~HIDDEN MEANINGS ~

          As with most of my writing this article concerns construction and destruction, life and death.  Words are the “building blocks” used in the construction, and they are the “food” for our state of being.  Words of truth will build a building that will last forever.  Lying words will build a house of cards that will fall in the slightest breeze.  Words of truth give eternal life; lying words bring eternal death.  We have been given the obligation and responsibility to choose which words we will use for our house and being.

          Parables are stories that help those who dwell in the reality of the physical realm to understand reality that exists in the spiritual realm. The parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) is a good example of this.  Here following are listed the physical realm elements and their spiritual realm counterparts.  These symbols from the physical realm are representations of elements for the spiritual realm.

 

The Sower: The Son of Man (Jesus) (see the parable of the wheat and tares beginning in verse 24)

The Seed: The word of the kingdom (verse 19)

The Soil: Anyone who hears these words (verse 19)

The Environment of the Soil (edge of the path/patches of rock/in thorns/rich soil): The outcome of those who hear these words.

 

Why did Jesus not simply come right out and say clearly what He meant, instead of speaking in parables? There is an important reason that explains why Jesus spoke with Hidden Meanings, and it is to ensure that the preservation of the information that Jesus gave to His own disciples will remain fully intact down through the centuries (John 14:26, 17:8, 14, 20).  Jesus spoke in symbols that only the Wise will understand (Dan. 12:10, Matt.13:10-13). This ensures that any tampering of the testimony of Jesus by the enemy will stand out like a sore thumb to those that understand that the phrase ‘words of Jesus’ actually mean ‘His words only’ (John 18:37). The enemies of truth waste no time and spare no effort to change the meanings of the elements and symbols in the parables of Jesus to fit the necessity of their own ‘alternative understanding’ in the writings over which they have control.  Those that have written these ‘alternate understandings’ have done so in a way that is separate and distinct from the words spoken by Jesus to His eyewitness disciples in their gospels, because they think that no one will ever be observant enough to compare these dissimilar versions with the originals to see if there are differences.  Yet, in the Message to the Assembly in Ephesus (Rev.2) Jesus said that this comparison WOULD take place at the end of time, and expose the testimony of false prophets and false apostles to the light of truth. Therefore, this ensures the preservation of the truth through the testimony of the gospels and prophecies of these eyewitnesses (Matthew, Mark and John).  In addition, the mind of the Enemy believes that writing with hidden meanings will also protect his own lies from being discovered.  For example, the seer Nostradamus used quatrains to protect his words from the religious authorities of the time, the Catholic Church.  Many of his quatrains were not at all complementary of the church or its leaders.

Hiding information using codes, symbols, and numbers, is regularly employed by countries, secret societies, and cults.  The parable of the Wheat and Tares is an example of this technique, using disguised information as a preservation technique.  The tares/lies are left to grow alongside the wheat/truth so that the truth is not uprooted with lies before the time of harvest.

So, the reason for speaking with hidden meanings is to allow only those with eyes to see and ears to hear to have the ability to understand what is really being said. This keeps the true information out of the hands of those that would seek to alter it for their own purposes.

The disciples of Jesus asked their Master why He spoke to the people in parables.  He replied, “Because the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has (truth) will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not (truth), even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding” (Matthew 13:10-13).

The Evil One is the master of deception, and he has used a time tested technique that mirrors the truth, but distorts it to his advantage.  He constructs parables and prophecies that closely resemble ones spoken by the Son of Man, but in them he incorporates his own spurious gospel.  There is a vast difference between the words of the Son of Man and those of the Great Deceiver, in that the Son of Man gives you what you need to know, even if it is painful in application, but the Great Deceiver gives you what you want to believe, and makes it easy to follow.  The words of life are the ‘narrow gate and hard road’, and require repentance and cleansing from sin; the end result is true righteousness.  The words of death are the ‘wide gate and the easy way’ that leads to destruction, and require only faith/belief in the gift of salvation through the grace of ‘God’.

