87. About the Senate Health Care Bill

An Action Plan!

This blogpost has around 1200 words. In comparison, the Senate version Health Care Bill has around 500,000 words, and if it passes into law, will eventually cost the American taxpayers more than $3,000,000 per word.

Now do I have your attention?

Dear Friends and Family,

This may take you some time. It took George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and John Hancock some time to do their part also. This will take you less time (and blood, and sweat, and tears) than it took them.

Please consider these things about the Senate version of the Health Care Bill:

After the introduction to the bill, the index of the bill and the bill's title, finally on page 15, we find the first 63 words of the bill itself:

"Part A of title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg et seq.) is amended (1) by striking the part heading and inserting the following: ‘‘PART A—INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP MARKET REFORMS’’; (2) by redesignating sections 2704 through 2707 as sections 2725 through 2728, respectively (3) by redesignating sections 2711 through 2713 as sections 2731 through 2733, respectively . . . "

The rest of the bill is not much better, although it does lapse into readable (but not understandable) English for large sections before relapsing into gobbledygook. But here's the thing: It is no more understandable to the Senators than to you, since very few (if any) of them have read all of it, and many of them have read none of it. And furthermore, it will be equally incomprehensible to the government bureaucrats who will have eventual control over our health costs and medical procedures, especially if and when you become a senior (and you all are heading in that direction!).

Link to the Bill text: The Senate version Health Care Bill
(Read a page or two at random and see if you can understand it)

You may have heard that the Senate version of the Health Care Bill is being rushed through the Senate by the Democratic Party leadership and may be voted on before Christmas. You may also wonder why no Republican Senator is planning on voting for the bill. It is not because they do not want to help the needy, it is because they do not want to harm the already-hurting American taxpayer further, and because this Health Care Bill is the largest appropriation of governmental power in the history of the United States.

Here is why the taxpayer should be concerned: The stated cost is $847,000,000,000 (in case you’ve lost track of all those zeros, that is $847 billion dollars). But the true cost over the next 10 years will actually approach $2,500,000,000,000 ($2.5 trillion dollars). The true cost is more than $1 billion dollars per PAGE (the bill contains 2074 pages of legal gobbledygook), and more than $3,000,000 per WORD! !

Many people think this will be funded with “government money”, or, sadly, as some uninformed people have seriously suggested, “with Obama money”. But I have news for you: the U.S. government and the President have no money. And I mean that two different ways:

First, if it could be shown that the U.S. government has money, it is actually our money which has been transferred to the government through a variety of taxation devices. So the government has no money that is not actually our money.

Second, the U.S. government has no money because it is basically bankrupt. If the government were a person, or a corporation, or a state like California, it would have to eventually file for bankruptcy. It owes MUCH MORE than it has the ability to pay.

So the cost of the Government Health Care Bill will be paid by … taxpayers. That is, you and me, our children, and our grandchildren.

Whether you consider yourself a conservative or not, I ask you to thoughtfully consider sending your U.S. Senators, and certain other selected U.S. Senators, an email requesting them to vote NO to this giant bloated takeover of our nation’s health care system.

NOTE: The news on Weds 12/09 is saying:
"Senate Democrats reach agreement on health plan." This is not so! The vote has not yet happened, and many Senators are still undecided. Please proceed on and act, but the time is getting short!

Here is the email that I sent to 19 special situation U.S. Senators:

Dear Senator (fill in last name)

Please vote NO for the Senate Health Care Bill. This is not the change that 70% of American taxpayers want. It's way too expensive, and causes too much harm to Seniors.

Try again for 250 pages, and $250 billion dollars. This will keep about 90% of things the same (the way we like it now) and will permit health care for the 15-20 million uninsured citizens who both need it and want it.

Millions of us are waiting to see who will stand with us and VOTE NO to this bill, bloated both with words and dollars. You have often voted with those of us who want less spending and less government intervention. Thank you, and we ask that you vote with us again!

Below is a list of these 19 U.S. Senators who fall into three special target catagories:
1. Democrats who sometimes vote for conservative issues like fiscal responsibility and against overspending,
2. Democrats who seem to be in tight races and might possibly lose their current Senate seat if they vote for this bill,
and 3. A few Republicans who every once in a while vote with the liberal tax-and-spend position (we want to discourage these defectors).

The other 81 Senators to which I sent no email are either (a) Republicans who will definitely vote AGAINST the bill, or (b) Democrats who will definitely vote FOR the bill. It’s these 19 in-between Senators that we want to contact and hopefully convince to vote "NO".

All the following senators can be easily contacted via this website:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Click on [Choose a Senator] to bring up each Senator and their email address ("web form"), and then click that to bring up each Senator’s respective email form. Then fill it all out and send it to each one of these 19 Senators.

(D): Democrat (R): Republican (I): Independent

Michael Bennet – D – Colorado
Evan Bayh – D – Indiana
Blanche Lincoln – D – Arkansas
Tim Johnson – D – South Dakota
Diane Feinstein – D – California
Joseph Lieberman – I – Connecticut
Ben Nelson – D – Nebraska
Mary Landrieu – D – Louisiana
Bill Nelson – D – Florida
Olympia Snowe – R – Maine
Susan Collins – R – Maine
Arlen Specter – D – Pennsylvania
Mark Begich – D – Alaska
Lisa Murkowski – R – Alaska

The above 14 are “MUST” contacts.

The following 5 are less likely to vote against the bill,
but yours might be the email that turns the tide!
(currently incoming emails are running 60 to 80% against the bill)

Mark Pryor – D – Arkansas
Kent Conrad – D – North Dakota
Claire McCaskill – D – Missouri
Thomas Carper – D – Delaware
Byron Dorgan – D – North Dakota

Most people do not act because they don't know how to act. Now you have no excuse.

Should you just copy and send my email? Probably not, although you have my okay to reword it. Better that you should touch on the same issues in your own words. Notice I have not explicitly threatened the senators, but have tried to show tough love, because these are senators that sometimes vote conservatively (or else, are dangerously close to losing their seats in 2010). And, note that I have indicated my willingness to be reasonable in insuring certain citizens who at present have no health insurance (note the word "citizens").

Also notice that my Senator email is less than 140 words. Most of the Senator’s email sites allow about 1000 words. But I’m hoping to get mine read. Even mine looks pretty long. If you can reduce the issues down to 75-100 words, GO FOR IT!

Feel free to contact me via our email, or my blog, or by phone 214-823-5688.

May God bless you, and may God bless America!

Larry

86. Recommended book: "One Second After"

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Rewritten and expanded on Monday, November 9, 2009.
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Three nuclear blasts high above America bring life, first, to a standstill; and afterwards to a great decline due to the EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse) "frying" effect on computers and electronic products.

Fiction? Yes, William Forstchen’s “One Second After” is a novel, but it is grounded in an all-too-real possibility of an EMP nuclear attack on the USA launched from a cargo container ship in the Atlantic.

I’m listening to the CD audiobook, but I've just bought the hardback as a source of information and ideas about what we as family and individuals need to do to survive such a situation in our country. I'll be making notes as I read the hardback, the notes I wish I had taken during the CD.

The members of Congress have only agreed on one issue during this decade: that All Americans should read this book. The Wall Street Journal warned that this is the weapon that could bring America down to the level of a banana republic.

How will your life need to change? Forstchen has many practical answers (although often with R-rated language). Newt Gingrich writes the Forward.

Do Christians need to be prepared for such things? Yes! Christians, of all people, should be fully prepared in every area of their lives. Read the book, and see if you don't agree -- and then please comment here, and we'll discuss!

Here is the link to Amazon:
http://j.mp/4eoG2h
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85. The blogmeister is taking a sabbatical.

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Sabbatical: any extended period of leave from one's customary work, esp. for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc.
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Yes, I could say Amen! to all of the above definition -- esp the "etc."

The "etc." includes (1) my wife having a much slower recovery from
4-toe surgery and from a recent bronchoscopy procedure than we would have hoped. And then, there are other impending issues, like (2) the holidaze, (3) preparing tax information which I need to file in early January, (4) preparing the house for new construction (adding a couple of rooms), and I'm ready for a sabbatical!

A personal observation: As I saw the things above rushing toward our family, it became less of a joy and more of a chore to study and prepare the posts, and where previously the posts came almost daily (more ideas than time to post them), now it is fewer ideas and almost no time to post them.

It may be that I will post things from time to time during my sabbatical. I cannot tell that from this point. So, if you have this blog as a favorite, please keep it on your list, and check in from time to time. AND, I will definitely answer all comments (since my email notifies me when you do so) during the interim.

