Bible Believers' Newsletter 1009
"We focus on the present Truth – what Jesus is doing now . . ."
ISSN 1442-8660Christian greetings in the precious Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; we are pleased to see your happy, smiling face.
"Where is the promise of His Coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." We have been greatly impressed with the extreme lateness of the hour and astounded at the apparent disinterest among professing Christians, with not so much as a tweet from within the circle of this end-time Message. Our main article, "The Ordeal of Jealousy," describes the alternative to the translation for those of little faith, and for the faithless. The Old Testament type is found in Numbers 5:11-31, its New Testament antitype is found in Revelation 15:1, 5 – 18:20 which prophesy the Seven Vials of God's wrath upon make-believing and un-believing non-elect 'christians'.
In Revelation 17:1-3, William Branham, "one of the seven angels which had the Seven Vials, spoke with . . . . [insert your name] . . . . saying, Come here; I will show you the judgment on the Great Whore that sits upon many waters [ruling Rome's one world government]: with whom the kings of the earth have committed [spiritual] fornication [which is idolatry]. So Brother Branham carried me away in the Spirit into the desert: and I saw a woman [church] seated upon [and controlling] a scarlet coloured beast [the Judaeo-Roman church Empire], full of blasphemous names [such as Prebyterian, Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, et al], having seven heads [mountains, and seven deified Emperors: five are fallen (Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius), and one is (Nero), and the other is not yet come (Galba); and when he comes, he must continue a short space: Galba ruled seven months and six days, and ten horns [or sovereign nations into which the Empire of Imperial Rome divided, namely the ten toes of the image of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2:31-45). The Ostrogoths (Italy), Visigoths (Spain), Franks (France), Vandals (North Africa), Suevi (Portugal), Alemanni (Germany), Anglo-Saxon (England), Heruli (Germany), Lombards (Italy), and Burgundians (Switzerland and Austria)"]. The Vandals were massacred in 533, the Heruli were massacred in 493, and the Ostrogoths were massacred in 538 for rejecting Rome's Trinity of gods, thus these three nations are extinct.
As it was in the days of Noah the world is falling apart again. The thrust of this week's news is the morphing of the apostate (once) Protestant churches and the Empire of the City of London into the crafty cold-blooded image of the Judaeo-Roman Catholic beast.
This Newsletter serves those of like precious faith. Whoever will receive the truth is welcome to feed their soul from the waters of the River of Life. Everything here presented should be confirmed personally in your own Bible.
Your brother-in-Christ
Anthony Grigor-Scott
Turkey invades Syria to attack US-backed Kurdish Forces
January 22, 2018 — On Sunday, at 11 AM local time, Turkish tanks and infantry invaded Afrin, a majority-Kurdish multi-ethnic region in north-western Syria . . . With Moscow's tacit support, Turkey is attacking the YPG, the backbone of the main US proxy force in Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia. The danger of this triggering a clash between US forces and Russian and Turkish forces in Syria, and all-out war between the United States and Russia, is very real . . .
It signifies a historic breakdown of the NATO alliance, of which the United States and Turkey are both members. Given that the Turkish invasion apparently has support in Berlin, it reflects deep and mounting conflicts between the major NATO powers . . . As Turkey moves to destroy the main US proxy force in Syria, NATO is on the verge of collapse and Washington is increasingly isolated. It faces a powerful coalition of opponents in the Middle East that enjoys support even among Washington's nominal European allies. It is responding by announcing a military strategy that centers on preparations for total war against nuclear-armed powers such as Russia and China . . . Full story: wsws.org
Comment: Leaders in Syria, Iraq, Iran and particularly Turkey can see that Washington is not an honest broker, but a crafty cold-blooded opportunist willing to throw even its allies under the bus to achieve its own narrow geopolitical objectives. As a result, Erdogan has moved closer to Russia which has sent up red flags in Washington as one would expect. After all–in the broader scheme of things–Turkey is more important to the US than Ukraine. It is the essential land bridge and energy hub that is destined to bind Europe and Asia together into the world's biggest free trade zone. If Turkey breaks out of Washington's orbit and moves into Moscow's camp, Washington's plan to 'pivot to Asia' will collapse in a heap.
