Their Trouble

Song of Solomon

Chapter 2

In the last several verses of chapter two we will talk a lot about the seasons of the year. These verses will mainly talk about winter and spring. I’m sure each of us has heard at least one comparison between the changing of seasons and the Christian life. Just like there are four seasons to the year, there are four seasons to the Christian life.

Let’s take a minute and see these seasons, or the changes this couple has gone through.

Summer

The summer is the hottest part of the year. This would be the time when she first moved into the palace. In the Christian life this is the time when we are first saved.

When she first gets to the palace they are talking about flowers, or harvest season. No matter what time of year you are saved, that is harvest time in your life. Your life is the harvest. Things are exciting. New life, new love and new living have come your way. So it was with this couple.

Fall

After the summer comes the fall. After she talked about the flowers, she began to talk about trees. The thing that make my part, east Tennessee, of the country so beautiful in the fall are the trees. People will travel from all around to see the leaves on the trees.

Fall is beautiful at first because things are bright and colorful. The reason that the leaves change however is because they are dying. After they turn orange and red, they turn brown and fall off.

This happens to all of us. There comes a time in our lives when cold wind blows, we grow cold on God and we begin to dry up spiritually. Maybe we become cold and critical of others. We dry up on the inside.

This happens in a marriage as well. We can lie and say that we have been on a honeymoon for 50 years, but that simply is not true. Each of us experience times when things are not as “warm” as they used to be. This begins to happen in our happy couple in the scriptures.

Winter

Of course winter follows fall. Have you ever been to the point in your life where everything just seems dead? You may not realize it but you are in the winter season of your life. “This Sunday school is just so dead lately.” “This church is just so dead.” Some of us even begin to wander if the sun will ever shine in our lives again. We long for the warmth of the relationship we once had.

I’m afraid that too many give up in those times. They abandon God, the church and their bible.

In our society one in two marriages ends in divorce. In the hard times of a marriage many are just simply giving up. They decide there is no use to go on.

I want to encourage you. If you are in the winter part of your life, just hold on, spring is coming. The flowers will bloom again in your life if you will just hold on.

Obviously this woman is in the winter part of her life. Their marriage is going through the winter. From these next verses it seems that she has gone back down to the vineyard. I don’t know why. Maybe she went to check on her family. Maybe she only meant to stay a few days. But hours have turned to days and days turn into months.

This woman stays at the vineyard so long that she begins to get used to being away from Solomon. She is sleeping in her old bed. In fact that is where we find her in verse eight. She has learned that she can get along without him, but we will see that he cannot get along with her.

When you read verse 8 this woman is lying in her bed when she hears something that she has not heard in some time. She hears the voice of her beloved. Notice what she says in this verse. “He cometh leaping upon the mountains.”

Mountains divide people. These mountains are a wonderful picture of the things that separate us. Maybe we are separated from God. Maybe we are separated from our spouse.

Whatever it is that is separating her and her beloved must be big in her eyes. She describes them as “mountains.” I want you to notice that the things separating them are mountains in her eyes, but they are not a problem for her beloved. He comes “leaping” on the mountains.

Each of us has been in this winter part of our life. We have grown cold on God. We have grown cold in our marriage. In those times we look and say, “There are just too many problems.” “There is just too much standing between us.” Please keep in mind that the things that look like mountains to you, God will come leaping on. Nothing is too big for God!

Do you remember the story of the disciples on the water? The wind and waves were over their head. They just knew they were going to be consumed by this storm. Just when they think they are going down Jesus comes walking on the water. The waves that were over their heads were under His feet.

In verse 9 Solomon has come to look for her. She has heard his voice, now she sees him. She can’t see him good at first because he is behind the wall, but he moves closer.

Then he presses his face up to the glass. He peeps at her from behind the lattice. Here she is, away from her love, in the winter of her life, but he does not forget about her. He comes looking for her. In fact he was willing to come all the way back down to the vineyard to find her.

Sometimes God has to go a long way to find us. In fact there have been times when he had to come all the way back to the place where he first saved us. But he is willing to do that in order to bring us back home.

In verses 10 through 13 Solomon speaks to her. He tells her to rise up. She has been in the vineyard for way to long. It was time to come back home.

