In the wilderness wanderings, God set up the sanctuary service to be an illustration of the priesthood and atonement concerning Christ and His Church.
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After all, let’s not forget what those seven candlesticks represent…
“The mystery of the seven stars which thou saw in My right hand,
and the seven golden candlesticks.
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches:
and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest
ARE THE SEVEN CHURCHES.”
Revelation 1:20
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Yes, the seven golden candlesticks in the Old Testament temple of God actually represent the Church of God through the ages, as enlightened by the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence!
And so, the sanctuary service was symbolic of Christ and His Church.
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Now, God has confirmed this fact in various ways.
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For instance, listen to 1st Peter 2:9…
“But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood,
an holy nation,
a peculiar people;
that ye should show forth the praises of Him
who hath called you out of darkness
into His marvellous light:”
1st Peter 2:9
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Now it is becoming evident that the Old Testament priesthood was symbolic of Christ and His Church, symbolized by the 7 candlesticks of the sanctuary service!
But the reason for even bringing this up is so that in every Christian home, the father needs to rise up to this, his God-ordained high and holy calling.
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That’s right, the father is to take up the mantle of the office of priest for his home: his wife and his children.
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And it would be very advisable for each father to study the Books of Moses to get a clearer picture and insight into just what a solemn and holy office that he has been given by God!
It is the solemn duty of the father to raise his family to love the Lord.
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And for any father to neglect this sacred commission by God is a great shame on that man, which will not easily be erased!
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And if he has a Christian wife, it should be her delight to see the father take the reins in the household and conduct the daily routine in such a way that the Lord God is the exalted Member of that family!
And let’s not forget that the priesthood was NOT to take wine or strong drink into the temple of God.
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And so, neither should the father, the priest of the home (nor the mother) put alcohol into their own body temple, which is (or at least, should be) the holy temple of the Lord!
“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”
Ephesians 6:4
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Last, but certainly not least, fathers, we must make sure to live with our family in such a way as to show them that Heaven is a place to enjoy.
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And the parents need to show much heavenly love and tenderness for their children.
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Whether engaging them in their little games and sports, or hugging them often, or just making life in the home nice and breezy.
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This is an integral part of what it means to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”
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The Christian parents must, kindly, patiently, and gently, guide your children through their childhood in such a way which will cause them to desire, yes, even yearn, to walk side-by-side with you along the joy-filled highways and byways of eternity!
The Good News is, that God has allowed just a little time for His professed people to show that they really mean business with God.
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And every father who claims a connection with God must begin to put away his own selfish amusements and self-aggrandizing pursuits which have had pre-eminence for much too long; and begin to turn the family back to a Heaven-ward direction.
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And if the children are still willing, the father should begin to conduct both morning and evening sacrifices (family worships).
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And the father should begin to conduct himself in a Christlike manner, whether at work, or at rest, or even at recreation with his family.
Now, for those wives whose husband is yet still in darkness, they may be able to commandeer the children to have family worships each day even without the father’s presence.
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And by God’s grace, those of us who have slighted our heavenly priestly duties, may finally come to repentance and once again return to our office, even though we may now be “absent (from our family) in body, but present (with them) in spirit”, 1st Corinthians 5:3
“Dear Lord, Give me the grace to rise to the responsibilities of being a royal priest. Give me the grace to pray without ceasing, no matter where I am…
So, these two events go hand in hand simultaneously.
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The Ark Constellation, as sketched into this Wikipedia star-chart, is a representation of the heavenly Ark, as God begins to open up the spiritual concepts of that true Ark to our minds.
But then, as we all know, Lucifer, the great rebel from Heaven moved into this world, bringing his long train of woe and misery along, turning this planet into a world of destruction and death.
Now, Satan (Lucifer) has always attempted to put a happy face on this world to a certain extent.
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But in these last days, in his role as the 2nd Beast of Revelation 13 (The False Prophet), this master deceiver has been granted the ability to really dress up this decrepit world…
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…adorning it to the point that many people, especially the young, are totally deceived into thinking this world is a pretty nice place for the most part.
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Café de Flore coffee house – wikipedia – public domain
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A STATE-OF-THE-ART WORLD
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Yes, “the god of this world”, Lucifer, now given the office of “Satan”(the “Enemy-Accuser”), is giving this world a make-over of all make-overs!
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And he uses the “children of men”(the unsaved peoples of this fallen world) to construct glamorous cities…
…with grand cathedrals, concert halls and stadiums…
And to complete his deception, Satan has created this world to be a high-tech society.
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Utilizing television, radio, Internet, and even books and magazines, etc., Satan now employs these media to be his “advertiser-in-chief”, so to speak.
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Thus, these various media are constantly promoting this world to be a nice and happy place.
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And anything evil and wrong, “We’re gonna fix it!”
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But the fact is, behind this thin veneer of goodness, lies a world still suffering as greatly as it always has!
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LOOK BEYOND THE GLOSSY VENEER
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There is so much woe and misery and tragedy going on all around us, it is impossible to enumerate everything wrong.
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Just look around! Just look beyond the thin glossy veneer and behold all the death and destruction!
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Even young people witness their friends getting hooked on drugs and alcohol and tobacco!
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Read the daily papers and count the senseless murders and horrific rapes!
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Behold the death, murder, and misery even committed by the various religions!
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Witness the corrupt major media, now “speaking as a dragon”(see Revelation 13:11), whipping up the unsuspecting populace into insane levels of racial hate and division!
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Watch the nightly news and gasp at all the thefts and kidnappings and injustices going on around the world!
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Listen to the radio talk shows and hear about the corruption in government!
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See the horrible statistics about disease and illness which comes on the multitudes as a thief, stealing away all joy from a person’s life!
And yet, in his role as The False Prophet, Satan attempts to paint his, “pleasant pictures”of “a pretty nice world!” (See Isaiah 2:16 for “pleasant pictures” reference)
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And as we watch various television programs, so many of them attempt to convince us that it won’t be long until humanity will soon be holding hands and singing “Kumbaya” all together in perfect harmony!
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This is the great cosmic cover-up perpetrated by Lucifer, who comes through lost humanity, as “The False Prophet”!
“HEARTS OVERCHARGED WITH EATING, DRINKING, AND CARES OF THIS LIFE!”
Luke 21:34
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Now in addition to painting this false, glossy portrayal of this tragic world, Satan makes sure that everyone stays as busy as possible, going after every pleasure and ambitious pursuit this opulent society offers.
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And in our busy-ness, we don’t have time to stop and consider that we are like naive lambs going to our day of slaughter in this, Satan’s slaughter-house world!
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Yes, Satan is working tirelessly to keep us so immersed, busily pursuing the cares and pleasures and his devilish delusions of this “wonderful theme-park world”.
Well, is there even a flicker of light in all this dark report?
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Yes, for any person who has ears to hear, there is a way of escape from the death-sentence which is all but guaranteed in this hopeless world of death, disease, and destruction!
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Jesus says to us…“I am the resurrection, and the life:
he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me
shall never die. Believest thou this?”
John 11:25, 26
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Yes, Jesus offers everlasting life in the New Heaven & New Earth in which all sorrow and mourning and crying and death shall be forever vanquished!
This is the Winter Constellations of Signs Of Heaven.
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Besides Orion and his Horse, we also see pictured in this sketch, the Dragon of Revelation 12.
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This Revelation 12 Woman Constellation is fleeing.
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As you can see, the Dragon Constellation is spewing a flood of water in her direction, as is written…
…“And the serpent cast out of his mouth water
as a flood after the woman,
that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.”
Revelation 12:15.
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This wave of water represents Satan’s lies, and his false teachers who tell those lies.
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GOD’S MESSAGE: FLEE!!
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Beholding the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation in winter, it seems that God is trying to get a very important message across to His people: that His Church is to flee!
Let’s face it! “The god of this world” has given this world-of-sin, a complete make-over in these last decades, turning much of the sin-filled planet into a veritable theme-park!
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There are so many things to do, as far as the earthy pleasures and proud, ambitious pursuits now available and possible!
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Just look around! There are so many more places we can go, via modern transportation!
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And there are so many new amusements to enjoy!
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Theme-parks, vacation resorts, movie theaters…
…bowling alleys, shopping malls…
…museums, operas, clubs…
…distant-and-exotic places, political parties…
…racetracks, sporting events, television…
…radio, Internet, health centers…
…hobbies, homes and gardens and lands and livestock…
…bars, dance halls, video games, amusement halls, gambling casinos…
…and so much more to absorb our time, energy, and means…
“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish his work!”
John 4:34
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But when Jesus arrived on the world stage, He didn’t seem to be the slightest bit interested in those pleasures and ambitious pursuits of the world!
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Oh yes, He faithfully performed His daily duties.
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And He no doubt enjoyed working with Joseph in their profession of carpentry.
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Listen…“But He (Jesus) said unto them (His disciples),
I have meat to eat that ye know not of…
My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me,
and to finish His work.”
John 4:32, 34
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Here is a revelation of what gave Jesus pleasure: it was the things of Heaven: prayer, praise, Bible contemplation, saving souls, ministering to those in need, and even dying for the lost souls of this fallen mankind!
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Jesus the Carpenters Son – by www.lavistachurchofchrist.org – US-public-domain
ABOVE STAR-CHART (constellations found on Wikipedia and Bible constellations drawn in by this website) – Sign of the Son of Man – www.theheavensdeclare.net – Not for commercial uses
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PAUL’S TOTAL DEVOTION
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Now, let’s turn our eyes upon a mere mortal such as the Apostle, Paul.
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Listen to Paul…“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
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Yes, Paul had the exact same devotion that Jesus had!
And so, why are we professed Christians still so enamored by so many things of the world?
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Why don’t we have the very same spirit which Paul had?
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Why don’t we enjoy the things of Heaven as Paul, and the others enjoyed them?
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Well, perhaps it’s because we still are not truly baptized into Christ!
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PICTURE: Unfunny Judgment Day Cartoon – company’s-coming – revised
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A WORLD-LOVING CHURCH IS A DEAD CHURCH
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And sadly, this is the undone condition so prevalent in today’s church-world!
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Listen to John…
“Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.”
1st John 2:15
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The Church is literally teeming with those who profess to love Jesus, and yet are still vigorously and enthusiastically pursuing the things of the world!
The sad fact is, these deceived ones might still be under the delusion of the “prince of the power of the world, that spirit which now works in the children of disobedience!”
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And the pleasure we derive from the things of the world are perhaps derived from that Antichrist spirit of the world!
“Dear Lord, Help me to be wise as a serpent regarding this very deceptive world. Let me not be ignorant of Satan’s devices, nor of his power over this world…
In Revelation, the Dragon of Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
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However, the Dragon Constellation up in the night sky does not.
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But God has faithfully created the wave of water, in such a way, as to illustrate this same concept of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
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Because this wave of water is basically composed of ten stars.
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The main body of the wave has seven stars (#‘s, 1 thru 7).
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And the tip of the crest of the wave has the other three stars (#’s, 8, 9 & 10).
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So, we have this 7/10 numbering.
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And this gives us a great clue, as to where in the Bible we should look, to find out the riddle as to just what or who do these 7 heads, 10 crowns, and 7 horns represent.
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Because, the Bible speaks very much about floods and waters as being associated with Satan (the Dragon).
And this reminds us of Revelation 13 in which the whole world will soon be subject to the punishment of death for refusing to worship The Image of the Beast…
“And he (the 2nd Beast) had power to give life unto the image of the (1st) beast,
that the image of the (1st) beast should both speak,
and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the (1st) beast
should be killed.”
Revelation 13:15
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So now is seen that all these things have an end-time relevance!
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Yes, the “Iron Furnace” of Egypt, and the “Fiery Furnace” of Daniel, and the worshiping of the “Image of the Beast” in Revelation 13 all have a great significance in these last days.
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THE IRON FURNACE OF TELEVISION
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From infancy and throughout life, the television, radio, and now Internet, have become the centerpiece of western societies.
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But what most people are not aware of, is that Lucifer, the greatest of all angels, became “the god of this world”. (see 2nd Corinthians 4:4)
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And as such, it is his great purpose to cause all the world to worship him.
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WHAT’S IN A NAME? CHARACTER!
