Revelations 9:1 The fifth angel sounded his shofar; and I
saw a star that had fallen out of heaven onto the earth, and he was given the
key to the shaft leading down to the Abyss.
2 He opened the shaft of the Abyss, and there went up smoke from the
shaft like the smoke of a huge furnace; the sun was darkened, and the sky too,
by the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then out
of the smoke onto the earth came locusts, and they were given power like the
power scorpions have on earth. 4 They
were instructed not to harm the grass on the earth, any green plant or any
tree, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their
foreheads. 5 The locusts were not
allowed to kill them, only to inflict pain on them for five months; and the pain
they caused was like the pain of a scorpion sting. 6 In those days people will seek death but
will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. 7 Now these locusts looked like horses
outfitted for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold, and
their faces were like human faces. 8
They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like those of lions. 9 Their chests were like iron breastplates,
and the sound their wings made was like the roar of many horses and chariots
rushing into battle. 10 They had tails
like those of scorpions, with stings; and in their tails was their power to
hurt people for five months. 11 They had
as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is
"Abaddon" and in our language, "Destroyer."
The devil, Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, King of Babylon, and
all the other names this Adversary is called, calls us many of us answer the
call. The talent this set of individuals has is spanned across the lifetime of
this earth. Most of us think it’s just one individual and this is known when we
read Job. But you see in the Hebrew Bible the name of the one who can talk to
ADONAI is “Adversary”. We also see in Job when ADONAI asked what the Adversary
had been doing in Job 1:7, the Adversary answered …. "From roaming through the earth, wandering here and there."
The name of the same one who goes back and forth to heaven and converses with
God is called the Accuser in Revelations 12:10. We also find in Revelations
9:11 the name Abaddon, which in Hebrew means destruction. This angel is king of
the bottomless pit. If we go throughout the Bible we will find various names
that describe Satan. In the Book of Enoch I also discovered the breakdown of
even more names of the angels who fell from heaven. The catch to this is all of
these angels committed a sinful act with the women of this earth accept for the
one individual who can come back and forth and converse with The Almighty. Now
to give a name to that individual again is time consuming but we all know that
one as Satan.
Now, is Satan a bad existence? It’s all in how you perceive
Satan. Here’s why I say this, most of us would not fall down if it were not for
Satan. I realize that the things that Satan deceives us with gets us in some
predicaments but the Devil has a purpose. Although the Devil has a mission upon
which is good at, we on the other hand need to gain focus on the image we are
to have. Is it Satan’s fault that we listen and follow the gestures he creates?
First off, we all are born with the understanding of good and bad through our
senses. Some philosopher’s will argue this statement but if you put something
sweet into a new born babies mouth, the child will not spit it out. If you put
something sour into the baby’s mouth, the child will spit it out. This is just
an example of our innate senses. Satan is aware of our innate senses but Satan
will disguise the sour taste we all reject with something sweet. We have to
distinguish that the sour taste is still there and acknowledge it.
I began this with the story of the “Seventh Seal”, which
begins in Revelations the 8th chapter, this revelation brings to
light how destruction on the earth will occur once the “Seven Seals” are
opened. Here’s the deal, none of us want to be present when this occurs because
it will not be a pretty event. Satan has already screwed up and so has a third
of the angels who were cast down from heaven. Satan is trying to get as many
followers possible and it continues with you and I. Satan is in the churches,
on the street corner, in our homes, everywhere utilizing things that will bring
us down to his level. But we have to stop it, we have the knowledge of good and
evil, but we first must understand it. Understand that Satan will disguise the
sour with the sweet. Understand that whatever we are experiencing in our lives
has its good and bad points. Acknowledge that what Satan is tempting us with is
not good for us. Say to Satan what you
are tempting me with will not benefit my wellbeing but if I act as my Savior
did and tell you to get behind me maybe you’ll find out what you should be
doing. This lifestyle you’re trying to present to me is not what The Father
has in store for me and I’m working on my reflection of my Creator. Maybe if
you had not tried to be more than the One Who Created you would not be troubled
by the end result you are about to face. We have to tell Satan I’m on the road
to being a righteous creation acceptable in Eyesight’s of the Almighty God. I
don’t need to be standing in the pit of the ungodly, I want to be standing in
the glory of my Almighty Creator. My eyes have seen the coming of the Glory of
my Lord. You can’t take away my joy devil because my joy comes from up high. My
God talks to me and I listen so when you come I’m already prepared for your
foolishness, now get behind me Satan cause I’m following Christ’s example.
