Like many, I have been watching the American elections over the last few weeks, and I would like to remind you that God is still in control. He’s not surprised, troubled, or worried about the events in the USA. On the other hand there are some things that are more important than politics.
Years ago I came to the realization that God has placed a lot more information in the bible than any of us suspects. You and I can’t access that information as fleshly persons, but only as we lean on Him, and ask Him to guide us!
I was recently thinking about Jesus statements in John 5
45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
If Moses wrote about Jesus, and he did, did he also write about the End Times events of the Tribulation, and the book of Revelation?
This was the thought that was in the back of my mind as I recently started reading the books of Moses again. I wasn’t really searching for anything in particular, but just looking for what He has for me today. I encountered several things that I hadn’t seen before, and each one is a blessing, but I was stunned when I got to Deuteronomy 4! Here is the first mention of the Tribulation in the bible;
25 When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger:
26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.
28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
Moses actually prophesied the entire future of his people, Israel, in these few verses!
The tendency of Israel to serve false gods is spoken of in verses 25 – 28, and their resultant dispersion among the nations in verses 27-28. Oh, if only they could have been faithful!
Notice the faithfulness of God, in verse 29, that though they would spend millennia serving false Gods, if they would turn and seek the Lord their God, that He would save them, even in the places where they were scattered!
God has always had a remnant of believers among the Israelites, even during the Church Age. At times the number of Jews in the Church has been very small, but there has always been a few descendants of Jacob who have received Jesus as their Lord and Saviour!
The verses in question, in relation to the Great Tribulation, are verses 30 and 31.
30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
The word “tribulation” simply means “trouble” but in the context of “even in the latter days” it sets the event as the one known as “the time of Jacob’s trouble”, or the Great Tribulation as found in the book of Revelation! Yes, this is a reference to the time of the Antichrist, the beast, the little horn, found in the book of Daniel!
The latter days are the days in which we live. When this age is over, there will be only a seven year Great Tribulation period, and then the thousand year rule of Jesus Christ. This will be the closing age of this earth!
Israel is back in the land, although not all of them have returned just yet, but they will, and the events of the next few years will accelerate their return.
Indeed this event is also referred to in the book of Zechariah 10-14, and only one third of the nation will survive, as stated in chapter13:8-9. It is to that one third that God’s promises are directed in Romans 11:26.
Though Moses only mentions this period very briefly, his summary shows some of the very important things about this time period; when he says “ When thou art in tribulation” he shows that this period is about Israel. This is why the Rapture of the Church will occur before this period begins; it is about Israel, and it is Israel’s time to come to Christ, and to evangelize the world, which they were originally commissioned to do, but failed!
If the Church was still here, evangelizing the world, there would be no need for Israel to send out missionaries, however they will actually send out 144,000 missionaries into all the world!
There will be remnants of the Church here, the apostate Church, however, they won’t be evangelizing the world at that time, but actually supporting the Antichrist! No, the Great Tribulation is about Israel, and the multitudes of Gentiles who are saved in that time will be jewels in Israel’s crown!
This is the mercy of God, that He would give Israel another change to obey, after thousands of years of disobedience!
The first mention of the Tribulation in the bible is in Deuteronomy 4:30, written by the pen of Moses the prophet. It has been there since the beginning of the bible!
If you haven’t been entirely distracted with the Covid-19 news you may have noticed that President Trump has been busy brokering peace treaties between Israel and some of her Arab neighbours.
In fact the latest news is that there are as many as 9 Arab nations who are at the point of signing treaties to normalize relations with Israel!
A lot of people are shouting “Peace in our Time”, but I have a different take than this. I don’t trust man, especially unbelievers!
Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. Jeremiah 17:5
When I first heard Bill Salus on the radio, speaking about Psalm 83, I realized that this war explains why the Arabs are not a part of the Ezekiel 38-39 war. In fact I realized it before he was finished speaking! As I have done further research my conclusions have been confirmed over and over again.
This war comes first, and the Arabs will sue for peace, so that by the time the Ezekiel 38-39 war occurs, they will not join it, but will protest the invasion! This is spoken of in Ezekiel 38:13;
Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish are all Arab entities. While there were a number of Tarshises in the bible, the statement “Art thou come to take a spoil?” indicates that the invading armies must come through these people’s territories to get to Israel; in other words, they are local neighbours of Israel, and not far away in parts of Africa, Spain, or England!
Tarsus is a city in Turkey, and as such is a part of the invading armies! They will not have one of their own cities protesting the war! No way!
The city of Tartus, in Syria, is likely the one being referenced here, since Damascus will be destroyed earlier during the Psalm 83 war, so its replacement will be the Syrian port of Tartus!
It is likely that the Saudi city of Riyadh will be replaced by the Saudi city of Dedan, after being destroyed during the same war as Damascus!
