Is the Antichrist a Gentile or a Jew? Give a defense for your answer. List the members of the Satanic Trinity and describe their functions.BIB 547-2 - Session 18-13-2

The Roman Empire was divided into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern or Byzantine Empire. Byzantium, now Istanbul, was rebuilds by Constantine and renamed Constantinople. It became Constantine's capital. So the mighty Roman Empire was divided into the iron right and left legs of Nebakanezer's statue in fulfillment of prophecy.

For eons it was pretty much assumed that the antichrist would come out of the Roman Empire and would be represented by the western leg of Nebakanezer's statue. While there have been many Roman Popes who certainly display characteristics of an antichrist, most notably Pope Innocence III, in my opinion he will be a Gentile of the Islam faith from of the eastern part of the empire. I base this in part on the fact that beheading is a favorite form of execution by the Muslims and is certainly referred to often enough in the book of Revelation. Add to that, it is my belief that the Quran was inspired by Lucifer himself going by the moniker of Allah. Allahu Akbar" means "Allah is greater" so greater than whom? Lucifer continuously tried to raise his throne above that of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Satan will form an unholy Trinity with the two beasts of Revelation 13. Satan will be the unholy father, the antichrist the unholy son and the false prophet the unholy Holy Spirit. This unholy trinity will surface after the Rapture. Many of those “left behind” will be blinded and follow the antichrist. Those who come to faith during the tribulation will likely be beheaded as the antichrist will have the power to overcomes the Saints.

The antichrist is the “Beast out of the Sea” and the false prophet is the “Beast out of the Earth.” The sea refers to the gentiles’ and the earth refers to the Jews. The antichrist will be a minion of Satan for the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation and then during the great tribulation will actually be indwelled by Satan. The false prophet will have demonic power to call down fire, perform wonders and miracles and will cause the Earth-Dwellers to worship the antichrist.

The earth dwellers will be those not written in the Book of Life. Without the protection of Christ, the earth dwellers will “receive mark in right hands or foreheads” as “no man may buy or sell without the name or number of the Beast: 666.” Those taking the mark of the mark of the beast will be condemned to the lake of fire for an eternity.

What does the Bible teach about "marking your body?" What are your views of tattoos? BIB 547-2 - Session 18-13-7

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's”

The Bible tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, bought and paid for by the Blood of Jesus on the Cross. The Bible is quite explicit about not tattooing, cutting or marking our bodies in General.

In some societies it is a common practice to cut the skin as a sign of mourning, however, the Bible warns against it:

Leviticus 21:5, “They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.”

Deuteronomy 14:1, “Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.”

In the two plus generations since God was kicked out of schools, our society has become more immoral with each passing decade. Our parents, grandparents and great grandparents of the World War II generation were truly “The Greatest Generation.” In my opinion, the greatest generation also was the last great generation.

The number of depressed and/ or mentally ill people in our society seemingly is accelerating since the days of the Time Magazine 1966 cover story “Is God Dead?” Cutting seems to be one way that people can feel like they're really alive. As for tattoos, not only are they very disfiguring and expensive, one also runs the risk of incurring hepatitis. My views concerning tattoos is that they represent a return to pagan rites and clan identification.

Of course there are the sport fans who declare their support of their football team by painting their faces and even their chests. I don’t think either this or wearing a cheese hat by a cheese-head would be comparable to getting a tattoo, well, maybe. It’s all in who or what your god is.

The following is from the website http://jfb.biblecommenter.com/leviticus/19.htm:

“Leviticus 19:28. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead-The practice of making deep gashes on the face and arms and legs, in time of bereavement, was universal among the heathen, and it was deemed a becoming mark of respect for the dead, as well as a sort of propitiatory offering to the deities who presided over death and the grave. The Jews learned this custom in Egypt, and though weaned from it, relapsed in a later and degenerate age into this old superstition (Isa 15:2; Jer 16:6; 41:5).”

How is the wrath of God being revealed today? 534-1 - 2-4

A few generations ago the sitcom was “Father Knows Best.” Today it’s more apt to be “My Two Fathers.”

