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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – January 14

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Eternal Torment?

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Part 32 (Continued):

“And Their Smoke Rose Up Forever?”

To read part 1, click here…September 8th (Eternal Torment? Part 1)

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“And the smoke of their torment

ascends up for ever and ever:

and they have no rest day nor night,

who worship the beast and his image,

and whosoever receives the mark of his name.”

Revelation 14:11

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SMOKE RISING UP FOR EVER AND EVER…

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“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night.”

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Now it is time to fully address this passage from Revelation 14, which speaks of smoke rising for ever and ever. The above verse from Revelation 14 sounds as if it is the last word on the subject of “eternal torment”. Every unbeliever will be tormented forever and ever. And the smoke of their eternal torment will rise for ever.

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But is this the last word on this subject? Of course not! The Bible was written by God to be one whole doctrine. It must ALL be studied. One or two or even a dozen verses do not end the discussion on these more difficult questions. God always has more to say on these confusing issues. And the subject of what happens to unbelievers is of great concern to God.

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magnifying glass – Wikimedia – share-alike license

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ANOTHER ‘SMOKE-RISING-FOREVER’ PASSAGE

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So let’s explore this idea of smoke ascending up “for ever and ever”.

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Just listen to this passage, and how it ends up… “Come near, ye nations, to hear…For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations…For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance…And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; THE SMOKE THEREOF SHALL GO UP FOR EVER:” Isaiah 34:1-5, 8-10.

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Ah-ha! So here we have another “smoke rising forever” passage! And this above passage gives us further insight into the meaning of Revelation 14, which says… “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night.”

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Church Burning – Burning Man – 2013 – cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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ANOTHER “FOREVER AND EVER” BIBLE PASSAGE

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But back to the subject of smoke rising forever.

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Listen carefully to this next passage, speaking of that Mystery City, Babylon… “And he (the angel)…saying, Babylon the great is fallen…Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judges her. And the kings of the earth…shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying…in one hour is thy judgment come…And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!…for in one hour is she made desolate…And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all…AND HER SMOKE ROSE UP FOR EVER AND EVER.” Revelation Ch. 18 & 19:3 (condensed)

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From this passage, we see that Mystery Babylon, a spiritual city, comprised of all the apostate Christian organizations which have persecuted God’s true Church through the ages (see the article, “The woman Of Revelation 18” ).

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1 HOUR JUDGMENT

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Finally comes her Judgment Day. But notice that her punishment comes in one hour. And yet, the smoke of her torment rises up “for ever and ever”.

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So. just where’s the eternal torment? This spiritual city is cast into the sea. This is spiritual language to indicate that these apostate Christian organizations were to be cast into the sea; the sea representing the world (see Revelation 17:15). It is found “no more at all”.

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In other words, the apostate church was cast out of God’s kingdom, causing the apostate church to be totally separated from God; totally amalgamated with the world and its secular ideologies and worldly philosophies. This is why we so much of the worldly compromises within the church-world today: apostate religious programs, celebrities, sports, comedians, joking preachers, ethnic/cultural-traditions/segregation, worldly music, bingo and other gaming nights, immodest attire, etc… 

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ABOVE PICTURE – The wicked woman harlot city, Babylon, the apostate church-world, as she rides the Beast, the antichrist world-system – Burgkmair – 1523 AD – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

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DEEPER TRUTHS LOCKED UP IN PARABLES

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And yet, in spite of her destruction coming in one hour, the smoke of her burning, “ascends up for ever and ever”. And so, we begin to see this phrase, “smoke ascends up for ever and ever”, now taking on an entirely different connotation. As already stated, so many try to interpret these spiritual concepts as though they are to be understood literally.

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But they are spiritual… “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1st Corinthians 2:14.

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Those who are of the apostate Church, the “Jerusalem which is now, and is in bondage with her children” just cannot understand the deeper, allegorical truths, which God has locked up from their understanding.

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To these, Jesus says… “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand…Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear My Word.” Matthew 13:13 & John 8:43

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Yes, so many of today’s teachers and theologians are void of God’s Spirit, rendering them incapable of discerning the “Hidden Manna” so often hidden within the allegories, parables, types and shadows which comprise so much of Scripture.

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ABOVE PICTURE:

Brooklyn Museum – The Pharisees Question Jesus – James Tissot – US Public Domain – Wikimedia

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SMOKE & FIRE: LITERAL OR FIGURATIVE

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Listen to this very extreme description of God’s wrath…“Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because He was wroth. There went up a smoke out of His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the wings of the wind.” Psalm 18:7-10

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Now this above passage presents a picture which is very seldom discussed to any great degree. And no wonder! How can we deal with such a scenario as this? Just listen to the concepts described here! Are the foundations of the hills going to literally be shaken because of God’s wrath? Or literal smoke coming out of God’s nostrils, and actual devouring fire coming out of His mouth? Or literal coals kindled by that fire? And what about God literally riding on a cherub? or does He literally fly on the literal wings of the wind?

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The question to be asked is this: “Is this language to be understood literally or figuratively?” Is the fire coming out of God’s mouth literally going to kindle coals? Is God going to literally ride on a cherub, and on the wings of the wind?

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Well, one thing is for certain. This passage is a difficult one, to say the least!

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Michelangelo – Wikipedia – public domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Let me not be just another victim of vain confidence! Show me my faults! Reveal to me where I am in error! Turn me away from all such presumptuous sins. And lead me in the way, Everlasting…

Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… ““Vanity Fair” & The False Prophet”, or you can also read… “February 17th (Examine Yourself!)”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

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

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Revelation 12 Woman & The Narrow Gate Stars (Orion’s Gate to Heaven)

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“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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LOCATION

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This most amazing phenomenon is seen throughout the winter. 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). 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).

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And at this point it is apparent that the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation  is veering toward the two bright stars, known as Castor and Pollux (sketch to left). 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. 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). 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. 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. 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 the Dragon Constellation’s mouth (for explanation of “Wave of Water”, just click here). 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”.)

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Editor’s note: These sketches on this page are merely sketches. The stars are not in their exact place. However, they are close enough to find them in the night sky. But as with most stars, it takes persistence to finally locate them.

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Revelation 12 Woman & The Narrow Gate Stars (Orion’s Gate to Heaven)”

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TOMORROW

January 15 . . . . Revelation 18:2: “A Cage of Every Unclean & Hateful Bird!”

Bat – Wikipedia- Creative Commons 2.5

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90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM

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ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM, A QUESTION/ANSWER CALL-IN, TALK SHOW.

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Harold Camping Bible Conference Open Forum #13 (youtube.com)

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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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