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If all denominations of Christ’s Church are the ‘Body of Christ’, then why are there so many different interpretations of God’s Word? Why is it each person has a different interpretation of the Scriptures now days, much like playing a game of trivia to see who can yet come up with a new ‘angle’ on God’s Word. Many seem to think that when they are baptized into Christ that they immediately become sacred scholars of The Word, and whatever the interpretation they roll around like a marble in their mind and comes out, ‘ping’, must be the right one, all without verifying it through the Scriptures by study and prayer to God for guidance. Are many teachers that claim to be teaching God’s Word responsible for this state of mind? I think so. Can I honestly say that? Again, yes. Why? So many people are confused today about The Word because mainly, they rely on someone else to do their studying for them. They can’t believe that they could ever be taught a false doctrine from some preacher in a Church. It’s like they think there is some sacred ‘threshold’ at the entrance way of that Church building that once crossed, all deception and false doctrine is left at the door. It may not enter in, for God would not allow it. Does God’s Word give examples of false doctrines, and even ‘evil spirits’ existing in the Church? You bet! Read and heed:

Mark 1:23   And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
24    Saying, “Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee Who Thou art, the Holy One of God.”

Whoa…what’s this ‘unclean spirit’ doing here in the ‘synagogue’, which is God’s Temple. Not only was this ‘unclean spirit’ right there in God’s House, but no one else even knew it, until Jesus walked in, and then that evil spirit spoke right up, revealing itself.
Just to make sure that you don’t get the wrong impression that this event only took place while Jesus was on earth, and that it only could happen in a Jewish synagogue as some false ones teach, is there an example of evil abominations in another Church? Yes!:

Rev 2:12   And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; ‘These things saith He Which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

     This message is direct from Jesus to the Church at Pergamos, which was a main city of Mysia at the Caicus River in northwest Asia Minor, which is modern Turkey today.

Rev.2:13    I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

     This reference by Christ that they dwelled where Satan’s seat is, refers to the temple of Athena and the temple of Zeus that was also there in Pergamos. Pagan idolatry right around God’s Church. The Christians there had to be strong to prevent false doctrines from creeping in. Jesus is here recognizing their ‘faith’ in Him, and that they were also teaching in His Name, so not all the members were guilty of the next verses.

Rev.2:14    But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

     Doctrines of idol worship,’Balaam’ right IN the Church, that is the message here by our Lord and Savior dealing with this Church at Pergamos. Well what’s this ‘Balaam’ anyway? Balaam was a diviner from Moab that Balak the king of Moab hired to curse the Israelites. It backfired though (see Numbers 22). God controlled Balaam’s prophetic utterances, and only good things came out of his mouth towards Israel, instead of cursings that Balak wanted.
However, when the Israelites camped in Moab before continuing over the Jordon river, Moabite women enticed the sons of Israel into a ritual sexual form of idolatry, which God then punished them for by causing a ‘plague’ within Israel’s congregation (Num. 25). Here’s what The LORD told Moses to do to those of direct guilt for punishment:

Num 25:4    And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.
5    And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.

     Maybe some think this was a little thing that some within the congregation of Pergamos were doing. Just a little ‘ju-ju’ bead here or there (Quija board maybe?), and a little slip of fornication by a few brothers and sisters. Not hardly, for this guilt of Pergamos was a ‘ritual sexual idolistic’ form of whore-ship as part of a ceremonial prayer to false gods. How many of God’s Commandments were broken here?
I’ll bet many would say this isn’t going on today in many of God’s Churches. “Well, it just couldn’t, that’s all, it just couldn’t.” Wrong! It could and can. Want examples? Can you say that no one in your Church has never or is not possibly now committing fornication out of wedlock? Let’s see, what’s the average age down to now for teenage sex out of wedlock? Got any teenagers or even adults in the congregation playing computer or board games at home dealing with Satanic themes? What about music dealing with Satanic themes? Any there in the Church that might be taking part in secret lodge rituals and initiation ceremonies with Satanic paraphernalia and symbology? Are there some teens in your Church that may be involved in some gang, or similar club? You really don’t know for sure, do you? But in today’s world, one can definitely suspect so, because we are being bombarded with ‘psychic’ networks, satanic Hollywood movies, even on the TV. Where did the word Easter really come from, and is your Church representing Easter for Christ’s time of resurrection, or properly as Passover which is the Greek word ‘pascha‘ in Acts 12:4 which was falsely translated Easter? In other words, today we are really living amongst false temples around our Churches, such as the ones that were surrounding the Church at Pergamos. For these abominations being followed many in the congregation are sick and suffer from bad health.
I really sympathize with the good leaders of many of today’s Churches. It’s difficult enough to maintain the re-occurring job of correcting our children away from such things, especially since most of their school friends are doing and getting away with many of the above abominations. And many of these despicable things are taught to the public as being harmless, so naturally those children not disciplined in God’s Word want to follow the popularity acts of the day. This makes the job of correcting the adult members within the congregation away from these abominations even the more laborious. On top of that, add the pressures of political control that can exist within a Church organization or system. It’s one thing to teach the congregation against these things, but another to actually commit to disciplining the members found guilty and removing those evils from amongst the Body of Christ. However, doing just that, purging the evil away from you if a member refuses to repent in trying to turn away from those things is God’s requirement. It was this message that Jesus gave that “…if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”(Matthew 5:29). This ‘body’ Jesus was referring to here is the ‘Body of Christ’, not the flesh body. The sad part to all this is that since many congregations don’t regard Old Testament Law as being in effect anymore, they continue to allow these abominations to continue within the ‘many membered Body of Christ.’ Instead they use their own moral judgement for handing out discipline, replacing God’s Law handed down to His People through Moses. (The ‘ordinances’ dealing with animal sacrifice, i.e., blood ordinances, are the only part of God’s Law that Jesus fulfilled on the cross which were transferred to the spiritual sacrifice that Christ’s death represents [see Ephesians 2:15; Hebrews 9] . The remaining Law, Commandments, Judgements, and Statutes still stand.)
Don’t get me wrong with this message. We are not to go on a rampage against everyone we may think that is doing something wrong. No dark age stuff, please. But if you know someone within your Church who is purposefully trying to corrupt the youth, and teach things contrary to Scripture for the purpose of breaking the congregation apart, then you should pass out discipline according to God’s Word, not your own. This also means understanding God’s Message about false teachers. A good speaker that is talented with carrying on stories of the world and never getting around to teaching God’s Word is one example, and probably one of the most common in many Churches today. If you’ve been a baptized Christian for thirty years in that same Church and you don’t know any more about The Word than Salvation and baptism, because that’s all that is taught, then there’s the ‘rub’. It doesn’t take much time out of the service to teach a short message of salvation to the non-believer. If God’s Message given to us from His Word is taught, especially Chapter by Chapter and verse by verse, which His Word is the Power to save, not us, then that non-believer won’t need much teaching on how to get baptized; they’ll know and do it once the process is barely mentioned to them. We already have plenty of ‘milk’ Churches to bring the majority of non-believers to Christ, but we need more ‘meat’ of God’s Word Churches to make ‘disciples’ of Christ.
Jesus’ message to the Church at Pergamos continues:

Rev.2:15    So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
16    Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

     I haven’t found much on this doctrine of ‘Nicolaitans’ and no credible source, nevertheless, Jesus said He didn’t like it. We can speculate what this act was, but it would be unprofitable. I can offer this much, and you can do some research for yourself. The word ‘Nicolaitans‘ is from the Greek ‘Nikos‘ which means ‘to conquer‘, and ‘Laodikeus‘ a Greek word which means an inhabitant of Laodicia. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon refers to the person Nikolaos meaning ‘victor of the people’, and also who was a proselyte at Antioch and one of seven deacons of the congregation at Jerusalem.(Strong’s no. 3532). This may refer to an ecclesiatic authority set up over the Church that was causing a ‘system’ of control over several Churches. In my opinion, this doctrine represents any organized control over which particular creeds, doctrines, and teachings are taught, as governed by a ‘head’ organization in control outside of the Church, which takes away from Jesus Christ being the True and Only Head of the Church.
Jesus is telling those guilty of these abominations to ‘repent’, which means to make a change, or He would bring the ‘Sword’ of His Spirit upon them.

How about the existence of ‘false apostles’ teaching in the Church?

Rev 2:1   Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; ‘These things saith He That holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, Who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2    I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

In the Church at Ephesus here, there were false ‘apostles’ within the Body. An ‘apostle’ is a ‘sent one’ from God, a leader, a teacher, maintainer of The Law among God’s People. The fact that ‘liars’ is attached to this means they were presenting ‘false doctrines’. The words ‘hast tried them’ means the congregation verified what they were being taught and found these false apostles to be liars. Paul gives us another reference in 2 Cor.11 about how false teachers can exist in the Church:

2 Cor 11:3    But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4    For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

This is a very important message by Paul, and for us today in these times. Paul is giving us a ‘particular’ false doctrine to watch out for in these two verses. It is the false doctrine of ‘another Jesus‘. “Well, I thought there was only one Jesus?” That’s the ‘key’! There truly is only one ‘authentic’ Jesus. So who is this ‘another Jesus’? It is Satan himself, setting himself up in God’s Temple in Jerusalem, proclaiming to be God (Jesus Christ, Immanuel). You’ll find this taught very clearly even by Christ Himself in Matt.24; Mark 13; and Luke 21, giving the Apostles there the seven ‘signs’ of the endtime or ‘seven seals’ of Revelation, and that “…if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:” Mark 13:21. I didn’t take that verse out of context. The subject there is the events leading up to the second return of Jesus Christ. This was a private teaching given to the Apostles then with Christ, and for the Apostles living today. Not everyone will understand. Search the following to get up to speed on Satan playing the role of Christ, on earth, in the near future (Ezekiel 28; 2 Thess.2; Isaiah 14; Revelation 12 & 13). It is also important to recognize in Mark 13:24 that Jesus is telling us His return won’t be until ‘after that tribulation’, the tribulation referred to in verses 19-20 of that same Chapter, the ‘great tribulation’ of Satan that has everyone so stirred up these days. In essence, this doctrine of a ‘false Messiah’, which is Satan playing the role of Messiah, before the second coming of Christ, is included within Paul’s message of ‘another Jesus’ in 2 Cor.11.
So those who are sitting on Church pews, listening and engulfing doctrines from every little old preacher that claims to be teaching God’s Word, and not ‘trying’ that teacher against God’s Word, well, I guess, ‘ignorance is bliss’. We are all sinners in the flesh, including myself. I’m not putting myself above anyone. If this message is too harsh for your ears, then ‘click’, and I’m outta here. It’s up to each individual to search The Word of God’s Truth. These things are harsh for many because they only want to hear ‘smooth things’ in their ears. This way they can go home after Church service with that feel good emotion, and continue their ‘rat-killin’, and think that’s all they have to do to be in line with God’s Word. Am I saying that we should not feel joy being in Christ, no, heaven forbid. But I don’t have to worry about teaching ‘sweet smooth things’, and I’m not going to, because you’ll find plenty of milk candy-coated messages elsewhere. If you don’t have enough emotional discipline about you to take criticism when God needfully dishes it out, then you will have shut seventy-five percent of His Word out of your life, and would then deserve His punishment.That’s why it’s important to study His Word, and not the many false creeds and traditions carried on within many Church systems.

     God bless His True Churches, the Body of Christ, and all those of the many membered Body searching for the True Church.
Dave Ramey.

There certainly is a lot of confusion between Christians dealing with the study of our Father’s Word, which are the best resources to use, which Church to attend, or even if just a King James Version is all that’s required. Just as many people as there are in the world, each could probably have their own opinion on these questions. In my opinion, fads answer these questions for many.  “Well, what do you mean by fads?”, one might ask.  It’s natural for people to want to belong to something, making a statement about their identity:  in other words, they use a ‘fashion’ or ‘fad’ to link the importance of self. During most cases, they will change who they really are in order to conform to the ‘fad’ or peer pressure of that group. Each person may have a different reason for changing, but the effect, all in all, is the same.  They try to become someone or something else.  God made each one us for a special reason, to fulfill His Plan.  Trying to become something you’re not, is very dangerous, and most of the time, will lead you off of His intended path. When you finally discover that His Truth is your goal, then ‘fads’ become part of the immature stages of adolescence. As Paul would teach in 1 Cor 13, that when he was a child, he spoke as a child, thought as a child, but when he became a man, he put away childish things, so also, in becoming a mature Christian, we must put away the ‘fads’ of this world.  Now that I’ve beat this to death, here’s the point.
To be caught up in the ‘fad’ of asking which Church someone attends before they will converse in The Word with you (this is the condition), is in the category Paul was talking about, ‘childish things’. Don’t misunderstand me. There’s nothing wrong with asking someone where they attend Church, but when their purpose of asking is for the reason of putting you into their little category of ‘fads’, so they can label every thing out your mouth afterwards, might this mean they are deceived?  Maybe Churches should issue buttons for everyone to wear, like campaign election buttons and what not. Then maybe Christians from different denominations can get down to the meat in God’s Word, instead of playing popularity games.
Where is this type of ‘fad’ reasoning coming from?  Babel, i.e., confusion, and that state is due to the lack of proper study in The Word, and one’s own personal insincerity.   Remember, to follow a fad is to willfully try to change into something you’re not. Which Church to attend, which Bible to study, and how you study, have become ‘fads’ with many.  My mother used to tell me that if I didn’t go to her particular brand of Church, then I was doomed to ‘hell’. I would normally say that God’s Church is the Body of Christ (see I Cor.10). A good question in that situation might be:  if Chinese people living in China studying God’s Word don’t have your particular religious denomination available, or not any except God’s Word only, yet they have taken all the steps in becoming a Christian, believing on Christ as you did, does that mean they’re doomed? Would this also mean that if some person of any non-English speaking nation who couldn’t read a King James Version, could never be a Christian, since some say that the King James is the only Word of God? God forbid. That’s why the true Body of Christ is not tied to denominations, or a particular building which puts up a sign on their lawn teaching The Word. This ‘fadism’ has become a problem with which Bible is chosen for study. Have you ever heard, “the King James is the only Bible! It’s God’s Word, and there’s no errors in It!  It’s Perfect! God wouldn’t allow errors in His Word! You don’t need anything else!” Might that attitude be an excuse for laziness in our Father’s Word? “Ah, just give me a button to wear and then maybe I won’t have to study at all!” (I’m joking) But seriously, many of these people also don’t realize that their teacher in most cases, if having attended seminar, is familiar with several other study resources and Bible versions. That teacher may be misleading the congregation by not making that Church aware of the original manuscripts and study resources, but when all is said, who is truly responsible for studying God’s Word?  Each one of us, individually. No one can do your studying for you.  So throw those buttons away, and get into our Father’s Word.  Don’t allow the things of this world to build divisions among you. Let’s see what Paul had to say about religious ‘fads’ (doctrines of man).  Turn with me to I Cor.3:

1 Cor 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

Paul is talking to the congregation at Corinth that they’re thinking with their ‘flesh mind’ instead of the ‘spiritual mind’.  Since flesh can’t fathom the deep mysteries of the spirit, he was forced to talk to their ‘flesh mind’. He had rather come there to further their ‘spiritual’ understanding in the ways of Christ.

1 Cor 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

This particular Church wasn’t ready for the Word ‘full strength’, because they were still on ‘milk’, if Paul had taught them ‘meat’, they might have become more confused.  (This is a message to God’s teachers today.  We have to go easy for some because they’re still on the milk bottle, but even as infants eventually wean, the ‘meat’ should be forthcoming. Don’t worry, you’ll know if you’ve gone too fast and far teaching The Word to ‘spiritual infants’; the Holy Spirit will let you know.) Do you think this Church at Corinth was ready for the ‘mystery’ of their previous spiritual existence in the first earth age? 

1 Cor 3:3   For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

Paul is telling them that since they are thinking with the ‘flesh’, all the bad emotions associated with the flesh caused them to be as the world, and not as the Body of Christ.  You tell me friend, once you have worked to establish a bridge with our Father in the Spirit, and then decide to go the way of flesh, seeking out your own selfish desires, do you sense true understanding of yourself and your purpose in the world dropping with that bridge also?

1 Cor 3:4   For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Yeah, now we’re gettin’ to It! What’s this?  Some in the congregation were creating divisions!  “I’m of Paul! He’s the one I follow!”, says one, and, “Well, I’m of brother Apollos, he represents the True Word to me!”, says another. Looks like they forgot to study God’s Word, huh?  Let me see, did Paul or Apollos die on the cross for our sins? Can you understand how our ‘flesh’ can take over our thinking? This type of thinking can only happen to you if YOU allow it.  I can’t help it, I think Paul has just given us a great example of ‘buttons’ (i.e.,’fads’ in the Church).

1 Cor 3:5   Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

     Notice the words ‘by whom‘ in this verse?  Christ gives knowledge of the Holy Spirit to each one that comes to Him and fulfills the requirement of Christian;  no man can claim that Spirit and Knowledge as sole owner. The word ‘ministers‘ is diakonos in the Greek, meaning ‘an attendant, someone who runs on errands‘ (Strong’s no. 1249).   Boy, that really puts Paul’s and Apollos’ position in perspective compared to Christ, doesn’t it? Compared to God, we’re as ‘filthy rags‘ (Isaiah 64:6).

