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"In Those Days"
Zion on which the house of the God of Jacob is founded refers to the latter temple in heaven. The law,- and the word of the Lord, consequently is what drives the temple program and is going on in heaven. So when Jesus said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up./Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?/But he spake of the temple of his body." ( John 2:19-21).
Thus there is no temple in the conventional sense and Jerusalem is synonymous with other cities judged by God. (Re.11:8).. For this reason the vision of the solid Golden Candlestick in Ze.4 is very crucial. Every believer who abides in Christ must show fruits. He is being fed from the fullness of the seven spirits and he has also two witnesses: his spirit and soul attesting what is his calling. He is priest as well as king unto God in the Son.
Lastly the symbol of mountain spoken by Isaiah is in the context of the Son who isthe rock cut not with hands in the vision interpreted by Daniel. The saints redeemed from the earth are part of the rock and when the apostate church is smashed along with world government nothing of it shall remain. Only the saints shall be left behind to inherit the kingdom of light. It is of the latter days, 'in those days' the earth is under new management: the kingdom of dear Son. What these two passages refer is the Millennium Reign of the latter days.
"In Those Days"
And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before theLord, and to seek theLordof hosts: I will go also./Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek theLordof hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before theLord.
Thus saith theLordof hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you." (8:21-23).
Compare this passage with the passage in the Book of Isaiah. "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of theLord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it./And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of theLord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of theLordfrom Jerusalem."(Is.2:2-3)
The Spirit sets two prophecies as in the instance the warnings to Judah and Jerusalem from the standpoint of the Father and the Son. The Will of God is irrevocable. The books are opened and judgment is set. Thus the nation of Israel has to come to the level God demands from them. Hence we have this warning in vv.16-17. If they obey to do, God promises to turn their fasting into 'joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.' (8:19).
On the other hand we have this verse attesting their reprobate mind. "Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law." (7:12) So when Isaiah speaks 'For out of Zion shall go forth the law' it is clear. Jerusalem on the earth is dead.
(8) Some who reject their faith and abandon a true relationship with God ( Heb 3:12) may still think they are Christians. However, their spiritual neglect and unconcern toward the demands of Christ, the inner voice of the Holy Spirit and the warnings of Scripture prove that they are in rebellion against God. Because of this possibility of self-deception, Paul urges all those claiming to be spiritually saved to "examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves" ( 2Co 13:5, note).
(9) Those who genuinely become concerned about their spiritual condition and have a desire to return to God in true repentance (i.e., changing one's attitude toward God, admitting sin, turning from one's own way and submitting to God) can be sure that they have not committed the unforgivable sin (cf. Mk 3:29), or ultimate apostasy. God's Word clearly affirms that he does not want anyone to perish or be spiritually lost and separated from him for eternity ( 2Pe 3:9; cf. Isa 1:18-19; 55:6-7). In fact, the heavenly Father will joyfully receive any wayward, rebellious or lost child who truly repents and returns to him (compare Gal 5:4 with 4:19; 1Co 5:1-5 with 2Co 2:5-11; see also Lk 15:11-24; Ro 11:20-23; Jas 5:19-20; Rev 3:14-20; note the example of Peter, Mt 16:16; 26:74-75; Jn 21:15-22).
J. Wesley Adams and Donald C. Stamps, Fire Bible (Springfield, MO: Life Publishers International, 2011), Heb 3:12.
It is my personal belief that this "sin unto death" is the final ultimate apostasy. Similar to final stage cancer at that point is beyond hope and brings Spiritual and eternal death.
