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Showing posts from January, 2022

08. The Wrath of the Dragon | Chapter 08: A Friendly Enemy

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Sun Tzu said, “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” The Art of war, pg. 3. Such are the tactics used by the Devil against a human being who does not make the Word of God the basis of his life. God in His wisdom warned Adam and Eve of the foe they face. It would have been too obvious for the Devil to take his original angelic form and come to Eve, so he came up with the plan to take the form of the Serpent, “…the most subtil (beautiful, precise, wide, crafty and cunning) of the beast which the Lord God had made…” Genesis 3:1 . The book of Revelation describes the Devil as “…the great dragon, that old serpent…” Revelation 12:9 . The Greek word “drakonia” which is translated as “Serpent” or “Dragon” means – fabulous serpent. The creature that approached Eve that day was the most

Apocalypse | 009 | What is the Lord's Day?

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   On September 24, 2013, someone asked this question in an online bible study forum: The phrase, the Lord's day, found in Revelation chapter one, occurs only once in the New Testament. What evidence do we have to determine what day John was talking about? The ways it seems to generally be understood among many Christian denominations are as follows: Christians generally believe John referred to Sunday, the first day of the week. Christian Sabbath observers such as Seventh Day Baptists and Messianic Christians believe John referred to the Sabbath of the LORD (7th day: Saturday). Other denominations like the Church of God believes John refers to the day of the LORD, a day of judgment. What concrete scriptural evidence do we have to indicate what this day is or is not? I am looking for traceable, logical steps, leading to a Bible-logical conclusion. Let us, from the Bible, answer the question above. If we examine the text and language closely, John referred to this day as the Lord

Apocalypse | 008 | Why was John at Patmos?

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Let us take time to examine the historical setting in which the book of Revelation was written. Says the apostle, "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 1:8) During the reign of Domitian (r. 81-96 CE), Christians were persecuted for their refusal to participate in the imperial and state cults of Rome, which held the emperor as a god who should be worshipped. Christians were charged with atheism, or disbelief in the gods. This was a crime, that of treason, as angering the gods meant that you could threaten the prosperity of the Empire, thus, Christians were persecuted for their refusal to honour the gods. According to theologian Tertullian (155AD-220AD) in his book  On The Prescription of Heretics , John was banished to Patmos after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing

07. The Wrath of the Dragon | Chapter 07: The Chains of Darkness

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Choosing to sin was the reason for the fall of Lucifer, and eventually, the fall of man. Sin is everything that is opposite to who God is. The Bible says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die…” Ezekiel 18:20 “For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23 . “…you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Romans 6:16 . “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:1-3 . The sun if the main source of light on planet earth, but it was created on the fourth day. What is the nature of this light that God unleashed on the first day?  The Bible answers, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were mad

Apocalypse | 007 | Who is El Shaddai?

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I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8) John was still writing through the opening statements of the book of Revelation when the above statement was made by the Lord. In the Old Testament, "The Lord" was always transliterated from the Hebrew word "yeh-ho-vaw" or Jehovah. By John, it was transliterated from the Greek word "kurios" which means supreme authority. The speaker in Revelation 1:8 is Jehovah, the supreme authority, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the Almighty. Let's identify who exactly was speaking here: Alpha and Omega: In the beginning of his vision, John saw the Alpha and the Omega and "...fell at his feet as dead...", but He laid His hand on John and said, "...Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell an

06. The Wrath of the Dragon | Chapter 06: Satan's Fundamental Strategy

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In war, strategy and tactics are absolutely vital. Strategy is the planning, coordination, and general direction of military operations to meet overall political and military objectives. Tactics implement strategy by short-term decisions on the movement of troops and employment of weapons on the field of battle. The great military theorist Carl von Clausewitz said, "Tactics is the art of using troops in battle; strategy is the art of using battles to win the war." Battle strategies require careful designs and calculated decisions to ensure victory. The first thing we have to know about the devil is what Ezekiel mentions about him: “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty…” Ezekiel 28:12 . Lucifer stands at the pinnacle of perfection, especially in wisdom. We can only imagine what kind of brain he has and how he uses it to plan out his attacks against his enemies. The Bible uses the symbol of a “Serpent” to identify Satan (Revelation 12:9). The first vers

