14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.
Nazareth (inland); Tyre, Syria (top) to the N.; Capernaum (Sea of Galilee) to E.; Jerusalem to S.
23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.”
24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
Elijah worked miracles for the widow of Zarephath, who welcomed the Prophet and gave him a room.
27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
A Tree and Its Fruit
43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction…
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.
11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
IF anyone will not listen.. Shake off the dust of your feet when you leave that house.. It will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah. + “Jesus – Matthew 10:14-15
14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Not Peace, but a Sword
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to set a man against his…
… a man against his nearest and most beloved family members. Rejection! Rejection by loved ones for taking up your cross… when your loved ones will not.
36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Rewards
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.
41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
11 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…
23 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?
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.
Disclaimer: Before you move on, this message is NOT about the US (only). It is about the Christian CHURCH: Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox throughout the world of these last days of the 21st century. It is about governments “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” It is about Nations once “under God.”
Specifically, this is a warning to the Nations and to the Churches from history. The Prophesy still rings true from the Book of Hosea.
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God spoke to a man. God’s message was to take a fallen woman as his wife.
If God has spoken something so unlikely, He will use His spoken Command as warning, prophesy, and an opportunity for repentance. God will accomplish His purpose of saving the souls of His beloved.
The earlier scene (the Nations would do well not to repeat) takes place in the eighth century Before Christ. Hosea’s ministry paralleled in part the ministries of the Prophets: Amos, Jonah, Isaiah and Micah.
Introduction to Hosea: Historical Context
* Hosea was God’s man for a difficult era spiritually. “Prosperity had brought an unprecedented degree of cultural corruption. The much-sought-after political power had opened Israel to foreign cultural influence…
1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
Hosea’s Wife and Children
2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea,
“Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.”
The Lord’s prophesy though Hosea continues:
9 And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
10b And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”
Israel’s Unfaithfulness Punished
2:1 Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.”
2 “Plead with your mother, plead—
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband—
that she put away her whoring from her face,
and her adultery from between her breasts;
3 lest I strip her naked
and make her as in the day she was born…
10 Now I will uncover her lewdness
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.
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The Nations are adulterers, forsaking the Lord their God, our Creator.
The Nations who have claimed:
God as Father,
Jesus Christ as Redeemer,
and the Holy Spirit as Counselor.
These many nations have rejected God and Christ as LORD.
These many nations will be rejected and shamed for our whoredom.
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Yet the Lord speaks hope to the one who will return:
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband’…
And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. 19 And I will betroth you to me forever.
I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.
20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.
Hosea 3
English Standard Version (ESV)
Hosea Redeems His Wife
3 And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.”
2 So I bought her …
3 And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days.
You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.”
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IF God IS, IF Christ Jesus IS; should the Nations NOT play the whore or belong to other gods and false prophets?
Is sin to be tolerated, without repentance and return to purity?
Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. – Leviticus 20:7 KJV
Deary beloved wife of the Lord,
Will you return to the Lord? Will you accept His love?
Or will you continue in your whoredom?
We long for your repentance and return to faithfulness.[To be continued…]
