The Journey

This story begins with my sweet friend, Betty.  Who would have thought a simple suggestion could bring about such a profound shift in my journey…

“Have you ever heard of the ‘Daily Audio Bible’?”, Betty asked at one of our coffees.  She said it had made a huge difference in her marriage. Listening to it had brought her closer to her husband and closer to Jesus.  I hadn’t heard of it, so she showed me the app and got me started listening to the Bible being read to me each day – Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.  Initially, I simply listened, but I soon grew frustrated as I could never hang on to/remember what I had heard.  I began listening and reading along, and then found that confusing and soon switched to simply reading the Bible reading plan used on the app.  From there, I began to read and take notes on what I read every day.  The reading plan was structured so that the entire OT, the entire NT, all of the Psalms and all of the Proverbs were read annually.

Sometime during 2013, I began to experience something a bit strange.  It seemed like each day (it wasn’t every day; it just felt that way!) I would read, “You shall keep My Sabbath holy.”, and each time it seemed like that specific sentence was in bold, highlighted, and it felt like it was jumping off the page.  This happened for a couple of years, and the conviction grew ever stronger that I needed to learn just what God meant for me to do about this.

We moved to Montana in 2016. We were attending a church in Kalispell and the conviction about the Sabbath became intolerable.  I needed to know why we worshiped on Sunday, and was no closer to figuring that out in 2017 than I was in 2013!  I set an appointment with our pastor and asked him to explain it to me.  He couldn’t.  He told me to read an enormous book with lots of “three-bit” words (most of which I had to look up in the dictionary).  The book did not use the Bible as its prooftext… instead it cited lots of theologians from various times in history.  I met with him once again, and unsatisfied, met twice with the chief elder.  Neither one could show me in the Bible any proof for why Sunday was the day of worship.

 In the fall of 2018, I researched Sabbath keeping churches locally.  I interviewed one man from a “messianic” gathering, but did not really like him.  There was a Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church in a small town north of us and Ben and I attended on the Saturday following Thanksgiving.  Each Saturday this church had a potluck, and we stayed and were seated next to a lovely elderly woman.  I told her I had lots of questions about the Sabbath and various other biblical issues.  She was wonderfully kind and patient with me.  I would ask my question.  She would answer, “this is what I think about that issue, but let’s look in the Bible and see what it says about it.”  Then she would direct me to various Scriptures and we would read them and talk about how they answered the question I had had. Then she would say, “I have told you what I believe, and have shown you Scriptures that answer that question, but you need to pray and ask God to show you the truth for yourself.”  Over and over we did this…. She spent over 1 ½ hours with me going through my questions.  It was a lovely experience.

We began attending both the Sunday church and the SDA church in Kalispell each weekend.  The pastor and the chief elder of the Sunday church came to know that we were attending the SDA, and they counseled those in the congregation that we had relationships with to distance themselves from us and to stop meeting with us.  The people at the SDA welcomed us during that year, and welcomed our questions.  They quickly integrated us into their community… we felt very loved.  Eventually, it became evident that we were being ostracized at the Sunday church, and we stopped attending there and only attended the SDA.

My habit of daily reading and studying the OT, NT, Psalms and Proverbs has continued.  Two or three years ago, I began to be curious about the Feast Days of the LORD, and my curiosity increased and increased.  It was all so complicated!  When I began studying them, none of them made any sense.  They are celebrated in accordance with the Hebrew calendar, which is based on the lunar cycles and the agricultural seasons.

Even the biblical weeks and days are different from what we now do.  The biblical days of the week begin at sunset and go to the next sunset (Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,22,31)  (”So the evening and the morning were the first day.”).  And again the Sabbath comes up…. Genesis 2:2-3  “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

Many years ago as a new Christian, I was invited to a Passover Seder (the evening meal that begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread – the first feast of the biblical feast cycle).  Truthfully, at that point it didn’t mean very much to me.  Here in Montana, we were invited to a Passover Seder about 4 years ago, and slowly it has dawned on me the significance and importance of this special day/meal.  As I have studied the Feasts  – three in the Spring, one in the summer and three in the fall – I have come to see Jesus and the greater story of redemption as laid out in the Bible in a different way.  I am amazed at our God!  He truly does know the end from the beginning, and His plan is unfolding specifically and precisely as He ordained before the creation of the world.

