Bible Study Seattle

Seed is very important to God.  After God created Adam & Eve, he said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”  Genesis 1:29

Doesn’t every plant have seed in it?  Why the emphasis on seed?  And why this: “Do not mate different kinds of animals.  Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.  Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.”  Leviticus 19:19

“When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend withhumans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them.  They were the heroes of old, men of renown.  The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Who were these sons of God?  Jude 6 tells us, “And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.”  These sons of God were angels who mated with human women to form a hybrid race of giants.  God put an end to this with Noah’s flood.

Good seed yields good fruit, and bad seed yields bad.  As for the good, “When you sow, you do  not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.  Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.  There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.  The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs for star in splendor.”  1 Corinthians 15:37-41

In our day, scientists use genetics to manipulate seeds.  They are called Genetically Modified Organisms, or Genetically Engineered.  This can’t be good.  It has to be Satan again trying to monkey with God’s seeds.

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”  Matthew 12:33

King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.  He did this to ensure peace with surrounding nations, but did God have a hand in it?  On the one hand there was this warning in Deuteronomy:

“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, take possession of it, live in it, and say, ‘We want to appoint a king over us like all the nations around us,’ you are to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses.  He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray.”  Deuteronomy 17:14,17

“And he [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church.”  Colossians 1:18  “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”  Romans 12:4-5

The church is the bride or body of Christ and Jesus is the head of Christ.  Just as the body has many members, so the bride of Christ is composed of many members.  Is this why Solomon had so many wives?  And why so many concubines?  Concubines had a lesser legal standing than wives.  Is this illustrating a separate class among the wives in heaven?  And even though 1,000 wives is a lot, it is still a small portion of the women in Solomon’s kingdom.  The wives are a very select bunch.  It is the same in heaven.  God is very picky about who qualifies to marry Jesus.  That is why it has taken so long for Jesus to come back: the bride has to be ready for the groom.  The selection process will take 2,000+ years to find all those whom God deems worthy to be Jesus’ bride.  Then he can come back and take his wife to be his own!

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”  Matthew 24:42

The prophetic year is 360 days.  360 times 3.5 is 1,260.  360 times seven is 2,520.  Both these numbers are almost divisible by 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 with one exception:  1260 is not divisible by 8.  Isn’t that curious?  Revelation has two prophecies of 1,260 days:

“And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”  Revelation 11:3

“The woman [the true church] fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.”  Revelation 12:6

One fulfillment of these is the period 539AD to 1799AD.  Napoleon struck a mortal blow to the Pope in 1799AD.  But 1,260 isn’t divisible by 8 and the prophecy doesn’t extend into the Eighth Day.  However, 2,520 does extend into the Eighth Day.  539AD plus 2,520 is 3059AD which is more than 7,000 years from the fall of Adam in 4127BC.  Is this a coincidence?

The Sun, Moon & Stars are all symbolic from a bible standpoint.  The Sun represents Jesus, the moon is the bride of Christ, and the stars are the brides’ maids in heaven.

“About Joseph he said: May the Lord bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below; with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield; with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;”  Deuteronomy 33:13-15

The sun can grow plants, but the moon can yield?  This only makes sense if it’s referring to Jesus and his bride’s children.

“Now no one can look at the sun,
bright as it is in the skies
after the wind has swept them clean.
Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;
God comes in awesome majesty.”  Job 37:21-22

This is likening Jesus to the sun.

“Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.”  Psalm 84:10-11

“Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.”  Psalm 148:2-4

Here is Jesus in the Millennial Day:
“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace.  All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty.  “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.”  Malachi 4:1-3

Here are all three referencing differing heavenly splendor:

“The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.”  1 Corinthians 15:41

Here’s the bride of Christ in the Millennial Day when resurrection of the multitudes brings healing:

“The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.”  Isaiah 30:26

Here are all people that go to heaven, symbolically called stars:

“I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.”  Genesis 26:4

All serious students of bible prophecy need to read Isaac Newton’s books on Daniel and Revelation.  Based on Daniel 12:4, he predicted that man would someday travel 50 miles in an hour.  Voltaire mocked him for this belief.  http://www.isaacnewton.ca/daniel_apocalypse/

