Obeying God's Natural And Moral Laws

Zechariah 7:11, 14

But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. ... This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.

This is why God sent Nebuchadnezzar to conquer them and carry them off of the land, to the land of Babylonia, to the ancient city of Babylon. Now that 70 years have passed, and Cyrus is the king, the Jews have been permitted to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, but most of the Jews are still in Babylon, where Zechariah is. The people have just asked him to inquire of God whether they should continue to observe the feasts that they have all during this time of exile from their home, and Zechariah replies that they have not honored God by their doing these things, but only themselves, and reminds them that the reason their home has been destroyed is their own (or their ancestors') fault by refusing to listen to the earlier prophets.

God did not make that beautiful, fruitful land that "flowed with milk and honey" desolate; the people did. Government policies cause droughts and ruining of crops and land. By ignoring the rules and regulations of the Designer and Maker of the Earth, they ruined the good land and forfeited the benefits, the wealth it could provide.

That's what always happens to any people who will not follow the natural laws (based on the sciences) and moral laws (based on the Ten Commandments) that God designed for us to obey, so we could all enjoy the benefits of this Earth. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

"All Flesh Will See It Together"

Isaiah 40:3-5

A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley; --

God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus and he quoted these verses, saying, in effect, that the mountains and valleys were in our hearts; that our pride and our discouragement must be dealt with to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus.

And the Book of Revelation tells us that the actual mountains and valleys on this Earth will be leveled by earthquakes and other cataclysmic events immediately preceding the coming of the Lord.

then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

Then when Jesus appears, coming down through the clouds, is when all flesh will see it together, at the same time. The Church will be raptured while He is still in the clouds, and we will return with Him, in our Resurrection bodies, as His feet touch the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) and He wages and wins the Battle of Armageddon. 

And the Jews all over the world will also see Him whom they have pierced, and realize that He really is their Messiah, and be saved. And since they weren't Resurrected with the Church, and they weren't fighting against Him in the Battle of Armageddon, then they will be the ones who enter into His 1000-year Kingdom in their human bodies. Since they already live all over the world, they will repopulate the world over that 1000 years.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Property Rights

Ezekiel 46:16-18

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: "If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants; it is to be their property by inheritance. If, however, he makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it until the year of freedom; then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs to his sons only; it is theirs. The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people, driving them off their property. He is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that not one of My people will be separated from their property."

God is concerned for property rights. The leaders of the people are never to take over any of the peoples' property, nor are they to take away their own property from their children. God is the ultimate Owner of all the land, and He has allotted it fairly among all the families and tribes of His people. Each family is to keep their property in the family.

The most basic foundation of society is the family, and the security of the family lies in their property; their real estate, their intellectual property, all the kinds of property people own. That is what produces their income and livelihood. So if everyone follows these rules, then there need be no "poor" who have nothing, as everyone would retain their family property.

Since we, as flawed human beings, think we know better, we want to have more and more of this world's goods, and we take advantage of other people. Like those who are in the government, thinking that they deserve more than the "common man" who isn't as "smart" as they are. And those who have been granted to accumulate riches are never satisfied with worldly riches, but must continue to accumulate more; using people and loving things, the essence of wickedness and evil.

God made this world for us to use the things of this world as tools to benefit the people; ourselves, our families and our nations. We are to love God, learning His ways, the rules and regulations He set for this world to work by, and then we will be able to love the people and use the things for our benefit. And God will receive all the credit, the glory, because that's how He designed it.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The Judgement Seat Of Christ

I Corinthians 3:11-15

This section describes what will happen at the Judgement Seat of Christ, which is mentioned in II Corinthians 5:10, and also in Romans 4:10.

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. --

Christ Jesus is the only foundation we can build on; any other basis will be destroyed with the Earth and everything on it.

Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; --

If what we do is in the power of the Spirit working in us, or if we're still acting according to our flesh.

Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the Day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

What each of us has done in this life will be clearly seen at that time to be either valuable with eternal spiritual results, or worthless being burned up by the fire.

If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

Any man's work that will withstand the fire, not being burned up, will also be rewarded eternally. Rewards are often spoken of as "crowns" (9:25; I Thessalonians 2:19; II Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; I Peter 5:4; Revelation 2:10; 3:11; 4:4,10).

If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. --

This is loss of reward, the person will still be saved, because our works have nothing to do with salvation, that's all of God. But it will be as though the person has gone through the fire, and has come out "by the skin of his teeth" with nothing else to show for it but his very self. 

I think that this would be very sad for that person, to have nothing to give back to our Lord, as the Elders who sit on thrones around the Lord's throne, "cast their crowns before the throne" (Revelation 4:10).

This judgement is only for Christians, those who will be Resurrected at the Rapture and those who have died before that event. The rest of the people who are the lost will be judged at the end of Time at the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11-15).