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And Lucifer, now called Satan, realizes that it is not necessary to specifically acknowledge allegiance to him by name.
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No, just as long as the people of this fallen sinful selfish world, love his qualities of character, then they are, in essence, worshiping him, Satan!
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“having their conscience seared with a hot iron”
1st Timothy 4:2
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Yes, as we watch various sins being committed over and over again, day-after-day, week-after-week, etc…, sin loses its sting, and our consciences (and our children’s consciences) become defiled and blunted, so that sin no longer appears so evil.
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Listen…“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” 1st Corinthians 15:33
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This above verse is extremely important to our spiritual well-being!
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And these inventions and their ability to bombard us with sin, sin, sin, is the essence of the “Image of the Beast”, and how it becomes transplanted into our hearts and minds…
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…it is the image and character of Satan, which becomes indelibly inscribed upon the tables of our hearts!
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TOKENS OF SATAN’S CHARACTER
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And so, in these last days, Satan has created a society in which his characteristics are now being deeply engraved upon the hearts of humans, via the various forms of the media.
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And qualities such as pride, revenge, anger, manipulation of others, lust, sensuality, greed, force, impatience, harshness, cold-heartedness, silly-foolishness, etc., are the qualities which this world, to a great extent, lives by.
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A MERE “FORM OF GODLINESS!”
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Oh yes, the world has its own version of, “a form of godliness”. There is a great deal of moral behavior here.
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And yet, this moralistic behavior denies the true source of godliness, the Holy Spirit of God. (See 2nd Timothy 3:5).
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Therefore, the moralistic behavior of the world is just another branch of Satan’s government.
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After all, Satan realizes that he would quickly lose control of the world’s inhabitants if the world appeared totally evil.
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And so, there is a great amount of moralistic behavior.
But television takes foolishness to a whole new level, reinforcing childishness in the hearts of its audience.
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And one of the problems with all this is, that as the child begins to grow, television programs for teens often continue to reinforce foolish, childish behavior.
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AN IMMATURE GENERATION
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And it just takes a brief look at today’s teens, to see that a great percentage of young people are still behaving foolishly and immaturely, well into their teens and even into their twenties and sometimes even into their thirties.
The Good News is that God is a very merciful and forgiving God!
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And even those parents who are now “empty-nesters”, can still make a great impact in their wayward grown children’s lives, simply by their own repentance and turning away from these electronic teachers (TV, radio, Internet, books, magazines, etc…).
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And yet those Christian parents who do finally and ultimately overcome the world, the flesh and the Devil, will win the crown of life: a crown which each will be perfectly happy to receive and wear throughout eternity!
This most amazing phenomenon is seen throughout the winter.
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Although it can be observed most of the winter, it is seen best when it is the western part of the sky, at winter’s end (The end of winter being the final scene of this heavenly Gospel story).
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Orion, the Dragon, and the Glorious White Horse are beginning to descend into the western horizon (sketch to right is Winter Constellations descending into western horizon. This can actually be seen as early as December, in the pre-dawn hours).
But the Wide Gate Stars are composed of the two brightest stars of the Auriga Constellation, known as the star, Capella, and the star, Menkalinan.
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The two stars, Castor and Pollux, make up the concept of the Orion’s Narrow Gate Stars.
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This can even be observed into June in the western sky (for a short time just after dark).
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While a dark night is best for seeing the Woman Constellation, the 4 stars which comprise the Narrow Gate/Wide Gate Stars can be seen even under mediocre conditions.
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It begins with the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation (AKA Ursa Major) going towards these two doors.
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The sketch to left shows, the two doors are each composed of two bright stars.
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The two bright stars that comprise the Narrow Gate are the two brightest stars of the Orion the Reaper’s sickle.
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The two stars that comprise the ‘Wide Gate’ Stars are the two brightest stars of the wave of water that comes out of theDragon Constellation’s mouth (for explanation of “Wave of Water”, just click here).
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The stars that make up the ‘Narrow Gate’ are about half the width of the Wide Gate (see sketch below left).
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(For more information on Orion’s sickle, just click here,“Orion The Reaper”.)
</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”><a href=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/admin-ajax-8-e1499817833857.jpe”><img class=” wp-image-39718 alignleft” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/admin-ajax-8-e1499817833857.jpe” alt=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holy_bible.jpg” width=”96″ height=”161″ /></a></span></strong></h3> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong>90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</strong></span></h2> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ALL</span></strong><em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>’NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) </span></strong></em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM, A QUESTION/ANSWER CALL-IN, TALK SHOW.</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTLlYjlrRwA” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>The Open Forum Harold Camping December 20, 2002 (youtube.com)</a></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <span style=”color: #808080;”>ABOVE PICTURE: Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 3 – April 23 (Television and The Image That Speaks, Part 3: “The Iron Furnace of Foolish TV”)
Next, we need to understand just what kind of fire God will use to torment those who receive the mark, the name or the number of the name of the Beast…
“And the sight of the glory of the LORD
was like devouring fire
on the top of the mount
in the eyes of the children of Israel.”
Exodus 24:17
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So here again, it is revealed that God’s glory is like “devouring fire”!
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Now is there any New Testament passage which further supports this truth?
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Listen…“For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29
And so, how does all this affect our understanding of the torment spoken of in Revelation 14:10, 11?
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Listen again to that passage…
“and he shall be tormented with FIRE AND BRIMSTONE
in the presence of the holy angels,
and in the presence of the Lamb:
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever:
and they have no rest day nor night,
who worship the beast and his image,
and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
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So here we now have a much greater understanding of just what is this “fire and brimstone”, which torments all those who worship this evil, selfish world, instead of Christ.
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It is God who causes this suffering!
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But how could that be?
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God is supposed to be tender and merciful.
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He wouldn’t even harm a fly, would He?
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Mark of the beast – pub. dom. – Wikipedia
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“THE LORD SHALL SMITE THEE”
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Well, listen to Deuteronomy…“But it shall come to pass,
if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God,
to observe to do all His commandments…
that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee…
The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke…”
Deuteronomy 28:15, 20-22, 24, 27 (Condensed)
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Well, this is just a partial list of the various plagues God will bring upon all those who turn from God’s commandments to engage in wickedness and selfishness.
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And these must be understood spiritually, and not necessarily literally.
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And let’s face it! God allows Satan to carry out much of these plagues.
Yes, there are many persons who experience various troubles in their lives: financial troubles, health issues, marital troubles, family problems, work-related troubles, as well as personal problems, and issues with personal sins.
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And many of these problems are the result of that person’s own wrong choices, while other troubles are brought on by Satan.
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And in spite of these causes, the Lord takes full responsibility for bringing on these troubles.
TAnd this is a very wonderful and beautiful Bible truth: namely, that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, as is written…
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“As a shepherd seeketh out his flock
in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered;
so will I seek out My sheep,
and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered
in the cloudy and dark day.”
Ezekiel 34:12
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And so God has placed this Starry Shepherd in the winter-night heavens to remind us of His great love for a planet which has wandered away: just like sheep that wandered to where the grass looked greener.
Just to make YouTube viewers laugh, there are many Internet videos which feature short interviews of various young people having their knowledge tested concerning basic facts of life.
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Such questions as, “What century are we living in?”. Or, “What year was this nation founded in? (multiple choice)”. Or, “Who is the current President?”
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And sadly, it is nothing short of amazing to hear these otherwise intelligent young people give answers which are so ignorantly far from reality!
But even in public schools, American history is no longer emphasized…
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…especially since our history involves the Church coming here to escape the tyranny by the church-state beast of Europe during the Dark Ages, and after.
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And of course, because many of the founding fathers of this nation were Bible-based, our current atheistic school-systems are totally averse to teaching any such “dangerous” events.
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And so, just ask almost any young person the most basic questions concerning history, and most of time, chances are they haven’t a clue as to what you are speaking of!
“THE SPIRIT OF ERROR…NOW WORKS IN THE CHILDREN OF DISOBEDIENCE”
1st John 4:6 & Ephesians 2:2
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Well, of course, all this ignorance and deception is not merely the fault of our school systems.
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No, this is actually the evil workings of “the god of this world”, Lucifer, who controls, to a great extent, what the societies of the world do and don’t do. (2nd Corinthians 4:4)
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And let’s face it, young people who have been dumbed-down in their knowledge of history are much easier to manipulate in any direction which his Satanic-Majesty wishes to lead them…“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” Hosea 4:6
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Yes, as this above verse reveals, a lack of knowledge is a very dangerous thing!
Yes, the call to come out of our ignorance goes out to any and all men, women, and children who desire to escape from this floating Devil’s Island prison-house, Planet Earth!
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And parents can begin to be an example, by leading the way, in blazing the upward trail of the true knowledge…
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…the soul-saving knowledge which results in eternal life for, not only themselves, but also for their children!
And those who desire with all their hearts to renounce this present world, and begin to live for the Promised Land which is soon to come, will want to remember this closing “great and precious promise”…
In Revelation, the Dragon of Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
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However, the Dragon Constellation up in the night sky does not.
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But God has faithfully created the wave of water, in such a way, as to illustrate this same concept of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
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Because this wave of water is basically composed of ten stars.
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The main body of the wave has seven stars (#‘s, 1 thru 7).
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And the tip of the crest of the wave has the other three stars (#’s, 8, 9 & 10).
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So, we have this 7/10 numbering.
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And this gives us a great clue, as to where in the Bible we should look, to find out the riddle as to just what or who do these 7 heads, 10 crowns, and 7 horns represent.
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Because, the Bible speaks very much about floods and waters as being associated with Satan (the Dragon).
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man,
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which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
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And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
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And that ye put on the new man,
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which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”
Ephesians 4:22-24
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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A certain radio preacher gave a shocking sermon regarding our “earthen vessels” in which he presented the idea that we must not attempt to be holy in our bodies…
…”We have a body of clay, and must preserve that body.
…We must let the world see Jesus within, but not attempt to behave holy without”…
…or so that preacher surmised.
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Announcer with microphone – svg – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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Now this was certainly a new concept, to say the least!
This radio preacher seemed to be saying that in order to preserve our earthen vessels, we simply need to go on with our worldly behavior, according to the following verse…
…”But we have this treasure (Christ in us) in earthen vessels,
that the excellency of the power may be of God,
and not of us.”
2nd Corinthians 4:7
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And because this verse speaks of God getting the glory, because His glorious presence shines through our corrupt, mortal bodies, this preacher therefore thinks it wrong to try to behave in a holy, Christlike manner.
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And the world will take note that Christ is living within us, even though our outward behavior is still pretty worldly.
But by prayerfully and carefully studying everything on this subject, one may come away with a much different conclusion.
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The big question which this preacher raised is this: because we are an “earthen vessel”, a “jar of clay”, so to speak, does this necessitate preserving our earthy, worldly behavior?
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Well, by listening to this preacher one can get easily confused.
So, in attempt to strike a proper balance to our understanding, does the Bible ever warn us to NOT attempt to behave in a holy, reverent, Christlike manner?
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Listen to God’s Word…
…”But as He which hath called you is holy,
so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (lifestyle);
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
1st Peter 1:15, 16
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Now it’s hard to imagine that this preacher could somehow skirt around this above verse.
…”Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,
what manner of persons ought ye to be
in all holy conversation (lifestyle) and godliness…?”
2nd Peter 3:11
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Now here again, this above exhortation by God seems to give a clear and concise revelation of how a Christian must behave: godly and holy in all behavior and lifestyle!
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So how could someone get confused when the Bible seems so clear-cut on the issue?
Yes, how in the world could someone get so confused about an issue which is so thoroughly and clearly addressed in Scripture?
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Well, this is why God is now calling His people out of Babylon, the “City of Confusion”! Isaiah 24:10
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This devotion is showcasing just one more confusing doctrine from out of the belly of Babylon which only further maintains the atmosphere of confusion within that apostate city!
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The Good News is, that God has given us a little more time to crucify the “Old Man” of the flesh.
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Yes, that Old Man must die!
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And we must not allow any contrary wind of doctrine to deter or discourage us from completing the task before us!
“…to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think!”
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Now, having said all this, it must be made clear that none of us can hold our head up high, if we truly have our eyes fixed upon Jesus!
