God is mighty! How is He going to show this in the last days?

Core verse:

And at the sounding of the first, a rain of ice and fire, mixed with blood, was sent on the earth: and a third part of the earth, and of the trees, and all green grass was burned up. (Revelation 8:7 BBE)

A trumpet was usually in Biblical times blown in battles. The first battle that we find in chapter 8, is God sending rain of ice (hail) and fire to the earth. This was mixed with blood, so it was red in color.

The hail and fire reminds me of the seventh plague in Egypt. This was when Moses and the Israelites were negotiating with the pharaoh to let the Israelite slaves go free. We read about this in Exodus 9:13-35. God was showing the pharaoh that He was powerful. Now in the Book of Revelations we read that God will do the same in the last days, but it will be red in color. Clearly this will demonstrate that God is all powerful.

Some people think that this “red” is significant because it is the color of lava coming out of a volcano. This might also be sand, dust or pollution that will color the skies red. Nowadays we see red skies because of pollution! This could very well also be a sign of the last days. However, the “red” colored skies could mean a lot of things. We can only speculate what this might be.

The point is that it will show the power of God for all to see. This was indeed the reason for the seventh plague in Egypt. 

The last part of the core verse is difficult to interpret. We read that a third of the trees and earth will burn but that ALL the grass will burn. This reminds me of the following verse:

The grass is dry, the flower is dead; but the word of our God is eternal. (Isaiah 40:8 BBE)

The dead grass in this verse in Isaiah tells us that the grass is temporary but the word of God is permanent. Perhaps the core verse (Revelation 8:7) is referencing to Isaiah 40:8. In other words, the third of the earth and trees and all the grass that dies may very well highlight the eternalness of the Word of God.

The main purpose of this verse (Revelation 8:7) is to show the earth that God is mighty. Red hail and fire, tighter with the dead grass points to the fact that God is mighty!

Till next time!

Thunder roared, lightning flashed, and the earth shook!

After this, the angel filled the incense container with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth. Thunder roared, lightning flashed, and the earth shook. (Revelation 8:5 CEV)

This chapter in the Book of Revelations is about an angel (possibly Jesus) that is giving the prayers of the believers on earth to God the father! In verse 4 we read that the incense represents the prayers of the believers and that God accepted the prayers of the believers. (This was broadly discussed in the last post). The incense container was now empty because the incense was burned and the smoke went upward and thus accepted by God the father!

In verse 5 we read that the empty incense container was filled with fire from the altar. The incense represents the prayers of the believers. The empty container represents that the prayers of the believers have now reached God the father. Now that the righteous is saved the angel proceeds with the next step!

The next step is to throw the fire on the earth. This is the same fire that was used to burn the incense. In other words, that which was used to take the prayers of believers to God the father was now being used in the judgment of the non-believers.

In other words, Christians are saved because we believe that Christ died for our sins so that we can receive the eternal life. Those that don’t believe that Christ died for their sins cannot receive the eternal life.

The main purpose of the core text of this post in the Book of Revelations is that it prepares the reader for the aftermath that now follows. The aftermath now is the first four trumpets that follow in this chapter!

Next time we will discuss the first trumpet!

Till next time!

Jesus prays for us! (Another angel, who had a gold container for incense...)

In the next few posts we are going to continue to discuss Revelation 8 and 9. Most scholars know this text as: “the cycle of the seven trumpets”. We know this text is about the final judgment of God. Does it tell us something about the end of time? Is it about the apocalypse? If so, how much time?

Core verse

Another angel, who had a gold container for incense, came and stood at the altar. This one was given a lot of incense to offer with the prayers of God's people on the gold altar in front of the throne. Then the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God's people, went up to God from the hand of the angel. (Revelation 8:3-4 CEV)

The first part of our core verse reminds me of the following text:

The gold altar that was used for burning incense was in this holy place. (Hebrews 9:4 CEV)

The Hebrews text refers to a temple of the Lord in the Old Testament. Usually incense wasn’t burned in a golden altar but in a copper altar.  The gold in our core text and the Hebrews text tell us something about the importance of the rituals that are now going to be performed.

Who was the other angel? There are two options:

·         It was Jesus.

·         It was another messenger from God.

I think the text refers to Jesus because it refers to gold and incense. Incense was burned to get a good smell. When Jesus was born, he received gold, perfume, and spices from the wise men. (Matthew 2:11 BBE). The Perfume and spices were about a good smell and we also see gold, which is also featuring in our core verse as the incense burner!

