Jesus is coming. . .soon! Are you ready?

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Jesus is coming. . .soon! Are you ready?
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And after these things I saw four angels
standing on the four corners of the earth,
holding the four winds of the earth, that the
wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the
sea, nor on any tree. . . .
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And I saw another angel ascending from the east,
having the seal of the Living God and he cried
with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it
was given to hurt the earth and the sea . . .
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Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor
the trees till we have sealed the servants of our
God in their foreheads. Rev. 713
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This part of the prophecy is parenthetical and
fits into place between verses 13 and 14 of
chapter 6. It occurs just before our Lord returns
in glory. And it parallels what John recorded in
1415.
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Heaven rolled up like a scroll as it opens for
Christ to come with His angels All the wicked
of the earth flee to the rocks and mountains for
safety Great earthquakes move every mountain
and island out of its place
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In 617 the question was asked Who shall be
able to stand? when Gods day of wrath is come
upon the earth
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Who shall beable to stand?
Chapter 7 gives the answer
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Series of FOURS
Four angels represent divine agencies in the
world holding back the forces of evil until the
work of God on human hearts is complete and the
people are sealed in their foreheads (cf. Rev.
141 152-4)
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Series of FOURS
The four corners denote the four points of the
compass and the symbol here means that the whole
earth is threatened cf. Isa. 1112 Jere. 4936
Eze. 72 Dan. 88 Mark 1327 Rev. 208
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Series of FOURS
The winds are symbols of strife and war
Clearly these winds symbolize destructive
forces about to consume the earth Jere.
2532-33, Dan. 72
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The 144,000 who are sealed
Who are they?
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
1. This is a symbolic prophecy
Elsewhere in sections of the Book of Revelation
names are used symbolically
Ephesus Smyrna Pergamos
Jezebel Balaam Sodom and Egypt
Babylon Euphrates
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
The very name Israel is symbolic, it means God
rules
Psalm 731 Truly God is good to Israel, even
to such as are of a clean heart
When Jacob received his new name, it was said
that he prevailed against adversity
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
2. If the number is literal, then it means that
ONLY 144,000 persons will be able to stand in
that last terrible trial that will soon come upon
the whole earth
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
3. If we take this as literal, then it means that
ONLY 144,000 Jews (descendents of Jacob) will be
able to stand What are the odds of EXACTLY
144,000 EXACTLY 12,000 persons from each Jewish
tribe being saved?
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
4. If the prophecy is literal, then it means that
not a single soul from the tribes of Dan or
Ephraim is saved neither are named in the list
of tribes here given
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
5. If the prophecy is literal, then it does not
follow the names of the tribes as they occupied
Israel after they came from Egypt Joseph and
Levi were not allotted any land in their names,
but here are named
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
6. History since the dispersion does not record
the existence of twelve literal tribes as having
survived
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
There are prophecies in the Bible that foretold
of the tribes being gathered back to Palestine
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
And it come to pass in that day, that the Lord
shall set His hand again the second time to
recover the remnant of His people, which shall be
left, from Assyria, and from Egypt . . .
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
And He shall set up an ensign for the nations,
and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and
gather together the dispersed of Judah from the
four corners of the earth. Isaiah 1111, 12
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
And I will gather the remnant of My flock out
of all countries whither I have driven them, and
will bring them again to their folds and they
shall be fruitful and increase. Jeremiah 233
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
This land, promised to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, was theirs forever through the
unconditional and unbreakable blood covenant
expressed in Genesis 1518-21.
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
Israel and its Holy City, Jerusalem, hold the
keys to the future. What happens in the Jewish
state affects what God is doing with the rest of
the world.
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
Prosperity or punishment depends on how we
treat Israel . . . God will answer every act of
anti-Semitism with harsh and final judgment . .
. The quickest and most effective way to be on
Gods side is to stand with the State of Israel
and the Jewish people in their hour of need.
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
Jerry Falwell Without a State of Israel in
the Holy Land, there cannot be the second coming
of Jesus Christ, nor can there be a Last
Judgment, nor the End of the World.