We in America excel at promoting the trifecta of things that God hates:

• Abortion (murder) of the unborn
• The growing acceptance of homosexuality
• Throwing Israel under the bus.

Perhaps rather than then the full wrath of God, I would suggest that we are under God’s judgment and that He is removing/ has removed His hedge of protection from us. Nevertheless, as we on planet earth sink further into “anything goes” can the wrath of God be far away. One can almost hear the hoof-beats of the Four Horsemen. Given the extremes of weather, natural disasters, wars and more; judgment indeed.

Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;” We are without excuse!

Romans 1:21-23, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves.”

In my opinion this deals mostly with an individual’s sin, homosexuality. However, when we as a society approve of homosexuality this becomes a sin of society. The acceptance of homosexuality didn’t work out well for Sodom and Gomorrah.

John P. McTernan has written a very interesting book; “As America Has Done to Israel.” Time and again we have pressured Israel to give up the land given to them by God.

"The Perfect Storm" in 1991 pretty much coincided with the Madrid Peace Process in which the elder President Bush was very clear that Israel was required to surrender parts of her covenant land for peace. His own home was affected by the storm.

The Israel withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 was done in the hope that this would lead to peace. Rather than peace the withdrawal provided a nearby missal launching pad. Land for peace has never resulted in any lasting peace as the hated towards Israel is embedded in the Islamic psyche. The United States pressured Israel to withdraw from Gaza and that withdrawal seems to have coincided with Hurricane Katrina. Many times the United States seemed to come under God’s judgment when we bully Israel.

Tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, famine, wildfires, drought, horrific diseases such as Ebola, Aids, constant warfare throughout much of the planet, etc. are, in my opinion, a harbinger of worse to come. We need a planet wide revival. Hopefully we have not passed the point of no return.

Added Later:

40 years and millions of babies aborted since "Roe v. Wade."
This is from an email I received today:
At the National Prayer Breakfast, February 3, 1994 Mother Teresa said:
"The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion...
It is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent...murder by the mother herself.
If we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill?...
Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence."
Very wise words indeed.

List the four women mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Give their scriptural background BIB 547-2 - 17-4

Jezebel – Roman Catholic Church of the past.

Written to the church in Thyatira , Revelation 2:20, “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.”
.
There was another Jezebel, wife of Ahab. I Kings 21:25, “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.” Ahab repented I Kings 21:29, “Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.” Jezebel didn’t fare as well, I Kings 21:23, “And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.”

Forewarning of what would happen to the Harlot when the dogs turned on her?

The Harlot – future One World Church, Rome, Babylon?
Revelation 17:5, “And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.”

Revelation 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Revelation 18:3, “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.”

In the book “A Woman Rides the Beast” Dave Hunt identifies the Roman Catholic Church as the Whore (Harlot) of Babylon based on the prophecies in chapters 17 and 18.

This one - Israel

Revelation 12:5-6, “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

This One is the believing remnant of Israel. The remnant will flee to Petra and be protected from the Anti-Christ for 3 ½ years, the time of “The Great Tribulation.” The child caught up to God is likely a reference to Jesus. One concern that I have is that if the child is also represented of the Church, would this imply a mid-trib Rapture?

The Bride – The Church and New Jerusalem as the bride of Christ

Rev 19:7-8, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

Explain the reasons why the Dark Ages were considered “Dark.” What impact does this have on the Emergent Church Movement today? 534-1 - 2-1

From last week’s DQ, “The years between 590 and 1517 AD are called “The Dark Ages” and indeed it was a time of suppression of Biblical Truth as the simple message of Jesus was degraded into legalism practiced to this day in some churches.”

The Roman Catholic Church had such a lock on Christianity that owning a Bible could land you on the Inquisition rack. Add to that the repressive religion of Islam was running rampant.

Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable/ moveable wooden or metal letters in 1436, completed by 1440. He printed the world's first book using movable type, the Gutenberg Bible. Gutenberg’s contribution to the advancement of knowledge was enormous and he was named “The Man of the Millennium.”