And then there is this:

While we are waiting, most of the blog content here does not become less meaningful with age, but rather, more meaningful! If you start again at #1, you'll see new things that have now become more important (and perhaps more understandable) due to the speed of world happenings.

Thanks for your active interest, and continue those comments!
I hope to see you again here early in the new year.

May God grant to you grace, mercy and peace, until we meet here again.

Larry

84. "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

This is Proverbs 29:18a from the KJV.

This passage is usually taken by the general public to mean that a people or a land must have a visionary person among them, or at least someone with a little imagination -- a person with "vision".

But this is a misapplication, which can be seen when we look at other Bible translations or versions (notice that I am listing these generally from the most word-for-word literal translation to the most free-style):

NASB: Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.
NKJV: Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
ESV: Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,
NIV: Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
NLT: When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild;
NCV: Where there is no word from God, people are uncontrolled.

But the second half of the verse adds more to the meaning:

NASB: But happy is he who keeps the law.
NKJV: But happy is he who keeps the law.
ESV: but blessed is he who keeps the law.
NIV: but blessed is he who keeps the law.
NLT: But whoever obeys the law is joyful.
NCV: but those who obey what they have been taught are happy.

In other words, the word "vision" refers to a prophetic vision, a prophetic revelation. If there is no prophet in the land, there is no prophetic vision. And if there is no prophetic vision, the people "run wild" as the NLT says. But opposed to this attitude of unrestraint are those who are happy, joyful, and blessed, because they keep the law (of God).

Now not only is this true in the biblical sense of this verse, it is also true in the traditional sense of the verse, with which I started out this blog.

Here's what I mean:
What is imagination? Try this definition for imagine: the ability to see or create in the mind that which is not actually there.

So how is this different from vision? When we look at the basic meaning of vision, it is the ability to see that which is actually there. Someone who has 20/20 vision has perfect ability to see what is there -- to see things as they really are.

I would suggest that a person, a leader, a people, or a nation must first have this kind of vision -- to see what is there, before they can exercise imagination properly -- to see in the mind what is not there.

And therefore, we can say, "when the leader or leaders of a people or a nation do not have the ability to see what is actually before their eyes, it may lead to the downfall of that people or nation into anarchy (where total restraint is cast off)."
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83. US GOVT AGREES TO AL QUEDA TERMS

Headline of the possible future? .

Doubtful? Questionable? Incredible? Even Unthinkable?
No, not unthinkable, because I think about the possibilities often.
Beyond belief? Perhaps. Beyond possibility? No, not at all.

If that headline in the title were to ever appear in America's newspapers, I suspect it would be followed shortly by the following headline: "US Militia attacks national and overseas targets"

How could this scenario ever take place? And what are the possibilities?

Answering the second question first, I consider the possibility of the scenario I am going to outline to be in the 50-80% range. Perhaps I am too naive not to put it in the 99% range.

Now the first question: How could this scenario ever take place?

When I search Google for "Suitcase Nukes", I get 1,430,000 hits. The information behind the hits ranges from the opposing positions of "Two-hundred suitcase nukes in existence" to "Not a chance that any of them will work" to "None in existence". All three are too extreme, and the reality lies somewhere in the middle (included in this scenario is the existence and use of similar "backpack nukes").

Here are three "reasonable" posts regarding suitcase nukes, the first, a non-sensational "just the facts", from The National Terror Alert website (America's leading source for Homeland Security News): National Terror Alert website

and the second from a myth-busting website that considers the entire spectrum of views, The War of Illusions site (much more down-to-earth, level-headed, than it sounds): War of Illusions website

A quote from the above post: A former CIA director, George Tenet, is convinced that al-Qaida wants to change history with the mushroom cloud of a nuclear attack. In 1998, Osama bin Laden issued a statement called “The Nuclear Bomb of Islam.”
“It is the duty of Muslims to prepare as much force as possible to terrorize the enemies of God,” he said.

and a third more "sensational", yet fact-filled article by Jerome Corsi in World News Daily: Jerome Corsi website

As I read these three articles and many more, I have come to the conservative conclusion that there are somewhere between two and twenty suitcase or backpack nukes in various stages of decay, repair, or mobilization in the world today.

And from that conclusion, comes my possible/likely/probable scenario of a twin nuclear attack on New York City in downtown Manhattan, and in Washington DC in the Capital-White House-Supreme Court area, between 10am and 2pm on an undeterminable day. If they were to go off at different times, the Washington DC event would have to be first. With these twin nuclear blasts, the center of business and the seat of our government would be wiped out in a single blow.

Can I take credit for this idea? Not hardly. This scenario has been proposed many times, one of the latest being Joel Rosenberg in his recent best selling novel "Dead Heat". The Amazon website tells a lot about it: Amazon Dead Heat

"Dead Heat" starts out not with two nuclear blasts, but five. And my initial reaction to the book remains the same, that the problems facing America were too easily fixed, and too soon solved. Rather, think Post-WWII Germany in 1945: 15 years to bring to a reasonable state by 1960.

If twin nuclear blasts take out Washington DC and Manhattan, things will be far worse than "Dead Heat" suggests. If the timing of the blasts were particularly 'right' for Al Queda (and I presume they would be), of the 600 top governmental leaders in the USA, there might be only 15-40 of the national leaders left alive -- those away from the city. There would be no central control, and perhaps no communication due to such devices and controls being rendered inoperative by a single or multiple Electromagnetic Pulses (EMP). (See Amazon for "EMP", non-fiction and fiction)

And then the second blow would hit: A warning from Al Queda, that five more nuclear blasts were prepared to go off in five other major cities within 24 hours unless America agrees to Al Queda's terms. These five cities would never be mentioned, but could only be speculated. Surely Houston and Los Angeles would be two of them... but the other three? Perhaps Atlanta, perhaps DFW.

Thus, depending upon who was left running the country, the next day's headline might be: "US GOVT AGREES TO AL QUEDA TERMS". Or the alternative: "HELL NO, WE WON'T AGREE!"

Surely with the latter attitude, and maybe even with the attitude of capitulation, within 24 hours the other five devices would explode (or worse, maybe larger devices would be launched from offshore container ships), and America as we know it today would be no more -- with five to thirty million people dead or dying. Travel, eating, working, and known comforts would be barely possible. Within weeks, possibly 100,000,000 dead.

Is this view even Biblical? I think so, and I'll address that eventually in another post. But as for now, do what Homeland Security suggests: be watchful, be wary, be careful, and be sure to report all suspicious activity. And while you watch and wait, read Revelation 18.

I'll be watching for your comments!

(I would add (a day after the above post) that there has never been a weapon fashioned that has not eventually been used -LG 10/19/09 14:43cdt)

And I would also ask you to check out post 86 above here, about a book recommendation "One Second After" -LG 11/13/09 4:00cst.

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82. A known problem with Blogspot blogs...

...like this "The Future History" blog of mine:

When you (as a visitor/reader) post a comment, sadly, it does not tell me (the writer) WHICH blogpost you are commenting on. It's a known problem which Google has never fixed.

SO, when you comment, please start out with the post number (#31, for example), and I'll be able to find your comment right away -- and you'll get a quicker answer.

(If you have a Google blog that does not have this problem, or you have discovered a different solution, please let me know by commenting below on this post #82.)

God bless you,
and thanks for being a part of The Future History blog.

Larry

P.S. I like comments very much! It adds life to the blog. So do not take this as any negativity toward comments. Just trying to fix an annoying Google problem.
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81. Ahmadinejad stresses Doom to Israel...

...if Israel or USA attacks Iran.

Article:

"Iran to 'Blow Up the Heart of Israel' if Attacked"

Click to link to article

Sounds like Israel is between the devil (Ahmadinejad) and the deep blue sea (the Mediterannean).
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80. Headline from the Near Future

"How Israel Was Disarmed"

(Note: the link to the article was not working, I fixed it 10/9, and now it seems to be working okay)

Thanks to @speli on twitter for posting this article from the near future (Jan 10, 2010) from the Wall Street Journal

Click here for article

Since the prophetic center of the Bible is Israel, and since the prophetic center of Israel is Jerusalem, and since the prophetic center of Jerusalem is the temple mount, I thought that this article was worthy of thoughtful study.
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79. David & Jonathan: Homosexual Lovers?

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If you think so, or at least wonder if it is so, please read Gary Yates' thoughtful post on that subject. This is extremely well written, and carefully reasoned. Gary is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, VA.

