Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

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ZNP

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Consider October 24th, 2021 from the viewpoint of three different calendars.

From the Hebrew prophetic calendar it is the mirror image of the day of resurrection for Jesus. He was resurrected on the 17th day of the 1st month, the month Nisan, whereas October 24th is the 17th day of the 7th month, the month Tishrei which was the first month for the world prior to the the Passover and Moses making Nisan the first month for the Jews.

From the Gregorian calendar it is the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII when Truman signed the peace treaty with Germany and it is also the birthday of the United Nations.

From the Torah calendar which represents the traditions of men, which are considered sin and idolatry, it is the day that the flood of judgement begins, the 17th of Chesvan.

This seems complicated, but think about a moon roof on a car, it can be closed, it can be tilted so let air out and it can be opened. One window, three different positions. Here we have one day with three different perspectives depending on your view of time and who you worship.
 

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Thou hast tried us as Silver is tried

I have been considering the dream I had, I saw the hood of my trunk dismantled and sitting in the trunk. I asked the guy who did this if all the pieces were there and he said yes. So I said let’s go home we can put it back together once we get there. This blog is like the trunk of my car, it is filled with all kinds of pieces concerning the rapture but nothing is put together. I feel the Lord is telling me that all the pieces are here, so instead of gathering more pieces it is time to put them together. The hood is the lid, the capstone, just as the rapture will be.

Jeremiah 6:30 Refuse silver shall men call them, because Jehovah hath rejected them.

This verse has really stuck with me. It seems to me that Isaiah is the prophet to those prior to the first rapture whereas Jeremiah is the prophet to those who are left behind, those who refused to heed the word of the Lord, to those who are in lamentations during the tribulation. Those who are left behind are like “rejected silver”.

Ps 66:10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: Thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

The believers are like silver that is tried whereas those who are left behind are like rejected silver. So then this 2,000 year period is a time of refining us as silver is refined.

Psalm 12:6 The words of Jehovah are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, Purified seven times.

This verse really hit me because we have seven churches, each of which is going through a refining process to get rid of the dross. If you read Revelation 2 and 3 looking for the dross, the rejected silver you can find it easily. It also hit me because there are 7 categories of blessings to Abraham which make up “all spiritual blessings” that the book of Ephesians refers to. With each refining process you remove the dross and what is left is a blessing like shiny silver.

1. The first blessing is Unto a land that I will show you. It is a vision of where we are headed.

The dross in the first church (Ephesus) is self righteousness. They are caught up in investigating the apostles to see if they are speaking the true word of God. This is a good work and they are commended for it. Yet the dross is that they left their first love, the savior, the good samaritan, the good shepherd. The dross is being a “holy and righteous” church without saving sinners, without helping those that had been beaten up by sin. When you examine others for sin while at the same time leaving your first love, the savior and redeemer, then you enter into self righteousness and a "holier than thou" attitude. I saw this recently, I had posted a video of someone sharing evidence of the planet X system. One Christian took great offense at this because when they investigated this person's website they found that their religious beliefs were not Christian. This same person posts videos from around the world concerning Covid19 and what different doctors and nurses are saying. Never once do they think the person's religious beliefs have anything to do with what they are posting, but this other person posts something of astronomical observations and all of a sudden their personal religious beliefs are critical. It was nothing but self righteousness, holier than thou hypocrisy.

2. And I will make of thee a great nation

The dross in Smyrna is the ego. Those that want to be first and are not willing to be last. They want to be rich, not willing to be poor. Want comfort, not willing to go through tribulation. The blessing is that God “will make of thee a great nation”, not that you already are a great nation. I think we got a great illustration of this principle with Tom Brady. He had had an illustrious career and was guaranteed to go into the Hall of Fame. He was very old for a starting quarterback and could have retired. Instead he went to another team that had the worst record of any franchise in the NFL. He was willing to be last, he was willing to be poor and he was willing to go through tribulation. He was ridiculed, mocked and attacked over every missed play or stumble along the way. Yet, in the very first year he took them to the Superbowl and made them champions. I will make of thee a great nation doesn’t mean we are special, we will have to get our hands dirty, roll up our sleeves and do the hard work like everyone else.