I am not sure where Sheba is, but it is still a part of this trio of Arab cities which protest the Russo-Iranian armies attack! (Western Europe, including Britain, will also be a part of this attack)
So, how do today’s “peace treaties” fit into this scenario? They are the “crafty counsel” part of verse 3! The Arabs will put on an act and the US will leave the region, thinking they have achieved peace! Then when the USA is distracted, perhaps by a civil war, the Arabs will attack, and Israel will be caught off guard. It will be so bad, and Israel in so much danger of being pushed into the sea, that they will be forced to use their nuclear weapons!
This result is not mentioned in the Psalm, but can be found in places like Isaiah 17:1, 19:18, and in Zechariah 11:1-2.
Read the whole psalm, but here are verses 1-8. Notice the “crafty counsel” in verse 3; up until now, the Arabs have never been “crafty” in their wars against Israel. They have just massed their armies on the border, and attacked! Now they are following Mohammad’s example in the Treaty of Hudaybiyya; he gave his word to the people of Mecca, and then broke it a couple of years later. He kept it long enough for them to let their guard down!
1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah. Psalm 83:1-8
As I said, read the rest of the psalm. As you study the names of the attackers, you will find that they are the patriarchs of the modern Arab nations which surround Israel. For instance Assur was the father of Assyria, which is the modern nation of Iraq. Edom, Moab and “the children of Lot” (Ammon) are still with us today, living on the same land as their ancestors, just across the river from Israel. Ishmael is Saudi Arabia. Gebal and Tyre are known as Lebanon today. The Hagarenes live in the south of Syria, so Syria will be involved. The Amalekites live in the Sinai peninsula, which is an Egyptian territory today, so they will drag Egypt into this war.
The Philistines? When Mohammad took over the territory of the Philistines, his armies killed every man who wouldn’t convert to Islam, and then forced their wives to marry Muslim warriors, so the people of the Gaza strip are descendants of Philistines and Arabs. They too will join this war! God is never wrong, and when he uses the term “Philistines” you can bet that there are modern descendants of the ancient arch-enemies of Israel, still alive today!
Mark my words, these peace treaties will be broken by the Arabs, and the resulting war will trigger the End Times!
After Israel is forced to use Weapons of Mass Destruction a European leader will broker a peace treaty between Israel and the Arabs that will actually work! This man is NOT THE ANTICHRIST, but his treaty will be the model for the Antichrist’s treaty after the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39! This is why it says “he confirms a covenant” (or strengthens a covenant); it’s not his, but came from a predecessor, and he will use it for his own purposes!
The Rapture? This will occur after the Gog and Magog war! This is one of the last great signs before the Rapture! Checkout some of my articlesabout it, or read my book!
Did Moses write about the End Times Great Tribulation, of the book of Revelation? I believe he did, and when we are done, I believe you will too! The prophecies of Moses didn’t come from Moses; they came from God Himself!
In Deuteronomy chapter 4 Moses is reminding Israel of all the they had witnessed the Lord do for them, from the time they left Egypt until the fortieth year of wandering, and he tells them that they will not be faithful enough to the Lord, for Him to keep them in the Land:
26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.
28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
God was not surprised when the Hebrews turned and followed every false religion under the sun! In fact he predicted it in these verses. There are Israelites today who are Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Witches (Wiccans), New Agers, Athiests, and etc.! God knows where they are. He hasn’t forgotten them! He will bring them back to the land, in His time! They can’t resist His call!
29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
There has always been a remnant of Israel who have followed their God, the Lord Jesus Christ. There were many Christian Jews who were destroyed in the concentration camps in Hitler’s Germany. They were surprised that they were included with the Jews, because they were Christians. They didn’t realize that Hitler and the Nazis were NOT Christians!
As we near the Great Tribulation there are more and more Jewish Christians in Israel. They will be missed on the day of the Rapture, and their disappearance will provoke their countrymen, and women, to search the Scriptures, and they will find Jesus!
30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; Deuteronomy 4:26-30 (note: there is more. please read the entire chapter)
The phrase “even in the latter days” is a clue, that God has a specific time for the fulfillment of this prophecy. It will take the events of the Tribulation to wake-up this people!
In the next chapter (5), Moses reminds them of the Lord speaking directly to the people of Israel from the cloud in the wilderness, that He gave them the ten commandments directly, (not through Moses), which were then written on stone tablets by the hand of God Himself!
The people of Israel declared “this law is good, and we will obey it” to which Moses replies;
28 And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
The Lord laments that, while they said they would obey Him, that they wouldn’t do it, and all of His prophecies against Israel would have to come to pass, as a result!
They have, for millennia, and they will reach their peak in the soon coming Great Tribulation, of Deuteronomy 4:25, also known as The Time of Jacob’s Trouble!
I saw this article on principia-scientific.org but I didn’t watch the interview between Del Bigtree and Dr. Denis Rancourt, PhD. until much later.
What an excellent interview! If you want to know what is going on with Covid-19, the Chinese Coronavirus, then take the time to watch this interview. You won’t find this much truth on the major media outlets!