The Title is : David & Jonathan: Best Friends Forever or Something More?
Link: Click here

What would this have to do with the endtimes? When homosexuality becomes accepted in a nation, usually the judgment of God is not far behind. And judgment upon America might be a precursor to the final judgment upon the world. Just a thought.
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78. Revelation 13 - Bible Study - Part 4B

Rev 13:5-7 : The Antichrist exercises his power
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A GUIDED BIBLE STUDY OF REVELATION 13

Part 1. Literal vs. Symbolic in Revelation 12 Post #64 Link
Part 2. Rev 13:1-2 : Introduction to the Antichrist Post #66 Link
Part 3. Rev:13:3-4 Satan empowers the Antichrist Post #67 Link
Part 4A. Rev 13:5-7 The Antichrist exercises his power Post #71 Link
==>Part 4B. Rev 13:5-7 The Antichrist exercises his power
Part 5. Rev 13: 8-10 The Reign of the Antichrist
Part 6. Rev 13:11-13 Another beast: The False Prophet
Part 7. Rev 13:14-15 The Image of the beast
Part 8. Rev 13:16-18 The Mark of the Beast

Overview of Part 4B:
1. The Biblical Text of the Passage
2. An Expanded Version of the Text
3. The Explanation

1. The Biblical Text of the Passage (this lesson in bold)

13: 5 And the beast was given a mouth speaking insolent words and blasphemies, and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name, and his dwelling place, and those who dwell in heaven. 7. It was granted to him to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

2. An Expanded Version of the Text (this lesson in bold)

13: 5 And the beast was given a mouth speaking insolent (proud, haughty) words and blasphemies (words against God), and [he was allowed] to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He (or, it {where appropriate}) opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander (blaspheme) his name, and his dwelling place (his tabernacle), and those who dwell in heaven. 7. [Also,]
he was given power (was allowed) to make war against the saints and to conquer (overcome) them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

3. The Explanation

At the end of the previous lesson (part 4A), we saw that the last verse (13:7) speaks primarily of the last 3 ½ years of the tribulation, where the antichrist will speak against God and the things of God horribly, and, as it says in verse 13:7, “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to conquer them.”

Saints? Who are these saints? Will I, will you be included among those “saints” that are persecuted and “conquered”? Maybe. Maybe not.

By way of reminder, according to the premillennial, pre-trib position, all the church was taken up (raptured) to be with God sometime before the start of the seven-year tribulation. So, as this viewpoint goes, there are no Christian believers left on the earth immediately after the rapture. But when the rapture occurred, there were likely many who were weeks, and days, and hours (and minutes?!) away from making a decision to believe in Jesus; and now these people are easily and quickly convinced. And so, shortly after the rapture a new set of believers emerge, a growing number, the saints of the tribulation.

Will there be many people that become believers/saints during the tribulation? Will there be any that believe in Jesus Christ during the Great Tribulation?

In Revelation 7:9, when John is standing before the throne of God, he writes of that scene: “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the lamb…”

After a time of worship and praise before God and before the Lamb, an elder tells John who these people are: “These are the ones who came out of the Great Tribulation, and washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev 7:14)”

So there you are. The saints that were saved before the tribulation aren't numbered anywhere, but surely must number in the billions since they include every believer throughout history. But the saints saved after the rapture, during the tribulation, cannot be numbered.

This would be the situation according to the premill, pre-trib position, that there would be no purpose for God to take the saints that have already been saved through the tribulation.
(Future posts coming up: Why won’t the saints go through the tribulation, and Just what IS the purpose of the tribulation?)

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Now, lets look at our single verse yet to be considered in this lesson section:

7. [Also,] he was given power (was allowed) to make war against the saints and to conquer (overcome) them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

There are two main subjects here, as follows:
A. The antichrist will be allowed to make war against the saints and to conquer them, and
B. The antichrist will have authority over the whole earth: every tribe, people, language, and nation.

And to them, let’s add a third subject,
C. Eventually the saints will receive the kingdom, and will possess it forever!

Are there any other verses in the Bible that tell us that the antichrist will wage war and conquer the saints besides Rev 13:7? (Note: we do not need any verse other than one. The strength of one verse in the Bible is sufficient to make God’s point!) However, God was pleased to incorporate these points and issues into many verses!

Yes, consider the following verses:
A1. Daniel 7:21 : I was watching (says Daniel); and the same pompous horn (horn: person of power) was making war against
the saints, and prevailing over them.

A2. Daniel 7:25 : [A king will arise], shall speak pompous words against the Most High, and will wear out the saints. […] and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time
(3 ½ years).

A3. Daniel 8:22* : [A king shall arise … his power will be great, but not by his own power] … he shall destroy the mighty men and the people who are the saints.

*Note: Some students and teachers think that the Daniel 8:22 scripture refers to an earlier king around 175BC, before Christ came. But within the context of the verse, it says “the vision is for the time of the end”, “this will happen in the latter time of the indignation”, “for it refers to the time of the end”, “And in the latter time of their kingdom”, and finally “…seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future”

A4. Daniel 12:7b …this shall be for a time, times, and half a time (3 ½ years), and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, then all these things will be finished.

A5. Matthew 24:21-22 For then there shall be [a] great tribulation, such has never been until this time, nor shall every be afterwards. And unless those days were shortened, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (the saints, the believers) those days will be shortened.

Do we find any other verses in the Bible that tell us that the antichrist will have power and authority over the whole earth?

Yes, consider these verses:
B1. Daniel 7:23 : The fourth beast (dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong) will be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the [other] kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down, and breaking it into pieces.

B2. Daniel 11:36 : Then the king shall do as he pleases. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods.

B3. Revelation 13:8 : All who dwell on the earth will worship him, those whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.

Can we find verses in the Bible that tell us that the saints ultimately end up being rewarded the kingdom?

Yes, consider these verses:
C1. Daniel 7:18 : But the saints of the most High shall receive the kingdom, and will possess the kingdom forever, for ever and ever.

C2. Daniel 7:22 : [and] the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

C3. Daniel 7:26-27 [But the court will take away his (antichrist’s) dominion] then the kingdom and the dominion and their greatness will be given to the people, the saints of the most high God.

C4. Daniel 12:13 : But go your way until the end. And you shall rest, and shall arise to receive your allotted inheritance at the end of the days.

C5. Revelation 11:18 : [The time has come] for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.

Look all these verses up in your Bible. In some of them the context will be more obvious than in others. In some passages, it takes a lot of reading to understand the context. But in the case of Daniel, the questionable passages are sometimes explained within the context.

But the only goals I have for this single verse (Rev 13:7) is understanding that:
A. The antichrist will be allowed to make war against the saints and to conquer them, and
B. The antichrist will have authority over the whole earth: every tribe, people, language, and nation, but
C. Eventually the saints will receive the kingdom, and will possess it forever!

Next lesson: Part 5. Rev 13:8-10 The Reign of the Antichrist
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77. New Trailer on "2012" Movie

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Summary: the surface of the earth is destroyed, messily, bloodily,
but yet man retains his hope in himself and his computer generated graphic effects (graphic would have double meaning):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz86TsGx3fc

Can you come up with a better summary in one sentence? Post it in comments.

And a question: Will the Great Tribulation as described in many Bible passages but mostly in Revelation, be much different than this until Christ returns in his glorious, victorious, appearing?
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76. Earthquakes. Are they getting your attention?

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Incredibly, some will say that "there are not more earthquakes, it's just that global news makes them seen so frequent". While there may be an element of truth in this, in reality, the earthquakes are much more frequent than they were 10 years ago, and 10 years ago they were more frequent than 25 years before that. Many universities have seismic departments that confirm this finding.

Or this one: "We are better able to detect them now, so we are catching more of them." Again, there is a bit of truth here. But we've been able to detect earthquakes for 80 years or so, and particularly in the last 20 years. And the number of earthquakes of measurable size have often doubled per given area, and in some areas, they are also getting worse.

I've addressed the subject of earthquakes before, in post #31, and there I posted all seven of the Bible passages that mention earthquakes in the end times, and discussed them. Break out your Bibles and check them out. Here's the link: Link to post #31.

Any comments? Your opinion about earthquakes and the Bible? Feel free to post them here, I usually get back with you within 12 hours.
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75. 2012 is Coming! In more ways than one.

The year, the movie, and the book.

Here is my first book recommendation on The Future History blogsite:
"2012, The Bible, and the End of the World"
by Mark Hitchcock, Harvest House Publishers, 2009

This book is hot off the press within the last two weeks, and the main subject is the proposed date of December 21st, 2012 for the end of the world (or at least the end of society as we know it) ((or a massive change for the better, a new kind of world consciousness, a new golden age, or other ?wonderful? things.))

This date was also the topic of my post #8, "Dec 21, 2012 (or Dec 12, 2012)" . See that post (click on link) for preliminary information about understanding what we are discussing here.

