Posted on 06/27/2021 5:19:54 PM PDT by grumpa
It says the Church AT Babylon, not that the Church there IS Babylon. Babylon here refers to the pagan city of Rome, not the Church.
....no evidence Peter was ever in Rome. No two apostles were ever in the same place. Babylon is always Babylon in Revelation and it will be rebuilt in Iraq!
...ymmv
I see no reason Peter could not be referring to Jerusalem while writing from Rome, do you? It is not as if his connection to Jerusalem had been entirely curtailed. Just saying.
God's message for the world was then entrusted to the Gentiles until we too "blew it." This age ends when the time of the gentiles (our time) ends - coming soon, IMHO.
In the new age that's fast approaching, Christ will be our King, and his throne will be in Jerusalem, where he will rule the entire planet for the next one thousand years.
As my study of eschatology leads me to understand it.
//Church AT Babylon proves Babylon of Revelation was Rome//
My response:
1. You have ignored and not addressed any of my 12 evidences that the Babylon of Revelation was Old Covenant Jerusalem.
2. What role did Rome play in the Revelation story? The sea beast—
WHO IS THE BEAST OF REVELATION?
Actually, there are two beasts of Revelation 13. The first beast came from the sea; the second beast came from the land. The first beast is the primary actor, with the second beast appearing in a supporting role as a propagandist for the first beast. John was telling his readers that the (sea) beast was a man, and that they could figure out who the man was by calculating his number.
The book of Revelation was written to a first-century audience, probably around AD 64. For example, Revelation 17:10 says it was being written during the sixth king, who was Nero. Nero was ruler of Rome from AD 54-68. So, we should expect the first-century readers to have been able to calculate the number. For the beast to be someone thousands of years in the future would have made no sense to the readers in the first century. The Bible was written FOR us, but not TO us. The first-century context is reinforced by some thirty passages in Revelation that teach its fulfillment as imminent and about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70 (Revelation 1:1-3; 20:6-20; etc.).
As every school child knows, the Romans used letters to represent numerals. Similarly, the Greeks and Hebrews assigned numerical values to their letters. Since Revelation was written by a Jew in a Hebrew context, and with numerous allusions to the Old Testament, we should expect the solution to deciphering the meaning of 666 to be Hebraic. It turns out that when Nero’s name is translated numerically into Hebrew, we find something very interesting. One version of Nero’s name—Nero Caesar (Nrwn Qsr)—provides us with precisely the value of 666!
It is plausible that the Sea Beast was Rome as embodied in Nero. The life of Nero perfectly fits the description; he was indeed a beastly man. He was a ruthless, insanely cruel murderer of many, including members of his own family—and the first Gentile persecutor of Christians. There were other ghastly tyrants in the ancient world, but nobody distinguished himself any more violence, brutality, and debauchery than Nero. Period secular historian Apollonius of Tyana made note of the fact that Nero was indeed referred to as a “beast.”
There is an interesting twist on this story. Some ancient manuscripts of the Bible have the number 616 instead of 666! In fact, perhaps the oldest manuscript available uses 616. This will surprise a lot of Christians who are wrapped up in 666 numerology speculation. The intriguing thing is that 616 spells Nero in Latin, the way 666 spells Nero in Hebrew! Some scholars believe that the change in the number was done purposely. Since Latin was the Roman language of the region that included Judea, the change was made so that Latin readers of the Bible would also have understood that the beast was Nero.
DeMar sums it up:
“Nero Caesar fits three essential criteria in determining the identity of the sea beast who will ‘make war with the saints’ (13:7): the time of his reign (AD 54-68), the numerical value of his official name and title, and his character as a persecutor of the saints.” (book “LAST DAYS MADNESS”)
Many Christians believe that the beast and the antichrist of John’s epistles are the same. To figure out one is to figure out the other. But I doubt that this association is correct as the antichrist is not even mentioned in Revelation. There are other figures in the first century who better match the antichrist.
So, who was the second beast (the “land beast”)? It seems probable that this was apostate Israel, who had become subservient to the Roman state. Israel in the Bible is associated with the land. And this beast is described as “exercising the authority of the first beast” (Revelation 13:12) and “deceiving those who dwell on earth” (Revelation 13:14).