So while McMaster might think that forward deterrence will prevent Russia from achieving its objectives, it's clear that the policy is already working in Putin's favour. Every miscue that Washington makes only adds to Putin's credibility and reputation as a reliable partner. Simply put: The Russian president is gradually replacing Washington as the guarantor of regional security. This is a tectonic development and one that US powerbrokers will definitely regret in the future. A 'changing of the guard' is underway in the energy-rich Middle East; Washington is the odd-man-out (counterpunch.org).
The new post-Syria conflict reality: whether in Lebanon, Syria or Iraq, little can occur without Iranian involvement, one way or another. Turkey too, cannot pursue a realistic Kurdish strategy without Iranian assistance. And Russia and China both need Iranian assistance to ensure that the One Belt, One Road project is not derailed by jihadi extremists.
This is the reality: whilst American and European leaders talk incessantly of their plans for 'containing' Iran, the reality is that Iran and its regional allies (Syria, Lebanon, Iraq—and to a unpredictable extent, Turkey) are, in fact, 'containing' (i.e. militarily deterring) America and Israel. And the centre of economic gravity in the region, inexorably, is draining away from the Gulf, towards China and Russia's Eurasian project. The Gulf's economic strength has passed its peak.
Deploying a 'small' US occupation force in north-eastern Syria stands not so much as a threat to Iran, but more as a hostage to Damascus and Tehran. Such is the shift in the balance of power between the northern tier of states in the region, and those of the southern tier. It is a symbolism—an American military force in Syria ostensibly to 'contain Iran'—that the US may subsequently rue, should Turkey act—or, ultimately abandon, leaving their erstwhile Kurdish allies to twist in the Syrian dry wind (strategic-culture.org).
The Trinity of Globalist Control
The ideology of the British Empire has been outlined in the past by various British statesmen, specifically by England's first Jewish Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield). The modern version which has been broadened to include the United States as a principal in the British Empire was outlined by Cecil Rhodes in about 1895 as follows: "Establish a secret society in order to have the whole continent of South America, the Holy Land, the Valley of the Euphrates, the islands of Cyprus and Candia, the islands of the Pacific not heretofore possessed by Great Britain, the Malay Archipelago, the seaboard of China and Japan and, finally, the United States. In the end Great Britain is to establish a power so overwhelming that wars must cease and the millennium be realized".
Vatican City State owns the world's largest banks.
The Crown Corporation is the City of London.
Why is the sovereign alien city state in Washington Named the District of Columbia?
Global Capitalism and Livelihoods denied: Whipping India's Farmers into Submission
January 23, 2018 — There is a push to drive people from the countryside into cities . . . The World Bank wants India to relocate 400 million people to urban centres . . . societies do not 'evolve' in a unilinear way. Policy makers merely look to prosperous countries and see the bulk of their populations living in cities with a small percentage working in (a heavily subsidised and an unsustainable system of) agriculture . . .
The route to capitalism and urbanisation was not 'natural' in Europe and involved the unforeseen outcomes of conflicts and struggles between peasants, landowners, the emerging class of industrialists and the state . . . the iron fist behind the invisible hand . . . whipped the English peasantry in a workforce willing to accept factory wage labour . . . peasants didn't want to give up their rural communal lifestyle, leave their land and go work for below-subsistence wages in dangerous factories being set up by a new, rich class of industrial capitalists.
A series of laws and measures were designed to push peasants out of the old and into the new by destroying their traditional means of self-support . . . prominent figures advocated for their impoverishment, so they would leave their land and work for low pay in factories . . . depriving a largely self-reliant population of its productive means. Although self-reliance persisted among the working class (self-education, recycling products, a culture of thrift, etc), this too was eventually eradicated via advertising and an education system that ensured conformity and dependence on the goods manufactured by capitalism.
