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QUESTION LIST #9:

1. The Heavenly Temple, the Bride of Christ and the end-time generation timeline of God

2. Was Eve's sin more than simply sexual in nature?  And just what exactly did Adam do?

3. Did Dr. E. W. Bullinger of the Companion Bible believe in the Eighth Day Creation?

4. The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem

5. The truth about what will happen during the Great Tribulation of Antichrist

6. More documentation that only satan himself shall be the antichrist

7. What is the difference between the tribulations of Christians worldwide who are now being killed in antichristian countries and the Great tribulation of written of in the book of Revelation?

8. The different roles and names of satan all down through time explained (he has many!)

9. Will antichrist appear as a flesh man, and is he here on earth now?

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Question #9
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Will antichrist appear as a flesh man, and is he here on earth now?

Jane (not her real name) asks:

"Morning Nick,

So, will this supernatural entity; Antichrist, walk around as a normal flesh man for all to see, or will he appear and disappear at will?  Much like, someone who is possessed and believes they can actually see this "entity" or satan?

Also, is he only to reign during the tribulation period, or is he here as we speak, deceiving people?

If we are indeed in the last days before Christ's return, one would think that Antichrist is here.

Thanks in advance for your response.  [Jane]"

 

Rev 12:12
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. (KJV)

        Satan knows what's up.  Satan knows the Scriptures by heart, he even quoted them to Christ in the wilderness {Mat 4 & Lk 4} (easy to remember that way, huh?).

        But understand this please, when antichrist comes he isn't coming as a monster killing Christians.  He could deceive no one like that.  Satan couldn't care two hoots about killing your flesh body, he wants to kill your soul.  Satan knows that after he arrives, the Second Advent is only 5 months away when all flesh will be cast off anyway.  What does it gain him to kill the body and not the soul (although he cannot - only God can kill a soul in the Lake of Fire {Mt 10:28}).  But he can cause many to fall and be in jeopardy with the Father (Almighty God) by worshiping him as the false messiah antichrist.

        You ask: In what form will satan be in when he comes here as the antichrist?  He will be just like you think Jesus Christ to be, for he is an impostor.  Therefore, he must mimic everything that people believe that Jesus Christ both is and will be doing.  Most certainly not loping of the heads of Christians, that would only serve to identify him as the wicked one.

        Perhaps understanding why satan is going to do what he does will assist in understanding why he will do what it is prophesied that he will do.

        And this is gonna come off a little deep, but you'll follow it just fine.  Satan fell in the first earth age and led one third of God's children (one third of us) in rebellion against Him {Rev12:4}.  God of course won and put down the rebellion.  It was at this time that satan was condemned but not yet executed {Ezek 28:18}.  But God now had a problem on His hands, what to do with the one third of His children who betrayed Him and followed satan (then called Lucifer {Isa 14:12}).

        God did not want to destroy a full one third of His children.  Think about it, if you had, say, three kids, could you kill one of them no matter how much he betrayed you?

        So instead, God destroyed that first earth age {2nd peter 3:5-6 & Jer 4: 23-27}.  He then created the second earth age (the one we live in now), chronologically transpiring between {Gen 1: and 1:2 (actually in the middle of Gen 1:2)}.  Observe the phenomenon called 'Time-gap' that occurs in certain Scriptures in the Bible:

        In the Scripture {Gen 1:2} below, Blue is the first earth age.  Red is the second earth age which is our present one (separated by "< >" for the color blind).  These are separated by millions of years (time-gap) but the very little is written in the of that time in Scripture.   We know that Heaven is the third earth age: " And I saw a new heaven and a new earth [commonly referred to as Heaven] : for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away..." {Rev 21:1}.  

Gen 1:2
2 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.  (KJV)

*See: The Companion Bible appendix #72, ppg. 107-108 for more 'Time-gap' Scriptures such as, for example:  {Psm 22: between verses 21 and 22;  Luke 1: between verses 31 and 32;  John1: between verses 5 and 6}...

        In this present earth age, we are all to be born of women innocent, not knowing on which side of the insurrection we were in the first earth age.  Heaven is the third earth age out of a total of three:

Rev 21:1 (Heaven)
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (KJV)

        Anyway, satan knows that God did not complete his death sentence from the first earth age because He didn't want to kill the other one-third of God's children that joined satan in the insurrection.  So satan thinks that if he can draw enough of God's children to once again follow him, them God will stay the execution at least until He creates another age and tries the children once again.  Satan is of course wrong, because God's Word declares the executions will go forth in the Lake of Fire {Rev 20:15}.  But satan knows it is his only chance.  Will God change His mind?  Satan thinks so.

        So now it should make sense to you why satan ain't gonna be acting OUTWARDLY evil when he comes, he isn't going to be publicly executing Christians (though mankind will no doubt kill some during that time just like religious community did during the catholic Inquisitions).  For if satan did go around murdering Christians, we would all know that he is satan, thus exposing him for who he is to the others on the earth, and we would also collectively pray to God to protect us and He would.  Satan will have blown his only supposed hope for the blood lust thrill of killing flesh that won't be needed in 5 months anyway.

For further documentation, see:

When was The beginning?  Learn when the true beginning of creation was, and of the three Earth ages. Discover why God had to destroy the first Earth Age.

The Antichrist  This Bible study is the culminate of all the In-depth Bible Studies. It answers the who, what, where, when, how, and why's of the coming antichrist. This study is a must read for this end-time generation, for we shall see the prophesied coming of the antichrist!

Matthew chapter 24  This chapter is given as a warning to us regarding the seven signs in the book of Revelation that describe the final times just before the Second Advent of our Messiah Jesus Christ; this is what is inaccurately referred to as 'the end of the world'. In this chapter Jesus warns us of the false christ (the antichrist) that comes first to this earth claiming to be the True Messiah Jesus Christ. Therefore it is obviously a topic of great importance to all of us, especially in our present generation, which is the prophesied final generation.

Please feel free to follow-up!  God bless you Ma'am!

Nick
Watchmen Bible Study Group

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Question #8
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The different roles and names of satan all down through time explained (he has many!)

        This is another great question by a reader!  God bless the people that have questions, it means that they are searching the Scriptures as our Father has commanded us.  Let's go to work on that question:

        Our reader had mentioned three Scriptures in his question to us (provided below) regarding the Second Advent and beyond the Millennium (the 1000 years).

        As he had noted, I said that satan shall be the antichrist, and that is true.  But, the reader asked, how can the false prophet (antichrist/satan) be cast into the Lake of Fire in {Rev 19:20}, but satan (antichrist/satan) goes on to be cast into the Bottomless pit in {Rev 20:2}.  He wondered " how can satan be sent to two different places?"  Our reader is having trouble understanding that satan has many names and many roles, but he is the one selfsame entity.  Observe our answer to him:  


        Ok, first you must understand that satan goes by many many of different names, but it is the selfsame one entity.  His different names merely indicate his different roles in the plan of God. Yes, satan is fulfilling the negative part of God's plan, God is, was, and always will be in total control.

