Thread: More On Spiritual Wrestling In the Last Days Conflict
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More On Spiritual Wrestling In the Last Days Conflict
Posted : 13 May, 2012 09:38 AM
More On Spiritual Wrestling In the Last Days Conflict
"Spiritual Wrestling In the Last Days Conflict" does not fit the end time or tribulation period scenario of the most popular cult which came out of several 19th century cults, such as the Mormons, the Christian Science movement and Jehovah's Witnesses.
Dispensationalism does spin Revelation 7: 1-8 to fit its postulate - not from scripture - that "All Israel" or physical Israel including the majority who rejected Christ remain the chosen people. For dispensationalism, the 144,000 are all male virgin Jews, as Hal Lindsey taught, 144,000 Billy Grahams.
But the concept of a heightened conflict in the very end times between a majority of "Christians" who uphold the chosen people teaching and the Remnant of Israel is certainly not mainstream church doctrine and is not a part of dispensationalist end time prophecy.
But in the New Testament what is the falling away of II Thessalonians 2: 3-4?
What is the strong delusion Paul mentions in II Thessalonians 2: 11?
What could the "snare" be in Luke 21: 35?
What is the abomination of desolation in the very end times that Christ talks about in Matthew 24: 15? In the time of the fall of Jerusalem in about 70 A.D. the abomination of desolation was the desecration of the temple in Jerusalem by the Romans and perhaps also by the Jewish defenders. But in our timeline, the Christians themselves are the temple of God (I Corinthians 3: 16-17, I Corinthians 6: 19, Acts 7: 48, 17:24).
So, in the very end times the abomination of desolation would be some kind of desecration of the believers themselves, in their minds and hearts, where the false prophets and the spirit of anti-Christ dwell (II Thessalonians 2: 4). To say what exactly it is could be just speculation; but it is likely to involve blasphemy of some sort.
What kind of conflict within Christianity could lie behind the martyrdom of Christians taught in John 16: 2 ("the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think he doth God service)?
The reference to synagogues is not limited to Jewish synagogues. Synagogues is Strong's number 4864, meaning "an assemblage of persons, a Jewish synagogue, by analogy, a Christian church, assembly, congregation, synagogue." Sunagoge in the Greek, or synagogue, can mean a Christian church.
Luke 21: 16 says: "And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and
brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they
cause to be put to death." "Some" has been added to the King James
English in Luke 21: 16, because the Greek word "tis", or "men",
meaning some is not in the Greek Textus Receptus, from which the KJV
is translated.
"And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates,
and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or
what ye shall say:" Luke 12: 11
And Matthew 24: 9 also mentions martyrdom of Christians. "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake."
It is interesting that the Greek word witness, for example, the two witnesses of Revelation 12: 3 is Strong's number 3144, "martus, mar-toos, a witness, by analogy, a martyr."
The Remnant of Israel in the last days heightened conflict against those who uphold false doctrines are witnesses for Christ, and some might become martus, or martyrs.
It is possible that numbers of those now in false doctrines within the churches will join the Remnant of Israel in the spiritual conflict and they might become the martyrs.
The Remnant of Israel exists now, in 2012, scattered all over the world. But the 144,000 will be called into service by the Lord at some time in the future. Many within the Remnant believe that will be soon. While end time Bible prophecy gives us broad outlines, it does not give us prophecy for the exact timing of end time events such as when the sealing of Revelation 7: 3 is completed, and then metaphorically the angels holding back the four winds of the earth will release these winds to blow upon the earth.
More On Spiritual Wrestling In the Last Days Conflict
Posted : 14 May, 2012 06:08 AM
Luke 21: 35 says "For as a snare it shall come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth."
Jeremiah 50 and 51 contain prophecy on Babylon.
"I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD." Jeremiah 50: 24
The end time church is in apostasy like physical Israel under the Pharisees and Talmudic Judaism at the time Christ appeared.
And the Christian church in false doctrines is called Babylon in Revelation chapters 17 and Babylon is also discussed in Revelation 18.
"So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5. And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." Revelation 17: 3-11
Mystery Babylon is false religion which is drunken with the blood of the marytrs of Jesus. False religion is called a beast, which in verse 11 is said to be of the seven, or was in number seven, the rest of God, but then the beast moved into number eight, which is a mingling of that which is of God with that which is of man and this mingling is rejected by the Lord.
Then Revelation 18: 4 says "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
Revelation 18: 4 calls believers out of the apostate churches in the end times.
But look at Jeremiah 51: 6: "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence."
Jeremiah 51: 6 is the same call to leave the churches, which are Babylon, as the call in Revelation 18: 4.
But what is the snare?
In Jeremiah 50: 24 snare is Strong's number 3369, yaqosh, "to ensnare, literally or figuratively, fowler, lay a snare."
Then in Luke 21: 35 snare is Strong's number 3803, pagis, "a trap, as fastened by a noose or notch, figuratively, a trick or stratagem, snare."
In Ii Timothy 2: 26, pagis, or snare, is used. "And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."
The same Greek word translated as snare is in I Timothy 6: 9 " But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition."
And in I Timothy 3: 7 "Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."
Figuratively a snare is a trap laid by Satan to catch Christians who have been enticed to fall into the trap. They have been deceived by false prophets or the spirit of anti-Christ to move in a direction where Satan has laid a trap for them.