"We build cyber cities and techno parks and IITs at the cost of the welfare of the downtrodden and the environment. We don't think how our farmers on whose toil we feed manage to sustain themselves; we fail to see how the millions of the poor survive. We look . . . at the inevitable necessities for the corporate world to spread its tentacles everywhere and thrive, depriving the ordinary people of even the basic necessities of life and believe it is development" . . . 300,000 and 400,000 farmers have taken their lives since 1997 and millions more are experiencing economic distress. Over 6,000 are leaving the sector each day. And yet the corporate-controlled type of agriculture being imposed and/or envisaged only leads to degraded soil, less diverse and nutrient-deficient diets, polluted water and water shortages and poor health . . . small farms are more productive than giant industrial (export-oriented) farms and produce most of the world's food on much less land . . . Full story: globalresearch.ca
Magnitude 7.9 Earthquake off Alaska, Tsunami Threat Lifted
January 23, 2018 — A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Alaska early Tuesday . . . tsunami warnings along the Pacific coasts of the US and Canada that were later called off. The quake struck at 12:31 am (0931 GMT) in the Gulf of Alaska, 280 kilometers (175 miles) southeast of the town of Kodiak . . . The epicenter was 10 kilometers under the seabed . . . Full story: sbs.com.au
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake . . . has struck the east coast of the Mexican state of Baja California, the USGS has reported. The quake hit within the Gulf of California Rift Zone . . . a seismic area which lies between the opening to the Gulf and Los Cabos on the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula, to the San Andreas fault, which runs through the US state of California. rt.com
The Ordeal of Jealousy
A betrothal is a marriage and everyone who professes Christianity claims to be Christ's Bride and at one with His Word. Marriage is a binding contract. God is only as good as His Word, and he expects us to honour our Word.
When a man proposes marriage to a woman and she says 'yes' they are married at that point. As Christians they will not consummate the marriage until they have asked Christ's blessing celebrated by the witness of family and friends, and having met the requirements of state. But the moment she accepts his proposal the two are married. Should she change her mind and marry another, she shall be called an adulteress since no woman may have more than one living husband (Romans 7:1-3).
A woman serves God as she obeys her husband. If we claim to be the wife of Christ He expects us to obey His every Word (Genesis 3:16; Ephesians 5:4; I Peter 3:6). As the husband is head of his wife and takes her responsibility upon his shoulder so Christ the Word is head of the Church, and we obey Him in everything.
The spirit of jealousy enters when a covenant has been agreed and corruption and secret unfaithfulness is suspected. 'Suspicion' is the death blow to all loving intimacy. In the Old Testament, when a man was suspicious of his wife but unable to produce witnesses as required by the Law (Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 19:15), or other evidence of her guilt, there was a trial of jealousy.
Numbers 5:11-14: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, If any man's wife go aside and commits a trespass against him and a man lies with her carnally and it is hid from the eyes of her husband, and kept close, and she is defiled, and there are no witnesses against her, neither is she taken with the manner; [if she was taken in the act, the penalty for adultery was death (Leviticus 20:10)]. And the spirit of jealousy comes upon him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she is defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she is not defiled".
If a man is jealous of his wife, he warns her before two or three witnesses, "speak not with so and so." This types Christ and the church through the Gentile Dispensation. In each age there was an elect Spiritual Bride-Church, non-elect foolish virgin, and the false church. The Lord had to distinguish the foolish virgin from the false church. "And there are three witnesses in heaven—the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost: these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three agree in one [new birth]" (I John 5:7-8).
You see all three groups in church circles claim to be born-again or married to Christ, but all three steps of grace are required to produce a child of God. Justification by grace through faith and water baptism by immersion in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, sanctification by the blood, then the baptism of the Holy Ghost transforms your life into a "written epistle" of God's Word for your day; only "the present Truth" of God's Word can quicken your soul to birth which is your invisible union in spiritual wedlock.
