THE FIFTH TRUMPET

George Offerman

It has been about 2.5 years give or take a few months, an as difficult as it may seem to believe, conditions have improved somewhat.  The first four trumpets, which were directed at the environment, have stopped.  The sea has calmed down, and shipping products and food (albeit limited) has resumed, the sky has cleared somewhat and daylight is getting back to what it was prior to the trumpets.  Babylon is gaining traction in its message that the planet can be rebuilt, and the harsh laws it put into place appear to be working.  Likewise the 144,000 continue to preach their message about the end of time and the second coming of Christ, but are also warning about the incredible judgments to come through the next three trumpets. 

A third group of people has begun to form, and is beginning to challenge Babylon, and this could be considered the ‘non religious’ rebels.  This group is made up of the people who want to have nothing to do with Babylon and its false religions, as this group has watched Babylon enforce religion with extreme measures onto the population.  This group also despises the 144,000 and their message, as they see the destruction of the trumpets, and do not accept the idea of a ‘Loving God’ sending this much death and destruction.  This group wants to be left alone, and have nothing to do with either camp.

The effectiveness of the 144,000 has slowed considerably due to the conditions improving, and their message of the horrors soon to come are contrary to what mankind is observing, what Babylon preaching, and the fact that the Gospel has been heard by nearly all.  Also, the population is now conditioned for survival mode, and those who made a decision for Christ are being mocked, persecuted and imprisoned for not following the laws of Babylon.  It is difficult to say if martyrdom is wide spread at this point, but it would seem the 144,000 have not lost any of their numbers yet, as Jesus is not finished in using the 144,000 to get out his message, and the miracle working powers of these people are more than likely  keeping the very human Babylon at bay. 

This is all about to change….

Revelation 9:1-11, "Then the Fifth Trumpet angel sounded, and I saw a star having fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit."

"Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree; but only those men who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads. And they were not authorized to kill them, but to torment them for five months: and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death, and will not find it; and they will desire to die, and death will flee from them."

"The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. And they had breastplates, like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle."

"They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek his name is Apollo."

"One woe is past. Behold, two more woes are coming hereafter".

Satan will majestically appear in the clouds, escorted by millions of angels, and mimic the second coming.  God allows Satan to physically appear, and take the form of a man, as Jesus was allowed to do.  This delusion is sent, as to complete the decision making process that has now stalled.  There is a large group of humanity that has yet to decide, and it is most likely that this group will be targeted by this evil ‘Angel king”, and Lamb like Beast. Simultaneously, millions of demonic angels will be allowed to torture those without the seal of the Living God, and the verses state this torture is like that of a scorpion yet will not kill.  There will be some perplexity, as this lamb like being will be claiming to be God, and appearing to perform astounding and positive miracles, while allowing for extreme torture of those not following the 144,000.
Due to the fact Satan is not omnipresent, he will have to mimic the second coming in various places around the world, by descending from the heavens multiple times, or use what infrastructure of communications that is left. This also fulfills Jesus warning in Matt 24:26-27   "Iftherefore they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go forth, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be."

 What is occurring with Satan is similar to what scriptures state, but not exactly as they state, and sensationalism will reign over purity of the word, and many will be caught up in this deception.  After all, never in world history has such an event occurred, or such a brilliant being descended onto humanity.  Listening to the Word of God, and to the 144,000 will be a challenge to the senses, as one will have to use faith to overcome what one sees.

Satan also goes along with Babylon, affirming their positions that the Judgments need to stop, the world needs to be rebuilt, and the laws imposed by Babylon need to be enforced to a degree that they have not been able to accomplish up to this point.  Satan will validate the need for swift punishment, and have the supernatural ability to combat the 144,000 and their miracle working power.  Satan will directly blame the 144,000, and their ‘demonic influence’ over the earth as the reason for the scorpion like creatures torturing those in Babylon.  After the 5 months of torture are up, Satan will direct his wrath, and Babylon’s wrath at the 144,000 and their followers, stating that judgments cannot end until these people are eliminated.  It is easy to say, that after experiencing pain and suffering up to the point of death, that the inhabitants of Babylon, and the non religious rebels, will be very angry at the 144,000 and want revenge.

