Revelation Part 1

 

Ruby Falls, Chattanooga TN- Irish colors for St. Patty's Day

Revelations is a book that most people don't dare tackle. The imagery and the metaphorical context is often times beyond what we can know. Today, I have something that I think will intrigue you and/or anger you. Keep in mind, I asked God what was going on in chapter twelve and I believe this is what He has said.

In chapter twelve of Revelation we see the title "The Woman and the Dragon." 

The woman is Israel, the twelve tribes represent the twelve crowns, her pregnancy was the birth of the church through Jesus. She birthed Him then He was taken up to the throne of God. When war broke out in heaven, it was because Satan continually persecuted God's people but now that the blood of Christ had brought forgiveness of our sins, the devil had nothing to persecute us for. So the war was fought and the dragon was cast down to Earth. 

If Israel represents the woman, then Satan pursued them and tried to wipe them off the face of the Earth many, many times. Her children, who kept the commandments of God, I believe is the young church. At the end of Chapter 12, we see the dragon standing at the edge of the sea which represents the population of the world outside the church.

However, in the next chapter we see a great beast rise up out of that very sea. 

The Beast, is the flesh. That nature of old, the one Jesus came to get rid of in all of us. It even says that one of the beasts heads were mortally wounded. Where does the flesh nature work in man, his heart, his mind and soul. One of the workings of the flesh was critically injured when Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross. The head on the beast that was mortally wounded may have represented the heart of man as the heart is what God is after. So the heart of man was turned, thereby giving the beast/flesh a wound that most thought was going to kill the flesh in man. The flesh was critically injured but it came back. It says, the dragon gives the beast authority and we all know that Satan works through our flesh to tempt, manipulate and move us around like a puppet on a string. 

So the flesh is the beast and its power comes from the dragon and if you look at 13:7 you'll see that the flesh was given permission to wage war with the saints and to conquer them, which took place.

The young church became full of flesh, so much so that they were collecting money for get out of hell cards called indulgences(look it up, it's a bunch of twisted junk). The church became so corrupt that anyone challenging their ultimate authority like Martin Luthor were imprisoned or killed. So, Revelations predicted the church being corrupted by the flesh and the whole world it says in 13:8 will worship the flesh.

What is worshiping the flesh/the beast mean. I mean you don't see altars set up to worship our human nature do you. Currently, I'd say social media is set up to worship the flesh. The flesh is human nature and if I've heard it once I've heard it a thousand times, "You do you" which is inherently saying, you are fine the way you are, no need for change or a savior. Better still is the rise in LGBT and BLM stuff and cancel culture. They are practically parading the flesh down the streets and their motto is, if it feels good, do it. Quite the opposite of dying to the flesh which is what should be taking place. 

13:9,10 Talks about going into captivity, which means those that have given up on faith and have instead been consumed by selfish fleshly desires. Those that die by the sword are those willing to die by the words of God and His truth which slays our flesh. Yet back in those days, the church was corrupt and never thought of dying to self until the Protestant Reformation came into being. 

In 13:11 we now have a beast from the Earth. If the sea represents all of humanity then the land or Earth represents the church. In this it says this beast is like a lamb yet spoke like the dragon. So in a corrupt church system, this scenario would completely fit. Here's a church system with the appearance of Jesus with their pious clothes and huge churches, their art work and appearance of holiness yet inside their hearts, the dragon is in control. It goes on to say in 13:12 that they exercised the authority of the first beast which is the flesh and caused everyone on Earth to worship the first beast. This is the system that was supposed to be set up to eradicate the flesh through faith in Jesus and now they are causing people to worship the flesh. 

In the following verses, doom and gloom abound as now fire, which is power, is being used to deceive many into worshiping. The first beast, the flesh, is now given authority to talk, to have a voice, which we see today. If someone who is living in God and follows God with their whole heart they are beaten down and killed with words from the church.

Have you ever seen someone who truly loves God and is completely sold out to Him, get Baptized in the Spirit, in a church that doesn't believe in the Baptism. It is not pretty. They will run that person out of their church because they cannot live with the conviction. For those finding a church that believe in the gifts of the Spirit, often times, the gifts are elevated above God and the gifts are worshipped instead. Our churches are truly messed up and the predictions of Revelations proves it.

The next part is the mark of the beast, which has been speculated to be some sort of chip embedded in our hand or a bar code on our skin of some kind. If we stop looking at this book as literal, we see that Christ, in Rev. 3:18 says, buy from me gold refined in fire. Gold is a symbol of God's nature as it will not tarnish over time. The fire are trials. So Jesus is saying, through Him and through trials that kill the flesh, you can purchase the nature of God. See, our task, once we come to Christ, is to get rid of our flesh through faith in Him. The flesh can be stubborn and often times it takes some heat, some sort of trial to see it for what it is in us. Once we see our flesh and how truly awful it is, we can hand it over to God to be destroyed forever. This is the purchase, our flesh as an offering to purchase the nature of God.

So in Rev. 13:16-18 What the church or the second beast, who makes the world worship the flesh, the first beast, has now done is placed labels on people through denominations. The mark on their hands indicate work. We use our hands to work and if our hands are marked for certain work by the flesh or the church then we go out and work for them. Our hands are marked when we take what we are given and we go out and do works according to what we are marked for. 

If we are followers of God, God himself will mark our hands for His will and purpose. Often though, works are dictated by a doctrine or a belief system dictated by a church. We should not have any church system override the works of God on our lives. No matter who it is in the church, pastor, deacon or a visiting evangelist, if they tell you to believe in something directly contradicting what the Spirit has told you, then do not listen. This is why relationship is so extremely important.

The mark on the forehead speaks of our minds being manipulated. If they don't have these marks, then they are not allowed to buy and sell. So we have established that we sell our selfishness and buy the nature of God. If a system is corrupt and they have everyone thinking that they are the only way to salvation, that they hold the keys and dictate when, where, and how someone comes to Christ, then they hold the buying and selling power. Again, to reiterate, relationship with the Father is the key.  

We have been told that the book of Revelations is something that is to come and that the church will be raptured out and those that are left will have to endure all these things. Again, consult God over this. Don't let the church and their doctrines overshadow the truth. I may seem to be anti-church because of my posts, I am not. I am against the entity who claims to be the true church of Christ. Wolves in sheep's clothing as they worry more about money, pride, doctrine, attendance and the flesh than actually having a full relationship with God. That's why Revelations is filled with warnings to the saints. Those that seek God diligently and sacrifice their lives for His. 

Do I have all this right, I'm not claiming that, yet I feel in my heart that this is what God is saying. We cannot sweep under the rug the tragedies of the church throughout history. From selling indulgences to killing people who disagreed with them, to standing by as slaves and Indians were treated horribly, to sitting in all white churches and thinking they were more righteous than the blacks. To today where Trump is king and guns are the solution to all problems. How can we even begin to think things are right when we see all this happening. We must change the way we think. As Christians, we cannot keep our lives, they belong to God. We must live like we have been purchased. Instead, we live like a spoiled teens with daddy's credit card running around and getting everything for ourselves. It's no wonder the world is falling apart. 

In my next post, I will continue on into chapter 14 which talks about those sealed by God, the saints. 

A fire burns in me for truth. I cannot stand by and watch the truth  of God be destroyed by those seeking self. If you have read this to the end, I believe you are searching for a true relationship with the Father. Do not look to my posts as truth, do not turn to a church for truth, truth comes when you fall on your knees in your alone time with God and seek Him. Knock and He will answer. Seek and you will find. I believe there are those out there who are sold out to God completely. Our task, is to join them in these final hours.

To God be the Glory, Always!