1 Cor 3:
6     I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7    So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
8    Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
9    For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

      You can plant ‘seeds’ of God’s Truth, another disciple can do the first watering to help the seeds germinate, but without God providing that ‘latter rain’ from the Holy Spirit, it will not grow.(Go to Jeremiah 3; Zech.10; Joel 2; James 5:7 for a ‘spiritual explanation of this ‘former’ and ‘latter rain’. Don’t use your ‘flesh mind’ while reading those verses, try to think in the ‘spiritual’, look beyond the physical and you’ll understand.) We are nothing without Him. You can try to force your way into heaven by believing on the ‘wheel of birth’, but it won’t work, no one can do their own salvation.
Don’t let the ‘systems’ of this world come between you and our Father. You don’t need traditions to understand The Word.  Christ doesn’t do buttons…can’t pin one on Him. Our Father is Who we need. Worship Him instead.

Peace be with you in Christ Jesus,
Dave Ramey.

As the ‘latter days’ quickly approach God’s people on earth, it seems that more and more people are coming to The Lord, with the spiritual drive to study. In my opinion, one only need look around at world affairs to sense that great happenings are upon all of us.  Many of man’s religious systems have become like ‘dross’ metal, loosing their tensile strength by not staying with our Father’s Word, instead teaching doctrines and creeds that belong to certain ordered groups of individuals. Many people are getting fed up with these certain religious ‘systems’ and are studying on their own, or within a study group.  These same people are still attending those religious functions of man’s systems. However, beautiful, sweet candy messages just aren’t getting the job done anymore for many.
I have had more than one conversation with some teachers of The Word that admitted to some of the deeper messages in The Word that I had asked them about (one message was about Genesis 1:2 being the destruction of a first earth age of man’s existence, long before the flood of Noah).  Of course my next question was, “Do you teach these deeper messages in The Word to your congregation?”   The majority of the answers were, “No.  You would loose about seventy-five percent of the members if these deeper messages from The Word were taught.”  Then I would ask, “Well, what about the twenty-five percent of the congregation that would understand?”  And then there was ‘silence’.
God put times and seasons in His creation, meaning He has a timetable for everything.  There was once when the deep ‘pearls’ of God’s Word were not meant to be taught openly to the masses, i.e., when Jesus taught in parables to the crowds throughout the Gospel.  But now, today, and since Jesus died on the cross, those ‘pearls’ are to be opened up to everyone, whether they understand with ‘eyes and ears’ or not.  As written in the last Chapter of the Book of Malachi, the spirit of Elijah was promised by God to the people in the ‘latter days’, and he would turn the ‘heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers‘ (plural). If you’ll remember that the ‘two-edged sword’ of Jesus cuts both ways, and that ‘sword’ is a symbol for God’s Truth, then you have part of the key to this message in Malachi.  (Hang with me, I’m not getting off the subject.) In other words, have you ever been in a situation where you knew a ‘truth’ that someone else just couldn’t handle?   Maybe because they weren’t mature enough, or for whatever reason, they got really angry at you when you told them?  Have you ever held back the ‘truth’ from a loved one because you were afraid it might hurt their feelings? Maybe you had told a little ‘white lie’ to hide the ‘truth’ in that situation?  Now we’re in the ballpark concerning what I’m talking about.
That’s what teaching the deeper message of God’s Truth to the people will do.  For those who are supposed to hear It with ‘eyes to see, and ears to hear’, understanding It, they will ‘return’ to their Father, set free from bondage.  And for those who think you’re evil for teaching such things as God’s Word full strength, they’ll want to lash out at you, or even maybe even wish to kill you, as they did the prophets of God, because you revealed the Truth and It was too much for them to handle!  In essence, for those, the ‘two-edged sword’ of God’s Word will ‘divide’ them, turning their hearts back to their father (note this in lowercase!).  Do you remember what God told Ezekiel, that if he didn’t go and teach The Word to the people, whether they understood or not, then his soul would be in danger; but if he did go and teach the ‘dry bones’ (meaning spiritually dead without ‘eyes to see or ears to hear’), then he will have preserved his soul?(see Ezekiel 3 & 37).  We as Christians are not to fear those who can kill the body, but The One Who can destroy both body and soul in the ‘lake of fire’ (Matt.10:28).  Those who can’t decide which way to believe when they hear the True Word, you know, kind of haven’t quite made their mind up yet;  well, lot of the time, they’ll just walk off and go back to their daily chores, not giving the situation much thought.  And that’s alright in a way, because most of those at least believe in The Lord Christ as Savior.  They truly are ‘lost sheep’, innocents, and are easily led to the ‘spiritual slaughter’.
For this reason, God’s Word should be taught with great boldness, with expression, and conviction. There should be no ‘letting up’ on the Holy Spirit’s force to teach God’s Truth, even the graphic Word that many congregations might think too sensitive to hear in their presence.  Don’t be a ‘reed shaking in the wind’, blowing this way, “well this man says”, and blowing that way, “well that man says”!  Teach It straight on and wake the ‘dry bones‘ up!  If many of the congregation get up and leave, then they were probably not there to serve God anyway. In Ezekiel 13, God has a message for those who teach their own vain visions, claiming that God spoke to them, when He did not.  He is pretty angry there at those so-called teachers of His Word, who are not ‘filling up the gaps’ of His Word so that the people can withstand the ‘fiery darts of Satan’!
It really is sad that a person starts kindergarten at an early age, goes through grade school, high school, and then maybe on to college, about 18 years of schooling, and that person in most cases is totally illiterate as to God’s Word, and still in spiritual bondage.  Well, you might be saying, “If that person believes on Jesus, then how is he or she in bondage?”  If that person doesn’t know what he or she is supposed to be doing right now to get ready for a ‘false Messiah’ coming, before the True Christ Jesus, they might wrongly believe on the this ‘other Jesus’ (Satan playing the role of Christ), as Paul would write in II Cor.11.(Also see II Thess.2, Ezekiel 28, Isaiah 14). You will also discover in Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22 that the phrase ‘false Christs‘, although it is plural in the King James, is ‘pseudochristos‘ in the Greek. (Strong’s no.5580).  This word ‘pseudochristos‘ is singular in the Greek, meaning ‘a spurious Messiah‘, and as a comparison on words, the Greek word ‘Christos‘ means ‘Christ’, singular, only One, not many. That is to say, that Jesus Himself was teaching us there in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 that ‘a spurious Messiah‘ would come to earth to deceive many, playing the role of The Christ, sitting in God’s Temple, working miracles in the sight of men, and that this happens before our Savior’s return on the second Advent (see II Thess.2; Ezekiel 28; find out where God’s chosen place to dwell on earth is, and you’ll know where God’s Temple on earth is, in Jerusalem).
I know there are a lot of good teachers of God’s Word out there, that understand what I’m talking about.  For the people who don’t, get into our Father’s Word.  You should be able to check out someone teaching The Word.

Peace be with you in Christ Jesus,
Dave Ramey.

This is a very important message for those who would be deceived about the events in Jerusalem today. It has special regard as to the building of the third Temple in the land of Israel. This message will not be received by those pushing for the building of a third Temple by man’s hands. Nor will it be received, or understood by those who look at the building of this third Temple as signs of their immanent ‘rapture’ or “secret rapture”. But it will, and should be understood by those who know from God’s Word, the meaning of 2 Thess.2:1-4, and that a pre-tribulation “secret rapture” is false.
     Even so, whether the pre-tribulational rapturist agrees with my coverage of God’s Word or not, this message is an appeal to all Christians everywhere, regardless of their denomination, or present Church system traditional beliefs. It is to those who accept Jesus Christ as Savior, as The Only Begotten Son of God, Who died on the cross for us, who also believe on Him, and claim His Promise of Salvation.

     It has come to my attention that a plea to many Christians for aid in the building of the third Temple has been, and is being proposed. Donations of funds are mostly involved, but red heifers for animal sacrifices have been supplied from the United States also. The importance I draw in this matter, is not about donations or funds. It is about the deception behind these events.
     Statements from Scripture, declare this ‘flesh’ third Temple will be built for false messiah, a false king, i.e. the Antichrist, to sit in:

II Th 2:1   Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him,
2    That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3    Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4    Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

    The subject is when Christ returns, and when those in Christ are gathered to Him.
    Some say this ‘son of perdition’ refers to John 17:12 as Judas Iscariot, and has already come to pass. Judas who was one of the twelve Apostles, and who betrayed our Lord, never sat in the “Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God”. Nor had the ‘falling away’ (apostasy away from Christ) started during Judas’ time, as the first Church founded at Antioch was not yet during Judas’ time. That ‘falling away’ includes deceived Christians also, not just the Jews who stumble at The Cornerstone. No, this ‘son of perdition’ here in 2 Thess.2 is Satan as false messiah “so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” The Chapter of Isaiah 14, which I covered, pulls this verse with Old Testament Scripture, in that Lucifer always has wanted to be God. So Paul’s teaching here in II Thess.2 of Satan as false messiah is obviously a latter day event which is still future to us.

     The majority of the Jewish people have not accepted Jesus of Nazareth as Christ Messiah. They still await Christ’s first coming to earth as ‘Mashiach ben David’ (Messiah, son of David). Those in Christ today await His Second coming to earth as Messiah, son of David, and KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev.19:16).
     The events happening in Jerusalem today, revolve around Christ’s first coming to the disobedient Jew who stumbles at The Cornerstone, i.e. Jesus Christ (1 Cor.1:23; Isaiah 8:14-15; 1 Peter 2). The consequences for being deceived along with those who await Christ’s first coming, is spiritual death for the Christian. That simply means, that to believe their view of Messiah, Who they still await for His first coming, also means to accept the future coming false messiah (antichrist) as the first coming of Savior.
     Naturally then, to be in that group means you would believe that Christ’s crucifixion on the cross hadn’t happened yet, and that is where they stand. To agree with those deceived Jews is to accept the false messiah specifically sent for them and the non-believer, as ‘strong delusion’, because they have not received the Truth that Jesus Christ is God, and that He already came and paid the price on the cross for our Salvation. That is the ‘hinge’ of the door which is swinging before you with the Jerusalem events today.
     And this is why all living today through this last flesh generation, Jew and Gentile, Christian and non-Christian, must pass through this first tribulation by Satan as false messiah. 2 Thessalonians 2 is clear. Three major conditions, not two, must take place before Christ returns.

1). A ‘falling away’ from GOD and Christ to false worship.
2.) The third Temple must be built for the ‘son of perdition’ to sit in.
3.) The ‘man of sin’, ‘son of perdition’ must ‘sit’ in this Temple, proclaiming himself ‘as God’, and “shewing himself that he is God”, by performing ‘wonders’ and ‘miracles’ in the sight of men (2 Thess.2; Rev.13:13).

     So which group will you take part in? Those who await Christ’s first coming, or His second coming? How will we know the difference between a false messiah, and The True Messiah Jesus Christ?
     As Paul taught in I Corinthians 15, ‘all’ are changed from the flesh into spirit in a twinkling of an eye, on the ‘last trump’. That ‘last trump’ is the Seventh Trumpet of Revelation, and is when The True Messiah Jesus Christ returns, ushering in His spiritual Millennium reign, claiming all kingdoms of the earth, beginning rule as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev.10:7; Rev.11:15; Rev.16:17; Matt.24:31).
     Simply then, if we are still in the flesh age, not having been changed to our spiritual body of I Cor.15, then one who sits in the Temple of God in Jerusalem without that ‘change’, will be false. And those deceived will help proclaim him to you, as God! Knowing this Truth from God’s Word concerning the consuming fire event which ends this flesh age, is also how we know this third Temple is built with flesh hands, and not during the Millennium spiritual body reign of Christ on earth (Rev.20-22). Still need more evidence?

Matt 24:1   And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and His disciples came to Him for to shew Him the buildings of the temple.

     The main subject here is of course, the temple building in Jerusalem during Christ’s first Advent to earth.

Matt 24:2    And Jesus said unto them, “See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

     Jesus was referring directly to the Temple buildings when he spoke this to His disciples. So what time and event was our Savior talking about which would tear down these stones of this Temple of His day? The Temple building complex of Christ’s day was eventually destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans. But wait a minute. Could Jesus be referring to a time even future to us today?

Matt 24:3    And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

    Christ’s disciples knew our Lord was talking about His second Advent to earth, when all the ‘elements’ are melted by GOD, for He is a ‘consuming fire’ (2 Peter 3, Zech.14:12, Amos 9, and Nahum 1, and Micah 1; Heb.12). When ‘all’ are changed into their spiritual body and this earth age of flesh ends at the brightness of Christ’s coming, is when “…There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matt.24:2).
     If you put the next step together in your mind, then common sense says there must be a Temple in Jerusalem standing for Christ’s coming to destroy. So have no doubts that this ‘flesh’ Temple will be built before Jesus Christ returns.

The Deception: ‘abomination of desolation’ in The Temple

     Some Christians await the building of this ‘flesh’ third Temple today, and associate prophecy with it as a sign of Jesus Christ’s return. Thus these same Christians have little problem with helping it along, even though it means supporting the reinstitution of animal sacrifice, and Temple ritual worship. That is to deny the price Christ paid on the cross for our Salvation. Jesus Christ became our Passover sacrificed for us, as written in 1 Cor.5:7. To reinstitute the blood ordinances of animal sacrifice in God’s Law is to deny Christ’s death upon the cross, simple as that.
     Much Scripture from the prophets is being used by these deceived Jews to help create this greater deception on many Christians who accept Jesus Christ as Savior. Jerusalem is where our Heavenly Father chose to dwell and put His Name. For the Jewish People, and to those who accept Christ as Savior, Jerusalem has equal importance as God’s future Seat of His Kingdom. The rebuilding of God’s Temple on Mount Zion no doubt, is a historical event never before realized possible in today’s generation, nor any generation since the last Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. And because of the near rebuilding of a Temple is one of today’s events happening in Jerusalem, it is of extreme importance to all of us.
     But we as belonging to Christ, must not allow this possible ‘flesh’ event to cloud our minds in ‘awe’ away from God’s Word. Our Father left us His Timetable of events as ‘signs’ from His Word. And that’s how it all will happen, according to His Word. The thought of the building of this third Temple is working many Christian’s emotions into a frenzy. When false messiah comes, which in my opinion is actually when this false Temple will be built for him to sit in, who will they say is come? Who will they proclaim he is, sitting in their Temple, “shewing himself that he is God”?
     This ‘son of perdition‘, who is yet to come, ‘so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God”, is a false Christ (Matt.24:24; Mark 13:22). He is the ‘abomination of desolation’ which our Lord and Daniel spoke of (Matt.24:15). He, i.e. Satan as a ‘false Christ’, is the one who makes God’s Sanctuary (Temple) desolate, physically and spiritually, by the overspreading of abominations (Dan.9:27).
    

The True Millennium ‘Sanctuary’

     When all these references from our Father’s Holy Word are properly understood about a fake king, who claims to be God, then the temple he sits in will also be false. This is the next ‘hingepoint’ swinging before you.
     The True Sanctuary of GOD, i.e. the Millennium Sanctuary of Ezek.45:1-4, where our True Savior Jesus Christ reigns from, will not match the future false temple for Satan to sit in. Nor will the area of “all the oblation” partitioned to God’s People match either (Ezek.48:20). The land meted out around God’s future Millennium Sanctuary of Ezekiel 40-48 will be much larger than the near future flesh temple area.
     If you have a copy of The Companion Bible, you are fortunate, as Appendix 88 outlines the dimensions of the future Millennium Temple of Christ, and even has a diagram to see it in perspective. And the diagram in Appendix 88 is according to the dimensions given in Ezekiel Chapters 40 through 48. Just the portion of the land for God’s Sanctuary and for the priests will cover an area equal to 60 miles by 24 miles. The whole square of ‘all the oblation’ (Ezek.48:20) will cover an area 60 miles by 60 miles (25,000 reeds x 25,000 reeds, as written in Ezek.40:5 and Ezek.45:1-4).¹  If the west border of ‘all the oblation’ begins at the ‘Great Sea’ (Mediterranean Sea), then 60 miles eastward would go past the Dead Sea into the nation of Jordan.
     There will also be a ‘great valley’ formed running east and west from where Christ’s feet touch down on the Mount of Olives (Zech.14:4). The Living Waters pouring out from the Throne of God and The Lamb will flow eastward into the desert. The following verses are all Millennium age events, when Christ shall reign on the whole earth as KING:

Ezek 47:1   Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2    Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3    And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ancles.
4    Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5    Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6    And he said unto me, “Son of man, hast thou seen this?” Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7    Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.

     Revelation 22:1-2 speaks of this River which runs eastward from the Throne of God and The Lamb (Christ). It also makes mention of these ‘trees on the one side and on the other’.

Ezek 47:8   Then said he unto me, “These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9    And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.

     These Living Waters from God’s Throne will heal the waters of the sea (Dead Sea) and all life near It. If you’ve heard of the Fountain of Youth, this is as close as it gets. Only our Father can do this.

