Between the Lines

Post 224

If you have not forgotten, we spent quite a few posts going through scripture identifying the Global Dominate Empires (GDEs) that affected Israel’s sovereignty. Then we recently touched on the final GDE on the earth as we know it; the kingdom of heaven as the ninth and last Global Dominate Empire.

So let's take a moment and review:

Revelation 17:10 show the first five GDE kings that fell before John wrote the Revelation, and also includes the next two kings, now fallen as well. We now know these to be: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. Then Rome, and the Islamic Caliphate under the first 11 Caliphs: = SEVEN GDE KINGS (though each Empire had several successive lesser kings).

Revelation 17:11 describes the eighth; we now understand to be the twelfth Imam of the Caliphate now rising in the precursor return of Islam itself. This Caliph will have 10 lesser kingdoms under his eigth GDE (Revelation 17:12) yet according to Daniel 7:25 his kingdom will last only 3-1/2 years. But don’t be confused; Islam will last far longer than the short domination of the Caliphate at its end and much will happen in that Islamic period.

Revelation 17:14 and Daniel 7:21 describes this eighth king, in the power of his GDE, will make war first against the saints and then Jesus Christ himself, but Jesus will overcome the eighth (Daniel 7:26), and the ninth GDE will be given to “the people of the saints of the most High” meaning a republic of the faithful under God (Daniel 7:27).

This is the overall general layout of all world history in simple form, written in the “midpoint” of the timeline so that all readers of all remaining ages from its writing can know that it is true by its revelation and interpretation of yet earlier prophecies (Daniel 2:28+, Zechariah 1:6,+, and 4:6+ to 6:15 etc, etc.).

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A Pause:

But now at verse 14, before Revelation 17 simply goes right to the nineth GDE (which is an entirely “new word” to describe at length), we get a long deep look at the Great Whore city and her destruction, which is after all what the angel told John he would show him in this narrative (Revelation 17:1-2) and is the preparatory reason for the world history review we find here in this section of Revelation; "all these things come to pass setting up the stage for the destruction of the Great Whore I wish to show you" (paraphrased).

Modern Christians are focused on the appearance of the Antichrist (we now know to be the twelfth Imam) and the great tribulation he will bring on the earth against more than just God’s people, rather than learning about this Mystery Babylon of which the scripture has far more to say.

Just off the cuff, I believe the reason for this biblical focus is because although the Antichrist rules with an iron fist to very great damage, it is only a period of 3-1/2 years. Yes general Islam will dominate for a longer period but the whole Islamic period is clearly identified as basic dark evil by any rational mind, It is simply something that must be spiritually resisted and physically endured even unto death (Matthew 10:28-33+) without any complexity.

But Mystery Babylon, Now THAT is a topic that needs discussion!

There is a far greater portion of scripture dedicated to this city, and the complexity of her existence and power needs pre-explaining to the saints. This suggests that many people, and even believers, will be very confused and conflicted in knowing how to relate and interact with this city, so God is kind enough to provide that needful information before hand for those who want to search it out.

But although the scriptures are indeed God’s words, the Spirit is God’s voice; If we mine the scripture for data we will get information, but God wants us to fellowship with him as we read it allowing Him to explain what he wrote so that we can understand it.

I am freshly struck with the great gap between the point I am trying to make with others through the sharing of information, and the understanding that is intended but not received.

Let me explain by a simple unrelated analogy:

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A bigger pause:

If I want to share an experience in telling of my exciting day with a friend, I begin by giving a narration of events;

I start off by saying something like; “Yesterday was a perfect day to ride, so me and about a dozen guys headed up the pass to ride snowmachines. Steven was climbing through this ravine and was making very high marks near the tops of the edges in very light powder snow when…”

But my listener wants to know “information” and so cuts me off to ask; “What kind of sled was he riding? Who is Steven? Where was this exactly? Who were all the riders that went? What day was that?” etc. etc.

Of course the more detail the listener gets, he assumes the better he can picture the story as I tell it, but by craving excessive or detailed information beyond what I provide in my telling, it shows his attention is stuck on his own interests and not in the point of my story which is my interest. If the listener is modifying his own sled in his garage, his heart is knit with what Steven was riding as if that is the point of the story when that has nothing really to do with my point even though it is factual information that can be shared I guess.

This is the problem with perception.