Up to this point, the 144,000 and their followers, as well as the increased numbers joining the non religious Rebels had at least some semblance of safety, due to the fact they had been dealing with human forces.  Angels are superior beings in every fashion, and with their freedom from the abyss, there is in effect ‘no where to hide’ for anyone.  The angelic demons who went around the world ‘stinging’ those not marked with the seal of the Living God, also would have noted where everyone is.  The moment of truth is now upon all of humanity, and the stage is set for the sixth trumpet.  Babylon still believes this ‘lamb like’ beast is god, and they will ultimately and freely hand over their resources and authority to Satan.

MORE THOUGHTS ON BABYLON

George Offerman

The last few posts have been loaded with heavy and sobering information.  It is unfortunate that a lay person has to do the job of the clergy and the official churches, especially given the fact they should be teaching this as regularly as school s teach the ABC’s.  Everyone should have a precursory knowledge of prophesy, and have an idea of what to expect.  In that way, one can digest the information in a way that does not ‘scare the hell’ out of them.  I don’t think I will hold my breath on this one.

I am dismayed that most Christians still want to debate concepts such as conspiracy, plotting by the dark side, and in some cases, whether demons and evil actually exist.  This naiveté only demonstrates how far behind Christianity is in the race for the soul of humanity.  It is no wonder most scoff at the Church, as it makes a mockery of the authority it should hold versus what it actually demonstrates.

The dark side is getting so bold that they are doing many of their dirty deeds openly.  The Federal Reserve gave away 2 trillion taxpayer dollars to unknown and unnamed entities and nary a peep from the sheeple.  Then when someone like Ron Paul does something about it, most want to make fun of him by calling him a conspiracy nut, whack job, etc.  This monster Babylon is being created right in front of us, but because of the need to be tolerant and to get along is so blinding, most don’t see it.

That is precisely why men will be ‘amazed’ at this monster, because it will be so large, encompassing, and created so quickly, there will be little choice but to acquiesce to it.  Man is so used to being told what to do; they will blindly follow it, and will not be receptive to the message of the 144,000.  Those who do listen to the ‘Elijah’ people will be persecuted to an extent we have yet to experience in this country.  It will make Notre Dame look like a Kindergarten nap time.

On the positive side, the fellowship during the time of Babylon will also be like nothing we have ever experienced.  The need to keep one’s words will have life and death consequences.  Prayer and communion with God will be open, and there will be more people lead to Christ in this short time than ever in the history of the world.  Grace will abound for those who accept the seal of the Living God, and the ability to stand up to persecution and martyrdom will be there.  It is also possible that this final generation will experience a ‘sinless state’ once sealed, as God will grant abilities and faith proportional to the persecution at hand.

This will take a leap of faith, and assuredness that God means what He said and will not abandon his children in their hour of need.  I can imagine, like Elijah, those with the seal of the Living God will be fed by Ravens, if necessary, and have water gush from rocks.  It will be an awesome time, and to have the assurance of salvation while alive is a privilege that no one else will experience who has not lived during this time.

So, the story of Revelation is that of hope.  Hope in a loving, merciful, but just God, and that in the end, Truth prevails over the lie, and creation is restored to its perfected state, forever.  As hard as it is to believe, this period of time will go by quickly, and those saved will have eternity to share their experiences with the rest of creation.  It will be a memory, and one will never experience the curse of sin ever again.

BABYLON

   

George Offerman

“And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads.  And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth.  And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.  One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder. Men worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast saying, ‘who is like the beast and who can fight against it?’  And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty two months.”

Revelation 13:1-5

The last post covered the first four trumpets, and at this point, mankind is overwhelmed and lost in its ability to comprehend or deal with these judgments.  There are dead everywhere, resources are scarce, the coasts are unapproachable due to the tossing of the sea from the asteroid impact, and it is dark, and more than likely, getting colder.  There is no semblance of normalcy, and anarchy begins to rule.  Mankind is looking for leadership at this dark hour, but more important, wants the judgments stopped and an explanation for what happened and why God is so angry.