This is very relevant to the study of the bible’s End Times Prophecies. Everything that has been going on this year has to do with the bible’s End Times Prophecies! The globalists are using this situation to push for the kingdom of the Antichrist! They are attempting to see how far they can push us, really as an experiment in conditioning.
In the same vein, the Antifa/BLM riots are not about the murder of George Floyd! They’re not about Black Lives at all! The only Black Lives they care about are the ones they can manipulate for their own political gain; they want to destroy our nations and replace them with a Soviet Union style of Communist Dictatorship!
I first heard about the anti-viral, and specifically anti-coronavirus, properties of hydroxychloroquine from an article on this website, a few days before Donald Trump spoke about it, sparking a huge controversy that is still going on.
I was originally interested in wattsupwiththat because of the many excellent articles about global warming and climate alarmism, but over the last 4 months or so there have been many excellent articles about the Wuhan virus .
In both of these sites you can go back through old articles. The articles are written by a variety of authors, many with scientific credentials, and some have worldviews I don’t agree with, so please exercise discernment.
A couple of years ago I heard a rumour that Brannon Howse was saying that it is possible to take the mark of the beast and still get saved later.
I have often listened to Brannon’s radio program, and had not heard him say this, so I thought it was just a rumour. The subject did not come up in any of the Worldview Weekend episodes that I had listened to.
Well, the other day, I was watching Joshua Chavez from Servus Christi and when his video was done Youtube just went to another related video by Jacob Prasch of Moriel Ministries, and there in the middle of it were Brannon Howse, Jimmy DeYoung and John MacArthur all saying that it is possible to take the mark of the beast and get saved later! In fact they were congratulating themselves that they had come to the same conclusion as John MacArthur!
As I listened I heard one of them say that “this is not a salvation issue” and that “this is not the unforgiveable sin”! Well, you can come to that conclusion if you add things to the Scriptures, but if you read it in context, you can’t come to this conclusion!
(Interestingly, in the last few weeks there were a bunch of videos about this, and most of them have disappeared! Someone is apparently doing damage control! I have the audio of Brannon’s program, in .mp3 format, and I will email it to anyone who sends me their email address and asks for it. As far as I can see, if you make a public mistake, you need to publicly recant your error! I would like to see these men do this, but so far there is no evidence they have done so! If they have done so, I will post a video of their recantation in this article.)
There is an element of truth in what they are saying; their statement is based on the fact that God will forgive anyone who repents. This is absolutely true, but they have missed something; that the Holy Spirit is the one who leads us to Repentance. We can’t repent without the Holy Spirit!
They are also missing the biblical definition of the unforgiveable sin, Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, but this is, in fact, what is going on in Revelation 13 and 14!
Please read chapter 13 of Revelation, it sets the context for the mark of the beast;
CHAPTER 13.
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If any man have an ear, let him hear. 10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Notice verse 6. This is very relevant to the subject of the unforgiveable sin, particularly the last phrase
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
“Them that dwell in Heaven” is a reference to the Church-Age saints who had recently been Raptured. This blasphemy is not primarily against them, but mainly against the One who took them to Heaven by His power, the Holy Spirit!
His blasphemy turns Heaven into Hell, and the Holy Spirit into Satan!
Now here is Jesus talk about Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit;
22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Matthew 12:22-32
Do you see how Jesus defined the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Ghost)? They were watching Jesus cast out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Pharisees were attributing this Power to be the Power of Satan! (Beelzebub, the lord of the flies, is simply another name for Satan, the prince of the demons!)
So what Jesus was saying is that if you attribute a genuine miracle done by the Holy Spirit, to be the work of Satan, you are committing the unforgiveable sin!
I have heard many Christians say that Jesus must be physically on the earth for someone to commit the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit! This is incorrect! Jesus did not define this sin by saying that He must be physically on the earth for this to occur; this is something that men have added to the text. He very clearly said that all blasphemies directed at Himself, can be forgiven. This is not exactly about Jesus, but about the Holy Spirit Himself, who is Christ’s representative on the earth today!
Just because Jesus was on the earth in Matthew 12 does not mean that He must be on the earth for the Holy Spirit to perform a genuine miracle! He only said that attributing a genuine miracle of the Holy Spirit to be the work of Satan is all that is required to commit Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit!
There is one miracle that occurs every day on the earth; people are saved, and come to faith and repentance in the Lord Jesus Christ!
If you ever see a terrible sinner profess to be saved by the blood of Jesus, don’t ever deny that person was saved; you don’t know! Accept their profession with joy and watch to see if there is a change in their life! Don’t expect perfection, but there should be a change. Leave it up to the Lord to decide who is or who is not saved!
Now back to the Rapture; Jesus is not physically on the earth during the Rapture, but He is physically in the sky above the earth, calling His saints Home! (1 Thess. 4:16) They then meet Him in the air! This is the context of the Rapture, shortly before the Beast blasphemes those who dwell in Heaven!