Ezek 47:10    And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
11    But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
12    And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.”

     This last verse is a direct reference to Rev.22:2 and the ‘twelve manner of fruits’, and the ‘leaves’ for the healing of the nations.

Ezek 47:13   Thus saith the Lord GOD; “This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.

     That Great River border is not there yet, east of Jerusalem.

Ezek 47:14    And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up Mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.

     This vision Ezekiel was shown beginning with the 40th Chapter reveals more detail about Revelation 20-22 and Christ’s reign as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, on earth, not somewhere up in the clouds (also see Zech.14; Acts 1; How does Jesus return?). These Chapters of Ezekiel also reveal what we will be doing during that thousand year reign by Messiah Jesus Christ, on earth. It will be a time of great teaching of His Word. And there will be discipline and Great Authority exercised by Christ and His elect. Satan will not be there to spoil any of it.
     I only covered a very small bit here from Ezekiel. So do you think the false messiah (antichrist, i.e. Satan) will be able to pull all of this off? Will he try?  No doubt he will. But can he actually accomplish these events of Ezekiel which God will do when He begins His Millennium reign? If we keep aware of God’s Promises to His People we will know when false messiah messes up. That is one of the ways our Heavenly Father has assured us in recognizing an ‘imposter’, as differeing from The True Son Christ Jesus.
     You’ll discover God’s Promises to His People which accept His Salvation through His Son, of both believing Jew and Gentile alike, written in-depth and detailed in the Books of The Old Testament. So if any one coming claiming to teach God’s Truth tries to steer you away from discovering those Promises our Father gave His, your suspicions should be heavily stirred! What will you think when you hear a teacher say, “You don’t need to study; just believe. All the Old Testament was done away with. It’s history”? Are you hearing that lie today?

     Is it no wonder then, that such false doctrines as a “secret rapture” out up in the clouds must be used to deceive with? Lucifer cannot create all these events of Ezekiel, especially the River of Living Waters which comes from God’s Throne in His Sanctuary on Mount Zion. Say you’ve never been taught this from Ezekiel and its relation to Revelation 22 and Genesis 2:9-14? It’s time to quit listening to all the ‘sweet’ preachers and get down to study in our Father’s Word for yourself. Our Father has no intentions of destroying this ancient earth He created. So of course our Salvation in Christ has physical meaning to it also. Why else would our Father make ‘new heavens and a new earth’? Our flesh bodies will be gone, but we will still dwell on this once pure, unpolluted, and beautiful earth God created. It will be cleansed for the Eternity (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13). False messiah will not be able to accomplish this future cleansed state.

Peace be to you in Christ,
Dave Ramey.

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Footnotes:

¹ The Companion Bible, (Kregel Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI., 1990), Appendix 88, pp.125-127.

Someone had written a question about the Jabez prayer materials circulating among many Christian bookstores and what not. I gave answer and then didn’t consider it too much thereafter. But now… I’ve heard and seen enough of this popular ‘fad’ among many of our Christian brethren, to where it’s becoming more than just a ‘fad’. An acquaintance just the other day handed me a prayer card, with a prayer of Jabez written upon it, and I decided that’s enough!
     So who was Jabez? “Well he’s written of in The Bible!”, is what some have said to me when I asked. Not wanting to offend those giving such an answer as that, I held my breath, for their Biblical illiteracy was apparent as to the word ‘Kenite’ even. Yes, I did follow their answer “he’s in The Bible” with a question: “So who are the Kenites”? And I saw a big “?” mark on their face. And many of you well know the next step in this matter, if you claim to be sincerely trying to follow Christ in His Word. One either makes a ‘stand’ for our Lord, and tells them the Truth about the Kenite, and lets the chips fall wherever, or you just keep silent while shaking your head. Either way, those ignorant about the Kenite from our Father’s Word, well, they’ll probably be aggravated at you any way you handle the matter. But alas, for the sake of those who do listen, and later come to realize who the Kenite represents later in their own Bible follow-up study, well then, making that ‘stand’ for our Lord would be worth it. So here goes, as we ask a Word of Wisdom from our Father in Christ Jesus’ Precious Name, Amen.

     Jabez is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4, as being “more honorable than his brethren” (1 Chron.4:9). That’s how the verse begins there with first mention of Jabez which is inserted among one of the family chronologies of Judah. But it’s not written who Jabez descended from exactly, nor ‘who’ his parents were. It’s one of those occurrences in God’s Word where we read and come to, and think, “what’s this doing here in between all these other verses?” Usually when that happens in God’s Word, it means our Father wants us to sharpen up and pay attention, for He’s trying to tell us something much deeper.
     Recall in Genesis 9:18 where “Canaan” is just mentioned ‘out of the blue’? One doesn’t discover why Canaan is mentioned so early in the event of Ham’s sin against his father Noah, until later in that same Chapter. Canaan was the son of Ham by incest with his mother (see Gen.9:18 – 27, and look up in Leviticus 18 and 20 for what the sin of “uncovering thy father’s nakedness” really means, or see the study on Genesis 9 ). This Jabez matter in 1 Chronicles 4 is a similar type of attention getter.

1 Chr 4:8    And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
9    And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bare him with sorrow.”
10    And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!’ And God granted him that which he requested.
11    And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton.
12    And Eshton begat Bethrapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Rechah.

     Now please tell me, from the above verses, just who ‘begat’ Jabez, and then, who did Jabez beget? It’s not there is it? You’ll even discover many Bible commentaries which go ahead and ‘assume’ Jabez was part of this 1 Chronicles 4 genealogy, but it’s just not clear is it? It is assumed Jabez was a descendant of Judah by many, just because of this special prayer he said to our Heavenly Father, and because God did grant it. Jabez truly did seek our Heavenly Father’s blessing, calling “on the God of Israel”.
     Then note the last verse above, that of 1 Chron.4:12. Who are the “men of Rechah” (Hebrew ‘Rekah’)? –

1 Chr 2:55   And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.

     This word “Rechab” (Hebrew ‘Rekab’) is of the same “Rechabites” (Hebrew ‘Rekah’) of Jeremiah 35. And the “house of Rechab” are the Kenites (son of Cain) who came of “Hemath“. This ‘Hemath‘ is Hebrew ‘Chamath’ meaning ‘fortress’ and symbolically referred to ancient Assyria, a place of idol worship (Strong’s no. 2574). This ‘Hemath‘ is ‘Hamath‘, and was an area of the Canaanites (Judges 3:3). Hamath became Judah’s inheritance, and this is how many of the Canaanites, including a mix of Kenites, crept into Judah’s stay in Judea (2 Kings 14:28; 2 Samuel 8:6; 2 Chron.8).
     So Jabez’s prayer was answered by God, with a city of the ‘Kenites’ even being named after him.

     What’s the deeper Message from our Father’s Word then? Jabez was not of Judah, but of the “house of Rechab”, i.e. the Kenites, which means ‘son of Cain’ (Strong’s no. 7014 – ‘Qayin’, meaning ‘Cain’). These particular scribes would help begin the foundations of the Pharisee religious system, and that ‘system’ among many of Judah, still exists today. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave many warnings about listening to the false doctrines of the “scribes and Pharisees” (see Matthew).
     Our Lord gave us a special Promise when He returns as The True KING over His coming spiritual everlasting Kingdom –

Zech 14:20    In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
21    Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

     The “Canaanite”, truly referring here to the Kenite which seek to follow ‘their’ father, and not our Heavenly Father through Christ Jesus, have crept into God’s House, and most are not even remotely aware (see Jeremiah 35). God is using the sons of Cain to test His People with, so naturally, God is not going to chastise them until it’s time (Judges 3; Numbers 24). Jabez may have ‘turned’ from his father, the false ‘rock’, and sought our True Heavenly Father The ROCK, and might have even prayed to be protected from the evil of his natural brethren, the Kenite. But recall 1 Chron.2:55 that the scribes of Kenites lived in a city named after Jabez. So what ‘kind’ of ‘honorable’ was Jabez? Honor in the eyes of men, or honor in the eyes of our Lord?
     Jabez’s prayer which is appearing in ‘so-called’ Christian literature today, and even on coffee mugs, is a sign of listening to the very ‘scribes and Pharisees’ which our Lord Jesus warned us against. And the method or purpose of its use seems to be a type of prosperity prayer, just like what Jabez prayed, for ‘material’ gain. Possibly some are so superstitious to think that if they just ‘buy’ an item with Jabez’s prayer on it, some of Jabez Aladdin’s lamp qualities will rub off to them? Moreover, this Jabez ‘fad’ is of a sort, the re-instituting of an earthly priest system, going through flesh men in prayer, instead of praying directly to God through His Son Jesus Christ. In essence then, to do such Jabez prayer, is to deny our Lord and Saviour’s Blood on the cross which He shed for us. Our Saviour paid the Price on the cross for us, just so we wouldn’t have to bow down to any ‘flesh’ ritual order for Salvation through Him (see Col.2; Hebrews).
     When we pray to God, we have no need to seek out a prayer specialist to write one for us. Our Heavenly Father wants us to seek Him in truth and in spirit, meaning we only need to talk to Him through His Son’s Name, in ‘our own words’. Would a child go through some unknown person down the street, to ask their flesh father for help? If one of my own children refused to come directly to me, I doubt I would listen to some ‘go between’. How then, does one think our Heavenly Father feels when we seek ‘outside’ help, instead of coming directly to Him in sincerity? Likewise then, don’t go through ‘Jabez’. Seek our Father directly, through His Son Jesus Christ!

Peace to you in Christ Jesus,
Dave Ramey.

 Ok, we’re are all believers in Christ and part of the Body of Christ here, right?  I’m assuming so. If you’re not, well, you’re welcome to listen, but you probably won’t understand everything I’m going to cover, so don’t let it confuse you. Keep ploughin’.

     After hearing the Message of Salvation through Jesus Christ and being baptized in His Name, what then? 

2 Tim 2:15   Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16    But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

Obviously then, we must study God’s Word to show ourselves ‘approved unto God’. A believer in Christ is to become a ‘workman’. This can only be done by ‘rightly dividing the word of truth’, which is The Word of God. That’s how we know what to teach, and when to teach It.
At the same time while turning to a serious study of God’s Word, you must try to bring under control the old urges of the flesh that prevent proper study. If you had groups of friends that refuse to believe, you don’t have to totally shun them out of your life. But the change they will see in you, may make them shun you. Christ’s servants are not to totally separate themselves from the world, but go out and help bring others to His Truth. Not all want it, and The Holy Spirit will be your Guide in those matters.

What’s the difference between ‘milk’ and ‘meat’?

If after having accepted Jesus Christ, do you keep hearing the Message of Salvation and Baptism repeatedly and not ‘strong meat’ to go with It?

Heb 5:12   For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
13    For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
14    But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Paul the apostle was speaking this in the Book of Hebrews (or possibly it was Luke). Paul was a scholar of The Old Testament and prophets. When he was converted by Jesus Christ, he also received the gift of The Holy Spirit to put his scholarly learning from The Word into perspective. If we wish to be ‘skilful in the word of righteousness’, we are to follow Paul’s example of study. The example he set should be every Christian’s goal.  Some are given more than others by our Father. They are no better than any other Christian, for the various administrations of The Spirit make up the many membered Body of Christ (I Cor.12). Paul wrote most of the New Testament. He had only The Old Testament for study during his days, for that’s what was written at the time. If you want to be a skillful workman with ‘strong meat’, study all of The Word, not just parts. Learn how all of God’s Word is applied in our lives today.
For example; the Old Testament and prophets tell us all events that will happen during this ‘flesh age’, even after Christ returns at His second coming. It told us about the coming Savior and His offer of Salvation, and even how He would die on the cross for us (Ps.22). It warns us of the times we live in today, and teaches how to understand the Book of Revelation. It reveals our Mission as ambassadors of Christ, and even teaches about God’s coming Millennium reign upon this ancient earth and thereafter. In other words, the New Testament is the fulfillment of what the Old Testament told us would happen. And It is not complete yet. What was written in the Old Testament is still being fulfilled even today, and for our future.
Rightly dividing The Word means being aware of prophecy given in the Old Testament and Its fulfillment in The New, for today, and evermore. It also means being able to ‘rightly divide’ the subject and object of the Chapter, and even single verses which separate between many years.
     Here’s an example:  Revelation 12 verses 3 through 5 are about Satan’s first rebellion, the Woman in Eden who would bring forth the ‘Seed’ of the Salvation Promise given to Abraham, down through to Christ Who is the male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Those three verses cover from the time ‘of old’, when Lucifer rebelled against God, then God setting up this flesh age and providing the Seed that His Son would be born from; then giving Abraham the Promise that Christ would come offering Salvation; then His Mission as Savior being fulfilled on the cross; and next Salvation being preached to the world; and finally…Christ’s second coming and God’s Kingdom when Christ will rule all nations with a rod of iron. The whole Plan of God is given in all of His Word.
If we are not familiar with the Old Testament, how will we know when It is being fulfilled today?  Jesus Christ and His Apostles all quoted from The Old Testament letting us know when portions of Its prophecy came to pass. The Gospel Books and events of Acts especially were given as direct proof of events prophesied in The Old Testament.
Christians who are not studied in both New and Old Testaments, are as ‘babes’ on the ‘milk’, and cannot discern both good and evil. And it still applies even though many may have been attending Church for most of their lives.

Matt 13:51   Jesus saith unto them, “Have ye understood all these things?” They say unto Him, “Yea, Lord.”
52    Then said He unto them, “Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

To be instructed of the Kingdom of Heaven is to learn from our ‘Householder’ Who is GOD through His Son Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit. The ‘treasure’ we are instructed in is both New and Old Testaments.

2 Cor 4:6   For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7    But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

The True Treasure is not of the flesh, but It can dwell in our flesh, or ‘earthen vessels’. That Treasure is not creeds and religious rituals, nor profane babelings, but The Knowledge of Jesus Christ. How is that perfect Knowledge received? From Christ’s Spirit guiding us in His Treasure which is His Word. And that means all of The Word.

Rom 10:14   How then shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15    And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
16    But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, “Lord, who hath believed our report?”
17    So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

We received Christ by ‘faith’. We first had to hear about Christ in order to believe. Paul was quoting from Psalms 19:4, Isaiah 52:7 and 53:1. Isaiah declared the first Advent of Messiah Jesus Christ there in Isaiah 53. Israel had the prophecy of Salvation long before Christ came in the flesh, but the majority of old Israel did not believe. But those who weren’t told about Christ’s coming did believe. How much more of The Word did God open up to us who have believed on Christ? All of It! Those of Israel today who haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as Savior are stumbling at God’s Word (Rom.9). But for us who by ‘hearing’ The Word of God, and through faith accept Christ, all the ‘meat’ is there for us to discover.

The Faithful and Wise Steward Gives Meat in Due Season

Luke 12:42   And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?
43    Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
44    Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

This is what Christ’s entrusted servants should be doing today. They are to give Christ’s members ‘meat in due season’. That season is now, as The Word is opening up to sincere members more now than ever before.

Jer 23:1   Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! saith the LORD.
2    Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed My people; Ye have scattered My flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
3    And I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4    And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

Here’s a little warning from our Father to Pastors who don’t feed His sheep. It still applies today, as Christ told Peter to feed His sheep (John 21; Ps.100:3). That’s what a Pastor’s job is, to feed God’s People His Word, and not man’s word. How many places can you go and hear God’s Word being preached?  Line by line is how it is done. And with understanding using the ‘renewed’ mind which Christ gave us (I Cor.2:16).
By this we know then, that Christ’s Church should have one fulfilling the office of Pastor, in order to feed the flock of sheep. It was commanded by our Lord and Savior (John 10; 21; Acts 20:27-31; Titus 1; 1 Peter 4:10-11; 1 Tim.5:17; Heb.13:7; 1 Peter 5:2; 2 Tim.4).

How to recognize a true Pastor

Acts 17:11   These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
12    Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

When you set out to learn a new language, it’s almost like going back to school again. Differences in grammar has to be learned, how to pronounce it, and the biggest bulk of all, the new vocabulary of words. Learning God’s Word is no different for the beginner. It requires time and applying ourselves, as it doesn’t come overnight. And we never stop learning, for God’s Word is The Living Word. It’s complete, yet infinite.  Study a Chapter properly once, and you’ll get the basic Message. Study that same Chapter over and over, and you may understand something new every time.
By verifying The Word when you are taught, is how to get the ‘meat’. That is, if The Word is being taught to you. That’s what a Pastor’s job is, to pastor a flock. In other words, a Pastor/teacher is not an Evangelist or Minister. An Evangelist is given to go out and specifically preach The Gospel of Christ, much like a Missionary. A Minister is the office of Deacon in the Church. Those duties are as an administrator of the Church, to the poor, the sick, etc. But a Pastor is to be ‘overseer’ over the flock, giving guidance and direction to the Church.
Each one of these offices for Christ should be able to preach The Gospel or teach The Word. A Pastor has teaching The Word as the specific ‘gift’ of office. Paul was mainly an Evangelist/Pastor, and an apostle to the Churches, but able in all three. His duty as given by Christ was to preach The Gospel of Christ to the 1) Gentile, 2) Kings, 3) and to Israel, meaning both ‘houses’ of Israel (Acts 9). Paul also was overseer of the Churches he was entrusted with. His Epistles to the Churches he helped found make up much of The New Testament. He was well prepared for his mission, both as Evangelist and Pastor.