3. And I will bless thee

Dross in Pergamum is the compromise with the old man, willing to let those who teach the believers to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication to be among you. Not only so but you let the believers compromise, some can be absolute, others will merely be spectators. We will let some be the clergy and the rest will simply sit and listen. If you want to be blessed you need to be purified of this compromise with your old man.

4. And make thy name great

The dross in Thyatira is a finer form of compromise, you feel that some words in the Bible are outdated, need to be inclusive, allow Jezebel a woman and a foreigner, to prophesy. Her sin is subtler, the “deep things of Satan”. It is hidden, like adultery. You are compromising with the flesh. The name of the church could never be great as long as there are those who are compromising with the flesh and cutting deals with the flesh.

5. Be thou a blessing

Sardis pretends to be something they aren’t. They claim to be living, yet are dead. They claim to be a source of blessing, yet their works are not complete. They pretend to be righteous and holy but most have defiled their garments. If the church is truly going to be a blessing to others then we need to wash away the pretense.

6. I will bless those that bless thee

Self preservation is the dross that is removed from Philadelphia. The Lord washed away all those that deny the Lord’s name, those that wither under attacks and insults. Those that forsake the Lord’s word in the midst of the battle. If you want the Lord to have our back and bless those that bless thee, then you need to have His back.

7. All nations will be blessed in thee

Contentment is the dross in Laodicea. Happy to live in your own little bubble while the rest of the world goes up in flames. You need to leave your little cocoon to be a blessing to the nations and defend them from Satan. The Lord is outside, He is knocking, you need to wake up, open your eyes, and open the door. This corresponds to the end of chapter six of Ephesians where we see the warrior. The church is the Lord's army that can defeat the Antichrist and his armies as a blessing to all nations.

The Lord has tried us, that is what is happening in the churches, it is a process of refining silver and in every stage you see the rejected silver and you see the shining lampstand that has been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies.
 

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The Rapture is when the Lord has turned back your enemy.

Zephaniah 3:14 Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.

Why are they watching in the night to prevent the house from being broken into? Clearly they were fearing some harm. We have an enemy and we have a punishment, these are not to destroy us but to adjust us. We need to repent, turn to the Lord, sing and shout aloud, to be glad and rejoice with all our heart. Stop listening to the world, focus on our victorious savior.

16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp.


"Do not let your hands hang limp" -- this is what we are saying now to the church, you have to wake up and take a stand. The worship team should be at the front of the army carrying the banner.

17 The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”


In that day we will be calling the Lord the Mighty Warrior. Our rapture is similar to our exit from Egypt.

18 “I will remove from you all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals, which is a burden and reproach for you. 19 At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame.

"In every land" indicates this is worldwide. The Mighty Warrior will be dealing with all who oppressed you. Today we see them shutting down churches, arresting pastors, forbidding the gospel to be spoken, forbidding Bibles, and many other forms of oppression. Many of these organized religions have come out and officially backed the vaccine, why? Because they are mourning the loss of our appointed festivals. If people do not attend the church meeting they don't put money into the offering. Yet the vaccine is made with aborted babies, it doesn't cure anything, it doesn't protect anyone, and it is dangerous. There is no reason that those who have recovered from Covid should be forced to get the vaccine, there is no reason that kids should be required to get the vaccine, and there is no reason that anyone in good health should be forced to get the vaccine under penalty of being fired.

20 At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the Lord.

To "gather you" and to "bring you home" is a reference to the rapture. These verses give you an idea of what manner of time the rapture will take place. There will be a worldwide battle going on, there will be a call for all Christians to brace themselves for this fight, to rejoice in the Lord, and the enemies will include those who are mourning the loss of the appointed festivals to the point they have become worthless shepherds not caring about the flock.
 

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Revelation and the Feast of Atonement

1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

I want to look at the first four chapters of Revelation from the perspective of the feast of atonement and our judgement at the end of the age. Here I picked up this word “must”, it is not simply something that will soon take place but that must soon take place. Many things don’t have to happen, but the judgement is one that must take place. Also, notice this expression “because the time is near”. That is a warning for you to repent and to make yourself ready, this is the concept of the ten days before the day of Atonement, the time is near and you are to “prepare to meet your God” during this time.