Consider that there are two different accounts of the parable of the Narrow gate and Wide gate, iterated in two different gospels.  These two accounts sound similar, but the outcomes are quite different.  Matthew was a disciple of the Son of Man, and wrote down what he heard his Master say.  Luke was not a disciple, and never heard any words first hand from the Son of Man?  He claims to have used witnesses in writing his gospel and Acts, but does not give any by name.  His description of events and the retelling of the teachings of Jesus reveal that his witnesses were not reliable, and more than likely were relating accounts they themselves had “heard” either second or third hand.  Because Luke was a convert of Paul he was duty bound to preserve and maintain the spurious gospel of his close friend, mentor and confidant, Paul.

 

The following accounts alternate between Luke 13:22-30 and Matthew 7:13-23, so that you will be able to note the differences.

 

(Luke) Through towns and villages He went teaching making His way to Jerusalem. Someone said to Him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, “Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.” Luke 13:22-24.

 

(Matthew) “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and few there are that find it.” Matt. 7:13-14.

 

Matthew’s account describes a narrow gate and a wide road (note – there is no gate to the wide road in Luke’s account).  The difficulty is not getting through the narrow gate, but in finding it.  Luke does not describe a gate, but a door.  He does not say it is hard to find, but hard to enter.  Matthew records this as being an initial teaching of the Master, and not as an answer to a question, as in Luke.  The question presented in Luke’s account is absurd, and seems wholly out of place.

 

(Matthew) “Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. Can people pick grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? In the same way, a sound tree cannot bear bad fruit nor a rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I repeat you will be able to tell them by their fruits”. Matt. 7:15-20.

 

This entire passage is absent from Luke.

 

(Matthew) ‘It is not those who say to Me, “Lord, Lord”, who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of My Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to Me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?” Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness”. Matt. 7:21-23.

 

(Luke) “Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find your self knocking on the door, saying, “Lord open to us” but He will answer, “I do not know where you come from”. Then you will find yourself saying ‘We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but He will reply, “I do not know where you come from.’ Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.” Luke 13:25-30.

 

Clearly in his account Luke is promoting the salvation that Paul teaches. Paul says that prior to the cross salvation was for Jews alone (Paul teaches this, but it was not true, salvation has always been open to any and all who would agree to the requirements of it) and this dispensation ended at the resurrection.  The version of this parable in Luke would confirm that the resurrection of Jesus closed the door to the Jews, because they refused to enter (notice that Luke says the difficulty was not in finding the narrow “door”, but going through it).  It is obvious to Paul and Luke that the narrow door is the Law (Ten Commandments), which they call the ‘old covenant’.  The ‘new covenant’ of grace through the blood of the cross and of the resurrected ‘Christ’, is now the ‘way’ to enter the kingdom.  Therefore, those from east and west, north and south, enter the kingdom after the door (Law/ten commandments) has been shut and locked.  The gentiles enter by another portal, one which is wide and easy, which is the portal of grace. The only requirement to enter by this ‘wide door’ is faith in the resurrected ‘Christ’. For this to work properly they must believe that Jesus died for their personal sins, and through faith they die ‘with Him’, and now live in him.  This goes against the very words of the Son of God, as witnessed by another of His disciples, John.

 

“I tell you most solemnly; anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock . . . I am the gate. Anyone who enters through Me will be safe  . . .” John 10:1-2, 9.

 

Note that in the altered version of this parable Luke clearly limits those who are locked outside the door of the house (Kingdom of Heaven) to those who were the actual Jews living during the time of the earthly ministry of Jesus. Yet in this scenario even those from the four corners of the earth (the Gentiles) can somehow circumvent this locked door and gain entry into the Kingdom, even though the Jews can’t.  In Matthew

(Ch. 13 and 25:1-13)  those who are outside the locked door have been deceived into believing that they have been working to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-21), are not working for the Lord who is the Savior, but are in reality working for the lord of this world.  They have been deceived by a false gospel of salvation, and that is what they have been teaching.  And they have been fooled by the power of their lord, who is the lord of this world (Satan), who is the source of their power and their teachings.  These have been deceived by believing that they are working for the Son of God, when in fact they are working for the great deceiver. It would appear that they are not using a different source of reference, their resource has to be the Bible; therefore, those who are outside the shut door, have used the same book that those who are inside with the Son of God, have used.  The evidence suggests that there is information in the Bible that is the result of the successful efforts of the evil one, who has “planted” it there.  The wheat and tares are in the same field until the end of days; the end of days is the harvest.

