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TEN HORNS AND TEN TOES

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By Ken Blue

 

As we watch the nations surrounding Israel crumble, many in the world wonder what is going on. Were it not for the Scriptures, we would be left in the dark. However, God has foretold these events and the resulting reformation.

 

First, let me give you the Scriptures relating to this subject. Daniel 2:41-43 “And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. “  Also, Daniel 7:7-8 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Also, Revelation 12:3 “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” Also, Revelation 13:1 “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, (This is a sea of people) having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Also, Revelation 17:3 “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” Revelation 17:12 “ And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. Revelation 17:16 “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”

 

Now, it will help to ignore the other distraction in the text, and pay attention to the toes and the horns. One can see that they are one and the same, and Revelation 17:12 tell us that they are ten kings or leaders yet to emerge. Therefore, it is necessary for the existing kingdoms near Israel to unravel so the ten new kingdoms can be established. This is what you are witnessing in that part of the world today.

 

Dake says three great future tri-continental wars are yet to come. “The first tri-continental war will be for the purpose of forming the 10 kingdoms inside the old Roman Empire territory, (copyright 1963) fulfilling Daniel 7:23-24.  The 24 states now inside this territory will be reduced to 10 kingdoms.  This will require a war in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and the defeat of Russia who now controls part of the territory.  These 10 kingdoms will be the Revised Roman Empire symbolized by the 10 toes on the image of Daniel 2, and the 10 horns of the beasts of Daniel 7, Rev. 12, Rev. 13, and Rev. 17.

Dake Topical Index.   (Note:  When the Soviet Union broke up, it made is possible for this prophecy to be fulfilled.)

 

Out of the “sea,” or the masses, will emerge ten nations that will forge an alliance. Syria will be one of these, and will be its leader. Soon after, he will overthrow three of the ten. You are witnessing prophecy in the making. Let not your heart be troubled. God is in control!

SAY “GOOD-BY” TO THE JEWS

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By Ken Blue

When God’s time came for Israel to leave Egypt, He raised up a Pharaoh who was unsympathetic toward them. It was necessary to create circumstances that would make Israel want to leave Egypt; it had been their home for four hundred years. Many of you know the story, and that Israel left with the wealth of Egypt.

The time has come when God is once again calling the Jews from among the Gentile nations to their home land. The following Scriptures will support that truth. It would be impossible to post every passage that speaks to this re-gathering. We will give enough to convince any Christian.
Isaiah 2:1-5 “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.  2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.”
Isaiah 4:1-6 “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. 2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: 4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. 5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. 6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”
Isaiah 11:11-13 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.”
Isaiah 14:1 “ For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.”
Ezekiel 37:12 “Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.”
Ezekiel 37:21 “ And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:”
As world opinion toward the Jews get worse, they will exit little by little, and they will take their wealth with them. Not only will this leave Gentile nation with a vacuum, it will give the nations north of Israel their excuse to invade. Ezekiel 38:7-13 “Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. 8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. 9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: 11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”
These are just a few of the many verses that show that Jews will return to their homeland. God will bring them back to judge them, and the nations that will come up against them. So, get ready to say “goodbye to the Jews.”

LET’S STUDY REVELATION # 28

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The scene in Heaven –The Opening of the Seventh Seal

 “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.  And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.  And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.  And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.”  (Revelation 8:1-6).

The scene reverts back to heaven. These events constitute the second looping parallelism, which consists of the seven trumpets.  The seven trumpets are introduced under the seventh seal, for they are contained in it. When it is opened, there is a silence in heaven, whichJohn described as about half an hour. It must have seemed like an eternity toJohn. This silence may be contemporary with the winds held at bay by the four angels.

This silence is the lull just before the storm; however, it is more than that.  This seventh seal takes us back to the mid-point of the tribulation and fills in the details passed over in the general description of the first six seals.

The silence cannot be ignored. It is a reminder to God’s saints, the Jewish remnant, that they were not unnoticed when they cried out to Him day and night. The following is an expression of their cries: “O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.  But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:2-3).  “My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?” (Psalm 42:3).  “And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words” (Matthew 26:44). 

The parable of the widow and the unjust judge illustrates that God will respond, in His time, to the prayers of His saints. “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (See Luke 18:7-8). The time to avenge them has come. This silence before the storm was to illustrate and assure them that their prayers were heard even while the heavens were silent. The long awaited response to their prayers is now justified.

 

After the seventh seal is opened, a priestly angel comes forth from the Holy Placewith a censer filled with live coals from the altar. These coals are not from the brazen altar, but are from the altar of incense. The live coals are sprinkled with “much incense” and are offered up to God with the prayers of the suffering saints. Verse 4 states, “…the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.”  God is preparing to avenge His persecuted saints by answering their calls for judgment on the wicked of the earth. Psalms 83:9 is an example of their prayers, “Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison…”

 

The above prayer is an imprecatory Psalm, which calls upon God to curse one’s enemies. Psalm 69 and 109 are considered the most significant, while 5, 6, 11, 12, 35, 37, 40, 52, 54, 56, 58,69, 79, 83, 137, 139, and 143 are also imprecatory Psalms.

Verse 5 describes the action taken by another angel in heaven. The introduction to this judgment is described as, “…voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.” This announces that trouble is on its way from heaven, and the earth has never experienced such wrath since the day the world began. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).

It is similar to the days when Israel came out of Egypt, “According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things” (Micah 7:15).  These events will be physical and literal. “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;  But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land” (Jeremiah 23:7-8). (See Exodus 34:10; Deut. 28:10.)