Notice that he does not fuss at her. He had every right to point his finger and confront her. He could have said, “I have saved you. Taken you away from this place and moved you into my palace. I loved you and this is how you repay me.” Instead he says “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

I also want you to notice that while her feelings may have changed, his feelings have not changed. He is still using the same words he used in chapter one.

How about you today? Today may be the last day of winter in your life. Today could be the day that God allows the flowers to bloom in your life again. Maybe you are cold spiritually. Maybe your marriage has grown cold. God could come leaping on the mountains in your life today. Today could be the day he says:

“Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;”

Solomon warns in verse 15 about the small foxes. Although their relationship is back together, they must set up safe guards so this does not happen again. The foxes are the things that come into our lives and spoil our relationships.

When a relationship is just becoming fruitful again we must be careful. At this turning point it is easy for something to come along and spoil all that has been accomplished. Notice that many times it is a small thing that has to be guarded against. A fox is a small animal, but it will ruin a vine.

In our relationship with God and in our marriage we have to put up guards. Maybe today you restore your relationship with God. Maybe you and your spouse restore your marriage. Be careful because a little thing will want to creep in and destroy that new fruit.

The chapter ends with a wonderful statement and a terrible mistake. She is now able to say something that she has not been able to say in some time. “My beloved is mine, and I am his:” That is a wonderful statement.

She also makes a terrible mistake. This mistake will take us into chapter three. In my next blog I will explain the mistake and the result of making the mistake.

I'm on twitter @drjoshuasharp

It's My Birthday

It’s My Birthday

Today is a pretty special day for me. If you are reading this on Thursday the 10^th then it is my birthday. Thanks to the goodness of God I am 34 years old, and hopefully have many more years to come.

I’m not sure why I do this but on my birthday I tend to reflect back on the past years. This is what I did while driving, and praying on the way to work this morning. If you will hang on for a second I would like to share with you some of the things that crossed my mind.

When I was a kid I had two goals. One was to be a professional baseball player and the other was to be a courtroom lawyer. I wanted to either hit homeruns for the Braves or put bad guys away in the courtroom. Well neither one of these things came to pass, but that does not mean that my life is a failure. It simply means that God had other plans for me.

I didn’t understand it all back then but the decisions that God helped me to make have made me the man I am today. I may not have played big league baseball (trust me I wasn’t good enough) but God has blessed me with three of the greatest blessings I could ask for. God has given me a wonderful wife, two great children and a ministry that I enjoy.

I remember how nervous I was when I quit my high school baseball team. I told my coach that I had to work and pay for my car insurance. The truth was that I was dating a real hottie, who would later become my wife, and I wanted to spend all of my free time with her. I remember how scared I was when my wife told me that she was expecting our first child, but looking back that was one of the best days of my life. I remember moving my church membership to the church where I am currently a member, but I knew God wanted to use me there.

All of those things were scary at the time, but looking back they were some of the best decisions I have ever made. It’s funny how different things look when you are looking back on them instead of worrying about what lays ahead. In each of those situations God knew what He was doing, and He was faithful in each one.

This makes me think of decisions that I currently am making. (I really don’t like change very much.) Looking back on these things does not make the decisions I make today any less scary. It does reassure me that while I may not know what’s going on, God does. With the benefit of time I know that someday I will look back on myself as a 34 year old man and see things that I am unable to see today.

How about you? Some of you may think, “You are just 34 and are still a baby.” Some of you may think, “Dude, you are 34. You are so old.” Well, whether you are 20 or 80 you still make decisions that will impact the rest of your life. Maybe you are making one of those decisions today. If so let me give you some advice. Pray. Trust God. Know that one day this thing will be a milestone that helped mold you into the person God wants you to be.

Can you love God but not love others?

Is it possible to hate another Christian and at the same time love God? Well, the short answer to this question is no. That’s right. I am saying that it is not possible to hate a fellow Christian and love God at the same time. Consider this verse:

“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”  1 John 4:20

This verse seems very simple. What many people do not realize is that love, in the life a Christian, is an awesome responsibility. In this same chapter John gives a wonderful history of love from God to man, man to God, and finally man to man. Lets’ take a second and look at the order of love.

The Origin of Love

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”   1 John 4:9-10

John says that in the death of Christ, God’s love was “manifested.” The word manifested means “to come out in the open, to be made public.” Under the old covenant God was hidden behind the veil of the temple. Under the new covenant God has revealed His love openly.