Fast-forward to the late 20th century and early 21st centuries. The availability of information has exploded; another sign of the end of days. Daniel 12:4, “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” I have a Kindle Book with more than 20 Bibles on it including an English translation of the Septuagint, an Amplified Bible and a Bible concordance. I have an enormous amount of diverse information at my fingertips. Go online and ask about almost any subject and you are inundated with links.

In the 21st century the dissemination of ideas and beliefs has been greatly facilitated. While virtually the entire planet has been exposed to the gospel by the Internet and/or satellite TV the downside is the exposure to mass marketed apostasy. There are the less than credible faith healers as well as the “Name it and claim” prosperity preachers. Born Again Christians are labeled as being intolerant by the “All roads lead to God proponents.” Even some of evangelical churches are beginning to take the Palestinian side in the continuing conflict over the holy land.

The Emergent Church Movement seeks to reach the post-modern crowd. Post-modern, with thanks to KI and I604; “For every unconfused double standard there is a solid single standard behind it.” Post Modernism rejects the notion of Universal Truth, rather asserts its own truths about the Universe. Post-Modernist involves how truth is viewed by progressives, is constantly changing, how it plays out publicly and politically and how it can be thwarted. The election of 2012 is a great example of how truth was viewed by progressives. The election pitted a candidate who promoted abortion, same-sex marriage and throwing Israel under the bus against a candidate who, in my opinion, embraced Christian values. Universal Truth, just too old fashioned so the country voted in four more years of Obama.

God was thrown out of our schools for about two generations. In many are quite happy rejecting universal truths that likely are equated to Christian values. Perhaps the post-modern progressives fear that a return to Christian values could lead to a dark age of repression.

What chapter did Jesus read at the synagogue in Nazareth? What was noteworthy about the passage as well as the spot He chose to end His reading? BIB 547-2 - 17-2

After contending with Satan for 40 days in the desert, Jesus came home to Nazareth and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19 “And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Luke 4: 21.

Jesus was reading from Isaiah 61:1-2 and stopped reading before, “and the day of vengeance of our God,” So after reading the portion of Isaiah referring to the “suffering Messiah” Jesus stopped short of declaring Himself as the conquering Messiah to come.

Not being very PC, Jesus went on “And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.” Luke 4:24 Jesus further inflamed those in the synagogue by mentioning Gentiles who were helped by Old Testament prophets.

Psalm 69:8 and 12 give some insight into why Jesus was rebuffed by those in Nazareth, “I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.” “They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards”

While not during His time in Nazareth , the theme of rejection at His first coming and His returning in glory at His second coming continues, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Matthew 23:37-39

In my opinion, the blindness that Jesus pronounced on Israel is beginning to lift, “Orthodox Rabbi Reveals Name of Messiah ‘JESUS’, ‘Yehoshua’ or ‘Yeshua.’”

“A few months before he died, one of the nation’s most prominent rabbis, Yitzhak Kaduri, supposedly wrote the name of the Messiah on a small note which he requested would remain sealed until now. When the note was unsealed, it revealed what many have known for centuries: Yehoshua, or Yeshua (Jesus), is the Messiah.” Complete article:
http://s8int.com/phile/page57.html

Here is an interesting Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0DTT3u2JZ8
No surprise that many of the Rabbi’s followers deny that the note is authentic, however, more and more Jews are realizing that Jesus was the suffering Messiah and is the Lion of Judah to come.

Added Later:

After the Pharisees lost the right to enforce capital punishment, they thought that the scepter had departed from Judah counter to, "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his." Genesis 49:10 And to think Jesus was in Israel as the Pharisees were sure this verse was not fulfilled. The denial is still very much a fact in Israel.

And of course Jesus had a few politically incorrect things to say about those who should have known the prophecies. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness." Matthew 23:27

List seven mysteries in the Bible BIB 534-1 -1-7

1. The Kingdom of Heaven – Not all have ears to hear so Jesus spoke in parables.
Matthew 13:10-11, “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”

The fact that Jesus spoke in parables was a fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture. Psalm 78:2-3, "I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known things our ancestors have told us.”

Matthew 13:34-35, “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

2. The Kingdom – see 1 above

Mark 4:11, “He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables.”