We hear only that which has meaning or connection to where our heart or mind is at the time:

The mechanic hears about a sled that performs well (so evaluates my story by comparison of performance to other sleds he knows),

The socialite hears about 12 individuals that went on a ride (and will be offended if it turns out there were only 11 that went),

The ride enthusiast hears about some great powder and technical moves (and then compares it to his own experience to personally evaluate the merits of Steven’s ride)

And the meteorologist hears about a great day to ride (but focuses on perhaps “a better day” he remembers),

When my point was really not about any of these specifically but about the end result of an unforgettable adventure I want to share in the hopes the listener will want to go next time, nor does the deep exploration of specifics aid reaching that end but is actually a distraction as the topic shifts wildly from the story to spark plugs, belts, and best jet sizes at altitude, or who should go on rides, or what activities and conditions make a good day.

As I politely stop my story mid sentence and listen to their story about a ride they had in Colorado some years back, I realize going on a ride with me yet this winter is not what they had in mind as I told my story and so they missed my point.

Similarly, as I share what I am learning about God’s point in scripture, my listeners tend to hear nothing but disconnected information. What they hear tends to agree with what they are already focused on and so they nod their head in interested agreement, but what they hear is not what I intended to say.

This was made freshly clear to me just this week on more than one event;

In one example I shared with an individual what scripture says is coming on the earth as I have done with posts here on my blog. And in excited agreement with the discussion, a Christian friend shared with me some History Channel shows on DVD regarding “the coming prophesied disaster of 2012” and the “Seven signs of the Apocalypse” of scripture that he feels shows solidarity with my topic of discussion. Another individual in a separate discussion agreed with my biblical view and so shared some Islamic tradition that he felt supports what I was saying as true.

From their perspective we were on the same page of communication, but to believe my discussion had anything to do with the Mayan calendar, or the prophecies of a witch in Rome, or the customs of Islamic burial rites, means they only saw a similarity in “information” and missed the point I was trying to make about God’s sovereignty and our need to see things from his perspective as we prepare for what he has planned.

The History Channel provided a Pagan religious perspective of coming world events by collecting similar information from many diverse sources. Without realizing it, this approach makes the Creator God nothing more than one of many equals in our evaluating the future of mankind. This prostitutes the word of God as just another whore to be spiritually slept with among the many we frequent, and not as the covenanted love letter by our monogamous spouse the Creator.

This error of well meaning Christians is because information without understanding is what is received. Understanding comes through the Spirit of God as it teaches us what the information means in context of the message. Therefore scattered information is meaningless and even perhaps dangerous because of how it will be wrongly used (II Thessalonians 2:11-12, I John 5:10).

A few posts back I got carried away and declared that God had made me a prophet ( abused by proxy). I did not mean in the sense of divine inspiration in my writing, or infallible conclusions of knowledge as the very title and subtext of my blog makes clear.

I am a simple man learning of God by the Spirit of his word how to be the best servant I can be (Romans 6:16-18) through the knowledge of God (II Peter 1:1-2) according to the gifts of instruction by his divine power he has provided to me (II Peter 1:3-4).

The huge difference between me today and the powerless struggling Christian I was for many years, is the abandonment of the enticing lusts of the word, and the wholesale commitment to God’s will alone. “This is the will of God, even your sanctification 38, that ye should abstain from fornication 4202” I Thessalonians 4:3 *1

My one and huge regret is the wasted years I lived in the torment of duplicity, confused in thinking my “innocent” attachments to the wicked age in which I live was meaningless to God.
Sanctification 38 hagiasmos: from 37; properly purification, i.e. (the state) purity; concretely (by Hebrew) a purifier. 
37 hagiazo; from 40; to make holy, i.e. (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate.

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Between the Lines:

I really desire to expound on the kingdom of heaven, which we are eagerly looking for in the scope of eternity, I also feel the need to expound on the nearness of Islam as it will consume the world in great horrors. I crave to write of the rapture we Christians look for in genuine hope, or to jump right into what the scripture has to say regarding the global importance of the coming city identified as “Mystery Babylon”. All these are quickly arriving on mankind and we need to know how to prepare and to pass on that knowledge to our children (I Thessalonians 5:4-9).

But none of those are actually the next event in history and so we have a greater need to look into our own day-to-day existence NOW as we fit into the big picture of God’s design.

I suggest we are now between the verses of Revelation 17:10 and 17:11 and I feel compelled to focus on my message for America and what it means to the world even before all this other stuff becomes dominate, but frankly, it is hardly future now; it is so close.

God willing, I will take the next several posts to cover what I believe to be the immediate future of America as the end of the most recent image of the kingdom of heaven, and what its loss might mean to the rest of the word. And in my life right now I am given the preview of it, perhaps in the image of Daniel as he went first into captivity of Babylon (Daniel 1:1, II Kings 20:18, 24:1) before the rest of the nation followed (II Kings 24:14), and I hope to share with you the continuation of my prophetic life example.