The Spring feasts – Passover/the Day of Preparation, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits – were all fulfilled precisely and completely by our Messiah Jesus (His given Name is Yeshua which translated means “God, YHWH, is Salvation”). In the book of Exodus, the Israelites are told to bring the Passover lamb into their homes for testing and making sure it was perfect for four days (Nisan 10) before its slaughter on Passover (Nisan 14) in the middle of the afternoon. (Exodus 12:3-6).  Yeshua/Jesus came into God’s “home”, Jerusalem, on Nissan 10 on a donkey four days before his crucifixion. In the Gospels, it is shown that He was tested over and over by the Pharisees and the Sadducees and others in power in the religious community for those four days.  He was found to be without flaw or error.  And just as the lambs were to be slaughtered before sundown on Nisan 14, Jesus was slaughtered and died just as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered at the temple in Jerusalem.

The Feast of Firstfruits occurred on Sunday in that year’s Spring feast cycle.  Jesus fulfilled that feast as He was the firstfruits (the firstfruit of the harvest of souls) of the dead… (1 Corinthians 15:20). He was the first to be resurrected from the dead – and praise God! – there will be many who will also be resurrected from death because of what He has done…. a great harvest, for sure!

The Feast of Pentecost (Shauvot) is celebrated 50 days after Firstfruits.  It was fulfilled 10 days after Jesus’ ascension to heaven with the mighty “harvest” of over 3000 people coming to salvation and the giving of the Holy Spirit… just as Jesus had promised (John 14:16-20).

The three spring feasts, and the summer feast of Pentecost were fulfilled perfectly the year when Yeshua was killed, raised from the dead and ascended to the Father.

I look forward with great anticipation to the time when King Jesus/Yeshua will fulfill the fall feasts: the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles with the glory and precision with which He fulfilled the spring Feasts.  He has said that He will return to take us to be with Him.  I wait in expectation of His fulfillment of all He has promised – in the way that is uniquely and gloriously His.

So this journey which began with a sweet friendship with Betty has blossomed into the gift of a great love for my God (whose Name is YHWH), and a passionate love and friendship with His Son, Yeshua of Nazareth.  What an amazing gift Betty gave me as she set me on this path… a simple path taken each day in many small steps.  I am so grateful.

Ben asked me this question after we had talked about women who seem to hate men:

“What do you think about men?”

It was a question no one had asked me before… and I had to think long and hard before I could even begin to answer.

There are men I like more than others.  There are men whom I come to dislike when they act badly or are mean-spirited.  I tend to dislike men who are arrogant, and men who put others down. But, overall, I generally tend to like men.

I have noticed a longtime trend in our culture – one of disparaging and disrespecting men. Think of the characters in “The Family Guy,” or in “Beavis and Butthead”, or in many other animated depictions of men in the past thirty years.  Media often represents men, especially fathers, as really stupid and socially inept.  Television sitcoms represent men as bigots and uncouth (think of Archie Bunker and his relationship with Ethel and the rest of his family in “All in the Family”).  These depictions are all intended to make men look bad – and to destroy their respectability – especially in the eyes of young people.

In recent years, men seem to have lost their position as the head of the family – many seem to lack the confidence to lead, and their wives have been more than ready to take on the role of family head and leader.  Women are increasingly strident in voicing their disrespect for their men, and for other men as well.  Women are taking on leadership roles in the family and culture-wide.  Many treat their husbands disrespectfully demanding that the husbands act as their servants.  They insist that the men take more and more responsibility for household chores and childrearing.  Is there room for a man to be a man within the family and within our culture?   Is it seen as necessary by many to emasculate men and to treat them with great disrespect?