(7) It must be emphasized that while spiritual backsliding is a danger for all who drift from faith in Christ ( Heb 2:1-3) and turn away from God (6:6), ultimate apostasy resulting in the hopeless condition described in the previous point does not occur without constant and deliberate resistance against the Holy Spirit (see Mt 12:31, note on sin against the Holy Spirit). Just as we are not saved by our own works and efforts, but by God's grace (see Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5), neither are we fully condemned to separation from God by our actions alone (although we will be judged by them; 2Co 5:10). People are saved spiritually by accepting God's grace and putting their faith in Christ; and people are condemned spiritually by rejecting (or simply not accepting) God's grace and refusing to put their faith in Christ (cf. 12:15, 25; Ac 19:19; 2Th 2:10; Rev 16:9). Refusing to have faith in God can be expressed in several ways, including refusing to believe in God, refusing to rely on God, refusing to take God at his Word, refusing to admit the wrongness of our own way, refusing to accept God's way of spiritual salvation through Christ alone and refusing to accept God's help and involvement in our lives. A person who allows his or her heart to become hardened or rebellious toward God by refusing him in any of these ways is in serious danger of rejecting God permanently (3:12).
it appears to me, that they're self explainiable, but to accommodate your request & to get to the point of them all,
sin not, Rom 6:14-16
for where Satan is yielded to in the least, he's still a prince & rules in the darkness, it is his right, sin being his dominion.
REVELATION IN 3 PARTS Past-Present-Future
Revelation 1:19 Write the things which thou hast SEEN, and the things WHICH ARE, and the things which shall be HEREAFTER;
Things which thou hast SEEN ( Rev 1:1-18) things which ARE ( Revelation 2,3) things which shall be HEREAFTER ( Revelation 4:1)
John wrote down what he had seen, in the order in which he saw them.
REV 2,3 'WHICH ARE' CHURCHES IN JOHNS TIME/CHURCHES TODAY
Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth
Rapture 'seizing and carrying off'
There have been raptures already just by the definition above, more yet to come.
Enoch, Elijah, Captives free in the OT are 'raptures'
RAPTURES DURING THE GREAT TRIBULATION.
(Disclaimer: John wrote it) Those who repent during tribulation before the 7th seal, later 144,000 and Two witnesses. Salvation will be available to those who ask for God's grace before the 7th seal though they must endure the first 6 seals.
REV 4:1 RAPTURE/TRIB (Dead in Christ rise first, they which are alive) 6 SEALS ( REV 7:14 Great multitude..'out of' meaning within. Two Witnesses, 144,000 man child)
TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION SEEK HIM WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND!
Mark 13:32 -But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
RAPTURE/START OF TRIBULATION ( Rev 4:2/19:11-21) 2ND COMING OF CHRIST
Chapter 7 starts 'after these' so chapters 4,5,6 have happened.
LITTLE HORN UPROOTS 3 NATIONS, AND OTHER 6 FALL IN LINE. AFTER 3.5 YEARS OF WAR.
Zechariah 14:16-23 - After Tribulation 'Those that left' 'year to year' for 1000 years. Will live, age, multiply and die. In Heaven until 1000 years are up. These nations satan will be let loose to deceive the nations one last time.
NOT THOSE RAPTURED SAINTS WITH CHRIST 2ND Coming, THEY WILL BE ETERNAL
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We are to grow in grace, and therefore, we will certainly live in obedience to God more and more. But, also, the Holy Spirit will show us more and more our sins we are not perceiving. He examines our hearts and reveals to us how we are giving in to the sinful nature. This work of His helps us know how we are to further resist temptation and walk by the Spirit and not by the sinful nature.
Present your position whatever that may be and show us exactly how these verses support that position exactly.
"Two Olive Branches"
In order to answer the significance we have Jesus Christ set here as the Branch. In him is the 'counsel of peace' the fusion of priest-king. These branches from him supply the fulness of our royal office and priesthood. In him we are priests and kings unto God. It is a promise and it comes with conditions. For this reason we have this warning from both the Father and the Son. This is the forerunner of the indwelling Spirit as the earnest of our inheritance.
"11.But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear./12Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which theLordof hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from theLordof hosts."
This wrath we know is the great tribulation predicted by the prophets.
"Two Olive Branches"
"These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:/And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith theLord." The Spirit is giving this warning to Israel which is from the Lord God.
Compare the above with these verses almost a repetition, (7:8-12)"And the word of theLordcame unto Zechariah, saying,/Thus speaketh theLordof hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:/And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart."