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*1a - Fornication 4202 porneia; from 4203; harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively idolatry.

How easily we focus on a meaning that protects us from guilt; “I am a good Christian, I don’t sleep around” and so we blow by this passage as unrelated to me; “I’m good, thanks.”

But although this passage and meaning clearly identifies this physical corruption of what God designed, the deeper context of the scripture is spiritual. Why simply assume this passage is now singularly speaking only of the flesh?

The meaning of the Greek word used is general to cover all aspects, and figuratively means idolatry. This concept is prolific through the scripture as turning from God to other interests is an idolatry God describes as spiritual adultery and God used his prophet Hosea to give us His very pointed perspective of our conduct, both spiritual and physical.

Idolatry is to replace God’s healing with some other form, in any degree; “God designed THIS but I need THAT, God won’t mind, he understands.”

REALLY? and you get that in which passage?

Idolatry 1495 eidololatreia; (Greek) from 1497 and 2999; image-worship (literally or figuratively).

Idolatry 8655 teraphiym (Hebrew) plural, perhaps from 7495; a healer; Teraphim (singular or plural) a family idol.

7495 rapha; a primitive root; properly to mend (by stitching), i.e. (figuratively) to cure.

Clearly the Greek fornication means to interact in a way with something that is forbidden to interact in that way. To turn toward something as a god other than God, to prostitute oneself to something outside of the exclusive divine intent, to make an idol through idolatry.

But the Hebrew word idolatry has a very curious meaning that at first seems to make no sense; a healer? How is this related to an idol? How is an idol seen to mend or cure what needs fixing? Why is finding a fix for something wrong?

Does the Hebrew word and meaning for Idolatry ring any bells? Teraphiym; a healer.

Today our science and science fiction use the word Terre-form or Terraform to describe healing a dead planet.

How is this idolatry?

Please bear with me though this:

“Terraforming (literally, "Earth-shaping") of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.

The term is sometimes used more generally as a synonym for planetary engineering, although some consider this more general usage an error. The concept of terraforming developed from both science fiction and actual science. The term was coined by Jack Williamson in a science-fiction story ("Collision Orbit") published during 1942 in Astounding Science Fiction, but the concept may pre-date this work.” - Terraforming

“The terraforming of Mars is the hypothetical process by which the climate, surface, and known properties of Mars would be deliberately changed with the goal of making it habitable by humans and other terrestrial life, thus providing the possibility of safe and sustainable colonization of large areas of the planet. The concept is reliant on the assumption that the environment of a planet can be altered through artificial means; the feasibility of creating an unconstrained planetary biosphere is undetermined. There are several proposed methods, some of which present prohibitive economic and natural resource costs, and others which may be currently technologically achievable.” - terraforming mars

“Why would we ever want to go to Mars? As pictures beamed back from planetary probes and rovers since 1964 have shown, Mars is a desolate, lifeless planet with seemingly little to offer humans. It has a very thin atmosphere and no signs of existing life -- but Mars does hold some promise for the continuation of the human race. There are more than six billion people on Earth, and that number continues to grow unabated. This overcrowding, or the possibility of planetary disaster, will force us to eventually consider new homes in our solar system, and Mars may have more to offer us than the photos of its barren landscape now show.” - why terraform mars

I do not wish to belabor this point to distraction, as I really don’t believe God has a problem with mankind desiring to inhabit other bodies in the heavens through curiosity and exploration of his Creation. But I do believe the reason why and the approach intended by declarations such as is above through the meaning of the word terraforming, is a great offense to God.

To live on mars may not be iniquity though mankind was only specifically given the Earth (Genesis 1:28-30, 9:1-2 [notice the number of times Earth is specified]), but to go so far as to remold it to our heart’s desire is iniquity *2;

Mars is God’s planet created as he intended, to cultivate it in its natural form may be allowable by the example of command regarding earth; “…Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over…” Genesis 1:28 (and 2:15), but to implement the means to “heal a damaged planet” by utterly altering its nature is to suppose God failed in its design which needs mankind’s efforts to correct the flaw. In otherwords terraforming a planet to be something it was never intended to be is the idolatry of mankind by elevating his will above God's over the very nature of an entire planet. Of course this is controversial and I am not dogmatic in my view other than the intent behind the word terraforming as it directly relates to the Hebrew word and meaning.
Now although Mars has little to do with my topic, the intent of mankind has everything to do with it.

*2 - from the Fabian Socialist Window. I intend to speak much to this philosophy in posts to come as it is directly relevant to my intended topic.

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