Revelation 11

Revelation 11

Revelation 11:1-2

Interlude between 6th and the 7th Trumpet

• John is now given the responsibility to measure the temple with instructions to not measure the court of the Gentiles
• “Not the Temple Mount is NOT the Dome of the Rock”
• Jerusalem still down

Measure the Temple and Altar

• When see this in scripture it indicates the LORD is dealing with the Nation of Israel
• God is seeking our a BRIDE for His Son
• (Like Eleazar for Abraham and Issac (Holy Spirit/ God/ Jesus Christ)

What is measured is the Holy Place, the Most Holy Place, and The Holy of Holies

• Again, the Temple has nothing to do with the Church
• The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit

I Corinthians 6:19

The Altar

• Referring to the Golden Altar of incense
• 3 1/2 years is last half of the Tribulation Period
• Last half of reign of Anti-Christ
• (At which point the Anti Christ will enter the Holy of Holies and desecrate it and receive worship unto himself)
• Too late for many who will take the mark of the beast
• (A permanent divorce from God)

Daniel 9:27

Revelation 11:3

The Two Witnesses

• Not real clear in scripture as to who the two will actually be although some have ideas of who they are
• Many speculate on who they are but we are not told 
• Do you remember the people of Mars Hill? They were willing to speculate and “discuss” new spiritual concepts, but did not recognize the “real” Jesus. 
• Sound familiar today?

Act 17:22  Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive (discern) that in all things ye are too superstitious (more “religious” than others)

Some say ...

• Enoch and a Gentile
• Enoch and Elijah 
• Moses and Elijah
• 2 unknown witnesses
• someone we have never heard of
• John the Baptist and Elijah
• All interesting "speculations" but not a Bible study

What we do know, according to scripture…

• They are men
• There are two of them
• They will be clothed in sackcloth speaking of law not grace
• (The Church is already gone, meaning the Age of grace has ended!)
• They prophesy for 120 days (Three and half years)
• Looks to be the first half of the Tribulation Period

Revelation 11:4-5

Light in the Darkness

• Two Olive Trees empowered by the Holy Spirit
• Zechariah 4:4
• To stand against insurmountable odds
• These two have miraculous power from above

And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. Revelation 11:5  

• Immortal and immune to every attack until mission is accomplished
• Fire comes from then and destroys their enemies
• (We may say I’ve been shot at and lied to...when will I--I be loved? :)
• For now endure for the end is not until God says it is the end!

Revelation 11:6

No Rain

• The two witnesses seem to have 
• Unlimited authority over elements
• Nor rainfall on Earth and water turns to blood
• To smite the Earth with Plagues at will
• As often as they want to 
• God has real confidence in these two witnesses.
• He gives them free reign
• (A lot of power for just two men)

“We are writing the pages of our testimony every day of our lives”

Revelation 11:7-8

• When the two are finished
• When finished with their assignment and their testimony
• Anti Christ himself will overcome (for awhile) and destroy them
• I Thessalonians 2:2
• The Witnesses die but their bodies are not buried but rather left in the streets of Jerusalem (Spiritually called Sodom and Egypt)

Revelation 11:9-12

• People will Celebrate
• Everyone will see their dead bodies
  (Not to long ago this would have been unimaginable but thanks to technology it may be seen around the whole world every 30 minutes)
• The whole world will see their dead bodies and be celebrating
• Giving each other gifts in celebration of the death of God’s witnesses that tormented them
• After 3 1/2 days the two witnesses will rise from dead!!! 
• Talk about fear and dread in those watching around the whole world!