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No, try as we will to conform our lives into the likeness of Jesus, we still have to humbly bow before Him and confess our wretchedness, compared to His absolute perfectness, to this very day.
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And yet, we do not get discouraged, but cling to such promises as this…
…”Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us,”
Ephesians 3:20
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Yes, God is capable of doing vastly more in our Christian walk than we can even imagine!
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Now that’s quite an “exceeding great and precious promise” if there ever was one! 2ndPeter 1:4
in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered;
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so will I seek out My sheep,
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and will deliver them out of all places
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where they have been scattered
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in the cloudy and dark day.”
Ezekiel 34:12
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This star-chart from Wikipedia, has Orion sketched in by the editor of this website.
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And Orion, combined with the Gemini Constellation, we see Orion, The Good Shepherd.
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And so, God has placed this Starry Shepherd in the winter-night heavens to remind us of His great love for a planet which has wandered away: just like sheep that wandered to where the grass looked greener.
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ABOVE WIKIPEDIA STAR-CHART – winter – Orion the Good Shepherd (Orion Constellation and rod made of Gemini stars – with the Shepherd drawn over by this website) – www.signsofheaven.org
Therefore, this little devotional hopefully gives a better understanding of how the Bible student must carefully and prayerfully strike a balance when studying God’s Word.
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Different situations call for different approaches to God.
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We must not make one passage the sum total of our understanding on any issue.
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The entire Bible must be searched and “rightly divided”…
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Listen…“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2nd Timothy 2:15
Now if you’re fortunate enough to be able to go on nightly walks, and you live in an area where you can safely view the stars, here is another Heavenly Hobby which Signs Of Heaven endorses…
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Why not combine star-watching with prayer, as you walk? What a great way to draw closer to God!
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It cannot be over-stressed, just how wonderful it is to walk under the dark canopy of Heaven, while lifting up one’s heart to our Heavenly Father! There is a closeness to God that cannot be described with words!
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(And even if you cannot safely do this, you can always do such prayer-walks in the daytime, in a safe place, such as a mall, which is every bit as effective, prayer-wise.
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And for those who are in confinement, one can view these starry signs on the Internet, or simply listen to Scripture on audio.
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Either way, all such may enjoy God’s richest blessings at this very time in which God is pouring out all Heaven’s treasures upon anyone willing to forsake all, and follow Jesus!)
Now of course, the Bible commands us to, “pray without ceasing“. The Christian is to constantly talk with our Heavenly Father throughout the day.
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But the Bible also holds up the godly life of Daniel, who, when captive in Babylon, still set aside three times daily, in which he knelt for special prayer.
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And furthermore the Bible also says… “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.” Psalm 55:17.
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Even those who are bed-fast or in a prison cell can begin to imitate Daniel in this way.
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And if one is fortunate to be able to walk, then this thrice-daily prayer regimen can be combined with three walks daily and even nightly.
</span></strong></h3> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong><a href=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg”><img class=” wp-image-31763 alignleft” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg” alt=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” width=”60″ height=”128″ /></a></strong></span></h2> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong>90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</strong></span></h2> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ALL</span></strong><em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>’NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) </span></strong></em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0y5sTofQVI” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>December 1, 2009 on The Open Forum (youtube.com)</a></h3> <a href=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”><span style=”color: #808080;”>above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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“to seek and search out…all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith”
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Listen to our signature Bible passage for today…
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“And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom
concerning all things that are done under heaven:
this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man
to be exercised therewith.
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun;
and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
That which is crooked cannot be made straight:
and that which is wanting cannot be numbered”
Ecclesiastes 1:13-15
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You see, what this above passage from the world’s wisest mortal, King Solomon, is saying is this…
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…Even as Solomon was given the task of searching out the various works and inventions and ideologies of mankind, so have we!
Colorized King Solomon in Old Age – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
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“to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith”
Ecclesiastes 1:13
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In other words, this planet is a giant experiment in which God has allowed mankind to try out various things, in attempt to find happiness, fulfillment, and success in this world.
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For example, mankind has been experimenting with various types of governments over the past millennia.
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Which government could be a good replacement for Heaven’s government?
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And after the same manner, mankind has experimented with various religions through the centuries.
ABOVE PICTURE: Communism – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“I have seen all the works that are done under the sun…”
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And what about the current craze, the so-called “Transing” of our young people.
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Will they find happiness and fulfillment in this latest craze?
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And what about all the other crazes and inventions?
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What about Internet?
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What about television?
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What about Rap music?
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Or what about Rock-n-Roll?
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Or Socialism?
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Or New-Age?
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Or legalized drugs?
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Will any of these various crazes bring happiness and fulfillment?
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Did cigarettes bring us ultimate happiness?
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Or alcohol?
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Did the Hippie-free-love movement of the 1960’s bring happiness?
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Did communism bring happiness?
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Has anything that mankind has experimented with brought joy and peace and successful living?
Girl – “Depression” – by Danielzanetti – cropped image – for Wikimedia – C.C. Share-alike License 3.0
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“…and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit”
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God has graciously allowed mankind “to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven”.
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And now that we have finally reached the end of our probationary time on earth, mankind is finally experimenting with the very last inventions and ideologies.
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And “Sodomy” just happens to be one of mankind’s desperate attempts to find “higher meaning and fulfillment” in life.
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Of course, we all know what the ultimate outcome will be to mankind’s last-ditch desperate attempt to find happiness and fulfillment.
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As the Wise-Man concludes, “Behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit!”
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Yes, this, and everything else which mankind has strove to achieve will end up in sorrow, failure, remorse, and ultimately in death.
Posing with the gay drag queens – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
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“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter”
Ecclesiastes 12:13
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But in conclusion, the Wise-Man ended his swan-song letter, Ecclesiastes, with the following summation…
…”Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep His commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment,
with every secret thing,
whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13. 14
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Yes, God is now bringing mankind before His throne of judgment.
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And mankind, and all our vain attempts to succeed without Heaven’s help, will be brought to its grand finale!
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Colorized King Solomon in Old Age – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
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“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God…and…were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works”
Revelation 20:12
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And when all is finally accomplished, all those questions will be forever answered.
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And then, the prophetic words will be fulfilled…
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…”For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord,
every knee shall bow to Me,
and every tongue shall confess to God”…
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…that God’s ways are the only ways to true and everlasting happiness and fulfillment! (See Romans 14:11)
Christ Returns – Triumph of Christianity – by G. Dore – www.christimages.org – Limited-use-license – see their website for restrictions (2)
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“Come, My people…hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity”
Isaiah 26:20, 21
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But the Good News is, that all those who desire to escape the coming judgment still have time to “turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” Ezekiel 33:11
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Yes, even amidst the approaching storm which is coming upon the whole earth, there is “a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest” Isaiah 32:2
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ABOVE PICTURE: Hide Thyself in thy Chambers – inspired by Tornado Over Kansas by Curry
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“For it is written,
As I live, saith the Lord,
every knee shall bow to Me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
Romans 14:11
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to see this fallen, hopeless world for what it truly is…
In Revelation, the Dragon of Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
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However, the Dragon Constellation up in the night sky does not.
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But God has faithfully created the wave of water, in such a way, as to illustrate this same concept of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
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Because this wave of water is basically composed of ten stars.
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The main body of the wave has seven stars (#‘s, 1 thru 7).
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And the tip of the crest of the wave has the other three stars (#’s, 8, 9 & 10).
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So we have this 7 and 10 numbering.
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And this gives us a great clue, as to where in the Bible we should look, to find out the riddle as to just what or who do these 7 heads, 10 crowns, and 7 horns represent.
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Because, the Bible speaks very much about floods and waters as being associated with Satan (the Dragon).
</h3> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong><a href=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg”><img class=” wp-image-31763 alignleft” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg” alt=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” width=”60″ height=”128″ /></a></strong></span></h2> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong>90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</strong></span></h2> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ALL</span></strong><em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>’NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) </span></strong></em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1R2ceDlFew” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>December 2, 2009 on The Open Forum (youtube.com)</a></h3> <a href=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”><span style=”color: #808080;”>above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that fiery furnace which God’s three Hebrews were cast into, as recorded in the Book of Daniel…
…”That at what time ye hear the sound of…all kinds of music,
ye fall down and worship the golden image
that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth
shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
Daniel 3:5, 6
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Here is seen that great golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar, and the punishment for refusing to worship that image: the fiery furnace.
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Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image and The fiery furnace – Daniel 3-12 – www.thebiblerevival.com
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IMAGE OF THE BEAST OF REVELATION 13
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And this reminds us of Revelation 13 in which the whole world will soon be subject to the punishment of death for refusing to worship The Image of the Beast…
…”And he (the 2nd Beast) had power to give life
unto the image of the (1st) beast,
that the image of the (1st) beast should both speak,
and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the (1st) beast
should be killed.”
Revelation 13:15
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So now is seen that all these things have an end-time relevance!
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Yes, the “Iron Furnace” of Egypt…
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…and the “Fiery Furnace” of Daniel…
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…and the worshipping of the “Image of the Beast” in Revelation…
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…these three all have a great significance in these last days…
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…combining together to present one great truth!
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IMAGES COULDN’T SPEAK!
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Notice that this above passage from Revelation 13 says concerning the Image of the Beast…
“And he (the 2nd Beast) had power to give life unto the image of the (1st) beast,
that the image of the (1st) beast should both SPEAK…”
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Now this 2nd Beast has power to give life to this image and the ability to speak.
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It is only in our day that an image has the power to have life and the ability to speak!
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Yes, the images of old were carved from stone and iron and wood and other metals.
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But they could not walk, speak, or do good or evil…
Yes, television (and Internet) can, and does kill!
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For instance, as of late, the television/Internet have been stirring up hatred between the various factions of our society.
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Just think about the various political, religious, ethnic and social groups in the world which have been stirred up to hate one-another even to the point that countless murders have been committed!
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It seems that Satan is now stirring up hatred among all these groups (political, religious, ethnic and social).
Yes, the mass-media is an iron furnace, having the ability to mold and solidify its viewers into the image of Satan.
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A day-by-day viewing of these devices will have their imperceptible and yet deleterious effects upon their viewership.
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And the most susceptible are the young!
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And yet, both young and old alike are now being conformed into the self-focused Image of the Beast (Satan’s Antichrist world-system) via today’s high-tech devices!
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HABAKKUK SAYS, “RUN!”
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And so, just what is the message for God’s people concerning these things? “RUN!”, as Habakkuk 2:2 warns us!
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Yes, Habakkuk foretold of this very day…
…”And the LORD answered me, and said,
‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,
that he may run that readeth it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak, and not lie:
though it tarry, wait for it;
because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”
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Habakkuk is written in veiled, allegorical language.
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But Habakkuk speaks of this very day in which the people of the world will surround God’s people…
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…encompassing them to the point that their spiritual sensibilities will be so greatly confused, and their consciences blunted!
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And so, it is now the very hour and day in which God councils His faithful ones to “let him that readeth, RUN!” Habakkuk 2:2
This most amazing phenomenon is seen throughout the winter.
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Although it can be observed most of the winter, it is seen best when it is the western part of the sky, at winter’s end (The end of winter being the final scene of this heavenly Gospel story).
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Orion , the Dragon, and the Glorious White Horse are beginning to descend into the western horizon (sketch is of Winter Constellations descending into western horizon. This can actually be seen as early as December, in the pre-dawn hours).
But the Wide Gate Stars are composed of the two brightest stars of the Auriga Constellation, known as the star, Capella, and the star, Menkalinan.
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The two stars, Castor and Pollux, make up the concept of the Orion’s Narrow Gate Stars.
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This can even be observed into June in the western sky (for a short time just after dark).
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While a dark night is best for seeing the Woman Constellation, the 4 stars which comprise the Narrow Gate/Wide Gate Stars can be seen even under mediocre conditions.
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It begins with the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation (AKA Ursa Major) going towards these two doors.
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(For more information on Orion’s sickle, just click here,“Orion The Reaper”.)