 

Dear friends, it is important that you not be deceived.  An honest person will never deceive anyone; but a person who is honest with others may not necessarily be honest with themselves.  If you look at the teachings in Luke and Paul, and refuse to see any differences from the words of the true Teacher, as recalled and written by His students/disciples, then you are not being honest, you are deceiving yourself.  I once had a pastor explain the “perceived” differences in the gospel accounts as the personal perspectives of the writers.  He explained that if you ask three different people to describe an event that they witnessed, you would hear three different accounts.  My answer was that this does not apply here; because both Luke and Paul were NOT eyewitnesses to the teachings of the Son of God.  If you compare the actual eyewitness accounts one with the other, there are no differences in the teachings.

 

(John 14:25,26)(JB) I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.

 

Do you believe that God always tells the truth? Do you believe that God has the power and authority to preserve the truth?  If you do, then be honest with yourself.  No teaching of the Son of Man will contradict another one of His OWN teachings.  Understand that the great deceiver is skilled in the art of distorting the truth.  When truth is distorted it has the appearance of being true; but is proved false upon close and honest investigation.  The writings of Luke and Paul are not to be trusted, because they contradict the eyewitness accounts.  In the end, only those who know and obey the truth will have eternal life.

 

Rick Sterling

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judgement

by Rick Sterling

‘It is for judgment that I have come into this world, so that those without sight may see and those with sight turn blind’. (John 9:39)(JB)

 

Start talking about divine judgment, and you will soon discover that no one is listening.  Most Christians have a certainty about themselves and judgment; succinctly put, there is no judgment for those who are in Christ.  This belief is based upon a salvation theology described by Paul; salvation that operates by faith, through the gift of grace.  When compared side by side, the two “gospels” (the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of grace) are quite different in function.  The gospel of the Kingdom describes the significance of obedience and required performance.  The gospel of grace is best described by the words of Paul.

 

Law involves the possibility of punishment for breaking the law-only where there is no law can that be avoided. (Romans 15)(JB)

 

Paul is clever in that he does not do away with the Law; he simply changes its role.  The Law which Paul is describing is the Ten Commandments.  These ten commands were the words of the testimony/covenant between God and His kingdom.  There is no other way to be in God’s Kingdom other than by promising to learn to keep all of the Ten Commandments.  The Son of God spoke to this very thing when He said the following words.  When asked by the rich young man about what he needed to do to have eternal life, Jesus said:

 

But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said, ‘Which?’ ‘These’ Jesus replied ‘You must not kill. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not bring false witness. Honor your father and mother, and; you must love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 19:18-21)(JB)

 

Not only does Jesus list commands from the Covenant, but He adds, “love your neighbor as yourself”.  It is important to understand that the ten commands of the Covenant is an all or nothing promise.  While it is true that Jesus did not state all ten in the above verse, it is understood that to enter life eternal you must keep every single one.  Jesus also did not condense these down to the command to “love”, God and your neighbor.  Paul states categorically that it is completely impossible for sinful flesh to keep the Law, and this is calling God a liar.

 

 

 

All the commandments I enjoin on you today you must keep and observe so that you may live and increase in numbers and enter into the land that Yahweh promised on oath to your fathers, and make it your own. (Deuteronomy 8:1)(JB)

 

Many believe that there is an old covenant, which required the children of Israel to keep the Ten Commandments; but they believe that after the resurrection of Christ a “new covenant” was instituted, a covenant of grace.  The only person that teaches that there is a new covenant of grace is Paul. Note the difference in the following texts: (Remember that Luke was not a disciple, nor did he know Jesus, nor does he site the names of any of the “witnesses” he claims to have used as the source of his information.  If these witness were present at the time these words were spoken they should have heard the same words the disciples heard, and wrote down)