Now go back to Revelation 13:6. Who will be living in Heaven at this time? Who would the Antichrist really like to discredit? In fact he must discredit these people if his own “ministry” is to have any credibility: he is blaspheming the Church of Jesus Christ who shortly before had been Raptured to Heaven!
The Antichrist is not talking about the Church-Age saints who had passed away throughout the ages. Rather, he must discredit the Rapture of the Church, because the world has recently witnessed this event, and if they believe the Christians were taken to Heaven by Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, there is no way they will accept the Antichrist as the Saviour of the World, even though they have seen him die, in verse 3, and then having been raised from the dead!
The creatures commonly referred to as “Aliens” are actually demons, or devils, and Satan is the chief of the demons. So if the Antichrist says that “Aliens took the Christians, because they were not able to transition to the New Paradigm” he is saying that Satan did it! He is attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to be the work of Satan!
When the people of the world take the mark of the beast, they are saying that they agree with his blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; that the Christians were taken by Aliens, because they were not able to transition to the New World Order, or to the New Paradigm! In other words, he is basically saying that Satan has taken the Church to a place of punishment!
This is exactly what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 12:31-32! Jesus calls the Church to Himself, and they come through the power of the Holy Spirit, but the Antichrist says it was Satan!
What is the role of the Holy Spirit, in Salvation? What did Jesus say?
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
You see, the Holy Spirit is essential for Salvation. He is the one who uses Scripture to convict us of our sin, and leads us to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ! Without His work, we cannot be saved!
So, Jesus is saying that if anyone attributes the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan, this is the unforgivable sin, but He does not have to damn that person, all He has to do is to stop what He normally does. When He is the victim of this supreme insult, He just walks away! He is so good that if they would repent He would save them, but they can’t repent without Him!
11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. Mark 4:11-12
God will forgive everyone who repents! While God wants everyone to be saved, He is not willing to save anyone their own way, they must come to Him on His terms! You must come to Him, admitting that you are a sinner, and admitting that He is the only Saviour! He is Holy, and you are not!
When you declare the work of the Holy Spirit to be the work of Satan, you are declaring yourself to be God, and He loses interest in saving you.
I wanted to skip the first few verses of chapter 14, but really you should read the whole chapter, because it is all relevant to the subject.
6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Rev. 14:6-11
This explains why verses 9-11 say that if any man worship the beast and take his mark, they will drink the wine of the wrath of God, and will be tormented with fire and brimstone, in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb, for ever!
I think that some will have doubts about taking the mark of the Beast, because of the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and because they have heard warnings about it from believers, but in the interests of saving their lives many will do it. Once they have taken the mark, I believe they will have a supernatural “peace” about their decision!
The Holy Spirit will no longer convict them about their sin, from that moment on, and they will no longer be bothered by their conscience! They will be so “at peace” about having taken the mark that they will have no problem with turning in believers to be beheaded!
Those who thought “I will take the mark now, and later I will accept Jesus as my Saviour” will NEVER get around to accepting Jesus Christ as their Saviour, because at the moment they took the mark, the Holy Spirit walked away from them, never to bother them again!
Brannon Howse, John MacArthur, and Jimmy DeYoung are performing a great disservice to the lost people of the Tribulation period, because they are giving them an excuse to take the Mark of the Beast! This is a fatal mistake from which they will never repent! Never, until they open their eyes up in Hell, and then it will be too late!
Most prophecy scholars will tell you that you can’t understand the book of Revelation without studying Daniel. This is true, but it is only partly true!
The truth is that you cannot understand the End Times prophecies of the New Testament, without studying all the Old Testament prophets! For starters, Revelation is not the only book of prophecy in the New Testament; You will find prophecy in the epistles of Paul, and Peter, James, and Jude, the gospels, and even in the book of Hebrews!
Jesus establishes His ministry through prophecy, both those already fulfilled, and those yet to come!
I know Christians who think they don’t need to study prophecy, as if their attitude is commendable, and one of faith! The truth is that you are being disrespectful to your Saviour if you neglect biblical prophecy, and you are showing yourself to be presumptuous!
I have family members who claim to be Christians; they won’t study Biblical Prophecy, but they have no problem reading Harry Potter to their children! Not only is this unwise; it is a form of child abuse! So is taking your son out of Church to go and play hockey games!
What are you saying when you do these things? You are saying that Harry Potter is more interesting and/or exciting than Jesus Christ! You are saying that success in sports is more important than honouring the Creator of the Universe, who created their bodies, and died for their sake!
But I digress…
I was reading through Isaiah recently, and noticed that king Hezekiah actually wrote a part of the book!
The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: Isaiah 38:9
The words of many kings are recorded in Scripture, but relatively few have had the privilege of actually writing a part of the Word of God; David is most notable, having written most of the psalms, including numerous prophecies, some Messianic, and others End Times. Yes, David was not only a king, and a godly man, but he was a prophet of God!