        In {Rev 20:2} the Holy Spirit has identified four of satan's names as being the same one entity, they are there given as: "the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan." {Rev 20:2}.

        But satan has so many more names.  In {Rev 13:11} he is called the " beast" (the second beast of Rev 13 - this is the antichrist).  In {Isaiah 14:12} he is called "lucifer".  In {Ezekiel 28:12} he is called "king of Tyrus".

        In the Garden of Eden he was called the "serpent" {Gen 3:1}, in {Rev 12:3} he is called "the great red dragon".  In {Eph 2:2} he is called "the prince of the power of the air".  In {2nd Thes 2:3} he is called both "man of sin" and "son of perdition".  In the book of Daniel he has at least four different names (The "prince that shall come", ...), I really could on quite a while with this list, but I think that you get the idea.

        And it would be a wonderful and rewarding study for the student to go back and read all those Scriptures regarding satan to get a real good idea of just who this enemy is, how he thinks, and how he operates.

        But anyway, do you remember the Scripture in the book of Revelation, the verse about about the eight kings who are all of one?  Well that is speaking of satan and his many roles.

        Cast out of your mind all that hooey about these being the Persian Empire, the Roman Empire...  It is satan's roles through the history of God's good creation:

Rev 17:9-11
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. (KJV)

You notice one of satan's names given in the last couple of words above "and goeth into perdition", you remember who the son of perdition is:

II Th 2:3
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition (KJV)

And who is the one that perishes?  Let's 'tune-in' as God condemns satan (king of tyrus) to perish completely from within (condemned but not yet executed):

Ezek 28:12-19
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty......(skip to verse 18)......
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. [perished - gone] (KJV)

        Ok, now we see in {Rev 19:20} that satan's role as the antichrist is cast into the Lake of Fire, true, but not satan himself.  For from this verse forward satan will not be able to play the role of false christ antichrist, because of among other reasons, there is no more flesh after the Second Advent, which is when this verse transpires.  The beast is the one-world luciferian system of {Rev 13:1-3}, the false prophet is the second beast of that chapter {Rev 13:11} and he is satan in the role of antichrist.

Rev 19:20
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (KJV)

Then in {Rev 20:1-3} we see that satan and several of his roles are incarcerated in the pit for a thousand years:

Rev 20:1-3
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (KJV)

Then after the thousand years (the Millennium) satan shall be loosed {Rev 20:7} and then destroyed in the Lake of Fire totally, all his roles, gone forever.

Rev 20:7-10
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (KJV)

        I hope I wasn't confusing in that answer, for your question is indeed considered deeper study.  If you can understand that you are well on your way to understanding the entire book of Revelation, if not the plan of God as written even!

        Also, if you are having a problem with the whole 'roles thing', look at Jesus Christ, He has many roles and many different names but He is the same one entity. It is the same thing with satan.  For every positive in God's Word there is a negative.  Jesus is positive, satan is negative.

God Bless!

PS:  Since you like deeper study, we have a Bible study on our site that might be of interest to you:

THE FALLEN ANGELS AND THE GIANTS OF GENESIS CHAPTER SIX  Who were they? Who are they? You need to understand this because they are prophesied to return to our generation. Will you be caught off guard?

And you should definitely check out the Antichrist Bible study:

The Antichrist  This Bible study is the culminate of all the In-depth Bible Studies. It answers the who, what, where, when, how, and why's of the coming antichrist. This study is a must read for this end-time generation, for we shall see the prophesied coming of the antichrist!

Nick
Watchmen Bible Study group

The next day the above questioner sent us the below follow-up:

Nick, You said:

"Ok, now in the {Rev 19:20} The role of antichrist is cast into the Lake of Fire, true, but not satan himself."

The ROLE of the antichrist?  On what scriptures do you base this 'throwing the ROLE of the antichrist' into the lake of fire?

You've outlined your conjecture, by stating Jesus has many roles, however, I don't see any scripture to back this up.

And we answered him with the below:

Hi John (not his real name):

        I really don't see what the problem is in understanding that satan, the evil angel, has had many roles over the course of human history and that he shall have one final evil role in the end of human history.  You ask:

"The ROLE of the antichrist? On what scriptures do you base this 'throwing the ROLE of the antichrist' into the lake of fire?"

        John, perhaps you are having a problem with the word "role" (indicated by your capitalization of the word "ROLE" not found in my original).  If so, then change the word "role" in your mind to "Divinely ordained duty".  Now let's look at exactly who/what is cast into the Lake of Fire in Rev 19:

Rev 19:20
20 And the beast [one-world system- Rev13:1-3] was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he [false prophet] deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both [beast & false prophet] were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (KJV)

Rev 13:11-14
11 And I beheld another beast [false prophet of Rev 19:20 -the antichrist as commonly referred to] coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon [another of satan's roles or names].
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. (KJV)

        Ok, so the beast world system and the false prophet (antichrist) are cast into the Lake of Fire, gone, never to be again.  But what's this?:  In {Rev20: 2-3} we see ' the one with many names' still alive and well.

Rev 20:2-3
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (KJV)

Then ALL of satan's roles and duties in history are extinguished in the Lake of Fire with him, forever.

Rev 20:7-10
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (KJV)

        Observe above that a clue is given you, you see that satan is identified as the devil (as was also done for you in {Rev 20:2} where that same one was also called: "the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan."  It is all the same one entity.  So what happened to, say, the dragon and the serpent of old?  According to your theory that these are not roles of the same entity, then these two never die.

        Of course that isn't the case though, for the serpent of old (that old serpent) was the one in {Gen 3:15}.  And the dragon from {Rev 12:3} (in the first earth age) and again seen in the end-times of our age {Rev 12:17} called (the serpent) are the same 'dude'.  It is one entity who goes by so many names.  I know that you are struggling with this and there is a reason for that. I will explain later.

OK, you then ask/state (in quite an accusatory tone, I might add):

"You've outlined your conjecture, by stating Jesus has many roles, however, I don't see any scripture to back this up."

        Ok, Jesus Christ is called the " Lamb slain" {Rev 13:8} and also the " King of kings and Lord of lords" {Rev 19:16}.  Is this two Jesus Christs?  Or is two of Christ's roles (duties in prophecy)?  Jesus has many more if we look (the Branch, the Living Water, the Bread from above...) , well satan has many as well but he is the same one 'dude'.

        John, the problem with most is that they do not understand the beginning of God's plan in the book of Genesis, how could they imagine that they will ever understand the end of God's plan in the book of Revelation?!?