I began to think about the biblical basis for the roles of men and women.  From Genesis chapter 1:26, “Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion [authority] over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (28) Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion [authority] over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Before Eve was created, Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden to work it and care for it.  God commanded Adam: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16) After this, God created Eve from Adam’s flesh (Genesis 2:22) and then brought her to Adam as his helper (Genesis 2:20b, 22).

In the story of the fall of man, it is recounted that the serpent and Eve had a conversation in which the serpent told Eve that God was not only a liar (“You will not surely die.”), but he infers that God is a withholding God – One Who withholds good things like knowledge from His own.  We are told that Adam was with her (Genesis 3:6) which infers that he was privy to what the serpent said and that he saw Eve’s intentions to take and eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree.  Adam failed to protect his wife from the lies of the evil serpent, and he did not prevent Eve from taking and eating the fruit. In fact, it would seem he made no protest at all, instead taking the proffered fruit and eating of it himself.  Adam, the first Adam, failed to exercise the authority he had been given to protect his wife from the wily serpent.  The story continues, and Adam again failed in his role as man/husband.  Instead of responsibility and accountability for the woman who had come from his own body, Adam was a coward (hides from God).  Adam then blamed God Himself (the woman You gave me!), and he blamed Eve when he is confronted by God for his disobedience.  He did not take appropriate responsibility for her failure and his.  It is truly a sad story!  Adam’s model for mankind as to what it is to be a man (even though he was given complete authority and responsibility for the earth and everything in it), is a role model that has played out in very ugly ways over the millennia. Coward. Irresponsible. Refusing to be accountable.  Without integrity. Blaming others for things for which he was responsible. He abdicated His God-given authority.

I thought of how authority is demonstrated and acted upon in the military.  An officer is held accountable and responsible for the actions of those soldiers under him.  If his soldiers do something dreadful, the officer is held responsible for their actions, and often pays a huge consequence for their wrongdoing.

I then thought of the second Adam, Jesus/Yeshua of Nazareth.  As the Son of God, Creator of everything in the entire universe, He has divinely given authority and responsibility for all things (and for all of us).  Jesus, as the second Adam, modeled what a man is meant to be.  He loved, disciplined, taught, led, and called to account those doing evil.  He physically disciplined the rebellious and He protected His own.  When faced with the rebellion and the sins of all mankind, He took responsibility for all that we have done. He was held accountable for the sins of all mankind, and took the just punishment for man’s disobedience and rebellion without trying to shirk it.  He truly was a man to admire and emulate in every way – One to Whom we owe an enormous debt of gratitude.

Ben’s question “what do you think of men?” led me to a place of clarity as to how I see the men in my life. More importantly, my reflections gave me an even greater love for the God/Man, Jesus/Yeshua.  As I thought of my own failures as a human being and their cost to those I love (and myself), and as I thought of Jesus’s willingness to take on my failures as His own, I truly understood just how marvelous and just how wonderful He truly is.

A signet ring signified the authority of a ruler to make laws and decrees in ancient days. It was used to place the king’s official seal onto documents or onto other objects to designate them as being from the king, owned by the king, or under the authority of that king. A king could also give the signet ring to another as a symbol of giving that person the king’s own authority.

Genesis 1:26-28 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Figuratively, in this passage it is as if God the Creator gave mankind His signet ring. As Creator, He has complete dominion and authority over everything in creation. He gave mankind authority over all the earth, and over every living thing.

Genesis 2:15-17 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” God only gave Adam one commandment – you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Enter the serpent, also known of as satan, the devil, the Prince of the air. He met with Adam’s wife, Eve, while Adam was there with her. He spoke with Eve and called God a liar by saying: “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5) Eve took and ate of the fruit along with her husband, Adam. Sin entered them and instantly corruption and ultimately death became theirs. Not only were they made corrupt, but all that had been under their God-given dominion was also made corrupt and subject to death. And (again, figuratively) the signet ring of God – the authority He had given mankind – passed from mankind to the devil/satan, the Prince of the air. Satan’s cruel rule of death and corruption continues to this day.

