.

.

Daily Devotional, Year 2 – APRIL 21

.

.

.

.

Come Out of Her, My People!

.

Part 8:

“Congregating Together”

To read Part 1, click here… “May 12th (Come Out of Her, My People?)”

.

.

.

.

.

.

“And he (an angel) cried mightily with a strong voice,

saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen… 

And I heard another voice from Heaven, saying,

Come out of her, My people,

that ye be not partakers of her sins,

and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

Revelation 18:2, 4

.

James Tissot – The Flight of the Prisoners – Wikipedia – US Public Domain.

.

.

.

.

.

Many Bible students read this above passage, and wonder, “What in the world it can this possibly be speaking of?!”

.

“Perhaps”, they muse, “It’s speaking of some city in Iraq, or maybe the city which has recently sprung up, called Dubai!”

.

Dubai Marina 2013 – Wikipedia – Creative Commons License

.

.

.

.

.

THE HARLOT CHURCH

.

But for those who have discovered that the Bible is a totally spiritual revelation of the Gospel, they know that the City of Babylon actually represents the world, along with the worldly portion of the Church, the Mystery Harlot of Revelation 17.

.

And the reader is encouraged to click on and begin reading this series of devotionals called “Come Out of Her, My People”, to gain a fuller understanding of just why God considers today’s churches to be spiritual Babylon.

.

Whore – Babylon – Burgkmair – 1523 AD – Wikimedia – US Public Domain(This 500 year old engraving is just one of many which shows that Christians understood this concept back in the days when God’s people were being physically persecuted by Antichrist!)

.

.

.

.

.

.

ONE ROTTEN APPLE

.

Have you ever heard the proverb, “One rotten apple spoils the barrel”?

.

Well, quite often, the world sees metaphors in nature, like this one about apples.

.

And it’s true, that one rotten apple contaminates the other apples in a barrel of apples!

.

And this truth applies very well to how Satan has successfully spoiled God’s people, throughout the history of the Church.

.

And even back in Old Testament times, the Enemy of Souls has used this technique to destroy the people of God!

.

Rotten Mango Apple in Malaysia – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

.

.

.

.

.

THORNS IN YOUR SIDES

.

One of the greatest themes in the Bible, is the command from God to destroy the heathen from out of the Promised Land.

.

Listen to God’s warning to His people…

“But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you;

then it shall come to pass,

that those which ye let remain of them

shall be pricks in your eyes,

and thorns in your sides,

and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.

Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you,

as I thought to do unto them.”

Numbers 33:55, 56

.

God knew just how important it was for His people to keep themselves separated from the sinful influences of the heathen cultures.

.

And this above warning becomes one of the signature passages which explains much of the Old Testament.

.

judges7-Gideon & The 300-www.thebiblerevival.com-public domain

.

.

.

.

.

SATAN’S ‘MINISTERS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS’

.

Satan knows how easy it is to infect God’s people with his corrupting influences, merely by infiltrating the body of Christ with false brethren.

.

Listen to Paul’s warning about Satan sophistry…

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers,

transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed

as the ministers of righteousness;

whose end shall be according to their works.”

2nd Corinthians 11:13-15

.

This above passage reveals how Satan destroys God’s people from within!

.

He merely brings in false brethren into God’s house, bringing their world-loving ways into the Church, causing “wrong judgment” to proceed forth! (Habakkuk 1:4)

.

Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

THE WICKED ENCOMPASS BELIEVERS

.

Listen to the Prophet, Habakkuk, as he declares a prophecy for the last days…

“Therefore the law is slacked,

and judgment doth never go forth:

for the wicked doth compass about the righteous;

therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.”

Habakkuk 1:4

.

This above vision of Habakkuk is a vision for this very hour in which we now are in!

.

And God answers Habakkuk, telling him to…

“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.”

Habakkuk 2:2, 3

.

As this above passage reveals, there is coming a time when Habakkuk’s vision will begin to speak.

.

And at that hour, God counsels us to, “RUN!”

.

ABOVE PICTURE – fall & winter Constellations – Woman of Revelation 12 flees to the mountains – (Ursa Major, a winter constellation) flees to the mountains – Mark 13:14 – Dragon comprised of Hyades, Pleiades, etc…Valley of Decision mountain comprised of Cassiopeia, etc… (This is not a star-chart, but merely a concept picture since this mountain is not in this position, but is actually seen in the fall months)

.