        They reject that Eve was wholly seduced (beguiled) {2nd Cor 11:3} by the serpent (one of satan's roles), they rather believe that Adam and Eve munched on the wrong apple, perhaps a Macintosh or a Granny Smith, and that cause God to severely punish all involved (including the serpent who THEY SAY was a garden snake that could talk to people and had the wit to deceive God's children).  I should hope that I really needn't comment on that!

        I insist that you get up to speed by reading the below three studies.  Then the book of Revelation will be a breeze for you.

When was The beginning?  Learn when the true beginning of creation was, and of the three Earth ages.  Discover why God had to destroy the first Earth Age.


Mankind; two separate 'creation events'  The FORMING of Adam in the Garden of Eden was a long time preceded by the CREATION of all the various peoples of the world.  Understand why this was necessary and you are well on your way to understanding the plan of God.


What was the Real sin in the Garden of Eden?  Did Adam and Eve really eat the wrong apple and ruin everything?  Of course not; find out what really happened, the reason it happened, and the repercussions of it.  When you learn the truth from God's Word on this, much of the Bible is at once put into perspective.

        God bless you my friend, and feel free to follow-up.  Let's learn with an open mind comparing all things with Scripture.  There is so much more to God's Word than is being taught in these corrupt end-time churches.

God bless!

Nick
Watchmen Bible Study Group

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Question #7
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What is the difference between the tribulations of Christians worldwide who are now being killed in antichristian countries and the Great tribulation of written of in the book of Revelation?

 

        That is a fine question!  The answer to it lies in the nature of the final Tribulation, the Great Tribulation of antichrist, that Jesus Christ Himself said would be greater than any tribulation before or ever again.  If you dig into the below Scripture, Jesus tells you what that Great Tribulation will be in the end times:

Matt 24:21-23
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. (KJV)

        What is so different about this tribulation than say those being Martyred in China or Africa as we speak? And they are!

        The Great tribulation is of antichrist, a supernatural being who has already been condemned to hell.  That is the difference, and that is why he (antichrist) cannot kill anyone (other than the Two Witnesses), and when he does violate God's solemn command and kills the Two Witnesses that ushers in the Second Advent.

        But as I said in another thread, men may take it upon themselves to kill God's Elect over religion, we know man is capable of that.  Christ told us how to avoid that when He said that when we pass an adversary at that time in the byway to just basically keep going.  By that time satan as the antichrist will have the world believing that they do a favor to God to kill those who do not worship him (the false christ antichrist whom the world will think is the true Christ).

Matt 5:25
25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. (KJV)

John 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. (KJV)

God B less you!

Nick
Watchmen Bible Study Group

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Question #6
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More documentation that only satan himself shall be the antichrist

 

Jane* writes: This was a follow-up to Jane's question regarding who the antichrist will be.
(*pseudonym) 

Answer:

Hello [Jane]:

        We had exchanged a couple of posts regarding the antichrist.  I asserted that the antichrist shall be none other than satan himself, and you did not seem to be so sure about that.  You asked to supply more Biblical documentation, and I feel as though I have left that somewhat undone.  I feel like I did not 'drive the point all the home' that satan is going to come to this earth in the role of antichrist, the impostor christ.  I feel that you may have just silently agreed to disagree with me on the matter.

        May I revisit that subject once again here?  For it is very important to know who the antichrist is.  If we are looking for an evil human to be the antichrist, then satan could take advantage of that and set-up some ruler or some Pope to appear to be the antichrist so that he (satan, the real antichrist) can come here and remove that one thus establishing himself (satan/antichrist) as the Messiah from God come to save the world.  This would be very deceiving to the Christian in the end times indeed!

        Ok, now I know that you know that the word antichrist doesn't mean like we use the word antifreeze.  'Anti' in the Greek means "instead of", an impostor:

From the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance:

Antichrist: Greek word #500 antichristos (an-tee'-khris-tos); from #473 and #5547; an opponent of the Messiah: KJV-- antichrist.

Anti: Greek word #473 anti (an-tee'); a primary particle; opposite, i.e. instead or because of (rarely in addition to): KJV-- for, in the room of. Often used in composition to denote contrast, requital, substitution, correspondence, etc.

Christ: Greek word #5547 Christos (khris-tos'); from 5548; anointed, i.e. the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus: KJV-- Christ.

        Ok, now if we can find some common ground to start on, I think we can come into agreement as to the identity of this one we refer to as the antichrist.

        I think that that most people (including both you and I) can agree that the one spoken of in the second half of Revelation chapter thirteen is the antichrist:

Rev 13:11-18
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb [he looked like Jesus Christ the true Lamb], and he spake as a dragon [because he is the dragon (one of satan's many names)].
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. (KJV)

        Ok, are we all in agreement that that was the antichrist just spoken of?  I trust we are all in agreement on that.  Now let's see if we can find Scripture to further expound on just who this antichrist is.  Let's go to chapter 12 of this book of Revelation.  The below Scripture has not yet happened, St. John writes it as though it is past because he was taken to the future in the spirit and shown things that will happen in the end-times, many of them still future yet to us as the below Scripture is:

Rev 12:7-12
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels

Here we see where satan is at the present time, he is in Heaven with God, but he is incarcerated and held in chains.  Heaven is simply wherever God is.  Don't be confused that satan is in the glorious eternity, which is written of in {Rev 21:1- on out}

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Ok, can we all agree that this is saying that satan (who goes by many many names, four of them given above in one Scripture even) is cast to earth with his angels?  His (satan's) angels are the fallen angels, for they fall with satan as they also fell in {Gen 6:1-2}, and condemned in {Jude 1:6, and 2nd Pet 2:4}, and spoken of by Christ in {Mt 25:41}.  These fallen angels are the locust army of {Rev 9:3}.  Are we in agreement thus far?

10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down [cast to earth. The " accuser" is another of satan's names (roles), for satan accuses us daily before the Lord], which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them [because satan is no longer in Heaven, he has been cast to earth physically, defacto! (in our near future this shall be fulfilled)]. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time [5 months (Rev 9:5 & 9:10)].  (KJV) 

Ok, here we saw that satan is cast down to the earth in the final times, and when he comes he has a short while, and he is wrathful to go about his task.

        If this is not the antichrist from the first Scripture that we first looked at {Rev 13:11-18}, then where is this ''cast down one'' written of?  Surely the Scriptures in the book of Revelation would not mention satan's arrival on earth and then be mute about what he does after he is cast down having great wrath (the Great Tribulation) would they?

        Of course not, he is the antichrist (the beast) written of in our prior Scripture {Rev 13:11-18}.  The one who looks like Jesus the Lamb: "and he had two horns like a lamb" {Rev 13:11}, the one who spoke like the dragon (satan/antichrist) because he was satan, he was the dragon: "and he spake as a dragon" {Rev 13:11}, the one with who has supernatural abilities: "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast" {Rev 13:13-14}, the one who controls the New World Order beast system from {Rev 13:1-3}: "And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed." {Rev 13:12}, the one who causes all to take the mark of the beast (spiritual mark, it is not a tattoo, computer chip...): "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads" {Rev 13:16}, the one who's number is: "and his number is Six hundred threescore and six" {Rev 13:18}.