Stick close to Jesus now while there is still time!  John 3:16

Revelation 11 13:14

Huge Earthquake

• 7000 people killed by an Earthquake In Jerusalem
• "Remnant" recognizes God is in control
• Second Woe is past
• 1 more Woe to go
• 7th Trumpet yet to sound
• Clue to not being post tribulation Rapture

7th Trumpet sounded

• (taken to the end of the tribulation period…an overview)
• Voices heard in heaven
• Synopsis of our Lord’s return
• All creation sees God’s revealed plan
• Kingdom of the World is Kingdom of God

Kingdom of our Lord

• Kingdom of His Messiah
• Jesus Christ
• 24 Elders fall down and worship
• Nations angry and don’t want God’s rule
• Many are stubborn hard hearted till the very end

Revelation 11:15:18

 

Why Nations are Angry

• God’s Wrath has come
• We hear it all the time…if God is love why does He let bad things happen?
• Begin to recognize His mercy ......now.
• Why does He allow Tsunami’s or earthquakes or catastrophes to happen?
• He is not God in a box. He does not carry out our every wish as we try to wind him up and stuff him back in a box when we are done with him.
• It’s not a “religion” or spiritual discussion, it is a relationship!
• Do you know Jesus and does He know you?
• Time of dead to be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment (flash forward to Chapter 20)
• Old Testament and Tribulation Saints receive rewards
• We, the Church,  has already gotten ours….Jesus is our portion!!!

Satan and Wicked man

• Those that destroy the Earth includes Satan and his fallen angels
• Wicked mankind destroys
• We see culmination of all the wrath of God
• We see the program of the end to come all laid out

Revelation 11:19

Temple of God

• 7^th Trumpet now blown
•  “was opened” signifies access to God
• (at present…do we take this for granted?)
• John saw the ark of the covenant there in Heaven
• Temple sanctuary in heaven not on Earth
• Lightning’s, voices and thunderings, Earthquake…all speak of judgment to come

 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16  

Let us go boldly to the throne of God while we still can!
Bow your knee to Jesus now and avoid the rush...The Church is waiting for the last sinner to come to Jesus and then we will all go home! Is it you that is holding us up?

John 3:16

Blessings, Lady

Revelation 10

Revelation Chapter 10


Revelation 10:1-4
The Mighty Angel
(Here we come upon a break from the action of meeting characters)
The 6th trumpet has been blown and we are waiting for the 7th

• The Mighty Angel...an Angel or messenger
• Robed in a cloud
• Rainbow above God's head signifying mercy and promise (even in God's wrath there is mecy!)
• In His hands He holds an open book (Not the 7 sealed book, but a little book
• Right foot in the sea, left foot on the land
• His shout...like the roar of a lion
• Thunders answer back...(Do you wonder what they say? I do! hmmm, but it is sealed!)

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29

Revelation 10:5-7
TIME is no longer!

• John is forbidden to write what the 7 thunders spoke
• Time is no longer! There is no more delay
• Mystery: Not something we must find out or hidden, but a revealed Old Testament prophecy by Old Testament prophets 
• Talking about a glorious return of God's Son the Messiah...Jesus Christ! (many are already fulfilled and many more to come)

Revelation 10:8-11
Eat the Book! The Bible!
Not referring to the scroll, for Jesus is the only one worthy to open the scroll)

• Take and eat the Book (Take the Word of Life, The Bible, so that we may be able to share it with others)

 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.  Ezekiel 3:3 

So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. Ezekiel 3:14

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16 

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

• The Word of God is sweet tot he taste, but at times bitter to deliver. 
• Bitter in the stomach-much wisdom brings much sorrow

For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Ecclesiastes 1:18

Go ahead be a misfit for Jesus, for the world will look upon one who lives the Word as misfit.
The world loves it's own, and what God has to share is  difficult to swallow. The message of judgment is hard to believe.
SHUN RELEVANCE

• The Angel says, you are not done John!

• The book symbolizes God's Word.

Balance life with spiritual food from the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, prayer, fellowship with God's family, sharing God's Word with others.


Blessings, Lady

Acts Chapter 12

Acts 12

As Herod killed James and learned it pleased men, he proceeded further and captured Peter intent on killing him after Easter. So Peter was kept in prison. Ahh, but this gave Christians time to pray, and pray they did continually! Meanwhile Peter slept in prison, chained between two guards, God went to work.
While Peter slept soundly, (can we sleep soundly during a time like this in our lives?)
God sent an angel to wake Peter and told him to arise and then the chains fell off from his hands. “Quick get dressed and follow me” said the Angel, and while Peter followed the angel Peter couldn’t believe it was all true, it seemed like a vision or dream. When Peter came to himself he realized he was on the outside and free.

