Posted by: biblestudyseattle | December 5, 2013

The Rapture

The contemporary idea of the rapture (does this word derive from rupture? Is it a rupture combined with a raptor?) is that God will supernaturally fly away Christians just before He fries that bad guys with lots of lightning and massive zappage. Jesus mentions it and Paul expounds on it also:

“It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left.” Luke 17:28-35

These ‘one taken and the other left’ verses might just be a whisking away. Or it may be something more mundane. Lot was warned by the angel to flee to safer ground before The Lord roasted Sodom. Lot here represents the bridesmaid class of Christians still alive right before the battle of Armegeddon. This battle is still about 200+ years away. Actually there may be no battle at all. It’s unclear; the battle may be at the end of the Millennium. God may just supernaturally roast the unrepentant as in the days of King Hezekiah:

“Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh.” Isaiah 37:36-37

Even if this rapture occurs as is currently imagined, it will not exempt those Christians completely the evil of that time. It isn’t going to happen in the next twenty years. Remember Lot. He lived among very corrupt men.

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | December 5, 2013

The days of Noah

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37-39

“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.” Luke 17:26-30

Most people see that when Jesus returns, things will be going on as usual: marrying, buying, etc. But they also speculate that the world will be very corrupt. This is true to a point, but we have to remember that The Lord is not literally going to send a flood again. “I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” Genesis 9:11. Neither is the corruption exactly as it was in Noah’s day.

What will become apparent in a couple centuries is that people will not thoroughly understand until it’s all over. “And they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away.” Verse 39. It will take 370 years until the flood takes everyone away, still very future to us. What is interesting is that many people do not like this long 370 year process of cleansing the earth. They want it completed in their lifetime! But isn’t that making God in our image? We must be humble to take God’s plan just as He lays it out for us in scripture. “Not my will, but Yours be done.” Luke 22:42

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | December 4, 2013

Jonah Redux

“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said,
“I called out of my distress to the Lord,
And He answered me.
I cried for help from the belly of Sheol;
You heard my voice.
“For You had cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the current engulfed me.
All Your breakers and billows passed over me.
“So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight.
Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
“Water encompassed me to the soul of death.
The great deep engulfed me,
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
“I descended to the roots of the mountains.
The earth with its bars was around me forever,
But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.” Jonah 2:1-6 NASB

Most churches preach that Jonah survived three days in the fish. Not so. Jonah fell all the way to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. “Weeds were wrapped around my head.” Verse 5. That Jonah died comes from verse 2 and 5, “I cried for help from the belly of Sheol.” “Water encompassed me to the soul of death.” Sheol is death in Hebrew. God revived Jonah in the belly of the fish. “Then Jonah prayed to The Lord his God from the stomach of the fish.” Verse 1

Why do churches preach that Jonah lived through the whole ordeal? Because they believe that only Jesus body died while his disembodied soul flew off to preach to other disembodied souls in the netherworld. “He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits.” 1 peter 18-19
This scripture shows that Jesus didn’t make this proclamation until he was made alive – three days after he was killed, not the instant he was killed. Jonah was the only sign the general public was given at that time. “But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;”. Matthew 12:39

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | December 2, 2013

Lunar week

A lunar month is 29.53059 days. One quarter of that is a lunar week. About 7.38 days. Noah’s 370 days is 50 lunar weeks. It’s actually 369.13 days, which would be in the early part of the 370th day. Pentecost is 50 days from Passover, and encompasses the barley and wheat harvests. 370 years will encompass the raising of both classes of Christians.

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | November 29, 2013

Spiritual Death

Spiritual death is defined as separation of the soul from God. Physical death is sometimes defined as separation of the soul from the body. Both these definitions assume the soul is a separate entity trapped in the body as long as the body is alive. They also assume the soul is immortal.

“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

Genesis declares that our bodies are made of earth, then a spark or breath or spirit activates them. The combination is a living being, or soul. The soul then is just a living body (as opposed to a dead one). It’s like a car. A parked car is like a dead body. Only when the spark ignites the fuel does the car come to life. If you take away the spark, the car will die. So with us. Remove the spirit (or breath), and we die. Therefore you cannot have spiritual death without getting bodily death. Spiritual death is an oxymoron. It rests on false premises planted in our minds by Satan himself. It is supposed as a solution to this scripture:

“but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:17

Spiritual death solves the fact that Adam didn’t die for 930 years. Or does it? The bible defines ‘day’ more loosely than 24 hours. Adam did die that day – that thousand year day.

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” 2 Peter 3:8

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | November 28, 2013

70 year life

J. R. Church has an interesting analogy. An average 70 year lifespan is prophetic of man’s 7,000 year Day. Babies start out very innocent as did Adam & Eve in the garden. Then, at about two years, kids enter a period of rebelliousness, as did Adam & Eve in the fall. Things are fairly carefree during the first ten years of life. Then things get more iffy at thirteen to sixteen. 1600 years after Adam is about when God had to wipe out mankind and start over with Noah’s flood.