And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah which is from the standpoint of the Son. in whose hand is the plummet. Zerubabbel serves as the double for the Son."The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that theLordof hosts hath sent me unto you./For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of theLord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.(4:9-10). Thereafter the Spirit shows the two anointed ones, which are the olive brances and not the trees themselves,"two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?"(4:12)
"Garment of Praise"
This New Age had been determined in the divine Will. In heaven we have a temple building set rolling and Jesus came into his own, "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." ( John 1:11). The incident in the synagogue was not accidental. God did know who were His and who were reprobate silver. Jesus was announcing the Year of deliverance, the year in the Lexicon of the Spirit time element has a different significance than the earth time as we know it. "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one dayiswith the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."(2 Pe.3:8)
"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified" (Is.61:3).
The fasts mentioned in the key verse refers to:
On the fourth month the children of Israel observed fast: mourning the capture of Jerusalem (Je.52:6-30)
On the fifth they fasted, Burning of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple (2 Ki.25:2-10)
On the seventh it was on account of the Assassination of Gedaliah and the massacre of 80 men. (Je.41:1-10)
And on the tenth month it was to remember the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's siege against Jerusalem. (2 Ki.25:1)
"Garment of Praise"
"And the word of theLordof hosts came unto me, saying,/Thus saith theLordof hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace."
How does fasting is turned into gladness? "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness." (Ps.30:11) It is what God can do, none else. Least of all by traditions of men.
Here we see traditions of men indulging in meaningless observances much mumbo-jumbo to distract the heart from true repentance. Seventy years in exile did not cure Israel of their disobedience. "Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which theLordof hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets." Zechariah would be a martyr reasons for which are not difficult to fathom. They had to have a new spirit: in order to arrive there the nation of Israel had to love truth and peace.
Jesus before he would begin the ministry went to the synagogue in Nazareth, He was there announcing a new age.* "The Spirit of the Lord GODisupon me;" His declaration of liberty to those who were bound was not a spur of the moment. He was there to lay the foundation for the temple that shall be revealed in the latter days. He was exhorting all hands to be partakers for it. At the end of it what happened? "And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,/And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong./But he passing through the midst of them went his way." ( Luke 4:27-30)
Yet it is the Lord's doing and Prophet Zechariah predicts the Millennial Reign,
When I made that statement I was speaking in a general sense. I see what you mean, but to be honest I don't think either of us will know for sure how the "mechanics" of how that may work. We can only go by what Scripture states or reveals to us. You might be correct for those who sin and didn't repent before they died unexpectedly.. We just don't have an exact explanation or example or parable for us to enlight us further to a situation such as that. So I'm afraid we have to assume a bit. Kinda brings to mind something I read from Spurgeon about the "sin that leads to death" found in 1 John 5:16-17 some things we just don't know?Refer to his "illustration" below:
5:16-17 "There is sin that leads to death.... All unrighteousness is sin." Perhaps someone thinks he has committed this unpardonable sin and is at this moment grieving over it. If so, it is clear that he cannot have committed the "sin that leads to death," or else he could not grieve over it. Whoever repents of sin and trusts in Jesus Christ is freely and fully forgiven; therefore, he has clearly not committed a sin that will not be forgiven. There is much in this passage to make us prayerful and watchful, but there is nothing here to make a troubled heart feel anything like despair.
ILLUSTRATION 5:16
An owner of a country estate may put up a sign that reads, "Danger: Beware of traps and spring guns." No one would think of going to the front door of the mansion and saying, "Would you please tell me where the traps and spring guns are set?" If we asked that question, the answer would be, "The purpose of this warning is not to tell you where they are, for you have no business to trespass there at all." So "all unrighteousness is sin," and we are warned to keep clear of it. "There is sin that leads to death," but we are not told what that sin is on purpose that we may, by the grace of God, keep clear of sin altogether.
Then As Now
We have come to the distressing times as Jerusalem faced with the Chaldeans at the gates. God's word to Zechariah is relevant for us,"Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which theLordof hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from theLordof hosts./Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith theLordof hosts:"(7:12-13)
Then As Now
And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of theLordcame unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;/When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before theLord,/And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of theLordof hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? (vv.1-3)
On December 4, 518 B.C. a delegation came to Jerusalem with a question about fasting. At this point, the temple was somewhere around halfway completed. Against this the Zechariah receives the word of God that forms the gist of this chapter.
