Posted on 04/11/2011 3:39:34 PM PDT by pastorbillrandles
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.(Revelation 6:12-14)
The opening of the sixth seal has the most detailed description, for it involves the shaking of both the heavens and the earth. Nothing is stable by this time, not the ground under your feet nor even the very stars in the sky, everything fixed is gone, except the Word of God.
But there is a parallel reality in this judgment. There are coming celestial signs indeed, but they are signs pointing to the social and spiritual state of humanity as well. For example;
* The Sun turning black as sackcloth- I have no doubt this sign of darkness snuffing out sunlight will occur. It is what happened at the crucifixion of Jesus, and it shall happen at the end of the age. The Day of the Lord is as a day of darkness…
But the sign of sackcloth over the sun points to the absence of the common grace of the light of God. It is God’s light which restrains the total expression of human evil and depravity, making life bearable on earth even for unbelievers. But it has long been rejected, suppressed, covered over by humanistic man.
This world has never been totally void of the Light of God, not even in its worse period. We are about to find out what darkness really is, for the light will be totally obscured. When God turns out the light, it is darkness that can actually be felt.
*The moon as blood- The moon has no light of its own, it only reflects sunlight. There is a body of witnesses whose sole purpose is to reflect the light of heaven. I speak of the church. But what if the only witness possibly rendered is the witness of martyrdom?
Indeed we are told by Tertullian, that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Perhaps in this way, the moon will become blood.
If the moon is seen red as blood, that is because the moon is seen through some kind of a cloud, of either volcanic or some other kind of pollutant.
*Falling stars – There will be celestial phenomenon, such as falling stars, and meteor showers, I have no doubt of this. But there is a spiritual aspect to this as well. The stars of the heavens fell to the earth…what could this point to?
The stars are Angels… Satan himself is seen as a falling star. The fall of one-third of the Angels from heaven is seen as a group of stars falling . In the last time, the fallen Angels , who are the very principalities and powers of the air, will be included in the Divine judgment upon the earth .
These entities are also slated for direct Divine judgment as the prophet Isaiah says,
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. (Isaiah 24:21-22)
The stars are also a symbol of the world leaders. The Kings of the earth and their rulers, have conspired against the Lord and His Christ, according to Psalm 2. But the day of judgment is the day that they, along with the fallen angels who have guided them are brought “down to earth”, for judgment.
The Sun,Moon and Stars also refer to Israel. The Lord comes back because the wrath of all nations against God, is poured out upon Israel. It is when she cries out in desperation, that the LORD rises to come to the earth in her defense.
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.(Zechariah 14:1-3)
* Mountains and Isles flee – The Spiritual world and the political world which parallels it, both collapse on that day. Consequently whole nations dissolve into anarchy, chaos, and violent turmoil. Isaiah again warns the inhabitants of the earth,
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.(Isaiah 24:17-18)
How I pray that you my readers will make sure you are at peace with God! Make sure you know that you are forgiven of your sins, and reconciled to the God that we have all rebelled against, and sinned deeply against, through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
The God of Holy and Righteous retribution is coming to make war on all that is false, evil, sinful and rebellious in the earth, flee for refuge to the new Ark, Jesus Christ! Admit that you have been a sinner, ask Him to wash away your sin, confess that Jesus is Lord of your life, and turn to Him! The scriptures say; “Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!”.
I’m almost convinced that God is either never coming or does not exist.
The vermin have already destroyed everything good in the world. There is no more love, no more beauty, no more courage, no more joy, no more innocence. There is no longer anything left but misery and horror and yet we are still forced to spend countless years in this pointless life.
I gave up on God. There is nothing left to live for except to bring cruelty and vengeance upon the vermin!
I don’t see it that way.
I still see good. When earthquakes and tsunami’s hit, Americans give without expecting anything in return.
All the good is not gone.
Yet.
You sound young and foolish and...I sounded like that 30 years ago.
I would argue this: Since you obviously can perceive good from evil, beauty from ugliness, that itself is proof that you cannot do those things because they are evil. If you can perceive good/evil, then your heart is still a good one.
That you care about it, is another indication that you’re fundamentally a good person at your core, and can still be “reached.”
Delve into Christian apologetics. Therein lies your answer.
DO NOT ASSUME that there are no answers to be found. There are many dozens of men and women on FR that are very wise and well-schooled. You, sir need to become schooled and not remain, as they say, “Biblically illiterate.” (No offense intended.)
No charge for this Rx.
Sauron
(Yeah, with my name and I’m good?!)
I think they give to charity just to feel good about themselves. It is very clear to me that the overwhelming majority of people are selfish apathetic, and utterly evil. The few who aren’t are rendered totally powerless and consequentially irrelevant.
