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Tag: prophet

  • Balaam – Inauguration of a Politician’s Prophet – 1

    Balaam – Inauguration of a Politician’s Prophet – 1

    Prophesy of a man with eyes to see

    Numbers 24:

    “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
    the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
    4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God,
    who sees the vision of the Almighty,
    falling down with his eyes uncovered:

    5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob,
    your encampments, O Israel!
    6 Like palm groves that stretch afar,
    like gardens beside a river,
    like aloes that the Lord has planted,
    like cedar trees beside the waters.
    7 Water shall flow from his buckets,
    and his seed shall be in many waters;
    his king shall be higher than Agag,
    and his kingdom shall be exalted.
    8 God brings him out of Egypt
    and is for him like the horns of the wild ox;
    he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries,
    and shall break their bones in pieces
    and pierce them through with his arrows.
    9 He crouched, he lay down like a lion
    and like a lioness; who will rouse him up?

    [ctt title=”Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”” tweet=”The LORD God of #Israel” coverup=”We237″]

    Looking back on election

    Let’s look at an ancient analogy about changes of political winds all too frequent throughout history.

    The inaugural event spoken by Balaam son of Beor illustrates hope for one group of hearers present, but not those who elected Balaam to his present situation. Backing up some (two chapters), we see Balaam’s nomination by powerful men with entirely different motives.

    You may need to map out some unfamiliar geography and history for understanding this election.

    First, understand that Balaam’s journey to Moab may have been about 400 miles from Pethor on the Euphrates. Yes, even then wars and skirmishes between nations surrounding Israel frequently involved foreign intervention. Balaam’s family may have been Canaanites who migrated to Mesopotamia, perhaps even to flee from local war of invading warriors.

    Election

    Israel (Jacob) claims election by God as a people set aside for the LORD. The LORD had led Israel by the hand of the prophet and leader, Moses [Mosheh]. מֹשֶׁה

    Joshua then defeats Canaan and begins capturing the lands promised to Israel [Jacob], son of Isaac, son of Abraham.

    We now glance into these tumultuous times of trouble in the middle east, just east of the Jordan during the campaigns of Balak, Balaam, Og, Sihon and other forgotten men of the 14th c. BC.

    Balak Summons Balaam

    Numbers 22

    Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. 2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel…

    Conflict between local leaders in the middle east (nothing new) and one leader, Balak, reaches out to foreign powers to fight Israel. Some mysterious power of Balaam is known, yet what if not known is something Balaam sends back as a message.

    … So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’”

    These men of influence, likely with bribes for Balaam, return to Balak saying that Balaam will not come; but Balak orders them to make the long journey again promising even more riches as is typical of the diplomacy of influence.

    … God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

    Now the seer or prophet Balaam embarks on a potentially perilous journey of many miles into unknown outcomes of the middle east.

    Balaam – Inauguration of a Politician’s Prophet – To be continued…

     

     

     

     

  • Swords & Sickles

    Swords & Sickles

    Proclaim this among the nations:
    Consecrate for war;
        stir up the mighty men.
    Let all the men of war draw near;
        let them come up.

    Beat your plowshares into swords,blacksmith-hammer
        and your pruning hooks into spears;
        let the weak say, “I am a warrior.”

    Joel 3:9-10

    Consecrate them, says the LORD! Yes. It is a holy war – war between the Lord God and those who hold to their sins, following idols, false prophets, foolish sages and lying leaders.

    What has been will be and what has never before been seen will blind the eyes of the nations.

    Joel 3:sickle

    13 Put in the sickle,  
        for the harvest is ripe.

    Go in, tread,
        for the winepress is full.
    The vats overflow,
        for their evil is great.

    14 Multitudes, multitudes,
        in the valley of decision!
    For the day of the Lord is near
        in the valley of decision.

    syria-kurdish-fighter-destroyed-city

    Borders and Nations Destroyed

    By what proxy have the nations divided Tyre and Sidon to the spoils of nations beyond the valley of destruction?

    Have the people not fled for their lives by land and by sea to places where they remain an enemy?

    Though you rebuild fallen towers and repair the breach of five-walled fortresses, refugees will yet invade your borderless regions. Their helpless will expose the evil of princes; their plight unveils the nakedness of greed.

    Has anything changed? Are these last times so different than the demise of the godless in the days of Joel?

    Six centuries later Peter would preach the words of Joel’s prophesy fulfilled by the Holy Spirit speaking through a few Apostles heard by the crowd in many languages. [Acts 2:16-21] The last days have begun, Peter preaches, with the incarnation of Christ Jesus and the Lord’s crucifixion for our sins and His resurrection and ascension to the Throne of the LORD!

    It is the Lamb of God who will judge. He was not a sword-wielding conquering King, general or prophet. God’s own compassion for the nations sacrificed the promised king of the jews as full payment for our sins, even the sins of His own enemies.

    The Rumblings of Peace

    One of the Apostles of Jesus lived to see Jerusalem fall once more under the domination of Rome. John wrote letters of love to the churches of Asia (modern day Turkey). Then as the last living Disciple prophesy came to John.