So Peter journeyed on to the house of Mary the mother of John and knocked on the door. When the servant girl heard Peter’s voice on the other side of the door she was so excited that she forgot to open the door but ran straight in to the house to tell all inside who were praying that Peter was alive. In the meantime Peter was still knocking, so they all rushed to the door to let him in, they were all astonished so Peter tried to quiet them all to tell his story of deliverance at the hand of the angel. Word was sent out to James and other believers.

Meanwhile back at the jail, the soldiers were up in arms as a prisoner lost on their watch meant death to those responsible. Herod was sorely displeased with the outcome and had the soldiers killed.

On a scheduled day and appointed time, Herod, the orator that he was, sat on his throne and addressed the people in all his finery. The people in turn showered Herod with beautiful flattery as was the custom as they desired peace even if it meant flattery at all costs.
The people shouted unto Herod…”Your voice is as the voice of god, and not of a man”
They were pouring it on pretty thick, and Herod drank it in.

However…

The Bible says that …immediately…the angel of the Lord knocked Herod down.
Why? Because Herod did not give God the glory, but took it for himself!
Not only was Herod knocked down but he died a tortuous death being devoured by worms. Not a pretty picture.
The life of Herod ended, but the word of God which Herod tried to silence, grew and spread and multiplied! The hearts of men were strengthened, the enemies were humbled, and those who opposed and attacked the work of God were filled with fear.

Today in History…
1839 - Scottish clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter: 'There is nothing like a calm look into the eternal world to teach us the emptiness of human praise.'

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25


Blessings, Lady

The Moment!

In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth. Genesis 1:1

I've been having sooo much fun creating items for a craft faire at church when it hit me...
If I am having this much fun with my handiwork, I just can't imagine how much fun God had when He created, the sun the moon and the stars...the earth, man...EVERYTHING!  I just shuddered imagining how HE must have felt breathing life into Adam, watching the green things grow and bring forth fruit; how much fun it must have been to scroll out the heavens and hang each star just right!  I was absloutely giddy just thinking about it! It brings tears to my eyes to have shared that moment with my God and my Savior.
The heavens truly do delcare the handiwork of God!
Blessings, Lady

All because of Jesus

The reality of hell could have brought Jesus here

The reality of our pain and suffering could have brought Jesus here.

The reality of sin could have brought Jesus here.
But it was none of these things.

It was LOVE for us that brought Jesus here.

It was His love for you and me that held him on the cross.

One word and Angels would have taken Jesus off the cross gently.

But out of His love for you and me,

Jesus allowed the nails to keep Him on the cross long enough to shed His blood,

to pour Himself out just to wash us clean.

And yet some will choose to step out from under the cleansing flow

of the only thing that can wash away sin, and step into hell willingly.
Stop, drop, and roll into the arms of Jesus right now.

This very moment….

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;

but that the world through him might be saved.

John 3:16-17

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

Blessings, Lady

Give me comfort or give me death!

Give me comfort or give me death!

That might well be the battle cry of many in these last days.

• We want peace and comfort.
• We want people to like us, to see things our way.
• We want our needs met.
• We want the American dream, baseball and apple pie.
• We want the world on a silver platter.
• We want what we want when we want it and we want it now!

No one ever claims the promise that we will suffer persecution, that if we live for Jesus that the world will hate us as they hated Him. If we are God’s children we will suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him. Those that labor for the Kingdom with their own hands will be reviled and yet we should bless, we will be persecuted and yet we should suffer it. We may be spoken of harshly, and yet we pray for them and forgive them.
As God’s beloved we are regarded as the filth of the world, the off scouring (like the ring around the bathtub) Like Paul I don’t write these things to shame you, but to warn you.
Christian, why do you seek to gratify self?
Why do we seek a church that will meet our needs instead of working together to bring the gospel to a dying world?