3. Israel's blindness – Jesus declared blindness on Israel until the “fullness of the Gentiles come in,” the number of people who become believers during the Church age. When this number is reached, the Rapture will take place.

Romans 11:25, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.”

Luke 19:42, “Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.”

4. The Rapture – The Blessed Hope of the catching up of the Chuck before the start of the Tribulation. 1 Corinthians 15:51, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,”

 6. and 7. - Babylon the Great, The Harlot and the beast:

The woman (harlot) riding the beast (False Prophet) represents the One World Religion of the tribulation located in Rome (seven mountains). She will be destroyed and replaced by the worship of the anti-Christ.

Revelation 17:5 “And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.”

Revelation 17:7 “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.”

Revelation 17:9, "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

Revelation 17:11 “And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”

What is the period of 590 AD to 1517 AD regarded as? Why? BIB 534-1 - 1-1

Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old Pakistani school girl who was shot last October by Taliban only wanted to get an education. The world has rightly been outraged by the attempt on her life. One of the most effective ways to control people is to keep them ignorant. Muhammad was born in 570 AD and added the perversion of his religion, Islam, to the dark ages. While Islam is an evil religion that used/ uses terrorist tactics to convert and/or keep people in the grip of Islam, much the same could be said about the Roman Catholic Church during the dark ages.
The years between 590 and 1517 AD are called “The Dark Ages” and indeed it was a time of suppression of Biblical Truth as the simple message of Jesus was degraded into legalism practiced to this day in some churches.

The story of Martin Luther's introduction to the book of Habakkuk is well known. This passage changed his life. Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” The 1517 posting of Luther's Ninety-Five Theses is credited as being the beginning of the Reformation.

In his book, “Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here” Tom Horn quotes Chuck Missler. “Innocent III murdered far more Christians in one afternoon than any Roman emperor did during his entire reign. In Spain alone over 3 million are recorded in Canon Llorente’s History of the Inquisition. These horrors remain as memorials to the dogmas which remain in force today. Millions over the centuries who simply refused to align themselves with the Roman Catholic heresies, dogmas, and practices were martyred for their faith.[314] Furthermore, in France on St. Bartholomew’s Day, Sunday, August 24, 1572, and for days afterward, up to seventy thousand Bible-believing Christians were brutally murdered.”

The Inquisition, called “The Holy Office,” was " instituted by Pope Innocent III and perfected by Pope Gregory IX." Hundreds of thousands were tortured and murdered during the Inquisition. Often the victim's crime was reading the Bible. As an aside, in 1981 the current pope, Pope Benedict XVI, became the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Some claim this is code name for the Office of Inquisition.

Purgatory was dreamt up by Pope Gregory the Great in 593 and made an official Catholic dogma at the Council of Florence in 1439. The Catholic Church holds a person's soul for ransom adding much to its coffers. Catholicism teaches that Jesus’ death only made it possible for one’s sins to be forgiven; however, the sinner must suffer in purgatory to be fit for heaven. And then there are indulgences still practiced today.

A Joint Declaration of Justification (JD) was signed on October 31, 1999, the same date as the 1517 posting of Luther's Ninety-Five Theses. The JD was a disclaimer of previous differences between the Lutheran World Federation and of the Roman Catholic Church. The coming One World Religion you think?

Who do you believe the identities of who the two witnesses are? Defend your answer.BIB 547-2 -16-7

Revelation 11:3-6, “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”

The identities of Two Witnesses will be Elijah and Moses based on powers given to them by God both in the past and during the Tribulation. Elijah could call fire from heaven and cause no rain for 3 ½ years. 1 Kings 18:37-38, “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”

2 Kings 1:10, “And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.”

Moses called down plague after plague on Egypt that related to their pagan gods/goddesses. Many of these plagues are similar the same as those recorded in the Book of Revelation.
Psalm 105:26, “He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen. They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

Psalm 105:28 “He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.” Amun Re was god of the sun; chief of the gods from whom all Pharaohs descended; creator; source of change of seasons.