An example of David’s godly character is the fact that when he was confronted by Nathan, a minor prophet, over his adultery and murder of Uriah, David, a major prophet was willing to heed the word of a minor prophet and repent! There are few “men of God” these days who would be so humble!
Nebuchadnezzar is notable because he started off as a pagan king, but after the Lord dealt with him, later in life, he was given the privilege of writing chapter 4 of the book of Daniel. I believe that this testimony indicates that he became a believer in the God of the bible! What an amazing testimony! If you haven’t already read it, you should!
Hezekiah’s writing is only from Isaiah 38:9-22, but it also contains a prophecy, which I had not noticed the first few times I had read it. It is found in verse 17
17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
The phrase “behind thy back” or “turn thy back”, in Scripture is often an idiom meaning “to forget about” something or to ignore something.
That was how I interpreted this phrase the other times I read this passage, but there is a reason this can’t be the correct interpretation in this case; God is Holy, Holy, Holy, and He can’t just forget about sin! God must punish all sin, because of His character. God is not only a loving God, but He is a Just God. It does not serve Justice to just forget about sin.
If a man, charged with murder, were to come before a judge, and the judge in his verdict says “It is clear the defendant is guilty of this crime, but because I am a loving judge, I can’t sentence him to death therefore I forgive you of this crime. You are free to go!”
Now, think about what just happened in our hypothetical case; a guilty man was forgiven and set free, and no one paid the price for his crime. Justice was not served, the guilty was set free, and the Judge actually participated in the crime! (this is like prisoners being set free because of Covid-19, who then went out and committed more crimes!)
Think about what happened with David; on the surface it looks like what I have just described; David was freed from the penalty of the law, for both Adultery, and for Murder. He was forgiven by God for these crimes!
Does this make God complicit in David’s murder? No! God dealt with David’s sin with Pure Justice!
Hezekiah is alluding to this act of God in verse 17 in the phrase “for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” When did God deal with sin? There is only one time in the history of this planet when God actually dealt with sin; that was the time that Jesus died on the cross and took all of mankind’s sin on Himself! Jesus took responsibility for David’s sin, and for Hezekiah’s sin, in fact for all the sins of mankind, of all time, including mine!
Because he did this, He is worthy to be our Judge! If you are “in Christ” the Judge of judges paid the price for your sins!
So, Hezekiah’s prophecy “for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” is a reference to the literal object that was behind His back when He dealt with sin! The Cross! Hezekiah’s prophecy is about the Cross of Jesus Christ!
This is a prophecy of what Jesus was going to do for Hezekiah a few hundred years hence! Not only for him and David, but for all believers of all time! In fact what Jesus did on the cross was sufficient for all sin of all time, for the blood of the Son of God has unlimited value!
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Hebrews 9:28
Well, the world is panicking over the virus named Covid-19, A.K.A. the C.C.P. Virus, or the Wuhan Bat Virus (It is important to indicate the origin of a virus in its name). I have never seen such panic, especially over something that is minor for 98% of cases! The world didn’t panic like this when the Polio epidemic was in full swing (a little before my time).
In recent weeks we have had several positive cases in our local hospital, and a couple of deaths have been attributed to this virus in our community.
My wife actually works at that hospital.
On line we are watching the cases grow exponentially. It is fascinating to watch the case load explode from 1, to 100, to 1,000, to tens of thousands. It won’t be long now for the numbers to reach the millions! No doubt the growth of this disease is already beyond the ability of our governments to contain.
So, what if you or I get this disease? As I said above, most cases are minor, and most people recover after a few days.
The big question is “What if I die from this disease?”
Well, we are all going to die eventually anyway, but what if we were to die of this disease in the next couple of months?
This is a serious question, and one you shouldn’t put off!
Are you ready to meet your Maker?
Most people think they are, and most are not!
Do you think you are a good person, and have done lots of good things that God must approve of?
If this describes your attitude, then you are in serious trouble! You see, doing good things, good deeds, does not undo the sins you have committed!
I was reading Isaiah 26 the other day and I came across a very interesting statement. In the midst of an indictment against the nation of Israel, the prophet says 12 “Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.” As he goes on to proclaim the failure of Israel he states in verse 18 “we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth”.
What does he mean “we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth”? He means that Israel has failed to deliver anyone from their sins! They were commissioned to be God’s missionary nation to the world, and they have failed in that commission! All their works were done by God, and so there is no credit for them in those works! Yes He still has a future of peace for them, but not before the Time of Jacob’s Trouble!
What he is alluding to, is the fact that anything good the nation has done, has been done by God Himself, working in and through them! They have not achieved anything by themselves! This not only applies to Israel, but all of us! As Paul states in Philippians 2:13
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Philippians was written to believers, and even to this group we are told that “anything pleasing you have done for the Lord, has actually been God working in and through you!” In fact we are told that it is God who makes us willing to do things pleasing unto God! We would never do these things on our own, and it is only as God moves in us, and works through us, that we might do something pleasing unto Him!