• 
  SELF wants a program that will meet MY need.
  SELF wants what is more important for ME and MY family.
  SELF wants comfort.
  SELF wants to feel accepted.
  SELF wants, Servants serve.

I am sooo thankful my Jesus didn’t put His own needs above mine. I am so thankful He chose to die for me. No one made Him die on the cross, He chose it willingly so that I and any other who chooses Him could live with Him forever.
We just need to surrender SELF. We are to be a living sacrifice. Deny SELF, daily, pick up your cross and follow Jesus.
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Luke 9:23-24

Blessings, Lady

I Corinthians 13

LOVE AND ABSOLUTE TRUTH

I Corinthians 13
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

If you put God’s name in place of the word charity/love, this chapter of God’s word still stands as truth BUT if I read it with my name in place of charity/love, it falls flat…don’t laugh put your own name in their and see what it sounds like.
Attempting to walk in love is impossible without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 (The fruit of the Spirit is love) Because Jesus died for me because He loves me…
(Which is enough to make heart skip a few beats with love when I think of him)
Then I can love Him in return only because He has given me the capability to love.
We love because He first loved us I John 4:19

It is only by God’s grace that we have an opportunity to receive the free gift of salvation by turning from our own wicked ways an agreeing with God about what sin is. It is the Word of God and His Holy Spirit that reveals these things to us. The word of God is absolute truth. If you do not believe in absolute truth…are you absolutely sure?

Blessings, Lady

Stand Fast!

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.... Stand Ephesians 6:13

A soldier does not go into battle without his uniform. He checks to make sure everything is in place, and in excellent condition. He takes much time to prepare before he goes into the heat of the battle.
I found comfort in the words my brother, who walking into several war situations with the US Army told me, "Not to worry for I am well trained, those who are ill prepared will not be sent out, and remember, we belong to Jesus so we will see each other again, no matter what, God controls the storms!"
As Christians we enter into spiritual warfare everyday of our lives. There is a great battle going on for our own souls as well as the souls around us. This fight is invisible, but real none the less, it is not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalites unseen, against wickedness!
Don't forget your armor this morning for the enemy is lurking about as a lion ready to devor anyone he can. When we are young, we learn to sit at the feet of Jesus, when we are older we learn to walk with Him in the armor. When we are older still, we learn to stand in that armor, and stand against evil. Are you taking a stand against evil in your life?
I remember a quote...All it takes is good people to do nothing for evil to win.
Get in the fight, and stand up for what is right and good, and pure, and when you have done all to stand...then STAND some more! Overcome evil with good, and one day we will STAND in heaven where every foe will be vanquished!
Warning....
Wield that sword carefully...for it is a sharp two edged blade that can injure if not used properly.




Blessings, Lady

Never give up hope!

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me,

to give every man according as his work shall be.

Revelation 22:12

I am reminded of the Psalmist that said..What is man that You are mindful of him?

The God of the Universe wants to commune with us, with the very heart of sinners! As we walk through this life, we must remember that God is in control. Nothing is too big or small for our God to take care of. As we study the love letters God has left for us we are conformed more and more in to His image. As we continue on our journey through this life with our Lord we must walk by faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God.

Salvation brings light to the darkened soul and it lights a fire within the heart and warms us with God's love. The realization of God's love for us burns within and overflows to those around us. God's love for us also grips our hearts and brings us close to our Maker, God Almighty, Jesus, the lover of our souls, and that love wells up inside of us and breaks out in praise and worship of our Creator. The joy and fellowship we share with Him compares to none other.

As we come to this point in our lives we can say from deep within our souls...

Nevertheless, Thy will be done, just as Jesus did before He went to the cross

in obedience to His Father, our of love for us.

Truly His love for us tells us that we were on His mind as He hung on the cross,

and bought us with His own blood.

"A deeper relationship there cannot be, than with the One who died for me"

Blessings, Lady

orgianally published by Lady in 2002