Revelation 16:10, “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,”

Psalm 105:29 He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish. Revelation 11:6 (see above) Hapi was the spirit of the Nile; caused the annual flood, Khnum was a creator god; god of fertility; guardian of the Nile; deity of water and fertility and Osiris the God of resurrection and life; Nile liken to his bloodstream.

Added Later:

Ray Vander Laan's "God Heard Their Cry" was a great help to me in posting the above DQ. So in this reply I would not only like to give him credit but to add more about the plagues. Surely as God gave Moses the ability to counter the pagan gods of Egypt, he certainly will give power to the two witnesses to counter the antichrist and his minions during the time of the tribulation.

Exodus 9:11, "And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians."

Revelation 16:2, "And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image." Thoth was the Egyptian pagan god of wisdom and the moon, medicine and good health, learning and the arts.

What is the difference between sonship and inheritance? BIB 534-1-1-7

As I understand it, our salvation is assured due to our sonship and inheritance is a gift that is conditional. Full disclosure, when I state “as I understand it” this usually means that I'm still rather confused.

In Old Testament time the firstborn son would inheritance due to the order of birth. The attaining of his inheritance was conditional and it was dependent upon his obedience and his father's choice. In the case of Joseph's two sons, their grandfather Jacob reversed the blessings from the younger to the elder. There are many examples of the younger being granted the inheritance rather than the elder.

According to CM there will be “a difference between ‘Entering’ Heaven and having an ‘Inheriting’ when you get there.” CM quips that “An invitation to my home allows you to enter it, but not to rearrange the furniture. You can ‘enter’ a hotel; but that doesn’t mean you ‘inherit’ it. Inheritances (privileges) will be widely variable, as rewards… And many, when they ‘get to heaven,’ will be disappointed! (Glad to be there, of course, but upset because they will realize the opportunities that they have missed…).”

In his briefing CM alluded to tears in Heaven due to lost opportunities during our incarnation. So that in Heaven some may be relegated to an area distance from the presence of Jesus. In his briefing “Inheritance and Rewards” CM quotes Matthew 8:11-12, “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

People will be in heaven, however, possibly they will not be rewarded with a close proximity to Jesus. To me, this would be a cause for much "weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Crowns are promised in Heaven:

• The Crown of Life is promise for those who have “suffered for His sake.” Millions have been martyred in the pass two thousand years.

• The Crown of Righteousness is promised to those who loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

• The Crown of Glory is promised for those who “fed the flock.” There are those having a servant's attitude who gives freely of money and their time to various food banks and kitchens.

• The Crown Incorruptible is promised for those who press on steadfastly. Here in the United States the assault on Christianity increases daily. While we may not presently be at risk of being martyred, we face ridicule by standing firm in the Word of God.

Ref: Chuck Missler’s “Inheritance and Rewards”
KJV

What was the Year of Jubilee all about? BIB 547-2-15-1

Leviticus 25:8-13, “And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.” (KJV)
 
According to Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson the Jubilee year is currently not observed or commemorated because in the 6th century BCE, the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and sent the majority of its population into exile; historically known as the Ten Lost Tribes. Fold into this the destruction of the Second Temple; the Jubilee year was said to no longer be observed.

The Jubilee Year:
• Begins after Joshua's conquest
• All Debts forgiven
• Land returns to original owners
• Slaves go free

Fast forward to the first century, the Jubilee Year seems to me to be a “Do over opportunity.” Acts 3:19-21, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”

In the lead up to the end of 2012 there was much discussion and hand wringing about avoiding the financial cliff here in the United States of America. For so long and most notably through the election of 2012, the mantra of the rich don't pay enough has been a rallying cry for the progresses. It looks like there was a Band-Aid version of an agreement that avoided the so-called financial cliff for now. I for one was rather hoping we would go over the cliff and have something like a Jubilee year. In this country we have been out-of-control financially for so long that perhaps it is time for a “restitution of all things.” Also, to me the mantra of the rich don't pay their share is disregarding one of the 10 Commandments, “thou shall not covet.”