PS: There are two beasts in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation. And it is the FIRST beast that receives the deadly wound, NOT the antichrist as often supposed. The Antichrist (the second beast - Rev 13:11 "another beast") is the one who HEALS the deadly wound.  Attributing the deeds of one beast to the other beast causes much confusion in the matter.

Satan will come in the role of the antichrist!

Do you see that?

God Bless!

Nick
Watchmen Bible Study Group

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Question #5
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The truth about what will happen during the Great Tribulation of Antichrist

 

John* writes:
(*pseudonym, shortened) 

"There is tribulation (which we contend with everyday in some form or another).... And then there is TRIBULATION as described in the book of Revelation.  There is no way we will be able to deal with this one especially toward the latter part of it, because we will just not be able to handle it.  We will die, as surely as we breath.  It will be so uneven in terms of us verses them that without the Lord coming down at His second coming when He actually sets foot on earth, mankind will be destroyed, which is what s_t_n wants because we are a creation of God, ANYTHING that God created, s_t_n wants destroyed...

That is why there WILL be a pre-tribulation because Jesus knows we, even though we are His, even though we are Saints, even though we are willing to die for Him, WILL BE NO MATCH FOR THE DEMONS OF HELL AND THE HEAD OF IT ALL.  The rules for this engagement are like no other war in the history of mankind.  Man thinks he is powerful, has sophistication in his instruments of war, is able to kill vast numbers of people at one time, etc...

When you come up against something that laughs at your weapons, uses weapons against you that you haven't heard of, blows even larger numbers of humans away, and remains unscathed in the process, you begin to appreciate the immensity of this TRIBULATION.  Like no tribulation that went before it.... There is no way the human mind can conceive of the horror, mutilation, disease, and inhuman suffering that will occur during this TRIBULATION.  That is the keyword - inhuman, we will be dealing with beings with powers that we can't even imagine, and Jesus knows this, thus we pre-trib rapture believers [Pretribulation Rapture theory.  They believe that they will be removed from the earth BEFORE the antichrist satan comes and BEFORE the Second Advent of Jesus Christ - Ed.]  are just that - BELIEVERS IN THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE, WITHOUT APOLOGY TO NO MAN, AND IN TOTAL SUBJECTION TO OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH."

Answer:

Hello [John]:

        I write this not for your learning, for I know from prior correspondence with you that there is nothing that I could ever say to reach you with the truth regarding the fact that there shall be no Rapture of the church.  But I say it for others who have read your post about the horror that you add to Scripture.  Will there be some death during the Tribulation, sure, but there is death right now in China for Christians.  Will satan (antichrist {Rev 13:11}) and his fallen angels (the locust army {Rev 9:2}), who will be cast down to us here on earth {Rev12:9} for the Great Tribulation, be killing Christians?  No!  Satan and his fallen angels cannot kill humans:  " And to them  [the locust army (fallen angels)] it was given that they should not kill them  [humans during the Great Tribulation]" {Rev 9:5}.

        I have stated in prior correspondence with you that it is written in Scripture that almost all Christians, and all of the rest of the world, will worship antichrist.  People can't fathom it, they just can't see how that could happen.  The reason they can't believe it is because they believe as you do John, they believe all the hyped up horror stories perpetuated by satan to scare Christians into false doctrines that supposedly remove them before the supposed horror (aka: Rapture theories).  But it is that very thing that shall lead them to worship the wrong christ antichrist.  Really John, you do add quite a bit of melodrama to the Tribulation Scriptures.

        What do the Scriptures say about how antichrist (satan) shall cause the world to worship him???  Deception John, false doctrines and lies of satan, not murder and torture - God does not allow supernatural beings to do that to humans - never has!

        When antichrist comes it shall be in peace and beautiful words {Dan 11:21}, he is a covenant (peace) maker {Dan 11:22-23}, he will pay off all debts {Dan 11:24, Dan 8:24-25}, he will destroy (deceive) wonderfully {Dan 8:24}.  Antichrist will do everything that the world expects the Messiah from God to do (to the Christian he will be Jesus Christ, to the Jew he will be their long awaited Messiah, to Islam he will be prophet Mohammed, to New Agers he will be ' The Christ Spirit', to American Indians he will be the Great Spirit, to Buddhists he will be the final Buddha...

        In short John, satan (antichrist, the instead-of messiah (Strong's word #473) will APPEAR to be everything to every religion, a direct emissary from the Creator of all!  By this fashion John, he shall deceive the world, including Christians who have not been taught, or who rejected it when they were taught, that satan (antichrist) comes FIRST as the false messiah, claiming to be the true Messiah from God, BEFORE the true Jesus Christ comes for His Second Advent!

        Antichrist shall win the hearts of the world through deception, false doctrines, and outright lies;  not murder and torture - God does not allow supernatural beings to do that to humans, but satan likes to make you think it will be that way so that when he (antichrist/satan) comes pretending to be sweet Jesus, the peoples of the earth  will kneel down to him thinking that he is the true Savior from God.  Sad!

1Thes 5:1-4
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (KJV)

Study that Scripture well John.  What is it saying?  And this is important John, give me your attention for a moment!  Let's analyze that Scripture, for surely it is baffling to the Rapturist, and understandably so, for it goes directly against everything they have taught about end-time chronology.  Let's take a deeper look at the above Scripture:

1Thes 5:1-4
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

Paul is saying that you should know the season of the Second Advent (not the moment mind you, no man knows that, but the wise will know the season by the prophecies fulfilled).

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

A thief comes unexpectedly. When will people least expect Jesus Christ to return? When they think that He is ALREADY here.

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

When will they feel safe in the Lord?  When they think that He is among them.  But then what happens to them when they feel safe in the Lord?  Sudden destructions comes upon them because they are not really with the Lord as they supposed they were, but rather, they are with satan in disguise.  The destruction is the calamities that befall the earth when Jesus Christ returns at His Second Advent with the Saints, who have died in generations past all throughout history, to find a world, even his Christians, serving satan, though they do so unawares, they have been deceived by the soothsaying doctrines of men to worship the first supernatural entity that comes to earth claiming to be Messiah.  The only problem is that satan (antichrist) is the first supernatural entity that comes to earth claiming to be the Messiah of God.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (KJV)

We who study God's Word are expected to know better.  But we, as whole, do not study God's Word on the matter, we listen to the fairy tales of men channeled by one Margaret MacDonald on her sickbed through a demon in the Spring of the year A.D. 1830 - The birthday of the Rapture Doctrine!