4 John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits[a] before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

7

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”[b]

and “every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him”;

and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”[c]

So shall it be! Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The first thing that stands out to me is that this is to the seven churches. The Great White throne judgement is for unbelievers, for the sheep and the goats, but not for believers. So if this is a reference to the judgement at the end of the age it is the Bema judgement, Christ’s judgement seat.

The second thing that stands out is that this is from the one who is to come. There are four references to the Lord’s coming in this short section (I am counting the word Omega as one of the four) and if you throw in the two references to what must shortly come to pass then John is hammering this concept of the Lord’s coming again and again and again.

The next thing that stands out is that Jesus is the faithful witness, firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. These are three things that we need to be constituted with. We talk about expressing Jesus, or “what would Jesus do”? First, He would be a faithful witness even unto death. Second He would be filled with the resurrection life and so would no longer be held in fear of death, and third everything is under His sovereignty, never forget that.


John’s Vision of Christ
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

John is in the same boat as us. Quite exciting really, that we could have the same experiences as the apostles. We always focus on the miracles, the healings, the speaking, but kind of forget the suffering and patient enduring because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. The voice like a trumpet caused John to turn around, to repent and to write what he sees (speak the word of God as a testimony). Interestingly that is what the trumpets at the feast of Trumpets are supposed to do, cause us to turn around and reflect on the past year.

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[d] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

It is quite amazing that despite all the failings of the seven churches this glorious Christ is in the midst of every church. The Lord is working on us, we are being processed into His image and His likeness, the question is whether or not we submit to and embrace this transforming work that He is doing.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[e] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

This is the first vision we need to see, how glorious is the Lord in the midst of the church, and how the church is a golden lampstand, and how every church has messengers that are in the Lord’s right hand. I love the fact that the one who is in our midst is the first and the last, who better to learn from, who better to train us and equip us? He holds the keys of death and Hades! What can Satan do to us? If Jesus has the keys to death and Hades then Satan is powerless!
 

ZNP

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2 “To the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.


This sounds exactly like the judgement you might hear from the throne of Christ at the Bema judgement. From what I can gather the judgement would be great except for one thing, they have left their first love! When we first got saved we had a first love, have we left that? You see that someone who got saved out of the world when they were twenty by the time they are sixty you would never know they were ever in the world. They can become very self righteous, holier than thou, stuffy and religious. This is nothing like the first love. They become dogmatic, legalistic., and judgemental. These are all the things that turn people off from the church. We need to repent of all these things.


To the Church in Smyrna
8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.


This sounds very good, and there are some very nice parallels with the church in Philadelphia. There is a pre tribulation rapture where the dead in Christ rise first and then those that remain. I suspect that this church will rise first. Compare this church to Laodicea that thought they were rich and in need of nothing and yet the Lord told them they were poor, and this church which is afflicted and in poverty and yet the Lord says they are rich. Slander is a form of judgement, Satan in the accuser of the brethren so the “synagogue of Satan” is full of slander of the brethren. To be slandered by Satan or the synagogue of Satan is like getting the Lord’s “good housekeeping seal of approval”. They get tested in prison and even by being put to death and that is how they get the “victor’s crown”. Compare this with Philadelphia which is charged to not let anyone take their crown. I suspect that anyone in the church in Philadelphia has also been tested and given the victor’s crown. This brings up the big question what is “the second death”? Again, I think this refers to the Lord’s judgement on the believers. Some believers are sent to “outer darkness”. I know many confuse that with Hell, but they are two very different things. If you have trouble with that then remember Paul’s word in 1Corinthians that if we build with wood, hay and stubble our works will be burned up, we will suffer loss yet we will be saved but so as through fire. I think the reference here to not being hurt by the second death means we won’t suffer loss at the judgement seat of Christ.


To the Church in Pergamum
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.