*****
See my related articles on the Babylon of Revelation, when Revelation was written, etc.:
https://prophecyquestions.com/2016/02/01/articles-by-charles-meek/
I find your interpretation of things to be in accord with the truth, but you will, and have, encountered resistance.
//Babylon of Revelation is Babylon of modern Iraq//
My response: Babylon was an historic enemy of God. John used Babylon as a metaphor in Revelation (which is FILLED symbolism) to represent apostate Old Covenant Israel/Jerusalem, as I point out in the post.
HOW TO INTERPRET THE BIBLE
Here are three major interpretive errors made by Christians, especially in Bible prophecy:
1. Using the daily newspaper to interpret Scripture (“newspaper eschatology”).
2. Failing to consider how the original audience would have understood the text (“audience relevance”).
3. Failing to let Scripture itself interpret Scripture.
Many of us were taught from our earliest memories to read the Bible like it was written yesterday―specifically to us. In reality, the Bible was written FOR us, but not TO us. When we read the Bible, we are reading someone else’s mail. Applying modern events to Bible prophecy is illegitimate. Usually, the best interpretation is to appreciate the setting, grasping the original audience’s understanding.
We should interpret Scripture based on “exegesis,” which means gleaning the meaning FROM the context, thus the intended meaning of the writer based on Scripture alone―and its interpretation by the original audience. The opposite is called “eisegesis,” which means reading one’s own presuppositions (or hearsay from your denominational echo chamber) INTO the text.
A good example is Revelation, which was written to the seven churches of Asia. Revelation was meant to be understood by them and the book’s Jewish audience. We should not read our own modern interpretation into the book, which would have been meaningless to the people in the seven churches.
For further study on biblical interpretation, see the article at my website:
Also, check out my book, CHRISTIAN HOPE THROUGH FULFILLED PROPHECY:
To propose multiple fulfillments (with no specific number of fulfillments) is to propose Idealism. There is no way to know what “the end” actually is. How do we know there isn’t yet another more profound fulfillment at some point in the future? Idealism in eschatology is a bad idea. Logically, it’s a non sequitur. It’s not a bad idea in ethics, since the point of the NT is to learn principles that can be applied to other eras. But, they’re not the same thing.
I did not propose multiple fulfilments.
Enough.
That is the dumbest interpretation I've ever read.
I agree. But as I pointed out, 1 Peter 5:13 says he was writing FROM the Church AT Babylon, not that the Church there IS Babylon. Big difference.
Pagan Rome is the 4th beast of Daniel 7 (even the Catholic church says it). The Little Horn comes out of the 4th beast (ROME). The Little Horn (Antichrist) is ROMAN and lasts until Jesus Christ returns at His second coming. There is only one entity that has been around since the fall of Western Rome and is still IN Rome, and fits ALL of the biblical criteria for the Little Horn power, AND THAT IS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, which is centered in ROME. Babylon was Rome then and it’s Rome now.
Sorry about all those caps. No ill intent meant.
//Pagan Rome is the fourth beast of Daniel.//
My response. That’s true, but it does not define Babylon of Revelation. To assume that conclusion is reading something into the text by circumstantial evidence. Instead, Rome defines the time frame that the fifth kingdom emerges—the kingdom of Christ.
Rome is in the picture as the beast, not Babylon:
WHO IS THE BEAST OF REVELATION?
Actually, there are two beasts of Revelation 13. The first beast came from the sea; the second beast came from the land. The first beast is the primary actor, with the second beast appearing in a supporting role as a propagandist for the first beast. John was telling his readers that the (sea) beast was a man, and that they could figure out who the man was by calculating his number.
The book of Revelation was written to a first-century audience, probably around AD 64. For example, Revelation 17:10 says it was being written during the sixth king, who was Nero. Nero was ruler of Rome from AD 54-68. So, we should expect the first-century readers to have been able to calculate the number. For the beast to be someone thousands of years in the future would have made no sense to the readers in the first century. The Bible was written FOR us, but not TO us. The first-century context is reinforced by some thirty passages in Revelation that teach its fulfillment as imminent and about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70 (Revelation 1:1-3; 20:6-20; etc.).
