King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Thursday, December 30, 2021
Chapters: Revelation 15-18
Message: The Gather of The Tares
Hello My Friend,
At church last night I started thinking about the Book of Revelation and of Satan and wondering why God did not just cast Satan into hell the second he rebelled against God since that is why He created hell in the first place. Then it occurred to me, well, God actually showed me this, since Satan can only go as far as God will allow him to go, God is using him right now for the purpose of weeding out the righteous from the wicked, [Matthew 13:24-25,28-30 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.]
Yes, the tares are those who reject God, who refuse to believe that Jesus is the only way to God, and whom have made a mockery out of everything He stands for, and they will be burned in the fire. It does not matter if they die before the tribulation and are in hell already, or are in the midst of the tribulation, they will all stand before Jesus and get cast into the lake of fire when He returns. As we continue in the reading of Revelation, John continues to describe these visions that Jesus is giving Him concerning the end of this world. He sees seven angels, all holding a vial, and within these vials are the seven last plagues.
[Revelation 15:1-2,5-8 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.]
[for in them is filled up the wrath of God.] It takes a lot for me to get angry, but when I do it is not pretty as it all comes from everything that I had pent up inside of me. Now, can you just imagine God’s anger being like that? I sure could. Forget about the sin nature that we have, that really is not what God is angry about. It is about the lack of respect, the rejection, the false religions, the changing of His Word (although they really cannot), the blasphemy, the gods they have over Him, what they did to His Son, and all who believe in Him. We are sinners by nature, but we are saints by faith, through Jesus Christ, but God’s wrath is upon the ones who are destroying the earth through their disrespect for Him and everyone who loves Him, [Ezekiel 22:30-31 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.]
We cannot blame God for all the evil that is taking place here, man is responsible for all of this, Satan is just the one God uses to prove them through the evil. Remember, Job? [Job 1:6-8 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?]
At this point, Satan was not in the third part of heaven where God sat on His throne as he was cast out of there, but he was able to stand at the gate, which was probably the part of heaven known as paradise because this is where the souls of all the saints dwelt until Jesus resurrected, [Luke 23:43]. What this proves is that Satan can only go as far as God allows him to go, and God does this to separate the wheat from the tares. Now, the angels are given the command to pour out what was in the vials, and it truly is a sad sight, and I am sure that God and even the angels were saddened as each vial takes life out of the earth, beginning with those who worshiped the Antichrist. After the third vial was poured out, the angels started to speak out.
[Revelation 16:2-7 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. 3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. 4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. 7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.]
[true and righteous are thy judgments.] It would be easy to get angry at God and say that He is unjust and even evil for destroying everything, but think about it, He is our Creator, the one who formed us and fashioned us into who we are as a person. He is the one who gave us this beautiful earth to live on and sustains us with all we need to survive. And how does the world thank Him? By destroying everything that He has created, including life. Man does not need Satan to force them to commit such evil, they do that all by themselves, which is why God had that plan from the very start to only save those who choose Him. And if anyone says that they have faith in God, but rejects everything that He stands for, including His Son, then that is to their own destruction. We have a choice, nothing is forced upon us, He gives all the freewill to choose what to believe, and no one ends up in hell who truly has faith in Him, [Hebrews 11:3,6 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.]
That faith includes everything that God is, including the judgments, and remember, the Law was given to those who are disobedient, not for the righteous, [I Timothy 1:9]. Those who live by faith will believe and accept every word written in the Word of God as true and will never waver in their faith. They will also repent of their belief that their own works will save them, and that Jesus is the only way to be saved. Most of mankind reject this, in fact, many who believed will turn from their faith. Why? Affliction. Affliction without true repentance to Christ will always end up in a revolt. We see this as the next three vials are poured out.
[Revelation 16:8-12 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. 10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. 12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.]
[and they gnawed their tongues for pain,] Imagine being in so much pain that you literally gnaw your tongue away. And imagine a time when you do not have the Holy Spirit here, and are left to your own imagination. That will take a great deal of faith in order to be saved from all this, not to mention being deceived into believing the Antichrist is the one who will save you, and yet none of them repented. Pain is actually used to draw us near to God, He does not want anyone to suffer more than what life gives them already. While God is a just God, that includes His mercy and grace to suffice the pain. Now, after that sixth vial, Jesus reveals something even more astounding, Satan gathering up an army for one last battle, known as Armageddon.
[Revelation 16:13-17 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.]
[It is done.] Just like Jesus said, “It is finished!”, [John 19:30] when He fulfilled the will of God by dying on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and giving all who believe in Him victory over death and hell, God said, “It is done!”, meaning the mystery of God has been fulfilled. [Behold, I come as a thief.] The great tribulation and judgment that follows can begin at any moment, we do not know the hour in which God raptures His children out of here so they will not be in the midst of all this, but it will be in an instant, [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.]
And if all that was not enough, there was more, John receives another vision, a woman clothed in purple and scarlet, and she sits upon the beast, who is also scarlet colored, [Revelation 17:3-6 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.]
[and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast,] The scarlet colored beast represents the close alliance that exists between the world government and Babylon (Rome), who pretends to be the true Church. Rome is one of the most religious countries in the world, proclaiming Roman Catholics as representatives of Christianity. The Roman Catholic church is one of the most deceitful religions there is, full of false doctrine and idol worship, including the virgin Mary. [BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS] This illustrates the God-defying forces in politics and religion that will soon control the world and is forming as we speak. This apostate federation of churches and world religions will give full support to the one-world political and economic system which will be ruled by the Antichrist. Well, this false super church will fiercely oppose the true Christ, making himself as Christ, and once this happens, that is when Christ will, in fact, return.
[Revelation 17:8,12-14,17 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. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.]
[and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder,] Each and every soul that received Christ as their Saviour, including those whose righteous were counted as their faith before His passion, is written in the book of life. This book has been started since God created the earth, there are many names still waiting to be written in it. Keep in mind that all of this takes place before Jesus returns, when Christ returns in His glory, and vengeance is His and on every person who caused His people to be deceived by them, which is told in the next chapter.
[Revelation 18:1-2,4,7-8 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 4 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. 7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.]
[Come out of her, my people,] Remember, those who are saved, even the ones that are in the graves, will not be on the earth when all this takes place. We will be up in the clouds with Jesus, all awaiting the day that God tells Jesus that it is time come back to earth, and that is when we will return and reign with Him also, [Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.]
[and she shall be utterly burned with fire:] The tares or unsaved will be gathered first, and reserved in hell until the day of judgment, while the wheat or saved are reserved in heaven. God does not want ant soul in hell, that is the choice that every person has to make, [2 Peter 3:7-10 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.]
Let Us Pray: Jesus, Thank You for giving Your life to save me, You truly are the truth, life, and only way to be saved from death, hell, and the tribulation. The love You have for us is astounding, You rather see every soul saved then end up facing the ultimate judgment of the lake of fire, but sadly, not all believe in You, and many even go as far as deceiving lost souls into believe their lies so they do not find You. Lord, I know that my end will be so much better than my beginning, as I endure the ups and downs of this life, keep me faithful and strong in Your Word, lead me and guide me in Your truths, and let me not fall into the deception of those working for the devil. Give me Your power, mercy, and grace to become more like You, be ready for the tribulation, and look forward to the day You take me away from it all. I ask this in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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