The Book of Esther seems to be a parable of sorts which has strong similarities to the transfer of power just described – even though this ancient story has been substantially validated as being historical. In the story of Esther, King Xerxes rules from his throne in Shushan and holds all authority over the kingdom of Babylon. Xerxes gives his authority to Haman (signified by giving Haman his signet ring). Haman was an evil man who eventually hatched a plot to kill all the Jews in the kingdom of Babylon.

King Xerxes’ wife, Esther, a Jewess, and her uncle, Mordecai (and God!) thwart the plans of Haman, revealing his evil plans to King Xerxes. Haman is executed, Xerxes’ signet is returned and is then given to Mordecai. Mordecai and Esther work a plan of deliverance for the Jewish people.

The story of Joseph’s rise to power during the kingdom of Egypt is another in which the signet ring as a symbol of the transfer of authority and power is seen. Joseph, a Hebrew slave (son of Jacob/Israel), was given the opportunity to interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams through a series of circumstances. Joseph’s wisdom and his understanding of the dreams caused Pharaoh to elevate him to second in command over all of the kingdom of Egypt. Pharaoh gave Joseph his signet ring as a sign of his authority. The interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams led to Joseph stewarding well the harvests of the land during 7 years of plenty such that the storehouses were full when the 7 years of famine came. Because of his wise stewardship, the food stocks in Egypt were sufficient to sustain not only the Egyptians, but they also sustained the Hebrews of Jacob’s family. The Egyptians and the people of Israel were delivered from sure death by starvation.

The stories of Esther and of Joseph both involved the transfer of power from a Gentile (non-Jew) leader to a Jewish man as signified by the giving of the leader’s signet ring. This power was then used to deliver people from certain death.

Returning to the story of mankind and our cruel ruler, the devil, the Prince of the air…. Just as God provided a deliverer in the stories of Esther and Joseph, God has also provided a Deliverer for all of mankind and all of creation in Jesus the Messiah. There will come a day when God through Jesus will take back the dominion mankind forfeited to satan, the Prince of the air. Jesus, the second Adam, will rule and reign over all of the earth and all living things, just as God intended from the beginning.

Revelation 19:13-16 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 20:2-3 He (an angel) laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.

Praising God, the all-powerful One. Our Deliverer, Jesus the Messiah, is coming SOON. God will take the “signet ring” back from our enemy, the devil/satan, and He will give it to King Jesus who will rule and reign in righteousness forever.

HALLELUYAH!

Jeremiah 51:45 (NIV)
“Come out of her, My people!
Run for your lives!
Run from the fierce anger of the LORD.”

   It was February of 2016.  Ben and I were living in a comfortable rental up on Redmond Ridge, a bit east of Seattle.  We had been told by our landlord that there was no possibility of extending our lease (which ended June 22).  We were a part of a church planting effort there on the Ridge that was showing signs of being out of step with Scripture; and we were feeling like we needed to go in a different direction in a couple of areas.  We had listened to a teaching about how to seek God’s answer when at a crossroads and decided that we would fast, pray and worship God on a particular Sunday asking Him for His direction as to what to do.

  On that Sunday, we did indeed fast.  We attended church and were praying.  Ben went to lay down, and I began folding laundry.  An odd phrase came to mind: “Come out of her”.  Ben and I were fasting and praying to hear from the LORD about our particular “fork in the road”, and because I don’t tend to think in those kinds of words, I did a Google search through the Bible to see if there was a Scripture that included that phrase.  Jeremiah 51:45 and Revelation 18:4 both included that specific phrase, and both were written to God’s people about getting out of Babylon.  Revelation 18:4 (NKJV) “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”

   Ben got up and he talked about how he had a strong feeling that it was time for us to leave the Seattle area.  God impressed on me to stay quiet and let him talk until he asked me about my thoughts on this issue.  It was a bit of a wait…!  Eventually, Ben paused and asked, “What are your thoughts about all of this?”  I was so grateful he finally asked!  I told him about the phrase (Come out of her) and where it appears in the Bible.  He felt really confirmed in what he had been thinking – and we both agreed strongly that God had given us His answer in answer to our prayers.