The sending of Christ into the world was not prompted by man’s love and desire for God. Instead the coming of Christ was prompted by God’s love for mankind. Two reasons are given for the coming of Christ. In verse nine Christ came so that we could live through him. Second Christ came to be our propitiation.

The word “propitiation” has been used before.

1 John 2:2

The word “propitiation” means a “mercy seat.” In the Old Testament this word meant to cover or atone for. Christ is like the mercy seat in the tabernacle. It was to the mercy seat that the high priest came yearly to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people.

Jesus is our mercy seat. He has paid the price for redemption in His own body. Christ’s death was not an accident, his death was an appointment.

“Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”  Romans 4:25

The truth is, that many people assume God saves people based on love. While it is true that God does love, He does not saved based on love. God can’t just let someone into heaven because He loves them. God is too holy to allow that. Therefore Christ had to come. Because God does love, Jesus was born to pay the penalty for our sins, and make a way for us to come to him.

Notice that all this was not done because we loved God. God loved us long before we ever loved Him. God does not even love us because we are lovable. God loves us while we are sinners. The person that states “God would not send anyone to hell because God is love” will find themselves mistaken. Because God loves He made a way for us to be saved, but be assured that a person who does not accept the work of Christ will spend eternity in hell.

The Order of Love

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”  1 John 4:11

Now that God demonstrated His love to us, it is our turn to display love. This is the natural order of things. God loved us, we have fellowship with God, and therefore we love others. Notice that displaying love is not a duty, but a privilege. We have been given God’s love, therefore we love. When we realize what Christ did for us, we should be willing to love others.

How did I say that Christ loved? Did Christ love us because we loved Him first? No, God’s love is not selfish.

“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?”   Matthew 5:46

Notice what Christ said about love.

“I ye love me, keep my commandments.”   John 14:15

“This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.”   John 15:12

This is serious business. John is mentioning this over and over. It is terribly important that we are demonstrating God’s love in our lives.

The truth of the matter is that others cannot see the love of God in our heart. Maybe God has saved you, changed your life and you are in love with Him. Your neighbor isn’t able to see your heart. You must display that love for it to do your neighbor any good.

I wonder how many people have determined not to go to a church because some member is not displaying the love of God. I would hate to think that someone would refuse to come to my church because they saw me as hateful, angry or miserable. What good am I doing this world if I go around bitter and angry all the time? The answer is none.

Unfortunately we live in a day when many church members feel that it is there job to correct everyone around them, pick fights on some social network, and talk bad about others on Facebook for everyone to see. I understand that I’m not going to make many friends by pointing this out, but the truth is that all these things are hurtful to the cause of Christ. You will not win anyone to Christ in these ways. God help us to display Christ’s love in every area of our lives.

John finishes the chapter by stating:

“And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”  1 John 4:21

Are you in the habit of loving others? Why not, God commanded you to?

The Marriage of The Lamb

Revelation 19

If we study the scriptures it is amazing to find the way the Holy Spirit has displayed for us the Bridal relationship between the church and the Lord. In the Old Testament we have the wonderful example of Isaac and Rebekah. In this story we are told how that the father, Abraham, sends his servant to find a bride for the son Isaac. The servant goes out and searches until he finds Rebekah. Once she is found the servant woos her and brings her back with him. This is a perfect picture of God sending the Holy Spirit to find a bride for Christ. The Holy Spirit finds us; we don’t go out looking for Him. The Holy Spirit woos us with the goodness of God, and eventually brings us back to be with our bridegroom.

We also have the Song of Solomon. Many have questioned why this small book is in the scriptures. It seems at first glance to simply be a love story between Solomon and his bride, but further study reveals that it is a picture of the relationship Christ has with His church. In this book we are given a great picture of the love relationship between the Lord and His bride the church.

This subject of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb was a subject that the Lord Jesus liked to dwell upon while He was upon the earth. We are told of the parable of the “ten virgins” who go out to meet the bridegroom, and again He speaks of the marriage of the king’s son in Matthew 22.

Seeing how important this event is I would like to mention a few things that are important to consider.

Notice first that this is called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, not the Marriage Supper of the Bride. Usually a wedding is the consummation of the hopes of the bride. It is the female who dreams of this day from her youth. I have two little girls at home, and they will say things like “when I get married I want a dress like that.” We have to watch shows at my home like “Say Yes to the Dress”. I would never have watched a show like that when I was a young boy. A wedding is not something that a male plans for, talks about or dreams of.