In our core verse the gold and incense refers to Jesus! I think the “other angel” is thus referring to Jesus. We can now see Jesus (the other angel) praying the prayers of God’s people as per our core verse.

What can we learn from Revelation 8:3-4?

·         If we pray, our prayers are going to God, but Jesus prays them to God for us. This can be so, because Jesus paid the ultimate price- the crucifixion.

·         Thanks to Jesus our prayers is acceptable for God. Through Jesus God is listening!

Till next time!

The apocalypse and the sound of trumpets.

In the next few posts we are going to discuss the book of Revelation, chapters 8 and 9. Most scholars know this text as: “the cycle of the seven trumpets”. We know this text is about the final judgment of God. Does it tell us something about the end of time? Is it about the apocalypse? If so, how much time?

Core verse:

I noticed that the seven angels who stood before God were each given a trumpet. (Revelation 8:2 CEV)

The core verse describes a scene in front of the throne of God. In this verse we find a description about the beings and items that are going to play a vital role in the next few scenes as the “other angel” comes into play.

We read that there is going to be SEVEN angels and SEVEN trumpets. Some people regard the number seven as a lucky number; perhaps you have even seen the number seven in the slot machines of casinos. “777” is usually a winning number. But the number seven is also one of the holy numbers of God and in this case it indicates that the angels and trumpets are from God and that seven things are going to happen (discussed in later posts).

The angels in this case are referring to messengers in heaven. Their purpose is to serve God and, in this case, to blow on the trumpets as the trumpets are given to them. Some Christians have even given names to these seven angels. I, for one, don’t think that they should be named as there are many angels! (Perhaps one of them was Michael.)

But why trumpets? Throughout the Bible trumpets have been used for many reasons. A few texts come to mind:

·         Then at the sound of the trumpets, you will come together to worship and to offer sacrifices on the altar. (Leviticus 23:24 CEV)

·         Give a signal on a trumpet when it is time to break camp. (Numbers 10:5 CEV)

·         A loud trumpet will be heard. Then the people of Israel who were dragged away to Assyria and Egypt will return to worship the LORD on his holy mountain in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 27:13 CEV)

·         At the sound of a loud trumpet, he will send his angels to bring his chosen ones together from all over the earth. (Matthew 24:31 CEV)

So we know it’s something to do with a signal, perhaps sacrifices and definitely that the people of God will be brought together. This might very well be describing the end of times!

Which signal do you think God is going to use at the end of times?

Till next time!

What does 1260 symbolize in the Bible?

Core text:

The woman ran into the desert to a place that God had prepared for her. There she would be taken care of for one thousand two hundred sixty days. (Revelation 12:6 CEV)

In our previous posts we discussed the story about Jesus. We ended with the resurrection and Jesus in heaven after His life on Earth. Now Jesus is in heaven, what is the church on Earth doing? Are they in any danger?

In our core text we read about a woman. What does the woman fleeing symbolize? After Jesus went to be with the Lord, His disciples had a hard time on Earth. They were thrown out of society and sometimes even sent to prison, like the apostle Paul! The “woman fleeing” may indeed represent the church feeing and hiding from the opposing people.

The desert, as the core text say, is a place that God prepared for her. No doubt this was a safe place for her to stay! The desert may be a place of testing (like the Israelites in the desert), but the context leans more to the side of a safe place (that God prepared).

But why is she going to stay there for 1260 days? If the woman represents the church, where is the church going to stay for that amount of days? As we have stated in the previous post, this is referring directly to the time after Jesus went to be with the Lord. The amount 1260 days or three and a half years represent the time that the Jews were tormented by a king (As per Daniel 12:7).

The number 1260 could be a biblical number symbolizing hardship. Any Jew that lived after Jesus would know that 1260 is the amount of days that they had some hardship. In the following days the church (represented by the woman) would have some hardship. And as the early Christians were prosecuted this became a true prophecy.

What is your understanding of the number 1260?

Till next time!!

Did Jesus rule with an iron rod?

Core text:

The woman gave birth to a son, who would rule all nations with an iron rod. The boy was snatched away. He was taken to God and placed on his throne. (Revelation 12:5 CEV)

What does the “iron rod” mean? Where do “all the nations” come in? Why was the boy snatched away? Where did he go?

In our previous post we came to the conclusion that “the son” in this piece of text (pericope) is Jesus the Messiah. Now we continue with the glimpse of history that the author is trying to portray in a mythological way.