</span></strong></h3> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong><a href=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg”><img class=” wp-image-31763 alignleft” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg” alt=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” width=”60″ height=”128″ /></a></strong></span></h2> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong>90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</strong></span></h2> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ALL</span></strong><em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>’NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) </span></strong></em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvSbNjoGtEE” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>The Open Forum December 13, 2002 (youtube.com)</a></h3> <a href=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”><span style=”color: #808080;”>above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and trembleth at My Word (saith the Lord).”
Isaiah 66:2
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There have been few men who have had a greater effect on our present-day Christianity than Cyrus I. Scofield.
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Having the “no-fear” audacity to publish his own Bible, even changing some of the King James wordage, also adding his own commentary alongside of God’s Holy Word…
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…Scofield set a precedent for other Bible teachers, who picked up his mantle and carried on his heresies to later generations.
One of Scofield’s heresies was to insist that there were dinosaurs roaming the earth, PRIOR to the 7-day Creation account of Genesis.
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Now of course, the fossil record shows that dinosaurs existed.
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But Scofield insisted that they existed PRIOR to the 7-day Creation-week!
A totally different creation!
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This heresy was later picked up by such men as J. Vernon McGee who was a follower of Scofield’s teachings. (McGee later somewhat recanted this belief a few years prior to his death.)
But this heresy concerning evolution was not Scofield’s only heresy.
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No, Scofield, having read the writings of John Darby, latched on to yet another heresy: two second Comings of Christ, instead of one.
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This false teaching was named, “The Pre-Tribulation Rapture”, a totally unbiblical name.
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Now few Bible teachers and theologians are willing to admit the origin of the name, “The Rapture”, and often go into “double-speak”, whenever questioned about this, vaguely citing some ancient writing!
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In both cases (a prior Creation & The Rapture), Scofield latched onto Darby’s heresy, using the totally non-biblical name, “The Rapture”, to replace the God-given name, “The Coming of the Lord”.
The Good News is that God has held back the four winds just long enough for all those who desire to repent of their unwatchful condition to begin to cry out for a “right Spirit” and a “new heart”.
“Dear Lord, Help me to begin to study the bible for myself! Give me such a love for truth, that I begin to re-examine those doctrines which I once merely took for granted…
This is the Winter Constellations of Signs Of Heaven.
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Besides Orion and his Horse, we also see pictured in this sketch, the Dragon of Revelation 12.
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This Revelation 12 Woman Constellation is fleeing.
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As you can see, the Dragon Constellation is spewing a flood of water in her direction, as is written…
“And the serpent cast out of his mouth water
as a flood after the woman,
that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.”
Revelation 12:15.
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This wave of water represents Satan’s lies, and his false teachers who tell those lies.
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GOD’S MESSAGE: FLEE!!
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Beholding the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation in winter, it seems that God is trying to get a very important message across to His people: that His Church is to flee!
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not,
nor the years draw nigh,
when thou shalt say,
I have no pleasure in them;”
Ecclesiastes 12:1
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Strategically placed, facing all those who wait to have their purchases checked out, was one of those weekly tabloids.
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On the cover was a very unflattering photo of a certain world-renowned celebrity from decades past.
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Now what made this photo even more shocking was that this certain celebrity was one of those “lucky ones” who seemed to possess a timeless beauty through the years.
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But finally, that current tabloid photo unmercifully exposed her as looking almost scary!
Yes, those of us who have survived long enough to see the aging process run its course from start-to-finish, life here on Planet Earth now shows its ugly reality.
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And as we grow old and wrinkled ourselves, we see a new generation of fresh-faced celebrities who have risen up to replace the ones we grew up with.
Of course, this generational phenomenon only reminds us of Solomon’s question…
“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher,
vanity of vanities; all is vanity…
One generation passes away,
and another generation comes:”
Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 (Condensed)
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Yes, the older we get, the more sense these above words begin to make!
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But you couldn’t convince us of this truth when we were young and strong!
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Death seemed so far off back then!
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“I’ll cross that bridge somewhere down the line”, we attempt to convince ourselves, as we squint our eyes to hopefully blur the grim reality of our future date with destiny.
But what young people just do not understand, nor consider, is that our life is like a train which keeps gaining speed, the nearer it gets to our final encounter with eternity!
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Time speeds up with each passing decade!
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People, especially the young, just don’t realize how quickly our 5 or 6, or 7 decades of life pass by!
And so, the question which each of us really need to ask ourselves is this: “Why am I placing so much time and energy into the things of this very temporary and fragile world?
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“When right before me exists the Fountain of Life, why do I refuse to drink its life-giving waters of grace?
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“Are the glittering treasures and fleeting pleasures of this short life so much more valuable than the eternal life which Jesus holds out to us?”
On current talk shows, large groups of citizens are sometimes chosen to offer suggestions on how to solve the current perplexing issues which are apparently taking this world down into destruction.
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And these discussions are usually heated, to say the least!
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Each person has their own idea of how to solve the growing crisis in the world.
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One person advocates “more government”.
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The next person says “less government”.
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Another says “more taxes”.
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Another, “less taxes”.
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One person recommends a stronger police force.
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Yet another wants to abolish the police altogether.
But since this website has no representatives present at these discussions (well, no human representatives present), it will now take this opportunity to offer its own solution to the growing cancer which appears to be destroying this society and this world.
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So, the title of this devotional is, “How To Solve The World’s Problems in 5 Minutes or Less”. And just how can this be accomplished?
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How could the world’s problems all be possibly solved in such a short time?
Well, because the Bible encourages generosity, there would be an immediate effort to share with those who are underfed and needy of the basic necessities of life.
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It would be like Ebeneezer Scrooge’s morning of repentance times 7 billion!
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Just like old Ebenezer Scrooge on the morning after the night of his ghostly epiphanies…
…multitudes would be skipping down the streets, singing and joyfully sharing with those who are truly needy!
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The great masses, now all indwelt by the Holy Ghost, would realize that they will live forever, and respond as if miraculously cured from some terminal illness!
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There would be singing and dancing and hugging and shouts of joy heard on every street in every town and city, in every nation around the world!
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Former terrorists would throw away their weapons of war!
The Good News is that God will soon replace this current failing world-system with His own government of Christlike love.
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And all those who are tired of supporting this current Antichrist-system still have the opportunity to finally renounce Lucifer’s government of selfishness, and get on-board this soon-coming new heavenly government.
Sand castle, Cannon Beach – by Curt Smith – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License.
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.</span></strong></h3> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong><a href=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg”><img class=” wp-image-31763 alignleft” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg” alt=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” width=”60″ height=”128″ /></a></strong></span></h2> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong>90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</strong></span></h2> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ALL </span></strong><em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>’NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) </span></strong></em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”><strong>CLICK HERE TO LISTEN…<a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2pwOmbzwq8″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>The Open Forum Harold Camping September 22, 2003</a></strong></span></h3> <a href=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”><span style=”color: #808080;”>above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 3 – April 14 (Taking Back This Nation For God! Part 6: “How To Solve The World’s Problems In 5 Minutes Or Less!”)
Perhaps the greatest abomination which appeared during that movement was the idea that a man chooses God instead of the other way around.
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Yes, this idea borne out of incomplete and careless Bible study, took such verses as…“choose you this day whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
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This so-called “Free-Will” gospel believes that because God is omnipotent, He foreknew just who would desire Him and who would not.
God has written the Bible in such a way, that the Old Covenant appears in many passages.
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Sometimes God presents truth in such a way that He puts the proverbial “cart before the horse”.
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For example, even the New Testament has verses such as…“And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him.” Acts 5:32
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Now from a quick reading, it is very easy to get the idea that God gives His Spirit to those who obey God by their own supposed goodness.
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But nothing could be further from the truth!
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And so, the Bible can be a very difficult Book, since God tests His people with such verses as this.
(CONTINUED FROMYESTERDAY)… But the fact is, the God-given name for Christ’s Return is, “The Coming of the Lord” (1st Thessalonians 4:15).
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This totally biblical name cannot be improved upon, nor should anyone attempt to do so!
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And anyone who does continue to ignore God’s warning to “add thou NOT unto His Words” (Proverbs 30:6), insisting on a name which God has not named, may just be in for a big surprise when standing before the Judge of the world, in the coming days or months!
The great deception in all this is that Satan desires for Christians to believe in two distinct and separate Comings of the Lord.
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That way, he can mislead them into believing that they don’t have to prepare for the battle!
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No, this Master-Deceiver much prefers that Christians continue to enjoy many of the selfish pleasures and ambitious pursuits of this hedonistic and opulent society.
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After besides missing out on the Great Tribulation, he has convinced the Christian community, that even if they miss out on the so-called, “Pre-Trib Rapture”, they get a second chance during that 7-year tribulation!
But let’s get back to parroting what others are teaching.
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Now of course, there is nothing wrong with reading one another’s books, as long as that author is reliable.
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Nor is there anything wrong with listening to one another’s CD’s, as long as they are faithful to Scripture.
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The problem comes in when the general populace in Christendom put their confidence in these theologians merely because the vast majority are all in agreement concerning Bible prophecy.
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And that’s the current-day dilemma!
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Perhaps one might say that today’s Christendom is full of “prophecy parrots”, parroting one-another!
But listen again to the even more frightening part of this above verse…
“O My people, they which lead thee cause thee to err,
and destroy the way of thy paths”
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This above verse warns that the church leaders who lead astray God’s people are the most frightening aspect of this above Bible prophecy from Isaiah 3:12!
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In other words, by these great multitudes of today’s churchgoers placing their trust in the vast majority of church leaders, it has a frightening resemblance to the situation back in Elijah’s day!
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Rock Music Christian CHURCH Pomona – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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THE GOOD NEWS!
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Well, the Good News is, that God is now calling His faithful remnant out from among this horrible situation…
“And I heard another Voice from Heaven,
saying, Come out of her (Babylon), My people,
that ye be not partakers of her sins,
and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
Revelation 18:4
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Yes, God is now calling all those who hear His voice, and respond to this call and this warning!
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And just like those who responded to the call from Elijah, so too, there will be many who respond to this above call from Heaven!
So, let’s stop relying on our religious leaders to tell us what to believe, and begin studying with the intent of discovering Bible truth for our own selves.
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And maybe it would be wise to begin by studying those teachers who biblically refute this “Pre-Tribulation” theory, merely to hear the opposing viewpoint.
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Perhaps, like those “noble Bereans” in Acts 17, we can study day-by-day, week-by-week, with an open mind and not with a prejudiced eye and not with a biased mind-set!
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And hopefully, by prayerfully and carefully examining both sides of the issue, truth can finally be arrived at, instead of merely parroting what others tell us!
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S HEAVENLY SIGN
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“And there appeared a great wonder (sign) in heaven; a woman…
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And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness”
Revelation 12:1, 14
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ABOVE PICTURE: Winter – Revelation 12 Woman with Eagle Wings at Eagle Ridge Oregon (aka Ursa Major, including The Big Dipper)
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FROM WHERE & TO WHERE DOES SHE FLEE?
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WOMAN ROTATES THROUGH THE SEASONS…
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This page is about the Big Dipper, also called the Great Bear constellation (Ursa Major ).
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However, the ancient pagan cultures did not see this constellation as God intended it to be seen.
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It is actually a headless woman in childbirth.
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This is seen in springtime.
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It is seen in the northern skies.
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But as the seasons progress, this travailing woman flips upside down, now appearing as a woman with upraised arms like eagle wings who is running (eventually flying, as shown in sketch on right) into the wilderness (westward).
</span></strong></h3> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong><a href=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg”><img class=” wp-image-31763 alignleft” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg” alt=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” width=”60″ height=”128″ /></a></strong></span></h2> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong>90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</strong></span></h2> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ALL</span></strong><em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>’NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) </span></strong></em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPhtLuGYtIU” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>December 23, 2009 on The Open Forum (youtube.com)</a></h3> <a href=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”><span style=”color: #808080;”>above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 3 – April 12 (Revelation 18:2: A Cage of Every Unclean & Hateful Bird! Part 7: “Parrots of Prophecy!” CONTINUED)
Now, in God’s infinite wisdom, the things of nature were created to be enjoyed on different levels.
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For instance, humanity can enjoy nature purely for its beauty.
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And, the artist never runs out of new things to paint, in hopes of conveying that beauty of nature into the minds and hearts of his painting’s admirers!
Yes, just what does all this have to do with Christianity?