4Then came the word of theLordof hosts unto me, saying,/Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
God did not institute these fastings to commemorate their disobedience and consequences. For instance we have in the Book of Jeremiah the assasination of Gedaliah and mass murder of 80 men (Je.41:1-10)
6And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7Should ye not hear the words which theLordhath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
vv.6-7 God noticed those who enquired of the Lord were approaching in their need and they were no different than those who were in the days of Jesus, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me./They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.' (Matt.15:8-9). The same superficiality which we see.
Counsel of Peace
vv.9-15 we see the narrative mode of the Spirit by which what is of specific concern of the day faced Joshua the high priest and Zerubabbel is tied up with the glory of the latter day temple. "Behold the man whose name is TheBranch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of theLord:/Even he shall build the temple of theLord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." Jesus Christ as a tender plant,'he shall grow up out of his place' sets him in context of Prophet Isaiah's prophecy,"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground."-Is.53:2) Zechariah conflates two prophecies from Isaiah which is what the Spirit revealed to him. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."(Is.9:6)
"And he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne." As the Branch it is decreed Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace,- that both priest and king, 'shall have the counsel of peace' in his office. Glory of the Temple springs forth him and from his throne. The Spirit here predicts the Millennial Reign and of New Jerusalem.
Also significant is the condition laid at the end, "And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of theLordyour God."
In the inaugural vision of Zechariah Ze.1: 8-17 we scame across four chariots and horses mentioned and here we have Seven Spirits refer to the Spirit of Christ (Re.ch.5:6)
The composite emblem of chariots and horses are symbolic of conflict and engines of war where the Spirit is conducting the operation. From the passage the world at ease owed to the Silence of half an hour in heaven. It was apparently a lull before the storm. The Spirit is on a mopping up operation. The result of is what presented here. The angel of the Lord tells Zechariah, "Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country." It is thus with each direction. When Spirit sets them walking the earth to and fro they set in motion and these shall control history of nations. "So shall they fear the name of theLordfrom the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of theLordshall lift up a standard against him(Is.59:19).
These four spirits where number 4 has specific purpose as the four angels that are prepared for His purpose..This we can understand from this passage, "Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates./And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men./And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.(Re.9:14-16)" Legions that are at bidding is like a flood and the Spirit shall lift his standard.
The Tower of Babel
"Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?/And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base."
The Spirit mentions the land of Shinar which ties up the pride of nations that gave them colonies in far off lands. These maritime nations had fleet of ships, know-how of navigating through seven seas. Each invention astrolabe, maps and compass added so in setting out certainly carried awesome risk, nevertheless but what we shall focus is the indefatigable spirit to attempt an enterprise, matched only by Lucifer, "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:/I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."
Such was the pride of Satan and when we see technology to tame the nuclear power now convulsing the ungodly leaders of men with craven fright we begin to see whose playbook was all along followed by world empires. Instead of trusting God totally, the rib stuck between the teeth in the second beast, the Age of Reason goaded, "Arise, devour much flesh'. Reason with each generation has curiously spawned,- so many ideologies, conspiracy theories!
he world wanted a reason after rejecting truth in their own inward parts, the two witnesses set there by God were not enough. So shall they have the most unbelievable theories to explain it. It is cringeworthy to have lived through the manner Reason had lost its soul when fools laid claim to it. This is the same pride the people demonstrated after the great flood. They chose the plains of Shinar. Similarly the spirit of mammon personified by the two women, with the wings of stork. The ephah has found her base. We are living it!
"The Flying Ephah"
Hence serving mammon and serving God at the same time shall never work. In short the Angel of the Lord is showing wickedness the church is under judgment even while everlasting gospel is announced.