   We moved forward in trying to purchase a home in the South Puget Sound area a bit outside of Olympia, Washington.  We put offers on two homes – the first was a “no-go” right away; the second offer proceeded smoothly until the very last moment when the seller backed out at the signing later in May.  We were coming up on the deadline for moving out of the rental home, and at that time there simply was not enough time left for us to find and purchase another property.  The hare-brained idea of moving into an RV popped out of my mouth shortly after the deal fell through… and Ben loved it!  He found an older RV by the next weekend and we purchased it.  We also found a spot in a decent RV park in Centralia, Washington.

   All kinds of crazy circumstances happened the morning after we hooked up in the RV park which led to the RV being nearly totaled and needing 3 weeks of work to fix it.  The insurance agent handled all of it and we found ourselves “homeless” the first week of September as the RV was being repaired.  We’d really never been to the Flathead Valley of Montana, and decided to take the generous bucket of money given to us by the insurance company for housing to go and explore new territory.  We were inaugurated into Montana one hour after we crossed the Montana/Idaho border in Montana’s northwest corner by a collision with a white-tailed deer.  The car sustained $5300 of damage, but was drivable and we limped to our B and B in an area southeast of Bigfork.

   September 11, 2016 there was a memorial for 9/11 and Benghazi.  It was held in an enormous tent just south of Bigfork on a horse farm.  It was truly memorable – love for our country, gratitude for the men and women who serve in our armed forces, and worship of Jesus/God, was on display in a manner we had never seen in all of the years we lived in Seattle.  We returned to our car afterwards and Ben looked over at me and said this, “Deb, in the 29 years that we have been married, I have never asked you to follow me to where I would lead us to live.  I am asking you today to follow me here.”  I agreed.

   There are many, many stories about the time following that decision.  In late July, 2017 after months and months of searching for a home/property, we were still in the RV (which was not holding up very well!).  The RV was not intended for cold weather, and it was an older RV, so everything kept breaking (think no A/C, heating or electricity for the first month of that summer).  I was beginning to worry… winters are long and cold here, and living in a poorly insulated, fragile RV seemed like a very bad idea.  Out of the blue, I received a call from an acquaintance asking if we would be interested in seeing her place, and of course! we were.  We saw it the last week of July, and everything about the transaction fell seamlessly into place.  We moved in on September 1, 2017.

   We have been very blessed in our time in Montana, but I would be lying if I said that I do not miss home.  I loved Seattle and Washington State.  I miss my family – three of our children and their significant others/families are in the Seattle area, and my siblings are in Olympia, Washington (about 90 miles south of Seattle).  There have been times of intense loneliness and of longing to see my loved ones.  I know with great certainty that Ben and I were called out of Washington.  I know with certainty that God has made a place for us here in Bigfork, Montana.  I know that I know that this place at this time is a part of His plan for me/us.  However, I still long for those I love… and I still miss the beauty of western Washington.

   Each morning, I study the Bible using a reading plan that leads me through the entire Bible in a year.  Each day I read a piece of the Old Testament, the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs – it has been a habit for around 8 years.  Friday morning, God impressed upon me to search the Bible for His promise for those who leave homes, lands and family at His direction, instead of the study plan I normally follow. 

This was His promise He gave to me Friday morning.

Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My Name’s sake [in obedience to Him], shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”

   In God’s perfect timing, He prepared me for what was coming later in the day – an intense and hurtful conversation with a family member in which I was told that I am the problem as far as a breakdown in relationship with several relatives.  There were things said that were very wounding, and I am wondering if there is any hope of reconciliation with any of those family members.  My heart hurts…. lots and lots of tears….

I am comforted in the knowledge that God, in His perfect timing, and in His perfect way gave me this His promise.  He knew what was coming and gave me His assurance that He sees all of this, and that He is with me and has been with me no matter the circumstances, no matter the hurt.  I am His child, and I am a part of His family, no matter what happens in my earthly family.  I am loved and cherished – I always have been and always will be – no matter the hurtful messages I may be given by those who say they love me here on earth.