The dark forces, who have been preparing for a moment like this, will quickly take advantage of the trumpets.  They will be able to accomplish in a few days to a few weeks what many despots in the past were unable to do: create a one world organization.  They have been ‘the hands and feet’ of Satan for some time and have the ability, through control of the monetary system, the political system, and connections with all of the official religious bodies to pull this off.  Little do they know, but they are ultimately doing the Lord’s bidding and demonstrating that evil people (or entities) ‘running the show’ will ultimately destroy everything they touch, including themselves.

Babylon rises quickly, as evidenced by its ‘leopard’ body.  It will have great authority to speak (lion’s mouth) and trample anything in its way (bear’s feet). The seven heads are interpreted in Rev 17 as hills, or religious systems.  Another clue to the fact the seven heads are religious, is the fact ‘blasphemous names’ are written on them.  Generally, world powers, kingdoms or countries don’t speak for God, religious systems do.  One of the religions was given a mortal wound, but healed at the time of tribulation.  The ten horns are ten kings who will be self appointed or possibly appointed by the religious coalition.   The reason the religious systems take over is due to the fact that all of them, despite worshiping God in different ways, or other gods, will all agree that “God as they understand him” has judged this world.  Hence, the political systems in effect will be taking orders from the religious systems and this will become a theocratic based one world government.

Because of its diversity, Babylon, meaning “confusion” will have some difficulty initially getting everyone ‘on board’.  There will be very harsh penalties for anarchy, and judgment and punishment will be swift.  Babylon will enact multiple ‘sinless’ laws, most likely outlawing things like homosexuality, abortion (no longer necessary since the 144,000 will be identified and in active ministry) hate crimes and other diversity laws, and mandate worship in whichever religious system a person belongs. 

On the surface, Babylon’s laws will look reasonable, and sound very similar to what the 144,000 are preaching.  This has to occur in order for deception to take place.  Babylon will attract those who revel in legalism, as the laws will mandate harsh judgment on the smallest of infractions, and there will be many in all of the religious hierarchy that will believe they know what’s best (despite the fact they did not see this coming). 

Blasphemy occurs for several reasons.  First, Babylon will mandate worship, and this is direct conflict with God wanting people to worship Him of their own free will.  God will not accept this form of worship.  Second, Babylon will be pushing for a ‘works based’ plan of salvation that will operate under the presumptions that we will ‘act’ our way out of the judgments from good works, and ‘sinless laws’.  Thirdly, Babylon will be teaching that not only can the judgments be stopped, but the planet and society can and will have to be rebuilt.  This message will be in total contradiction to the fact that time and history are coming to an end, and the 144.000 will be preaching a message that is contrary to the above mentioned points.

The seven religions also have different days of worship.  Islam sees Friday as a holy day, Judaism on Saturday, and Catholicism and Protestantism on Sunday.  Since none of the religions will capitulate to the head that was mortally wounded and came back to life, there will be an uneasy alliance by the diverse religions until the time of the ‘lamb like’ beast, who will eventually eliminate them all.  None of the official religious bodies will have seen the judgments coming, and as such, will not understand what they mean, and will have the wrong interpretation of them.  Their laws will affect and be directed at those following the true Christ the most, and the 144,000 will take the brunt of Babylon’s wrath.

Persecution and martyrdom will be common place, as this beast makes war on the saints and conquers them.  Those living will be confronted with a reality they can no longer avoid: follow the beast and be eternally condemned, or listen to the 144,000 ‘Elijah’ people, and suffer persecution, imprisonment and/or execution.  The greatest sin, listed in Revelation will be cowardice, as many will acquiesce due to fear of persecution and death, versus following the Commands of God and teachings of Jesus.

The make up of Babylon demonstrates that even Satan is under the law of ‘Sowing and Reaping’.  Satan, the ultimate creature of deception, has sown doubts about God and His ways for eons.  His beast, as a result will also demonstrate confusion and doubts, because in the end, a lie can never be the truth.  But Babylon will be similar enough to the message of the 144,000 that many will worship the beast, because they don’t want to ‘split hairs’ and risk persecution or execution over it.  However, what is not understood is that this decision will be the most important ever made, and have eternal ramifications.