The big budget film "2012" is supposed to hit the theaters in November 13, 2009 or thereabouts. The film takes the position that the Dec 21, 2012 date will mark the time of Armageddon and the end of the world as we know it. (Followup: And the film did debut on Nov 13 '09, and was mildly popular) (See my reviews at Post #96 & Post #97))

Here is what the back cover of the book says:
The ancient Mayans were expert astronomers, and their advanced calendar cycles end on December 21, 2012. This has spurred worldwide speculation that this date will be a catastophic day of apocalypse for the entire globe. The doomsday scenarios include destructive solar storms, massive earthquakes, a polar shift of the earth's magnetic fields, and total annihilation.

Missing from all the furor is a biblical perspective. Bestselling author and prophecy expert Mark Hitchcock -- whose books have sold over 500,000 copies -- examines the following questions:
** Why December 21, 2012?
** Can we trust the Mayan alarm clock?
** Does the Bible say anything about 2012?
** What signs will tell us that Armageddon is near?

This book provides a fascinating survey of both the historical past and the prophetic future.

Here's the Amazon link: click here for a look at the book. There are two reader reviews there that give it a poor rating for its reading level. I would say that it is written for the person who knows hardly anything about the issues revolving around 2012, both secular and biblical. I may eventually post an review on Amazon -- preliminarily a four-star out of five.

I would add as a personal observation, having read a number of Mark Hitchcock's books, that Mark doesn't go for the sensational, unless called for by the Biblical text (which sometimes is quite sensational by itself). Instead, he tries to de-sensationalize what is floating out there among the people. For that reason, I also recommend his recent book "The Late Great United States: What Bible Prophecy Reveals about America's Last Days" which also can be found on the same Amazon link above.
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74. Why I don't capitalize 'antichrist'.

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Actually, in the early weeks of the blog, I did capitalize it for a while, inconsistently though. But I eventually grew to feel that I did not want to give the antichrist any idea that his name (or better, 'title') was worthy of being capitalized.

God is worthy of being capitalized, Jesus Christ the Son is worthy, and the Holy Spirit is worthy. The holy angels such as Michael and Gabriel are worthy, and the saints that have gone before us like Peter, John, and Paul are worthy of being capitalized.

But the antichrist is not worthy. My refusal to use the capital A is one small way of demeaning him, making him in print as worthless as he actually is, or perhaps, will be.

But now I admit myself to be inconsistant, in that I still tend to capitalize Satan, the devil. I'm going to have to watch out for that. I'll probably never have the time to go back and redo months of blogposts, so I probably won't, but watch for me to be more consistent here regarding the Unholy Trinity (I mean unholy trinity), that devil satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet.

Ha! I reduce you satan. I marginalize you, antichrist. I consider you as nothing, false prophet. And if you are not on the scene now, you can read this once you appear.

But even then I wonder about typing so many words, about such a little person...
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73. Antichrist NOT from Europe? From Mideast instead?

Q - Have we been wrong all along?
A - Not necessarily...

For centuries, it has been speculated by premill-oriented writers and teachers that the antichrist will rise out of the 'Revived Roman Empire', which currently occupies most of what we know as Europe. This belief was particularly prevalent when the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church was considered the most likely prospect for being the antichrist (particularly in the 1500's and 1600's), but has been in the ascendancy again since the time of Darby's volume of work in the early and mid 1800's.

Those who hold the premill/pretrib position (such as myself), can thank almost every popular prophecy writer and speaker, such as Hal Lindsay, Tim Lahaye, John Walvoord, and Dwight Pentecost for bringing the 'Revived Roman Empire' viewpoint to the person in the church pew. Indeed, no other viewpoint has been given any credence among premill/pretribbers in the last 50 years or so.

But recently, due to to the research of Joel Richardson and others, a body of documentation is building up that aims to show that the antichrist may instead arise out of the middle east -- meaning out of such countries as Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the other Arabian peninsula countries. (I would mention that all these countries are Arab countries, except for Iran, which is Persian).

Two books written by Joel Richardson particularly explain and promote the 'antichrist from middle east' view:

"AntiChrist : Islam's Awaited Messiah" from Pleasant Word, a division of Winepress Publishing, 2006, and

"The Islamic AntiChrist, The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast" from WND Books, A WorldNetDaily company, 2009

I say "two books", but the small print on the later 2009 book, shows that it is a reworking of the earlier 2006 book, with five new chapters, more documentation, and many more recommendations listed on the opening pages (but not from Hal Lindsay or Tim Lahaye). So don't buy both, just buy the later one.

It is clear that Richardson has done his homework, and his major thesis is this: that the supposed words of Muhammad in the Koran (Qur'an) and in later compiled works such at the Hadith literature, coincide amazingly with what the Bible says about the end times; and that they may do so in order that there will be no excuse in the Islamic countries for not knowing what God has said and shown in the Bible about the last days. In other words, based on their scriptures, muslims are expecting end time events very much like what the Bible says, but they interpret the events and persons incorrectly, believing that their glorious and victorious Mahdi (their coming 'messiah', a.k.a. the 12th Imam) will bring Jesus the prophet back with him when the Mahdi comes to rule the world. It will eventually be known that their Mahdi was not 'their messiah', and that their prophet was not Jesus nor remotely like him.

I am only writing this to call to your attention that this viewpoint is arising, and you deserve to know that this theory is out there, but that it is generally not accepted by most premill/pretribbers. My guess is they are still investigating and analyzing the material. I expect that there will be some anti-Richardson books soon, written to show why they think that this new viewpoint is neither credible or plausible.

I cannot speak to the issue of credibility yet, because I am only about 1/5th through the book. I will say that it looks like there is a lot of documentation, which includes 60 pages of separate appendices and source material, besides what is in the 220 pages (and 23 chapters) of the main body of the book itself. It appears that the first part of the book presents the Islamic position, and that the last half presents how this corresponds with what is in the Bible.

That's all I have to say for now -- obviously, I'll be blogging on this issue as I study more about it.

(NOTE: Do not confuse Joel Richardson with Joel Rosenberg, the author of "Epicenter", "The Last Jihad",
and other books.)
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72. Where have I been? Wife's surgery.

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As you've likely noticed, I haven't posted much here in the last ten days, because we were preparing for my wife Jeannine's surgery on Monday 9/21, having it, and then dealing with post-surgery issues.

The good news is that her surgery was semi-elective, not at all related to either (1) her two cancer incidents in the 80's & 90's from which she is completely recovered, or (2) her accidental doctor-caused esophagus puncture almost two years ago that put her in the hospital for 45 days.

Here's the story. Picture Jeannine walking due south. Then observe that although her right foot is pointing south she has (now had) three toes that were pointing due southwest, and a big toe whose toenail was not attached to her toe like normal, but rather attached to a bone inside her toe. They broke her three toes, moved them into alignment, and screwed them in place with a pin. Then they lasered off her big toenail. Ooo-ouch!

So it took us a few days before the surgery to prepare for a non-operational Jeannine and a double-operational Larry, who, fortunately, knows how to cook, clean, and feed the cat. Then we spent 1/2 day at the surgery center, and now we are in the 5th day since the surgery.

Here are a couple of issues you can pray for us: (1) Jeannine's right foot (driving foot) needs to be pain-free by the time that I (Larry) am going to also have semi-elective surgery, on Oct 15th. At her current rate of pain reduction, we won't make it, and we'll have to go with plan B. And (2) I was able to take a few days off work, but I'll have to be back full time next week. Pray that Jeannine will be able to do the things she needs to do around the house. She does a little bit more every day, but is still operating on fairly high doses of pain killers.

I do have a couple of issues for the blog that I should be able to post fairly quickly, not like the Revelation lessons that take hours of study. Those two issues should be posted over the weekend. And MAYBE, the next Revelation 13 lesson.
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71. Revelation 13 - Bible Study - Part 4A

Rev 13:5-7 : The Antichrist exercises his power
A GUIDED BIBLE STUDY OF REVELATION 13

Part 1. Literal vs. Symbolic in Revelation 12 (Post #64 Link)
Part 2. Rev 13:1-2 : Introduction to the Antichrist (Post #66 Link)
Part 3. Rev:13:3-4 Satan empowers the Antichrist (Post #67 Link)
==> Part 4A. Rev 13:5-7 The Antichrist exercises his power
Part 4B. Rev 13:5-7 The Antichrist exercises his power
Part 5. Rev 13: 8-10 The Reign of the Antichrist
Part 6. Rev 13:11-13 Another beast: The False Prophet
Part 7. Rev 13:14-15 The Image of the beast
Part 8. Rev 13:16-18 The Mark of the Beast

Overview of Part 4A:
1. The Biblical Text of the Passage
2. An Expanded Version of the Text
3. The Explanation

1. The Biblical Text of the Passage (this lesson in bold)

13: 4 So they worshiped the dragon, for he had given authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war against him?”
5 And the beast was given a mouth speaking insolent words and blasphemies, and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name, and his dwelling place, and those who dwell in heaven. 7. It was granted to him to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

2. An Expanded Version of the Text (this lesson in bold)

13: 4 So they worshiped the dragon (Satan), for he had given authority to the beast (a.k.a. the antichrist), and they (also) worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war against him?”
5 And the beast was given a mouth speaking insolent (proud, haughty) words and blasphemies (words against God), and [he was allowed] to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He (or, it* {where appropriate}) opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander (blaspheme) his name, and his dwelling place (his tabernacle), and those who dwell in heaven. 7. [Also,] he was given power (was allowed) to make war against the saints and to conquer (overcome) them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

*in referring to the beast, some versions say "it" instead of "he".