These great truths were lost through Roman Catholic persecution over almost 1,000 years of Dark Ages, but gradually restored in the Reformation of the Roman Catholic system of worship through the three witnesses of Revelation 14:6-10. "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." This angel was Martin Luther preaching the Message of justification by grace through faith.
"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." This was John Wesley's Message of sanctification. "And the third angel followed them, saying with a great voice, If any man worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." This was William Branham warning the saints to come out of Babylon, flee the mark of the beast and be filled with the Spirit.
If she spoke with another—a little flirt with the world, denomination, some TV here, a tasteless joke there, she may still consort with her husband, Christ the priest, and partake the heave offering—His holy portion, the revelation of the Word of the hour. She is not disfellowshipped.
But if she secretly went aside with the other man, remaining time enough to suffer defilement, she may neither consort with her husband nor partake of the heave-offering. She may have received strange seed for denominational life—not Christ the Original Seed.
The husband may make her drink the Vial on the evidence of one witness, or on his own evidence. If she admits uncleanliness, she is put away. If she declares she is clean, she is taken to the eastern gate where the priest lays hold on her garments and loosens her hair prior to shaving, for any to behold she is shamed (I Corinthians 11:14). And today, since the revelation of the Seven Seals, the denominational religious covering of creed and tradition has been rent; those beneath it are naked before the One with whom they must deal and will be made to partake of Rome's plagues unless they come out of that iniquity (Malachi 4:5-6; Acts 3:21-23; Revelation 18:4, 6).
Let's read Revelation 3:17-19 which describes the spiritual condition of the church of the world today. "Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing"; [no repentance—no admission of uncleanliness]; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel you to buy of Me gold tried in the Fire, that you may be rich; and white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness does not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent".
This is checking-up time! Laodicea was weighed in the balance and found wanting. Beware the king of the North. We live in the days of the final investigation judgment of those who are not in the rapture yet claim they are Christ's.
This judgment or trial upon the foolish virgin is to separate them from the 'flirters' or denominational harlots. Whereas the foolish virgin go into the great tribulation and will be martyred by the false church they will be granted into eternal Life at the White Throne Judgment, but the false church will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 2:20-23; 14:9-13; 19:20).
Since Elohim descended in the Form of the Logos or Fullness of the Word in I Thessalonians 4:14-16 and Revelation 10:1-7, (Gk.) 'chronos' "time is no more"; there can be no more delay to mediate for ignorance of the fullness of the Word (I Corinthians 13:10). This has to be the final trial. Those who refuse the Fullness of the Word as their Atonement, or fail to come under pre-eminence to the Fullness, not being Bride, will drink the Vial. Those who fail the ordeal will have their names removed from the Book of Life.
We have seen seven Church Ages, each with its Message which was the Gospel of their salvation whereby Christ sought to make love to she who called herself His wife. But in every Age the non-elect failed to consummate their marriage vow in union with the Word for their day, and as Ahasuerus put Queen Vashti away, Christ put them away and opened another dispensation. Moses charged God's people with the blessings of His Love at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerazim—but His rejected love became their curse; even so, God's grace in the Messages of the seven angels when rejected by the Church became a curse in the Vials (Deuteronomy 27; Revelation 1-3; 15-16).
"The pure river of water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" in Revelation 22:1 and 17 is freely given without money and without price to "whosoever will" but it becomes the curse of Revelation 22:14-15 and 18-19 . . . for "the letter without the Spirit kills".
Perhaps the foolish virgins with insufficient Oil of the Spirit to quicken their souls to new birth never encountered the Word for their day as their pastor was born-again in Laodicea and lacked the necessary revelation of the Word for their hour. Or perhaps they were dilatory, neglected to prove all things, and content for their pastor to 'do their religion for them' they received a second hand religion by the Word for the hour without the Spirit. According to Matthew 25, this portion of the church will be cast into the tribulation with the unfaithful, unbelieving false church, and having neglected to rightly divide the pure waters of Life they must drink the curse of the Vial.
