DIVISION… AND JESUS ANSWERS THREE QUESTIONS (part 1)

03-07-21 This message may be viewed live streaming video at youtube.com and tabernacleofmoses.org today Sunday at 11:00 am, and repeated 24/7 thereafter. The video, audio, and study notes are archived.

 

(Gen 1:3,4) And God said, Let there be light [Heb: illumination (happiness)]: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

 

SETTING THE STAGE

(Matt 12:25) And Jesus knew their thoughts [the people and the Pharisees], and said unto them, Every kingdom [unit of people] divided against itself [e.g., (past) the American Civil War (1861-1865); (current) the Democrats & Republicans] is brought to desolation [1,2] [205x]; and every city [unit of people] or house [Gk: family] [unit of people] divided against itself shall not stand [Gk: abide, continue]:

1.    desolation = Gk: laid waste: (bring to, make) desolate (-ion), come to nought.

2.    desolation = Dict: 1. a making desolate; laying waste. 2. a desolate condition; ruin, waste. 3. lonely grief; misery. 4. loneliness. 5. a desolate place.

a.     desolate = Dict: 1. to make desolate; rid of inhabitants. 2. to make unihabitable; lay waste; devastate. 3. to forsake; abandon. 4. to make forlon, wretched, etc.

 

THE THREE QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED BY PROPHECY

(Matt 24:1-3) And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple [“ye are the temple of God” 1 Cor 3:16]: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See [Gk: perceive] ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone [symbolically, one hard-hearted person] upon another, that shall not be thrown down [Gk: demolished: destroyed, dissolved, come to nought]. And as he sat upon [reigning upon (weighty) the throne of] the mount of Olives [a universal symbol of all believers being crushed to release the oil of their Holy Spirit], the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be [Answer: now, ascending into the future (Matt 24:4-14)]? and what shall be the sign of thy coming [Answer: tribulation (Matt 24:4-14)], and of the end [Gk: the entire completion, consummation] of the world [Gk: aion; this age] [the end of this dispensation] [Answer: great tribulation (Matt 24:15-28)]?

 

OPENING THE FIRST THREE SEALS OF THE APOCALYPSE

A SYMBOLIC RENDERING OF THE TRIBULATION THAT WE ARE NOW EXPERIENCING

1.    tribulation = Gk: pressure [peer, social pressure]: affliction: anguish, burden, persecution, trouble.

 

(Matt 24:4-8) And Jesus answered [the three questions] and said unto them, Take heed [Gk: beware] that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ [Gk: anointed] [your true leader]; and shall deceive many [with “strong delusion”] [1]. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars [“war”] [2]: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation [divisons], and kingdom against kingdom [divisions]: and there shall be famines [Gk: a scarcity of food: hunger] [“starvation”] [3], and pestilences [Gk: plagues (lit. diseases)] [e.g., COVID 19], and earthquakes [Gk: commotions (of the air and of the ground)], in divers [many] places.

1.    (Rev 6:1,2) And I saw when the Lamb [of God, Jesus Christ: John 1:14] opened one of the seals [hidden knowledge], and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see [the open seal]. And I saw, and behold a white horse [symbolizing innocence, but really of “strong delusion” 2 Thes 2:11]: and he that sat on him [the counterfeit Christ, an imposter leader supreme in authority; he that holds the reins of control] had a bow [versus “a sharp sword” Rev 19:15]; and a crown [versus “many crowns” Rev 19:12] was given unto him [by “the dragon” Rev 13:1,2]: and he went forth conquering [the present], and to conquer [the future].

2.    (Rev 6:3,4) And when he [Jesus Christ: John 1:14] had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see [the open seal]. And there went out another horse that was red [symbolizing blood, of war]: and power was given to him that sat thereon [to he that holds the reins of control] to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword [i.e., nuclear warfare, Zech 14:12-16].

3.    (Rev 6:5,6) And when he [Jesus Christ: John 1:14] had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see [the open seal]. And I beheld, and lo a black horse [symbolizing starvation]; and he that sat on him [he that holds the reins of control] had a pair of balances [Gk: scales: yokes] in his hand [power]. 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 [take not of] the oil and the wine [lit. the good stuff; spiritually, both are biblical symbols of the Holy Spirit].

 

A PERSONALIZED SUMMATION OF THE TRIBULATION

WE ARE NOW ENDURING

(Matt 24:8-14) All these [the latter three seals (horsemen)] are [our present pre-parturition experience and] the beginning of sorrows [Gk: pangs or throes, espec. of childbirth: pain, sorrow, travail] [for the believing church is bringing forth (birthing) “a man child” who shall be “caught up [raptured] onto God” Rev 12:5]. Then [i.e., during the latter three opened (-ing) seals you/we shall experience/endure an ascending intensity, a volcano of tribulation, then] shall they deliver you up to be afflicted [Gk: pressure [peer, social pressure]: anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble], and shall kill [some of] you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake [for Jesus Christ, i.e., for Christianity]. And then shall many be offended [Gk: entrapped, tripped up, stumble, enticed to sin], and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets [liers] shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity [Gk: lawlessness: unrighteousness] shall abound, the [Christian] love of many shall wax cold [showing Christianity in decline]. But he that shall endure [Gk: sufffer] unto the end, the same shall be saved [Gk: “safe”; delivered or protected: healed, preserved, made whole]. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached [primarily through computers] in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end [Gk: the conclusion, termination, result, purpose; specif. an impost or levy (as paid)] come [1].

1.    (Dan 12:8-10) And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white [made innocent, cleansed], and tried [Heb: to fuse (metal), refined: melted, purge away] [the “wood, hay, stubble” (1 Cor 3:12) of false doctrines]; but the wicked [Heb: morally wrong; bad person: condemned, ungodly] [unsaved] shall do wickedly [Heb: be (do or declare) wrong; disturb, violate: make trouble] and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand [a].

a.     (Prov 11:30) The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

 

 

amen

 

 

 

PS. God willing, next Sunday’s message shall be an examination of the 4th seal corresponding to the “great tribulation” and more…

1.    (Rev 6:7,8) And when he [Jesus Christ: John 1:14] had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see [the open seal]. And I looked, and behold a pale horse [Gk: greenish] [the color of gangrene]: 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 [Gk: a dangerous animal: (venomous, wild) beast] of the earth.