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Simple, there happens to be a huge amount of Bible prophecy which often gets parroted!
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And isn’t it true that people find great confidence and assurance merely because the vast majority of theologians and Bible teachers mostly seem to agree with one another regarding end-time Bible prophecy?
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And doesn’t all this general consensus seem to give credence to the dominant viewpoint currently held regarding last day events?
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But how could this be? How could they all seem to agree, one with another?
And what seems even more “assuring” is that the vast majority of churchgoers today hold to the general consensus concerning just how end-time events will soon transpire.
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In other words, because the general consensus of the so-called “orthodoxy” holds to the Pre-Tribulation Rapture theory, so does the vast majority of church laity, to a great extent!
But what most people don’t consider is that all those theologians and Bible teachers didn’t just come up with the Pre-Tribulation Rapture theory by their own independent Bible study.
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No, but rather, they mostly read one another’s books and listen to one another’s CD’s and radio/television/Internet shows.
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In other words, the vast majority of theologians and Bible teachers are, to a great extent, just parroting what they heard or read by other theologians and Bible teachers.
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Oh yes, they have looked up the proof texts of these other theologians.
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And oh yes, they have even come up with further proof-texts to prove this theory and its related tenets.
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But it is no accident that they mostly agree with one another!
</span></strong></h3> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong><a href=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg”><img class=” wp-image-31763 alignleft” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg” alt=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” width=”60″ height=”128″ /></a></strong></span></h2> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong>90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</strong></span></h2> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ALL</span></strong><em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>’NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) </span></strong></em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvSbNjoGtEE” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>The Open Forum Harold Camping December 13, 2002 (youtube.com)</a></h3> <a href=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”><span style=”color: #808080;”>above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 3 – April 11 (Revelation 18:2: A Cage of Every Unclean & Hateful Bird! Part 6: “The Parrots of Prophecy!”)
The great problem is that the Enemy of Souls has obscured that well-marked pathway to Heaven, with many misleading signposts!
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In other words, Satan has introduced many false doctrines which have greatly confused the true heavenward pathway!
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And as a result, many of God’s people have left the true pathway, and have taken a wrong turn on a spurious pathway which the Bible calls, “The Broad Way that leads to destruction!”
But God is faithful, and has carefully placed some “trail markings” along the true pathway to the Celestial City!
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Oh Yes, and God has foretold of these signs…“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars;” Luke 21:25
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ABOVE STAR-CHART – Early Winter in the east – Orion, Revelation 12 Woman (AKA Ursa Major) – Revelation 12 Dragon (AKA Hyades, Pleiades, etc.) – Goodly Horse in Battle with Rider (Camelopardelis, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, etc…) – www.signsofheaven.org – Not for profit use!
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“THE STARS IN THEIR COURSES FOUGHT…”
Judges 5:20
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These great signs are not merely a bunch of obscure stars!
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No, these are made of the greatest constellations: Orion, Ursa Major, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Corona Borealis, The Big Dipper, The Pleiades, are among the chief constellations on this website.
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But when looking at them correctly they appear vastly different than what the ancient cultures saw them as!
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ABOVE CHART: Summer Constellations with Doves (Sagittarius) & Woman (Ursa Major) & Cross/Scepter (stars from Ophiuchus & Serpens) & 12-star Crown (Corona Borealis & stars from Hercules) & Arcturus Star & Flower of the Field (Scorpio)
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“LOOK UP & LIFT UP YOUR HEADS!”
Luke 21:28
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And so, these signs in the heavens have been given by God to mark the heavenward trail for His faithful remnant people.
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And accompanied by the explanations found on this website, God has once again made straight the narrow pathway which leads out of this world, and onward and upward into the very heavens!
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And so, you the reader, are invited to come along on this heavenward sojourn.
“Dear Lord, Give me the desire to immerse myself in this message. Help me prove this message against the Bible. But open my eyes, that I might see these heavenly signs…
There is one hobby which every ‘Noble Berean’ may take up, which only compliments the pursuit of the heavenly Prize.
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Yes, Signs Of Heaven becomes a wonderfully rewarding hobby which, unlike many less meaningful hobbies, pays off with rich, heavenly rewards. Everlasting rewards!
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And unlike the person in this photo with equipment, all you need is fairly good vision, and a dark, starry night.
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And once a person really gets to know these heavenly messengers, it will become very apparent that the message connected with these signs is truly a message to be heeded.
The very first step in finding these many constellations, should be to find the two main constellations: Orion, and the 7 Stars (aka, The Big Dipper).
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These two constellations represent Christ (Orion), and His Church (7 Stars).
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And just as these are the easiest constellations to find, so too, the first place to begin studying the Bible is the Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).
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These four books present Christ and His Church, when He walked the earth, just as Orion and the 7 Stars represent Christ and His Church, as seen up in the heavens.
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Then, once you are comfortable finding these two constellations, you can begin to locate the next closest constellations, and so on.
“I (John the Baptist) indeed baptize you with water unto repentance:
but He that cometh after me…
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”
Matthew 3:11 (Condensed)
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And so, by putting these two verses together (Ephesians 5:25-27 & Matthew 3:11)…
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…thus, there begins to be seen a much greater fulfillment to the idea of baptism: “the washing of water by the Word”, and the baptism, “with the Holy Ghost and with fire”!
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John the Baptist by J. Tissot – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain
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DAY & NIGHT MEDITATION
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There are many Bible students who suppose that they can do a 15-minute Bible study per day.
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And such an abbreviated Bible study might not be such a bad thing if it was followed up by a day-long meditation of God’s Word.
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“But his delight is in the law (Word) of the LORD; and in His law (His Word) doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 2:2
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Yes, the fact is, true Bible study is a 24/7/365 endeavor.
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No, the Bible student needs not spend the entire day searching through the Bible.
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But those who are filled with the Spirit of Truth will naturally search out truth in their minds as they go about their day.
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Even God’s creations in nature can be instructive and are worthy of our contemplation, and our children’s contemplation too!
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Father & Son – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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SHEEP ALWAYS NIBBLE!
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But God compares His people to “the sheep of His pasture”. Psalm 100:3
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And one thing about sheep is, they never quit nibbling the grass!
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And the Christian is no different! All through the day and night, the Christian nibbles a little bit here and a little bit there.
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This is the joy which comes from the abiding presence of God’s Spirit.
And so, O my soul, if I fully immerse myself in God’s Word, allowing that Word to wash me from my old worldly ways, then I have the true baptism of the Spirit.
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So yes, this website endorses full immersion!
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That is, this website endorses full immersion in God’s Word, by the indwelling power of the Holy Ghost!
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No baptismal ceremony in literal water is needed, as such ceremonies are merely a shadow of the one and only true baptism: “the washing of the water by the Word”, via “the Holy Ghost, and with fire”(Ephesians 5:25-27 & Matthew 3:11)
Can you bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades?
Or loose the bands of Orion?”
Job 9:2-10 & 38:31
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TWO WOMEN IN PLEIADES
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Just who are these two women?
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And how can this be, that nobody has ever seen the Pleiades as a constellation of a woman?
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This article will discuss this great paradox of these two women, found in the Pleiades, and what it means scripturally to us: we who comprise the global community of Christians.
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Because this constellation, or should we say Constellations, plural, have very much to do with us: those of us who are living right now on the threshold of eternity.
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And as you might expect, the Bible holds the key to understanding all this.
“MY PEOPLE ARE DESTROYED…SEEING THOU HAS FORGOTTEN THE LAW”
Hosea 4:6
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Consequently, the Bible also reveals that it is a somewhat futile endeavor to attempt to protect one’s self and family against all the dangers out in the world, while spurning God’s Law!
King Ahab’s fate is just one example of what the Bible plainly tells us…
“There is no king saved by the multitude of an host:
a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
An horse is a vain thing for safety:
neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear Him,
upon them that hope in His mercy;
To deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.”
Psalm 33:16-19
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Here in Psalm 33, the Lord reveals through the Psalmist, David, an important truth: that human strength and wisdom are worthless to deliver a person from trouble.
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It is the Lord that delivers a person from danger and destruction!
This passage basically says the same thing: safety is from the Lord, and “vain (worthless) is the help of mankind!”
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Orion Constellation
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“(GOD) SENDETH RAIN ON THE JUST AND UNJUST”
Matthew 5:45
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Now, God is a very merciful God!
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And He has often protected unbelievers and their children from dangers and disasters!
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If we only knew how often God has delivered us out of the hand of evil, we would fall to our knees in grateful adoration of our Heavenly Father and His great mercy for mankind!
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And yet, God does allow evil to have its way in this sad and hopeless world!
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But it doesn’t have to be that way.
And while we cannot completely escape all evil, we can enlist God’s protection for our family.
Therefore, dear child of God, there is nothing wrong with our concern for our children’s safety.
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And certainly, we must watch over them and provide a safe environment for them.
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But we must realize that only God can truly protect them from harm.
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Therefore, above all things, we must be daily drawing ourselves closer and closer to Jesus, hiding daily, His precious promises in our heart.
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In that way, we will gain a peace that surpasses all understanding, as we cast upon Him all our worries and cares about our children, and begin to pray for power to walk according to those promises!
This constellation group can best be seen in spring through summer in the southern sky just above the horizon.
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Like all constellations, it slowly moves westward through the months, appearing a little earlier each night.
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It also appears to move through the sky westward each night.
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It can be easily seen under any degree of darkness.
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In other words, you don’t need a very dark night.
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In the sketch to the right, the ‘Flower of the Field’ Constellation `is in the lower part of the screen, directly under the Cross/Scepter Constellation.
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The sketches in this site are approximate, and not 100% accurate.
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The individual stars have different brightness than seen here.
But these sketches are close enough in order to find them in the night sky.
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This constellation presents one of the most beautiful verses in Scripture.
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And yet that Scripture presents one of the most repugnant concepts (which unsaved Mankind has tried to elude for millenniums).
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And that concept is, that Mankind is like the grass that withers, and his glory as the wildflower that fades away.
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But God’s Word and those that love it will go on forever and ever!
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ABOVE STAR-CHART – Summer Constellations w/ark (aka: Sagittarius) & Revelation 12 Woman (aka: Ursa Major, including The Big Dipper) – www.theheavensdeclare.net
“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire:
and them that had gotten the victory over the beast,
and over his image, and over his mark,
and over the number of his name,
stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”
Revelation 15:2
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Those who consider themselves to be “Dispensationalists” are in a very sad and dangerous situation, to say the least!
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They cannot enjoy all the wonderful hidden gems of truth which are veiled within parables and allegories!
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And as a result, they are missing out on truths that are critically important in these last hours!
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REVELATION CLOSED UP
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And one of those areas which Satan has deprived them of, is the Book of Revelation.
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They have a totally non-biblical hermeneutic which demands a literal interpretation of Scripture, unless context demands a spiritual interpretation, and has all but closed up Revelation for them!
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For instance, when they see “Jew” in Revelation, they can only assign that name to literal Jews after the flesh, and not to those who are a “Jew inwardly”, as it refers to Christians so often in Romans, and other places.
But for those who know that everything in Scripture is to be understood spiritually, the Book of Revelation becomes just as relevant as, say, the writings of Paul!
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Listen to Paul…“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2nd Timothy 3:16
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Here is revealed that every verse of the Bible is relevant to our spiritual growth!
Oh yes, there will be a great and fearful climactic fulfillment at the very end.
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But Revelation is also about “the things that are”. (see Revelation 1:19)
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In other words, Revelation is not only about the “things which shall be hereafter”, but also about, “the things which are” happening right now! (Revelation 1:19)
Very simple! By putting far away the evil day, a great portion of the Church has been misled into thinking that they can enjoy, “peace and safety” when the Bible clearly says…
“from the prophet even unto the priest
every one dealeth falsely.
For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly,
saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace!”
Jeremiah 8:10, 11
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PICTURE: Unfunny Judgment Day Cartoon – companys-coming – revised
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THE CHURCH ASLEEP
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And so, the end result of this great error in the Church is that the professed people of God, to a great extent, have no idea that a spiritual battle is raging all around them!
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And to make matters even worse, their leaders have caused them to err by leading them to think that they are going to completely miss out on the battle!