The 144.000 will preach the true message of salvation, and God gives every opportunity for conversion and knowing the truth, as these people will have the authority and miracle working power given to Elijah, to demonstrate and back up their message.  They will also have about 2.5 years of time to preach to the world before the appearance of Satan, and the world will have had time to take the seal of God, or reject it.  The appearance of Satan in the fifth trumpet will complete this process, as everyone on earth will be forced into a decision after the sixth trumpet war and mark.

One final remark on the religious systems.  Similar to the first Advent, there were Wise men from the east who inquired about the birth of the Christ.  The Jewish authorities not only confirmed this event in scripture, but gave the location, Bethlehem.  Interestingly enough, they did not even have enough curiosity to check it out for themselves, and demonstrated no faith in the scriptures they themselves claimed had great authority.  It will be the same during the Second Advent.  This information is knowable, and will be demonstrated clearly by the 144,000 when they appear, and like Christ before them, will suffer greatly at the hands of the religious system known as Babylon.  Babylon will be made up of  the same group of religious leaders who did not see this coming, but now claim to speak for God with great authority, and without having any real knowledge of what they have created and who is really behind it.

THE FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS

George Offerman

Following up with the previous article about revelation, is a more detailed description than given in the first article. Babylon will be covered in its own posting as there needs to be a great deal of attention paid to this fierce one world government as it arises out of great judgment and suffering.

The period of revelation opens up with a severe earthquake that is unlike any other experienced in history.  It will be extremely severe, and not follow any geological pattern, and affect the whole earth either at once, or move from place to place.  There will be accompanying signs in the heavens of a supernatural nature, as well as thunder and lightening.  The duration of this earthquake could be a number of hours to a couple of days, and most likely will target very sinful cities and places needing cleansing.  This event begins the great countdown of time, and Daniel tells us the number of days will be 1335.

The first trumpet will be a vast meteor shower mixed with fire, and affect all of the grass and 1/3 of the green vegetation.  This will cause intense heat, coupled with smoke and soot, which will begin to block out light and cause oxygen problems for the living.

The second trumpet will be an asteroid plunging into an ocean.  It is estimated that an asteroid one mile across would be traveling at close to 55,000 MPH, or basically 12 miles a second.  It would definitely ‘light up’ as it passed through the atmosphere, and become a burning mountain.  Scientists have predicted in models, that the tsunami could be as high as 5,000 feet and moving several thousand MPH as it strikes land.  An Atlantic strike could send a wave in as far as Ohio before it would stop.  This would also fulfill Jesus statement in Luke 21:25  There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.”

The third trumpet will be a comet hitting a land mass and contaminating the inland springs and lakes, causing a contamination of the freshwater supply, and killing those who drink the water.  Whether this trumpet will add to the already growing fires and earthquakes due to the impacts will be seen.

The fourth trumpet will be a band of darkness caused by fires, and the possibility of huge volcanic eruptions from the earthquake and asteroid strike.  Scientists have been discussing a ‘super’ volcano located in Yellowstone National park, and mentioned just that particular volcano going off would cover most of the plain states in 3-6 feet of ash, and it would take years fro the ash to settle out of the atmosphere.   Either way, there will be a lot of darkness during this time.

It is a huge understatement to say that mankind will be dazed and overwhelmed by these trumpets, which will occur in quick succession, and one day will be cut off from the next, meaning the lifestyle as we know it is over, and we now enter survival mode.  With one fourth of the population dead and really no way to take care of any of it, we will all be thinking about God and his judgments.  Survival, as well as getting the judgments to stop will be first and foremost on everyone’s mind that is alive at that time.  No one will be questioning who sent this, but there will be much confusion about how to deal with this, and questions as to why the religious leaders did not see this coming.

There will be a response, and it will be created by the dark powers who have been preparing for this moment.  Man’s response to God and the judgment will be Babylon, or the beast rising out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns.  This beast is to rule for 42 months, and will be unlike anything ever seen before, or ever again, and will go directly against what God wants from us, and what the 144,000 will be preaching.