Discuss the history of abortion. BIB 547-2-5

According to CM the pagans had a law against abortion so severe that the woman killing her unborn child would in turn be killed. However that did not keep the pagans from often offering the newborn baby as a sacrifice to their gods.
 
In the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court granted women the constitutional right to terminate their pregnancies. So man’s law superseded God’s law. “Thou shalt not kill.” Exodus 20:13

Here in the United States something like 50 million unborn babies have been sacrificed at the altar of a woman's right to choose. It could be argued that approximately 50% of these aborted babies would have grown up to become women. Perhaps before the mother-to-be could feel life moving in her womb and before the availability of ultrasound she could convince herself that the unborn baby was just a blob of flesh. Some states have tried to require the mother-to-be to see an ultrasound of her baby before deciding on abortion and this is been fought by the pro-choice people. From early in gestation the formation of a living child can be seen in an ultrasound. By the 22th day the heart begins to beat. By the end of third week the child's backbone spinal column and nervous system are forming.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson who went from performing abortions to being pro-life began performing abortions in the 1960s and assisted in the founding the National Assn. for the Repeal of Abortion Laws. Dr. Nathanson started to have second thoughts about abortions. In 1984 he arranged the filming of an abortion in process. The ultrasound graphically showed the unborn baby "being torn apart, dismembered, disarticulated, crushed and destroyed" by the abortionist." The film became the basis of "The Silent Scream."

In my opinion abortion is murder period. Partial-birth abortion is particularly heinous . In some cases a viable baby is partially delivered with his head still in the uterus. Then the baby suffocates or the doctor inserts surgical scissors into the brainstem to make a hole there. He then inserts a vacuum tube and literally sucks out the brain of the baby. At that point the soft head of the child collapses and it can be slipped out of the uterus. In other cases where the fetus isn't quite that far along a vacuum tube is inserted into the uterus and moved around until the baby is literally torn apart and extracted in pieces. There are pro-life images of aborted babies floating in garbage cans.

There are many places the Bible that speaks to God forming the child in the womb and/or his knowledge of each of us from the very beginning of time. When Mary spoke to Elizabeth the six-month-old fetus in her womb that would become John the Baptist leaped for joy.
Psalm 139:13, "For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." (KJV)

What are the eschatological implications of the sealing of the 144,000? Are they around today? BIB 547-2-14-1

Had the 144,000 sought salvation prior to the Rapture they would have been snatched up and their witness would have been lost to Israel. I would suspect that the 144,000 servants were left behind either at God's direction as a witness to Israel or as they had been blinded by the blindness Jesus had pronounced on Israel. Luke 19:41-44, "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."

The 144,000 servants were under God’s protection as in Revelation 7:3, “Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” During the Tribulation much of Israel will come to faith in large major due to the 144,000 sealed servants of God. The saved remnant of Israel will cry out to Jesus. Hosea 5:15, “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.”

I would extrapolate the sealing of the 144,000 servants of God to the assurance that the Church is sealed to God and will be removed prior to the start of the tribulation. Lot was counted as a righteous man by God and He sent His angels to remove Lot before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Enoch was translated before the flood. These events offer assurance that we too will be raptured before the Tribulation. However, we will likely experience persecution.
As for where the 144,000 are presently, likely in Israel in a state of unbelief.

Why were there tears shed in 7:16-17? While there is still time, what are some things that are opportunities for you? BIB 547-2-14-7

The time I enjoy the most is in church singing praise and worship songs to the Lord. In Heaven we'll have an eternity to glorify God. When we are in heaven how much of the earth will we remember? Or will it be like looking through a glass darkly. Will we have any interest in our former life on earth, I rather doubt it. I think we will be so in a state of ecstasy that what happened on the earth will be of little importance. However, I would think we will have an awareness of those that we love who are not with us as well as the millions of people who been left behind to face the tribulation. So yes, there will be tears in heaven.

Like many parents, I am concerned for the salvation of my children. During my college days my children and I attended weekly church services. After college I drifted away and therefore of allowed my children to drift away from the church. Both of my children are very aware of my status as a born-again Christian and likely find it more entertaining than anything else. Since they're both pretty much set in their ways about all I can do is to pray for them and at least get them materials to study in the event they are left behind.