For this reason we shall consider the quote from Isaiah in the previous post. The chapter begins by asking, " Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness./Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." (Is.55:2-3)
God cursed nations that shall offer 'happiness' to thieves who shall plunder the weak by trickery or brute force. When they set up their business empires what they miss is the weight of lead, a talent to lead, and it is to spring surprise when they least expect. Babylon like an ephah is a symbol. "The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,/And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!/For in one hour so great riches is come to nought." In one hour all those wealth filched by the thieving magpie for centuries have gone!
It is what we see before the mighty Babylon was judged. The angel casts down a great millstone from heaven, "What city is like unto this great city!" (Re.18:18,21)
(Ze.5:7-9)
"The Flying Ephah"
"Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth./6And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth."
The earth as a global village. The ephah is used as a symbol representing the trade and commerce which till lately in the global market held some meaning. A single measure with which to determine the trade between nations. Now after the war in Ukraine it is clear that it does not work. The vision of the four beasts in Dan. ch.7 still resonate in the manner the third beast opened up the new world for world commerce. "the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it."(Dan.7:6) None of the four heads had any right to their dominion but the powers with their firepower and sheer audacity trampled the natives and siphoned off their wealth to build up their empires. The curse in the flying roll however judged them.
It has in turn presented this second vision where the ephah was not a just weight but as we are familiar with the Age of consumerism, is free enterprise. Is it anymore fair or free than this ephah with a woman sitting in the midst of it? It is always weighted in favor of the entrepreneur since he set up the business isn't it? Similarly the v.7 tells the wickedness of the woman is helped by two women with the wings like the wings of a stork. Compare the wings with wings God gave the left behind church. "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent."(Re.12:14) God gave the left behind church prayer and praise two wings to help her survive the great persecution. Not so with the wings of the stork, which is what the prince of the power of the air can give.
"The Curse"
England being drawn into WWI was not mere coincidence. The two wars stoked by the European powers follow the scenario laid out in the v.4. The fire entered the house of plunderers and consumed the timber thereof and the stones thereof.. John Bull is no longer the same. It is all the more worse after Brexit Do we not see a moral miasma in the manner the curse lays nations lower?
4I will bring it forth, saith theLordof hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
Have the West learned the lesson despite of the word of God warning in severest terms the consequences of thieving? The fellow in a crowded market may be a thief snatching purse or mugging an old lady in an alley to rob her small change. All over the world what we see are the signs of God's judgment calling to account. God is not deceived with such violence and bloodshed, and has strong medicine to deal with thieves and perjurers.
"The curse"
So far we have been considering the everlasting gospel that was set in motion from the word that went out of the mouth of the Lord. The Ch.55 of Isaiah is very relevant in order to understand the significance of the two visions narrated in this chapter. So we shall begin with a specific verse, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."(Is.55:11)
Here below is the text and we shall take it up line by line..
"Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.
This cannot be classified with UFO news of which catches attention than truth to the world. The ungodly may well hide from harsh truth but judgment contained in this flying roll gives how nations rise and fall never to rise again. God judged them and it is partial judgment. The roll is identified as we read in.v,2
2And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. This is similar in some ways with the book bound with seven seals. "a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.".(Re.5:1)
3Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
On one side we have the curse laid out against thieves and it shall zero in on the house of the thief. On the back side against those who swear falsely. What was colonial expansion of the mid 19th century? Africa under Cecil Rhodes was a lesson the Zulus shall never forget. (1879-1915). England being drawn into WWI was not mere coincidence. The two wars stoked by the European powers follow the scenario laid out in the v.4.
Two Witnesses
The four living beasts on the other hand are shown in the vision of John constantly praising God."And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy,LordGod Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." They work in tandem.( In the vision of the seven golden candlesticks these two olive trees are given a body. )
The emblem of the slain Lamb was a symbol in heaven but when Jesus came to the world he was seen as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. By the same token spirit and soul of man serves him as two witnesses. So when David says,
"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?/If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there./If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;/Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." (Ps.139:7-10).
This foreknowledge revealed to John the Baptist who Jesus of Nazareth was. God had revealed to him as He revealed Simon Peter. " He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?/ And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God./ And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." (Matt.16:15-17) Similarly David found it amazing.