     Many today are not receiving the ‘meat’ of God’s Word after accepting Christ. The number of Evangelists and Ministers outnumber Pastors who can teach all of The Word. Most Christians are not aware of these separate duties within Christ’s Church. Stack on top of that, the three titles of Evangelist, Minister, and Pastor, are used interchangeably today. Most people think they’re all the same office. They are not. A Pastor should be able to teach from the Hebrew, Chaldee, and Greek Manuscripts of God’s Word. In other words, the goal of a good Pastor should be the level of Paul’s scholarship as he was proficient in Hebrew, Greek, and Roman languages; and a Hebrew scholar of The Old Testament. This is one of the reasons why the ‘meat’ is lacking in most Churches today. There are too few real Pastor/overseers worth their salt who have learning at a level to protect the sheep from false doctrines and such. That’s what a real shepherd does in protecting the sheep from ‘ravening wolves’.

Ezekiel 34:1   And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2   “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; ‘Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3    Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4    The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5    And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6    My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, My flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

GOD is talking about His People being scattered because the shepherds, or Pastors, were not feeding His sheep. They were not getting the ‘meat’ of God’s Word, so they turned to idols and what not. The sheep then became the ‘meat’ for ‘all the beasts of the field’. People are not literally sheep, nor meat for animals, so what is the spiritual Message here from our Father?  The ‘beasts’ represent the false prophets of Satan’s camp. Satan’s children, i.e. the sons of Cain, are the ‘beasts of the field’ in the spiritual sense. That’s what happens when God’s People don’t get a proper pasturing and receive the ‘meat’ of The Word of God. They get devoured by Satan.

Need I say more about the state of affairs among many of God’s People today?

Peace be to you in Christ Jesus,
Dave Ramey.

For centuries, or at least since 1611, the English speaking Christian community has had in its hands the King James Translation of the Hebrew Texts of the Old Testament, and from the Greek Text, the New Testament. Now there are many other Bible translations available today, possibly too many depending how one looks at it. The important thing is; does whatever translation a person studies put the true Word of God in the student’s mind?

Let’s use an analogy for finding out which translation is best suited for us. First, why is finding a certain Bible important, one might ask. The analogy starts like this: suppose you’re an antique auto enthusiast. You’ve found an old car that you wish to restore to mint condition depending on parts availability. To make that car ‘true to its time’, which I mean you want that car as close to the original condition as possible, you’ll look just about anywhere for any original parts, regardless sometimes of their condition, because you can rebuild some of them, but the ideal is ‘mint’ or pristine shape. The whole project might span a few months, years, or even a lifetime. The key is knowing that you’ve done your best to get the most original ‘first parts’ for your antique. You may have to settle for some remanufactured or ‘new’ parts, but those will be a minimum, because you know it destroys the originality of the car.

Now this analogy can apply to many different types of antique enthusiasts, but let’s apply it to God’s Word. For someone who wants that ‘pristine’ form of God’s Word, in mint shape, unaltered, the same as when it was written down ‘first hand’, it might take months, years, or a lifetime of study. To find the original parts one might have to begin an in depth study of Hebrew and Greek and Chaldee. Then one must proceed on a field trip to find all available sources of the Hebrew, Greek, and Chaldee Texts, and then make comparisons, and lastly putting everything together in one final translation. Many people who are bi-lingual and speak a second or more languages can probably understand this more easily, because they are aware of some of the problems when translating between languages. Now, this is not to say that our Holy Bible is wrong , or mis-translated, but going back to the antique car analogy, ‘the car is whatever make or model it was originally built to’, but some of the parts may be ‘newer additions’ and some parts may still need to be found. The car may be driven from point A to point B, without maybe, a missing runner board, a spare wheel that mounts on the rear, side mirrors, etc., but it still goes down the road and gets us where we want to go. However, we bide our time and are patient until we can find all the parts, or in The Word’s case, patiently studying in hope, and faith in the ‘ideal’ of our salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.Our English translations are similar to the antique car analogy. The Hebrew and Greek Texts are ‘pure’ and ‘pristine’. The only problem is we must understand how to read Biblical Hebrew and Greek and in some cases, Chaldee and Aramaic. Then we must understand the peoples of that time, their laws, expression, and idioms; all while ‘thinking’ in these other languages.

Unfortunately, not everyone can do this kind of in depth study, for it requires patience of the sort that archeologists must learn. Luckily much of the work has been accomplished for us already. All we have to do is go get it. This can mean finding a Church in your community that relies heavily on teaching the congregation the Hebrew expressions and idioms that help explain God’s Word along with a verse by verse, chapter by chapter instruction, or a group of Christians that meet and have a study period together, or by searching out the Texts for yourself. The important matter is that as Christians we have a responsibility to Our Lord to know what ‘His Letter to us’ says. Also, the fact that even today new translations are coming out means that scholars are not agreed upon how to translate the ‘original parts’ that go into building their translation of God’s Word. This may seem confusing , and to many Christians it is. Many feel they don’t have time to learn Hebrew and that God wouldn’t allow the truth to be lost between translations. I somewhat understand this attitude. Finally, this brings us to the Massorah.

All of the most reliable manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible have on every page next to the Text that is arranged in two or more columns, smaller lines of writing called the Massorah Magna or Great Massorah, and the writing in the side margins is called the Massorah Parva or Small Massorah. This writing appears in between the main columns of Hebrew Text, along the top, two sides, and bottom. The word Massorah means to deliver something into the hand of another. It contains the guidelines for the Hebrew scribes that must be used in transcribing the Hebrew Texts from generation to generation. This work was originally done under Ezra and Nehemiah in order to fix the Text after the return from Babylon so that it couldn’t be tampered with (Neh. 8.8 and Ezra 7:6,11).

The Massorah is called “A Fence to the Scriptures.” This was because it assured every Hebrew character must be in its place in the Text by recording the “number of times the several letters occur in the various books of the Bible; the number of words, and the middle word; the number of verses, and the middle verse; the number of expressions and combinations of words, &c.”(1)   The Massorah also contains ‘facts’ and ‘phenomena’ associated with the Hebrew Texts; information that affects the sense and casts light upon the Scriptures. It is not found in any ‘one’ manuscript but is spread out among different copies of the Hebrew Text in several different countries, and for whatever reason, Dr. C.D. Ginsburg is the only ‘Christian’ scholar that has pulled all of it together from the several manuscripts, and printed a three volume set. His three volume set Massoretico-Critical Text is very rare. This Massoretico-Critical Text of the Hebrew Bible can be found in only one Bible to date. That is The Companion Bible. This is an edition of the 1611 King James Authorized Version with a wealth of information in its margins especially the notes of ‘facts’ and ‘phenomena’ from the Massorah, and a well rounded Appendix full of diagrams, charts, Hebrew idioms and expressions, tabulated data on particular messages within God’s Word, up-to-date archeological information proving God’s Word, etc. The Companion Bible is not a new translation, nor a commentary, and is not authored by any one man.

“Why is this Massorah so important?”, you’re probably asking. Here’s one point. When the translators of The King James of 1611 went to the Hebrew Texts of the Old Testament, they did not know of the Massorah. They and also the Revisers performed their work ignorant of the treasures contained in the Massorah, and no hint of it was given the reader. It’s almost like the ‘antique car’ (Hebrew Text) had some ‘original parts’ (Massorah) that got lost when it went from one country (Hebrew manuscripts) to the next country (translation into Old English King James Bible). The fact of why the Massorah was not known of by the KJV translators and Revisers, or even Critics; and if they were aware of it, why it would have been purposely left out of the KJV is a study in itself. Here’s yet another point. No matter how many new modern English translations come out, if they don’t contain the Massorah, some of the original ‘sense’ will be lost. One could say that the Massorah was God’s way of making sure His Word had only ‘one’ interpretation, and if followed, would be handed down from generation to generation without alteration.

Peace be with you in Christ Jesus,
Dave Ramey.

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Footnotes
(1) The Companion Bible, ( Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan), Ap. P. 31.

Appendix 30, The Companion Bible on The Massorah

Click above to see a picture of The Massorah with an explanation contained in The Companion Bible at therain.org.

The last Message letter talked about the signs given us by Jesus in Mark 13, and we covered the analogy of committing ‘spiritual adultery’ with Satan, when he arrives portraying Messiah. We also covered the ‘abomination of desolation’, i.e., Satan setting himself up as God in the Temple of God (see 2 Thess.2). I wish to stress the importance of understanding that the teaching about the ‘abomination of desolation’ is not metaphor. This will happen as written. Satan will sit in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, proclaiming himself as God.
As of this writing, many Orthodox Jews in Israel are preparing for the rebuilding of the Temple. A ‘red heifer’ required for purification of the Jews before they can enter the Temple mount, has also appeared in Israel. It was born around May of 1997, declared without blemish, (‘tamyin’ in Hebrew), and fits the requirement in Numbers 19.¹  It must be three years old to be used, bringing us to the date of May 2000. These Orthodox Jews have also been preparing sacrificial altars and have already held some animal sacrifices, but not on the Temple Mount itself. There is also an organization setup here in the United States called ‘Jesus, Inc.’ composed of a minister from a certain Christian denomination who is sending the orthodox Jews red heifers for sacrifice.  These Orthodox Jews do not recognize Jesus Christ as LORD, that He died on the cross and are still waiting for the Messiah, and for this reason, they still hold to the blood ordinances in God’s Law which Christ fulfilled on the cross. Some Jews have accepted the loss of the Temple destroyed in 70 A.D., and do not wish to rebuild it. The heart of the matter is that God’s Word is True. If 2 Thess. 2 is true, then the ‘Temple of God’ will be rebuilt so that the ‘abomination of desolation’ can take place as written. Don’t mistake the events going on at the Temple Mount today, by non-Jews who are desecrating the Temple area’s ancient artifacts, as the ‘abomination of desolation‘ of Daniel. Satan is that particular ‘abomination of desolation‘ sitting in God’s Temple. It is these things in the world that we as Christians, should be ‘watchers’ for, because they parallel the signs that Jesus warned us about. Let’s continue with the signs, and with the Sixth Seal of Revelation, picking it up in Mark 13:18. See Part 1 of this Message to get up to date on this subject.

Mark 13:18   And pray that your flight be not in the winter.

     The previous verses of Mark 13:14-17 talked about fleeing Judea when they see the ‘abomination of desolation’, or Satan sitting in the Temple of God, claiming to be God, as written in 2 Thess.2. This ‘flight’ is from Jerusalem when the false messiah appears there. He will be claiming that it is ‘harvest’ time, for all of his children to ‘gather’ unto him in the way of Messiah. If you remember the parable of the ‘tares’ and ‘sower’ taught by Jesus, then harvest time is an important message. As there is only One True Messiah Jesus Christ, but Satan playing the role of messiah first, there are two ‘harvest’ times, and one of those times is also false. The main difference spiritually is, the ‘time’ of harvest. Those who are deceived, and follow the false Messiah, are harvested ‘out of season’, in the ‘winter’, spiritually speaking. The true harvest can only be in summer, when Jesus returns. You don’t reap wheat in the winter. Therefore, this verse means that if your ‘flight’ be ‘in the winter’, then it means you’re harvested, or ‘taken‘ out of season by the false Messiah, i.e., Satan who comes first. Why is this short verse of Mark 13:18 so important? Because it links the whole theme of worshipping the wrong Christ, and not staying a ‘chaste virgin’.
     Consider the following verses with Jesus’s warning about the summer harvest time:

Luke 21:29    And He spake to them a parable; ‘Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

30   When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

31   So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.’

The Sixth Seal

Rev 6:12-13
12    And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

13    And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

     These ‘stars of heaven’ represent the events in Rev.12 & 13 of Satan and his host of fallen angels being cast to earth after the war in heaven. Satan is cast out by Michael the Archangel. These ‘untimely figs‘ symbolize the wrong fruit and the wrong season of the fig tree parable, which is covered more in depth later in this same study. The phrase ‘untimely figs’ is ‘olunthos’ in the Greek meaning ‘an unripe (because out of season) fig’ (Strong’s no.3653). Thayer’s gives an even better definition: ‘an unripe fig which grows during the winter, yet does not come to maturity but falls off during the spring’.  These ‘untimely figs’ then, are excellent symbols for the ‘spurious messiah’ deception Satan and his host attempt to accomplish when they get here on earth in our near future. But because they are false or ‘figs’ out of season, grown in the winter, they won’t make it through God’s ‘consuming fire‘, for The True Messiah Jesus Christ will destroy this ‘spurious messiah’ with the ‘brightness of His coming’ (see 2 Thess.2:8). The time of the good edible ‘fig’ will be a proper growing season, meaning the good figs, being God’s elect will wait for The True Christ Jesus, ‘in due season’, and will be righteous fruit. What a great analogy our Lord has given us which expresses His season of return in the ‘parable of the fig tree’!

What is the ‘great tribulation’, how many are there, and who will experience them?

     The next verses cover the subject of tribulation. However, we are still linking the seven ‘seals’ of Revelation with these signs as Jesus gives them in Mark 13. Hence, we are still on the Sixth Seal of Revelation. Lets continue:

Mark 13:19   For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

     Jesus quoted the words in bold from Daniel 12:1. The word ‘affliction’ is ‘thlipsis’ in the Greek, meaning ‘tribulation’ (Strong’s no.2347). It is the same word in verse 24 coming up which is translated ‘tribulation’. It means to be ‘pressed’, or ‘persecuted’. This verse tells us of a ‘persecution’ of Christians that is so great, that has never existed since creation. Don’t forget, Jesus is teaching in these verses the signs of the end of this earth age; it is not about when the Temple was destroyed by Titus in 70 A.D, and we are still on the ‘sixth seal’ here when this first tribulation takes place. Who brings this particular tribulation into effect? It is the false Messiah, the Antichrist, as there are two tribulations, just as there are two Messiahs coming, one (Satan) being ‘a spurious Messiah’ as given by the Greek word ‘pseudochristos‘ in verse 22 of this same Chapter, and The True Messiah Jesus Christ, for Whom the ‘Bride of Christ’, the ‘five wise virgins’, will wait for, is the real Messiah. (Lucifer is not even a little ‘god’, but a ‘cherub’, as written in Ezekiel 28, and God calls him “a man”.)
     I can’t stress the deception of wrongly worshipping ‘a spurious Messiah’ enough, for all of the analogies dealing with the ‘ten virgins’, being ‘with child’, and ‘spiritual harlotry’ against our True Husband point out this Truth from The Word.

Mark 13:20   And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the days.

     Remember that when Jesus returns, all are changed into that spiritual body on the ‘last’ or seventh ‘trump’? There is no more flesh when that happens (see I Cor.15; Nahum 1; Amos 9; Joel; 2 Peter 3; Psalms 46; Isaiah 66). Does this verse show this change? No. Instead, it tells of an ‘affliction’ so great that it will be shortened for the ‘elect’s sake’. You will find what the time of that seven year period was shortened to in Revelation 9. (this is the 7 years or ‘last week’ of Daniel, shortened to forty-two months, or 3 ½ years in Rev. 11:2, and finally to five months in Rev.9.5).

Mark 13:21    And then if any man shall say to you, ‘Lo, here is Christ; or, ‘ lo, He is there;’ believe him not:

     ‘And then’ ties this event with the last verse speaking of the first tribulation. Christ is telling us in this verse that when you see these things of the ‘sixth seal’ happening , ‘and then’ some proclaim ‘lo, Christ has come, He is over there, in Jerusalem’, etc., don’t believe it! This is Jesus talking to the elect, privately, remember? Why should we as true Christians not ‘believe it’, that is to say, not believe that first messiah appearing in Jerusalem is Christ Jesus? Because if the last trump (the seventh of Revelation when Jesus comes) hasn’t sounded, and we are not changed from flesh into the spirit, and gathered back to Jesus Christ, we shall know that this is ‘a spurious Messiah’ they proclaim has come. What are those people who believe the “secret rapture” doctrine going to think, for their Church leaders are teaching them that their not going to be here for this tribulation, that instead they are going to be raptured out to the clouds before Satan comes. Which Messiah will they believe has come at this verse? Regretfully, they will believe the false one is the True Christ, because they have not studied our Father’s Word, but instead believed the traditions of man’s religious systems. What events will aid in the deception? Let’s continue to find out.