THE WONDERFUL BOOK OF REVELATION

George Offerman

One of my favorite pastimes has been studying the book of Revelation.  I started at age 13, and basically had no clue what this cryptic book was referring to.  Over the years through studying different expositors, praying and becoming familiar with the other books in the Bible, some aspects of this book have become clearer.  The key to much of this is the rules of interpretation (hermeneutics), and when one does an in depth study of how other prophesies have been fulfilled, it makes it much more understandable how to go about reading this book.  I will be commenting on this wonderful book from time to time, again because I have a great passion for it.

Too many people have made comments to me over the years that “you are obsessed with this, and it is a scary book”.  There may be some truth to this, but I usually respond “Yes, it is fearful to a degree, but what scares me more is the continuation of the state we are in, which gets worse by the year.  I would be more afraid of NO action by God, knowing things will continually get worse.”   I also inform them that we win in the end, and that’s the main thrust of the book.  God’s name will finally be cleared for the rest of eternity, and sin will forever be eliminated from this universe.  We will also be witnesses to this, and have the eternal duty to take this message to the rest of God’s creation long after this is but a hazy memory.

Revelation is the end of time written in advance, so those of the faith alive at that time will understand what is happening and why it has to happen.  It is a series of events (14) over a short period of time that will culminate in two things: 1) the end of sin and 2) the completion of the gospel message and acceptance or rejection of Jesus as lord by the whole of humanity.  The fourteen events mentioned are the seven trumpets, which will occur over a few years, and the seven bowls that will most likely be about 30-40 days in duration.  Each event is described with enough detail to understand what it is, and who sent it.  It also allows for those going through the tribulation to understand where they are in the prophetic scheme, and to instill hope that God will come through in the way he has foretold.

For instance, I get in endless debates as to the 6^th trumpet, the mark of the beast.  There are many who believe the mark is either here (universal bar codes on all products) or on the way.  The problem is, it’s the 6^th trumpet.  For this to be an accurate interpretation of this scripture passage, the first 5 trumpets would have had to occur, and be readily identified by nearly everyone alive.  Since the first five trumpets have not occurred, the sixth trumpet could not have occurred.  This is like saying Jesus was crucified before he was born.  Prophesy has an order, and is fulfilled in that order as written, and it only causes confusion and chips away at the faith, when one picks and chooses from the prophesy, without keeping it in the order written.

Revelation was also written in language used almost 2,000 years ago.  The first, second,  third, and fourth trumpets described in order:  a massive meteor shower that causes large fires, burning up all the grass and one third of green plant life, an asteroid striking an ocean, and causing massive tsunami’s and carnage, a comet striking a land mass somewhere, that contaminates much of the water supply and a ring of darkness (clouds, soot, ash) that cuts off 1/3 of the daylight and night sky, and through these first four trumpets, approximately ¼ of the population is killed (1.75 billion people).  The language used back then would have been clearly understood back then, but it is still clear enough to understand what John the evangelist saw.  God would not allow for details like this to be lost in ‘translation’ because it is too important for those living through this period of history to NOT know what is going on, and what is coming next.

The following three trumpets are called ‘the three woe’s’, due to them involving Satan.  The fifth trumpet is the physical appearance of Satan, and this will be very glorious in its happenings.  The man of lawlessness will be allowed to take bodily form and to appear to complete the delusion that he is god, and needs to be worshipped.  After a time of counterfeit miracles, Satan will reveal himself for who he really is, and transform himself into the ‘stern faced king”.  Only once he has secured the earth, through the first beast Babylon, will he show his true colors, and like King Nebuchadnezzar, he will require those loyal to him to take his mark, and execute those who refuse.  Also at this point, he will eliminate the first beast Babylon, because Satan will present himself as the king of kings, and lord of lords, and will not tolerate competing systems.  The seventh trumpet is the ‘close of salvation’ meaning, everyone made their choice, and this trumpet sound will be accompanied by the Ark of the Covenant appearing in the sky for all to see.  Those taking the mark will have the very sickening and sunken feeling that they ‘chose wrong’ and hatred towards their counterfeit god will be beyond description.