3. The Explanation

At the end of the previous lesson (part 3), we saw that the last verse, verse Rev 13:4, told us from whom the antichrist (the beast) receives his power and authority: from Satan himself:

4 So they worshiped the dragon, for he had given authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war against him?”

In our second lesson, we saw that in verse Rev 13:2, it says that the antichrist had a mouth like a lion. That means many things, but one thing is for certain: that the Satanically empowered antichrist does not have to ask anyone for permission to speak, nor to receive counsel on what to say. The antichrist will clearly say what he wants to, and most of what he says falls into the categories of:

(1) insolent, arrogant, proud, haughty, pompous, flattering and destructive words, and
(2) words against God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), words against the very name of God, against the place where God dwells (in the highest heaven), and even against those who dwell with God in heaven, and
(3) lying and deceiving words, about who he (the antichrist) is, and what he (the antichrist) will do. If the antichrist is not lying about himself, he will be lying about God.

It may be that he will start out his rise to power primarily with words, but will move to actions as the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation unfold. This was the way it was with Adolf Hitler. He gave lots of economic and political speeches at the start, and also did much “motivational speaking" (from the pit of hell), but Hitler’s first action failed and he was thrown into prison (more like protective custody in an apartment). And soon thereafter, the works of darkness came gushing forth. This is not an unusual pattern. After a small failure, great victory.

So, it may be also, that in the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation, we may see some failures in the actions of the antichrist – but scripture says in 13:4b :

and [he was allowed] to exercise his authority for forty-two months.

I have written elsewhere that there are seven passages in scripture where it mentions the 42 months, (which is the same as) 3 ½ years, (which is the same as) 1260 days. My position is that in ALL seven passages, the events mentioned refer to the second 3 ½ years, the second half of the tribulation, also known as the Great Tribulation. This is when the antichrist will be permitted to exercise this power and authority that he has received from Satan himself.

When will the antichrist actually come upon the scene? Will it be at the midpoint of the tribulation? Or will it be at the start of the tribulation? Or will it be at the rapture of the church, when the church is snatched away from the earth to meet the Lord Jesus in the air (see 1 Thess 4:13-18)? Or will it be even earlier, possibly even in our present time?

The world will definitely be aware of the antichrist before the midpoint of the tribulation. And here is why: Chapter 6 of the book of Revelation is considered by almost all students and teachers of the word to be at the very start of the tribulation. There the event that opens Chapter 6 is when the Lamb (the Lord Jesus) opens the first of the seven seals (the first of many judgments occurring in the book of Revelation).

When that first seal is opened, scripture says:

“Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder “COME!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.”

Now who is this rider, and how is he conquering?

In a future post, I will discuss all the reasons why this rider on a white horse is not the rider on the white horse in Rev 19:11, where it says “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! And he who sat on him was called faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and makes war”. It is clear from the context that this rider is Jesus, coming back in great splendor and glory to put all enemies under his feet, and to prepare the world for the start of his 1000 year reign.

The main reason above all reasons that the rider in Rev chapter 6 is not Jesus, but rather the antichrist, is because of those three other riders who immediately follows him in his wake: three more horses bringing death and destruction, and the rider of the second horse is specifically given power to “take peace from the earth, and to make men slay each other. And he was given a great sword.”

It is generally believed that the tribulation in chapters 6 through 19 is mostly chronological, with periodic parenthetical sections (see my outline of Revelation at post #23)

So, this second rider who will take peace from the earth, will come soon after the first rider, maybe only months, or weeks, or days, after the first rider. So how did the first rider “conquer”? He must have conquered with peace! Nations and peoples must have been convinced to join some sort of world alliance promoted by the antichrist in bringing peace to the earth.

There is another event that is also generally considered to be at the opening of the tribulation, brought about by the antichrist (which is a second reason why the first rider is most likely the antichrist) – and that event is the signing of a 7-year peace treaty between Israel and her enemies, OR, between Israel and the antichrist, acting as Israel’s protector.

The event that marks the mid-point, the 3 ½ year point, is when antichrist breaks that peace treaty, and sells Israel out to its enemies. But if you’ve been reading here all along, you know that Israel is miraculously rescued, and whisked away to a place of protection in a wilderness location for 1260 days (3 ½ years).

The verses in bold at the start of this lesson, speak primarily of the last 3 ½ years, where he will speak against God and the things of God horribly, and, as it says in verse 13:7, “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to conquer them.”

Saints? Who are these saints? By way of reminder, according to the premillennial, pre-trib position, all the church was taken up to be with God sometime before the start of the seven-year tribulation. So, as this viewpoint goes, there are no Christian believers left on the earth immediately after the rapture. But when the rapture occured, there were likely many who were weeks, and days, and hours (and minutes?!) away from making a decision to believe in Jesus; and now these people are easily convinced. And so, shortly after the rapture a new set of believers emerge, the saints of the tribulation.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I am cutting off the lesson here (as Part 4A.), so we can consider what I have said to this point, and will complete the lesson (Part 4B.) soon. We'll learn more about these tribulation "saints", and more about the condition of all the other people in the world, those who are convinced to follow the antichrist.

Please post your comments and questions about the studies.

Next lesson:
Part 4B. Rev 13:5-7 The Antichrist exercises his power (Post #78 Link)
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70. Rainbows, Balloons, Cherubs, and Scenery

and Bouquets, Smiley Faces, and Leprechauns.

Yes, these things do seem to be lacking from my blog, along with photos, videos, and other magical tech stuff. Part of the reason is that I'm not very good yet with digital photos and videos (although I did finally manage to get my own photo here). However, I am going to eventually change the current photo for one that doesn't make me look like I'm 10 years older than I really am, says my wife. (Photo finally changed in March '10)

But there's a second reason, and that is that so many sites do photos and videos and rainbows so well. I've listed some as my favorite other blogsites in the left hand column. The "Bible Prophecy Today" site is the one that does all these things well, and is an excellent original source of prophecy articles on the web -- although articles come so fast I don't have time to read them all. "Last Trumpet Living" is an excellent secondary source for all that is going on that is related to the prophetic, plus original posts about how to live (and improve) your life in Christ. "Visualcy" is a cultural analysis plus the lighter side of life (and the important things of life) from a long time friend.

But the main reason that none of the listed items in the title appear in The Future History blog, is that I am committed to concentrating on the Bible and what it teaches about the end-times, with a minimum of posts about current events. The other blogs are doing that so well, that they don't need duplication.

It is my goal to have Bible, Bible, Bible here until Christ comes again!
I know you all are reading the blog, because I see the visitor count go up. But I would like to have some more incoming comments so I could comment back. Hint, hint.

Maranatha!
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69. Jesus' Second Coming (& Third Coming?!?)

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The view held by the writer of this blog is best called premillenial, meaning that Jesus is going to return before the millenium (1000 year reign of Christ), AND, pretribulational meaning that Jesus is also going to come back for his church before the 7-year tribulation.

So, lets see. We have Jesus coming for his church before the tribulation period, and we have Jesus coming after the tribulation, before the millennium. So, since he came the first time 2000 plus years ago, don't we have three comings?

First, 2000 plus years ago,
Second, before the 7-year tribulation, and
Third, after the tribulation, during the battle of Armageddon, right before the millennium.

It might seem like there are three 'comings', but every premillenialist that I know of, counts these as two comings:
First, 2000 plus years ago, and
Second, at the end of the age, and all that it encompasses.
Here is a list of some writers, pastors, and scholars who believe this in Post #56. See the question "Who holds this view?"

The coming of Jesus for his church (popularly called the rapture), the tribulation period, the battle of Armageddon, and his glorious appearing to bring this age to an end, are all part of his second coming (covering 7+ years); just as his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension (which covered approximately 33 years) were all part of his first coming.