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
The massive support extended to the State of
Israel by millions of Christian supporters of
Zionism is overtly motivated by a single
consideration . . .
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
. . . that the return of the Jews to the Holy
Land will be a prelude to their the Jews
acceptance of Christ or, for those who fail to do
so, their physical destruction.
Yakov M. Rabkin, Professor of History
University of Montreal
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7 REASONS THE 144,000 ARE NOT LITERAL
7. The biggest reason that this prophecy does NOT
indicate a literal number of Jews is because the
Bible says that the nation of Israel has no more
place in prophecy
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But . . . What about that unconditional
covenant that God made with Abraham?
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Is the covenant God made with Israel REALLY
unconditional? What does the Bible say?
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I will establish My covenant with you, and with
your seed after you . . . This is the token of
the covenant I have established between Me and
all flesh that is upon the earth. (Gen. 98-17)
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Now therefore, IF ye will obey My voice indeed,
and keep My covenant, THEN ye shall be a peculiar
treasure unto Me above all people . . .
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. . .And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of
priests, and an holy nation. Exodus 195, 6
And He hath made us kings and priests unto God
and His Father. Revelation 16
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IF ye be willing and obedient, THEN implied ye
shall eat the good of the land, but IF ye refuse
and rebel, THEN implied ye shall be devoured
with the sword for the mouth of the LORD hath
spoken it. Isa 119-20
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They say unto Him, He will miserably destroy
those wicked men, and will let out His vineyard
unto other husbandmen which shall render Him the
fruits in their seasons. Matt. 2141
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For I am the LORD, I change not therefore ye
sons of Jacob are not consumed. Malachi 36
It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not
consumed, because His compassions fail not.
Lamentations 322
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Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and
ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost as your
fathers did, so do ye. . .
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Which of the prophets have not your fathers
persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed
before of the coming of the Just One of whom ye
have been now the betrayers and murderers . . .
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Who have received the law by the disposition of
angels, and have not kept it. Acts 75153
Can God save those who continually rebel against
Him?
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The BIG question is Who is Israel?
Is Israel a political nation, or something else?
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Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many but
as of one, And to thy SEED, which is
Christ. Gal. 316
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And if ye be Christs, then are ye Abrahams
seed, and heirs according to the
promise. Gal. 329
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. . . For they are not all Israel which are of
Israel neither, because they are of the seed of
Abraham, are they all children but in Isaac
shall thy seed be called . . .
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They which are the children of the flesh, these
are NOT the children of God but the children of
the promise are counted for seed. Rom. 96-8
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This text alone should forever set at rest the
speculations about the return of the Jews to old
Jerusalem, in order that Gods promises may be
fulfilled. Waggoner on Romans, p. 154
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Christ is the stumbling-stone over which all
stumble who regard the promises to Israel as made
to a certain earthly nation, to the exclusion of
all others. Waggoner on Romans, p. 160
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Who ARE the 144,000 who are sealed??
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These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev. 714
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Names Denote Character
Judah praise the LORD
Reuben one who sees the son
Gad armed and prepared
Asher one who blesses
Naphtali one who struggles
Manasseh forgetfulness
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Names Denote Character
Simeon one who hears/obeys
Levi one attached to God
Issachar there is a price
Zebulon exalted habitation
Joseph may He increase
Benjamin son of my right hand
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Names Denote Character
Dan one who judges serpent by the way, and
adder in the path
Ephraim double fruit
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Names Denote Character
Dan one who judges serpent by the way, and
adder in the path
Ephraim double fruit
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Names Denote Character
Ephraims name was eventually associated with the
whole of the ten northern tribes who went after
false gods, and were destroyed by Assyria
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Names Denote Character
Ephraims name was eventually associated with the
whole of the ten northern tribes who went after
false gods, and were destroyed by Assyria
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Names Denote Character
The 12 names are inscribed on the 12 gates of the
New Jerusalem, and the redeemed will enter the
city through the gate that describes their
character.
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