Out of Smyrna it seems that some of the survivors learn how to “go along to get along”. The faith was tested, would they remain true to the Lord’s name? Would they renounce their faith? Would they be a faithful witness? In this kind of pressure some will come to the conclusion that the persecution was self inflicted. Let’s ease off the gospel, compromise a little, be a little more agreeable. They listen to the slander of the synagogue of Satan and they want to adjust their stance to be a little more accomodating. This opens the door for Balaam to come in, “Here eat this, try that, etc.” Along with the compromise you start to make the Christian walk easier, hire a few professional Christians so the rest of us don’t have to do that much work. Let them teach us once a week and there you go, the church becomes a religion. This is a big deal, if someone is a “professional Christian” a hireling instead of a real shepherd, then he will be very concerned with numbers. You will have a board of directors who will look at attendance as one way to judge job performance. As you fill the seats with nominal Christians you are concerned with being completely honest and frank in your witness concerning the Lord. I would much rather be Antipas, the faithful witness, at the Lord’s judgement seat than to be anyone in Pergamum.
 

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To the Church in Thyatira

18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’[b]—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.


Once again, it seems each one of these churches is about to appear before the throne and be judged and the Lord is giving them a heads up with these letters. The lessons I have learned so far are “hold on to your first love” and “be a faithful witness even unto death”. Do not listen to the slander of the synagogue of Satan, and do not compromise with Balaam. Do not hire someone to read the Bible for you or to spend time with the Lord in your place. What do these false teachers teach you? They teach you to tolerate Jezebel. Why? They are judged based on numbers, in order to increase the numbers they have made a number of compromises. They have agreed to tolerate sin in exchange for you joining the church. This is like adultery. You are not being faithful to the Lord even unto death, except in this case “death” for the hireling is to not reach his target for attendance. In Thyatira we learn that they have taken this fork in the road and it ultimately leads to the “deep secrets of Satan”. The enemy to believers are not atheists, in the Bible atheists are fools. The enemy, Satan, is a believer in the sense that he knows God is real, that Jesus is Lord and he trembles. No, our enemy can disguise himself as an angel of light, he can pretend to be a believer, a Christian, a Freemason who does all kinds of good works.


By compromising with the false prophet and tolerating Jezebel they have given an entrance to Satan to use this church as a front. Clearly some of those in this church do know the deep things of Satan, probably the leaders, the clergy, the Bishops, etc. We saw this with the Catholic church and their knowledge of the pedophile priests. However, I suspect the “secrets of Satan” are exceedingly evil and when they appear before the judgment seat they will be judged with the wicked.


Also look at the last point, to those who overcome He will give authority over the nations. This is a direct reference to the feast of atonement.
 

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This is a wikipedia page for a company in Germany that makes these huge Tunnel Boring Machines like the one that dug the tunnel connecting London and Paris, and the tunnel they put in Boston harbor. You could count these huge projects on one hand yet according to this page they have been involved in 2,600 projects! Not only so but it describes them as "a market leader" indicating there are other companies as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herrenknecht

The company was established in 1975, 3 years after the US sent up Pioneer 10 to find Nibiru.

I found this on the website for Robbins, another Tunnel Boring Machine company located in the US

17 companies referred to as the "leading companies"

The key players contributing to the robust growth of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) market comprise CRCHI, Herrenknecht, CRTG, LNSS, Tianhe, Mitsubishi, Komatsu, Kawasaki, NHI, Terratec, IHI, Tianye Tolian, SELI, Xugong Kaigong, Hitachi Zosen, JIMT, and STEC. The leading companies are taking up partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures in order to boost the inorganic growth of the industry.

The Global Market for these machines is estimated at $5 billion

The global Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) market was valued at $3779 million in 2017, and analysts predict the global market size will reach $5480 million by the end of 2028, growing at a CAGR of 3.44% between 2017 and 2028.

Let that sink in, these are simply the tools for digging the holes. On a construction project the parts are usually considered to be 1/3 the cost. A tool is generally not even factored in. Still, this suggests they are spending upwards of $15 billion a year digging tunnels.

With all these companies we might have 20,000 projects. If we guess that the 20 largest economies are responsible for 80% of these projects we are talking about 16,000 projects in 20 countries. Again, assume the US has more than other countries and we probably have 1,000 projects in the US! We may have heard of three or four of them, maybe if you are really tuned into the US construction industry you have heard of 10 of them.
 

ZNP

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Also please note that Luxury bunkers have risen in sales by as much as 700%,

"Our clients are sold on the unique advantage of having a luxury second home that also happens to be a nuclear hardened bunker," says Hall, who is already starting work on a second Survival Condo in another silo on site.