The scene before us is a response to what was revealed at the opening of the fifth seal, “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:” (Revelation 6:9). The judgments, in part, are a reprisal for the suffering of the godly saints during the Day of the Lord.

ENDEAVORING TO KEEP THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT

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By Ken Blue

Ephesians 4:3-6 “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

There are two vitals that must exist for a church to remain healthy and productive. These are unity of fellowship and unity of doctrine. Local churches may differ, and survive. However, unity within individual churches is critical. The above text is about doctrinal unity.

THE ONE BODY. Although there are multitudes of local churches and denominations, and each differs in some way. However, there is in reality only one body of Christ. All believers are members of that one body.

 

ONE SPIRIT. There are many operations of the Spirit, yet it is the same Spirit. Every believer has the same Holy Spirit. It is important that believers understand how the Spirit works in each dispensation.

ONE HOPE. All believers have the same hope awaiting them. That hope is described in Paul’s epistles.

ONE LORD. In spite of the bleeding heart liberals, there is only ONE LORD. That Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ.

ONE FAITH. That faith is the body of truth of this dispensation. Most of the divisions exist because of a failure to rightly divide the Scriptures.

ONE BAPTISM. This is not water baptism. Rather, it is the baptism by the Spirit into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection when we believed on Him. (1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). All the saved have this one baptism.

ONE FATHER. There is one Father who rules over all, dwells in all, and acts through all.  What unity is this! It belongs to all believers, and is to be embraced by faith.

LET’S STUDY REVELATION # 27

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Revelation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE VISION IN HEAVEN – THE INNUMERABLE COMPANY OF GENTILES

 “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.  And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”  (Revelation 7:9-12).

The scene shifts back to heaven and is still part of the parenthesis. It is assumed by most, that these are Gentiles who are saved during the Tribulation. The vision is in heaven and takes us forward to the return of Christ as King of kings and Lord of Lords. See verses 15-17. “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.  For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

The sealed Jews are protected, and go through the Tribulation. These Gentiles are saved during the same time period, but aren’t necessarily protected from torment and physical death. Obviously, these are righteous Gentiles who have received the Gospel of the Kingdom, or they were instrumental in the protection of Jews during the Tribulation. (See Matthew 25:31-46.) We are told in that text that Gentile nations will be saved because of their humane treatment of the Jews during those awful days.

If Gentile nations are to continue to procreate during the Millennium, then it stands to reason that not all Gentiles will be killed. The teaching that all who do not receive the mark of the Beast will be killed cannot be accurate, unless they are all resurrected in natural bodies as Lazarus was.

If the sealed Jews serve as evangelists and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the entire world, many of these Gentiles will be the fruit of their labors. Their Gospel will be a Gospel of faith and works. One must overcome and endure to the end. Their gospel is not the Gospel of grace by which believers are saved today.

It has always been God’s plan to evangelize the earth with His Good News. This He will accomplish through a converted Israel. In the following Scriptures Israel is blessed first, then that blessing extends to the Gentiles!

“…I will bless thee…and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:2-3).

“He will be merciful unto his land, and to his people” “Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people:” (Deuteronomy 32:43).

“God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.

That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.” (Psalms 67:1-2).

“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10).

The 144,000, no doubt, are the ones who will partially fulfill that plan.

The idea that the Bible contains more than one Gospel offends many of the brethren. We understand their concern. For many years we, too, held to the same belief. However, when challenged by others concerning this matter, it became clear that the Bible does have more than the Gospel of grace by which we are saved.

Luke 18:31-34 ought to help the reader understand that the twelve knew nothing of Christ’s upcoming death, burial, and resurrection. THEREFORE, none of them ever preached it as part of their gospel during His earthly ministry.  “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.  For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:  And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.  And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”

The reaction of the twelve, and of the women, after His death, ought to convince the greatest skeptic that the Gospel which we preach today was not the Gospel of the Kingdom, which was preached in the four Gospels and early Acts period. The Gospel preached in the Tribulation will be the Gospel of the Kingdom and will require both faith and works to enter the Kingdom. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).

Jesus, John, and the twelve, all preached the same Gospel; and it did not contain one word about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease” (Matthew 4:23). This is the same Gospel that will be preached during the Tribulation.

“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”  (Revelation 7:13-17).

It is said of these that they “washed their robes…” (v. 14). This washing resulted from their overcoming-faith in the crucified, resurrected, and returning King of Israel; and their rejection of the mark of the Beast. This is what is meant by, “washed their robes …in the blood of the Lamb.” This washing was something they did by suffering unto death as Jesus did.

When the writer of the Book of Job said Job was a righteous, upright, and a perfect man, he was not speaking of Job’s position in Christ. Job did not have the imputed righteousness of Christ as believers do today. He was speaking of Job’s practical righteousness.

These also have that practical righteousness because they “washed their (own) robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” The washing white of their robes, “in the blood of the Lamb,” means they suffered unto death, as did the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how they washed their robes and made them white in His blood. These words are action verbs and are figures of speech depicting their suffering unto death.

These, in verses 13-17, may be in the New Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21 and 22. Obviously, Gentiles will not serve in Ezekiel’s millennial temple; therefore, the temple in which these Gentiles stand is the eternal temple, which appears after the thousand-year reign of Christ, and the earth is burned up…  “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1). It is true that Gentiles will serve Christ in the Millennium, but it is inconceivable that they will be in the temple, since the Kingdom is given to Israel.