Let's see what happened to the natural woman under the Law:
Numbers 5:15-17, "Then shall the man bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance." Placed in her hands as a tithe of one day's portion, it signified her life or character; no oil or frankincense—Holy Spirit and prayer was added to it.
"Then the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the Lord: and he shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle, and put it into the water".
Dust from the ashes of the blood and offerings was gathered from the floor where only the holy walk of the priests had trod, mixed with water from the laver in which the priests washed their hands and feet before ministering before the Lord making the water holy—a waters of separation and of judgment (Ephesians 5:26).
In the New Testament, when a Seal opens, a mystery unfolds. The angel to the Church catches the mystery of God and delivers the revelation. His Gospel Trumpet starts a spiritual war in the Church and sounds a Trumpet of natural war upon Israel who reject it. Then God takes His Messenger with the elect of that Age, lays them away asleep and pours a plague (or Vial)—a temporary judgment upon those who rejected the Message, and a Church Age opens.
Shall we look at some scriptures? Revelation 16:19, "And the great city [Jerusalem] was divided into three parts [as UN Resolution 181 of November 29, 1947 is enforced]. And the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon [Vatican City State] came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup [or Vial] of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." This is the Seventh Vial (Revelation 16:17 – 18:20).
Revelation 18:4-9, "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, [Babylon, and her denominational daughter churches] My people, that you do not partake of her sins, and receive not of her plagues [the Vials]. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. [See what kind of character she brought in her hand]. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double to her double according to her works: in the cup which she has filled, fill to her double (Revelation 17:1). How much she has glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she says in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues [Vials] come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judges her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning".
At every change of Dispensation when men opposed themselves as did the Jews, God made them drink the Vial, and their blood was upon their own heads (Matthew 27:25; Acts 18:6; Hebrews 10:28-29; Revelation 6:10-11). If they were guilty, their names are removed from the Book of Life and they are eternally separated from God—dead to Him as the adulterous woman who was stoned was dead to her husband.
So the Vials contain God's Word in condemnation of the unfaithfulness of churches and individuals that have disdained the blessings of obedience to the Message of their angel.
Numbers 5:21-24, 28 "Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and say, The Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people when He makes your thigh [or generative parts] to rot, and your belly [womb] to swell; and this water that causes the curse shall go into your bowels, to make your belly to swell, and your thigh to rot: and the woman shall say, Amen, amen. And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water [into the bowl or vial]."
The water and the Word become one, and when the woman drinks the water, she and the water and the Word become one, as we read in Revelation 10:8-11 where the Bride becomes one with the Revelation. "And the Voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again, and said, Go and take the little Book which is open in the hand of the Angel Who stands upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went to the Angel, and said, Give me the little Book. And He said, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make your belly bitter, but it shall be in your mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little Book out of the Angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And He told me, You must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." Causing the church world—souls in prison now—to drink the curse to separate the righteous non-elect from the FALSE church, the make-believer from the unbeliever. Brother Branham called the latter "the total lost".
Now perhaps you will understand what Brother Branham meant when he quoted Paul, "For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man turn back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him" (Hebrews 10:38-39). The mere association of kind-hearted people with the true believer might well bring death in return for their kindness" (An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages, p. 116). For should they reject the Message their name might be removed from the Book of Life.
Returning to Numbers, "He shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causes the curse: and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter. [To bring guilt to Light]. And if the woman is not defiled but clean then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed".
The trial or Ordeal of Jealousy is a test for innocence or guilt. This is how God distinguished the 'saved foolish virgin' from the lost false church at the end of each Age and 'temporarily' judged the false church.
In Revelation 15 we see the martyrdom of the 144,000 elect Israelites and the revelation Israel sees in Christ's 'parousia.' In chapter 16 we see how the 'temporary judgment' of the Vials will enable them to distinguish the foolish virgin from the wicked false church which persecuted the saints and Israel throughout the Gentile Dispensation, and will be persecuting the foolish virgin and true Israel at that very time (Revelation 13:15-18).