Mark 13:22   For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

     These are the events. Satan and his little workers will be performing miracles in the sight of men (See Rev.13:13) to ‘seduce’ the elect, if it were possible. This word ‘seduce’ refers to that same spiritual deception technique of Satan, starting even back to the garden of Eden, when he seduced Eve. Paul would say to the elect in 2 Cor.11 that the elect must present themselves to Jesus as ‘chaste virgins’, for fear that Satan would ‘seduce’ them as he did Eve. Be ready friend, for these false prophets will be given great spiritual powers by the false messiah in order to deceive. How do we stay in God’s Grace during that time? By staying awake in His Word, for He instructs us if we will only read and study It asking guidance from Him through His Son Jesus Christ. The sad part is that many who love the Lord will fall into the trap, and will also carry out orders by the false messiah and his leaders. It’s these deceptions of many of God’s own children, which make this first ‘tribulation’ against God’s elect. This is also why many will wish to die when the True Messiah Christ comes after all this, for they will ‘be ashamed’ of their deception and their works against the elect.
This phrase ‘false Christs’ is ‘pseudochristos‘ in the Greek manuscripts, meaning singular, a ‘pseudo Christ’, or ‘a spurious Messiah‘. The word ‘Christos‘ in the Greek means ‘Christ, Messiah‘ and is derived from ‘chrio‘ which means ‘to anoint or rub with oil’ (Strong’s nos.5580; 5571, 5547; 5548).

Mark 13:23   But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

     Be on guard! Take heed! Don’t be deceived! That’s what Jesus is saying here to the elect.

Mark 13:24   But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

25   And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

     Verse 24 refers to the coming of the True Messiah, Jesus Christ. The words ‘after that tribulation’, refer to after the tribulation of Satan is when Christ’s return takes place. This is more proof that Satan is coming before Jesus. Let’s go to Luke 21 for a better ordered parallel:

Luke 21:26   Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

27   And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

   Verse 26 tells us about Satan and his host being cast out of heaven, down to earth, after a war in heaven, for as Paul stated in Eph.6:12, that “…we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” When these ‘powers’ in heaven are ‘shaken’, Satan and his host of fallen angels will be cast to earth. Rev. 12:7 gives an even better description of the casting out. Turn there:

Rev.12:7   And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8   And prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9   And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

     Satan has a spiritual body as we do, and he will be here on earth along with his fallen ones that rebelled with him in the first earth age. This happens during the sixth trumpet of Revelation. Since this 12^th Chapter of Revelation agrees with the subject that Jesus taught in Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21, about the latter days, let’s continue with some important verses from this 12^th Chapter:

Rev 12:10    And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

     This is still talking about Satan, ‘the accuser’ in this verse, being cast down to earth in our near future. Since the phrase “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God…” is still yet future to us today, then this ‘casting out’ of Satan is future also. This will be the result of the ‘war in heaven’ written back in Rev.12:7. The seventh and ‘last trump’ of I Cor.15 will not have sounded yet at this stage, for this event signals the beginning of Satan’s ‘five months’ tribulation on earth, the ‘season’ or time of the ‘locusts’ as written in Rev.9.

Rev.12:11   And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

12   Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down upon you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”

     This is talking about the elect who are delivered up to the ‘synagogue of Satan’, giving a testimony for God against the false Messiah, Satan, here on earth; notice they ‘overcame’ Satan by the ‘blood of the Lamb’, Jesus; this verse is also a warning to those who would be deceived, for Satan will come to the earth, in person.

Rev.12:13   And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

The ‘woman which brought forth the man child’ is Israel, or God’s children, which most also do not realize, includes deceived believers on Christ who are not sealed with God’s Word in their mind (Rev.9). This is the first tribulation, of Satan, here on earth, and no one is going anywhere, until all of these ‘things’ are fulfilled, as written in God’s Word.
I really don’t want to sound ‘far out’ with the following, but I feel led at this time to talk about a very controversial subject dealing with Satan and his host being cast to earth. God’s Word says ‘cast unto the earth’, which is ‘ballo‘ in the Greek, meaning ‘to throw (in various applications, more or less violent or intense)’ (Strong’s no.906). This means Satan and his host are going to be literally thrown out of heaven and not born in the flesh (the place of separation in heaven called ‘Hell’, ‘the pit’, ‘abyss’, etc. See Luke 16 about Lazarus and the rich man). So by what method will they come? Zip, and they just appear standing in front of you? Here’s the controversial part, so please bear with me. In Ezekiel’s vision as written in Ezek.1:4, the prophet saw ‘winged’ creatures, heavenly beings, chariots of God’s Throne. The phrase ‘color of amber’ was translated by the KJV translators for the Hebrew ‘ayin chasmal‘, meaning the ‘resemblance of bronze or polished spectrum metal’ (Strong’s no.2830). Ezekiel’s descriptions of these vehicles he saw had no earthly comparison, as he used the circular shapes of an ox cart wheel to try and relate the objects. As Ezekiel wrote that he saw God’s Throne on one of these type vehicles in Ezek.1, he again saw this Glory of God come into the Millennium Temple in Ezekiel 43.
There’s a deception coming, and it’s all part of the same type of deception which took place during the time of Noah in Genesis 6.  Christ would teach in Matt.24 that the latter days would be just like the days of Noe (Greek for Noah; Matt.24:37). What took place during the times of Noah? The mating of the fallen angels (sons of God) with the daughters of Adam. This is why Paul would also teach for the woman to have ‘power on her head’ in I Cor.11:10, that ‘power’ being the strength of The Word, Christ Jesus.

Returning to the sixth seal:

Rev.12:15   And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

     This ‘flood’ is a flood of lies, not a literal flood of water, since the key word is ‘mouth’, which is where the flood originates from Satan (‘the serpent’).

Rev.12:16   And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

     God promised His elect in Luke 21, and Rev.7:3, that they would be protected during this tribulation, as He counters the ‘flood’ in order to save His remnant. This analogy also relates to the 150 days (five month period, the same length of the tribulation) of Noah and the ark being upon the waters of the flood which happened.

Rev.12:17    And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

     Because God will protect His elect (remnant), even when Satan is here on earth, that old dragon will be so enraged, that he will determine to wipe out Christ’s faithful of Israel, and all of God’s people, i.e. Christians, once and for all. The Books of Revelation, Ezekiel, and Daniel give the alignment of the ‘nations’ that will comprise Satan’s army. This is the final war of this earth dispensation, when Satan gathers all the ‘New World Order’ hosts to invade Israel at a place called ‘Armageddon’, or ‘the hill of Megiddo’. Where is this ‘Megiddo’? It is not in Europe. The word Armageddon means ‘mount of Megiddo’ which is in Palestine. Isaiah 10:28 of the Greek Septuagint Old Testament, reads “Maggedo” for Migron. This ‘Armageddon’ is also an analogy and symbol for battle against both the ‘house of Judah’, and the ‘house of Israel’. Both houses are separate at this time, so this event applies to western nations also. (The ‘house of Israel’ today includes the USA. See the Lost Tribes studies in the Archive section.)

The Seventh Seal, Trumpet, and Vial – The Second Tribulation

     The dragon and his army will not succeed. At this point, the True Jesus will return to do battle, in the spiritual sense, meaning the casting off of this old flesh body for those who live on the earth at that time. The ‘consuming fire’, hail, and ‘brimstone’, that God will bring on Satan’s army, all refer to casting off the flesh, on the last trump, and the pouring out of God’s wrath upon the wicked ones. God’s people are not to worry, for it will not harm them (Also see Rev.16; 19; Ezek.38; Joel 3; Zech.14; I Cor.15; Dan. 3).

Rev.8:1   And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Rev.11:15   And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our LORD, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.”

Rev 16:17   And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

     This ‘vial’ is the cup of wrath of God, which is the second ‘tribulation’, a tribulation upon the wicked. The word ‘Armageddon’ in the Greek is from the root ‘epicheo’ meaning ‘to pour’, and also from the root of ‘periecho’, meaning ‘to surround, seize, encompass’. God’s wrath is ‘poured’ out upon the wicked, halting this battle of Armageddon, probably before it is ever begun. Consider the following verses from Zephaniah:

Zeph 3:8-10
8    Therefore wait ye upon Me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.

9    For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one consent.

10    From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of My dispersed, shall bring Mine offering.

   This phrase ‘from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia’ should point out to those who have studied about the migrations of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel to the ‘isles’ and Europe, a message concerning Gen.49:10 and the ‘gathering’ back to Christ. Now let’s go back to Mark 13, continuing the signs Jesus taught:

Mark 13:26   And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

27   And then shall He send His angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

     We have here in Mark 13:26-27, the seventh, or last trump of 1 Corinthians 15:52, when Jesus returns to take over the kingdoms of the earth, ushering in the thousand year Millennium reign of Christ and His elect, on earth (Rev.20). So what is this ‘four winds’ ? It represents the change of casting off the flesh and revealing our spiritual body, all the while fleeing towards Christ. It is the ‘breath of Life’ spiritual body.
If the reader has stayed with me so far, you should have more than enough information documented from God’s Word, that the “secret rapture” doctrine is a false doctrine. The evidence in God’s Word is overwhelming, that His children will be on earth during that tribulation of the false Messiah, and will not be gathered to Christ until all of these signs in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 have been fulfilled. These signs, or events, are the seven seals, trumpets, and vials of Revelation. Merely because Jesus covered these seven signs in the Gospel should tell the informed reader that Revelation is meant to be understood also. Anyone telling you different, is a false prophet. The Book of Revelation was penned by John the apostle, as It was given to him by Jesus Christ, making Revelation a direct message to God’s people. Don’t let any man or system take that away from you.

The Parable of The Fig Tree

Continuing in Mark 13, here’s the next verse:

Mark 13:28   Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know summer is near:

     When the fig tree puts forth leaves in the spring, you know that summer is around the corner. Simple horticulture, and common sense verse, but Christ is starting a very important analogy.

Mark 13:29   So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

     Just like the fig tree, when you see the events given here in Mark 13 by Jesus covering the end of this earth age, know that the ‘summer’ of His returning, which is harvest time, is just around the corner also.

Mark 13:30   Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

     What’s the subject Jesus is teaching here in Mark 13? The signs of the end of this world age (‘aion’), as asked by His disciples privately, at the Mount. Is He talking about the generation of the disciples time? No, for that generation is already passed, and Jesus has not returned yet. Jesus is teaching Christians to ‘learn’ the ‘parable of the fig tree’. Understanding this parable is of extreme importance. Why? Because once understood, it gives the season; not the day or hour of the end of this earth age, but the generation that will experience ‘these things’, the endtime events. It will put you in the ballpark to view these events in order to prepare. This parable also gives knowledge of who the ‘bad figs’ are, making it possible to discern those who work the ‘mystery of iniquity’, the Kenites. (2 Thess.2)

Mark 13:31   Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away.

     Jesus Christ is The Living Word. All of It, not just the New Testament, but every Word given by God through His prophets. You’ll find in John 1 that The Word existed in the beginning, before the creation of heaven and earth, for by the Word, everything was created.

Mark 13:32   But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

     It is true that no man knows the ‘day’ or ‘hour’ of His coming, but God did teach in The Word to know the ‘season’, or generation that these events would happen to. Let’s begin an understanding of the ‘parable of the fig tree’ in Matthew 7:

Matthew 7:15   Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

     The subject here in Matt.7 is false prophets, or false teachers, who teach contrary to The Gospel of Jesus Christ, using man’s philosophical and religious systems, i.e., anything opposite to The Word. But these false prophets, in this verse, purposefully deceive, because they teach ‘sweetness’ outwardly (sheep’s clothing), but inwardly they tear at the soul like a wolf, preparing the deceived to accept ‘a spurious Messiah’.

Matt.7:16   Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

     You don’t get grapes off a thorn bush, nor figs from thistles, friend. In other words, grapes come from a ‘vine’, and in this sense, the True Vine of Christ, which is His Word. If some men claim to teach the Word, and they teach man’s traditions instead, that’s the ‘thorn bush’, or ‘thistle’. It can’t produce fruit, ‘grapes’, or the ‘good fig’, because it’s not coming from the True Vine, or right fig tree. Stay in the ‘Vine’ of Christ to produce good ‘grapes’ and edible figs.

Matt.7:17   Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

     Do you remember back in the garden of Eden, and the trees that were there? The ‘Tree of Life’ is Jesus, and the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil’, is Satan. Eve ‘looked’ on this Satan, and partook of his fruit. Can you understand why Paul would teach the elect to remain as ‘chaste virgins’, presenting themselves to Christ when He returns, instead of committing ‘spiritual adultery’, acting the ‘harlot’ with the first messiah who comes, being Satan?

Matt.7:18   A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

     God made His creation so that all goodness comes from one source, His Word. It’s as simple as that. This is why the ‘corrupt tree’ can attempt to ‘bring forth good fruit’, but stick around, its’ real fruit shall be revealed. Even if we think that our inward sense of morality, without studying the Word can supplant for ‘good fruit’, we are allowing ourselves to be deceived; there is only one source of Truth, the ‘Good Fruit’, and that Tree of Life will be the final source of Life in the eternity. (See Rev.22)

Matt.7:19   Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20   Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

     The tree that produces ‘bad fruit’ represent the same people as in the ‘parable of the tares’, for the tares are also cast into the ‘lake of fire’ (see Matt.13). Again, how do we know the fruit. Stay in God’s Word, not traditions of men. Check The Word out for yourself, with the help of a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, and a King James Version. Verify that the Truth is being taught to you.

Matt.7:21    Not every one that saith unto Me, ‘ Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father Which is in heaven.

22   Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works?’

23   And then will I profess unto them, ‘I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.’

     These ‘false prophets’ that put on a bunch of side-shows, and never get around to teaching God’s Word, will be dejected by Jesus. They built their congregations up like a business, sporting with other Churches in competition for business. They were told by the system (Satan’s system of lies) not to teach the Word chapter by chapter and verse by verse. They carried on their traditions from generation to generation, even though it didn’t align with the Word. Each new student was not allowed to understand the Word because of their mentoring false theological traditions, controlled by the ‘higher critics’ of God’s Word. A true teacher of God’s Word should show their congregation how to study for themselves, instead of making sure they adhere to an organization’s lesson guide that they probably don’t have a clue who wrote. Can you imagine a Church where the members can go out and teach others in the community, documenting from God‘s Word what they teach, with knowledge of how to take The Word back to Hebrew and Greek? That would be a Church Christ would truly be proud of, and there are some, but too few. (I’m not against the True Church, but it’s time for people to wake up, and quit ‘play acting with the Truth’.)
There were two Churches in Revelation that Jesus was pleased with, in that He had ‘somewhat’ against five of the seven He sent messages to. These two ‘good Churches’ were Smyrna and Philadelphia. What did they both have in common that made them different from the other five Churches? They both knew, and evidently taught who the ‘bad figs’ were.

Rev.2:8   And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; ‘ These things saith the First and the Last, Which was dead, and is alive;
9   I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Rev.3:7    And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; ‘These things saith He That is Holy, He That is True, He That hath the key of David, He That openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth;
8    I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name.
9    Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

     Both of these Churches knew how to trace the tradition of the ‘bad figs’, the Kenites, sons of Cain, all the way from the garden of Eden, to their day. Hence they understood the ‘key’ to the ‘mystery of iniquity’, and therefore no one could ‘shut’, or ‘open’ the ‘door’ of Truth from them. In essence, they understood God’s overall Plan, starting with the first rebellion of Satan in the first earth age, through this earth age of flesh, to the last age, the eternity.
God used the ‘fig’ to relate this information to His people because it is an excellent symbol if you understand the horticulture of the fig. The fig tree is not grown from a seed, but is set out by a shoot or sprig. There are two original types; the Smyrna fig , which is the kind we can eat and is female, and the Caprice, the male or ‘goat’ fig , which is not edible, or very bitter. (I hope you noticed the parallel of the Church at Smyrna and the Smyrna fig.) This male, or ‘goat’ fig, has a flowering plant inside it. The ‘fig wasp’ (not a joke), goes inside the male fig, to get the pollen, and then takes it to the female, or Smyrna fig, and pollinates it, for continued life. The Smyrna fig represents the tribe of Judah in prophecy, and the Caprice, or ‘goat’ fig represent the Kenites, the sons of Cain. The ‘fig wasp’ are those who would support both fig trees, instead of the good fig through ignorance of not following God’s Truth. The ‘fig wasp’ transferring pollen from the Caprice to the Smyrna also signifies that the ‘negative side’, or Satan and the Kenites are necessary, and part of God’s Plan, under His control. Let’s go to Jeremiah 24 to read what God said about these figs:

Jer.24:1   The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

     This is in Jerusalem, Mount Zion. That is where this prophecy takes place, and it involves Judah, and the Kenites (sons of Cain).

Jer.24:2   One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

     The reason Adam and Eve wore ‘fig’ leaves over their private parts, is because that was the type of sin involved. If it had simply been eating of an apple, the leaves would have been over their mouths. Eve partook of the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil’, who is Satan as also represented by the ‘bad figs’, or the offspring of Satan, through Cain’s lineage (see my Genesis study).

Jer.24:3    Then said the LORD unto me, “What seest thou, Jeremiah?” And I said, ” Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.”

     Figs are not evil in the physical sense, so this has spiritual or symbolic meaning.

Jer.24:4    Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

5     “Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

     These ‘good figs’ are the captives from the tribe Judah, taken into Babylonian captivity. They were removed from Jerusalem by Nebuchadrezzar (or Nebuchadnezzar). The captivity lasted 70 years, and then a ‘remnant’ of Judah (not all of Israel) returned along with other Nethinims of the nations to Jerusalem. The number returning truly from the tribe of Judah were less than half. (See Ezra and Nehemiah) The Nethinims were given to Temple service, and were not of the true Israelite bloodline, but took the name Jew because they lived in Judea (see also Esther 8:17). These ‘crept in unawares’ (Jude 1:4) into the Levitical priesthood, and are partly these ‘bad figs’. This is how that priesthood system was ‘tainted’ and would kill Christ and the prophets, in order to help fulfill God’s Mission of Salvation.