The later chapters of Ezekiel mention a prince several times.  He is not a priest, but he’s evidently very important.  He’s not king, as that position is taken by Jesus, ruling from Heaven.  Scripture interprets itself and tells us who he is:

“The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the LORD. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.”  Ezekiel 44:3

“The prince will have the land bordering each side of the area formed by the sacred district and the property of the city. It will extend westward from the west side and eastward from the east side, running lengthwise from the western to the eastern border parallel to one of the tribal portions.”  Ezekiel 45:7

“All the people of the land will be required to give this special offering to the prince in Israel.”  Ezekiel 45:16

“What remains on both sides of the area formed by the sacred portion and the property of the city will belong to the prince. It will extend eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the sacred portion to the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. Both these areas running the length of the tribal portions will belong to the prince, and the sacred portion with the temple sanctuary will be in the center of them.”  Ezekiel 48:21

Here are declarations earlier in Ezekiel:

“I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.”  Ezekiel 34:24

“They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.”  Ezekiel 37:25

David will be the chief ruler in Israel in that day when he is raised from the dead.

Is this referring to Jesus?

“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.  Then I was constantly at his side.  I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.  Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways.  Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it.  Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.  For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord.  But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.”  Proverbs 8:22-36

How long was the ancient Cubit used in the construction of Solomon’s temple?  Sir Isaac Newton wrote a paper about ancient cubits, including the cubit used to construct the great pyramid at Giza.   http://www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk/view/texts/normalized/THEM00276

There’s a curious line from Daniel:  “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One [Jesus], the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’  It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.  After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler [Romans] who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.  The end will come like a flood:  War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.”  Daniel 9:25-26

The end will come like a flood?  Perhaps like Noah’s flood?  Three passages come to mind:

“In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer.  “To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.  So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.   Isaiah 54:8-10

The end is pictured as the days of Noah.  The mountains will be shaken and the hills removed – a lot of geologic change, yet after this the Lord will have a covenant of peace with his people.  Two other very related passages:

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.  That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.  Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  But understand this: If the owner of the house [Satan] had known at what time of night the thief [Jesus] was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house [the world] be broken into.  So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you [Christians] do not expect him.”  Matthew 24:36-44

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: People went on eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day Noah boarded the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same as it was in the days of Lot: People went on eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building.  But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, a man on the housetop, whose belongings are in the house, must not come down to get them.  Likewise the man who is in the field must not turn back.  Remember Lot’s wife!  Whoever tries to make his life secure will lost it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.  I tell you, on the night two will be in one bed:  One will be taken and the other will be left.  Two women will be grinding grain together:  One will be taken and the other left.”  Luke 17:26-35

For more details, we must study Noah’s flood.  It lasted 370 days.  Could that represent 370 years?  There are two periods that start with 40 days.  40 is the number symbolizing preparation for something new.  Could the days of Lot represent the time when Jesus is manifested to the whole world?  Will this be the battle of armeggedon?  Similar to Joseph’s violent revealing of himself to his brothers?  Who knows?

Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?  Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times.”  Matthew 18:21-22

Wow!  That sounds exhausting!  And why seventy times seven?  Why not eighty times eight?

Was Jesus referring to himself?  There was a prophecy from Daniel: “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.

“Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem [Cyrus’ decree] until the Anointed One [Jesus], the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It [the Second Temple] will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.  After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One [Jesus] will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler [Romans] who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood:  War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He [Jesus] will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’  In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering [the Crucifixion]. And at the temple he [not Jesus] will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”  Daniel 9:24-27

Jesus preached this seventy times seven forgiveness during his public ministry, in the first half of that last ‘seven’ that was decreed for the Jewish people.  After seventy times seven years, God would cast off his favor from his people Israel, and send his calling to the Gentiles.  All forgiveness of sins was accomplished in seventy times seven years (490 years) from the going forth of Cyrus’ decree to rebuild the Jewish Temple.  This period was exactly 455BC to 36AD – the conversion of Cornelius (a gentile).