Is there anything holding him back from coming today? Not that I can find, except (and it's my personal opinion) I do not consider that things in the world are bad enough yet. I find that the church will probably be under attack much more from the forces of darkness than it is now.

I would refer you to my post #2 "Future Events cast their shadows backwards", where I suggest that some of the major events that are going to happen 2 years, 5 years, or even 10 years in the future are beginning to sprout up even now -- although the seedlings may seem very insignificant at this moment. Hardly enough to be concerned about, or so it would seem -- but these seedlings need to be watched for unnaturally swift growth.

Even though it MAY be years before these events happen, we should try to live our lives with this standard (among others):

PERHAPS he could come TODAY!

Look up, for our redemption may be drawing near.
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68. Has the Future already happened?

Yet another view of the Bible's endtimes passages.

So far, on the Future History website, we've discussed various views about the end-times such as pre-mill, post-mill, a-mill; pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib, and pre-wrath. The posts on these subjects are listed here:
39. The Thousand Year period - Part 1 of 2
40. The Thousand Year period - Part 2 of 2
49. The Rapture. What, where, and when?
51. When will the Rapture happen...in relation to the tribulation?
52. The 3 1/2 year Great Tribulation

You can review these if you want, by clicking on each link (each post above is a link) which should open a new window, and after reading you'll return here by closing the new window.
Alternatively, if a new window does not open, just do a back arrow on this window.


There is another view or position concerning the end-times passages that I mentioned earlier on post #40, but did not specifically name. It is called Preterism, and its adherants generally maintain that most of the Bible passages that people usually take as still to be fulfilled in the future, were actually fulfilled when the Roman General Titus destroyed Jerusalem, the temple, and almost all the Jews, in a three-year campaign which ended in A.D. 70. The Preterists say this pertains particularly to those passages in Matthew, Mark, and Luke in Jesus' sermon on the Mount of Olives, which speak of the destruction of the temple, and of Jesus' return.

Regarding the "second-coming" itself, the Preterist position is that Jesus did come again in 70 A.D., and that he came in judgment of Israel and of the Jews who still stubbornly refused to believe in Jesus as Messiah, and who persecuted the church of Jesus. Preterists believe that this was Israel's last chance, and since that time, there has been no future for Israel as far as God is concerned.

There are variations within Preterism concerning which "second-coming" passages are still to be fulfilled in the future. No Preterist that I can find thinks that most such passages are still to be fulfilled, although a few think that many are still future. Overall, most think that only a few passages are still future, and another group (smallest of all) think that all "second-coming" passages have already been fulfilled, and that there are no more "second-coming" passages yet to be fulfilled. Needless to say, this latter view is a extreme and radical position. Adherants to this extreme position are called either "Full Preterists" or "Hyper-preterists".

This position about the last-days has surfaced from time to time in the history of the church, and usually can be included in the post- millennial camp. Recently, since the 1980's, a robust, vocal, and able subgroup of writers, teachers, and scholars have brought Preterism into a more visible, if not more respectable position. This group's viewpoint is known variously as dominion theology, christian reconstruction, or theonomy. We will have more to say about this subgroup within postmillennialism in a later post.

The purpose of this post is not to examine Preterism in detail, but rather just to advise of its existence. Hopefully, you have figured out that you cannot be both a Preterist and also a Premillennialist -- the latter being the position I take in this Future History blog.

Note that in Matthew 24:3, the disciples asked Jesus three questions: (1) "when will these things be (the destruction of Herod's temple)", (2) "what will be the sign of your coming",(3) "and of the end of the age". As premillennialists, we believe that questions 2 and 3 have application primarily about Jesus' coming "at the end of the age" which is still future. Question 1 is usually taken to relate to both (a) the time when the temple they are pointing at will be destroyed (pointing in 33 A.D., destroyed in 70 A.D.), and (b) Jesus' coming in the future when there will be a future temple to likewise be destroyed (obviously after 2009 A.D.) -- and therefore this is one of many "double-fulfillment" passages.

As for me, I have to reject the Preterist view, because it sounds too much like "The Future has already happened". We'll discuss Preterism more in later posts, and if questions or comments arise.
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67. Revelation 13 - Bible Study - Part 3

Rev 13:3-4 : Satan Empowers the Antichrist
A GUIDED BIBLE STUDY OF REVELATION 13

Part 1. Literal vs. Symbolic in Revelation 12 (post 64 link)
Part 2. Rev 13:1-2 : Introduction to the Antichrist (post 66 link)
==> Part 3. Rev:13:3-4 Satan empowers the Antichrist
Part 4. Rev 13:5-7 The Antichrist exercises his power
Part 5. Rev 13: 8-10 The Reign of the Antichrist
Part 6. Rev 13:11-13 Another beast: The False Prophet
Part 7. Rev 13:14-15 The Image of the beast
Part 8. Rev 13:16-18 The Mark of the Beast

Overview of Part 3:
1. The Biblical Text of the Passage
2. An Expanded Version of the Text
3. The Explanation

1. The Biblical Text of the Passage (this lesson in bold)

13: 2 Now the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s feet, and its mouth was like that of a lion. And the dragon gave to the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon, for he had given authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war against him?”


2. An Expanded Version of the Text (this lesson in bold)

13: 2 Now the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s feet, and its mouth was like that of a lion. And the dragon (the devil, Satan, the deceiver) gave to the beast his (the dragon’s) power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had (looked as if it had received) a fatal (mortal, deadly) wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. [Because of this] the whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon, for he had given authority to the beast, and they (also) worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war against him?”


3. The Explanation

At the end of the previous lesson (part 2), we saw that the last half of verse 2 gives an astounding assertion:
“And the dragon gave to the beast his power and his throne and great authority.”

Satan, the great deceiver and tempter, has had his people throughout all of history. There have always been those whom the powers of darkness have empowered in some measure, some less and some more. The fellow who cheats at cards on the one hand, and Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Tse-tung on the other.

But as the card-cheater is small potatoes compared to Hitler,
so, incredibly, Hitler will be small potatoes compared to the antichrist. But how can that be, seeing Hitler killed millions of his own German people, and millions more in peaceful Europe in a insane desire to conquer the continent and then the world.

As much as Hitler was indwelt by the demonic, he still was not indwelt and empowered to the ultimate level by the leader of the dark forces, Satan, in the way that the antichrist will be.

And while Hitler controlled and subjugated Europe, he never had much of a chance of conquering the whole world. But there will be no such barrier against the antichrist. He will have full power, he will make the best of every opportunity, and as we shall see, sadly, he will succeed (for a time).

Especially when we consider the ‘opportunity’ we find in
verse 3: One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.

The enhanced expanded verse says this “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had (looked as if it had received) a fatal (mortal, deadly) wound, but the fatal wound had been healed."

I have some concerns about the usual explanation about this verse, such as we find in such sources as Tim Lahaye’s “Prophecy Study Bible”, which says, “In the middle of the tribulation, the Antichrist will be killed, lie in state briefly, and then actually be indwelt personally by Satan.” He also uses this scenario in his Left Behind series. I have no trouble with the last part of the verse, about the antichrist being indwelt personally by Satan, the prince of demons, as I have made clear above. As we will see, my concern lies elsewhere.

In “Revelation Revealed” by Jack Van Impe, it similarly says, “The wounding of the beast is mentioned three times in this chapter – verses 3, 12, and 14. The wound produces death, but restoration to life follows.” and also, “A third possibility would be that the Antichrist is assassinated or killed midway through the Tribulation [period]. Such an event would give the great counterfeiter, Satan, the opportunity to perform a resurrection.”

Let's take a look at what the first part of verse 3 says again:
3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.

My two concerns both deal with the fact that the meaning of the verse is not agreed upon among premillennial, pretribulational writers, speakers, teachers, and pastors. Nor, interestingly, even by Tim Lahaye in another of his own writings (to be quoted below).

First, lets look at how various versions of the Bible translate the first part of the third verse (bold emphasis mine):
KJV: And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death.
NASB: And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain.
NIV: One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound.
NRSV: One of his heads seemed to have received a death blow.
NAB: I saw that one of its heads seemed to have been mortally wounded.
Amplified: And one of his heads seemed to have a deadly wound.
NKJV: And I saw one of its heads as if it had been mortally wounded.
NLT: I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery.
The [expanded] Bible: One of the heads of the beast looked as if it had been killed by a wound.

Do you see what my two concerns are?

Here is a good rule for Bible interpretation: We must first find out what the Bible SAYS, before we determine what it MEANS.