Let's expound Revelation 15, remembering that throughout the Book John represents Christ's end-time Bride who will not see death. Here we see another symbolic vision like Revelation 12:1-3, signifying how God's wrath is satisfied and His objectives accomplished.
"And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them the wrath of God is finished".
Dressed as judges, each of the seven Church Age messengers bears a bowl or Vial full of the wrath of God to pour upon those who have not fully received or have rejected the revelation or grace in the Message to their day yet claimed kinship in the Body. These non-elect are the Foolish virgin and false church which Jesus called "the synagogue of Satan" (Revelation 2:9; 3:9; 22:18-19).
"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand beside the sea of glass, having the harps of God".
The "sea of glass" is the brazen laver made in the Wilderness from the looking glasses of the Israelite women. Here the priests washed their hands and feet before ministering before the Presence. In Revelation 4:6 the water was "crystal clear," as the Church Age saints were "washed" or redeemed in the intercessory days of Christ. Laodicea and Christ's Mediation was over; the Bride Age saints were fully redeemed on Calvary, justified by the faith He knew they would have (Romans 8:28-30). In Revelation 15 there is no more blood on the altar, the Bride has been translated, and the laver is full of the holy Fire of God's judgment without mercy by the unbending Rod of Revelation 11:1. Here the 144,000 of Revelation 7:1-8 are washing their robes.
"And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Your ways, You King of saints." The 144,000 now have the revelation Jesus Christ is their King and like Solomon, His Bride their Queen is from all nations of Gentiles as Caiaphas unintentionally prophesied (John 11:49-52).
After God delivered Israel through the Red Sea Moses led them in song, glorifying Him. Now the 144,000 being delivered from spiritual bondage worship in song led by the Holy Spirit glorifying Jesus. And as the sea swallowed and destroyed the armies of Pharaoh, God will repel the armies of Rome and her allies who will come to destroy all God-fearing, Word-abiding Israelites. With the enemy repulsed, Jesus comes and presents Himself by revelation to the 144,000. This will be His second or 'parousia' Coming to Israel in the prophetic office Son of Man. But until the millennium His Kingdom will be spiritual.
"Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your Name? For You only are holy: for all nations shall come and worship before You; for Your judgments are made manifest".
144,000 have been born-again as a nation in one day by understanding and acknowledging His justice in the Trumpet judgments that chastened unbelieving Israel for two thousand years. Now they see the innocent Blood of Christ on the hands of their guilty forefathers; Israel's transgression is finished, their sins have come to an end, and they are making reconciliation for iniquity in martyrdom (Daniel 9:24; Matthew 23:33-36; 27:25).
Following the assurance in the parenthesis of Revelation 15:2-4, the remaining verses introduce an entirely fresh subject reading from the vision of the first verse where the seven Church Age messengers are seen in judgment, signified by the golden girdles about their breasts. The revelation of the Vials enables Israel to distinguish the believing Bride from the make-believing foolish virgin, and the foolish virgin from the evil un-believing false church.
"And after [the consolation of verses 2-4] I looked, and the temple [or central sanctuary with its Holy Place and Holy of Holies] of the tabernacle of witness in the heaven was opened: and the seven angels that had the seven plagues came out from the temple clothed in linen pure and glistening white and having their breasts girt with golden girdles".
Revelation 11:19, "The temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His Covenant was seen in His temple: and there were lightings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail" at the manifestation of the Sixth Seal, Seventh Trumpet, and Seventh Vial (Revelation 6:12-17; 11:15-19; 16:17-21).
These symbols are revealed to Israel after the Seventh Trump sounds the close of the dispensation of grace and the Seventh Vial is poured out in Revelation 16:17 but Israel will not catch the vision until more than three and a half years later. The sanctuary was where only priests could lawfully go, and the Holy of Holies where only the high priest could enter, once a year on the Day of Atonement or Cleansing of the sanctuary. Here, however, the way is open to all True Israel. Revelation 15:5-6 is Pentecost or the commencement of the Gentile Dispensation. 2,000 years later, the vail of Jewish tradition is rent, and the Ark of God's Testimony or Covenant with Israel is revealed to the 144,000. The Ark typed Messiah and was the sign of God's favour toward and Presence with Israel. Here, of course, it is not a wooden box they see, but their Kinsman Redeemer with nail scars in His hands and wounds on His brow as He presents Himself to Israel by revelation before again stepping forth to assume a physical relationship to man in the millennium as "Son of David, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and Bridegroom of the Gentile Bride" (Zechariah 12-13).