 

Then He took a cup, and when He had returned thanks He gave it to them. Drink all of you from this, He said for this is My blood the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:27-28)(JB)

 

Then He took a cup and when He had returned thanks He gave it to them, ‘This is My blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many. (Mark 14:23-24)(JB)

 

He did the same with the cup after supper and said, ‘this cup is the new covenant in My blood which will be poured out for you. (Luke 22:20)(JB)

 

In the same way He took the cup after supper, and said,

This cup is the new covenant in My blood. (1 Corinthians 1125)(JB)

 

The Son of God did not come to bring a new Covenant; He came to confirm the covenant, and to show that it is possible for flesh to obey its (His) commandments.  What the great deceiver has accomplished by deluding God fearing people into believing that there is a new covenant of grace is to keep these believers from entering the kingdom of God.  In preventing people from entering the Kingdom of God, He has no one with which to go to war against the ruler of this world.  It is only when God has a Kingdom of Heaven on earth filled with people who obey the commands of the Covenant,  and who hold to the testimony of His Son, will the war begin (see Revelation 12:17)

 

‘Whoever believes in Me believes not in Me but in the One who sent Me, and whoever sees Me, sees the One who sent Me. I, the light, have come into the world, so that whoever believes in Me need not stay in the dark any more. If anyone hears My words and does not keep them faithfully, it is not I who shall comdemn him, since I have come not to condemn the world, but to save the world: he who rejects Me and refuses My words has his judge already: the word itself that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day. For what I have spoken does not come from Myself; no, what I was to say, what I had to speak, was commanded by the Father who sent Me, and I know that His commands mean eternal life. And therefore what the Father has told Me is what I speak. (John 12:44-50)(JB)

 

It is my experience that most believers are only familiar with the words of Paul.  Christians believe that the words of Jesus were specifically for the Jews and have no application for “new covenant” Christians; this is a lie.  According to the testimony of Jesus, we are all in darkness.  He came to show us the way out of the darkness into the light of truth.  Paul’s words support the darkness, and convince well meaning people that darkness is forever.  Paul says to be saved we must live by faith, and believe in that which you cannot see.  He states that by doing this God will reward your blind faith with salvation.  On the other hand, the Son of God said He came to show us the way out of the darkness, to give sight to those who are blind (spiritually).  He defined the difference between His sheep and the world:

 

I am the good shepherd; I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for My sheep. And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these I have to lead as well. They too will listen to My voice, and there will be only one flock, and one shepherd. (John 10:14-16)(JB)

 

This testimony of Jesus as given to Him by His Father is clear.  The testimony of Paul that is exposed by these words (of Jesus) is a lie.  The sheep that belong to the good shepherd hear and listen to His voice ONLY.  The words of Paul are not the words of the good shepherd.  Notice also that Jesus says, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold-they will be one flock with one shepherd”.  The other sheep are the gentiles. Contrary to what Paul says, there is one flock, not two.  Paul has Christians believing that the Jews are one separate flock and the gentiles are another separate flock, each with its own unique covenant/form of salvation.  According to Jesus, Gentiles must enter the sheepfold through the same gate as do the Jews.  Salvation has never belonged to an exclusive group; it has always been open to anyone who would commit to keeping the covenant (Ten Commandments).

The judgment is in process now, the standard of this judgment are the words of the Son of God.  If you do not know what these words are you need to spend time in study of the testimony of His eye/ear witnesses.  It is the gospel of the kingdom that will be preached throughout the whole world, as a witness to all human-kind, then the end will come.  The gospel of the kingdom is the testimony of Jesus.  Don’t be weighed in the balance and found wanting.