And we find in the Bible passage two things that should make us question whether the simple statement “the antichrist was killed” is the correct interpretation.

First, we have to go back to what the heads of the beast represent. It is generally agreed that they represent kings or leaders or kingdoms that come under the control and power of the beast. So when the beast goes where he may, the heads go with him. But who (or what) is wounded? It is one of the heads. This may mean that one of the kings was killed, rather than the antichrist/beast himself, or perhaps that a kingdom under the beast’s rule was conquered (if only for a time).

An alternative possibility in favor of the antichrist actually being killed, is that if you kill any of the seven heads, perhaps you kill the antichrist as well. The life of the antichrist is in the heads. Or, perhaps when the kingdom was conquered, the antichrist was killed. Anyway, this issue is far from being solved, or agreed upon.

Second, are we so sure that the head or the antichrist is really killed? What is all this about “AS IF it had been slain”; “SEEMED
to have a fatal (deadly, mortal) wound; “LOOKED AS IF it had
been killed” ?

This is very important, because those who believe that the antichrist is truly killed, usually attribute to Satan the power to raise the dead (at least in this one case). Note however, in the whole of chapter 13, it never says that Satan raised him up. Only that “his deadly wound was healed.”

Can the ruler of the dark spirits bring a dead person back to life? I am not convinced that he can. I AM convinced, however, that Satan is the father of lies, that he is known as The Deceiver, and that it says in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11, “The coming of the lawless one (antichrist) will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing … For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (Bold emphasis mine)

The apparent raising of the antichrist from the dead will be an amazing event, regardless of whether Satan manifests himself in some way to do it, or whether the antichrist himself does it, or whether the false prophet does it. But notice I said “apparent raising”.

I have serious doubts as to whether any of the unholy trinity can actually raise anyone from the dead. But that rather, they are experts in COUNTERFEIT miracles, DECEIVING the onlookers, which God makes even worse by sending the onlookers a powerful DELUSION so that they will BELIEVE THE LIE.

They can only COUNTERFEIT the death (seemed, as if), and they can only COUNTERFEIT the resurrection (seemed, as if), being masters only of delusion and deception.

Is this a position that only I hold? No. Many teachers hold this position, surprisingly including Tim Lahaye! Here is what he says in “The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary” in contrast to what I quoted earlier from his writings:

“One of the beast’s heads, and not necessarily the beast himself, will receive a “fatal wound”. It is not stated definitely that the beast will die. It is questionable whether Satan has the power to restore to life one who is killed, even though his power is great. However, the whole world will be “amazed” and will follow after the beast [worshiping] because they will think a resurrection has taken place.”

Satan wants such a following, for he said in Isaiah 14:14,
“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

So yes. Those that dwell on the earth (a term for unbelieving mankind) will apparently believe that the antichrist has actually been raised from the dead by the healing of his deadly wound. And that event will cause the whole world to go after him and worship him. Where they are supposed to marvel at Jesus, they will instead marvel at the beast. For the end of our study passage says,

“3b. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon (Satan), for he had given authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war against him?”

And I would reply, no one, until the end of the tribulation period, when Jesus Christ will come and destroy the antichrist with merely a word from his mouth. (see Rev 19:19-20)

Next lesson:
Part 4A. The Antichrist Exercises his Power – Rev 13:5-7 (Post #71 Link)
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66. Revelation 13 - Bible Study - Part 2

Rev 13:1-2 : Introduction to the Antichrist
A GUIDED BIBLE STUDY OF REVELATION 13

Part 1. Literal vs. Symbolic in Revelation 12 (Post 64 link)
==> Part 2. Rev 13:1-2 : Introduction to the Antichrist
Part 3. Rev:13:3-4 Satan empowers the Antichrist
Part 4. Rev 13:5-7 The Antichrist exercises his power
Part 5. Rev 13: 8-10 The Reign of the Antichrist
Part 6. Rev 13:11-13 Another beast: The False Prophet
Part 7. Rev 13:14-15 The Image of the beast
Part 8. Rev 13:16-18 The Mark of the Beast

Overview of Part 2:
1. The Biblical Text of the Passage
2. An Expanded Version of the Text
3. The Explanation

1. The Biblical Text of the Passage
(this lesson in bold type)

13:1 (And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.*)

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.
2 Now the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s feet, and its mouth was like that of a lion. And the dragon gave to the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon, for he had given authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war against him?”

*in some versions this is the last verse (12:17) in the previous chapter.

2. An Expanded Version of the Text
(this lesson in bold type)

13:1 (And the dragon [or I] stood on the shore of the sea.*)

And I saw a beast (a.k.a. antichrist) rising out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns (diadems, crowns of royalty) on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name (written against God). 2 Now the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s feet, and its mouth was like that of a lion. And the dragon (the devil, Satan, the deceiver) gave to the beast his (Satan's) power and his throne and great authority.

3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal (mortal) wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. [Because of this] the whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon, for he had given authority to the beast, and they (also) worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war against him?”

*in some versions this is the last verse (12:17) in the previous chapter.

3. The Explanation

One of the first things one notices after reading this four-verse section of scripture is that the word ‘antichrist’ is not used. In a later post we will discuss where the word ‘antichrist’ is used (only in the letters of John), and how and why so many other passages seem to be linked to the antichrist without that word actually being in the passage.

The fact is, ‘the antichrist’ is simply the most popular name for this evil person – he is both anti-god and antichrist – but here in Revelation, he is called the beast. In other Bible passages he is also called (in no particular order): (1) the man of sin, the man of evil, (2) the lawless one, (3) the son of destruction, (4) the rider on the white horse of Rev 6, (5) the insolent king, skilled in intrigue, (6) the willful king, (7) the little horn that grows exceedingly large, (8) the prince who is to come, (9) the desolater (the one who makes desolate), (10) the defiler, the desecrator, (11) the one who exalts himself as God. These are the best known names, and there are still more names to be mentioned and considered in future posts.

You will have noticed the footnoted verse, the first one in the text, where it says “And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea”. In some translations that verse is at the end of the previous chapter, verse Rev 12:17. This is because the chapter and verse numbers were added long after the bible was completed. The chapter numbers were added in 1205 A.D., and the verse numbers in 1551 A.D.., and Bible scholars have not agreed on which side of the chapter ending this short passage should be.

And there is a second controversy about this verse. Some versions say “And I stood on the shore of the sea”, the ‘I’ being John the writer, rather than the dragon. But don’t let that bother you; either one works, since they were both just talked about in Chapter 12.

==> You may want to print off this lesson at this point, since we will be referring to the text of the verse, or even better, select the Bible of your choice. Or both!

To print this lesson, click on the post title (where it says 66. Revelation 13...) which isolates this lesson, then print.

Notice in verse 1 that the beast – the antichrist – rises out of the sea. The sea in scripture is sometimes used symbolically, and this is one of those places. Elsewhere in scripture it says that the ‘sea’ stands for the teeming masses of people of the earth, the chaotic population of the world. By this we understand that the antichrist does not rise up through royalty, nor as a leader of men, but out of the people, starting as a common man, rising unexpectedly -- as Hitler did. It may also mean that he will be a Gentile and not a Jew.

The ten horns of the beast symbolically stand for the antichrist’s power and authority. While he may start out as common, at the appropriate time he is given great power and authority. The seven heads may be symbolic of seven leaders who are allied with him at the start, but end up following him as the power of the antichrist grows. (Daniel will have more to say about this)

It is even possible that he may start out claiming to be a friend of ‘religion’, maybe even of God. But as he gains power (perhaps even before the start of the tribulation) more and more he will let his true colors be shown, as he devises ways in his heart to become greater than God. The true and living God – the one who really exists -- will have no place in antichrist’s plan, and the beast and his leaders will blaspheme God by the words they will say about him, and by the names they will call him.

In verse 2, a further description of the antichrist is given. And again, these three animals are mentioned as symbols, but are not only symbols, since they point to something real and literal about the antichrist. The antichrist, the beast, is “like a leopard”. The leopard is used in scripture to portray the kingdom of Greece under Alexander the Great (Daniel 7:6). Alexander was the most swift of all the conquerors, breathtaking in his speed, and the beast will do likewise as he conquers the whole world (Rev 13:8) in an unexpectedly short time (which may coincide with the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation)

The beast also has feet like a bear, which is the animal used to portray the dual kingdom of Medo-Persia (Daniel 7:5), a fierce and ferocious foe that moved slowly but surely, lumbering from conquest to conquest. A bear’s mind and purpose is not easily changed, and is perhaps used here to show the certainty of the antichrist’s conquests.