The people in Heaven understand this, and this is why those who have received crowns in Revelation 4, toss their crowns at the feet of Jesus!
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:10-11
We are all sinners, and all of us deserve the Lake of Fire! I do, and so do you too! So do the 24 elders in this passage, and in fact so do all the saints of all time! In fact 100% of the human race, with one exception, has earned the wrath, the fierce anger of God! The one exception is the Messiah of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ! The perfect Lamb of God, who received the wrath of God on our behalf!
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Psalm 14:2-3
I sought God, but truly it was only AFTER He first sought me! I fled from Him at first, and it was only that the weight of sin on my shoulders became to great for me to bear, only when my life fell apart, that I called on Him to save me! He allows us to sin, to show us what we are! It is only in His goodness and mercy that He does this.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;Romans 3:23
None of us has lived up to God’s standards!
The truth is that we are born sinners! Don’t talk to me about the innocence of infants; babies are born screaming in anger, and fear! We don’t have to teach children to lie, they know how to do it instinctively!
The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Psalms 58:3
We are estranged from God the moment we are born, and we sin because we are born sinners, sin does not make us a sinner, but rather it is the evidence that we are already sinners!
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Psalms 51:5
This does not mean that David’s mother was unmarried when she conceived him, but that he was a sinner, just like his mother!
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:24
The law never saved anyone, and was not intended to save, but was intended to prove to us that we are sinners!
I know from my own memories that I was an evil little kid when I was 3, and 4 years old! God was good enough to let me live long enough to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and even more, he allowed me to try on my own to live right, and to fail, so that eventually I fell on my knees and received Jesus as my Lord and Saviour!
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Romans 10:8-11
God took our shameful acts and put them on the Cross of Christ, so that He could give us the gift of His Righteousness!
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13
Cling to this promise like it is the only thing standing between you and the Lake of Fire, because it is! I called on Jesus, and He saved me! Praise God!
So I am now confident that if I should die of this Wuhan Bat Virus, that I will be with Jesus that day, and if I live, it is only because He has something more for me to do here on earth! I can now echo with Paul;
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21
I hope it is the same with you! If not, call on Jesus today, in faith, and He will save you! Then read His word daily, and tell others about Him, as long as He gives you breath!
Jesus gave us a list of End Times events in Matthew 24, and diseases (pestilence) are on that list, so don’t fret; God is in control! Don’t place your hopes in this fallen world, but place them in the Risen Saviour!
Disclaimer: The author intends these articles to assist the reader in understanding the End Times prophecies of the Holy Bible. There is no intention to provoke hatred towards any group, tribe, or nation. Even the family of the Antichrist deserves to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The book of Revelation states that there will be members of every tribe, nation, kingdom, and tongue, in Heaven! It is the hope of the author to provoke Christians to witness of the love and forgiveness of God toward all who will listen! It is his hope that we will share in the joy of seeing even family members of the Antichrist himself, in Heaven with Jesus!
Have you ever been reading a familiar passage of Scripture only to have a part of it jump out and strike you a different way, than you had ever considered before?
I find that the more I am in the Scriptures the more this happens to me! I would have to say that this has become almost a daily thing for me now! I wouldn’t say that any message in the scriptures has changed in the least, it’s just that God has opened my eyes, and I see more and more.
Remember this: A true interpretation of Scripture will never be contradicted by any other true interpretation of Scripture!
God, who knows the end from the beginning, cannot contradict Himself, although sometimes translators insert contradictions into their translations! Therefore it is a good idea to use a tried-and-true translation, based on the literal, word for word, translation method. The best example of this is the Authorized Version, also known as the King James Bible. (an updated version of the KJV may be OK, like the UKJV, or the MKJV, but avoid bibles based on the Nestle-Aland, or United Bible Societies text)
Remember also, that the parts of the KJV which correlate to the same books translated by William Tyndale, have been tested with modern software, and have been shown to be about 83% the work of William Tyndale! Some of the spelling was modified to more modern standards, but otherwise his text was pretty much left alone!
William Tyndale was martyred for his efforts, first by strangulation, and then his body was burned at the stake. That was the price he paid for his work for God, conversely none of the modern bible “versions” has this distinction; no one would ever die for the NIV, or the ESV, the CEV, or The Message! They are not worth dying for, and everyone knows it!
All I am saying is that when you use the KJV you are using the bible of the martyrs, the underlying text of which goes all the way back to the Apostles!
But back to the thought I started with; as I was recently reading Micah 4:10 I realized that I had always looked at this passage with incorrect presuppositions.
Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. Micah 4:10
I have known for decades that when you see a reference to a woman in labour pains (or travail) in Scripture, that it is always an End Times passage, yet somehow I had missed it in this verse.
I think it was because I had thought that the reference to Babylon in this passage timed it to the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.
Now, as I read through this passage I realized that there are several statements that move the context from Nebuchadnezzar’s time to the End Times! Apart from the above references to a woman in labour, there is also the statement that they shall go forth out of the city (Jerusalem) and shall dwell in the field! This is the opposite of what He told them when they were taken away by Nebuchadnezzar!