After the church has been rapture the only thing standing between those left behind in the deception of Satan will be what information we leave for them. I sent family members flash drives with lots of files including the hundred plus Old Testament prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. It is my prayer that my children will be influenced by these. And it's not just my children or family or friends that are left behind, I'm concerned about the millions upon millions of people who are destined to go through the hell on earth of the Tribulation.

The Internet offers many opportunities to witness to people. I network on Facebook and like, share and post. Yesterday I shared a post by Dave Hunt concerning Catholics not trusting the completed work of Jesus on the cross. I have an online blog that not many people wander into but now and then they do.

How can we not share 1 John 3:1-2, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

What comparisons are there between Joshua and Revelation? 547-13-7

Dr. Missler provided an extensive listing of Joshua as a “Type” of Revelation. Interesting timing as I just finished my last discussion question for I604 concerning types and symbols. A symbol is timeless and is something used to represent another thing. A type is prophetic symbolism, i.e. points to the future. So yes, Joshua is a “Type” of Revelation.”

“Yehoshua is a variant of Yeshua”

Joshua was “a military commander dispossessing the usurpers.” At His Second Coming, Jesus will defeat Satan and his minions.

“7 year campaign against 7 (of an original 10) nations.” There will originally be 10 kingdoms during the Tribulation later reduced to seven.

“Torah ignored at Jericho: (Sabbath ignored; Levites involved)”

“First sent in “Two Witnesses.” The witnesses sent in by Joshua saved Rehab and her family. Rehab was in the line of Jesus. During the first three and a half years of the Tribulation there will be two supernatural witnesses present in Jerusalem. They will be pleading with people to repent and come to faith in Jesus while there is still time.

“Seven Trumpet Events.” Joshua and company marched around Jericho seven times on the seventh day, silence. Then the Levites blew their trumpets and everyone shouted and the walls came tumbling down. During the Tribulation seven trumpets will be blown ushering in seven judgments.

“Proceeded by ‘Silence in heaven for ½ hour’.” There was silence just before the walls of Jericho came down just as there’ll be silence in heaven for half an hour.
“Enemies confederated under a leader in Jerusalem.” All the nations of the world will come to Jerusalem for one final battle. There will be a series of four battles. In one the Kings of the East may come up against the antichrist and his army and then join in with the antichrist to confront Jesus.

“Adoni-Zedek, ‘Lord of Righteousness.’” Lord Jesus will lead His army and defeat Satan.
“Ultimately defeated with:
– Hailstones and fire from heaven.
– Signs in the Sun, Moon, etc.” All of these will be part of the judgments inflicted upon the people of the earth during the tribulation.
“Kings hide in caves. (“Rocks fall on us…”)” Revelation 6:16, “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb”

Added later:

Hi Jeannie, possibly the reason there seems to be such a deviation from the Mosaic Law in the Book of Joshua is that it was prophetic of the coming of Jesus. Jesus was the sacrificial lamb and we are saved by grace and not through strict adherence to the law. With Jesus' death on the cross there no longer was a requirement for a blood sacrifice of animals. I sure don't know but this is just my suggestion.

What are the differences between Symbols and Types in Bible Prophecy? I604-07-6

Symbol vs. Type borrowing heavily from the provided videos:
 
A symbol is timeless and is something used to represent another thing. It can be a material object to represent an idea or concept that isn't material. The example presented is Bread being a symbol for the" Word of God."

A type is prophetic symbolism, i.e. points to the future. An example given of the essence of a type was Melchizedek and David as types of Christ. Both were men but at that point there is a departure. Melchizedek was an example of being both a King and Priest while David was a King. Other than Melchizedek the only other occurrences of being both priest and king are Jesus Christ and the Church.

Bread and wine are real objects that appear throughout the Bible. Melchizedek brought out "bread and wine" for Abram, perhaps suggestive of his future testing by God concerning his son Isaac. “The Bread of Affliction” and wine were part of the original Passover before Moses lead his people out of Egypt.