 

Rick Sterling

Apocalypse – Part II

by Rick Sterling

 And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” And His disciples asked Him saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they did to him what ever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” (Matthew 17:9-14 NASB)

 

The kingdom of the heavens had succeeded in separating themselves from the kingdom of the world.  Like the children of Israel, they were in the wilderness, not a literal wilderness, but a spiritual one.  Just as was true with their counterpart, these people knew very little of the truth about God.  These advent people were “ready” to see the Bridegroom, but not ready to join Him or attend His wedding feast.  At that time they all were without a wedding garment (see Matthew 22:11-12).  The great deceiver moved swiftly to make sure that they would not recognize that they were naked (see Revelation 3:17).  The great deceiver knows how effective a false prophet, or an unwitting messenger, can be.  His success with the children of Israel proved how a well purposed deceiver can bend the religious and civil leadership to his will.  The people love their prophet, but only as long as their prophet fits their paradigm.  The Son of God was the greatest of all prophets, but even the few of those who profess to worship Him know His complete message.  His prophecies have been made into devotionals, devoid of any literal application.  It is no wonder that the Bridegroom “was delaying” His return.

 

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36)

 

Never have any words of prophecy been used more than these to abrogate the responsibility to be ready for the return of the Bridegroom.  “No one can know the day or hour!”  These words have been preached from pulpit and street corner to counter any attempt by anyone that expresses that there is a requirement to know the time in which they are living.

 

In order to understand this statement in the proper context, we must understand the process of a wedding in Israel.  After the father of the bride gave his consent and the young woman accepted the offer of marriage, the young man would go to his father’s house and prepare it for the wedding feast; he would also prepare a room where he would live with his bride.  It was only the father of the bridegroom that would tell his son when he could go and get his bride.  The son did not know the day this would take place, neither did his servants.  When the Son of God made this statement to His disciples, He did not know the day or the hour upon which He would return.  In His parting statement the Son of God uses these very words, so that His disciples, and those who read their words, will know what to expect (see John 14:1-3).

After the Son of God had risen from the tomb and returned to His Father’s house in the heavens, He began the preparation for the marriage feast.  The prophecy states that ten bridesmaids went out to meet the Bridegroom, which occurred at the end of the 2300 evenings and mornings prophecy (Dan. 8:14) in 1843-44 CE.  The number ten has been used in the context for judgment.  Noah was the tenth from Adam, ten commandments, ten northern tribes in Israel, the Israelites tested God ten times then God told Moses He would destroy them there in the wilderness and make a great nation of Moses offspring (see Numbers 14:22), and the aforementioned “seventy” as the limit of forgiveness is ten times seven.  The number of those who were expecting the return of the Bridegroom was much greater than ten; therefore it is clear that ten bridesmaids is a number indicating final judgment.  For the Bridegroom to be delay His return He would need to know the time for the wedding.  As a result, it stands to reason that the Father had not yet given the information for the time of the wedding to Jesus when He spoke the words of the prophecy recorded in Matthew 24:36.  Had the Bridegroom come in 1843-44 He would have had to destroy the whole world!

The Bridegroom is coming, but only when His bride is ready to go to the marriage feast.  In the Hasidic tradition, the bride would not be informed ahead of the time the father of the bridegroom told his son he could go get her.  It was therefore necessary for the bride to be ready to go immediately upon the arrival of her bridegroom.  She needed to be dressed in her wedding gown, with her hair and makeup in place.  As the coming of the bridegroom could be a year or more after the bridegroom went back to his father’s house, it would be necessary for the bride to have knowledge of the time when her bridegroom was leaving his house to come to get her.  The bridegroom would also want her to have this information, because if she was not ready when he knocked on her door, the wedding would be permanently canceled.  When the bridegroom was ready to leave his father’s house he would send his servants on ahead of him to notify the bridesmaids (the bride’s attendants) that he was on his way.  The bridesmaids would then go the bride’s house and help her prepare for the arrival of her bridegroom.  In the account of the ten bridesmaids the absence of a bride is apparent.  When the Bridegroom comes, it is for His bride that He is coming.

So here is the situation:  Since 1844 CE the bridesmaids have been in a “lukewarm” condition, they acknowledge the commandments of God but know little of the testimony of Jesus.  They, like the children of Israel before them, keep the seventh-day Sabbath; and having made this agreement to keep the covenant they have accepted God’s offer, His offer to be their God if they will be His people.  Like the children of Israel before them, they have never attained to the righteousness necessary to complete the requirement.