This wedding however is different. This wedding will be the consummation of the plan of God for His Son. This wedding has been planned since before the foundations of the world according to Ephesians 1:4.

This wedding will be the joy of Christ as a man, for this wedding would not be possible if Christ had not come to be born in the flesh. This wedding is why Jesus took His human nature back with Him to Glory, for today in heaven sits the “Man Christ Jesus.”  (I Tim. 2:5)

While the bride was chosen for Him before the foundation of the world the espousal could not take place until after Christ assumed humanity. So it is after Christ’s incarnation that we read:

“For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”  2 Corinthians 11:2

When you think about a wedding there is usually a time of espousal. Some will be engaged for a year or maybe two, but the Lord has been engaged to His bride for a much longer space of time. In fact this is the longest engagement the world has ever known. The Lord has been engaged to His bride for over 2,000 years now, but I do not believe He will have to wait much longer.

Let us ask and try to answer some questions about this wedding. Many of these things may seem simple, but you would be amazed how little some people know about this great event.

1.  Where and when shall this marriage take place?

This marriage will take place in heaven after the judgment seat of Christ, and before the appearing of Christ with His saints at the Revelation. While the earth is undergoing seven years of tribulation, in heaven a wedding will be taking place.

The minister of the ceremony (though doubtless will be God the Father), and the vows the bridegroom and bride will take are not disclosed to us in the scriptures.

I spoke to the children the other night about us being married to Christ. As you can imagine they had a look of confusion on their faces. I explained that a marriage in the bible was a little different than we think of it today. In the bible a marriage was two people becoming one.

In the Garden of Eden God took Adam and Eve and joined them together in marriage. Although neither of them had a mother or father God said “for this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.” When we are married to Christ it simply means that we are joined to Him for all eternity.

One thing we know for sure is that no one will give away the bride, for the Bible tells us that Christ will present the church to Himself according to Ephesians 5:25-27.

2. Who is the Bride?

There is actually a group of people who claim the bride in this chapter is Israel because she is referred to as a wife in verse 7. The reason they say this is because God refers to Himself as the husband of Israel in Isaiah 54:5. They claim that “wife” is the earthly name for Israel and the “bride” is the heavenly name for her. This simply is not true.

In the Old Testament the wife of God is Israel, but in the New Testament it is the Church that is the bride of Christ. If you study the Old Testament you will see that Israel, the wife of God, was called a Whore, and she was caught in whoredome. Because of this she was cast off by God, but promised that He would receive her back when she quit her whoredom. The Lambs wife however is a virgin. What is said about Israel has never been said about the church. Therefore the wife of the Old Testament, Israel, cannot be the bride of the Lamb.

Further proof is seen when we consider that the wife of God, Israel, resides in the earthly Jerusalem during the Millennium. The Bride, the Lamb's wife, will reside in the New Jerusalem during this period of time. Therefore we can conclude with certainty that this bride is the church, not Israel.

This Bride is from a disowned and outcast race, but the bridegroom saw her and loved her. To redeem this bride the bridegroom had to leave His home country and come to this sin cursed earth, the home of the bride. When He came He was rejected by her family and eventually killed by them. But instead of them taking His life He willfully laid it down thus demonstrating His love.

When He left her home country He went back to His and began preparing a house for her. And one day soon He will come and get her taking her to His home.

4. What is meant by her making herself ready?

In these verses we see that the bride is arraigned in fine linen. This fine linen is not called the righteousness of Christ, but the righteousness of the saints. This makes it clear that it is not imputed righteousness in this verse. This is our righteousness.

So how does the bride make herself ready? Peter tells us how.

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”    I Peter 1:7

The righteousness then of the saints will be their works and fiery test that have come through judgment and reward. When we stand before God in judgment those  fault and failures we are so prone to will be removed by fire, while our true works will remain pure as gold. These works of righteousness will adorn the bride.

5. What is the Marriage Supper?

This is not the wedding itself. The marriage feast follows the wedding. There is one thing that we know for sure; it will be an honor to receive an invitation to this wedding. In fact it is such an honor, that the angel told John to write that those who are called are “blessed.”

6. Who are the Guests?

It is clear that the guests are not the bride. The bride would not be called or invited to her own wedding, without her there; there would not even be a wedding.