Jer.24:6   For I will set Mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

     This has happened only one time since that captivity, and that is when many of the ‘house of Judah’ (those dispersed abroad, i.e. Diaspora), the ‘good figs’ returned to create the modern nation of Israel, by U.N. Charter vote, in May of 1948.

Jer.24:7   And I will give them an heart to know Me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be My People, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto Me with their whole heart.

     God is speaking to the ‘remnant’ of Judah that returned to form the nation of Israel in 1948. There are other peoples that returned also from the Babylon captivity with the ‘house of Judah’, who claim to be Jews, but do lie, and are the synagogue of Satan. These Kenites are not of Israel lineage, and they cause the real tribe Judah much trouble (see Jer.35 about the ‘house of Rechabites’). They claim to be Jews in order to mask their operation, so be careful when you blame the Jewish People for world affairs.

Jer.24:8   And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

     This residue of Jerusalem are the remnant from the true tribe of Judah who returned from the Babylon captivity. The ‘evil figs’ are given as Temple servants to Judah, under the authority of king Zedekiah and his princes. These Nethinims or Temple servants, call themselves Jews, but are not…, are the ‘evil figs’ that God brings back with the ‘good figs’ to Jerusalem, not Rome, Paris, etc. Both ‘baskets of figs’ make up the nation of modern Israel today. These peoples, one representing the ‘good fig’, or Judah, and the other representing the ‘bad fig’, or the Kenites, is that ‘generation’ that fulfilled prophecy when both returned into the land of Israel, forming a nation in 1948. This is what Jesus was talking about when He said that ‘this generation’, the generation of the fig tree, shall not pass, or die out, until all the endtime events are completed, and He returns. So this gives us the ‘season’ of Jesus Christ’s return, not the day or hour, for no man knows that. In short, it means that the fulfilling of all Biblical prophecy concerning this ‘flesh age’ will be completed, and the return of the One True Messiah, Jesus Christ, can happen any time starting after 1948, but before that generation of 1948 dies out.
One of the most important deeper Messages concerning these ‘evil figs’ who returned with the tribe of Judah from the Babylon captivity, is how they later crept into the duties of the Levitical priesthood, and also in Moses’ seat of The Law. God’s Law gave direct commandments against any other lineage besides the sons of Aaron and the Levites holding these Temple duties. This intrusion is revealed in the Old Testament Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and Christ would declare in His Gospel that the “…the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:” (Matt.23:2). This is how our Lord and Savior would be condemned to death upon the cross (Matt.20:18). The true Jews (good figs) were not directly responsible for our Lord’s crucifixion, but the Kenites who call themselves ‘Jews’, but are the ‘synagogue of Satan’, i.e. the ‘evil figs’, were the guilty ones. They are the ‘workers of iniquity‘ who stirred God’s People up against our Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. And it’s still going on, even to today’s time.
      If you’ll remember what our Lord Christ said in Matthew 7:21, not all who say to Him “Lord, Lord…” shall enter into Heaven, but those who do the Will of God. Then know that Christ said those false believers who did cast out demons in His Name, who also ‘prophesied’ in His Name, and did many wonderful works in His Name, our Lord said this to: “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” That means they didn’t stay in His Word, but were deceived by the ‘workers of iniquity’.

In the ‘parable of the tares’ given by our Lord in Matthew 13, He said to not bother the ‘tares‘ (evil figs, i.e. sons of Cain or Kenites) who are mixed within the good wheat (God’s People), unless while trying to separate and destroy those bad ‘tares‘, you destroy some of the good wheat also. Instead, God’s angels will do the separating when Christ returns at ‘harvest’ time (Matt.13). This Truth of not being able to tell them apart from true Judah, is evidenced by the Apostle Paul, a Benjamite from the tribe of Benjamin, since Paul was once a member of the Pharisee sect before Christ converted him (Acts 9).

Jer.24:9   And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

     God spread these Kenites over the whole earth, to be a reproach and a curse. They are also spread among the ‘house of Israel’, and work iniquity over the whole world. This has helped in creating the ‘New World Order’ ‘beast’ system that is now upon us, and in the final stages. Our protection for these times is The Gospel Armour of Ephesians 6, which is The Word of God. Stay with It and let God be your ‘dread’ and ‘reverence’. Don’t fear this world system, for Immanu-El Christ Jesus is with us.

Peace be to you in Christ Jesus,
Dave Ramey.

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Footnotes:

¹  Hatikva Ministries, @www.hatikva.org. and Red cow at center of Israeli holy row, KFAR HASIDIM, Israel (CNN), May 23, 1997.

Today, I’m going to begin the topic of the ‘signs’ that Jesus gave us to watch for in the endtime, and then the ‘parable of the fig tree’ that Jesus Himself commanded all Christians to learn in Matthew 24:32 and Mark 13:28. It is specifically this parable that gives God’s people the season of the last generation, which is also the generation that Jesus Christ appears back on earth, in person. It is correct that no man knows the day or hour of His coming , but that excludes the season. We can know the season, which is to say, the last generation. It is given in God’s Word, not man’s. We ask a Word of Wisdom from our Father in Christ’s Name, Amen.

What are the signs of Christ’s coming;
can we know the season?

Mark 13:28    Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

     This verse was spoken by Jesus after He had given His Apostles, in private, the seven events or signs leading up to His return on earth, which are also the seven seals of Revelation. Notice here, in this verse that He says to ‘learn’ the parable of the fig tree. He didn’t say maybe, He said learn it! That is equal to a direct command from Jesus. Let’s continue.

Mark 13:29    So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

30:   Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

     What generation is Jesus talking about? The generation that will experience ‘these things’, or the seven signs of Matthew 23, Mark 13, and Luke 21, that’s who. Well, you might wonder why He threw in “…learn a parable of the fig tree” between the verses covering the seven events or signs of the endtime, and the verse about ‘this generation’. (This is very important. Check me out on this.) Jesus could not have been talking about the generation living when He walked on the earth during His first Advent. Why? Because that generation has already passed, and not all of the events, or these seven signs which He foretold are passed, and He has not returned yet. So what generation is He referring to? The generation of the ‘fig tree’. Jesus gave a lot of information in these three verses, and once properly understood, it becomes very simple.
First, let’s go to the 13^th Chapter of the Book of Mark and study about those seven signs that Jesus gave us, then we’ll get into an understanding of the ‘parable of the fig tree’, and you will be given proof from God’s Word, (not this man’s, or any other man’s word), that the seven events are unfolding right before us, documenting that we are in that last generation today.

Mark 13:1   And as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples saith unto Him, “Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”

     This disciple is commenting on the great stones making the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. Some of these stones were 20 to 40 feet long , and over 100 tons in weight. It must have been a great sight to behold in that day, being made with man’s hands in a land that was mostly desert.

Mark 13:2   And Jesus answering said unto him, “Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

     This has not happened yet to this day. This does not refer to the Roman general named Titus in 70 AD that destroyed the temple, for even the Western Wall of the Temple stands today. When Jesus says that “There shall not be left one stone upon another…”, He’s talking about His return on the seventh or last trump, when all the ‘rudiments’, which are the works by man’s hands, will be destroyed or consumed by fire, God’s fire, for God is a ‘consuming fire’ (Heb.12:29). That is when all are changed into that spiritual body spoken of by Paul in I Cor.15, which ushers in the beginning of the thousand year Millennium reign of Christ on earth.

Mark 13:3   And as He sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately,

     Here four disciples gather around Jesus and ask Him privately, about the signs of the endtime. Privately means that the following teaching was not taught by Jesus to the masses there at the mount of Olives, but to the ‘elect’ only. This is not a public teaching! It is this example of the way that Jesus taught, documenting from God’s Word, that there is a group that are ‘called’ and ‘chosen’, separate from the masses. (See also Mark 4:34; Luke 8:9-10, 12:41; Matt.13:9-17). Sorry friend, but this is not my opinion, but God’s Word. Not all that call out to God are ‘called’ and ‘chosen’, or of the ‘elect’, which the parable of the Ten Virgins should give you also this clue. God does the choosing , not man. Sweet preaching and fly away doctrines are not signs of being chosen. The great measuring stick is whether or not it is God’s teaching from His Word, instead of man’s babelings. Before He will choose us, we have to know His Word, and not a bunch of traditions of men taught by those who are deceived. Are you being deceived by men’s traditions? I hope not. Better to check it out for yourself if you’re not sure.

Mark 13:4   “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?”

     In Matthew 24 is another version of this question that makes the subject very clear:

Matthew 24:3   And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

     Then the ‘signs’ of the next verses in Matt. 24 continue as in Mark 13 and Luke 21. Now, back to Mark 13.

The First and Second Seals of Revelation

Mark 13:5   And Jesus answering them began to say, “Take heed lest any man deceive you:

     This ‘deception’ is the main thing Christians are facing today. It is the ‘territory’ that the whole battle is about. In order to win in this ‘spiritual battle’ of ‘deception’, we must understand how we can be deceived. That’s why some man standing up claiming to teach God’s Word can be the biggest deceiver. If we don’t understand God’s Word for ourselves, how are we going to know if we are being lied to or not? That’s why I am against such slogans as “Just believe and you’ll be saved”, or “All you’ve got to do is believe”, and “once saved, always saved.” And then they would teach that you don’t really need to understand the Book of Revelation, and that The Old Testament was all history, and it’s not necessary anymore. Who will these be saved by and from what, I ask? The first messiah that returns back to this earth? I hope not, because it is well documented in God’s Word that the first messiah that returns is Satan himself, playing in the role of Jesus, the position he has always coveted (Ezek.28; 2 Thess.2; Isaiah 14). The True Christ returns after the first tribulation of Satan (II Thess.2; Matt.24; Mark 13).
Believing on Jesus as the only Begotten Son of God Who died on the cross for our salvation, Who also resurrected the third day, and being baptized in His Name is only one of the steps necessary in receiving God’s Truth to keep from being deceived. Notice I said, “to keep from being deceived.”  Am I saying you won’t be saved if you believe on Christ as Savior?  No. But by not knowing our Lord’s teaching for us during these latter days, you may very well be deceived into worshipping the ‘false messiah‘ who comes first. That is what the ‘great apostacy’, or ‘a falling away’ from the true worship of God through His Savior Jesus Christ means (II Thess.2; 1 Timothy 4; 2 Timothy 4). Satan does some of his best work in some Churches (2 Cor.11; 2 Peter 2; Gal.1 & 2). Do you go to a Church where all they do is play religion, never getting around to teaching the Word of God chapter by chapter and verse by verse?   A Church system can not save anyone, but God’s Word is the only Salvation!   The deception is exceptionally strong and powerful, especially at this day and time. I implore you to check out the following verses for yourself if you don’t believe this can happen in the Churches today: II Cor.11:3-15.
The subject of deception Jesus is teaching about here in Mark 13:5 is also the first ‘seal’ of Revelation 6. These events of the endtime here in Mark 13 parallel the seven seals. Let’s go to Revelation Chapter 6.

Rev.6:1   And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, “Come and see.”

Rev.6:2   And I saw, and behold, a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

      This is the opening of the ‘first seal’. These four beasts are ‘zoon’ in the Greek, meaning ‘living beings’, or the living creatures that guard the Throne of God (Strong’s no.2226). This one on the ‘white horse’ wearing a ‘bow’, which is toxon in the Greek (Strong’s no.5115), means a ‘bow of a simple fabric’ or cheap fabric, and a ‘crown’ which is stephanos in the Greek (Strong’s no.4735), meaning ‘a crown of twine or wreathe’; is Satan. He will attempt to return in the same way as Jesus, on a ‘white horse’ described in Rev.19. However, the crown that Jesus wears in Rev.19:12 is ‘diadema’ in the Greek (Strong’s no.1238), meaning ‘a kingly ornament’, similar to what the Persian kings wore. This one (Lucifer) wearing the clothing of ‘cheap fabric’ and a ‘crown‘ of ‘twine’ is given power to rule, and  to go ‘forth’ and conquer. How? By deception. He’s going to deceive many into believing that he is the Messiah, when he is nothing more than a ‘man’ (See Ezekiel 28) parading around in a crown of twine in cheap clothing ; but he is going to be coming to ‘rapture’ those deceived away!

Mark 13:6    For many shall come in My name, saying, ‘I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

      These ‘many’ who teach in the Name of Christ are those false teachers that deceive those people who don’t have the ‘seal of God in their foreheads’ (Rev.9:4), because they don’t study God’s Word and can’t tell the difference between the false messiah (Satan) when he appears on earth first, in person, verses the True Christ when He returns on the last trump of I Cor.15, or seventh trumpet of Revelation. These people would rather listen to ‘traditions’, and to those teachers who command awe by their credentials from certain organizations and systems set up by men and not God. (That doesn’t include all teachers, only the ones that would rather teach man’s word, instead of God’s Truth.)  Jesus gave us the ‘signs’, and The Word warns us about these false teachers claiming to teach the True Word of God. The first and second seals of Revelation cover this idea of deception.
These teachings must be understood through the Spirit, and not by hanging on any physical interpretation of the events. There of course are, physical events associated with the signs, but this particular teaching given by Jesus here in Mark 13 is general in nature, and covers a lot of territory, as far as everything that will happen on earth during the last generation. Understand that when Jesus returns, He will have a ‘two-edged sword’, which is The Word of God, as stated in Hebrews 4:12. This ‘sword’ of Christ is His Truth that ‘cuts both ways’. Satan has a ‘sword’ also in contrast to the ‘Sword’ of Christ, but Satan’s false ‘sword’ is made up of ‘lies’ which causes this deception, and in this manner the ‘son of perdition’ will go forth ‘conquering’, through his workers here on earth. It’s happening today friend!  It will become much worse when he (Lucifer) finally appears on earth, in person, for the deceived will stop taking Holy Communion, thinking Satan is the True Messiah that has returned. (See Daniel 9:27)

Rev.6:3   And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, “Come and see.”

Rev.6:4   And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

     This ‘horse that was red’ is a war horse, whether physically and or spiritually, for God’s people are in a spiritual war against Satan. Again, the ‘great sword’ is a sword of lies, masquerading as peace. This seal is similar to the first seal, in that Satan has control over this symbolic rider of the red horse. Both of these first two seals are about the power and control Satan has been given over the earth (See Luke 4:5-8). Satan need not be here physically on earth to rule the world, for he has power to rule spiritually. However, he will come to earth in person, as we shall read from a later seal. Here’s the parallel of this second seal given by Christ to His Apostles in Mark 13:

Mark 13:7   And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

     What is the opposite of war? Peace, of course. So when you hear ‘peace’ being proclaimed by the world leaders, know that Christ’s return is very close. Well, what have we been hearing today? The ‘new peace’ of the ‘New World Order’, which is the ‘beast’ world political system of Revelation 13 & 17.  Take a look around in the world friend. All nations are aligning themselves to join the ‘New World Order’, which is nothing more than one world government. Most of our State Department, and those of most countries are indirectly under the control of United Nation agencies. If someone truly interested in the latest uprisings around the planet, got to digging , they would probably find the United Nations at the forefront or at the tail end of it all. Every war the United States has been involved in since World War Two have been a type of U.N. Police Action, regardless of what the mass media calls it. The ‘New World Order’ is being set up for the ‘New World Leader’, who is Satan himself (not just the ‘spirit’ of antichrist, but The Antichrist). The second seal covers Mark 13:7 pretty well also.

The Third Seal

Rev.6:5   And when He had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, “Come and see.” And I beheld, and lo, a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

Rev.6:6   And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, “A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.”

     The ‘balances’ are the balances of commerce. The ‘oil’ and ‘wine’ are symbolic of God’s elect, having the ‘Oil’ of God’s Truth (The Word) sealed in their minds and hearts,  and the ‘wine’ being the ‘Blood of Christ’ (Remember Rev.9:4). The ‘measure of wheat’ and ‘three measures of barley’ for ‘a penny’ was a scale of daily wage, and meant basically you would have to work all day long for a loaf of bread. So the main subject of this third ‘seal’ is famine. But this ‘famine’ is not a physical ‘famine’, but is symbolical for something else. Turn to Amos 8:

Amos 8:9   And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

Amos 8:11   Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

12   And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it..

13   In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

     For those who think this message from The Lord was just for the time of Amos the prophet, I ask you to explain Amos 8:9, as it refers to the sun going down at noon, and the earth being darkened. These verses are about the latter days. As stated, the famine in the endtime is a ‘famine’ for hearing and understanding the True Word of God, instead of a bunch ‘traditions’ with subtle idol worship built into it. The ‘fair virgins’ relate to the ‘five foolish virgins’ who fell asleep waiting for the Bridegroom (Christ) and they allowed their lamps to burn out of ‘Oil’.  Now let’s go back to Mark 13 and see if this third seal of Revelation has a parallel.