This is the darkest age of all time and it has lasted far longer than the Bible predicted. There are almost no parents who love their children, neighbors won’t even protect each other, government officials target innocent people for harassment and the community remains silent, you can’t can’t even take a flight without seeing an innocent treated like a terrorist or a farm animal. The list goes on forever.
It can’t possibly get any worse! If we lost our prosperity it would actually be better. People would turn away from hedonism out of desperation. So this is as bad as anything could ever get!
We are already in the age of desolation and I am nearly certain that it will never end.
“I gave up on God.”
He hasn’t given up on you. There is plenty of good and beauty in this world.
I’ll pray for you.
Don’t lose hope. Remember, this is not heaven. Of course there is evil. We are here to fight evil, where we can; that includes within ourselves. No one is perfect, but true Christians strive to live as Jesus told/showed us. I see it everyday. Mercy, faithfulness, love, joy, HOPE, kindness, goodness, patience, self-control and gentleness. None of us are perfect except Jesus; but we continue to fight the good fight. Talk to God about this; He’ll give you hope.
How interesting. I, on the other hand, know there is a God who is really, really good to me. I find all kinds of love, extreme beauty in many things, joy that I can’t even express, and total innocence just because Jesus took all the sin in my life and made it as though it never happened. Now, that’s love, beauty, courage, joy and much more all by itself!
I know a joy of understanding that God takes care of my every need. I find beauty everywhere and a promise that the future eternity holds more beauty and peace then I can possibly even understand. I look forward to an eternal future filled with everything you say you can’t find. Sure wish you could see what I see.
I just read this on another thread. I think it’s for you.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalm 103:2)
The benefits of the Lord are, indeed, great and marvelous, and it would be an act of ingratitude not to remember and appreciate them. Note the following partial list in this psalm:
1. Forgiveness. “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities” (v. 3). God forgives all! He “cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
2. Healing. “Who healeth all thy diseases” (v. 3). The greatest and ultimate disease is that of aging and death, but one day, “there shall be no more death” (Revelation 21:4).
3. Redemption. “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction” (v. 4; see also 1 Peter 1:18-19).
4. Glorification. “Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (v. 4).
5. Provision. “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things” (v. 5; see also James 1:17).
6. Strength. “Thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (v. 5).
7. Protection. “The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed” (v. 6).
The greatest benefit of all, of course, is the gift of salvation, by the mercy of God. Note the testimonies of God’s mercy:
“Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (v. 4). “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (v. 8). “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him” (v. 11). “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him” (v. 17).
Infinite as the universe, enduring as eternity—these are the dimensions of God’s mercy! “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (v. 12). No wonder this great psalm both begins and ends with the inspiring exhortation: “Bless the LORD, O my soul!” HMM
there is no hope
Prayers for you Soothesayer. I hope you will give God another try and then not give up again. I do understand how it feels to give up, though. I’ve done so many times and have been wrong. I do know God loves us though and he will avenge us in His own time.
You do realize your take on the sun, moon, and stars falling is the Preterist interpretation? These astronomical things are predicted in Matt. 24. The Preterists tell us Christ came in 70 AD, to have that happen they have to do something with the astronomical conflagrations that happen in conjunction with his coming.
No problemo, they take care of it just like you did. They spiritualize the astronomicals, and make the 2nd coming in Matt. 24 not to be an actual literal coming of Christ, but is poetic language for “judgment.” You are not Preterist are you?
*Falling stars – There will be celestial phenomenon, such as falling stars, and meteor showers, I have no doubt of this. But there is a spiritual aspect to this as well. The stars of the heavens fell to the earth…what could this point to? No I definitly am not a Preterist, I just happen to believe that the actual celestial things whch are slated to occur, point to a spiritual reality. That is a far cry from "spiritualizing" them.
I have faced many tough challenges in my lifetime....mentally, physically, financially, emotionally. I know I could not have done it without God. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for all that I have been blessed with. Look around. There is much love, beauty, courage, joy and innocence in this world. I see it in the faces of my children and grandchildren. I see it in the brave men and women who fight for our Country. I see it in the many who sacrifice their time as foster parents or volunteers. It’s out there.
I will pray you. I hope you find peace in life. God Bless.
I should have read you more closely. Thanks, pastor, for your response.
Sounds like you need to be on an anti-depression medication for a while and stay away from TV and the net. It can improve your attitude 100%. Then with fresh eyes get back in the fight....St John’s Wort can be found in the vitamin section of the drug store. It helps with mild depression also if given enought time.
You said you felt nothing for the adults killed, that they deserved it because they were vermin.
Seriously, you need help; whether chemical or spiritual I'm not sure. Probably both.
Hatred is all I have left.
God could have created a world of beings who automatically did good and worshipped him to a man.
But what significance would that have? Our God is a God of meaning and significance. It’s called truth.
When someone shapes up and flies right and worships Him, and does it by choice, that has a universe of significance! (He could have gone the other way but chose not to).
Good Bible study.
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