But there will be called guests. All those who have trusted in Christ from Pentecost down to the rapture belong to the church. The guests then will be the Old Testament saints such as David, Moses and Abraham. Even John the Baptist is in this category for he even called himself a friend of the bridegroom.

There will also be present a blood washed multitude that has come out of the tribulation.

The angels will be spectators of the scene, but they cannot be guests for that honor is reserved for only those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

7. What happens after the Marriage Supper?

What happens after every wedding? Sometimes there is music, dancing and food, but after this the bride and bridegroom will load up and go away together. Often it is a trip overseas or to a distant land. Sometimes it is a visit to an old hometown.

So after the marriage and marriage supper, the bridegroom and bride will load up and go on a trip back to the bride’s old home country. What a fitting place, for this is where they meet. It is where He demonstrated His love for her. When He comes back He will prove to her old family that He was no impostor, but that He was what He claimed to be, the Son of God.

He will then set up His earthly kingdom, where He will be given the throne of His father David and they will reign together for 1,000 years.

After the long honeymoon is over the bridegroom and the bride will go back to His father's house. After the earth has been baptized by fire they will return with the Holy City and abide in this city forever.

All this so overwhelms John that he falls at the feet of the angel to worship, but is told not to do that for the angel was nothing more than a fellow saint. Like John, I don’t think we can truly fathom how wonderful this event will be. Have you accepted your invitation?


You can follow me on twitter @drjoshuasharp and watch lessons taught live Sunday mornings at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thoughts-of-theology-josh-sharp

The Rebuilding of Babylon

Revelation Chapter 18

In our previous blog we discussed the religious “Babylon” in chapter 17. This chapter also deals with “Babylon”. The Babylon of chapter 18 is not the same as the Babylon of chapter 17. In fact this chapter begins with the phrase “after these things.” Anytime a verse begins by saying “after these things” you should stop and ask yourself, “after what things?” In this case it is after the destruction of the religious Babylon in chapter 17.

Then if mystical Babylon was destroyed in the previous chapter she cannot be the same as the Babylon in this chapter. Therefore the city here described must be a literal city called Babylon, and as there is no city today by that name it must be referring to some future city of Babylon. I have stated on numerous occasions that it is clear Babylon will be rebuilt and play an important role in the latter days.

History of Babylon

The ancient city of Babylon from the days of Nimrod grew in size and importance century after century until it reached its peak of great glory in the days of Nebuchadnezzar in B. C. 604-562.

Babylon was an exact square of 15 miles on a side or 60 miles around, and was surrounded by a brick wall 87 feet thick, and 350 feet high. On the wall were 250 towers and the top of the wall was wide enough for 6 chariots to drive abreast. The city was divided into two equal parts by the river Euphrates that flowed diagonally through it. At each end of the river was a palace. Near one of the palaces stood the Tower of Bel, or Babel. It is said that Babylon was probably one of the most magnificent cities the world has ever known, and its fall reveals what a city may become when it forsakes God and He sends His judgment upon it.

It is no coincidence that the book of the Bible that speaks the most about Babylon is the book of Daniel. Since Revelation is an extension of Daniel this city plays an important role once again.

Babylon Rebuilt?

Many do not believe that this city will be one day rebuilt. Both the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah speak of the destruction of Babylon. Some claim that the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah are completely fulfilled, therefore leaving nothing to be fulfilled in a future Babylon. Therefore they conclude that this chapter is symbolical and must not refer to a literal city.

To see if that is true we must consider what the prophets said about Babylon. The following is said of this city:

“It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.”  Isaiah 13:20

“Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.”   Jeremiah 51:43

“And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate forever, saith the Lord.”  Jeremiah 51:26

While Babylon does not stand today, that land is not desolate. Further still one must remember the specific statement made by Isaiah concerning the time in which this destruction was to happen.

“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.”   Isaiah 13:9, 10

Nothing like this happened when Cyrus took Babylon. In fact Cyrus made Babylon his capital, he did not destroy it. Xerxes plundered Babylon, but did not destroy it. Alexander the Great wanted to make it his capital, not destroy it. Babylon, while suffering much through history, was not destroyed. Peter even visited Babylon according to 1 Peter.

We are also told in chapter 18 that the city will be destroyed by fire, which is in perfect harmony with the prophecy of Isaiah.