Apocalypse | 006 | A Promise of Resurrection

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Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (Revelation 1:7) In our previous studies, we looked at how the book of Revelation, even though it was given by God the Father, is centred on Jesus Christ. We looked at the authorities behind the book - The Father, The Seven Spirits of God, and Jesus Christ Himself. The verse above depicts the second coming of Jesus Christ and fulfils one of the profound prophecies made by Jesus Christ while He was on Earth. On the night of His arrest, the high priest posed a question, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus replied, "Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." (Matthew 24:63-64) Those who "pierced" Jesus were all the peopl

Apocalypse | 005 | Greetings from the Authors of Revelation

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The book of Revelation is about God revealing secrets to His servants the prophets, written by John the disciple, and sent to seven churches that were in Asia Minor during his time. After the opening statements from verses 1 to 3, the authors of the book now introduce themselves and greet their readers. "Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 1:4-6) The Father Him which is, and which was, and which is to come was seen by John sitting on a throne before which were seven Spirits. This is none other than God, the Father of Jesus Christ, the originator of th

Na Bibi ni Vola nei Taniela

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   A vakatakila e levu na ka na noda i Vakabula ena gauna a bula voli kina e vuravura. E dua vei ira oqo sai koya na kena bibi ni kena kilai na veika e vola ko Taniela ena nona i vola. Eda raica e vei na ka e tukuna qoka ko Jisu? "Ia ni dou sa raica sa tu e na vale tabu na ka vakasisila sa dauveivakarusai, o koya sa vosa kina ko Taniela na parofita, (me kila mada ko koya sa wilika:) me qai se ki na veiulu-ni-vanua ko ira era sa tiko e Jutia."  Maciu 24:15 Na Maciu wase 24 e dua na laini ni parofisai ka vakayatuyatutaka ko Jisu vei iratou na nona tisaipeli. Ni bera na nona vakaraitaka na veiparofisai oqo, a ratou a lako voli ena loma ni koro mai Jerusalemi ka ratou vakaraitaka tiko vua na tisaipeli na totoka ni vale ni soro. A sauma ko Jisu, "Dou sa raica na ka kecega oqo, ne? au sa kaya vakaidina vei kemudou, Ena sega ni vo tu eke na veivatu sa veitaqataqai, ena talaraki sobu kecega."  Maciu 24:2 Ia ni sa tiko ko koya mai na ulu-ni-vanua ni veiolive, sa lako vuni vu

We Are So Distracted!

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  The Jewish Pharisees once demanded that Jesus answer them about the coming of the kingdom of God. Jesus' answer to them was a prophecy showing the future state of society and the signs that show that His second coming draws near. I want to point out a significant state of mind that I believe is prevalent these last days - the distractions of the "normal life". I am not saying it is bad to involve yourself in the affairs of daily life, but when these affairs draw too much of your attention, they divert your mind from necessary preparations you should do for the coming of the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all."  We all have to eat, drink, and people have the right to choose to marry, but during the days of Noah, these activitie

Apocalypse | 004 | What does 7 mean in Bible Prophecy?

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In previous posts, we looked at the meaning and significance of prophecies given to John by God through the book of Revelation. His writings on Patmos were addressed to “…seven churches which were in Asia…” (Revelation 1:4), a region known today as modern Turkey. We will look into the details of these churches in a later post, but for now, we will study the number seven. Seven is the one most significant numbers associated with God. In the book of Revelation, you will find it embedded in most of its main lines of prophetic events e.g. 7 churches, 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 heads of the beast, 7 heads of the dragon, and 7 plagues. What does the number seven symbolize in prophetic terms? Let us look at a few examples: The Bible says that God created within “…six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:11) At the end of the sixth day “…God saw every thing that he