4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. Jeremiah 29:4-7
He was telling them that they were going to be away for a long time, to build houses, and to settle down and live their lives in the land they found themselves in. In Micah, however, they are told that they will live in the field; In an earlier passage (2:12) Micah says that they will be gathered as the sheep of Bozrah. Bozrah is the region of Edom where the ancient city cut out of the rocks, Petra was located. Today this is a famous tourist site. This is the area where Israel will go to as they flee from the Antichrist, and this is a part of his own nation of birth! The God of the bible can save Israel right under the nose of the Antichrist and he is powerless to stop Him!
The Babylon referred to here in Micah 4:10 is not the original Babylon, nor is it Rome, but the third Babylon, the modern nation who’s capital is the city of Amman!
In the old prophecies God was telling Israel that they were going to die in the nations they were being taken to;
For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. Jeremiah 20:4
And to Amos, that they would die in captivity…
15 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.
17 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land. Amos 7:15-17
And through the pen of Isaiah…
17 Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.
18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house. Isaiah 22:17-18
So now compare these three passages with Amos 4:10, and you will see some stark differences; In Jeremiah, Amos and Isaiah Israel is going away as captives, for a long time and many of them will die in the lands to which they went. We also see in Zephaniah 2:1-2 that they are still called “the nation not desired” even as they are being gathered for the Tribulation!
1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
2 Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you. Zephaniah 2:1-2
This is because they are still in a state of unbelief, even as He is gathering them together. Since this is occurring during the Church-Age, all Jewish believers in Jesus the Messiah are called out of the nation, and are in fact a part of the Church of Yeshuah ha Maschiach! They are not a part of Israel, just as Gentile Christians are also called out of their nations, into this same Church of Jesus Christ!
Now lets look at the last statement in Micah, “and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.”
This time they are not being taken captive, but are in fact fleeing from the Antichrist as he has set-up his Abomination of Desolation in the Holy Place of the new Temple! They are fleeing to Babylon! This “Babylon” is not in Iraq, but it is the place where the spirit of Babylon will move to, just across the Jordan river from Israel!
There are many passages that indicate that Israel will be saved in their place of exile; Babylon, Iraq is too far and is a long way through hostile nations. The current Babylon, Rome is even farther, and is across the Mediterranean Sea, which would leave millions of people exposed in boats. No, neither of these places fits the bill; only Israel’s neighbor across the river fits…
2 For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
3 Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.
4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5 And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness. Isaiah 16:2-5
Here, in the midst of a very negative End Times prophecy about Moab, one of Edom’s partners, we have this curious statement that some of the women of Moab will be involved in being a shelter to the believers of Israel! These Moabite women are believers in the God of all creation, and will survive the Tribulation with these Israelite believers!
Again, there is a very similar statement regarding Edom, the descendants of Esau, in Jeremiah 49
10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.
11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. Jeremiah 49:10-11
In the midst of an End Times curse against Edom (Idumea), we are told that the men of Edom will die, but that their wives and children will trust in the God of Israel! This mixed group of Edomite and Moabite women and children will assist the fleeing Israeli’s and in the end they will be the only survivors of their nation! There will be so much shame associated with that name, and with Edom, Moab, and Ammon, that these women will marry Israelis, their children will be adopted by their new husbands, and all will be absorbed into Israel! They can’t stay in their hme nation because…
5 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
8 For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. Isaiah 34:5-10
Truly, the Babylon of Micah 4:10 is the “Babylon” just across the Jordan river from Israel! This is Babylon in the context of the second half of the Tribulation period!
If you are interested in the Bible’s End Times prophecies, then I suggest you get a copy of The Spirit of Prophecy, and you will see how an unbiased study of these prophecies leads to the conclusion that the Antichrist will not come from Rome, but from one of Israel’s closest neighbors, and their closest relatives.
I was reading Isaiah 12 at breakfast, the other morning, and I discovered something that blew my mind.
I’m sure others have discovered this, but I can’t remember ever hearing a preacher speak on this subject.
The first thing I noticed was that it starts with “And in that day…” and so, because I couldn’t remember what I was reading the morning before, I went back and scanned chapter 11 to see what the subject is; and yes, it is Israel in the Millennial Kingdom, most definitely.
So then I went back and read the first two verses;
1 And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Hmm, “God is my salvation” nothing controversial there; at least not at first glance. Then it gets more interesting; “for the Lord Jehovah… is become my salvation”
You see, God has existed from everlasting to everlasting, He always was, so how could he “become” something He was not before?
You see, if God simply says “I forgive you for your sin” He isn’t really a Saviour. It could be argued that God can’t just forgive sin, and if He did so without satisfying Justice, He would be participating in something very evil! He would be an accomplice of the evil-doer he had forgiven!
For example, when David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then murdered her husband, If God had simply said “David, I forgive you” but He didn’t do something about the injustice against Uriah, He would be participating in the evil deed Himself!