Zechariah 13:8
In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds
will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it.
Zechariah 13:9
This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like
silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer
them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our
God.'"
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to
God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. T he Christian
soldier may with the greatest propriety, be said to war a good warfare (I
Timothy 1:18) . He is engaged in a good cause. He fights under the eye of the
Captain of his salvation. Though he be weak in himself, and though his enemies
are many and mighty, he may do that which in other soldiers …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2
Zechariah 13:1 When that day comes, a spring will be opened
up for the house of David and the people living in Yerushalayim to cleanse them
from sin and impurity.
·
A fountain - The blood of Christ. Opened - The spouse is to
Christ a fountain sealed, but Christ is to sinners a fountain opened. Inhabitants
of Jerusalem - The inhabitants of Jerusalem are all to whom the gospel is
preached. For uncleanness - For purging away all manner of sins and
uncleanness’s.
2 "When that day comes," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, "I
will cut off the very names of the idols from the land, so that no one even
remembers them anymore. I will also expel the [false] prophets and the spirit
of uncleanness from the land;
·
Cut off - I will utterly destroy
idols and idolatry. The prophets - The false prophets.The unclean spirit - The
devil who sets the false prophets to work.
3 so that if anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and
mother who brought him into the world will tell him, 'You cannot continue to
live, because you are speaking lies in the name of ADONAI'; then his own father
and mother who brought him into the world will stab him to death.
·
Prophesy - Falsely. His father -
His dearest friends. Shall thrust him through - That is, shall wound, shall
chastise him with stripes that may leave their marks behind.
4 When that day comes, each one of the prophets will be shamed by
his vision when he prophesies. He will stop wearing a hair cloak to deceive
people; 5 and instead, he will say, 'I'm no
prophet, I just work the soil; since my youth I've only wanted to be an
ordinary man.' 6 If someone asks him, 'Then what
are these gashes between your shoulders?' he will answer, 'I got hurt at my
friends' house.'
·
With which I was wounded - To
recover me from ruining myself and others by imposture
In the time mentioned at the close of the
foregoing chapter, a fountain would be opened to the rulers and people of the
Jews, in which to wash away their sins. Even the atoning blood of Christ,
united with his sanctifying grace. It has hitherto been closed to the
unbelieving nation of Israel; but when the Spirit of grace shall humble and
soften their hearts, he will open it to them also. This fountain opened is the
pierced side of Christ. We are all as an unclean thing. Behold a fountain
opened for us to wash in, and streams flowing to us from that fountain. The
blood of Christ, and God's pardoning mercy in that blood, made known in the new
covenant, are a fountain always flowing, that never can be emptied. It is
opened for all believers, who as the spiritual seed of Christ, are of the house
of David, and, as living members of the church, are inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Christ, by the power of his grace, takes away the dominion of sin, even of
beloved sins. Those who are washed in the fountain opened, as they are
justified, so they are sanctified. Souls are brought off from the world and the
flesh, those two great idols that they may cleave to God only. The thorough
reformation which will take place on the conversion of Israel to Christ, is
here foretold. False prophets shall be convinced of their sin and folly, and
return to their proper employments. When convinced that we are gone out of the
way of duty, we must show the truth of our repentance by returning to it again.
It is well to acknowledge those to be friends, who by severe discipline are
instrumental in bringing us to a sight of error; for faithful are the wounds of
a friend, Proverbs 27:6. And it is always well for us to recollect the wounds
of our Savior. Often has he been wounded by professed friends, nay, even by his
real disciples, when they act contrary to his word.
