Book of Revelation

Blog for Podcast #148 (A Warning to those that teach falsely the Book of Revelation)

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Intro

This is Dreamwalker1960. As a reminder you can read the transcripts of all my podcasts at dreamwalker1960.com. You can use most podcast platforms if you wish to listen. All you need do is do a search for Dreamwalker1960.

Discussion

As we come to the end of it all. Confusion runs rampant within all communities, including the so called “Christian” community. There are many ways that this is shown. However, one of the worst is how many are throwing out their versions of how the tribulation will play out. Many even deny the Words of Jesus Christ Himself in this, which is bad, but not the worst.

But what could be worse than denying Christ? Spreading false teachings about the tribulation that will lead people not to seek salvation before it even begins. For in the last chapter of the book of Revelation this is written:

Revelation 22:18-19 NKJV – For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

When I write and talk about the end times, I do my best to stay within Christ’s Words, and that of the Bible. A few times I talked of a dream I had. But it was more symbolism than adding or taking away from the Word of God. As it should be.

When people say things like they see nuclear explosion or that Christians will be present after the Holy Spirit is removed from this temporal existence. They are adding to these prophecy and thus asking God to curse them. Why? Because they haven’t read the Bible nor the book of Revelation to the point of reading the verses listed above. If they had they would be more willing to be silent when it comes to prophecy.

Why?

Because they desire to be in robes of white and believe that they can by speaking out even though they are teaching falsely.

Many though seek the limelight. They seek to be seen as the voice of God. They wish their names to go down in history. Again, showing they have not read the Bible. For they seek to have a legacy which is counter to the Bible as seen in Isaiah:

Isaiah 65:17 NKJV – “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.

This is why I turn away from any “ministry” where someone entitles it after themselves, for only one being deserves ALL the glory. God through His Son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is why any who seeks to have their names remembered in any form show their disloyalty to God by doing so. Which is something they will have to face God about when the time comes.

I have known since the 1980s when I was in my thirties, I was a dreamer of dreams. I knew then that it was within the next ten years that are before us all that Christ would return. As promised by God I do not know the exact day of Christ’s return, just the general timing. This has come to be true, for Christ said this:

Matthew 24:32-35 NKJV – “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

When reading the preceding verses before these, we see all the things Christ talked about now taking place at this time. We also see this said about the people in this time frame in 2 Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV – But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

This is how the people behaved in the time of Noah just before the flood occurred. This behavior did not come into fruition until most of humanity abandoned the true teachings found within the Bible. When they kicked God out of the schools in 1962 and then legalized human sacrifice in 1972 under the camouflage name of “abortion.” This is what began the downward spiral of all humanity towards these behaviors which plague all of humanity. Opening the door to the entire world being at the same level of hedonism, while pretending that some aspects are better than others under the label of one religion over another. Living in a type of moral superiority while denying the source of where morality originated. All the while worshiping everything but God through the accurate teachings of Jesus Christ.

I have discussed this before in past podcasts, but I will address this in more detail this time, because I have encountered those that wish to deny the existence of a pretribulation rapture. Which is one of the greatest denials of Jesus Christ Himself, because they are words spoken by Him.

Luke 21:10-27 NKJV – Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls. “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

This is all the tribulation prophecies listed in the gospel of Luke. What occurs next in this book is essential to those that wish to understand Christ’s warning to those that wish to be ready for His return in this time.

The warning:

Luke 21:28-33 NKJV – Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

What to do when those that profess to following Christ should be doing once they see these prophecies become reality, which by the way they are.

Luke 21:34-36 NKJV – “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

From Luke 21:10 – 36 is all linked together. So I will restate the last sentence once again.

“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

“That you may be counted worthy to escape all these things.”

All – G3956 – pas – every, the whole.

This is a description of a pretribulation rapture and how to be able to qualify to be worthy to partake within it. This is supported here:

 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 NKJV – For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Yet how many will be within this calling into the sky? Those that are ready, and how many will that be?

Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV – “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Simply stated. Only a few will be in the pretribulation rapture, for only a few will be prepared. This is witnessed by those that insist that there will not be one.

Could this be because they are accepting the lies so when it does occur, they will be able to keep many from finding the truth. So that they will embrace other lies. Like those that say there will be Christians here after the antichrist is revealed. For those that say this discount these verses:

2 Thessalonians 2:1-8 NKJV – Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

“And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”

Key wording in these verses which I just restated:

“The mystery of lawlessness is already at work.”

and

“He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.”