At 20, people start to feel the need to move out of the house and onto the next thing. Abraham moved away from home 2000 years after Adam. At 25, insurance rates come down as a person becomes more responsible and law-abiding. 2500 years after Adam, Moses was given the Law. At 30 years, a person develops some wisdom. 3000 years after Adam, Solomon was endowed with magnificent wisdom. At 40 years a person has glimmers of hope as they are fully mature. 4000 years after Adam, Jesus came, giving hope to many. Shortly thereafter, in their 40s, a person goes into a bleak period. 4300+ years after Adam, the world fell into the dark ages. About 55 or so and a person starts to look forward to retirement. 5500 years after Adam was the Reformation and Renaissance, fueled by the printing press and other technologies. From 60-70, a person retires, resting and enjoying the fruits of their labor. 6000-7000 years after Adam is the Millennium, when Jesus reigns. It starts subtly, and gains momentum into the height of retirement about 65-66 years of age. At 70 years, a person again has trouble briefly as they are soon at death’s door. At 7000 years after Adam, the world world will experience a short period of trouble, when the world is last tested for allegiance to Jesus.

“When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:7-10

The last verse is a mistranslation. It should say, ‘and they were tormented for a time (age).’ They were tormented only during Jesus’ thousand year reign. They are then permanently destroyed (annihilated).

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | November 28, 2013

Ezekiel 3, 18, 33

“At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself. Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.” Ezekiel 3:16-21

“But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?

“But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die. Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed he will die. Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all his transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. But the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Are My ways not right, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?” Ezekiel 18:21-29

“And you, son of man, say to your fellow citizens, ‘The righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’ When I say to the righteous he will surely live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but in that same iniquity of his which he has committed he will die. But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness, if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statutes which ensure life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live.” Ezekiel 33:12-16

When The Lord says the righteous will not die, he is not talking about ordinary death. We are all appointed to die once, as we are of Adam’s seed. The Lord here is referring to second death. And when he says that the righteous that turn to evil will die, he is still referring to second death. Isn’t that a sobering thought? The righteous can turn to evil after their resurrection in the millennium, and die! Would that include Christians? This should give pause to any self-righteous Christians who assume that by simple mental belief they are guaranteed immortality. No! It requires work. For if we will not forgive or brother, The Lord will not forgive us. We will have plenty of time to demonstrate this in the millennium.

Many confuse resurrection and eternal life. They are not the same. All are guaranteed resurrection to a second life. But only those whose faith is demonstrated in their second life will be granted life eternal.

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | November 26, 2013

Truth

Does truth come from T+Ruth? Ruth represents the bride of Christ: faithful, humble, hard-working, kind, etc. T represents the cross, or Jesus. Indeed, when the church is joined to Jesus, we will have truth. It is appropriate that T is at the head of Truth; she follows right behind him. The T-Ruth shall set you free. Free from death, disease, worry, sorrow, and all that’s evil.

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | November 20, 2013

Ravens

After the second Great Disappointment, what will happen? Here we get into speculation. If we assume the raising of the church takes 370 years per Noah, we notice that after the halfway point:

“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.” Genesis 8:1-7

Why are the tops of the mountains visible? Mountains often represent kingdoms in the bible. Could it be that Christ’s kingdom is coming into view at that point? Here the remaining believers ‘see’ the bride complete. After a period of preparation (40 days), a raven is sent out. Isn’t that curious?

Ravens are curious birds, very smart and tricky. They have been known to help people.

“Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.” 1 kings 17:2-6

Elijah represents believers, so Is God showing us that ravens will be sent out to succor believers?

“Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” Luke 23:24-25

Jesus is showing us the concern of God. Even at that terrible point in history, God will not have forsaken those that are his.

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Posted by: biblestudyseattle | November 18, 2013

The Great Disappointment

“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” Luke 24:19-21

To say the disciples were disappointed at Jesus’ death is an understatement. They all assumed he would come, route out the bad guys (Rome), and restore Israel to glory surpassing even that of King David and Solomon.

It is the same today. Christians assume Jesus will come in dramatic fashion from the clouds, wipe out the bad guys (non believers), and beam up all believers to heaven, leaving the earth burning in flames. To say they will be disappointed will again be an understatement.

There are so many parallels. How did Jesus come the first time? As an embryo hidden in Mary’s womb! It was a secret to all but a few. The second time is no different. Only a relatively few have the faith to ‘see’ Jesus’ second coming via the time prophecies in the bible. After thirty years growing up, Jesus appeared publicly to the people. So with the second time. After probably about 600+ years he will appear publicly, but this time to every person that’s ever lived, whereas the first time he appeared only to the Israelites.

The disappointment came half way through Daniel’s 70th year. “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,” Daniel 9:26
“And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering;”. Daniel 9:27

After three and a half years of public ministry, Jesus was cut off (killed). So too, half way through the ‘thief’ part of Jesus’ second coming, the church (the bride class) will be cut off (killed and finished), leaving the remaining believers disconsolate. Their assumptions about the second coming will be proven wrong, and they will wonder what their future is. But Jesus will come to their aid, spiritually showing them how the scriptures had to be fulfilled.

“And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ [church] to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” Luke 24:25-27

This time the explanation will apply to the church (bride) rather than Jesus (bridegroom). Those remaining believers will be given courage to remain in their faith. Whereas this occurred 3.5 years into Jesus’ first coming, it will be 180 or 185+ years into his second coming. (Assuming the days of Noah represent the raising of the firstborn – 370 years, or possibly 360). Whether a literal Antichrist person will rule for seven years immediately before being wiped out at Armegeddon, I don’t know. But it certainly won’t happen before the church (bride) is gone. Remember that the church consists of the bride (priests) and the bridesmaids (Levites). One is a sacrificing class, the other is a serving or assisting class. The bride will be complete first. And if this is wrong, God will humble me!

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