        Really John, if what I say is true, and it is, can you really say that you won't be sucked in even though you are a good Christian now?  The time is short, study the Scriptures now, because once antichrist is here doing miracles {Rev 13:13-14} you will be unreachable for teaching, you will have been spiritually marked by the beast, though you will not know it until Jesus Christ comes at His Second Advent, and then.......

Think about it John!

God bless all God's children, His will be done!

Nick
Watchmen Bible Study Group

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Question #4
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The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem

Richard writes:

"Good Day, I am just beginning to read and study my Bible and feel so angry with myself for waiting so many years.  I am finding in conversations and in some of the Scriptures I read, references to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

I know Christ promised it would happen, but the story surrounding the event is escaping me.  Just point me to the Scripture that contains the story.  I will arm myself with my American Dictionary of the English Language (Noah Webster - 1828) and read all about it.

Thank you so much.  This site is a Godsend to a new student of the Word and I use it as often as I get time."

Richard

 

Answer:

Hello Richard:

        We're glad to have you study with us! Questions are always welcome.  The Scriptures you ask about are given below.

        And while the Roman General Titus did sack and destroy Jerusalem in A.D. 70, it was in no means the destruction spoken of by Jesus Christ.  The destruction Jesus was speaking of has not yet happened.  If you read the Scriptures carefully you observe that the destruction will be so great that not even one stone shall be left standing upon another.  This has not yet happened, for I'm sure you have heard of the "Wailing Wall" (the western wall of the Temple remains in Israel) where the Jews pray.

        You will even notice in the first Scripture below that Jesus and the Disciples are speaking of the end times (our times) in relation to the destruction: 

Matt 24:1-4
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. (KJV)

Luke 19:41-45
41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city [Jerusalem], and wept over it,
42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought (KJV)

        As you are a newer student, may I suggest that you acquire a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible?  It will give you the definitions of the original words in their original languages before they were translated into English in our Bibles.  It also lets you take one word from a Scripture and look up in a concordance every single occurrence of that word in the King James Bible.  In other words, since you knew that the Scripture you were looking for had the word "temple" in it, you would have just had to look up the word "temple" and it would give that word in it's sentence as it appears in the Bible - listing the Chapter and Verse.  It is an invaluable tool!

        You must use a King James Version Bible with your Strong's Concordance.  The King James Version Bible (KJV) is the only Bible version to study from, it is the reliable Word of God translated into English.  The newer "more understandable" versions are not fully nor faithfully accurate.  If you want more info on this, check out our study on the different Bible versions at: Adulterations in the Newer Bible Versions (NIV, NASB...); Proof that the King James Bible (KJV) is the True Word of God. 

        The 1828 Webster's Dictionary is a fine English Dictionary for Bible study!!!  It gives the definitions of the old English words that appear in the King James Bible .  In our study aids section we review the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and the The Bible : Authorized King James Version.  You may also want to look at The Companion Bible also listed.  With these three volumes you will have everything you need to get started on understanding the Word of God as written.

God Bless!
Nick
WBSG

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Question #3
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Did Dr. E. W. Bullinger of the Companion Bible believe in the Sixth Day Creation?

Randy writes:

Hello Nick,

First I'd like to say that I have been enjoying your website very much.  I have a question after reading your study [MANKIND; THE TWO SEPARATE 'CREATION' EVENTS].  As I'm sure your aware of, Bullinger in the [The Companion Bible] says regarding the man mentioned in Gen Ch. 1:27 that since it has the article that it is referring to the Adam created at Gen Ch. 2:7.  This goes against what you have said in you study.  I do believe that as you explained, there were two creations, but Bullinger's comments are confusing me a little bit.  Is Bullinger wrong in his comments?

Any help is greatly appreciated.
In His Service,
Randy

 

Answer:

Hello Randy:

        Thank-you for the kind comments. We also place a very high value on the scholarship of E.W. Bullinger who did his most of his work in the late 1800's.

        But as no man can or will ever be perfect, we must be willing to accept the fact that even the Scholar of Biblical Scholars can be incorrect.  And Bullinger 'dropped the ball' on this one.  Bullinger apparently was unaware of the separate creation events in {Gen 1:27 & Gen 2:7}.  This is further evidenced by his remarks in {Gen 6:3} for the word "also" in the phase: "for that he also is flesh."  Observe below:

Gen 6:3
3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. (KJV)

You will notice the word "he" is emphatic and is so designated in the manuscripts.  For the usage of the word "also" in the above, Bullinger gives this verbatim comment in the Companion Bible, pg 11:

"ALSO: i.e., the man Adam also, as well as the others. (Not "men"; if so, as well as – what?)"

        When we remember that Bullingers work was done at the turn of the century we can be understanding that he did make mistakes.  For instance, Bullinger believed in some form of Rapture doctrine, and he seemed to struggle with the three earth ages.  But all in all, Bullinger is one the best Biblical Scholars of all time.  Pastor (A fine Christian Minister) of another Ministry on TV is also right up there at the very top, it is to his work and scholarship that we attribute the Three Earth Ages understanding, the Two Creation Events understanding, and the rebuttal to the false Rapture theories.  God does raise up teachers at specific times to teach specific truths as the need arises according to His design, the above mentioned two men are most definitely blessed of God Scholars, but they are not foolproof nor infallible, they themselves would tell you that.  Only God alone is infallible.

        We know that the Lord reveals what He will when He will, and that there is to be an outpouring of knowledge in the latter days.  The way that I personally reason it as to how such an obvious fact could have passed by a Scholar of Bullinger’s caliber is that it simply wasn’t time for the Lord to reveal it.

        Perhaps the 'icing on the cake' as regarding the fact that Bullinger saw in the Scriptures something unusual between the Scriptures of {Gen 1:27 & 2:7} is in his own Companion Bible appendix #14.  His notes on {Gen 2:7} refer the reader to appendix #14, but not in his notes on {Gen 1:27}, which is curious as he seems to think it is speaking of the same man Adam.

        In Appendix #14, Bullinger makes a statement which contradicts his notes in the book of Genesis.  Observe what he says about the usage of Adam in the Old Testament:

Appendix #14 I, second paragraph:

"With the particle (‘eth) in addition to the article it is very emphatic, and means self, very, this same, this very.  See Gen 2.7 (FIRST OCCURRENCE), 8, 15." Emphasis added.

        Now this flies in the face of his earlier statement that it is the same person being spoken of in {Gen 1:27 & 2:7}.  Bullinger saw something there that he just could not reason with.

But don’t be too hard on ‘ole Bullinger, he is still one of the best!

God bless!
Nick

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Question #2
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Was Eve's sin more than simply sexual in nature?  And just what exactly did Adam do?