The mystery will be who is behind the persecution of those that follow Christ as shown in Revelation 13. However, this truth will be hidden since He cannot be revealed until the “He who now restrains” is taken out of the way.

This is the Holy Spirit, who dwells within those that accept Christ as their Savior.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV – Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Romans 8:9 NKJV – But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Any with the Holy Spirit within them, must be removed from the face of the earth. Through death or rapture. Then and only then will the antichrist be fully revealed as shown in 2 Thessalonians. This will occur at the midpoint of the tribulation. Shown here:

 Daniel 9:27 NKJV – Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

As well as in Revelation 13.

Christ is coming very very soon. I don’t know if I am right, but I refuse to add to or take away from Revelation. Therefore, I strive to make myself ready to be worthy to be counted within the few. How? By attempting to cause others to be ready for His return as well. I seek to glorify only God through His Son our Savior Jesus Christ. The only beings worthy to be glorified.

God Bless

Blog for Podcast #6

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Intro

Welcome again to another broadcast. I am Dreamwalker1960
Today we will be studying the letters to the seven churches found in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.
I will also be consulting the John Walvoord commentaries for this as well. Why? Because of all the commentaries that are out there that deal with trying to interpret the book of Revelation. I have found this one to be the most creditable. Again why? John Walvoord dealt specifically with the books of prophecy within the Bible and has several books upon this. They cover Daniel, Matthew, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians as well as the book of Revelation.
What drove me to seek after this knowledge of these books?
Well in the introduction podcast I mentioned a dream I had when I was 18. What is in this dream is something between me and God. However it sparked my journey to earnestly study the Bible, and as I read the Bible the books of Daniel and Revelation stood out the most to me.
Well a church had been built right next to my home I was living in my late teens. So one Sunday I went to it, mainly because of the dream and my desire to learn more about the Bible. It was a Methodist Church. And the Minister began to talk. What did he talk about? The book of Revelation. First thing out of his mouth. “The book of Revelation is a fairy tale.”
I was shocked and never went near a Methodist church ever again. This one event caused two things to take place. An even stronger desire to learn the truths within Revelation and a very strong mistrust for the buildings called “churches.” For the “Church” is not a building but those people that follow Jesus Christ. This latter fact has been reinforced time and time again as I have tried to go to the buildings that call themselves “churches.”
But I have gotten off track.
Discussion
The seven churches and why discuss them? What a majority of scholars have determined is that even though these seven churches were churches that John did write to. They represent the seven types of mental states within the body of Christ within each of them at that time. From faithful, to willfully turning away from Christ. However as time has marched on since those letters were written approximately 60 years after Jesus went to the cross and rose again on the third day. That these letters reflect how the church, both religion wise and spiritually had reflected each of these letters throughout the centuries. Meaning that they are both concurrent and chronological.
Concurrent – happening or existing at the same time
Chronological – arranged in the order of time
I will be dealing mainly with the Chronological aspect of the seven churches.
That being said, when taking the churches in order. The first letter to Ephesus to the last letter to Laodicea expand from the beginning of the church age to the end of the church age.
The beginning of the church age began on the Third day when Jesus Christ left the tomb. While the ending of the age is when those within the Church are taken into heaven at the Rapture. What happens in between people have always though was a mystery. However, when taking these seven letter into account God is telling us how we will know when to expect His Son’s return.
In the book on Revelation by John Walvoord the seven churches are described this way:
1. Ephesus – the Orthodox, but lost Church
2. Smyrna – the Suffering Church
3. Pergamum – the Compromising Church
4. Thyatira – the Tolerant, Permissive Church
5. Sardis – the Dead Church
6. Philadelphia – The Faithful Church
7. Laodicea – the Lukewarm, Useless Church
The Chronology follows suit.
First letter
This first phase goes from the times of the letters which later become the New Testament to approximately one hundred years after the crucifixion. In this time were the descendants of those who has seen Jesus themselves. These people adhered to the teachings in the letters but could not fully comprehend what their parents had told of their firsthand encounters with Jesus.
Second letter
The second phase interlaced with the first phase, for in this time those that worshipped Jesus were seen as criminals. In fact in the histories written by Josephus, is an account of James the half-brother of Jesus who had been tried and then stoned with others for breaking the law. However the prosecution ended in 313 A.D. when the emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made it legal for Christians to worship God freely in the Roman Empire.
Third letter