During the Passover Seder four cups of wine are set before each partaker of the meal:
Cup One, The Cup of Consecration. “I will take you out of Egypt”
Cup Two, The Cup of Deliverance
Cup Three, The Cup of Redemption
Cup Four, “I will take you to be My people!”

Matthew 26:26, “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Matthew 26:28, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus’ body and blood were symbolized by bread and wine during the Last Supper. Hours later his actual blood and body were offered up for our redemption.

Psalm 69:8, “I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children” and Psalm 69:12, “They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards” have been suggested as prophetic of the unique circumstances of the conception of Jesus. His brothers did not believe he was the son of God until after his resurrection. The Psalm also suggests that Jesus and his mother may have been ridiculed. Much of Psalm 69 is prophetic of the crucifixion including being given vinegar to drink. There also are suggestions of the second coming of Jesus as the avenging Lion of Judah. Psalm 69:34-35, “Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.”

Added Later:

It is hard to believe that it was only six weeks ago that I wrote a Sorites based on Jonathan Cahn's "The Harbinger: The ancient mystery that holds the secret of America's future." Rabbi Cahn built his book around Isaiah 9:10, "The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars."

I'm trying to internalize the vast amount of information that we covered in I604. I suspect that Isaiah 9:10 would be a type with prophetic symbolism and the hewn stones are symbolic of the Stone of Dedication incorporated into Ground Zero and later rejected.

From US Today:

"The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower, dedicated in a ceremony on July 4, 2004, is quietly trucked from Ground Zero to a stone yard on Long Island. Because of a design change in 2005 forced by security concerns — the latest in a series of delays to plague the project — the cornerstone is out of place and obsolete. Meanwhile, almost no progress has been made on what is supposed to be the nation's tallest building. Talk of returning the stone to the Trade Center site is just that; the 20-ton, 5-foot-high stone will remain in a garden in front of Innovative Stone in Hauppauge, where it's known as the Freedom Stone."
The removal of the Stone of Dedication from Ground Zero was used by dis tractors to show that perhaps the Rabbi was incorrect in his interpretation of Isaiah 9:10. However as someone later pointed out it could also be further symbolic of the rejected Cornerstone, Jesus Christ. And yes, it seems that many in the United States have rejected our Cornerstone as being " out of place and obsolete."

Discuss the relevance of the "Four Horsemen" to events of today?BIB 547-2-13-2

Likely the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will not appear until after the rapture the church; however, if you really listen you can almost hear the hoof beats of their horses charging onto planet earth. The first horseman will be an actual person, the antichrist. The remaining three are symbolic of future horrors.

For centuries it was assumed that the antichrist would come out of the Western Roman Empire. However, the Eastern Roman Empire lasted about a thousand years longer than the Western. Recently there's been more and more talk that the antichrist could be Islamic, case in point, Islam is known for beheading non-Muslims.

After the departure of the church in the Rapture there will be a near spiritual blindness on the earth lending to the acceptance of the antichrist. The antichrist is shown riding a white horse and carrying a bow with no arrows. The implication is that he will come into power promoting world peace rather than through war. Again, he will start out as a peacemaker and quickly show his true demonic nature. The antichrist will create a seven-year covenant with Israel ushering in the tribulation. Midway through the tribulation he will break his covenant with Israel and slaughter a pig in the temple. This will usher in the final three and a half years of the great tribulation.

As for the second horseman riding the red horse of war, it is just incredible what's going on out the world today. Presently it is not just wars between countries, between ethnic groups, the Islamic countries coming against Israel with the good wishes of the United Nations; now it is also the war on our children as recently witnessed in the state of Connecticut.
On the heels of war comes pestilence and famine. It will take a day’s work to buy enough food to support one person for a day. This is a strong indication of worldwide inflation. You don’t have to be a financial genius to see this coming to the United States. With all the talk about quantitative easing which is printing paper money with nothing behind it. Inflation basically is more and more dollars chasing less and less goods. As for pestilence, there are some deadly epidemics throughout the world. There is AIDS, Ebola, bird flu and more plus the ever present threat of a pandemic.

Then comes the pale horse of death with Hades writing at its heels.