 

Name Withheld writes:

"I was curious about something on this site.  The author wrote that Cain was a son of Satan and Eve giving up her virginity was the real 1st sin.  I'm inferring that the author is saying that Eve 1st had sex with Satan and then with Adam which was Adam's sin.  I can accept that and I'd believe that over being a "bad fruit" thing.  So is sex the sin that initially separated mankind from God?  Why then did God instruct nature to be "fruitful and multiply."  As a personally consecrated virgin, I can easily accept this teaching, but I'm confused.  If Eve's sin was sex with Satan, what exactly was Adam's sin again.  Was he not meant to ever "sleep" with Eve? Were they supposed to remain perpetual virgins?"

 

Answer:

Hello Miss: 

        Glad to have you study with us.  Since you mentioned something personal about yourself, I felt it prudent and right not to post your name.  Perhaps you didn't know that I post the questions and answers on our Site.  Or maybe you didn't care about privacy, I would rather err on the side of good.  

        I may have not been totally clear on the subject of your question.  While Eve did have sex with satan (as the serpent, the glistening one) it would be incorrect to state that the nature of the sin in the Garden was purely sexual.  Let me explain.

        Far more than sex was being engaged in between satan, Eve, and Adam in the Garden of Eden.  And certainly Adam’s sin was not to lie with his own wife, for how else could they abide God’s edict to be fruitful and multiply.  And besides, Adam doesn't have sex with Eve until {Gen 4:1} which is after he was already punished for his sin {Gen 3:17-19}, so his sin could not be laying with his wife.  Sex within marriage is a beautiful thing, it is a gift from our Lord to us as long as long as we abide by His rules for it.  When one has sex with their spouse they are not defiling themselves from without, for when we marry two become one.

        From the study you refer to (What was the Real sin in the Garden of Eden?) we documented that Eve indeed had sex with the serpent so we shall not revisit that here, but there was also very strong spiritual overtones to the event.  As we saw that the Hebrew of the Old Testament veils much of the event, we also see that the Holy Spirit shed more light on it in Paul’s writings in the New Testament {2 Cor 11:2-3}.  One needn’t fuss over why the Holy Spirit would veil or hide something in the Old Testament and then clearly reveal it in the New, for God reveals what He will when He will according to His purpose. 

        The knowledge of what really happened in the Garden of Eden has been revealed just of late, but it was always there in the Scriptures (as are all true doctrines). I would dare say that the teaching that satan is Cain’s literal father has only been shone to man by the Holy Spirit in the last half of this century.  But now, once made aware of it, we can see it written all through the Bible.  Even Jesus came right out and plainly said it but it wasn’t time for man accept it: "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do..." {John 8:44}. "Your father" is used twice for emphasis and clarity; "father" here does not simply mean that they are like satan, as many suppose, but rather that satan is their literal ancestor, their progenitor.  But now let’s get back to Eve’s sin, and then Adam’s.  Here is what the Holy Spirit revealed through Apostle Paul, for surely Paul was not present in the Garden of Eden to witness the events.  Also you will notice that Paul mixes the carnal with the spiritual in the below.  Hold that in the back of your mind for it is the answer to your question: 

2 Cor 11:2-3
2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (KJV)

Beguiled: Greek word #1818 exapatao (ex-ap-at-ah'-o); from 1537 and 538; to seduce wholly.

*All definitions from the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, a MUST HAVE study tool for the deeper student, second in importance only to the King James Bible!

        This 'beguiling' is far more than a simple deceiving, for we see that the Greek word beguiled 'exapatao' (#1818) is composed of the Greek word for deceive ‘apatao’ (#538), but added to it is the prefix ‘ek’ (#1537) meaning: from within, exceedingly, vehemently, heartily....  Observe the simple Greek word for deceive, it is less to be deceived than it is to be beguiled:

Deceive: Greek word #538 apatao (ap-at-ah'-o); of uncertain derivation; to cheat, i.e. delude.

        Okay, so knowing that Eve's sin did involve a sexual act we are immediately confounded with Adam's sin: "...she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." {Gen 3:6}.  If the sin was merely to partake of the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" (satan), it would appear that Adam's sin was sexual in nature as well, for he also partook after Eve did.  This brings the unthinkable to mind, but then satan is a supernatural being and could have appeared as a man to Eve and a woman to Adam, but there is so much more here.  Once again we go to the New Testament and dig a little deeper into what the Holy Spirit has revealed through Paul.  For as we see, there is some difference in what Adam did and what Eve did:

1 Tim 2:13-15
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.  (KJV)

Transgression:  Greek word #3845 parabaino (par-ab-ah'-ee-no); from 3844 and the base of 939; to go contrary to, i.e. violate a command.

        In verse 15 above, Eve was saved in childbearing (as we all could be) because through her children, umbilical cord to umbilical cord, 4000 years later, would be born the Savior of the world Jesus Christ  (not Cain the son of satan, but Able then Seth the sons of Adam was the promise to come through).  Now if they both 'ate' of the 'tree', then what command is it that Eve transgressed which Adam did not?  Well what was the command that Eve received that Adam did not?  Compare:

Adam's instructions:
Gen 2:17
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.  (KJV)

Eve's instructions:
Gen 3:3
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  (KJV)

        This word "Touch" in Eve's instructions is 'naga' in the Hebrew, and it is a euphemism for sex (i.e., to lie with a woman).  Adam was not warned about this from God, perhaps He knew it wouldn't happen:

Touch: Greek word #5060 naga` (naw-gah'); a primitive root; properly, to touch, i.e. lay the hand upon (for any purpose; euphem., to lie with a woman); by implication, to reach (figuratively, to arrive, acquire); violently, to strike (punish, defeat, destroy, etc.)

        Okay, let's get to your answer.  Let's observe what the sin was, what Adam and Eve got out of it.  What did they gain by doing that which God told them not to?  Just as it is today, satan attempts to charm us with false doctrine.  Satan promises life but only delivers misery and death.  Did satan have sex with Eve? Yep, he sure did, but that wasn't all that happened.  Satan deceived both Adam and Eve with promises that he could not keep and out right lies that he did not intend to deliver upon.  

        Satan mislead them spiritually away from our Heavenly Father by delivering false doctrine to them.  It is the same way even today where satan, through his false teachers/preachers teach that all religions are different paths to the same God, and even the alarming doctrines of the New Age religions and their predecessors Eastern religions in where they state that they can become 'enlightened' to such a high spiritual degree that they break the bonds of the flesh and ascend into a spiritual ultra-consciousness state of all-knowing and eternal existence.  Yes, they believe that crapola, even placed the fate of their very souls on it, they think that they can become as God, become a god!  What a rude awakening they are in for.  

        But it is only satan's age old lie, the same one that he got to Adam and Eve with.  Let's revisit the Garden of Eden and observe what satan promised Adam and Eve if they would only disobey and leave God, and to listen to and follow satan.  For make no mistake about it, if God had not intervened, satan would have been back with Adam and Eve day after day turning them into his own little slaves and founding a corrupt world out of God's perfect Garden of Eden.  Satan seeks to do just that even today, and as prophesied, for a short while in the end of times (our generation) he shall accomplish that - Then Jesus Christ comes back at His Second Advent and promptly deposits satan into the Bottomless Pit leaving all whom were misled by him in great shame, to say the least.  But that would be a different study for a different day.  