The Temple of God in heaven must not be understood as literal but for what it represents. The Seven Vials were poured out by the Message of each angel in his Age, and like the blessings and cursings of God's Message by Moses, they do not return to God void but accomplish that which He purposed. Any exposition of Revelation 16 is primarily a history of what has been, except for the plague of the Seventh Vial upon the unfaithful denominational harlots. Revelation 18:4, "And I heard another Voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues" [Vials].
Brother Branham was the angel with the Seventh Vial (Revelation 17:1; 21:9; 22:7-9) that completes the Ordeal or Trial of Jealousy when it's poured out as the Seventh Trump shatters the silence of Revelation 8:1 declaring "war in heaven and the casting down of Satan" (Revelation 12:7-10).
Revelation 16:17-18, "And the seventh angel poured out his Vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, IT IS DONE. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great".
"And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden Vials full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled".
The presence of the four living creatures reveals this takes place under the first four Seals. Revelation 15:8 marked the day of Pentecost, Revelation 16:17 will be poured out at the Seventh Trump. The first Six Vials were poured upon earth after the conclusion of each Church Age (Revelation 16:1): the coals from the golden altar will be cast into the earth at the close of the Gentile dispensation to cleanse the sanctuary where Christ and His Bride will dwell for a thousand years of peace (Revelation 8:5; 11:19; 16:18). This scene begins 2,000 years before Jesus comes forth from the Holy of Holies to meet His Bride in the spiritual dimension called the air, cleansed by the wrath of the Message of the seventh angel's Vial which will be poured out into the air.
The smoke in the heavenly temple is not incense but the divine Fire of consuming judgment because in every Age the sacrifice was rejected, and Christ could only intercede for our offering of the Word of the hour. The revelation comes to us and to the 144,000 after the Sacrifice has left and intercession is over. The presence of Christ's end-time Bride makes earth God's mercy seat for the Life is in the Blood and we are the Blood of Christ by the baptism with the Holy Spirit; when we depart earth will become God's judgment seat for seven years of tribulation (Revelation 4; II Thessalonians 2:6-8). Smoke displays the glory of God, His justice in punishing the wicked, and is the answer to the cry of the souls under the altar (Revelation 6:9-11).
Since the Church is one Body, no man can enter the Temple until California sinks under the Seventh Trumpet, Sixth Seal and Seventh Vial. Then the two loaves are waved and glorified for the Church Age saints cannot be made perfect without us.
Glory! Home we go to be with Jesus. Proving the Bride does not go through the Tribulation. The Seventh Vial of jealousy, like the previous six Vials, is to separate the foolish virgin from the faithless false church.
When Moses dedicated the Tabernacle of badger skins (Exodus 40:33-38), and when Solomon dedicated the Temple of stone (I Kings 8:1-11), the priests were not able to minister until the cloud was taken up. And the Israelites journeyed not until the cloud was taken up. During the Church Ages, when the first six Trumpets were manifesting, Israel could not enter the Presence. But once "the great Cloud of witnesses" is lifted (II Thessalonians 2:7; Revelation 7:2) in the physical catching away of the Bride, the Feast of Trumpets will be preached to Israel who will commence their journey to the West.nl1009.htm
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Brother Grigor-Scott is a non-denominational minister who has ministered full-time since 1981, primarily to other ministers and their congregations overseas. He pastors Bible Believers' tiny congregation, and is available to teach in your church.
Bible Believers' Church
Gunnedah NSW
Australia 2380e-mail e-mail Bible Believers
URL Bible Believers' Website
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