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/doomsday-luxury-bunkers/index.html
 

ZNP

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Our Annual Review

To the Church in Philadelphia
7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Once again, I am viewing this letter as being similar to the annual review from your boss, the Lord is telling the church how they are doing and where they stand. Two really key things: you have kept my word and you have not denied my name. This tells me there are many Christians and churches that have not kept the Lord’s word and they have denied His name, otherwise it would be a trivial point. Compromising with Balaam, the false prophet is not keeping the Lord’s word and it is a denial to His name. The same is true of tolerating that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess. Also, there is a nice contrast with Sardis, they make themselves out to be something they aren’t, here this church doesn’t pretend to be strong, or powerful. But they do know how to pray, they know to knock and it shall be opened, they know to ask and they shall receive. The key of David indicates they have frequent access to the Lord with their prayers. We also know that this church is being slandered by the synagogue of Satan who say that God has not loved this church. Why would they say that? Perhaps it is implied in the prosperity gospel, if gold rings, fancy cars and big houses indicates God loves you then not having these can be understood to indicate God doesn’t love you.


But here is the reason this church is raptured: “since you have kept my command to endure patiently”. There are “Christian” churches and phony churches like the FreeMasons who teach we don’t need to keep the Lord’s commands.


This church already has a crown! Is this the victor's crown? He says “never again will they leave it”, a clear indication they were forced to leave prior to this, I am going to hazard a guess that it was due to persecution like that of the Faithful Antipas.


Then look at the conclusion! He will write on them! Paul told us that His ministry was to inscribe on our hearts, Ezekiel told us that the New Testament was to have the law of God written on our hearts. But here it is the name, the person, the expression! Wouldn’t that be wonderful to actually meet these saints! They express Jesus! When you see them you see Him! They express the New Jerusalem! Meeting these saints would be better than having a rapture dream! They have a new name, they express the new dispensation, the kingdom age!


To the Church in Laodicea
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”


Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if these letters ended with Philadelphia? But that is not the Lord’s plan, He is merciful. As terrible as Thyatira is, and as dead as Sardis is, I think most of us would view Laodicea as the worst condition. They disgust the Lord, make Him sick, and they have nothing. Even Sardis and Thyatira have somethings that commend them to the Lord. Actually they do have one thing, the Lord loves them and treats them as His children. There is a contrast between Laodicea and all the other churches but especially with Philadelphia. This church is boastful yet has nothing, and they don’t pray while Philadelphia does. How do I know? Jesus is knocking on the door and most of them are clueless. The Lord says knock and it shall be opened, Philadelphia has an open door, the Lord heard them knocking and has given them an open door, here this church is asleep and has no idea that the Lord is outside knocking.


But in every church it is possible to be victorious. Only to Philadelphia are we told they already have the victor’s crown, but to every other church they can overcome, they can be victorious, they can open the door to the Lord. But no one has anything to boast of. Just because you win the victor’s crown it doesn’t prove you are a champion. Every year the NFL has a superbowl. This means that every year one team will win. Even if every team is horrible one will still win. No, the proof you are a champion is if you win two superbowls. Yes, some team has to win every year, but the only reason you would win it twice when there are 26 teams has nothing to do with chance or luck. This is why Song of Song’s talks about how the Lord’s army is “terrible as an army with banners”. Notice it is plural. The Boston Celtics have “banners”, the Los Angeles Lakers have “banners” and the Chicago Bulls have “banners”. Now just because you are on the Bulls it doesn’t mean you are a champion. I remember something Michael Jordan said to his teammate after they won some exhibition game in Europe. The guy was claiming that this made him a champion and Jordan pointed out he hadn’t won anything, all those banners the Bulls had, he wasn’t on the team, he can’t claim those victories.
 

ZNP

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2020
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In the last 40 days we have had 764 Earthquakes that were 4.5 or larger worldwide.


During this 40 year period the total from these five weeks (actually 40 days) was 735

In 2014 we had 239

In 2004 we had 124

In 1994 we had 189

In 1984 we had 97

In 1974 we had 86


During this 40 year period the total from these five weeks (actually 40 days) was 11

In 1964 we had 9

In 1954 we had 1

In 1944 we had 1

In 1934 we had 0

In 1924 we had 2