05. The Wrath of the Dragon | Chapter 05: A Dragon's Tale

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The Bible talks about the angelic being Lucifer who wanted to be God in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:11-19. Sin was conceived by his heart in the form of pride. It took him to the extent of wanting to take over God’s position as Sovereign of the Universe. He was however, not alone in His rebellion against God. The Bible in Revelation 12:7, describes that the war that took place in heaven was between Michael and his angels, and the Dragon and his angels. We will now dig deeper into how Lucifer convinced a large number of the angelic beings of heaven to join his side of the rebellion. God never creates a defective, evil or bad creature. Everything He creates is for His good pleasure and for His glory (Genesis 1:31). The big question is: “How did Lucifer convince them?” The Bible does provide clear-cut answers that will give peace to our ever-questioning minds. We must bear in mind that we are talking about a mighty angelic being who is “…full of wisdom and perfect in beauty…” Ezekiel

Apocalypse | 003 | The Time is at Hand

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Time is the most important resource on planet earth. Everything that exists on its surface has a beginning and an end. The wise king Solomon says, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 3:1) God's prophecies are made up of three notable features: An event The time of the event The purpose of the event The book of Revelation was given to Jesus by His Father "...to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass..." (Revelation 1:1) Everything God does in the book of Revelation is for this one reason - to "...save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) Every event, every admonition, every exhortation is to fulfill this grand purpose. Said the apostle Paul: "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness,

Apocalypse | 002 | What is the Testimony of Jesus?

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In our Christian experience, many of us have testified of God's working in our lives and the lives of others. It is interesting to note that Jesus Christ also has a testimony to tell. It is called: the Testimony of Jesus Christ. John bore record of "... the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all the things that he saw." (Revelation 1:2) The Scriptures testify of Jesus Christ. (John 5:39) Within the pages of the Bible, Jesus, who is the Word of God (John 1:1-4, 14), gives the testimony of how He saves the world through Divine mercy and justice. In Revelation 19:10, John's guiding angel tells John, "... I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The angel repeats this a similar statement in Revelation 21:9, "I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God." Le

04. The Wrath of the Dragon | Chapter 04: The Unholy Pair

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“Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War. Somebody once said, “Knowing your enemy is half the battle won.” Knowledge about the enemy is crucial for victory. From the analysis of Sun Tzu’s quote, we can deduce that there are two enemies that we face in every battle we fight. The Bible clearly mentions the two enemies that we war against: The Rulers of Darkness “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wicke

The Next World Order | Chapter 01: A United Planet?

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Order: a small five-letter word; a golden sceptre in the right hands, but a tyrannical whip in the wrong ones. Human history has proven that two is always better than one. The crux of earthly progress depends upon the degree to which human beings agree upon certain ideologies, plans, and strategies; and then execute them, facing the results together. Human history has also taught us one thing: united we stand, divided we fall. It's no surprise that the United Nations is probably one of the most powerful bodies in the world today. We have learned that efficient management of things cannot be done through disunity. And so, we turn to nature, by studying various sciences, we conclude that the natural order of things runs through processes within systems. The human body is a prime example of this: every component within different systems runs according to design and planning. Their united efforts keep us alive. How does humanity achieve unity? By building organized systems and process

Christian History | The Rise of the Antichrist [ 31 AD - 538 AD ]

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What is the Antichrist? Who is the Antichrist? In the whole Bible, it was John the Apostle alone, in his epistles, that made mention of the actual word, Antichrist. What does God mean by this? The word Antichrist or Antikristos (Greek) speaks for itself, it means - enemy or opponent of Christ, and if anyone is the enemy of Christ, he is the enemy of God. Is it an animal, or angel, or a person? Let's find out! Jesus came to Earth for one reason alone - to preach and demonstrate the truth of the saving gospel. In His own words, He read the prophecy concerning His mission, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19) The whole Bible is centered around the plan of salvation. Let us not be oblivious of the oth