“And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.”  Isaiah 13:19

“As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.”   Jeremiah 50:40

The destruction of Sodom was not prolonged through many centuries; their glory was destroyed in a few hours. Just as Babylon was not destroyed this way is further proof that this must be referring to some future destruction of Babylon. This fits perfectly both the description given to us in chapter 18, and also the description of the destruction mentioned once the 7^th vial was poured out in chapter 16.

It would appear that since the city of Sodom was first set on fire and then destroyed by an earthquake, Babylon will be set on fire, and as Babylon is under laid with asphalt, that an earthquake will break up the crust of the earth and send the city into a lake of fire. The city will sink below the surface of the earth as into the sea.

The city will be swallowed up, making it impossible to take her stones for building, and the land will become a wilderness where no man shall ever dwell.

Babylon’s Roll in End Times

There is a remarkable prophecy recorded by Zechariah that has a meaning in these verses.

Zechariah 5:5-11

The "Ephah" which the prophet saw, is the largest of Hebrew dry measures, and is often a symbol of commerce and its resemblance or going forth through all the earth is a symbol of a universal commercialism.

In this prophecy Zechariah saw a woman called wickedness. This woman attempted to rise but the angel thrust her back and replaced the lid made of a "talent of lead." After this we see two women with the wings of a stork lift up the Ephah and carry it into the "Land of Shinar."

The land of Shinar was the place where the tower of Babel was built on the ancient site of Babylon.

If the Ephah stands for commerce, and the occupant of the Ephah is called wickedness, it reveals the fact that the commercialism of the time of the vision will be characterized by all manner of dishonest methods. The fact that the woman is thrust back and a lead lid placed on her, tells us that the dishonest schemes are to be hid and kept out of sight.

In the Old Testament the stork is an unclean bird, which is characteristic of this day. This prophecy is further proof that the city of Babylon will be rebuilt and become the commercial center of the world. It will be from Babylon that the Antichrist will rule and reign.

It will not take long to rebuild this city with the wealth of the world and the command of Capitalist. Once the lid is lifted off the “Ephah” the wickedness will reveal itself and no man will be able to buy or sell, but he who has the mark of the beast.

You may be asking yourself the question, how can you say that you are expecting Jesus to come at any moment if the city of Babylon must be rebuilt before He can come? There is not a word in the scriptures that say that Babylon must be rebuilt before Jesus can come. The church may be taken out of this world several years before the city is built.

This future city will be the greatest commercial city of the world. It will be a market for gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, or silk, scarlet and costly wools. It will be a place of high fashion for the people will be clothed in the most costly raiment and decked with costly jewels. Their homes will be of the finest wood, brass, iron, marble and the richest of draperies and rugs.

Babylon Finally Destroyed

The destruction of the city will be sudden and without warning. A storm will sweep over the city, lightning and thundering will come. The city will be set on fire and a great earthquake will shake it from its center. The tall office buildings will begin to collapse and the whole city will sink as a milestone.

As the city sinks into a lake of burning asphalt, the smoke will come like a furnace. The burning city, and the river Euphrates will generate steam. The steam will reflect off the burning city. When night comes the illuminated clouds will reflect the light of the burning city. People will be able to see the lights from the burning city for miles.

The kings of the earth, the merchants, the shipmasters and sailors and all who profited by the city will stand afar off and cry. While the earth cries the heavens will rejoice for God will have rewarded her according to her works and Babylon will be no more.

Babylon Today

Today Babylon is in the process of being rebuilt. A simply Google search will reveal that the Iraqi people are in the process of rebuilding the ancient ruins of Babylon. Today a museum has been built in Babylon with future plans to make the city a thriving tourist attraction. The people believe that rebuilding Babylon will boost the economy. Little do they know that the economy will soon be boosted, and Babylon will play a huge roll. In fact Babylon will play such a huge roll that it will become the economic capital of the world.

The last of God's judgment. "Great Tribulation"

Revelation 16

In the previous chapter we see the seven angels come out of the temple and are given the remainder of the wrath of God. They then make themselves ready to pour out the judgment of God.

In this chapter we witness as the seven angels pour out the last of God’s judgment. Many of the things we see in this chapter are repeat judgments seen either in the Egyptian plagues, or previously in the book of Revelation. The difference being that I believe the judgments of this chapter are more severe than those seen in the past. When Christ spoke about this time of judgment in Matthew 24 He referred to the judgment in the first half of the tribulation as “the beginning of sorrows”. To the last half however Jesus says that it will be “great tribulation.”