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Yes, their leaders have deceived them into the unbiblical notion that by being “Raptured” out of this world just prior to the great Day of Almighty God!
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Consequently, the Church, to a great extent, has been lulled to sleep in “the evil day!” Amos 6:3 & Ephesians 6:13
As this passage and many others declare, the evil day is now!
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Satan and his vast armies are stealing a march at every turn upon these naive and unsuspecting churchgoers!
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And while God’s professed people are enthusiastically pursuing the pleasures and cares of this present world, the Enemy of Souls is busy night and day…
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…and he’s busily making sure that each and every churchgoer and their children will be totally bankrupt when standing before the Judge on that fearful day of reckoning!
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Well, all this information has not yet addressed the main point of today’s devotional.
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So by the grace of God, it will be dealt with in tomorrow’s devotional.
God spoke several times of Orion, in Scripture. His question to Job was a very mystifying question, to say the least… “Canst thou…loose the bands of Orion?” Job 38:31.
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Such a strange question, indeed! How could a constellation have its bands loosed, much less, even have bands? Puzzling, puzzling!
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But now, He is revealing this bright and beautiful constellation in a way that has never before been seen.
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God Himself is loosing Orion’s bands, as He is just now unraveling this age-old mystery.
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And we are beginning to understand that this most infamous of all constellations is nothing less than a remarkable metaphor concerning Jesus.
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ABOVE PICTURE: Orion the Soldier and the Revelation 12 Dragon (Hyades & Pleiades, etc. – winter constellations – www.signsofheaven.org – not for commercial use
Okay, so if we stopped right here, we would have a picture of a fiery planet, after God’s final judgment, in which fire would endlessly burn on the face of the earth, and the smoke would rise up forever and ever.
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But let’s keep reading this passage from Isaiah as it continues to describe this Post-Judgment Earth…
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”It (the earth) shall not be quenched night nor day;
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THE SMOKE THEREOF SHALL GO UP FOR EVER…
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from generation to generation it shall lie waste;
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none shall pass through it for ever and ever…
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and it shall be an habitation of dragons,
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and a court for owls…
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There shall the great owl make her nest,
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and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow:
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there shall the vultures also be gathered,
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every one with her mate.
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Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read:
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no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate:
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for My mouth it hath commanded,
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and His spirit it hath gathered them…
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they shall possess it for ever,
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from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.”
So, the obvious question is: how does this passage fit into the entire scenario of God’s ultimate judgment upon earth?
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Where are all the screaming people?
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Well, it says here, that they were all utterly destroyed!
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Just listen again to this same passage from Isaiah 34…
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…“For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations,
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and His fury upon all their armies:
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He hath utterly destroyed them,
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He hath delivered them to the slaughter”.
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Does this passage say the people of the world will be endlessly tormented?
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No, it says they are “utterly destroyed”…death.
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And it says here that the fire goes out as well and becomes re-populated by the beasts of the field and the birds of the air.
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But it also says,“THE SMOKE THEREOF SHALL GO UP FOR EVER:”God has purposely hidden the answer to Revelation 14 here in Isaiah 34.
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The smoke of their torment may ascend for ever and ever, but the inhabitants have already been “utterly destroyed”.
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So, the smoke here on Judgment Day rises forever, in spite of the fact that the wicked have previously been utterly destroyed, and the fire has previously been extinguished.
And this is the point of this above passage from Isaiah 34: that even though there is smoke rising for ever and ever, there is nobody being tortured here.
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Thus, we begin to understand that when smoke “ascends for ever and ever”, it doesn’t mean that those enemies of God will be tormented for ever and ever.
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S HEAVENLY SIGN
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THE DRAGON OF REVELATION 12 CONSTELLATION.
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The star-charts below (below, right) are from Wikipedia and are combined into one chart to show these three constellations, which the editor has sketched over with these three constellations, as they appear when in the west.
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Hopefully, this will be an assist in locating these constellations in the night-sky.
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LOCATION…
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The Revelation 12 Dragon Constellation can be located by finding Orion in winter months.
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The Dragon is to Orion’s left, and the Dragon’s mouth is right next to Orion’s shield.
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This Dragon’s mouth is the V-like constellation The Hyades Cluster, which is also known as the head of Taurus the Bull.
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The Dragon’s tail-tip is Pleiades and the lower shaft of his tail is partly of Ariesand Pisces.
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Then with aid of a dark and starry night, you may begin to connect the mouth and the tail with a very long body in an oval shape.
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The front and back legs are made of a few stars: the front legs partially of stars from Taurus.
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The back legs and rear fin are made of 6 stars from the CetusConstellation.
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BODY HARD TO SEE
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The long oval-shaped body has relatively few stars, but can been seen, howbeit with a dark, starry night.
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The four stars of the front fins are made partially of Taurus .
But for some reason, in the ensuing months and years following that tragic 911 crash, it seems this earth has been plunged into a giant world-wide paradigm shift!
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Never before has there been such pandemic moral/social/religious/economic/political upheaval in this world, perpetuated even by this world’s very own ruling authorities!
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With just one glance, it’s obvious that things have been turned topsy-turvy, as they say!
As evidence to this great societal metamorphosis, while Christians have enjoyed a peaceful co-existence with the world, this long-standing facade of “peace-and-safety” is now starting to crumble before our eyes!
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Christians are beginning to “feel the heat”, so to speak!
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Laws are even currently enacted, designed to make life difficult for those who truly desire to faithfully follow the Bible.
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False, hateful religion is currently taking over the former Christian nations!
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Yes, it seems we are now living in a “911-wake-up-call-world”!
And Christians understand from the Book of Revelation, that the long-promised day was foretold…
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…that afore-told day when it may be impossible to buy-and-sell, except they receive the Mark, or the name, or the number of the name of the Beast. (see Revelation 13)
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And even now, Satan’s beast-like world-system is beginning to show its sharp fangs against those who are sojourning to that Celestial City of God!
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Yes, “the god of this world” is now working through this Antichrist world-system with the ultimate goal of making life unbearable, even impossible for Christians!
Oh yes, all those who remain in the churches, and refuse to “come out of her”, may possibly still continue to enjoy friendship with the world.
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But all those who, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to worship the golden image of Satan’s world-system, will be cast into the fiery furnace of afflictions. (see Daniel, Chapter 3)
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And just as those three Hebrew worthies remained unhurt by the fiery flames…
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…so too, God’s people will discover that today’s fiery furnace will become God’s chosen means of purifying away every last trace of dross from their heart…
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…so that being purified, they may come forth as brightly shining vessels of silver and gold!
And in that day, God’s people will shine forth as the Sun, because they will finally and fully reflect the glorious image of Christ to a world lost in sin and selfishness!
And so, O Christian, if ever there was a time to cast away our idols, “to the moles and to the bats”, it is now! (see Isaiah 2:20, 21)
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And if ever there was a time to flee to the heavenly mountain of God (Mount Sion), it is at this moment!
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And all those who do so will be delighted to discover that our heavenly bread and our pure, refreshing waters of grace are in abundant supply “upon every high hill and…mountain, in the day when the towers fall! (see Isaiah 30:25)
This page is about the Big Dipper, also called the Great Bear constellation (Ursa Major ).
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However, the ancient pagan cultures did not see this constellation as God intended it to be seen.
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It is actually a headless woman in childbirth.
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This is seen in springtime.
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It is seen in the northern skies.
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But as the seasons progress, this travailing woman flips upside down…
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…now appearing as a woman with upraised arms like eagle wings who is running (eventually flying, as shown in sketch on right) into the wilderness (westward).
It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word of God.”
Luke 4:4
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A number of decades ago, a blockbuster movie with the name, “The Dirty Dozen” became a commonly used tag to put upon various things in society considered to be bad or harmful.
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For example, environmental enthusiasts now issue a yearly warning against the most toxic pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables which they term as “The Dirty Dozen fruits and vegetables”.
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But there are also, “The Dirty Dozen Environmental Polluters”, and “The Dirty Dozen Bad Excuses”, and “The Dirty Dozen Mechanical Practices”, etc…
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Well, you get the idea.
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So, let’s just relate this worldly tag to the Bible.
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Maybe, just maybe, there could be a similar “Dirty Dozen” category for the most widely embraced false church doctrines.
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Perhaps these false doctrines could be called, “The Devil’s Dirty Dozen Doctrines”.
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And maybe we could start with the #12th worst doctrine, and go down the list to finally, the #1st worst false church doctrine
The Age of Accountability doctrine was designed to be a kind of “Get Out Of Hell Free” card for little children to escape the never-ending torment of another widely embraced false doctrine, “Eternal Torment” (see Doctrine #2)
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You can read the following article for more about this false doctrine, The Age of Accountability...
Once called the Sunday Sabbath but now devolved into The Lord’s Day, yet this man-contrived and widely embraced holy day has no biblical foundation.
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You may begin exploring this false doctrine, and just why it has been a bane on the Christian community, by reading such articles as the following one…
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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – September 1 (Add Thou Not! Part 4: “Which Day Is The Sabbath?”)
Here is another totally non-biblical doctrine which most theologians endorse, in spite of not one shred of biblical support: the forbidding of spiritualizing away of types and shadows in Scripture.
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The following article is a good beginning point to explore this false doctrine…
With such men as Cyrus Scofield and his proud and presumptuous study Bible, much of mainstream Christianity has been led to believe some parts of the Bible are not relevant to today’s Christian.
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You can begin to explore this false doctrine with such articles as these…
In spite of verses which plainly reveal that the dead are sleeping in the earth, awaiting the Day of Resurrection, still Christianity clings to archaic church-doctrines from centuries past.
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You can begin to explore this false doctrine with such articles as…
Here is a totally unbiblical doctrine which Satan hammers into church-goer’s heads on a daily basis.
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But take away the non-biblical name, “The Rapture”, and one soon discovers it to be nothing but a puff of black smoke out of the smokestacks of the apostate church-world.
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You can start to explore this false doctrine by beginning to read this 6-part series…
Here is one of the greatest of all false doctrines, introduced by the apostate church of centuries past.
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But by reading everything the Bible has to say on this subject, any truth-seeking Berean can eventually come out from this catholic view of Hell (which has its roots in ancient Babylonian mythology).
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This doctrine has resulted in multitudes rejecting such a monstrous deity who would mercilessly and endlessly torment men, women, and children who chose not to follow the Lamb of God.
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Now if Satan were God, this doctrine might be truth.
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But come and explore the many articles which expose the absurdity of this ancient catholic/Babylonian doctrine.
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You can start to explore this false doctrine by beginning to read the following series…
This doctrine is perhaps the greatest of all false doctrines, and has become a deadly leaven, spoiling the church-world, rendering it irrelevant, as parishioners go headlong after the selfish pleasures and ambitious attainments of this cornucopian super-society.
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You can begin to explore this false gospel with such articles as these two…
Well, the fact is, it’s nearly impossible for humans to attempt to define which false doctrines are the least harmful, and which ones are the most deadly.
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Actually, all these 12 doctrines are pretty much equal in deadliness.
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But the Good News amidst all this negativity is that God is calling His people to come out of this Babylonian confusion, and to join Him atop His beloved Mount Sion, His everlasting abode.
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The end-time exodus has already begun.
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And though the pathway is narrow, the light from above will shine brighter and brighter as the heaven-bound pilgrim ascends higher and higher!
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“All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof,
for correction,
for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
2nd Timothy 3:16, 17
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to attain a great knowledge of the Bible, so that I can readily discern truth and error…
FROM WHERE &TO WHERE DOES SHE FLEE? WOMAN ROTATES THROUGH THE SEASONS…
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This page is about the Big Dipper, also called the Great Bear constellation (Ursa Major ).
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However, the ancient pagan cultures did not see this constellation as God intended it to be seen.
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It is actually a headless woman in childbirth.
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This is seen in springtime.
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It is seen in the northern skies.
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But as the seasons progress, this travailing woman flips upside down, now appearing as a woman with upraised arms like eagle wings who is running (eventually flying, as shown in sketch on right) into the wilderness (westward).
“That this is a rebellious people, lying children,
children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Which say to the seers, See not;
and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things,
speak unto us smooth things,
prophesy deceits:”
Isaiah 30:9, 10
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Someone might make the complaint that some or many of the devotionals on this website are too direct, and not nearly soft enough.