Gen 3:4-6
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  (KJV)

        Once satan had deceived them "religiously" it was a small thing for him to take all of Eve (sexually).  It was through that sexual union that Cain was born.  And it was through those false teachings that idolatry away and apart from God was born.  That is why God was so upset!  It is a shame that even today from the Pulpits of Christendom people are still taught that the order of the world was rocked, and God's wrath was so hotly fired because Adam and Eve ate an apple from the wrong tree!

        As far as the fallen Angels coming back, See: The Fallen Angels and the Giant of Genesis Chapter six.

        God bless you Miss, and I hope I answered your question.  In fact, I am going to insert it into the What was the Real sin in the Garden of Eden? study since perhaps I was not clear on it at the first.  Thank you for the help! 

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Question #1
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The Heavenly Temple, the Bride of Christ and the end-time generation timeline of God

 

G & J write:

Hi Nick,
I have a thought that I am trying to clear up in my head.  The O.T. Prophets were for our example and their acts & words were truth.  Ezra and Haggai were building the natural Temple before Christ came the first time.  It should be the same today with our Father building the Spiritual temple the Bride.

Someone has to come and lay the foundation for this Temple.  Perhaps it is the 7,000 Very Elect (Foundation) that will teach the walls (144,000) Elect to prepare us for the AC [antichrist].  Christ will be looking [for] a Virgin Bride (Temple) that the foundation is sure. I guess that I am trying to make the connection between the natural Temple and the Spiritual Temple being built with a time frame in [mind] since we know that the last generation before Christ returns started in 1948 at the planting of the fig tree.

Maybe I am looking for your thoughts on this to see if I am way off base with my thoughts.  Love to you... G & J

Answer:

Hello G & J:

        Allow me to offer a couple of insights that indeed render your interpretations problematic.  The very next relevant 'Temple' is the false temple of antichrist, it is the one that the false messiah antichrist shall sit in and rule from, observe:  

II Th 2:3-4
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.  (KJV)

        So certainly this temple is not of the Election of God, neither the 7,000, the 144,000, or the Kings and Queens of the Ethnos.  And as well, when Jesus Christ returns at is Second Advent He will return to find His supposed Temple and His supposed one-world church defiled.  They shall be serving the wrong christ, the antichrist.

Rev 17:8
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.  (KJV)

Rev 13:3
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.  (KJV)

Rev 13:3-4
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?  (KJV)

Luke 18:8
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?  (KJV)

        You are just a little bit off track with your interpretations.  No offence to you intended!, please understand, but for as men (meaning the creation) we are all 'just a little bit off track' in our assumptions of the plan of God (the Creator).  Basically, whether you intended or not, your question and interpretation hints at setting the dating of the Second Advent, does it not?  For if you are right then you would know when the Second Advent was to be, right down to the very day.  This of course is not possible.  For while God does promise that the wise shall know the season of the end of times (by following the chronological order of the prophecies):

Dan 12:8-10
8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.  (KJV)

 Jesus however, tells us that none other than God Himself, not even the Son of God, knows or shall know that day and that hour:

Mark 13:31-32
31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.  (KJV)

        And you are correct that God does give us 'types' in the Bible, but we must be careful not to make a 'religion' out of 'types or examples' in-and-of themselves.  In other words, we must be careful not to read too much into them where there is not too much written in.  If we are not careful we can find ourselves 'over-spiritualizing' every Scripture in the Bible and can become confused that way.  Basically, some things are written on a deeper level and some things are just plain and simple.  To be able to discern which is which is the goal of all sincere Bible expositors.  The safe bet is to remain conservative until you have another Scriptural witness.  It is written that you must have two witness to a thing before it is to be believed, but the Bible always gives at least three, often many more.  In finding these double and triple witnesses in the Holy Scriptures we can be assured of an accurate interpretation of a thing. 

2 Cor 13:1
1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.  (KJV)

See also: {Matt 18:16, Deut 19:15, John 8:17, 1 Tim 5:19, Heb 10:28, I Jn 5:7, Rev 11:3}.

        G & J please don't think that I am being nit-picky with you, I am not, for we all can fall into this type of thing if we are not diligent in our cross-documentation of all things Scriptural.  And while this answer is addressed specifically to your question, the whole of the teaching is expanded to cover many other's concerns.

        The interpretation supposed in the above question falls short on a couple of fronts.

First, lets take this statement: 

" Ezra and Haggai were building the natural Temple before Christ came the first time.  It should be the same today with our Father building the Spiritual temple the Bride.  Someone has to come and lay the foundation for this Temple."  

        Why suppose that the Bride of Christ is the Temple?  It is not.  The Bride of Christ is a body of believers (the faithful church) in the end-times that overcome on the earth (THE 144,000 of Israel and the Gentile overcomers (Kings and Queens of the Ethnos).  The Elect (the 7,000) and a portion of the Kings and Queens of the Ethnos are the Wife of the Lamb {Rev 7:19}, they overcame in the age that was.  They all shall serve in the Temple, not become it.  See: Does the Bible speak of different races of people?  Who are the ethnos, and who are the Kings and Queens of them? 

        For our purposes here we shall group the Gentile representatives (Kings and Queens of the Ethnos) in with the representatives of Israel, the (Elect) and the (THE 144,000), for they are contemporary.  The elect are already married to the Lamb, that is to say that they already overcame.  This they did in the world that was:

Eph 1:4-6 (The Elect, including a portion of the Kings and Queens of the Ethnos )
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.  (KJV)

        But the 144,000 will not 'make it' to the wedding feast until the last hours of this earth age, they shall at first stumble and worship the antichrist {Dan 12:8-10} but then they shall be called out just prior to the Second Advent {Rev 7:3-4}, and when they are there shall be no time for building any Temple on the grand dimensions of the Millennial Temple.  And by called out, I mean called out of confusion: "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." {Rev 18:4}, called out of the antichrist's system; they are still on the planet (I mention that least someone read a false Rapture doctrine into this).  

        We must at this point differentiate between the two Temples of the end-times so to speak.  They are the Millennial Temple and the Heavenly Temple.  The Millennial Temple is in the Millennium, and the Heavenly Temple is in the Heaven age - eternal.  First lets look at the Heavenly Temple since it is not the one that your question regards.  What is the Temple in the eternity?  It is not a place or a building made of hands:

Rev 21:1-3 (Heaven)
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  (KJV)

Rev 21:22 (The Temple in Heaven)
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.  (KJV)

        That should handily clear-up what the Heavenly Temple is, it is the Lord God and Jesus Christ.  And remember that at that time God is "all in all" {1st Cor 15:28}:

1 Cor 15:28
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.  (KJV)

        But what of the Millennial Temple, what is that Temple?  We know that God will not dwell with man again until the Heaven age, the one we just looked at.  But Jesus will bring the Millennium Temple with Him at His Second Advent.  And what did Jesus really say about the Temple?:

John 2:19-21
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.  (KJV)

        The Millennial Temple is described in great detail in the book of Ezekiel, in fact, the last eight chapters of the book of Ezekiel are set in the Millennium.  Within the great description and measurements of this Temple and surrounding areas we see that the servants of God shall be ministering in it, not becoming it.  See {Ezek 44:14-17} for just one of many such examples.