Jesus was set to rule the nations by God. But this was not in a political way as the people of the time wanted. The people of the time of Jesus wanted a ruler that would have freed them from the mighty Roman Empire. No, Jesus was set to be a spiritual leader and the one to pay for sins so that all of mankind could be free from sin and to fulfill the Biblical prophecy from the Old Testament.

The “iron rod” was not an instrument to torment or hurt anyone, most definitely not to force anyone into following Jesus. An “iron rod” was an instrument that was used by shepherds to protect the flocks, usually of sheep, against predators. An example of a predator would be a wolf.

“All the nations” refers to Jesus that came for the sins of everyone and not only the Jews. Normal, non-Jewish people can also now be children of the Lord.

The “snatched away” and “placed on his throne” refers to Jesus that was resurrected form death. In other words it is referring to Jesus on the cross and how He was raised from death and went to heaven thereafter!

The verse thus tells the story of Jesus on Earth in a mythological way!

Share your experiences of the symbols with us!

Till next time!

The dragon and the child- Revelation 12:4

Core text: 

Then the dragon turned toward the woman, because it wanted to eat her child as soon as it was born. (Revelation 12:4 CEV)

In the core text for this post John, the author of the book of Revelation, gives us a glimpse of what happened back in the time when Jesus Christ was born. This part of Revelation is thus not about the future but about the past.

In our core text the dragon is a symbol for the evil one or the devil, perhaps even Satan. In the core verse the dragon is about to eat the child right after birth. This reminds me of at least one passage in the Bible:

…because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him. (Matthew 2:13 CEV)

The child in Matthew 2:13 is Jesus. King Herod was evil and wanted to kill the Messiah on birth because he felt threatened by the power of the Messiah. Now that fits into the picture of Revelation 12:4. The dragon is in this verse King Herod who was doing evil and chose to murder his opponents. In Revelation 12:4 the woman is thus the mother of Jesus and “ to eat” ment to kill.

Thus Herod wanted to kill Jesus as soon as Mary gave birth to Him. John communicated the birth of Jesus in a mythological way.

Give us your thoughts on the text

Till next time!

Where does the devil come from? - Revelation 12:4

Core text:

With its tail, it dragged a third of the stars from the sky and threw them down to the earth. (Revelation 12:4 CEV)

Our core text in this post must be read in the textual context (pericope) that it is found in. The core text exists in a larger body of texts found in Revelation 12:1-6. I shall attempt to interpret the core text in the larger context that it is found in.

The core text begins with an animal picture: the animal was pulling others with it. Like a heard other animals followed their leader. We know that the leading animal was falling down to Earth so it was kicked out of the place that it was coming from! Presumably it lost whatever war it was fighting. We know that war was not fought on Earth because the animal was thrown down to Earth.

But why was the animal kicked out? Were they fighting a war? There are many answers to this questions but I have found at least three answers that fit the Biblical context:

·         It may be an astronomical picture. The writer may be describing a meteor storm or perhaps the star signs did not make sense at the time.

·         It may refer to Daniel 8:10: It became so strong that it attacked the stars in the sky, which were heaven's army. Then it threw some of them down to the earth and stomped on them. (Daniel 8:10 CEV)

But the contexts from Daniel and that of Revelation do not correspond. The text in Daniel refers to the Jewish hierarchy: The priests, the Levites and perhaps God. This doesn’t include evil forces like in the book of Revelation. Evil is a major theme in the book of Revelation and not in the book of Daniel.

·         It may also refer to the evil forces that came from heaven! We know from Geneses 1 that God created the heavens and the earth, with no evil forces. Now in the book of Revelation we have a glimpse into the divine past were some heavenly creatures opposed God the almighty and the opposing creatures got thrown out of heaven. The chief was Satan, probably portrayed in our core verse as the animal or dragon. When he was kicked out of heaven he brought his followers with him, about a third of heaven.

Which one do you think is the best answer?

Till next time!!

The woman in the sky (Revelation 12:1-2) Part 2

Core text:

Something important appeared in the sky. It was a woman whose clothes were the sun. The moon was under her feet, and a crown made of twelve stars was on her head. She was about to give birth, and she was crying because of the great pain… (Revelation 12:1-4 CEV)

In our previous post we talked about the symbols of the woman in the sky. Today we are going to talk about the future. Can the woman in the sky say something about the end of the world?

We know that there will be pain in the end and that the church of God will have a difficult time. The woman in the sky can refer to both the past and future.