When Constantine made it legal to be Christian it became the popular fad to be Christian. And so the compromising began. So it can be said that this letter in the chronology began in 313 A.D. and the corruption and intermingling of different beliefs started to change and corrupt the true faith in Jesus Christ. I will quote from the book on Revelation by John Walvoord page 67:
“Though some benefit was gained by the successful defense of biblical truth by the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, the history of the three centuries that followed is a record of increasing corruption of the church, departure from biblical doctrine and an attempt to combine Christian theology with pagan philosophy.”
So this would place this in the time line up into the 600s.
Fourth letter
It is here that pagan influences entered into the church and are still present today. Like all saints day, which led to Halloween, and the birth of Christ being celebrated in December. As well as the inclusion of statues and images being made of Jesus.
All of this is mainly due to the official introduction of the Catholic Church in 313 A.D. However there is evidence that can show the church unofficially existed as early as 110 A.D. Now even though the Catholic Church become the “official” church throughout the Middle Ages. It was filled with corruption and led mostly by a greedy self-serving hierarchy.
It is partly this behavior, but it is also due to the fall of the Byzantine Empire that a shift took place. Which result in Greek transcripts of the Bible to make their way into Europe. And so this period ends in 1517 A.D.
Fifth letter
Now even though that Great Reformation was going on during this time period. There was a type of spiritual death occurring in this time frame. A spiritual death that resulted in the persecution of those that sought after the true teachings of the Bible. The great expansion of “civilization” took place in this time frame and many cultures were dominated or destroyed. The Spanish Inquisition occurred in this time frame and greed was the ruler of most hearts. Also the lusts of man’s carnal desires which caused the creation of the Church of England. From within this came those that sought after the truths within the Bible. The Quakers and the Puritans. And so this period can be said to end when these people fled Europe for a new land where they could worship God and Jesus in the way the Bible taught them. When they landed in what is now called Massachusetts in 1620 A.D. this period ended.
Sixth letter
Again we can say there has been some overlapping between events in these letters. For as I stated at the beginning of this podcast. The churches were not just chronological, but concurrent. This is seen here. For as I mentioned the Great Reformation began in 1517 and is the beginning of the time period of the fifth letter. Well it is also the beginning of the sixth. In this time period not only did we get as mentioned before those that settled in what is now the United States. We also had the spreading for the true Gospel of Jesus Christ all the way down to the common people. This was done through the creation of the printing press and the work of those to translate the Bible to the common languages. For example the King James Version of the Bible which is made officially certified in 1611 A.D. This great expansion and growth in faith and believe did not end until the 1960s. However we can give an official end to this period. That being August 1969, and it was even given a name. Woodstock.
Seventh letter
And so we come to the last church that is foretold will precede the return of Jesus Christ and the entire reason the book of Revelation was written. We come to the description of the “lukewarm.”
Revelation 3:17-18 – You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.
This is also today’s church which has been seduced by the luxuries of this soft and pampering world we now live within. Even now the children revolt against their elders. Thinking they know better than those that have been in this world longer. They have been so spoiled that they wish to have everything just handed over to them. This is selfishness to the extreme. This is the total opposite of placing God first and treating all those about you as you would wish to be treated yourself. The golden rule is dead and it was killed by those that wished to kick God totally out of the world. Well now as violence is on the increase. Different social groups begin to self-segregate, refusing to interact with none but their “own.”
So we are now in the last age of the church. Most do not wish to accept or believe they are “lukewarm.” Yet this letter from the Glorified Jesus Christ says otherwise. When will Jesus return? All I can say is soon. Very soon, maybe even sooner than many may think.
I have written an entire series on these letters in my blog at dreamwalker1960.com I will repost it soon after this podcast drops. If you wish to read it please do so. Also I do highly recommend the John Walvoord Prophecy Commentaries.
God Bless.

Even on rough days, you must praise Him

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I was abruptly reminded to day on how hard it can be to sing praises unto God during the hard times that occur in this life. I was writing to someone about the wonders hidden within the Book of Revelation, but at the same time working through depression due to events within this temporal life.
It took me back to my year of Job when Satan threw boulders upon my narrow road to God. I feel as I prayed and thought and re-thought and prayed again that I focused on God once again and was able to convey His Glory to the person I was writing too.
This world we live in. Filled with all others truly identical to us, the corruption is a challenge to strife through at times. It is something we must prevail through. God knows our spiritual strength. He knows what we can handle and so we must struggle on to take that next step. To see though the next hour. To make it to the next day, then the next week, month and year. Till the day God says your work is done in this life and He calls us unto Him and His Son.