 

This is the revelation given by God to Jesus Christ so that He could tell His servants about the things which are now to take place very soon; He sent His angel to make it known to His servant John, and John has written down everything he saw and swears it is the word of God guaranteed by Jesus Christ. Happy the man who reads this prophecy, and happy those who listen to him, if they treasure all that it says, because the Time is close. (Revelation 1:1-3)(JB)

 

As the Son of God walked down from the “Mount of transfiguration” the three disciples who accompanied Him had had a question that all the disciples shared.  Apparently the scribes had spoken to them about the fact that their ignorance of prophecy was going to be their undoing. The scribes informed the disciples that they were following an imposter.  Their proof was found in the words of the prophet Malachi;

 

Remember the Law of My servant Moses to whom at Horeb I prescribed laws and customs for the whole of Israel. Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes that great and terrible day. (Malachi 4:22-23)(JB)

 

The text at the beginning of this article describes the account of this dilemma.  The disciples were reluctant to ask their Master about this fact in evidence used by the scribes from this prophecy.  The scribe’s accusation seemed valid until these three disciples had this experience of witnessing the transfiguration and hearing the voice of God declaring this man to be His son, and in addition seeing Moses and Elijah speaking with Him.  When asked about this by His disciples, Jesus proclaimed as a matter of fact, that an Elijah type person was coming and would restore all things; but an Elijah type prophet had already come and the accusers (the scribes) had not recognized him.  The three disciples then knew their Master was speaking of John the Baptist.  Herein lies a lesson for all; just because the “experts” miss some prophesied event because it does not fit their understanding, they are not released from the responsibility or consequences of their actions.  The scribes did not recognize John the Baptist as the promised Elijah type prophet, because he did not fit their paradigm of expectation.  Then matters were complicated when they did not recognize their Messiah, thus validating their rejection of Him based upon a misunderstood prophetic expectation.

The Master told His three disciples that an Elijah type prophet would come, who would accomplish the restoration.  Revelation 1:1-3 (see above) also describes this person.  The book titled “The Revelation” written by John who was an eyewitness disciple of the Son of God, could just as easily been called “The Preparation of the Bride for the Bridegroom”.

It is the bride that is described at the end of the book, and she is prepared and ready, dressed in her wedding gown, with all the accessories. Therefore it is fitting that the beginning of the book describes the initiation of the process leading up to the marriage supper of the Lamb, where the marriage of the Bridegroom and His bride takes place.

Blessed/happy is he/the man who reads the words of this prophecy.  Remember earlier when I described the processes carried out which culminated in the marriage.  When the father told his son he could go get his bride, the son would tell his servants to go on ahead of him to notify the bridesmaids he was on his way.  In order to be a servant of the Son of God you must complete the qualification process.  Not only must you keep the commandments of God, but you must know and live the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 12:17).  Righteousness is required to be a bondservant of God; therefore, the Elijah type prophet MUST complete the consecration process, there must be no lie found in his mouth, or in the mouths of his fellow bondservants, they are blameless (see Revelation 14:5).  As this servant continues to learn the truth, he shares this truth with all who will listen (his fellow bondservants).  This individual is represented as having been placed over God’s household.  He is described as Faithful and Wise.

 

‘What sort of servant then is faithful and wise enough for the Master to place him over His household to give then their food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his Master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you solemnly, he will place him over everything he owns.’ (Matthew 24:45-47)(JB)

 

This Elijah type prophet comes without signs and wonders, out of nowhere, completely unexpected.  Like John the Baptist, he will be unknown or ignored by the present day “scribes” (the religious authorities).  What is unique about his work is that he is emphasizing the authority and importance of the testimony of Jesus, over all other testimonies.  Like the disciple John, he declares that any teaching that does not keep completely within the teaching of the Son of God, is a lie and must be completely ignored (see 2 John).