Mark 13:8   For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

     This word ‘sorrows’ is ‘odin’ in the Greek, meaning ‘birth-pangs’ (Strong’s no.5604). It is with these events of the third seal, that the ‘birth pains’ of the coming Millennium age start, signaling the birth of a new world age, God’s reign on the earth (God’s Millennium, not man’s). So Mark 13:8 is covered by the third seal, and also partially the fourth seal of Revelation with the ‘beginnings of sorrows‘.

The Fourth Seal

Rev.6:7 And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, “Come and see.”

Rev. 6:8   And I looked, and behold, a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

     This ‘pale horse’ represents ‘Death’, and the spiritual name of Satan’s organization on earth is ‘Death’, for that is another name for Satan. (Remember, Satan is given rule over this earth age even from his present abode.) The ‘beasts’ here is not ‘zoon’ this time, but ‘therion’ in the Greek, meaning a ‘(venomous, wild), beast’ (Strong’s no.2342). Also in this verse, the statement, “…power was given unto them…”, refers to the same overall group of people and their ‘four dynasty’ system controlling the nations and the earth. These people are the Kenites (‘Qayin’ which is ‘Cain’, making ‘Kenite’ a ‘son of Cain’). Their system is the ‘beast’ system of Revelation 13 and Daniel 7, and this is also where the ‘mark of the beast’ originates from, i.e., Cain. If you don’t understand this idea of the bloodline of Satan, then part of the ‘mystery of iniquity’ that Paul wrote about will not open up to you, and for that matter, much of God’s Word will remain a mystery (see 2 Thess.2). Here are what these powers to slay, mean today. Below is the four system dynasty that Satan is using to control the world in our time, the last generation:

The ‘sword’ of lies = World educational systems, Satan’s lies, a ‘sword of lies’ in contrast to The Sword of Christ, Which is The Word of God (see Eph.6).

‘hunger‘= Economical controls. Remember, they are told to not hurt the ‘oil’ or ‘wine’ of God’s election. This is the U.N. economic global monetary system which they wish for an eventual one world currency. GATT and NAFTA really opened this up in the United States in order to transfer our wealth overseas.

The beasts’ = Political system; or the Kenites and their ‘world government’ apparatus, not hungry wild animals attacking humans in the flesh. The idea of the ‘mark’ God put upon Cain in Gen.4 should reveal this to you. That ‘mark’ was the start of the ‘mark of the beast‘. The Kenites are a race descended from Cain, the first murderer.

‘death’ = False Religion; or Satan’s spiritual system of false teachings and idol worship, which causes deception, and hence ‘spiritual death’. A Word of caution: this includes many, but not all of the Churches claiming to teach the Word. Understand that Satan perverted God’s Word from the outset in the Garden of God, against Eve, and he influenced five of the seven Churches in Asia (see Revelation 1-4). This a pointer to the deceived Churches and religious systems who claim to teach and follow Christ, but do traditions outside of The Word instead: ‘MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH’ (see Rev.17).

     The fourth seal of Revelation covers Mark 13:8 very well. Now let’s go to the fifth seal in Revelation 6, and make the parallel in Mark 13:9-13.

The Fifth Seal

Rev.6:9   And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

Rev.6:10   And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”

Rev.6:11   And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

     It is very difficult for someone steeped in the “secret rapture” tradition, who believe we are asleep in the ground until Christ returns, to explain away these verses. These souls were slain for the ‘testimony’ of God, and they were once upon the earth, making them our ‘brethren’ and ‘fellowservants’. Yet they are now at the ‘altar’ in God’s presence, and not in some hole in the ground. The ‘revenge’ they cry out for, comes at the return of Jesus Christ. The key message of these verses is ‘testimony’ for God. This is why they were killed here on earth in the flesh. These must wait for their ‘brethren’ still on the earth, likewise who will have the ‘testimony’ for God, and will also be ‘slain’. Now let’s turn back to Mark 13:9 and discover the parallel of this fifth seal:

Mark 13:9   But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them.

     Some of God’s elect will be delivered up to testify against Satan and his ‘New World Order’. The ‘delivering up’, in this case, hasn’t happened yet. Why? Because Satan is not here on earth, in person, yet. The false teachers will represent Satan at ‘councils’ and in many Churches (i.e.‘synagogues’), so this will be an event that will happen in every country. There’s more coming up to document this:

Mark 13:10   And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

     The word ‘published’ in this verse, is ‘kerusso’ in the Greek, meaning ‘to herald, as a public crier’ (Strong’s no.2784). I realize that it is taught as meaning to actually ‘publish’ The Word in every country, but what is the subject of these verses? It is the ‘brethren’ and ‘fellowservants’ who have the ‘testimony’ for Christ, and who will also speak out with the Holy Spirit against Satan and his ‘one world government’ system when he appears on earth masquerading as Messiah. This should become more clear as we continue in Mark 13:

Mark 13:11   But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

     This is the ‘tongue’ spoken on Pentecost day documented in Acts 2, when everyone present understood in their own language, in their own dialect from where they were born. Peter would quote the prophet Joel in Acts 2:

Acts 2:16   But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

Acts 2:17   ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days,’ saith God, ‘ I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Acts 2:18   And on My servants and on My handmaindens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

     This is not the ‘unknown tongue’ Paul talked about in I Cor. 14, for Paul makes it very clear that an ‘unknown tongue’ is only understood by God and one given the gift of interpretation. (By the way, the word ‘unknown’ is not there in the original manuscripts, for it is Strong’s no. 9999, which means an inserted word. There is no such thing as an ‘unknown tongue’ that only a few can understand in God’s Word. Therefore, the word ‘tongue’ in the Gospel deals with the idea of languages, and that is exactly what the Apostles were speaking there on Pentecost Day). This ‘tongue’ spoken of by Peter and Joel is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that day when God’s elect are delivered up to the synagogues of Satan, giving a ‘testimony’ for God. This is the evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit with God speaking through His elect, not man speaking. Everyone that hears this ‘tongue’ will hear in their own language over the whole world, and many shall wake out of their spiritual slumber and worship the One True Lord.
     These trials and ‘councils’ will be public over the whole ‘New World Order’ system, trials of those delivered up to ‘councils’, and to Satan’s ‘synagogue’ or religious system. That time is not yet, but in our near future, and happens in ‘the last days’, meaning during the ‘tribulation’ period. Never heard this? Let’s turn to Revelation 2:8 to document that Satan has his Church system, that teaches The Word.

Rev.2:8   And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; ‘These things saith the First and the Last, Which was dead, and is alive;

Rev.2:9   I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

     Only two of the seven Churches in Revelation taught who these false ones of the ‘synagogue of Satan’ were; Smyrna and Philadelphia. These false teachers who called themselves Jews, had crept into the Church and were perverting God’s Word, and ‘seducing’ God’s people with lies and traditions of men (they are not of our brother of the tribe Judah, but call themselves such because they live in Judea, yet have a foreign heritage. Do a study in Judges, Ezra and Nehemiah to find out why.) Don’t kid yourself about this being past history; it’s still happening today. The difference when Satan appears on earth, is that there will be a world wide Church system that he will head, directly from the Temple in Jerusalem. (See II Thess. 2)
This is the message Jesus is giving to His elect disciples in Mark 13 dealing with being ‘delivered up’ to the ‘synagogue’ of Satan, and is but another proof that Satan is coming to earth in the near future. Continuing with Mark 13:

Mark 13:12   Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.

     Jesus quoted the words in bold from Micah 7:6. This verse does not literally mean everyone killing one another. Remember that ‘Death’ is another name for Satan? (Rev.6:8) It means that even those loved ones closest to the ‘elect’ will have them ‘delivered up’ to ‘Death’ or Satan. Satan will deceive many upon his appearance, for he will come in similar manner like Jesus Christ, proclaiming to be Jesus; and the ‘whole world will wonder after him’, thinking he is the True Messiah.
Let’s say that a father in a household is ‘sealed’ with God’s Truth in his mind, and he knows that this ‘another Jesus’ of 2 Cor.11 who comes is Satan disguising himself as Jesus, and this father has a son. Also, this son has been going to a different Church down the street which teaches traditions of men, instead of teaching the True Word of God, and the son is fooled into believing that this ‘another Jesus’ is the True Lord Jesus Christ. The son, etc., will go to this fake Jesus and say something like, “My father is a good and loving man and studies your Word daily, but he just doesn’t believe that you’re Jesus. Please take him and see if you can help him Lord, because I know you can.” (See also Luke 21:12-19)
Don’t believe this can happen? Remember why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were delivered up to Nebuchadnezzer, the king of Babylon, and put in the fiery furnace heated seven times hotter (spiritual completion) than necessary? They refused to worship the ‘golden image’ set up by Nebuchadnezzer. He is but a type of the Antichrist, and a symbol for the Babylonian captivity of the last ‘world government’, that is nearly upon us. The main difference is that it is Satan as king of Babylon this time. Also, Satan will not repent as Nebuchadnezzer did. (See Daniel 3 to find out what happened to Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego.)

Mark 13:13   And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

     People like the father in the previous example, will be hated because they won’t accept the false Messiah, and worship his image, as the Book of Daniel was an example. Ever been in a group where you were the only one that disagreed, with good reason, but everyone ‘sneered’ at you, and ‘brow beat’ you, trying to make you change your mind?  The elect will withstand the ‘fiery darts of Satan’, putting on the ‘Gospel Armour’ and will worship the True Christ, Who comes after Satan (see Ephesians 6).

The Sixth Seal

     Moving on to the sixth seal of Revelation 6, we’ll find the parallel in Mark 13:14-16.

Mark 13:14   But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

Mark 13:15   And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:

Mark 13:16   And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

     This ‘abomination of desolation’ is Satan sitting in the Temple of God, setting himself up as God in Jerusalem (II Thess. 2).   Jesus is making the Book of Daniel part of Revelation and His Gospel. This refers to Daniel 9:27 talking about the Holy Communion of Christ ending, because the world will think that the True Messiah is here on earth, when it is the ‘abomination’ of the ‘desolator’, Satan, deceiving those that are not ‘sealed’ with the Word of God (Rev.9).
Jesus is also saying to those who live in Judaea, that when they see this ‘abomination’ sitting in the Temple in Jerusalem, get out of the city, don’t turn back like Lot’s wife outside Gomorra; and if you’re in the field, don’t even go back for your coat. The ‘housetop’ was used as a reference for ‘watchmen’, in other words, don’t be deceived!

Mark 13:17   But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

     This has nothing to do with mothers being with child in these latter days. This is to be understood spiritually, not literally, for a woman is blessed in child bearing. (See I Timothy 2) This is referring to those who have spiritually jumped in bed with the first messiah who comes, the false one, the Antichrist or ‘instead of Christ’ in the Greek (‘antichristos‘, Strong’s no.500), and when the True Christ returns, they are ‘with child’ already, for it symbolizes ‘spiritual harlotry’ with Satan. This is part of the analogy about Christ being the ‘Bridegroom’ and His Church as the ‘Bride’. Woe to those who don’t present themselves to Jesus Christ as ‘chaste virgins’, as Paul mentioned in 2 Cor.11! Consider the following verses covering this analogy:

Isaiah 54:1   “Sing O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,” saith the Lord.

     How can ‘the children of the desolate’ be worth more, or have more offspring than the children of the married wife? This really doesn’t make sense if understood literally. But in the spiritual sense, and in this whole chapter 54 of Isaiah, it is about God’s servants keeping themselves spiritually pure in worship of Him only, as ‘chaste virgins’, unmarried, barren, without a child from Satan spiritually, when Christ returns to claim His Bride, the True Church.

Isaiah 54:5   For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called.

Isaiah 54:6   For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused,” saith thy God.

     How does someone lose their spiritual virginity? The elect are ‘called’, to be as ‘chaste virgins’ betrothed to Christ (II Cor.11:2), but are ‘forsaken’ by their own people who are deceived, and also for whom the souls of the elect are ‘grieved’. Their people that they grief for however and who are also deceived, will worship the Antichrist and his image. They gather to Satan thinking he is Jesus. Those true children of God who love Him, but are deceived because they didn’t stay with God’s Word instead of man’s, go a ‘whoring’ after Satan, the ‘instead of Christ’, committing spiritual adultery, and hence make up ‘MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS…’ of Rev.17:5. (See also 2 Cor.11; Luke 23:29; Gal. 4:27; Jer. 30:6)
All this points that Satan comes to earth on the Sixth Trumpet, Sixth Seal, Sixth Vial; the 666, or ‘mark of the beast’ signature letting those who are ‘sealed’ with God’s Word realize the ‘season’ and order of events. We know by Paul in I Cor.15 that Christ Jesus comes on the Seventh Trumpet, Seventh Seal, and Seventh Vial; the 777 of spiritual perfection (‘last trump‘), and that the ‘son of perdition’ who is Satan must come before Christ, as written in 2 Thess.2 also by Paul the Apostle.
As the reason for all souls being born into this flesh age by woman is for the purpose of making a ‘choice’ to worship God, or Satan, likewise, for those of this last generation in the flesh, a further choice is necessary, and that means choosing the proper Messiah, knowing when The True Messiah Christ Jesus returns. This is why Christ gave us these signs here in The Gospel of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, and in the Book of Revelation.  I’m going to stop here for this Message. I’ll continue with the final sign, and the ‘parable of the fig tree’ in my next Ideas Letter.

Peace be with you in Christ,
Dave Ramey.

This is a study I’ve been asked to do for quite a while, and a subject which many Christians ask about. The main importance of discerning the ‘cloven tongue’ spoken by Christ’s Apostles on Pentecost Day, as written in Acts 2, is this – What does The Word of God teach us about ‘tongues’. If we consult God’s Word, then any confusion should be cast away. But we must listen to The Word and not man, to prevent that confusion. (That also means to verify this study from The Word for yourself.) So, as long as we keep to God’s Word on this subject, any anger or distraught feelings by those who refuse to accept God’s Word, is to their own deception. And they must needs ask for guidance and understanding from our Lord Jesus Christ.
     Personally, I do not speak in an ‘unknown tongue’, though I have had a little talent with a different ‘language’ other than my native tongue, though I’m rusty due to lack of use. I know some believers on Christ personally who do speak an ‘unknown tongue’, though it is different from what I would call a language of man.
     So with that, let’s get down to study, as we ask a Word of Wisdom from our Father in Christ Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Mark 13:9   But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them.
10    And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
11    But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

     This is the latter day purpose for the ‘cloven tongue’ from The Holy Spirit, spoken on Pentecost Day. These verses here in Mark 13 parallel the 5th and 6th Seals of Rev.6:9-11, and events of Rev.9. The word publish in verse 10 means ‘to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth’ (Strong’s no.2784). This particular happening is still yet future to us, though I feel not far off. It will be a time when the false Babylon world system, with its false world-religion, will be finalized.
     So what does Jesus Christ mean by ‘in that hour’ here in verse 11? That ‘hour’ refers to that ‘evil day’ of Eph.6, the ‘hour’ of Rev.17:12 when the ten kings (rulers) on the earth receive power ‘as kings one hour with the beast’. That’s talking about the false ten ruler one-world kingdom Satan sets up on earth which is nearing completion today, though that second ‘beast’, i.e. the last king diverse from the others (Dan.7), is not here yet on earth de facto.
     So Christ, in these verses of Mark 13, is talking about the first tribulation by Satan as a false messiah. That’s when this ‘delivered up’ of God’s elect will happen for this future event. (see also Luke 12; 21, and Matthew 10; 24.)

Rev 2:9   I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

10    Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

     This Message was from Christ to the Church at Smyrna, one of the two Churches He had no problem with. He’s letting them know, and those today, that some of His elect will be delivered up for ‘ten days’ to give His testimony. Do you remember about the ‘ten days’ of Daniel:

Dan 1:11   Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
12    “Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.

     These ten days are also a symbol for those ten days stated during Paul’s deliverance in Caesarea, as written in Acts 25:6. All these events represent trials of God’s chosen by false kingdoms and rulers.