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And this is a valid complaint.
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Many or perhaps most of the devotionals do not “pull any punches”, as the saying goes, but plainly lay out bare, the sins of God’s people, often listing them, one-by-one.
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ABOVE PICTURE: soldiers of the cross – armor up! – Orion & The Revelation 12 Dragon constellation (comprised of Hyades & Pleiades and other constellations) – www.signsofheaven.org
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“THOU HYPOCRITE! FIRST CAST THE BEAM OUT OF THINE OWN EYE”
Matthew 7:5
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Well, it’s not a very pleasant task to do this, especially considering that none of us can hold our head up high, certainly not the editor of this website!
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No, but rather, we are ALL guilty of the sins enumerated in these devotionals.
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And to write such scathing rebukes as this website often does, is rather hypocritical, to say the least!
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Well, having said this, it must be added that this website is hopefully the 100% inspiration of Heaven, with not the slightest taint of any hellish deception.
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Yes, hopefully and prayerfully the Devil did not dip his fingers into the writing of these devotionals, to some degree, and cause it to be too harsh at times!
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NO SHORTAGE OF SOFT SERMONS!
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But on the other hand, just consider for a moment all the nice, pleasant sermons that are out there, being preached each week all over this society.
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You don’t have to search very far to hear a nice encouraging sermon on family values, do you?
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And don’t you constantly hear that “God is Love”, and that He has a wonderful plan for your life?
(And let’s face it! Today’s church-world mostly likes to keep their “Eternal Torment” doctrine well-hidden, in the proverbial “back-closet”)
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And you don’t have to search very long to hear a nice loving non-offensive sermon being preached on television or radio.
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No, those kinds of sermons are literally everywhere!
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And there is no shortage of nice, flowery daily devotionals!
Are these euphemistic and encouraging sermons and devotionals having a positive effect upon the Church?
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Are they causing the listening multitudes to turn from our selfish ways?
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No, rather, statistics present a dismal picture of today’s Church.
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Alcoholism, divorce, adultery, Bible illiteracy are at an all-time high in the church-world.
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Most Christian children attend public schooling.
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Even Christian academies have mingled much of the ways of the secular world into their daily activities.
(And tragically, we are totally ignorant of the fact that back in the Reformation era, young school-children committed to memory, large portions of the Bible!)
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As a result of all these things, young adult Christians are renouncing their faith at alarming rates!
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And many or perhaps most Christians are not warned by their leaders against embracing the amusements and ambitious pursuits of the world.
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And churches do not properly warn parishioners to separate from freely mingling with unbelievers, to the poverty of their soul, in spite of the Bible warnings against this sinful practice!
It’s never pleasant to have your particular sins pointed out.
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And no matter how this is accomplished, there will be hurt feelings.
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Listen to Proverbs 15:10…“Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way:”
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There’s just no nice way to offer correction to those who have fallen away from the Lord.
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But hopefully, the one being criticized will eventually be humble enough and honest enough to respond to such criticism with meekness and repentance.
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A ‘DON’T JUDGE ME’ WORLD, TODAY!
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But today, we are living in a “Don’t Judge Me” world!
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Mostly, no one wants to be corrected, it seems!
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And this phenomenon is seen in the church-world in the form of very soft, euphemistic, even humorous non-threatening sermons.
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Even the more honest among today’s pastors will often admit that their parishioners will no longer tolerate the straight unvarnished truth, to any degree.
Listen to this prophecy concerning our present-day condition…
…”For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,
having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,
and shall be turned unto fables.”
2nd Timothy 4:3, 4
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Today’s Christians living in the western nations (the very nations which once embraced the Christian Reformation), have now become greatly intolerant of the straight, unvarnished truths of the Bible.
The very Good News is that there is a solution to all this!
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Yes, God is calling His professed people to return to Him in deep repentance.
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Listen to the New Testament Book of James…
…”Ye adulterers and adulteresses,
know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God…
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;
and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep:
let your laughter be turned to mourning,
and your joy to heaviness.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,
and He shall lift you up.”
James 4:4, 8-10
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Yes, this above passage offers the remedy for those of us who find ourselves grieved whenever criticized.
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Because, by returning to the Lord with deep humility and sorrow for sin, as this above passage commands, the Lord will hear, and heal our many backslidings, giving us His Holy Spirit of meekness, humility and on-going repentance!
“Dear Lord, Give me such a Spirit of meekness and deep, heartfelt repentance. Give me a love for correction and chastisement. Make me glad to hear Thy faithful rebukes, that I may become wise…
Now as far as those who search Bible prophecy concerning “signs of the End”, most of us were expecting extraordinary heavenly phenomena; you know, such things as giant asteroids or other colossal cataclysmic occurrences.
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VARIOUS SIGNS MENTIONED…
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But you see, God has mentioned various constellations in Scriptures: Orion, The Pleiades, Mazzaroth, etc..
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But He also spoke in Revelation of “great signs” in the heavens: a woman with child, a dragon who swept a third of the stars, and Michael who fought against that dragon (see Revelation, Ch. 12).
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The Bible also speaks of other signs in the heavens, and it is the purpose of Signs Of Heaven website, to introduce these wonderful signs and to reveal the many Bible passages which explain them.
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And if you are one of the fortunate ones to receive this amazing message, then you too can begin to proclaim this heavenly love story to anyone willing to listen.
</h3> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong><a href=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg”><img class=” wp-image-31763 alignright” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg” alt=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” width=”65″ height=”139″ /></a></strong></span></h2> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong>90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</strong></span></h2> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ALL </span></strong><em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>’NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) </span></strong></em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yKxfCqSI20″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> May 24, 2011 (youtube.com)</a></h3> <a href=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”><span style=”color: #808080;”>above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 3 – March 30 (Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets, Part 3: “Smooth Sermons & Soft Devotionals!”)
Actually there are indeed pictures which portray the Gospel story!
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You see, God has set the stars in just the right place, so that by “connecting the dots”, so to speak, they proclaim the wonderful Good News of Salvation!
But this infamous constellation was originally created to portray a woman.
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In the spring and summer months she appears as a headless woman who is with-child.
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But as the seasons change, this constellation flips completely upside down, and now appears as a running woman.
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And the little star that represented her child-in-the-womb, now symbolizes her head.
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That is, this single little star, now positioned where this woman’s head should be, becomes representative of Christ, whom the Bible refers to as being, “the head of the body, the Church” Ephesians 5:23 & Colossians 1:18
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And so, in the winter, she now appears as the fleeing woman of Revelation 12, fleeing westward.
And here is a very remarkable connection between This Revelation 12 Woman and two other of the four winter constellations.
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One winter constellation is that of Orion.
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The other interactive constellation is that of the Revelation 12 Dragon.
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And one aspect which makes them interactive is that the two brightest stars in Orion’s Sickle, and the two brightest stars in the Dragon’s Wave of Water symbolize the Narrow Gate and the Broad Gate, as spoken of in Matthew 7:13, 14
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Listen…“Enter ye in at the strait gate:
for wide is the gate,
and broad is the way,
that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it.”
Matthew 7:13, 14
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And if this isn’t remarkable enough, the Revelation 12 Woman is running toward both, and yet is decidedly swerving toward the Narrow Gate!
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SATAN NOW MARSHALS HIS HELLISH HOST
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But the bottom line is, as we see Satan marshaling his Antichrist world forces together, in effort to make life impossible for Christians…
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…it is becoming more and more evident just how we can escape all these things: by fleeing into that Narrow Gate which leads to life!
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And God is allowing all this to drive His people into the Narrow Gate, for safety!
And this heavenly sign lets us know for a certainty that we must cast away all our earthly idols…
…”to the moles and to the bats,
to go into the clefts of the ragged rocks,
for fear of the LORD,
and for the glory of His majesty,
when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.”
Isaiah 2:20, 21
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Yes, all those earthly idols belong over in the Broad Way, and will not fit through the Narrow Gate.
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But those who are willing to forsake all, will fit through that Narrow Gate, only to find a safe refuge and a peaceful hiding place from the approaching storm!
This page is about the Big Dipper, also called the Great Bear constellation (Ursa Major ).
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However, the ancient pagan cultures did not see this constellation as God intended it to be seen.
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It is actually a headless woman in childbirth.
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This is seen in springtime, in the northern skies.
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But as the seasons progress, this travailing woman flips upside down, now appearing as a woman with upraised arms like eagle wings who is running (eventually flying, as shown in sketch on right) into the wilderness (westward).
“”Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him,
O generation of vipers,
who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
Luke 3:7
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In His great mercy, the Lord raised up John The Baptist to warn His people to, “Flee from the wrath to come!” Matthew 3:7 & Luke 3:7
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And so, John The Baptist came in the traditional style of the Old Testament prophets, pointing the accusing finger, and issuing that fiery message to the curious crowds who collected all around him.
But the fact is, each and every true worshiper of God living in these last days, has been chosen to be the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning another Elijah!
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Oh no, they are not to move out to the desert or wear animal skins and call the world to repentance.
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At least they are not to literally do this.
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But spiritually, we all are indeed called to warn the world to, “Flee from the wrath to come!”
As Christians now witness that God is beginning to pour out His vials of wrath upon this rebellious world and apostate church-world, we sense that there is no more time to dilly-dally around in the world.
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Yes, God’s people are getting extremely nervous as they look around at the growing madness among the unsaved multitudes!
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They see that everything which once was considered normal is now being discarded for things which were once considered crazy!
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“Is this world going crazy? Has the world lost its sanity?”
Well, O Christian soldier, it is high time that God’s people begin to shed their earthly skin and let Jesus Christ live out His holy life through them!
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It’s high time that they cast away all their self-indulgent ways, and begin to live more like John…and Paul….and Peter, and all the other self-sacrificing men of God, and begin warning the world to, “Flee from the wrath to come!”, as did John The Baptist!
ABOVE PICTURE – winter Constellations – Woman of Revelation 12 (Ursa Major) flees to the mountains – Mark 13:14 (This is not a star-chart, but merely a concept picture)
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to order my life in such a way, that the world can see Christ in me…
This constellation appears in early spring in the south.
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It moves from east to west during the night and slowly moves to the western horizon by fall.
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It is commonly known as Sagittarius. (The three stars at the top of the 2nd Turtledove are not shown in some Sagittarius Star-charts, but are in others.)
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Sagittarius Constellation star-chart from a wikipedia. Editor of this site has sketched in the Turtledoves. Star-chart is under Share-alike license
ABOVE PICTURE – winter Constellations – Woman of Revelation 12 (Ursa Major) flees to the mountains – Mark 13:14 (This is not a star-chart, but merely a concept picture)
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</span></strong></h3> <h2 style=”text-align: left;”><span style=”color: #9ea3d9;”><strong><a href=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg”><img class=” wp-image-31763 alignright” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Prophet-Jeremiah-www.christianimagesource.org-Public-Domain.jpg” alt=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” width=”52″ height=”111″ /></a>90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</strong></span></h2> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ALL </span></strong><em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>’NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) </span></strong></em><strong><span style=”color: #cc99ff;”>ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM</span></strong></h3> <h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3> <h3><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTiHBxyStdQ” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> December 6, 2009 on The Open Forum (youtube.com)</a></h3> <a href=”http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”><span style=”color: #808080;”>above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 3 – March 28 (Flee To The Mountains, Part 16: “How To Be Like John the Baptist: Flee From The Wrath To Come!”)
Have you ever heard the expression, “Before you can take a man out of the slums, you must first take the slums out of the man”?
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There have been various attempts, over the years, to help the poor, by constructing “project housing”, in which these poor were moved out of the slums, and into nice new accommodations!
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But to the dismay of the government, it was not long until those project housings began to resemble the very slums which those people were originally taken away from!
You see, living in Babylon is as much a condition of the heart as it is one’s physical location!
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Even more so!
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In other words, Babylon must also be removed from the heart and mind, for one to truly come out of her!
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GAMBLING
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For example, God has not explicitly condemned gambling.
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And yet, the Bible lays down basic principles, which when followed, will result in the Christian shunning that vice…
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Listen…“Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished:
but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.”