Let me once again say that the judgments mentioned in this chapter are very literal. Many of them have happened before in a literal form and they will be brought forth again in a literal form.

First Vial

This first judgment is a repeat from the sixth Egyptian plague, the “Plagues of Boils,” that fell upon the people of Egypt in:

Exodus 9:8-12

Boils are a result of bad blood and they reveal corruption in the body. These sores come upon men only who have received the mark of the beast. This reveals to us the corruption of not only the bodies of the people of this day but also of the corruption of their heart.

These boils will make it hard for people to simply stand up. I would imagine this would make it even more difficult to bow their knee to the image of the beast.

When God brought this plague upon the land of Egypt it was to harden the hearts of the people, and likewise the followers of the Antichrist will harden their hearts even further because of the judgment. We read in verse 9 that the people were angry with God and blasphemed His name.

Second Vial

When the second trumpet blasted in chapter 8 we saw that 1/3 of the sea became blood. The third part of the creatures in the sea died and the third part of the ships were destroyed. Under the pouring out of the second vial judgment the entire sea is affected. All the creatures in the sea will die because of this judgment.

When the sea becomes corrupt it will result in a foul odor that will prevent men from being around the water. No doubt disease and even starvation will occur.

It may be that the sea mentioned in this verse is the Mediterranean Sea, and not all of the oceans of the world. I believe many of these last judgments will be focused on the Middle East, particularly Babylon.

Third Vial

This again is a repeat of one of the Egyptian plagues, the first to be exact. When the rivers in Egypt turned to blood all the fish in them died, there is nothing said however about the fish in these verses.

As the judgment of God is coming under the pouring out of this vial John hears a voice. The voice is that of the “angel of the waters”, and calls out testifying that the inhabitants of the earth are worthy to drink blood, or that “they deserve it”. Then John hears another voice speak up and second what the first voice said. This time it is the “angel of the altar”.

These people are guilty of shedding the blood of the 144,000 witnesses. They are guilty of shedding the blood of those who refused to take the mark of the beast. Because of their acts they will reap what they have sown.

What a terrible time in which to live. Can you imagine having nothing to drink but blood? How terrible it would be to turn on the faucet at home and out comes blood. You will go to your shower but again nothing but blood. These people will be getting however exactly what their ancestors asked for when they cried, “Let his blood be on us and our children.”

Fourth Vial

Some say that this fourth vial is a reoccurrence of the fourth trumpet judgment, but I believe that is obvious that this is not the case. Under the judgment of the fourth trumpet the sun was darkened by one third. As this angel pours out his bowl of judgment we are told that the heat of the sun is intensified. The heat is so great that men are actually scorched by the heat.

“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wing; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.”   Mal. 4:1-2

All of the grass will burn up. The trees will die. Homes will catch on fire. Men and women will not be able to leave their home during the hottest times of the day because the sun is so intense that you could literally die because of the heat. There is no way that air conditioner units will be able to keep up with the intense heat. It will be miserable even in the shade. Can you imagine having to wait until night comes just to be able to leave your home?

You would think after all of this, men would turn to God in repentance, but it is obvious in these verses that they do not. Instead of repenting men and women grow angry with God. They curse God and blame Him for their trouble. I’m sure Antichrist will spin these judgments so to make it seem that Jehovah God is an angry God.

Fifth Vial

Notice that this plague immediately follows the plague of scorching heat. These people are angry with God because of the intense heat, so God completely turns the lights out. These people complained because of the intense sun, now they have no light at all. Men and women will not be able to see to go out of their home.

The effect of the darkness is so great that it causes men to gnaw their tongues for pain and for the sores they have. This shows us that some of the plagues overlap each other. It is not necessarily true that because a new judgment begins the last has to end. These people are still suffering with the boils of the first vial.

Again their suffering brings no repentance.

Sixth Vial

You will remember that the Lord opened the Red Sea and allowed the children of Israel to cross over on dry land, escaping for Egypt. He also parted the river Jordan so that they could pass over into the Canaan land.

In these verses we see that the Lord will dry up the river to allow the kings of the east and their armies to cross over and assemble themselves for the battle of Armageddon.

“And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make me go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.”   Isaiah 11:15-16

John sees three demons; described as frogs, go forth to the entire world. Let me first say that they are not literal frogs. This is clear from the miracles they perform. They are spirits of demons who will go forth out the mouths of the satanic trinity gathering together the kingdoms of the world to battle.