So I want to be constantly aware of my Father with me all the time, doing everything I do in His power, through His Spirit in me. Because everything I do in my flesh has never worked out for me, anyway; that's why I gave my life to Him to live for me when He saved me. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Practical Response To Resurrection Truth

I Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my dear brothers, --

This is the conclusion, the logical result of the Truth of Resurrection in our own lives; family Truth.

stand firm. Let nothing move you. --

Do not let your thoughts wander off of the settled Truth you know already; don't be fooled.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, --

Just like I, Paul, have done, follow me as I follow Christ. 

because you know --

Have no doubts.

that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. --

Whatever we do in God's power, according to His will for us, to fulfill our part in His Plan to bring His Kingdom, will be rewarded, eternally.

This awarding of rewards will take place at the Judgement Seat of Christ, the Bema Seat, to take place at our Resurrection when Jesus returns. (See Romans 4:10; II Corinthians 5:10 and I Corinthians 3:11-15.)

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

God's Glory Leaves The Temple

Ezekiel 10:1-22

This is another passage about the Cherubim and God's Throne above them, when the Lord's Glory leaves the Temple, "de-sanctifying" it for destruction.

(V. 2-7) The Lord said to the man clothed in linen (who was in the previous section), "Go in among the wheels beneath the Cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the Cherubim and scatter them over the city." And as I watched, he went in.

Now the Cherubim were standing on the south side of the Temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the Cherubim and moved to the threshold of the Temple. The cloud filled the Temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord. The sound of the wings of the Cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty (El-Shaddai) when He speaks. (Again, like the roar of a troupe of motorcycles.)

When the Lord commanded the man in linen, "Take fire from among the wheels, from among the Cherubim," the man went in and stood beside a wheel. Then one of the Cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out.

Here we see that this "fire" is in the middle of the four Cherubim, and is the furnace, or engine, or whatever it is, that powers the wheels for their transportation. God had the "man in linen" scatter the "coals" over the city of Jerusalem, signifying the destruction of the city that will soon take place.

Then Ezekiel watches, and describes these Angels in the same way he described them in Chapter 1, with one difference:

(v. 12) Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels.

Wow, they're all lit up now. Some semi-trucks drive at night with all their running lights on, and I think that they're lit up like a Christmas tree. Now these Cherubim are ready to leave this realm and go back to Heaven, and they have all their "running lights" on. 

(vs. 15-17) Then the Cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. When the Cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the Cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. When the Cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

These Cherubim are "attached" to the wheels, as they are "attached" to the wings they fly with, like propellers. They are driving some kind of flying machine that Ezekiel had no words to describe accurately, technology even beyond anything we can imagine today. And the "spirit" or life or energy to power the machine, came from the "engine" in the middle of them.

(v. 18) Then the Glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the Temple and stopped above the Cherubim.

The Lord rides the Cherubim.

(vs. 19-22) While I watched, the Cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the East Gate of the Lord's House, and the Glory of the God of Israel was above them.

These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were Cherubim. Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like human hands. Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.

There are four of them, each with his back to another's, in a square formation. The furnace, or engine is inside the square, powering the wheels. The wings they fly with work like propellers, and three of the four faces look to me to be like a helmet. And the wings that cover their bodies could be their robes, or uniforms, or armor. 

Maybe you have a different picture of what Ezekiel is trying to describe here; I would love to hear your ideas, and consider them.

Even so, Come, Lord Jesus!

The Rapture

I Corinthians 15:50-57

I declare to you, brothers, --

This is important family Truth, so pay attention.

that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, --

God's Kingdom is spiritual, that physical flesh cannot withstand, like looking into the Sun will burn out our eyes.

nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. --

What can be destroyed cannot withstand what cannot be destroyed.

Listen, I tell you a mystery: --

Listen up, guys, I'm telling you something no one has ever known before; a new revelation from God.

We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--

We all won't have to die first, some of us will live to see the Day and bypass death entirely. But whether we live to that Day or die before it comes, all of our bodies will be changed to Resurrection bodies.

--In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, --

This will happen instantly, instantaneously.

at the last Trumpet. --

This is when it will happen. The only series of trumpet blasts is in Revelation: this is the 7th Trumpet (Revelation 11:15-19).

For the Trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. --

This is referred to as "The Rapture." It means, "catching away" in the sense that the "we" here are those of us who have not died and remain alive when Jesus comes, when He appears in the clouds, calls our names, we all rise to Him, and come down with Him as His feet touch the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4).

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. --

What can be harmed or destroyed and die must be changed into what cannot be harmed or destroyed or die, to be able to live forever.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, --

When all this is done, accomplished, and we are Resurrected.

then the saying that had been written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (Isaiah 25:8)

Where, O Death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting? (Hosea 13:14)

This is when these prophesies will be fulfilled.

The sting of Death is sin, --

The pain, the shot that misses the mark, where we come up short: sin.

And the power of sin is the law. --

The civil and the natural, scientific laws, as well as God's moral law; all have the authority to punish every lawbreaker.

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The victory over Death, and all the lesser enemies we have, like the world, our own flesh, and the devil. Victory!

Jesus's death on the Cross as our Sacrificial Lamb and His Resurrection, proving that God the Father accepted His payment in full for all our sins, guarantees our redemption; and the Holy Spirit given to live in us is the deposit on the full redemption of us; our bodies, our Earth and the whole Universe.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!