Matthew Chapter 24 One of the many stumbling blocks we observe in correctly interpreting this prophecy is in establishing the proper sequence of events. Unfortunately many imagine events as one directly following the next just as it is written, but that is not how events are being described. Perhaps before we proceed on to Verse 23 a review of what we had learned earlier on in this study might help. If you recall in Verses 4-8 our Lord had briefly…
Matthew Chapter 24 Once again, Verse 21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” “In the days previous to the flood the fallen angels had materialized and taken human wives, and violence was in the earth. In other words, incidental to and preceding the Flood, there was the prevalence of evil, but all that evil was not the trouble. THE trouble was the…
Words and Phrases The Seven Spirits The expression, THE SEVEN SPIRITS, occurs four times in the book of Revelation. A comparison of these usages reveals the likely interpretation of the meaning. Rev. 1:4: shows the seven spirits BEFORE THE THRONE —a symbol of the position of SERVICE. Rev. 3:1: points out that Jesus also has these spirits, that 1:4 showed them to be God’s is here strengthened by stating that they are “OF GOD.” Rev. 4:5: “defines” these spirits by…
Words and Phrases The Four Living Creatures HOW DO WE KNOW THE FOUR BEASTS REPRESENT GOD’S ATTRIBUTES? It has become standard Bible student response to say that the four living ones (four “beasts” in the KJV) of Revelation represent the four attributes of God —Wisdom, Justice, Love, and Power. From whence did this understanding come? It seems to have been defined by Brother. W. I. Mann in 1883 (See R529). To summarize his explanation, we give the following: By building…
Matthew Chapter 24 VERSE 22 “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” What is the thought of “for the elect’s sake”? “By means of” or “through” the elect, these days will be shortened because the Church glorified and with Jesus at this time, will stop the trouble. The word “sake” is not in the original Greek—it should be italicized in the King James as a spurious…
Without Chronology, the Interpretation Goes Astray Many of those who attempt to interpret Revelation don’t see that the time periods of 1260 days, 42 months, and 3 ½ years are NOT to be interpreted as LITERAL time periods. For that reason, they think that many of the events fall into a future 3 ½ year period, a future time frame. Time in Revelation is interpreted symbolically, and it should, as a general rule, be computed at a day for a…
Many Christians are unaware of just how important the study of Chronology is in relationship to prophecy, especially in the study of the book of Revelation, and as such have no idea of where precisely they are on the stream of time or of impending events. Bible Chronology not only confirms that we are living in “the time of the end”, when knowledge would increase and the wise would understand, but that likewise we have reached the “end of the…
THE ONENESS VIEW The Oneness view was popular in the Third century A.D. and helped lead to the Trinity. It became popular again at the beginning of this century with the Pentecostal movement. Like the Trinity, this view holds that God is one person rather than three. They explain Jesus and the Spirit as manifestations of God’s separate roles: the role of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God reveals Himself to man as one or more of the three (but…
(Excerpts taken from the article “The TRINITY… Mystery or Confusion?” Beauties in the Truth, Volume 9, Number 3, August 1998) There are four primary theologies held by the Christianity today in respects to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are the Oneness theology, the Trinitarian theology, the Arian theology and the Unitarian theology. 1) The Oneness theology is held by some Pentecostal groups such as the United Pentecostal Church, The Pentecostal Assemblies of the Word, and…
Matthew Chapter 24 VERSE 20 “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.” The “Sabbath day” is the 1,000-year period of the Seventh Day, beginning in A.D. 1874. It is the “Seventh Day” since the fall of Adam. The usual literal Sabbath is 24 hours long, however a Sabbath can also be seven days long or 1,000 years long (as it is here) or even 7,000 years long as in the case of God’s…