.

.

.

.

MANY PASTORS DESTROYED MY VINEYARD

.

“Many pastors have destroyed My vineyard, they have trodden My portion under foot, they have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.” Jeremiah 12:10

.

For 2,000 years, the Church has been over-run by false brethren, who have spoiled God’s vineyard!

.

The Church has been in a diseased condition for most of the past 2,000 years. The only time the Church has stood faithful, was during times of heavy persecution from the false, apostate church-system of Europe, when it was not safe to be a true, Bible-believing Christian. During those times, most potential false brethren wanted little to do with God’s people.

.

But whenever the world “made peace” with the Church, Satan moved his wolves-in-sheep’s-clothing back into the local congregations.

.

Burning at the Stake – Wikipedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

“COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE!”

.

But there is coming a day (and now is), when God will call His people out of the local congregations.

.

But this call has been somewhat written in veiled language.

.

Listen to this somewhat veiled call…

“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,

and is become the habitation of devils,

and the hold of every foul spirit,

and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird…

Come out of her, My people,

that ye be not partakers of her sins,

and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

Revelation 18:1, 4

.

Here, God commands His people to make an end-time exodus away from all the confusion and deception that now ensnares today’s church-world.

.

Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.

.

.

.

.

.

AS WE SEE, ‘WHAT DAY APPROACHING?’

.

But how could God give such a command when He has already laid down the following rule for His people… “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching”? Hebrews 10:25

.

Well, the answer to this question is found in the following words from this passage…“but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching!”

.

And so, the question now becomes, “As we see WHAT day approaching?”

.

Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License

.

.

.

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED IN TOMORROW’S DEVOTIONAL…

“APRIL 22 (Come Out of Her, My People! Part 8, Continued: Congregating Together)”

mega-church – Wikipedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S PRAYER…

Dear Lord, Give me understanding into all these things, so that there is no more question in my mind, as to just what is my duty…

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read…“August 11th (Habakkuk Says “Run!” Part 1)” or you can also read… “February 11th (Come Out From Among Them!)”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

.

.

.

.

.

THE END

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

.

.

DOUBLE ENTENDRE OF REVELATION 12 WOMAN

.

“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church: and He is the Savior of the body.” Ephesians 5:23

.

This page concerns the constellation which is commonly known as “The Big Dipper” and the “Great Bear”. It actually appears in the summer months as a woman travailing in child-birth. God has purposely given her no head. But God did this to present a very important concept.

.

Ursa Major – IAU.svg – Star-Chart – Wikipedia – Share-Alike License

.

.

Yes, this woman represents the Church, the, “Jerusalem above, which is free, and is the mother of us all” (see Galatians 4:26).

.

You see, the single star she is giving birth to typifies the Christ child. Reading in Ephesians that Christ is the “head” of the Church, this single star is logically going to become her head. But how will that be accomplished? .

.

.

.

.

.

WOMAN FLIPS AROUND IN WINTER

.

Now, if this Woman-in-Travail were all that the Lord created in the heavens, it would be nothing short of amazing! But God, in His infinite power and majesty, has made this a great sign in Heaven, just as Revelation 12 proclaims. Because as the summer passes, this constellation begins to slowly flip around, until the stars representing her arms now become her legs. And the stars that once represented her legs now become her arms.  And finally, it appears as the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12. And at that point, this single little star in her womb-area, representing the Christ-child, now becomes her head! And of course, this reminds us of the passage… “And He (Christ) is the head of the body, the Church…” Colossians 1:18.

.

ABOVE STAR-CHARTS: Ursa Major – IAU.svg – Star-Chart – Wikipedia – Share-Alike License

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Woman of Revelation 12 (Woman in Travail)”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

.

.

.

.

TOMORROW…

“APRIL 22 (Come Out of Her, My People! Part 8, Continued: Congregating Together)”

mega-church – Wikipedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

.

20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH 

.

ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

.

THIS STUDY #477 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING, FORMER CEO OF FAMILY RADIO…

.

above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

.