        I know the questioner is not caught up in this, but there is a dangerous New Age teaching that states in summary: "We are the body of the Christ, we shall become as Christ, and therefore as a god".  They have corrupted the Scriptures and suppose the unthinkable.  Be careful for those who's teachings begin to drift in that direction.  We shall always be the creation and the Lord God shall always be the Creator.  Even in Heaven, we do not become as Him, but rather, we serve Him!

Rev 22:3 (in Heaven)
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him  (KJV)

        And we are always the child and He is always the Father God: "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." {Rev 21:7}.  I just mention that in passing because you will hear much false doctrine in these end-times, but they are all lies from satan - Christian beware!

Now lets deal with the next statement:

" I guess that I am trying to make the connection between the natural Temple and the Spiritual Temple being built with a time frame in [mind] since we know that the last generation before Christ returns started in 1948 at the planting of the fig tree."

The above states: "I am trying to make the connection between the natural Temple and the Spiritual Temple".  Ah, but what saith the Scriptures?:

1 Cor 2:13
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  (KJV)

        I would like to offer one though on the commencement of the Generation of the Fig tree, which most all Bible Scholars agree as being the last generation before the Second Advent.  Most suppose that the Generation of the Fig tree began on May 14, 1948 when Israel once again became a Nation, this had not happened since Christ's time.  Perhaps they are correct, but I have of late become persuaded that the Generation of the Fig tree didn't commence until 19 years later on June 5, 1967.  June 5,1967 was the third day into the Six Day War at which time Israel captured the Eastern part of Jerusalem from the Palestinians and repatriated the Temple Mount local with the newly formed (1948) State of Israel.  Let the reader make up his own mind on the dating of the commencement of the Generation of the Fig tree.  The main thing to understand is that whether it began in 1948 or in 1967 we are 'neck deep' into it now!  But consider this:

        All end-time prophecy revolves around that Temple Mount, that Mount was the location of the First and Second Temples of Israel, that Mount is the location that the antichrist shall set up his false temple, that Mount is where Christ shall set His Millennial Temple, and that Mount shall be the location of God's eternal Heavenly Temple which will descend from above.  That location is God's favorite place in the universe, God married that place (spiritually):

Ezek 16:8 (God speaking spiritually of Jerusalem)
8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.  (KJV)

        So suffice it to say, all end-time prophecy revolves around that location, the location of the Lord's First, Second, Herod's, Millennial, and Heavenly Temple - the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Israel.  Sad to say, that is also where satan (as the antichrist) shall place his false temple:

II Th 2:2-4
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition [satan as the impostor 'christ', the antichrist];
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.  (KJV)

It is that place and that time that Daniel writes of:

Dan 9:27 (speaking of antichrist in the false temple)
27 And he [antichrist] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease [in the temple where sacrifices and oblations are made], and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.  (KJV)

Then, lets look at the time frames implied by the questioner's hypothesis.  Let's look at some dates:

• 917 b.c.    The first Temple begun to be built.
• 910 b.c.    The first temple completed.
• 426 b.c.    The Second Temple's foundations laid (same location).
• 410 b.c.    The Second Temple's superstructure begun (Haggai and Zechariah begin).
• 405 b.c.    The Second temple finished and dedicated.
• 20   b.c.    Herod (The Great) begins to rebuild the Temple (technically the third) on a magnificent scale.
• 64   b.c.    (approx.) Herod's Temple completed (not by Herod, who died shortly after Christ's birth).
• 69   a.d.    Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus.      

 * All dating from the The Companion Bible, appendix #50. ppg. 71-72.

Also, for "the forty and six years" of {John 2:20}, they begun 20 b.c. with Herod the Great rebuilding the Temple; See Josephus, Wars, I. xxi.1 (supplied below).  This Temple was not fully completed until a.d. 64, hence the statement by the Jews:  "Forty and six years was this temple in building".  They didn't say it was completed, but that it was "in building," or 'under construction' as we would say today.  The time they gave of the construction progress to that day was 46 years.  The date of the events in that Scripture {Jn 2:20} was a.d. 26, three years before the Crucifixion.  So then, from 20 b.c. till a.d. 26 is 46 years.

John 2:20
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?  (KJV)

JOSEPHUS The Wars Of The Jews Book I Chapter 21:1
1. Accordingly, in the fifteenth year of his reign, Herod rebuilt the temple, and encompassed a piece of land about it with a wall, which land was twice as large as that before enclosed. The expenses he laid out upon it were vastly large also, and the riches about it were unspeakable. A sign of which you have in the great cloisters that were erected about the temple, and the citadel which was on its north side. The cloisters he built from the foundation, but the citadel (see note below) he repaired at a vast expense; nor was it other than a royal palace, which he called Antonia, in honor of Antony. He also built himself a palace in the Upper city, containing two very large and most beautiful apartments; to which the holy house itself could not be compared [in largeness]. The one apartment he named Caesareum, and the other Agrippium, from his [two great] friends. 

Note from above:  This fort was first built, as it is supposed, by John Hyrcanus; see Prid. at the year 107; and called "Baris," the Tower or Citadel. It was afterwards rebuilt, with great improvements, by Herod, under the government of Antonius, and was named from him "the Tower of Antoni;" and about the time when Herod rebuilt the temple, he seems to have put his last hand to it. See Antiq. B. XVIII. ch. 5. sect. 4; Of the War, B. I. ch. 3. sect. 3; ch. 5. sect. 4. It lay on the northwest side of the temple, and was a quarter as large

-- This document is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College.

        What can we say then?  Is there an exact dating for the Second Advent of Christ hidden somewhere in the Scriptures?  Well if there is, we shall not find it, for if we did then God be made a liar - God forbid!:

Mark 13:31-32
31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.  (KJV)

        God bless you G & J and I hope I wasn't misunderstood, you presented a fine question and one that is indeed near and dear to the hearts of all Christians:  Even the Apostles asked that question:

Matt 24:3
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?  (KJV)

        Jesus answers that question in the 24th chapter of the book of Matthew and the 13th chapter of the book of Mark, which both spell out in great detail the chronological order of events leading up to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ Messiah Son of God Savior, which will mark the end of this world as we know it and the beginning of the Millennium that shall give way to the eternity.

God bless;
Nick

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