Jesus gave His angel the information for preparing His the bride and the marriage supper, and it pertained to a specific time in the future.  Many religious scholars have declared Revelation to be completely symbolic, having no literal application in this world.  Others claim that it was intended for the Jews at the time of their Roman persecution.  Still others teach that it applies throughout all ages until the coming of the Messiah.  All of these understandings are incorrect, and here is why.

Revelation is a prophecy, according to the word of God in verse two and throughout the rest of the book.  God given prophecy has always had specific and literal meaning and application.  Yes, there are symbols in prophecy, which are analogies to real accounts. Yet there has never been any indication from God that a prophecy was ever relevant to anything other than a revelation of future reality.  Many pastors and religious teachers have declared the book of Revelation to be nothing more than a useful source of devotionals.  They have also surmised that it was intended for the Jews and the persecution the endured under the Romans;  this concept has been proven false due to the fact that the ‘Kingdom of God’ status has been taken away from them (Matt.21:43).  The children of Israel were no longer the house of God (see Matthew 23:37-39).  The “timeless” application of end time prophecy is refuted by the fact that those living at the end of days will experience the events of Revelation, and that the preparation of the bride takes place over a three and a half year period (time, times, and half a time)(see Daniel 12:7).

The next event of prophecy is the feeding of the fellow servants by the “faithful and wise” servant (Matt. 24:42-51).  During the time when the faithful and wise servant is feeding his fellow servants the 144,000 are being numbered.  They are being set-apart from the kingdom of the heavens for a specific use, they are the servants of the Bridegroom who will awaken the sleeping bridesmaids and prepare the wise of that group.  The 144,000 are the priests of the kingdom of God.

In the sanctuary were four articles of furniture, all made of gold;  a lamp-stand, an altar of incense, a table of the presence, and the ark of the covenant/testimony. Each article of furniture represented one element in the process which will finally accomplish the restoration described in God’s plan.  The lamp-stand represented the Kingdom of God on earth; the flames on the lamps are the light of truth which is to emanate from it.

 

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of Men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)(JB)

 

I turned around to see who had spoken to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lamp-stands and, surrounded by them, a figure like a Son of Man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a golden girdle. (Revelation 1:12-13)(JB)

 

If Revelation applies to everyone in all ages, then it really applies to no one at any time.  First and foremost, God only commands those over whom He has authority; only those who have made a promise to keep His covenant and obey the word of His testimony.  Any instructions, admonitions, or corrections from God are directed ONLY to His Kingdom.  The seven messages in Revelation chapter two and three are therefore directed to this Kingdom of the Heavens.  The seven lamp-stands also testify to this fact.  The messages to the seven assemblies are only applicable when the Kingdom of the Heavens is present.  The understanding that there was no Kingdom of the Heavens in existence on earth until the end of the twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings, shows that the application of these messages would have relevance only after the end of this time period 1843-44 CE.  The use of the lamp-stand symbol also confirms that these messages are directed specifically to the Kingdom of the Heavens.

The following is a list of the sequence of events leading up to the preparation of the Kingdom of the Heavens:  there was no Kingdom of God on earth from the time the Son of God went back to His Father’s house to make the necessary preparation for the wedding feast until the time when the Kingdom of the Heavens separated themselves from the rock quarry (Dan. 2:44-45); God preserved the truth through His presence on earth, the promised Holy Spirit;  the Woman described in Revelation 12 is this Holy Spirit, and She waited for the time foretold through the prophecy given to John – and at that time she joined those who were in the process of setting themselves apart for service to God; from the account of the ten bridesmaids (Matt. 25:1-13), we are told that when this happened only half (the five wise) brought the Holy Spirit with them (the Oil);  at that time the ten bridesmaids did not fully understand their purpose, and being under the influence and powerful deception of the prophet of the great deceiver (who will be discussed later), they slipped into a drunken slumber; there was one of this number who was not asleep, who recognized the late hour, and began to study the words of the King, as recorded by His eyewitnesses.  He shared this information with anyone who would listen, and their numbers started growing slowly and consistently (Matt. 24:42-51);  these are the priests, and when this number reaches 144,000 they will awaken the sleeping bridesmaids and lead them to the marriage feast.

 

-To be continued-