What God did, was to transport David’s sin forward in time, and placed it on His only Begotten Son, and crucified it on the cross!
Not only is God “Love”, but God is also Just. He must satisfy justice, because that is His character; He can’t just say “your sins are forgiven”. Something must be done about the sin. The sentence “for the Lord Jehovah… is become my salvation” is a clue that God has done something about our sin!
The truth is that I thought of these things after reading this passage. At the time, however, I had Strong’s Numbers open, and I noticed that the phrase “…he also is become my salvation” is represented by one word!
Now what do you suppose that word might be?
לישועה
The Lamed (ל) at the beginning of the word is simply a prefix, meaning “to”; the rest of the word is, ישועה or Yeshuah! This is the Hebrew form of the name of the Saviour, who is also God! Jesus! The name “Jesus” means “Jehovah is Salvation”!
The Hebrew name of the Saviour was hidden in plain sight, in Isaiah!
The Lord God became my Salvation, and I hope yours, when He died on the cross! That was the central, and greatest event in human history, and the best thing that anyone has ever done for anyone else; Jesus took our sin on Himself and He crucified it on that cross, so Justice would be satisfied! Without the cross we could never enter into God’s presence! That is the day that Isaiah was referring to, some 700 years before it occurred!
The very name of the Saviour is embedded in the writings of the Jewish prophets! The amazing thing is that it was done in such a way that most of the Jews missed it. If He had made it simple to understand there would have been hundreds of Jesuses all claiming to be the Messiah, but as it is there is only one legitimate contender for the title! Jesus of Nazareth; He’s the only one!
If you haven’t trusted Him yet, do it today! Jesus is your only hope!
At Christmas this year we bought a ROKU device. I had heard about them on Worldview Weekend’s radio programs, and I was tired of using our PS3 for viewing videos online.
Having had it for a couple of weeks now I can say that it was well worth it. I think we are actually getting better quality, and we have a lot more resources available to us at minimal cost.
So we found ourselves watching a few videos on Tubitv.com and there have been a couple of really good ones.
The one I want to talk about today is called “Bridge to Babylon” By Christian J. Pinto, and his company Adullam Films.
I first heard Chris Pinto on audio files I downloaded from Worldview Weekend, Brannon Howse’s website. I think I first heard Chris being interviewed by Brannon, and later downloaded his own radio programs. Chris is a Calvinist, and so I disagree with him on the TULIP, but I still have a lot in common with him, on a lot of other subjects. I consider him to be a Brother in Christ, and a co-traveler. On the subject of Salvation, or the Deity of Christ, or the preservation of Scripture, I think it is fair to say we are in agreement.
So what is “Bridge to Babylon” about?
Bridge to Babylon is an exposé of the Modern Critical Text of the bible, and of the men who put it together. It is also an exposé of the modern Dynamic Equivalent translation method used in the majority of modern bible translations. Dramatic re-enactments are used, as are interviews with several experts.
The two men most responsible for the creation of the Textus Criticus, were two Anglican churchmen, Brook Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, who compiled their text from mainly three sources, during the mid 1800s.
The philosophy of these two men is examined, and their methods are exposed. You will see evidence that their scholarship is in question, and their methods suspect. Writings of contemporary experts are also examined, so you can see that there was some Christian opposition to the ideas of these two men, even at the beginning.
The history and use of the Sinaiticus manuscript is examined, as well as the claims of one Constantine Simonides, an expert calligrapher, that he had created the manuscript himself in the 1830s, on an old bound but mostly blank book, and had donated it to the St. Catherines monastery, where Tishendorf found it.
Evidence indicating this to be true is presented, including the fact that Simonides himself had published the first Greek versions of “The Shepherd of Hermas” and “The Gospel of Thomas” several years before Tishendorf had found the Sinaiticus manuscript. This “Bible” manuscript contains the same Greek versions of these two books!
Tishendorf claimed that he had visited the St. Catherines monastery and had found some of the pages from this document in a waste basket, which were then being burned by the monks. He took some of the pages back to Germany, and two years later returned and obtained the whole document.
The question that must be asked, is “If they were burning the pages of the Sinaiticus Manuscript, how is it that he came home with a complete book?” This doesn’t add up, but it leads to the conclusion that what they were burning must have been practice pages which had been donated at the same time as the rest of the document, or that they were the original source pages, from which Simonides had copied from!
Pinto interviews several experts in bible preservation including Dr. Jack Mooreman, James White, and Dr. Donald Waite.
There is so much more in the movie, but its probably best if you see it yourself! Just go to Tubitv and search for “Bridge to Bablyon”.
The documentary is around 2 hours and 40 minutes long, so watching it in one sitting is a challenge. We did it in 3 sessions over 3 days, but I have to say it was well worth it.
Tubitv also has another Adullam film by Chris Pinto, “A Lamp in the Dark” which I am eager to watch! Hopefully I will get to it this week!
housetops 