As every school child knows, the Romans used letters to represent numerals. Similarly, the Greeks and Hebrews assigned numerical values to their letters. Since Revelation was written by a Jew in a Hebrew context, and with numerous allusions to the Old Testament, we should expect the solution to deciphering the meaning of 666 to be Hebraic. It turns out that when Nero’s name is translated numerically into Hebrew, we find something very interesting. One version of Nero’s name—Nero Caesar (Nrwn Qsr)—provides us with precisely the value of 666!
It is plausible that the Sea Beast was Rome as embodied in Nero. The life of Nero perfectly fits the description; he was indeed a beastly man. He was a ruthless, insanely cruel murderer of many, including members of his own family—and the first Gentile persecutor of Christians. There were other ghastly tyrants in the ancient world, but nobody distinguished himself any more violence, brutality, and debauchery than Nero. Period secular historian Apollonius of Tyana made note of the fact that Nero was indeed referred to as a “beast.”
There is an interesting twist on this story. Some ancient manuscripts of the Bible have the number 616 instead of 666! In fact, perhaps the oldest manuscript available uses 616. This will surprise a lot of Christians who are wrapped up in 666 numerology speculation. The intriguing thing is that 616 spells Nero in Latin, the way 666 spells Nero in Hebrew! Some scholars believe that the change in the number was done purposely. Since Latin was the Roman language of the region that included Judea, the change was made so that Latin readers of the Bible would also have understood that the beast was Nero.
DeMar sums it up:
“Nero Caesar fits three essential criteria in determining the identity of the sea beast who will ‘make war with the saints’ (13:7): the time of his reign (AD 54-68), the numerical value of his official name and title, and his character as a persecutor of the saints.” (book “LAST DAYS MADNESS”)
Many Christians believe that the beast and the antichrist of John’s epistles are the same. To figure out one is to figure out the other. But I doubt that this association is correct as the antichrist is not even mentioned in Revelation. There are other figures in the first century who better match the antichrist.
So, who was the second beast (the “land beast”)? It seems probable that this was apostate Israel, who had become subservient to the Roman state. Israel in the Bible is associated with the land. And this beast is described as “exercising the authority of the first beast” (Revelation 13:12) and “deceiving those who dwell on earth” (Revelation 13:14).
*****
See my related articles on the Babylon of Revelation, when Revelation was written, etc.:
https://prophecyquestions.com/2016/02/01/articles-by-charles-meek/
Why don’t you ask these guys (at the link)? I trust them. They lived through one of the most horrible times since time was created. Spoiler alert.....It’s the Catholic Church.
http://www.redeemerfw.org/resources/reformers_antichrist.pdf
From this site: goes on for 3 pages. just hit continue at the bottom of each page.
https://www.who-is-the-antichrist.org/whoistheantichrist.html
Grumpa, I want you to clearly note that Babylon is a woman (her) and that means a CHURCH. Scroll down under Revelation 18. It could not be any more clear than that. So, what church comes out of Rome and is still here today?
The Two Babylon’s
The first kingdom in Daniel 2 is Babylon which Nebuchadnezzar built and was king of. From this came Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. In the world today you can see the evidence of paganism and traditions from all these first four kingdoms which is why the beast power in Revelation 13 is a composite beast made up of all the beasts that represented these first four kingdoms shown by the same individual corresponding beasts found in Daniel 7. This first beast in Revelation 13 which is Papal system is the result of all the paganism and traditions that date right back to Babylon. In the Old Testament Babylon was a pagan nation who took God’s people into captivity and defiled the Temple of God. They worshipped idols and their king, and trod the Word of God underfoot. This great city was finally destroyed just as the prophets predicted. This is going to happen again spiritually. As this Apostate Church has taken on all the paganism and traits of what came from literal Babylon, God refers to this Apostate Church also as “BABYLON.”
Now, in Revelation 16 the angels commence pouring out the punishment from God as we draw very close to the second coming of Christ. We are told that “great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.” The “sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of THE EAST might be prepared.” Remember there is a lot of symbolism and PARALLELS here to literal Babylon and so this is not the literal river Euphrates that Babylon was built upon which was dried up to defeat Babylon.
