UPDATE 15 August 2017: I believe we have just witnessed a prime example of, as Paul referred to it, katechō, the withholding, the restraining upon the works of pure evil in the world. Probably none but the indwelt bride of Christ in this world would see the backing down of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un as the work of the Holy Spirit. Most will attribute what has just occurred to newly invoked economic sanctions and the power of Communist China or the threats of the American president, or some such other worldly nonsense. However, we must know that it is the Holy Spirit executing the will of Almighty God which has, temporarily at least, restrained the ultimate expression of lawlessness upon the world. Praise God.
11 August 2017: Recently we all heard President Trump warn the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un of the apocalyptic-sounding 'fire, fury and power like the world has never seen before' should he chose to act stupidly. Make no mistake, what American president said was neither a bluff nor an idle boast. It was a very real potential should Kim Jong-Un follow through on the military plan North Korean generals have presented to him of launching a salvo of four IRBMs at the U.S. territory of Guam, Marianas Islands next week. In less than ten days we'll know if North Korea's Communist Chinese and Russian oligarchs have been able to convince the madman to stand down, shut up and prepare to give up his weapons; that the whole world stand against him and his regime.
11 August 2017: Recently we all heard President Trump warn the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un of the apocalyptic-sounding 'fire, fury and power like the world has never seen before' should he chose to act stupidly. Make no mistake, what American president said was neither a bluff nor an idle boast. It was a very real potential should Kim Jong-Un follow through on the military plan North Korean generals have presented to him of launching a salvo of four IRBMs at the U.S. territory of Guam, Marianas Islands next week. In less than ten days we'll know if North Korea's Communist Chinese and Russian oligarchs have been able to convince the madman to stand down, shut up and prepare to give up his weapons; that the whole world stand against him and his regime.
President Trump's words immediately brought to mind a verse from Revelation 13:4 about the absolute power that the Antichrist will wield in the near future; power such that none would dare make war (Gk: polemeō) against him. This brings to mind what has been stated on Eschatology Today in recent months concerning American military power; that it is far more robust, deadly and immediately available than almost everyone tends to think - especially a great many prophecy teachers - and even after eight years of Obama Administration downgrades and financial sequestering. This kind of on-call kinetic military power, like an undetectable black cat in a totally darkened room, remains unseen by anyone in this world save for a few who are aware of its existence.
Getting back to Revelation 13:4 there is something in the context of that verse which I feel the Lord wanted to make known as I studied it within the past couple of days. Taken in the context of other Scripture (II Thessalonians 2, for example) I believe the God-breathed words of this passage express the blessed hope of the Harpazo of the bride of Christ very unambiguously occurring PRIOR TO the revealing of the Antichrist and his ascension to absolute power.
Revelation 13:1 begins with John standing on a sandy shoreline seeing the beast rising up out of the sea (gentile nations). Notice three of the ten heads spoken of elsewhere in Scripture are already gone, plucked out by their roots. So what John sees is a seven-headed beast wearing 10 crowns of political authority, with a blasphemous name written on each of the seven heads.
The first part of verse two evokes the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman Empire aspects of this coming fourth and final world empire. However, the second part of verse two is critical, and something we need take careful note of:
"The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority."
In the night vision given to the prophet Daniel (Daniel 2:19-21) that Scripture tells us that it is God who puts kings on their thrones, or removes them. In John's vision what is it that God says? "The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority." How can this be if the bride of Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit is still present on this earth? That God is still attendant on the Spirit-filled Church established by Christ?
Quite simply and according to Scripture, it is not possible. Therefore, and at that time, the bride of Christ has already been taken in the Harpazo and as seen in Revelation 12:9 the dragon/Satan and his fallen angels are then forcibly thrown down to the earth. When Satan has been thrown down to the earth, and God is then focused on Israel, that's when Satan is allowed to empower, seat the Antichrist on his throne and have him act with great authority.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Anyone can submit a comment; all comments are moderated for content.