My Father is a good, good Father.  He has provided marvelously for me, and I am so grateful.  He has given me His peace, His provision, His presence, His protection.  I am blessed.

   I woke up yesterday with a very troubled heart after “bingeing” on the news headlines Wednesday evening.  I had a restless night that culminated in a very bad dream just before awakening.  Not a great way to start the morning!

  As is usual for me, I went out early yesterday morning for a time of prayer.  As I sat in the stillness and looked out at the pasture backed by the snowy mountains, peace began to come upon me.  I was joined after a bit by Callie, the calico kitty and her sister, Bandit, and by our pup, Shep, who laid at my feet.  The kitties nestled on my lap and two robins began singing – one would sing over to my left, and the other would answer on my right.  It was like they were raising a song of praise to the One Who has created them and all that was around me.

   Peace and comfort came upon me and I realized that this peace, His peace, is more real for me in that moment than the horror stories of the evil of the world that pummel me daily.  Praising YHVH God that He is the Giver of peace – true peace.  His is a real peace!  In this moment, I am “standing still” (sitting still 😊) in His peace.

Exodus 14:13b-14

“Do not be afraid.  Stand still, and see the salvation of YHVH, the LORD, which He [has accomplished!] for you today.  For [the world] whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.  YHVH, the LORD, will “laham” [battle to destruction, devour] for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

Joshua 23:6, 8b  “Therefore be very courageous to keep and do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it.”

“….you shall hold fast to YHVH, the LORD your God as you have done to this day.”

Revelation 6:1-8 Times of tribulation and the riding out of the Four Horsemen:  to conquer, to make war, to cause starvation and to bring death from different causes.

Mark 13:19-20

“For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.  And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.”

Revelation 6:12-17

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.  Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Matthew 24:29-30

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Numbers 10:2

Then the LORD said to Moses, 2“Make two trumpets of hammered silver to be used for calling the congregation and for having the camps set out.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

 By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.…

1 Corinthians 15:50-54

 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.  Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Revelation 5:9-12

And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals;

For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

And have made us kings and priests to our God;

And we shall reign on the earth.”  

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them [the elders] was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

To receive power and riches and wisdom,

And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Revelation 7:1

After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.

Matthew 24:31

 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Revelation 7:9

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palm branches in their hands;

Revelation 7:13-17

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”

So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Isaiah 25:8-9

He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.

 And it will be said in that day:

“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.

This is the Lord; we have waited for Him;

We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

Matthew 24:3-4.  Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?  And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.”

Deception leads to confusion and to wondering what is the truth, and to wondering who can be trusted.  There have been many sides to the issues of the past two and a half years, and each side contends that they have the TRUTH.  Unfortunately, one side’s “truth” is hotly contested by others holding different perspectives.  This leaves everyone either confused, or contentious – many holding onto beliefs in what their particular ideological spokespeople say are sacred – and demonizing those who listen to and believe other ideological spokespeople.

Revelation 6 – The Four Horsemen

The First Seal

1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” ² And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Horses in the eras of the Bible were primarily intended for use in war.  They were trained as a weapon in and of themselves, and as the carrier of a rider who was also trained, equipped and intending to kill.

A bow is a weapon also crafted for the purpose of killing; however, a bow without arrows has no real power to inflict damage of itself.  This rider had a bow without arrows.  While he did ride a warhorse (which could indeed hurt and kill), the rider himself would have been powerless in himself to truly harm anyone or anything.  He was given a crown, (also known as a corona in English and in other languages), which indicates rulership and the power to overcome others.  Although the rider did not truly have the power to inflict harm, he went out intending to conquer, and doing so successfully.

Whatever someone thinks as far as the veracity of what is said in the media, it seems that the covid pandemic (initially called the corona virus) and the manners in which it has been handled by governments worldwide, has had far-reaching implications for all sectors of society.  It has changed how people relate to each other personally.  It has changed many of the (taken-for-granted) freedoms such as freedom to gather, freedom to attend social and religious events, freedom of speech, freedom to travel, freedom to make personal choices about medical care, the freedom to make choices about running one’s business – surely the reader can think of others….