Revelation 17 shows “the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.” This “woman is drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” This is referring to spiritual Babylon. She also sits upon the river Euphrates that is dried up as mentioned in Revelation 16 but this is not referring to the literal river. Literal Babylon sat upon the literal river Euphrates but spiritual Babylon sits upon a spiritual or symbolic river Euphrates. We are not left to guess what this symbolic water represents. Verse 17 says that the water that spiritual Babylon sits upon represents “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” So what is dried up is the support of the people for this antichrist Papal system. God opens people’s eyes so that they realize they have been deceived and they “shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” Literal Babylon was defeated by Cyrus drying up her literal water (the Euphrates) and spiritual mystery Babylon will be defeated by God drying up her symbolic water (the support of many people). For more information, see what is the battle of Armageddon.
Revelation 18 We are told that Babylon is fallen that made “all nations drank nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of HER fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with HER.” “In HER was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth” through the dark ages. We also see a call for “God’s PEOPLE” to come out of “HER” so they do not partake of HER sins or plagues. Revelation 18:2-4. God knows that there are many of His true children innocently caught up in this antichrist Papal system that do not understand what this Church is truly all about or has done.
Revelation 19 The punishment is complete and the Papacy is destroyed, “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he has judged the GREAT WHORE, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand... And her smoke rose up for ever and ever... 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.”
As you can see, the Papal system is the major theme in Revelation as well as Daniel because since not long after Christ, SHE has continued to have a massive impact on what truly does matter to God, i.e., His Church. She is the root of many false doctrines, has changed God’s law and shed the blood of millions of innocent Christians they called heretics etc. Now for more evidence on who the antichrist is by proving the Beast power is also Mystery Babylon. When Israel committed spiritual adultery, God called His Old Testament Church a “WHORISH WOMAN”, a “HARLOT” and a “WHORE” and accused her of “FORNICATION” and “ADULTERY.” The Catholic Church is guilty of much worse than Israel. In a recent address to the nations, Pope Benedict caused a major uproar among many Churches as he referred to the Catholic Church as being the “MOTHER” Church and called for all the daughter Churches to come back to HER. A large percentage of the Churches today are called daughter Churches because they originally came from the Catholic Church, eg: Martin Luther, who had been a Catholic priest established the Lutheran Church. Sadly, many of the daughter Churches have also ignorantly inherited various false doctrines and this is why SHE is called the “MOTHER OF HARLOTS” as is Mystery Babylon.
In a cryptic prophecy from Zechariah 5:5-10 we can see that the center for these religions will one day be moved back to Babylon. Many scholars believe this will happen at the end of the age. That’s the connection between Rome and Babylon.
prophecy often has double fulfillment
So true, here is an example of that truth, when Isaiah spoke of the coming Messiah.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:6-7).
There’s no indication of a gap in the middle of this prophecy’s fulfillment. Absent any other information a rational person would conclude that the two paragraphs are connected, with the second immediately following the first.
Likewise, when Gabriel announced the Lord’s coming to Mary, he promised that her child would be called the Son of God. He would sit on David’s throne and reign over the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:30-33). Gabriel didn’t mention a 2,000 year gap between the child’s birth and His ascension to David’s throne either.
Both of these prophecies have only been fulfilled in part. The child was born, the son was given and He is called the Son of God by many. But because Israel rejected Him, He hasn’t been seated on David’s throne, He is not Israel’s King, and the Earth is not experiencing everlasting peace. By inserting a gap between the part that has been fulfilled and the part that hasn’t, you can see that what could have been the past to us has become the future and the meaning of the prophecy remains just as clear as it would have been with out it.
Can You See It?
Only when we really dig into these prophecies with supernatural insight can we see that the preterist view requires a departure from a strict literal translation. I say we need the assistance of supernatural insight because as far as we can tell not one of the Jewish scholars “saw” the gap between the 69th and 70th weeks into which the Church Age so neatly fits.(Rom 11:25)
The Apostle Paul was arguably the most intellectually gifted of the New Testament writers, and had been educated by Gamaliel, who was revered as a pre-eminent Hebrew scholar (Acts 22:3). Yet even Paul did not understand this until it was revealed to him by God Himself. He said it was a mystery not made known to men in other generations (Eph. 3).
Only the futurist position remains true to the complete, literal sense in which the prophecies were written.
Most scholars believe Revelation was written in 95 AD near the end of the Roman Emperor Domitian’s reign (81-96 AD). But some who hold the Preterist view claim an earlier date, saying Nero was Emperor at the time. (He reigned from 54-68 AD.) They are forced to claim this earlier date to accommodate their belief that the prophecies of Revelation were fulfilled by 70 AD.