You can be certain that in the last days there will be some very hard times. (2 Timothy 3:1 CEV)

Concerning the Past: The woman appeared out of heaven she was pregnant! This reminds us of, Mary, the mother of Jesus! But this whole revelation was seen by John an apostle of Jesus. This ment that Jesus was already born when John had this vision! It could have been Mary being pregnant with Jesus.

Concerning the future: We know that there will be lots of pain in the last days before the apocalypse. The woman had pain because she was pregnant. The symbol could be as follows: the end of the world is going to be so painful that it can be compared to a woman giving birth.

But what does the woman being “pregnant” have to do with it. It could mean that a new church will emerge. House churches or charismatic churches for example. It could also mean that the people of God will have tremendous pain in the last days, so much pain that, as mentioned, it could be compared to a woman giving birth.

Feel free to share your views on the Biblical prophecy!

Till next time

The woman in the sky (Revelation 12:1-2) Part 1

Core text:

Something important appeared in the sky. It was a woman whose clothes were the sun. The moon was under her feet, and a crown made of twelve stars was on her head. She was about to give birth, and she was crying because of the great pain… (Revelation 12:1-4 CEV)

What does the woman symbolize? Is it possible that she is connected to the end of the world?

We read in the core text that a woman appeared in the sky. She had three symbols to identify her. The sun, the moon and the stars. If you know the Bible well, you will instantly recognize these three symbols in the Old Testament. In Genesis 37:9 we find them together:

“Joseph later had another dream, and he told his brothers, "Listen to what else I dreamed. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me." (Genesis 37:9 CEV)

If you know the story about Joseph, you would remember that he became the second in command of Egypt without his family knowing. In command of the Egyptian forces, his family came to visit him but the family didn’t recognize him and they bowed before him. They bowed before him just like he had dreamed.

The catch is, however, that Josephs father was Jacob and his brothers were the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel (Joseph included). Thus the sun, moon and stars would make the future Israel. Most modern scholars are certain that the sun, moon and stars represent the people of God.

The woman in our core text is thus from God, representing the people or the church of God. Tell us how you interpret the sun, moon and stars.

Till next time

Revelation 7:1-8 One hundred forty-four thousand

Core verses:

"Don't harm the earth or the sea or any tree! Wait until I have marked the foreheads of the servants of our God." Then I heard how many people had been marked on the forehead. There were one hundred forty-four thousand, and they came from every tribe of Israel. (Revelation 7:4 CEV)

The core verses of this post are Revelation 7:3-4. This is an obscure verse. In fact it is so obscure that there are different understandings of the 144000. Some churches and Christians define their religions differently if they read this verse. How should we understand the verse? And are you or I, on Gods list to be saved? And who can make it on Gods list?

Basically there are two (2) ways to understand the 144000. The first is literally and the second is figuratively or symbolic! I am briefly going to attempt to explain these viewpoints:

1.       The literal way states that the writer actually heard this number and that God is only going to save 144000 people during the apocalypse. But the Bible is not saying when God is going to save the 144000! In other words there is no timeframe connected to the number. Perhaps the writer ment during life on Earth. In other words 144000 people in total is going to be saved by grace and going heaven.

2.       The figurative way states that if only 144000 people are going to be saved Jesus Christ would have told the disciples while He was on Earth. Jesus said nothing of the sort, not specifying any number in any timeframe. Therefore the figurative way states that there is a deeper meaning connected to the number 144000. Can we unlock the secret behind this number?

In the bigger picture (Rev 7:1-8) the writer states two other numbers. That is the number of Israelite tribes- which is 12; and the number that is going to be saved of each tribe- which is 12000. Multiply that and you get 144000 (12*12000). Thus the Bible states that only Jewish tribal people can be saved right- wrong! The apostle Paul wrote: “No matter if that person is a Jew or a Gentile. There is only one Lord, and he is generous to everyone who asks for his help”. (Romans 10:12 CEV). The purpose of the 144000 could not be connected to the tribes. It must then be a metaphor- this is the secret to unlock this number.

The numbers 12 and 1000 is both complete numbers in the Bible! The number 144000 can then be seen as a symbol which contains a series of complete numbers and representing the fullness of God. Thus the figurative way states that all the servants of God are going to be saved, not limited to 144000.

It is up to you to decide what to believe. If you take the 144000 literally- well I hope you have a printout of that list, otherwise, how are you going to know if you are going to heaven for example? Please join our discussion and give your opinion.

Till next time!