In most cases, Satan’s
job is important in a sense of balance. The temptations brought by Satan are
just tools we can use to make better decisions. Satan has planted the seeds of
a sinful nature, which are found in Galatians 5:18-21; which are sexual
immoarility, impurity, bebauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, disseensions, factions, envy,
drunkenness, orgies, and the like. This nature is the reaction of how we live
our lives. But you see it all begins within our minds, how we perceive
something. For example, someone says something to you that degrades the
character of someone you care for. In a caring sense we would want to defend
that person by cussing the accuser out. But if we do that, anger will be a part
of our demeanor. The lifestyle of Christ demonstrated how to handle all
situations. First, put anger behind you, then help the accuser understand how
you feel about the whole situation. Christ also planted some seeds in verses 22
and 23 of Galatians 5; which are love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The devil is in the
church and most of us are looking for a physical devil. Stop looking because
the seed of Satan is in all of us. I don’t care saved you think you are that seed is in all of us, trying
to grow. Take a look around yourself and then go back to Galatians, lets define
each “sinful nature:
1.
Sexual
immorality - Interpersonal activity involving sex organs that does not conform
to God's revealed laws governing sexuality.
a.
The
account of creation (Gen 1:1-28) includes reproductive activity as an essential
part of the developmental scheme. This important function is given special
prominence in the narrative describing the creation of woman (Gen 2:21-24). In
a process cloaked in mystery, God takes an aspect (Heb. sela, improperly
translated "rib" in many versions) of Adam and fashions it into a
genetic counterpart that is specifically female, and which matches Adam's
maleness for purposes of reproducing the species. Adam and Eve are thus equal
and complementary to one another, of the same physical and genetic composition
apart from the slight difference that governs the characteristic nature of male
and female fetuses. God tells them to "Be fruitful and increase in number;
fill all the earth and subdue it" (Gen 1:28).
7 "Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is
close to me," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. "Strike the shepherd, and the
sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the young ones.
·
O sword - Afflictions,
persecutions, and the cross. My shepherd - Who is my faithful shepherd, and
will lay down his life for my sheep. My fellow - This speaks Christ; man with
us, and God with his father, God - man in one person. The shepherd - This great
and good shepherd. Turn mine hand - God will turn his hand in favour, and for
protection will keep the new, and weak disciples
8 In time, throughout that land," says ADONAI,
"two-thirds of those in it will be destroyed - they will die, but
one-third will remain. 9 That third part I will
bring through the fire; I will refine them as silver is refined, I will test
them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I
will say, 'This is my people' and they will say, 'ADONAI is my God.'"
·
Two parts - Not precisely two, but the greater
part shall die a temporal death, by the sword of Titus, or in eternal death
under unbelief. The third - A remnant, the lesser part, shall escape or be
preserved.
Here is a prophecy of the sufferings of Christ. God the
Father gave order to the sword of his justice to awake against his Son, when he
freely made his soul an offering for sin. As God, he is called "my
Fellow." Christ and the Father are one. He is the Shepherd who was to lay
down his life for the sheep. If a Sacrifice, he must be slain, for without
shedding of the life-blood there was no remission. This sword must awake
against him, yet he had no sin of his own to answer for. It may refer to the
whole of Christ's sufferings, especially his agonies in the garden and on the
cross, when he endured unspeakable anguish till Divine justice was fully
satisfied. Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. This passage
our Lord Jesus declares was fulfilled, when all his disciples, in the night
wherein he was betrayed, forsook him and fled. It has, and shall have its
accomplishment, in the destruction of the corrupt and hypocritical part of the
professed church. Because of the sin of the Jews in rejecting and crucifying
Christ, and in opposing his gospel, the Romans would destroy the greater part.
But a remnant would be saved. And if we are his people, we shall be refined as
gold; he will be God, and the end of all our trials and sufferings will be
praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ cleansed the church, he took the building built
on the foundation of life and clraned up to it’s original glory. The dusty
anger,