Proverbs 13:11
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And those who are indwelt by God’s Spirit will embrace all such similar principles as this above verse, and as a result want nothing to do with anything that resembles gambling.
This next verse reveals what Heaven hates…“This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.” James 3:15
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Here above is revealed that sensuality and earthiness is devilish.
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And so, by shunning sensuality and earthiness, and instead, embracing timelessness, purity, gentleness, and peacefulness, etc., the Christian can more readily discern what kind of music that Heaven loves.
And let’s face it! When a Believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, there will be the same holy desires within that Christian!
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And so, as a result, Christians who are truly indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit, will naturally shun the trendy, fickle and earthy ways of this world, and instead gravitate toward the timeless, pure, holy, and loving ways of Heaven.
The Wave Constellation is primarily comprised of the Auriga Constellationplus one star from Taurus, plus one more star.
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The Winter Constellations are depicted in this below sketch to the right, and shows this constellation group as they are seen in early winter, as they rise in the eastern skies.
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The Woman is in the north.
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The Dragon and Orion are farther south from the Woman.
Oh yes, there are many imitators of Paul who have fearlessly ventured into foreign lands to preach the Gospel to the unsaved multitudes.
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And maybe they experience the same crucifying circumstances that require them to also “die daily”.
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Yes, no doubt, there are many dangerous and discouraging circumstances in the lives of those missionaries, which require them to throw their entire trust upon the Lord’s mercy, guidance, and providence.
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Acts 28 – 5 and Paul shook off the beast into the fire
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WHAT ABOUT ME?
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But what about us? What about all those Christians who have families and jobs?
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And what about elderly Christians, and those who are sick?
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And what about those who are in prison?
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Or those who are prisoners to alcohol or drugs, or those endowed with little physical strength, merely existing on government subsistence?
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How can those of us in these un-Paul-like circumstances possibly become crucified with Christ, just as was Paul?
“And He (God) said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:
for My strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities,
in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions,
in distresses for Christ’s sake:
for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
2nd Corinthians 12:9, 10
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Now in this amazing testimony, Paul is actually saying that he took pleasure in sicknesses, in condemnations by others, in the injustices against him, and in the fearful distresses which came upon him.
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Yes, Paul understood that those were the very experiences which God could work through to crucify Paul, so that Christ could freely live out His life through Paul!
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Acts 28 – 5 and Paul shook off the beast into the fire
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THE DEVIL BRINGS PERSECUTION
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Whether they know it or not, most genuine Christians are battling against demonic forces on a daily basis at various times in their earthly pilgrimage.
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Sometimes, these attacks come in the form of so-called “mental illness”.
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Others battle with depression and discouragement.
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Still others over various temptations and lusts.
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But whatever the area of attack, Satan often amplifies the smallest issues of everyday life until they overwhelm that person, even to the point of death!
The Good News is, that God is a very patient and forgiving Lord!
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And if I am willing to allow Him to bring upon me more of these distressing and perplexing and yes, even sad experiences, then God will begin to purify my heart so that I can become more-and-more like Paul, saying along with him…
“Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,
“Dear Lord, As much as I don’t like trials and tribulation, I realize that I must suffer with Christ, if I am to be crucified with Christ. So please bring these things upon me. But also give me times of rest…
A new constellation has been revealed, as of about May 29th, 2014.
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This constellation appears as a serpent (snake).
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Its body is comprised of stars from the Bootes Constellation, and its jaws are made of the four stars which Babylonians saw as the head of Draco, the Dragon.
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It also has a small single star for an eye.
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Now in this constellation is a group of five stars, which will be called “The Five Foolish Virgins Stars”.
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These are located on the opposite side of the Glorious Crown of 12 Stars (AKA Corona Borealis), from the Five Wise Virgins Stars.
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But one big difference between the two is, that The Five Wise are curved around the Glorious Crown, while the Five Foolish are curved away from it!
A lady once made a comment concerning some of the more boisterous evangelists and preachers that are often heard on television today…“I just don’t like people shouting good words at me!”
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And it’s understandable why this lady felt the way she did!
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After all, it’s very easy to turn the channel, only to hear some religious television or radio station, with somebody, “shouting ‘good’ words”!
With the advent of television, radio, and Internet, Satan can now hammer his false doctrines on a 24/7/365 basis, all over the world!
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And with talking images, via television and Internet, the prophecy from Revelation 13:15 has arrived at a dramatic fulfillment…
…”And he (the 2nd Beast) had power to give life
unto the image of the (1st) beast,
that the image of the (1st) beast should both speak,
and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the (1st) beast
should be killed.”
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Here is seen that for the first time in history, man has created an image which has the ability to speak.
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And television (and Internet) appears to be a dramatic fulfillment of that “speaking image”.
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After all, the very name, “television” means, “a speaking vision”, or “a talking image”.
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WORLD-WIDE INDOCTRINATION
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And so, Satan now has the ability to cause the entire world to become transformed into Satan’s image.
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Because by repeating his half-truths, and out-and-out lies throughout the day and night, via TV, radio, and Internet, the public will blindly accept these oft-repeated deceptions.
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BIBLE TEACHERS OF THE AIR
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For instance, there are a large number of Bible teachers on radio and television and Internet who mingle false doctrines along with the Gospel upon their listeners throughout the day and night!
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And these Bible teachers are not content to present all the relevant verses to prove their teachings.
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But they must ignore certain other verses which seem to refute their teachings.
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And so, their audience does not hear both sides of the issue, but only get a lop-sided, heavily biased teaching.
But there is another tactic which false teachers often employ.
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So very often these false teachers are very dogmatic and forceful, to the point that their audience will be afraid to disagree for fear of being ridiculed!
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Yes, these false teachers do not believe in allowing their audience to make up their own minds on any given subject.
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But rather, they use demeaning, derogatory denunciations and harsh, sarcastic mockery against anyone who disagrees with them!
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And so, by use of such force, they end up violating the consciences of their listeners!
Of course, this is nothing new. It was a tactic often used by apostate church authorities throughout history to keep their “flock” from straying!
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But now, with the advent of these high-tech devices, Satan can use the very best-of-the-best false teachers to keep the people under bondage to the apostate church.
In contrast to the forceful way that Satan indoctrinates the world, Heaven uses just the opposite means…
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Listen…“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”
James 3:17
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This above verse lays out the way that Heaven entreats the hearts of men.
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But those forceful Bible teachers who refuse to follow this above blueprint for Heaven’s way of teaching, actually enlist the service of Satan by using his dictatorial iron-like ways!
But those who receive the ability to study, study, study, in hopes of finding out as much Bible truth as possible, will become less and less dependent on what teachers say, and more and more inclined to depend on what the Bible actually says!
And so, let’s begin to withdraw from today’s apostate teachers and instead begin to trust wholly in God’s Word.
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And if a Bible student ever does listen to a Bible teacher, make sure that teacher is humble enough to admit that he is not to be the final authority, but repeatedly encourages his listeners to go to the Bible for confirmation (or rejection) of his ideas!
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S HEAVENLY SIGN
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THE FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS STARS
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A new constellation has been revealed, as of about May 29th, 2014.
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This constellation appears as a serpent (snake).
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Its body is comprised of stars from the Bootes Constellation, and its jaws are made of the four stars which Babylonians saw as the head of Draco, the Dragon.
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It also has a small single star for an eye.
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Now in this constellation is a group of five stars, which will be called “The Five Foolish Virgins Stars”.
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These are located on the opposite side of the Glorious Crown of 12 Stars (AKA Corona Borealis), from the Five Wise Virgins Stars.
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But one big difference between the two is, that The Five Wise are curved around the Glorious Crown, while the Five Foolish are curved away from it!
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life,
and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Daniel 12:1, 2…
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The Bible says concerning Satan…“we are not ignorant of his devices” 2nd Corinthians 2:11.
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And it is not hard to see that Satan works through his so-called, “ministers of righteousness”, to employ this strategy which is commonly named, “The Straw Man Ploy”.
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Simply put, a Bible teacher creates an obviously false standard, a “straw-man”, which then gives credence to whatever wrong doctrine he is wanting to thrust into Christianity.
So just what kind of false standards are being used as a straw-man, to make another false doctrine appear to be real?
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For instance, there has been a long-held church doctrine which dictates that whenever a Christian dies, he or she immediately is transferred to a conscious existence in Heaven.
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One of the problems with this idea is that in order to harmonize with the whole Bible, there must be somewhat of a wrestling match with many other passages which seemingly contradict this traditional belief.
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THE “SOUL-SLEEP” STRAW-MAN
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Well, one talk show host always defends this traditional belief by setting up a straw-man to refute those who believe otherwise.
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In other words, this talk-show host always mercilessly ridicules those who believe in “soul-sleep”.
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And this is the straw-man ploy, since the Bible never uses the exact expression, “soul-sleep”.
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And while it is true that people should not invent their own non-biblical terminology, such as “soul-sleep”, nor any other non-biblical name, we should not “throw the baby out with the bath-water” as the saying goes.
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In other words, the Bible does indeed refer to God’s people as those who “sleep in the dust of the earth”. (See Daniel 12:1, 2)
Now one ridiculous explanation which is popular in the apostate church-community is to say that those that “sleep in the dust” refers to the dead body that “sleeps” in the dust, and not to the soul.
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But as we all know, just a few years of being in the grave and the physical body turns back into dust.
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So, this makes such an argument seem somewhat foolish!
Now such talk-show hosts will discount these kinds of statements about the dead sleeping in the dust, as not actually being true.
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And one of their major arguments against the dead sleeping in their graves is because of the following Bible statement…
…”Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was:
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”
Ecclesiastes 12:7
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But while this above verse clearly teaches that the spirit returns to God when a person dies, this does not necessarily say that it leaves the place of the grave.
Now this passage expands God’s presence even to the grave (“Hell”, or “Sheol”).
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Here, David is revealing that God is literally everywhere, even in “Hell”, or “Sheol”, which is also translated “grave” in many Old Testament passages.
And so, when Ecclesiastes 12:7 reveals that death causes the human’s spirit to return to God who gave it, it does not necessarily leave the grave where that human was laid to rest.
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Because as Psalm 139:8 reveals, God is present in Hell (“Sheol” or “the grave”).
So, the bottom line is, the spirit of a man absolutely returns to God who gave it.
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But this does not necessitate for that spirit to leave the place of its sleep in the grave (“Hell”, or “Sheol”, or “The Grave”).
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And as for this idea that the dead are sleeping, as they wait for Judgment Day, to stand before God, our tiny little brains cannot comprehend what God does or does not do.
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If God causes the dead to sleep in their graves, who are we to try to limit what God can do?
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout…
and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
1st Corinthians 4:16-18
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This passage only further confirms that the dead (in Christ) are indeed sleeping in their graves, but will one day soon, rise up, “to meet the Lord in the air!”
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Yes, Jesus is coming back for His sleeping saints.
Aleister Crowley, Golden Dawn – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to search out these somewhat confusing doctrines for my own self, and not depend on others to tell me what I should and should not believe…
In Revelation, the Dragon of Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
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However, the Dragon Constellation up in the night sky does not.
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But God has faithfully created the wave of water, in such a way, as to illustrate this same concept of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
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Because this wave of water is basically composed of ten stars.
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The main body of the wave has seven stars (#‘s, 1 thru 7).
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And the tip of the crest of the wave has the other three stars (#’s, 8, 9 & 10).
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So, we have this 7/10 numbering.
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And this gives us a great clue, as to where in the Bible we should look, to find out the riddle as to just what or who do these 7 heads, 10 crowns, and 7 horns represent.
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Because, the Bible speaks very much about floods and waters as being associated with Satan (the Dragon).
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But before we explore the floods, let’s look at one more number from that same passage in Revelation…
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But the reason for even bringing this up is so that in every Christian home, the father needs to rise up to this, his God-ordained high and holy calling. 
It is the solemn duty of the father to raise his family to love the Lord. 
And let’s not forget that the priesthood was NOT to take wine or strong drink into the temple of God. 
“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” 
This is an integral part of what it means to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”
TO READ PART 4, CLICK HERE…
Another popular man-made analogy is that God puts a gift in your hands, but it is your decision to accept that gift and open it, or not.
INTO THE FIERY FURNACE