Why then describe them as frogs? They come forth out of darkness and do their dirty work in the shadows. They creep and croak and fill the ears of the nations with their noisy demonstrations, until they eventually set the kings and armies in an enthusiastic commotion toward the Holy Land. Performing miracles they will convince the kingdoms of the world to unite against God.

Seventh Vial

At the breaking of the seventh seal, the sounding of the seventh trumpet and the pouring out of the seventh vial many of the same things happen. For example there will again be voices and thundering heard. There will be lightning and a great earthquake. During the seventh trumpet and the seventh vial there is great hail.

When the seventh seal was broken there was silence in heaven for half an hour, but when the seventh trumpet sounded and when the seventh vial is poured out there will be great voices in heaven.

The great voice in this chapter comes from the throne and it cries out “It is done.” There is little doubt whom this cry is from. As the Lord died upon the cross, the Bible tells us that he cried out “it is finished.” Now he cries out again letting us know that the judgment of God is completed.

The earthquake we see in this chapter will be the greatest the world has ever known. This earthquake will be the result of Christ setting foot upon the Mount Olivet according to the prophet Zechariah.

Zechariah 14:4-5

When Jesus steps upon the earth it will level mountains, destroy islands and change the contour of the land of Palestine. It will divide Jerusalem into three parts and Babylon will be destroyed, as we will see in chapter 18.

As the earth quakes there will be hail fall from the sky, each piece weighing one talent or 100 pounds. This is fitting for the law demanded that a blasphemer be stoned to death, and in the end of times these blasphemer will be stoned from heaven.


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"The kingdom of heaven is like a child."

Yesterday I was reminded of one of my favorite stories in the Bible. We have a new family attending our church. This family is made up of a mother and two small girls. While I was standing at the altar last night (our church has altar prayer before each service) one of these little girls walked up next to me. When everyone got down to pray she got down on her knees and prayed along with everyone else. It was so sweet to see this young child praying.

As I was standing there the Lord reminded me of the story in Luke 18. In this passage Jesus is preaching and teaching the scriptures to a group of people. In the midst of his sermon they bring a group of children to Jesus. When the disciples see this they get angry because in their opinion Jesus did not have time to spend with these children.

Seeing this, Jesus immediately corrects the disciples and tells them that He always has time for little children. In fact Jesus teaches them a lesson saying, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.”

“Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” What does that mean? Why is it so important that we come to God as a little child? Why does Jesus say that heaven is like a little child?

I hope that those of you reading this have had the privilege of spending some time with a child. I think Jesus wants us to learn something from them. Give me a second to tell you the things that God showed me last night. Maybe you will be able to see more than these few things.

Children are innocent. I understand that we are all sinners from birth, and kids do some things wrong, but for the most part children are innocent. Have you ever noticed that children tell the truth, even when you wish they wouldn’t? It’s funny some of the things that children tell. They don’t know to lie or tell a part-truth.

Children are trusting. Children will usually believe what they are told. They trust their mom and dad, and whatever their parents tell them they believe. When we grow up we become cynical, hard and untrusting. I wonder what God would be able to do in our lives if we would just believe what He says without question.

They also trust in their parents to take care of them. You don’t see a child worrying how the bills are going to be paid, or where their next meal will come from. Children just trust that their needs will be taken care of. This is the way that we should be with God. He has promised that He will take care of us, and we should believe that.

Children are not prejudice. Have you ever noticed the way kids play with each other? They don’t care if the other kids are fat or skinny. They don’t care if the other children have the same skin color. They don’t even care if the other children are ugly. Children are not prejudice against one another. I wish this could be said for us adults. We determine who someone is by the clothes they wear, the color of their skin and by how attractive they are. God made each of us, and God makes no mistakes. Don’t judge someone because you don’t like the way God made them.

Children like to have fun. Do you realize that God wants you to be happy? The scriptures teach us that a merry heart is like a medicine, it’s good for you. It seems like the older we get the less fun we have. God doesn’t want us going around with our lip on the ground. God created for us a beautiful world and He wants us to enjoy it.

I think we could learn a lot from a child. In fact there is so much to be learned from a child that Jesus used them as a description of what heaven will be like.

Leave me a comment and let me know what lessons you have learned from a child.