To conquer:

1: to gain or acquire by force of arms: SUBJUGATE – conquer territory

2: to overcome by force of arms: VANQUISH – conquered the enemy

3: to GAIN MASTERY OVER or win by overcoming obstacles or opposition

4: to overcome by mental or moral power: SURMOUNT

Source:  Miriam-Webster

The corona pandemic has really conquered peoples worldwide.

While the following articles are not recent, they were accurate when they were published and still have usefulness in understanding what has happened and is happening today.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching economic consequences^[1] including the COVID-19 recession, the second largest global recession in recent history,^[2] decreased business in the services sector during the COVID-19 lockdowns,^[3] the 2020 stock market crash, which included the largest single-week stock market decline since the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the impact of the COVID-19 on financial markets,^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]} the 2021–2022 global supply chain crisis,^[10] the 2021–2022 inflation surge, shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic including the 2020–present global chip shortage, panic buying,^{[11][12][13][14]} and price gouging.^[15] It led to governments providing an unprecedented amount of stimulus. The pandemic was also a factor in the 2021–2022 global energy crisis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic

Coronavirus: How the pandemic has changed the world economy

By Lora Jones, Daniele Palumbo & David Brown
BBC News (January 2021)

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51706225

https://news.gallup.com/poll/348716/covid-affected-people-lives-everywhere.aspx

The Second Seal

³ When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” ⁴ Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

Red horse “red” = pyrrhos meaning fire-like, fiery

“Peace” = Eirene – peace and by implication prosperity, quietness, rest

“kill” = sphazo = to butcher, slaughter, or to violently maim

“great sword” = megas machaira – a knife (i.e. dirk), war sword, an assassin’s dagger. (While John the Revelator would have had no context for such a thing, could a syringe and its needle have been seen as possibly a dagger? After all it is also sharp, and syringes have been known to be used as a delivery system for death.)

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-currently-at-war

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/287000

https://www.dailywire.com/news/timeline-antifa-violence-january-%E2%80%93-august-2017-frank-camp

https://www.city-journal.org/antifa-seattle-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone

https://www.theblaze.com/news/seattle-police-chief-violence-chaz

The Third Seal

⁵ When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

“scales (pair of balances in some versions)” = zugos

“In ancient times, the value or quantity of a thing was determined by weighing it on scales. In fact, people bought and sold items by weight or measure rather than by our currency-based system. For instance, the shekel was not originally a unit of money but of weight according to which the price and quantity of things were determined. As such, scales were common marketplace items.”

“When mentioned in terms of foodstuffs, particularly bread, scales become a symbol of scarcity because, normally, bread would be sold by the loaf without much concern for exact weight. However, during a famine when each ounce of flour was valuable, flour would be rationed by weight or measure, and neither buyer nor seller would want to be cheated. Notice God’s prophetic warning in Leviticus 26:26: “When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back to you your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.” The prophet Ezekiel also mentions rationing by weight as a judgment from God:”

https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/3302/Pair-of-Scales.htm

“denarius” = denarion, pence.  “The first century A.D. was a time when one denarius was approximately the amount of money some workers were paid for a full day of work.” 

“measure” = choenix – one dry quart. “A dry quart of wheat is approximately enough to make 1.5 to 1.875 loaves of one-pound bread or the average amount of bread a person living in the Roman Empire ate per day.”

