say that it drives me crazy that so many pastors simply won't deal with it.  Perhaps they can't defend what they were taught in seminary.  I've heard some say that they just don't want to cause division.  Where is the iron sharpening iron?  We are to be LOOKING for the return of the Lord and many churches avoid the subject completely.  Often we hear Hebrews 10:25 preached in regard to church attendance, but they forget to mention the second half of the verse:  exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.  That would be the Day of the Lord.  The return of the Messiah.  We are supposed to be WATCHING for it.

Revelation chapter 6 talks about the seals of the scroll being opened.  What is the scroll?  Daniel 12:1 and 12:4 reveal to us that it is the book that contains the names of His people who will be delivered.  Look what verse 9 says:  And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.  Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.

During the breaking of the seals in Revelation (before the scroll is opened), there is plenty going on, and it is amazing how there is a precise parallel to Matthew 24.  Let's look at the seals in Revelation and how they compare to Matthew.

• Seal One (Rev 6:2)  And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.  It sounds like someone who has been given the ruling power of a king - could this be the antichrist?  Matthew 24 says And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 

 

• Seal Two.  Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.  Matthew 24:6 says:  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

• Seal Three.  Behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "“A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”  Uh oh, food shortages.  Matthew 24:7 - And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

• Seal Four.  So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.  (It doesn't sound pretty, does it?)  Matthew 24:9 says, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 

• Seal Five. When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”  Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.  This is the great tribulation!  Matthew 24: says,   For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

• Seal Six.   I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold,there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,  and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”  Look at that - God's wrath is about to begin!  But the tribulation has already happened!  If the pattern continues, we should see a parallel in Matthew 24.  Oh yes, here it is, right in order:   “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (emphasis mine). 

• Seal Seven.  In Revelation, there is a break in the action while the Jewish people are sealed, and then a whole bunch of people show up suddenly in heaven.  Verses 13-14 clarify exactly who they are:  Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”  And I said to him, “Sir,you know.”So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."  Does Matthew 24 give us a parallel?  You bet it does!  Verse 31 says, And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.   Then in chapter 8, the last seal is broken, the saints are gone, God's covenant people (The Jews) are redeemed and sealed, and God prepares to pour out His wrath on the earth.  This harmonizes what is recorded in 1 Thessalonians 5:9... For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The short version of "happily ever after" is that when God's wrath is complete, the wedding of the Lamb will take place and we will dwell with Him on Earth during His thousand year reign.  It will be the seventh millenium of human history - a Sabbath, if you will; following the pattern of the week of creation.  Satan will be bound and it will be a time of peace and safety.  A honeymoon with our Messiah!  After that, Satan is released for a short time and vanquished, and the New Jerusalem will come down from the heavens and join with the New Earth to be our dwelling place with Him.

I'd like to see HGTV top THAT home makeover!