The Bible isn’t such a complex document that it requires years of formal education before you can begin to comprehend it. I’ve always believed the Bible was meant to be understood by any believer who can read and has a serious interest in knowing what it says. I say this because I believe the Bible is best approached by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit rather than one’s own intellect. James 1:5 says that any of us who lacks wisdom need only ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault.
Conversely, without the Spirit, we cannot accept the things that come from the Spirit of God regardless of our mental prowess. (1 Cor. 2:14) This is why we hear of people who tried to read the Bible as non-believers and found they couldn’t figure it out, but as soon as they were born again it began to make sense. They didn’t suddenly become more intelligent, they simply gained the supernatural insight of the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things. (John 14:26)
Over the 25 years or so I’ve been studying the Bible I’ve picked up a handful of principles that have also given me a better understanding of what it says. They help keep me honest so I know it’s the Holy Spirit teaching me, and not just my sin infested intellect coming to its own conclusion. From time to time I get asked about these principles, having mentioned them in answers to various questions, so here they are.
The Golden Rule of Interpretation
“When the plain sense of scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.” Dr. D.L. Cooper
This hasn’t become known as the Golden Rule of Interpretation for nothing. If you ignore all the others and only follow this one rule you will avoid almost all the mistakes people make in reading the Bible. And the next one is like it, sort of an expanded version of the first.
Literal, Historical, Grammatical, Contextual
These could be called the most important words in Biblical Hermeneutics, which is the science of properly interpreting the Bible.
Literal means that each word is given the same exact basic meaning it would have in normal, ordinary, customary usage, whether employed in writing, speaking or thinking. Unless it’s clearly indicated otherwise, we’re to assume the Bible means exactly what it says. Examples of passages that are not intended to be taken literally are parables, dreams, and visions. These are all identified as such, alerting us to the fact that they’re meant to be understood symbolically.
Historical means that each passage is put into its proper historical setting and surrounded by the thoughts, attitudes, and feelings prevalent at the time of its writing. In Biblical times the Jewish view of the Messiah was one of a charismatic leader like King David. In other words, a man, not God in human form. Knowing that helps us understand how they failed to recognize Him, and why they accused Him of blasphemy when He claimed to be God.
Grammatical means that words are given meanings consistent with their common understanding of the original language at the time of writing. Grammatical interpretation also includes following recognized rules of grammar and in its more advanced form, applying the nuances of the Hebrew and Greek languages to the understanding of a passage.
A good example showing the importance of following the rules of grammar can found in Daniel 9:27 where the subject of the first sentence in the verse is a personal pronoun. “He will confirm a covenant with (the) many.” The rule of grammar regarding personal pronouns is that they refer to the closest preceding personal noun. In this case, it’s “the ruler who will come” in verse 26 indicating that the person who will confirm the covenant with Israel is the anti-Christ, not the Lord as some commentators assert.
Contextual interpretation involves always taking the surrounding context of a verse/passage into consideration when trying to determine its meaning. The Holy Spirit has usually prompted the Bible’s writers to place indicators in the text surrounding a passage to guide you in interpreting it. In 1 Cor. 9:24-27 Paul compares our life to that of an athlete, training and competing for crowns. The mention of crowns tells us the passage is not about salvation, which is a free gift, but rewards believers can win after being saved. (In this case, it’s the crown of victory, awarded to those who overcome the ways of the flesh by getting rid of selfish desires, bad habits, and attitudes, etc.)
When you stop to think about it, reading the Bible this way actually makes perfect sense. If you received a letter from a friend you wouldn’t have to be reminded to apply these principles. You would naturally assume that your friend was using words that meant the same thing to both of you. You would understand them within the parameters of your shared history, you would assume that the rules of grammar you had both been taught applied, and you would interpret what was written within the context of your relationship. You would expect your friend to alert you if any of these assumptions were not going to apply, and explain the reason for it.
The only difference with the Bible is that it was written over a long period of time, during which the meanings of some words changed, and society is generally different now than it was when the Bible was written. This makes books on Bible history and a good concordance valuable additions to your library.
