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Precis Of Revelation In Context

Revelation Commentary, , , , , ,

PRECIS OF REVELATION IN CONTEXT

The first three verses of the Book of Revelation tell us that something was about to happen.

WHAT HAPPENED?

In 70 AD the nation of Israel was destroyed along with its capitol city, Jerusalem. The survivors of this destruction were sold into slavery and assimilated racially. Jesus Christ was left as the only legitimate Heir to the Promises, the Covenants, the Kingdom, and the Throne.

His Bride, His Body, the Church, flourished in the absence of their arch persecutors. They went forth with the presence and power of God and conquered the Roman world in the first few centuries.

The surviving Rabbis of the Pharisees joined together to preserve their religion. They appropriated to themselves the name “Jews” and “Israel.” They worked for the next few centuries to try to gather up their “Oral Law” and put it into writing. The result of their work is still extant in the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud, which they claim to be their authoritative scriptures, supplanting the Biblical Scriptures. These are now available in English translation.

WHEN did it happen? ON CUE AS FORETOLD

The events of the Book of Revelation happened “Shortly,” “Quickly,” “Soon,” after the Book was written in the first century AD. It is about events that are now past in time. Its interpretation therefore requires a knowledge of the historical context.

WHERE did it happen?

Primarily in Judea and from there to the Jewish colonies throughout the Roman world.

HOW did the Book happen?

By revelation from God to Jesus Christ, to the Angel, to John, then to “His Servants.” This revelation came through visions, through voices, and through the writing by John to the Churches.

WHO was the message to?

It was to “His Servants.” “His Servants” were the Jews who had accepted Christ as their Savior and their earliest Gentile converts.

WHY did it happen?

Because these things had been promised in the Covenant and prophesied by the Prophets and confirmed by their fulfillment in Christ. It was morally imperative that they happen when they did.

This blog, Revelation in Context, will describe, discuss and document these events in their Biblical, historical, linguistic, and cultural context. We invite you to go with us through this study of this most interesting, inspiring and informative Book.

Are There Few That Be Saved?

Teaching, ,

Luke 13:23-24: “Then said one unto Him, ‘Lord, are there few that be saved?’ And He said unto them, ‘Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”

John 10:9-10: “[Jesus said unto them] ‘I AM the door: by Me if any man enter in, He shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I AM come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Enter in by this prayer of consecration: Song:

I Surrender All

“All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.

[Chorus]
I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee my Blessed Savior, I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasure all forsaken, Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender, make me Savior wholly Thine,
Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord I give myself to Thee,
Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on Me.

All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame,
O the joy of Thy salvation, Glory, glory to His name.”

-Words by J.W.Van De Venter

Propaganda Lesson 2: Jewish Terrorism

Zionist Propaganda, , , , , , ,

Event

On April 9, 1948, “Jewish” terrorist gangs attacked the village of Deir Yassin in Palestine, not far from Jerusalem. They were called the Stern Gang and the Irgun Gang which was headed by Menachim Begin. By noon that day 200 villagers had been systematically murdered.

Some of the victims were paraded through the streets of Jerusalem and some of the orphans from this slaughter were bused into Jerusalem and dumped on the street. This horrible debacle was publicized throughout the land causing more than 700,000 Palestinians to flee in terror into neighboring countries where they were forced into refugee camps and never yet allowed to return to their land. 

Deir Yassin Remembered:

“The massacre of Palestinians at Deir Yassin [April 9, 1948] is one of the most significant events in 20th century Palestine and Israeli history. This is not because of its size or its brutality, but because it stands as the starkest early warning of a calculated dispopulation of 400 Arab villages and cities and the expulsion of over 700,000 Palestinian inhabitants to make room for survivors of the holocaust and other Jews from the rest of the world….

“Although most scholars no longer believe the myth that Israel was ‘a land without people for a people without land,’ that propaganda is still being taught today… Palestinians were dispossessed in 1948 and continue to be dispossessed today in the name of building a Jewish state in eretz (‘Greater’) Israel.

Propaganda
Through their use of propaganda published in the US of A and Europe, these terrorists have convinced many “Christians” that their cause was just and even ordained and approved of God.
For the full account of this event go to
http://www.ameu.org/getattachment/7cbaf847-d834-4935-8193-61948857c90f/Deir-Yassin-Remembered.aspx

Propaganda Lesson 1: What Is Propaganda?

Zionist Propaganda, , , ,

“The fact is that propaganda is to Democracies what violence is to Dictatorships. Propaganda, the calculated manipulation of public opinion to serve political and ideological interests, is pervasive. We are also exposed to commercial propaganda: Marketing and Advertising. Propaganda aims to do other people’s thinking for them. Propaganda today has moved into prop-agenda, not only controlling what we think, but how we think, and what we think about.”