Source:  https://www.prophecyproof.org/revelation-6-famine-cost-food/

All wheat production totaled 1.65 billion bushels in 2021, down 10 percent from the 2020 total of 1.83 billion bushels. Area harvested for grain totaled 37.2 million acres, up 1 percent from the previous year. The United States yield was estimated at 44.3 bushels per acre, down 5.4 bushels from the previous year. The levels of production and changes from 2020 by type were: winter wheat, 1.28 billion bushels, up 9 percent; other spring wheat, 331 million bushels, down 44 percent; and Durum wheat, 37.3 million bushels, down 46 percent. Oat production was estimated at a record low 39.8 million bushels, down 39 percent from 2020. Yield was estimated at 61.3 bushels per acre, down 3.8 bushels from the previous year. Harvested area, at a record low 650 thousand acres, was 36 percent below last year. Barley: Production was estimated at 118 million bushels, down 31 percent from the revised 2020 total of 171 million bushels. The average yield, at 60.4 bushels per acre, was down 16.8 bushel from the previous year. Producers seeded 2.66 million acres in 2021, down 2 percent from 2020. Harvested area, at 1.95 million acres, was down 12 percent from 2020.

This report was approved on September 30, 2021. Secretary of Agriculture Designate Seth Meyer 2021 USDA Small Grains Report.

From March 3, 2022 https://www.kxly.com/northwest-winter-wheat-crop-already-stressed-by-drought/

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/grain-stocks-wheat

https://www.macrotrends.net/2534/wheat-prices-historical-chart-data

The Fourth Seal

⁷ When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” ⁸ So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=5290

Revelation 6 – a sobering preview of “coming attractions” ….

The first seal – the conquering and transformation of the entire world through the corona pandemic and the way it was managed by world governments.  It  has abated, but it is still a factor in our lives today.

The second seal – the possibility of a war that encompasses the entire world – may be on the horizon.  The current war between Russia and Ukraine is quickly escalating and is drawing other nations of the world into participating in the conflict.  There have been many, many wars in history, but in the scenario of the Time of the End, the war of the “red horse” will certainly encompass Israel, as Israel is the “apple of God’s eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10).  Keep your eyes on Israel.  If this war comes to her, it’s likely the war of Revelation 6:3-4.

The third seal – worldwide famine and starvation – has not yet been fully realized.  However, the worldwide supply of grains and foodstuffs is being impacted by drought, war, supply chain issues and shortages of things like fertilizers and herbicides.  Unchecked, these factors could lead to its full expression.

The fourth seal promises an escalation of all of the troubles previously experienced in the first three seals.  Chapter 6 of Revelation is a horrifying preview of the circumstances promised for the world in the times before Jesus’s return to rule as King. These times will be very difficult for all people including those who have accepted Jesus’s kind offer of salvation/membership in His kingdom.  Jesus has promised to return and to take those who are in His kingdom to be where He is. (John 14:1-3) Our hope and our strength are in knowing that He is faithful to keep His promises to His children, and our certainty that He will not give us more than we can bear without a way out (even if that involves our death).  1 Corinthians 10:13; Psalm 55:2

We who have accepted Jesus as Savior have that blessed assurance – that as Jesus has given us His life as a way for us to enter the presence of the LORD, we need not fear.  Romans 10:10-11, 13 “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him (Jesus) will not be put to shame.’ For whoever calls on the Name of the LORD shall be saved.” For He has told us that He is with us, even unto the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20).

The Fifth Horseman – the End of the Age

Revelation 19:11-16

 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.

 In this manner, therefore, pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name.  ¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  ¹³ And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Recently, as I have been praying “thy kingdom come”, I see in my mind’s eye God’s children all over the world lifting their hands and their prayers to their Father in heaven asking Him to please, please send His Deliverer.  The Israelites of old, in captivity and oppression under the cruel bondage of Egypt, cried out to God to send them a deliverer, and He did!  God appeared to Moses in the wilderness and gave him the command to go to Egypt and set God’s people free. And through the power of God, he did.

Today, God’s children all over the world are suffering cruel oppression from the evil forces in the world.  They are being starved, tortured, murdered, betrayed.  They are under the oppression of war and are losing everything – often including their lives and the lives of their loved ones.  Just as God heard the cries of the Israelites and delivered them, He has heard the cries of His people today.  He is sending His Messiah, our Deliverer Who will do battle against the evil one and his forces and Who will win the victory and set His people free.

Come King Jesus, Yeshua of Nazareth!  Bind the evil one and fulfill God’s plan for You to rule and reign in righteousness and truth here on earth.  Amen and amen!