Expositional Constancy
This is a fancy term to remind us that symbolism in scripture tends to be consistent. For example, throughout the Bible leaven, or yeast, is used symbolically to stand for sin. Therefore there’s no justification for claiming that in the Parable of the Yeast (Matt. 13:33) and there alone, it stands for the Gospel. Expositional Constancy only applies to words that are used symbolically, so be careful. Peter’s statement in 2 Peter 3:9 that with the Lord a day is like 1000 years and 1000 years is like a day does not justify substituting 1000 years for a day every time it comes up. Peter was simply explaining that the Lord’s concept of time is way different from ours.
Internal Consistency
The Bible, being the word of God, cannot contradict itself. The Lord is just and righteous so He can’t say something in one place and something different in another. He knows the end from the beginning so He can’t change His mind or take back something He’s given. Everything He says has to agree with everything else He says. For example, if the Bible says it’s God who makes us stand firm in Christ, that He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us and put His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee of what’s to come (2 Cor. 1:21-22), then it can’t say that we can walk away from our salvation or have it taken away from us someplace else.
Principle Of First Mention
Often when an important concept is mentioned for the first time there is elevated significance in the context of the passage in which it appears. The first mention of the Church is in Matt.16:18 where Peter declared that Jesus is the Messiah, son of the living God. Jesus said that this truth would be the foundation upon which He would build His Church. Notice who’s going to be doing the building and whose Church it is. Studying the passage where an important concept first appears can be very helpful in interpreting subsequent passages on the same subject.
Use Clear Passages To Interpret Obscure Ones
Some passages of Scripture are more difficult to interpret correctly than others. When confronting one of these, it’s best to locate the clearest verses on the subject and use them to help interpret the difficult one. A classic example is Hebrews 6:4-6 which, when taken alone, seems to say that we can fall away and lose our salvation, and if that should happen we can never get it back. But the clearest verses on salvation are Ephesians 1:13-14 and 2 Cor. 1:21-22, and they plainly state the opposite. The Ephesians passage says we were included in Christ when we first heard and believed the gospel. Having believed we were sealed with the Holy Spirit, a deposit that guarantees our inheritance. In 2 Corinthians Paul went even further saying that God himself has accepted responsibility for making us stand firm in Christ and has set His seal of ownership on us, like a rancher brands his cattle.
Applying the principles above we must conclude that the writer to Hebrews had to be talking about something else. When we look at the context of the letter, we find that it was written to Jewish believers who were being lured back into the Levitical system, which used the sacrifice of a lamb to atone for sins. For the Church, the Lord’s death fulfilled what the sacrifice only symbolized, so going back to this was tantamount to sacrificing Him all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace, because by their actions they were saying that His death was not sufficient to atone for their sins.
And as if that wasn’t bad enough, going back to the sacrifice was no longer acceptable to God because the Law was only a shadow of the good things that are coming, not the realities themselves. For that reason, it could never make perfect those who draw near to worship no matter how many times they repeated it. (Hebr. 10:1) But when the Lord offered His sacrifice once for all time, He made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebr. 10:12-14) During the Church Age all we have to do after sinning is confess our sins to receive forgiveness, be brought back to repentance, and be purified from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Now Hebrews 6:4-6 makes sense because it conforms to the internal consistency of God’s Word.
There are lots of other rules and principles man has developed for application to God’s word, but in my opinion, if we just apply the ones I’ve listed above we’ll stand a good chance of avoiding the errors and misinterpretations that seem to be so common these days.
The Bible is quite simply the most amazing book ever written. Some parts of it were written at least 4000 years ago, and by 95AD its most recent chapters were finished. But according to Paul, it was written to teach us, upon whom the end of the age has come. (Romans 15:4, 1 Cor. 10:11) If we’ll just read it the way we would any other document, as if it means what it says, the Holy Spirit will reveal wondrous truths from within its pages. Truths that will give us an anchor against the storms of deceit and controversy that have become so common in our time. Maybe that’s why it was written primarily to us. Selah 11-14-09 Jack Kelly
Instead, Rome defines the time frame that the fifth kingdom emerges—the kingdom of Christ.
Daniel 7:21I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
22Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
The kingdoms (beast powers) are in succession. Literal Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, Little Horn, Second coming of Christ. This is what the bible says. And the bible clearly says that the little horn comes out of the 4th Beast, which is ROME.
Makes sense at first blush. But WHEN was the Book of Revelation written?
That has been debated for a long time. And could help with the exegesis if we knew.
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