“Propaganda uses highly selective images, devious and prejudicial language. Dubious linkages, confusing issues and distorting reality with disinformation, is a daily reality.
– See more at: http://reformationsa.org/index.php/history/175-how-propaganda-changes-perceptions-and-people#sthash.e4Gg6Xsg.dpufhanges perceptions and people. Propaganda kills.

The Truth Sets Free

“That is why it is absolutely essential that we know the truth of history to recognize the lies of propaganda. We need to study the truth in the Bible so that we can be freed from the deceptions of the world.
“And ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free,” John 8:32.
At His trial before Pilate, Jesus said: “Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice,” John 18:38. Pilate answered Him by saying: “What is truth?” Like Pilate, it is sometimes hard to determine what is the truth of conflicting reports, opinions, and spirits. At an earlier setting, Jesus had answered His disciples questions by saying: “I am the way, the Truth and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me,” John 14:6.  We can safely rely on the fact that Jesus is The Truth.  The Bible is the Word of God: “Thy Word is Truth,” John 17:17.
     There are so many voices from so many sources today that we must learn to discern the Truth from the propaganda that is so prevalent and even overwhelming. We can judge between these by reference to the Word of God, Jesus is the Living Word. We also have the entire Biblical record to depend upon for accurate knowledge.

Revelation: Greek ‘Apocalypse’ – The Veils Removed

Revelation Commentary, , , , , , , , , , ,

THE VEILS

The Greek title of the Book of Revelation is referred to as “The Apocalypse.” The prefix apo- means “from, away from.” The root of the word Apocalypse is kalu, meaning “a veil or covering.” The suffix -psis denotes action or process. Apocalypse therefore means, “the action or process of taking away the veil.”

This Greek word may also be translated as “the unveiling, uncovering, manifestation, appearing, or coming.” So the “Revelation of Jesus Christ” refers to His unveiling, uncovering, manifestation, appearing, and/or coming.

The Veils of the Old Testament

For the Biblical context we should consider the significant veils described in the Old Testament:

  • (1) the veil of mortality,
  • (2) the veil of separation,
  • (3) the veil of the Law, and
  • (4) the veil of the Heavens.

(1) The veil of mortality is unredeemed Flesh. This veil became necessary when Adam and Eve sinned and became subject to death, separation from God. It was the veil of death. God clothed them; that is, He put a veil between Him and their sinful Flesh, Genesis 3.21.

Christ removed this veil of flesh, Hebrews 10:19-20: “Having therefore boldness, brethren, to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” See also I Corinthians 15:54.

Isaiah saw this veil as the veil of death, mortality, that kept the whole world from seeing the full Light of God, Isaiah 25.7-8: “And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.”

Isaiah’s prophecy of the removal of the veil of death is referred to in I Corinthians 15:53-57 and also Revelation 21:4.

(2) Another veil of separation was in the Holy of Holies in the Temple where God chose to dwell with His people. Even the Priesthood could only enter this sacred area with the absolute perfection of the requirements of the sacrificial blood, foreshadowing the blood of Christ. Christ accomplished the removal of this veil: Matthew 27.51. Christ provided access through Himself to this most Holy place: Hebrews 9.1-12.

(3) The veil of the Law. The Pharisees pretended a high reverence for the Law, but Christ taught that the Law was only necessary because of disobedience. God’s will was that the Law should be written in the hearts of Mankind by the very Breath/Spirit of God. The external ritual code of the Law often blinded people to the need for the inner obedience from the heart. The story of Moses’ face to face confrontation with God furnishes an example that beholding and partaking of the glory of God is the essence of the Law of God. The original law was for Mankind to be in God’s image, to know Him and to be in His likeness, Exodus 34:33; II Corinthians 3:13-18.

(4) The veil of the Heavens is described in Psalm 104:2 as a curtain that veils the full Light of God. It is God’s garment, Psalm 104:2. The starry heavens, or what we might call ‘the sky’, declares the glory of God and was created for the purpose of orientation in time and space for Mankind, Genesis 1.14-15. The sun, moon, stars and planets were not just randomly sprinkled but formed definite and readable patterns. Moses was instructed to make all things according to the “Pattern,” Exodus 25:40; Numbers 8:4; Hebrews 8:5.

The veil of the heavens was opened to the prophets as in Ezekiel 1.1. In the New Testament the Heavens were opened to John the Baptist, Mark 1:10; Stephen, Acts 7:56; Peter, Acts 10:11; and John the Revelator, Revelation 4:1. The Book of Revelation concerns the visions given to John in which the veil of the Heavens was opened again to prophetic view.

The Book of Revelation shows how all of these veils were removed by Jesus Christ.

For more discussion and referents on the Greek word Apocalypse see my book Revelation in Context, pages 63-70, available at www.Amazon.com or www.XulonPress.com or locally at Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net