    Rome has since fallen. A false prophet emerged from a cave to conquer the continents. Wars to end all wars. Emperors and dictators and despots have risen with sword and perished in humiliation. Even Israel is replanted after shameful killings of the remnant.

    Only the message of the Lamb remains viable – a call to repentance and redemption in the blood of love, rather than the blood of war. Like in times before the falls of the mighty some claim peace, but it is war they invite. It is the Lord who will judge. Hear the Truth of these last days:

    Revelation 6:1-8 excerpt

    1. And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
    2. And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
    3. And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.
    4. And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
    4-horsemen-of-the-apocalypse
    And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

    Death Tolls of War

    • Current estimate of the population of the earth: 7,404,976,783
      • a fourth of the earth killed = 1,851,244,195
      • 9/11 Death toll           = 2,996
      • 2016 Migrant deaths = 4,310 of 243,000+ war refugees
      • Syrian war deaths      = c.300,000-400,000
      • Abortion deaths         = 40,000,000 – 50,000,000
      • WWII deaths              = 50,000,000 – 80,000,000
    • The current combined populations of China, Russia and the US = 1,831,278,025

    I am not suggesting that these three empires will be those destroyed in the end. The number of souls tormented and killed on the earth will exceed the total number of people living in these three earthly super-powers!

    Our sin is rampant! The judgment of evil is inevitable.

    The Lamb of God IS and will be, forever, Lord and Savior!

    He did not come to the world with a sword of power or a sickle to reap the riches of other lands. No, Christ Jesus came into the world as a Lamb of sacrifice for our sins. He will return on the clouds as John as prophesied.

    Revelation 6:

    9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice,

    “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

    11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

  • The Pervasiveness of Sin

    The Pervasiveness of Sin

    If you perceive the pervasiveness of sin,

    you will pour forth great gratitude for God’s grace

    and the cross of Christ.

    Revelation 18:  For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
    and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.
    24 In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people
    and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”

    … all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.

    So warns Christ’s Revelation to John of Babylon, a home for demons – the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit. Even Ezekiel had warned Jerusalem of these same evils (perhaps appropriate warning to a 21st c. church).

    3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

    Disclaimer & Caution

    Researching the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John reconfirms a need for a note of caution to the reader.

    MUCH false teaching, speculative interpretation and agenda-driven preaching will easily mislead and confuse most believers, except believers well-versed scripturally in apologetics. Perhaps one of the greatest dangers is to accept an interpretation of just one man on the many important symbols John presents in Revelation – especially in the following chapters.

    The following is a continuation in my series on Revelation, begun with the Letters to the Seven Churches and now continuing from much later in John’s apocalypse in Chapter 17.

    May I suggest that you take my interpretation of scripture (or anyone’s interpretation) under consideration of:

    • the Holy Spirit
    • Scripture (including, possibly root meanings of the Greek or Hebrew)
    • prayerful consideration of application to your life and those in your life

    Roger Harned

    Central

    to the Judgment of Christ Jesus

    in the Apocalypse of John.

    Revelation is misunderstood and much misrepresented. Will the deception of these last days not increase with the pervasiveness of sin?

    BABYLON, the Harlot Queen,

    sits upon the scarlet beast –

    Revelation 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.

    SIN is pervasive!

    Revelation begins with warning to the churches. Should the churches of these last days not heed the warnings of a time so near?

    The Apostle John describes Heavenly visions (none of which I will describe today):

    • The Scroll and Seven Seals (ch. 4-7)
    • Seven Angels with Seven Trumpets (ch. 8-11)
    • Seven Symbolic Histories (ch. 12-14)
    • Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath (ch. 15-16)

    All of this leads up to the drama of punishment, with its great symbolism. All of Revelation leads to a drama:

    CENTERED ON EVIL vs. GOOD

    SATAN vs. CHRIST JESUS.

    Though the FINAL BATTLE does not take place until Revelation 19, the familiar opponents of God confront the believer and unbeliever alike with the great symbolism of Revelation 17 and 18. What Jesus reveals is what our Lord has always revealed to those with ears to hear.

    Matthew 24

    dome and wall

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

     

    Signs of the End of the Age

    3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

    4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.

    6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

    9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

    egypt-violence-eu11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

    14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come…

    wolf23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.

    24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

    25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

    Do NOT be deceived:

    1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality {note: The two Greek terms translated by this phrase refer to the passive and active partners in consensual homosexual acts.}

    2 Timothy 2:12-13 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

    1 John 2:26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

    Do you with ears to hear understand how the world is being deceived?

    Do you sip from the cup of the Harlot?

    Hear and understand the wine of her cup.

    … all the nations were deceived by her ‘pharmakeia’ sorcery.

    Heed the warning of the punishment for those who partake of the sorcery of the Harlot:

    Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, G5332 and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

    Let us continue to proclaim Christ crucified; for He IS and He will return in victory over Satan, the Harlot, and all the armies of evil which surround the believer every day.

    We have Great Grace in Christ Jesus and His Blood of the Cross, where by His death and resurrection we are victorious over sin and death.

    Christ Jesus our Lord has defeated the enemy. These last days will end and the faithful will be most thankful for the grace of the Cross.