Dan 1:5   And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

     Daniel and his fellows were to be ‘nourished’ during this ‘three years’ on the king’s ‘meat’, and the king’s ‘wine’. Instead… Daniel proposed to the prince of the eunuchs to give him and his fellows ‘pulse’ (zeroa in Hebrew meaning vegetables), and ‘water’ to drink.
     I hope you’re starting to realize these terms are all important symbols for the tribulation period. The ‘three years’ represent the last half of the tribulation period, and ‘at the end thereof‘ means towards the very end of that tribulation, the delivering up of God’s elect to the king of Babylon occurs. That is the ‘five months’ of Rev.9, the time shortened for the elect’s sake (Mark 13:20), i.e. ‘that hour’ (Mark 13:11), the ‘evil day’ (Eph.6:13; Amos 6:3), the last hour before ‘midnight’ when the five foolish virgins fell asleep before the Bridegroom (Christ) returns in the ten virgin parable, the ‘eleventh hour’ of the laborers in the vineyard parable (Matt.20).
     Daniel and his fellows are ordered to eat the king’s meat, which is not the ‘strong meat’ which Paul taught of in Heb.5. The True ‘strong meat’ is The Word of God. The ‘pulse’ of Daniel and his fellows was a symbol for The Bread of Life, Which is Jesus Christ our Daily Bread. Daniel was also given to drink the king’s ‘wine’, but refused and drank ‘water’ instead. Wine is a symbol used of the Blood of Christ, but not this king’s wine of Daniel’s time. The ‘water’ Daniel drank is a symbol for The Waters of Life, Christ again!
     In as much as the Book of Daniel is an account of the Babylon captivity of the ‘house of Judah’ historically, It symbolizes the captivity events by the last world Babylon empire, the one-world beast false kingdom of Satan upon earth – the New Babylon World Order. We should note that Daniel and his fellow brethren were protected by God during this 70 years captivity; they were well taken care of. The marker was that they flat refused to bow down to the false ‘image of the beast’, and worship the king of Babylon. That’s when their deliverance came. As Ephesians 6 also teaches us about this ‘stand‘ against the false king during the tribulation:

Eph 6:11
11    Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:13-17
13    Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14    Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15    And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16    Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17    And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

     The Ephesians 6 Message is taught many times, but is seldom linked to Daniel and Revelation concerning the delivering up of God’s elect during the first tribulation. I believe many teachers intuitively know it is a special Message to certain ones, but they rarely carry through with its full meaning. The full Message of Eph.6 is to know that God is with those who will ‘stand’ before the false king to give a testimony for Christ. The ‘sword of the Spirit’ which will ‘withstand‘ Satan’s false kingdom in the ‘evil day’ will be The Word of God spoken by that ‘cloven tongue’ of Pentecost Day. Even all of Christ’s adversaries will not be able to gainsay nor resist The Word of God spoken in ‘that hour’ (Luke 21:15).
     So the Book of Daniel is a symbol for the 7 years tribulation, and the deliverance out of the fiery furnace by Jesus Christ (the fourth Man in the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), which was heated seven times hotter than necessary. That ‘furnace’ symbolizes the second coming of Christ when all the works of man are melted through God’s consuming fire. Those in Christ will not be harmed, as the clothes of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t even smell of smoke when Christ delivered them out of that hot furnace. But the false king’s servants which threw them in, vaporized when they got too close to that same furnace (Dan.3).
     When these events are properly understood, as given throughout God’s Word, those in Christ who are ‘prepared’ with the ‘whole armour of God’ have nothing to fear going through this tribulation period. That ‘preparation’ of Eph.6 means understanding God’s Plan from Genesis through Revelation. We don’t have to memorize; just know His Plan.
     The devouring of king Zedekiah and his sons during this 70 years captivity, by the historical king of Babylon, is another symbol for the tribulation event by Satan. Zedekiah, the last king of the ‘house of Judah’, was warned by God to not fight against the Babylon captivity; that He was causing it as a punishment. That last king of Judah didn’t listen, and allied himself with other nations to do war against Babylon, and God delivered him to the king of Babylon with almost no protection. Zedekiah’s body was for all practical purposes, mutilated; his eyes were poked out and he was carried to Babylon in chains (2 Kings 25; Jer.21; 27; 29; 52). Based on that symbology for today, that means those who are looking to ‘fly away’ to escape this tribulation, instead of standing to give testimony against it, will be spiritually devoured by this future king of the last Babylon world kingdom.
     With this then, the Message about those of God’s elect who are delivered up for a ‘testimony’ for Christ’s sake, should be clear. Our spiritual food and drink during this tribulation is Christ. Those of today who are on the false king’s meat and wine, are eating and drinking deception unto themselves, and are not prepared to stand in the ‘evil day’ for Christ. And this false king of the tribulation will be Satan himself as head.

     So is there such a thing as a Holy Spirit directed ‘tongue’ in God’s Word? Yes, and now we know specifically what event It is purposed for. To give a testimony for Christ when delivered up to councils and leaders of the synagogue of Satan at the tail end of the tribulation period, the last ‘hour’.

Important Note:
Do not allow yourself to get confused about the KJV Bible phrase “unknown tongue” written in 1 Corinthians 14. The word “unknown” in that whole Chapter was added… by the KJV translators (it’s Strong’s no. 9999, which means an added word to the English). That word ‘unknown’ is not in the Greek Manuscripts they used for their KJV translation. There is no such thing as an unknown tongue in God’s Word.  
     Let’s turn to Acts 2 to discover what the tongue of Pentecost really was, and when this Holy Spirit tongue was first given:

Acts 2:1   And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2    And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3    And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4    And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

     The word ‘Pentecost’ is ‘pentekoste‘ in the Greek meaning ‘the fiftieth day after Passover’ (Strong’s no.4005). It is from the root ‘pente‘ meaning ‘five‘. That’s a symbol in Biblical numerics for ‘Grace’.
     Christ had told His Apostles not to leave Jerusalem until they had received this gift from The Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). When God’s Spirit accomplished this event, these Apostles were allowed to actually see a spiritual phenomena associated with it.
     This word ‘tongues’ is ‘glossa’ in the Greek, meaning ‘the tongue; by implication, a language (specially, one naturally unacquired)‘ (Strong’s no.1100). That means one of the specific languages spoken and recognized in the world. And it means the Apostles did not previously learn those languages that went forth as ‘cloven’, meaning in all directions.
     The word ‘utterance’ in verse 4 should be noted from the Greek also. It is apophtheggomai and means ‘to enunciate plainly, i.e. declare’ (Strong’s no.669). Thayers Greek Lexicon has the definition as ‘to speak out, to speak forth, to pronounce; not a word of everyday speech but one ‘belonging to dignified and elevated discourse‘‘. To put it simply, the words were understood, and the manner of speech was not slang, or base, but exaltations and articulate refined proclamations, a type which moves our soul’s intellect to praise the great works of God.
     The meaning of this tongue spoken by the Apostles on Pentecost Day is languages; not an ‘unknown tongue’ which only a few can understand. Well, those Greek Lexicons are just dictionaries, right? We can’t really rely on their meaning, right? Let’s keep going here in Acts 2, as God’s Word shall confirm Strong and Thayer to be correct, as it was languages of the world which were spoken on Pentecost Day by Christ’s Apostles.

Acts 2:5   And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

     God is letting us know that people from ‘every nation under heaven’ were present for this event. Later in this same Chapter, He is going to even name these nations for us, just so we don’t miss this point.

Acts 2:6   Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

     Every man present, from every nation under heaven, each… heard the Apostles speak in his own language. So what is this word ‘language’? It is dialektos in the Greek New Testament Manuscripts meaning ‘a (mode of discourse), i.e. dialect‘ (Strong’s no.1258). That Greek word is where our English word ‘dialect’ comes from. It means an accent; such as for English, the Southern ‘drawl’ dialect of the USA, or the Northern dialect, or the Midwestern dialect, etc. And even the English accent differences between Londoners to Dubliners. It’s all the same base of English, but spoken with different accents, drawls, and such. If you’re Spanish, it would be the difference between the Spanish American accent of the word ‘cinco’, which means five, and said as ‘sinko’. But in Madrid, Spain, in the Castillian dialect, it is pronounced ‘thinko’.
     If these Apostles all had previously learned the various foreign languages which The Holy Spirit gave them ‘pronunciation’ (utterance), then wouldn’t they still sound like Galilaeans trying to pronounce English when we heard them? We’d know right? We’d hear them mispronounce our English words some wouldn’t we? That’s because without a whole lot of practice, it’s tough learning to rightly pronounce another language different from our tongue of birth. Fluency in a different language of birth doesn’t just mean learning a new vocabulary of words, or how to speak the new language like we do our own. In other words, the inflection of tongue and voice in English doesn’t necessarily work for Spanish. The tongue has to be rolled for the ‘R’s and such. I could never make it happen with my voice, so I was a ‘dead ringer’ for a foreigner.
     Yet, The Holy Spirit through these Apostles, who were Galilaeans, spoke that kind of language fluency there on Pentecost Day. And each people from the different nations there even heard in the perfect ‘dialect’ of their village or town of birth. Amazing isn’t it? That’s exactly what those peoples there thought also; and that’s a sign from God, not of confusion, but one of true understanding. There’s the difference.

Acts 2:7   And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, “Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8    And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

     Again, this word ‘tongue’ is ‘dialect’ from the Greek. So there should be no mistake what was spoken by Christ’s Apostles on Pentecost Day; that is to say, languages of the world, including the dialects which go with each region of each specific language. God knows how we speak and hear.

Acts 2:9   Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10    Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

     To make sure we know God is talking about world languages, and not an ‘unknown tongue’, He even gave us the various lands and nations of those who were assembled there on Pentecost Day.

Acts 2:11   Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.”

     This word ‘tongues’ in Acts 2:11 is ‘glossa‘ again, meaning ‘language‘. The Bible verse structure which just occurred on the subject of this tongue alternated like so:

a) Acts 2:3-4   tongues   =  glossa in Greek Texts = language
b) Acts 2:6      language =   dialektos   ”          ”   = dialect
b) Acts 2:8      tongue     = dialektos   ”           ”   = dialect
a) Acts 2:11    tongues   = glossa       ”           ”   = language

     As seen with the above, the Greek Manuscripts of God’s Word don’t lie. That sequence is from The Holy Spirit inspiring the writers of our Holy Bible. And these types of structures happen time and time again within God’s Word, letting us know our Father’s working through His Holy Spirit. The Companion Bible points out many of these structures in the margin. So this structure is just another way which God sealed His Truth on just what Christ’s Apostles spoke on Pentecost.
What subject was the multitude of peoples from every nation under heaven hearing the Apostles talk about, and in their own dialects? The Wonderful Works of God (Acts 2:11). Let me ask something. Are those ‘Wonderful Works of God’ to be understood with our mind? Yes! Otherwise, how would we know what was being said or taught? If I said ‘Ya Viva El Dios en esta dia, e hace trabahandos grandes’, how many would understand? If you understand Spanish, I said something like, ‘Even this day God lives, and does great works’. But if you don’t understand Spanish, how would you know without an interpreter?
     God wants us to understand His Wonderful Works Which give us peace and knowledge of Him and His Greatness. How else could Salvation through Christ be preached to the Gentile without overcoming the language barrier? God is not the author of confusion, and the true tongue of Pentecost Day was not babel confusion either.

Acts 2:12   And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, “What meaneth this?”
13    Others mocking said, “These men are full of new wine.”

     We always have some to raise doubt in the crowds, to try and confuse God’s Works. The Kenite is expert at casting doubt.

Acts 2:14   But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, “Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15    For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16    But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

     The ‘third hour’ of the day is our 9 A.M. It was forbidden to take of wine that early, especially on a Sabbath or Holy day.
     Peter is getting ready to quote Joel the prophet from The Old Testament. That means he’s joining this ‘cloven tongue’ event with the end time prophecies given by God through Joel.

Acts 2:17   ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days,’ saith God, ‘I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18    And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19    And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20    The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
21    And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

     Peter is quoting from Joel 2:28-32. Joel’s prophecy was given about the ‘latter days’ during the tribulation period. These events from Joel 2 apply to the seven signs which our Lord Christ Jesus gave in His Gospel. They are part of the seven seals of the Book of Revelation 6. Notice it’s saying that ‘daughters’ and ‘handmaidens’ will teach (prophesy) God’s Word also? Peter is letting us know that this ‘cloven tongue’ of Pentecost Day is but an example of the tongue prophesied by Joel the prophet, and is to be used against Satan’s future false kingdom. When the world hears The Wonderful Works of God being declared through It, many today will wake up out of their spiritual slumber, and praise The Father through The Son. They will believe on Christ Jesus for Salvation.
     By the way, those living today in this last generation will experience this future event. I’m trying to help you prepare for it, and even though some reading this may think it’s just too ‘far out’, maybe when they actually see it come to pass, they’ll remember this, and will begin to wake up to Christ. The whole world will see this happen, so our loving Father is going to give His Message directly to us, through His Holy Spirit speaking by His elect, and even the non-believer will be astonished. (See my ‘Signs and Fig Tree’ studies).
     If you’re having a hard time understanding what true prophesying or declaring The Word of God is, check these references:  (Rev.10:11; Ezek.37; Numbers 11:23-29; 1 Kings 22:8; Isa.30:10; Jer.5; 14; 19:14-15; 23; 25:30; Ezek.11; Zech.13; Acts 21; Romans 12).
     Those references are but a few, but they all have one trait in common; all who gave prophecy from God gave it through The Holy Spirit with understanding and with words of known languages. Even the false prophets written of in God’s Word prophesied using known languages of man, though their prophecy was their own ideas, and not from God. That means, for a prophecy to be from God, it always comes true, no maybes, and most importantly… it must be in total accord with God’s Word.
     An example of ‘vain’ prophecy is the secret rapture out of here before the antichrist comes. It doesn’t take too much real study in God’s Word to know it is not Biblical: and, it was not even a taught doctrine before 1830. Those who teach a rapture out by Christ before the first tribulation, must intentionally disregard much of God’s Word, especially about God restoring the twelve tribes of Israel when Christ returns, a heaven upon earth, which is God’s Kingdom of the Eternity, and… the main purpose for the true ‘cloven tongue’ spoken on Pentecost Day, which will be especially for the last days of the tribulation, before our Lord and Savior returns. This Acts 2 explanation about the true cloven tongue of Pentecost, with everyone present hearing their own language of birth being spoken, is left out of their teachings. “It doesn’t fit what we choose to believe, so let’s not talk about it,” is their general attitude. So if someone claiming to speak the true cloven tongue of Acts 2 sounds like a bunch of gibberish that doesn’t make sense, then know that is not the true cloven tongue of Pentecost.

     After Pentecost Day, are there other instances of this ‘cloven tongue’? Yes. Let’s turn to Acts 10:

Acts 10:45   And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46    For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
47    “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?”

   Of course the key phrase here is ‘as well as we’. That means these Gentiles who spoke under The Holy Spirit’s influence also uttered the various languages and their dialects heard on Pentecost Day. Sorry, but that true ‘cloven tongue’ of Pentecost didn’t change when the Gentiles received It.

Acts 11:14    Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
15    And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
16    Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.’

     The words ‘as on us at the beginning’ verify again how these Gentiles received The Holy Spirit (the word Ghost is not in the Greek Manuscripts; it is always pneuma in the Greek Texts, i.e. ‘Spirit’. Strong’s no. 4151).

1 Cor 12:4   Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5    And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6    And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God Which worketh all in all.
7    But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8    For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9    To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10    To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11    But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.

With these descriptions of The Holy Spirit’s workings, as here given by Paul, there are different offices given. None who speak with a gift of ‘divers kinds of tongues’ have authority to deny the presence of some of these other ‘gifts’ from God’s Holy Spirit to others. Nor do all Christians receive everyone of the various ‘administrations’ in one, but ‘dividing to every man severally as He will’ is how God’s Spirit works. All these separate offices make up The Body of Christ.
     No doubt Christ’s Apostles were given more or even all the various administrations of The Spirit. The spreading of The Gospel of Christ was at Its beginning stages during the time of Christ’s Apostles. The important matter is, that God will give out His Holy Spirit which will best support His Mission being done by His servants. If believers on Christ don’t do much service for our Lord, then they shouldn’t expect miraculous Power from on High. But it doesn’t mean they aren’t blessed with The Holy Spirit. On occasion, a believer strong in faith in our Savior Jesus Christ, may be called upon for a particular service.
     I know I’ve been directed more than once to help someone struggling with God’s Word, and in a situation which developed that amazed me after it had happened, once I had time to give it more thought. But it never came to pass until I got down to serious study in The Word for myself, trying to make myself a fit vessel for Christ’s work. God directs us through His Spirit in many ways to help others in need. Some have a wonderful gift from His Spirit in consoling others during a death in the family, genuinely showing love and compassion to the family of the deceased, always knowing just the right words to say. I try in those situations, but my choice of words just aren’t too appropriate for the time, but my intentions are well meant, and I think they realize that. At least I hope they do. Others have a gift with helping the sick and poor. Others are gifted Evangelists, Ministers, and Pastors, gaining all the tools for their Mission in Christ, especially in foreign lands.
     But for those who just say they believe on Christ, and then go back to their daily grind, not giving our Lord much thought thereafter, expecting Him to bless them without earning it, what can they show for their faith? To many of them, Christianity is over there in that basket, and flesh reality is over here in this basket. They treat God’s Truth as a separate reality; religion as one, and living in the world as another. That road easily leads to deception, so beware.

     Paul taught more about the various ‘gifts’ from The Holy Spirit in 1 Cor.12-14. I’m not going to cover those Chapters, but based on The Word from Acts on the ‘cloven tongue’ and this study, one should be able to discern what ‘tongue’ Paul is speaking about in 1 Corinthians. It is important to note in 1 Cor.14 that in the phrase ‘unknown tongue’, the word ‘unknown‘ was added by the KJV translators. It is not in the Greek New Testament Manuscripts of God’s Word. The full Message by Paul in those Chapters of 1 Cor.12 through 14 is ‘knowledge’ of God’s Word in Christ along with charity (love). Those are the two main points which Paul stresses. And in all cases of that word ‘tongue’ as written in those Chapters, it is the word ‘glossa‘ meaning ‘languages‘ (Strong’s no. 1100).

Peace be with you in Christ Jesus,
Dave Ramey.