The final animal mentioned is the lion, where the antichrist has the mouth of a lion. This is the first beast mentioned in the Daniel passage (Daniel 7:4). A lion is known for his strength, his grandeur, his royalty, his fierce roar leading to action. The lion in Daniel portrays the Babylonian kingdom, first of Nebuchadnezzar, and subsequently of his offspring, the greatest kingdom of its time.

The antichrist beast will have a mouth like a lion that will:
(1) boast of great things, speaking arrogant and pompous words,
(2) speak against God the Father, against his Name, and against his throne (the place where God dwells),
(3) claim that Jesus did not really come in the flesh,
(4) proclaim that he himself is deity (God),
(5) announce peace at the beginning of his reign, but will eventually,
(6) endorse bringing war and annihilation upon the whole earth,
(7) corrupt many by flattery.
And he will say much more!

And the last half of verse 2 gives an astounding assertion:
“And the dragon (Satan) gave to the beast his (Satan's) power and his throne and great authority.”

In 2 Chronicles 16:9, it says of God: “For the eyes of the LORD look back and forth throughout the whole earth, so He may show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” The Lord God is looking for people who will be loyal and devoted to him, so he can work mighty things in and through them.

And so it is and has always been the same with Satan, the tempter, the deceiver, as he searches the hearts of men to know who will honor and obey him. Such men as Hitler, Stalin, and Idi Amin of Uganda come to mind from the century that recently ended.

Nevertheless, these three men and their deeds are poor comparisons to the beast that is the antichrist. Tens of millions died under the 20th century three. Under the reign of the antichrist, hundreds of millions, if not billions, will die because of his actions. And it is because Satan does a new thing in verse 2: he gives to the antichrist Satan’s own power and throne, and great authority.

In the gospels of Matthew and Mark, it says that: “For then there will be (a) great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days (the days of the tribulation), there would be no one left alive.”

In Daniel 12:1, it says very much in context: "...And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time..."

This is how bad it will be when the antichrist takes his throne, apparently happening at the midpoint of the tribulation period.

Next Lesson:
Part 3. Rev:13:3-4 Satan empowers the Antichrist (Post #67 Link)
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65. Q - What Version of the Bible do I use...

...when I print biblical text in a post?

First, I would call your attention to post #20 called "Open Your Bibles -- But Which One?" where I have addressed the issue of what I consider the best versions/translations of the Bible. The four that I like the best will appear again below.

For accurate bible study, for me or you the reader, the version/translation used should be as literal as possible, and as understandable as necessary. I have binders set up with almost all the Bible Prophecy passages with three versions in three columns: The ESV, the NASB, and the NIV. Also, I rely upon the NKJV. Click on the post #20 link above, for more information about each.

But here, let me say that I can grade these in order of literalness as:
1. NASB - 98% - a very literal word-for-word translation produced by a small group of people.
2. NKJV - 95% - not so much a translation, but a reworking and rewording of the original KJV to bring it up to current language use.
3. ESV - 90% - attempts to be as literal as possible, but as flowing as necessary. This version attempts to avoid the woodenness that some people find in the NASB & NKJV.

and 4. NIV - 75% - does not attempt to be literal, but attempts to be accurate in this sense: that the sentences and phrases in the NIV may better express what the human writer wanted to say than a literal word-for-word translation. I use this version to sometimes help me determine a better word or group of words. The NIV is the most popular version of the Bible, and is much more accurate than many of the newer lesser known versions.

(Note: I believe the Bible to be the very word of God, written through fallable men, but not incorporating any of the fallenness of man. I also believe that the personality of the biblical writers is not submerged by the will of God, but instead comes out in full fruition. Peter writes much differently than Paul, who writes much differently than John, and so on. But what they have written is exactly what God chose to have written. Over time, differences between the ancient manuscripts have occured, but these differences occupy less than 1% of the bible, and they do not change any major doctrine the least little bit.)

Now the answer to the post subject question: Rarely do I use any single version/translation in the blogpost. More often, I start out with one version, and select better words from the other versions, and on occasion, better phrases. But in all cases, the words that I use have been approved by some Bible translation group in recent years. I have done this with the classes I have taught for some 30 years.

And I always recommend using more than one version for Bible study.

Did I make my answer clear? If not, write a comment and ask for a replay.
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64. Revelation 13 - Bible Study - Part 1

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A GUIDED BIBLE STUDY OF REVELATION 13

Part 1 - Preparatory: Symbolic? Literal?
What's the difference? And which is best?

This is the first guided Bible study** on this blog, and I have selected Revelation 13 because it is a particularly important and interesting chapter, which we can use as an anchor for the chapters both preceding and following. (**This means go get your Bible and open it)

One of the reasons that Bible readers often stop when they get to Revelation, is because of the great use of symbols which start immediately in Chapter One, and often the reader doesn't know whether to take a word or phrase literally or symbolically. For example, in Rev 1:7 it says about Jesus, "Behold he is coming with clouds...". So should the word 'clouds' be taken literally (real clouds) or symbolically, where the word 'clouds' stands for something else, like a cloud of people or angels (or both) returning with Jesus?

We must answer this question first: "Should the Bible be read literally or symbolically?"

The answer is ... YES! The Bible should be read literally when called for, and symbolically when called for. But keep this in mind: more often than not, the symbol stands for something literal, and we are called to determine what the symbol stands for. Sometimes that is difficult, and sometimes it is easy -- like when the interpretation of the symbol is written somewhere nearby in the Bible text.

To understand what two important symbols mean in chapter 13, we are going to have to slip backwards and look at chapter 12, where we have an illustration of an easily understood interpretation of a symbol, and a more difficult one.

First, the difficult one:

12:1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth... 4b. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour the child as soon as it was born. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, where she is to be taken care of for 1,260 days.

Who is this woman? It is not universally agreed. We must use the text surrounding (the context) to help us determine this. The three most important clues are (1) this child was important enough that the dragon (identification yet to come) wanted to kill the child, (2) this woman gave birth to a male child who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and (3) her child was caught up to God and to his throne.

Does any of this sound familiar? Almost everyone agrees that this is speaking about Jesus, the baby and then the adult. (1) Certain leaders wanted Jesus killed at the very beginning of his life, (2) the one who is to "rule all nations with a rod of iron" is the Messiah, and (3) it was Jesus who was caught up to God and to his throne.

But what woman was it that gave birth to Jesus? The easy and quick answer is Mary, the mother of Jesus. This, I believe, is the position of the Roman Catholic church. But while Mary may fit some of the characteristics of the woman, she does not seem to fit the last part, where the "woman" flees into the wilderness, the desert, where she is taken care of and nourished for 1,260 days. Elsewhere in this blog I have endeavored to show that the 1,260 days mentioned here seems to be a real period of time, the last 3 1/2 years of the Great Tribulation. That being so, Mary does not fit.

Another possibility is that the woman is the church. There is a sense that the church can be considered to have started when Israel began as a nation, and Israel in one verse is called the church in the wilderness. In that sense, the church could be considered as having given birth to Jesus Christ. But this view is less 'popular', less favored than it was many years ago. In the usual sense of the word church, Jesus says "I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." In this sense, Jesus gave birth to the church, not the other way around.

And so, the general position of those who are premillennialists is that the woman is Israel. Israel gave birth to the Christ, who was eventually taken up to God and to His throne, and it is Israel herself that will flee into the wilderness during the Great Tribulation and receive protection by God.

But notice that we never could point to a verse that made it quite clear that the woman is a symbol for Israel. It just seemed to be the most reasonable -- and most favored -- conclusion.

And now, for the second symbol, whose activity is interwoven closely with the woman:

3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.

Now we have a great red dragon to decode. We could guess about this, but with the great dragon we do not need to guess! All we need to do is look down a few verses, where it continues,

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 But he was defeated, and there was no longer any place found for them in heaven. 9 So the great dragon was cast down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

So in this case, we have scripture interpreting scripture, telling us that the dragon is literally Satan, the devil. While the dragon is truly a symbol, it still stands for something or someone literal, namely Satan.

The best principle of interpreting the Bible, is to interpret in the normal, usual sense of the language when it makes sense. And while something is obviously a symbol, it will normally stand for something literal: Israel, Satan, Jesus (a lamb, a lion), the cross (Christ's substitutionary death) and rarely will the symbol remain just a symbol and stay uninterpreted when the whole of scripture is taken into consideration.

So now, as we approach chapter 13, we have some general rules and guidelines to help us understand who is involved, and what is happening in this Bible passage.

Next Lesson:
Part 2. Rev 13:1-2 : Introduction to the Antichrist (Post #66 Link)

(And in subsequent posts, we will go back and look more closely at Chapter 12)
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