God then judges Satan, his government and his people directly, harshly and with out mercy.  The seven bowls last a short time, because the severity disallows for life much past 30 days.  All resources are destroyed, the sun is allowed to burn brightly and hot, and Satan’s government is destroyed in front of all the people taking the mark.  Satan is shown as the fraud he is, by not being able to stop these bowls, and is humiliated in front of his subjects, as Jesus was when hanging on the Cross.  Then after a few days of this, King Jesus appears, gathers the dead in Christ first, and those who survived with God’s mark, are caught up in the air.  Jesus then slays the remaining wicked with the sword, or word from his mouth, and the world as we knew it is effectively ended.

There’s more, but due to keeping this brief, the story will stop here for now.

HERMENEUTICS 101: WHAT IS HERMENEUTICS?

George Offerman

***  I am starting with this posting, as it is a good review of the hermeneutical process, as well as giving a live example of ‘debunking’ an interpretation of the then burning oil well. ***

Using proper hermeneutics when reading the Bible is as necessary as following a recipe of your favorite dish.  Change one ingredient, and you have a whole different food and experience.  Proper hermeneutics is a relatively straight forward process, and this process has been passed down for millennia and has been used for all of that time.  This is a large undertaking, so let’s get started.

The Bible has 73 books (Catholic version) approximately 40 authors and was written over a time span of about 1600 years.  The vast majority of Catholic theologians and many Protestant theologians state the Bible is the inspired word of God, which is reflected in the fact that the time span reflects differing philosophical and societal changes, which in turn reflect the writer’s personal influences as well.  That being said, the Bible is the most consistent and intact Book on the planet concerning the Nature of God and the story of creation and our existence, as well as the most accurately written record of prophecy, and the fulfillment of that prophecy.

Because there are cultural and philosophical influences in the writings, it became imperative to come up with a way to read and interpret, as well as teach what the Bible says.  This in turn, gives us an understanding of what God wants, how we are to behave, how we are to treat our fellow man, and ultimately what becomes of us after death.  This in essence, is what hermeneutics is all about.

The proper definition of hermeneutics is the study of interpretation of written texts in the areas of literature, religion, law and prophecy.  It also incorporates the times, history, context and language used, with emphasis on symbolic meanings.  Hermeneutics looks for consistencies in texts, and applies these consistencies into contemporary life in order to guide and direct those who seek to know the truth.  The central tenets of the Bible transcend time and society, and thus, are applicable to all peoples at all times.

Hermeneutics has evolved over the centuries, and the further removed from the Biblical times, the more the interpretations have changed and been influenced by our times.  The main framework however is intact and the art of interpreting the Bible can be broken down into these four structures: literal, allegorical, moral, and eschatological/mystical.  Literal interpretation would read the texts as straight forward as written.  Allegorical interpretation would read the text as having symbolic meanings, as poetry, or as relating to secondary symbols, with the symbols being defined in other texts.  Moral interpretation would read the text as teaching the faith, such as dogma, and are reflected in most of Jesus parables. Eschatological/mystical interpretations go into the ‘deep thoughts of God’ and involve the future and end of time, as well as salvation, condemnation, heaven and hell and the spiritual realm. (This is also the most dangerous of the four interpretation methods, as it has been the genesis of many of the heresies that will be covered in future postings)

Where many expositors get into trouble is when they use one of the interpretive methods on passages where it does not apply.  For instance, the Beast rising out of the sea in Revelation is not a literal seven headed, ten horned monster, but is an allegorical description of a one world religiously lead government.  Likewise, many of Jesus parables, that are clearly in the moral interpretation category, have been misinterpreted as literal, and end up causing problems among believers.  A modern example of this point would be our colloquialism of “I feel Blue”.  Anyone would understand that I am not literally the color blue, but the use of the word blue would be seen as symbolic of a mood that most everyone could relate to.  Those who would take it literally would ultimately end up on a wild goose chase, and look very foolish.

The art of reading and interpreting the Bible needs to be understood in light of what passages and contexts are being addressed. When one knows which of the four interpretive methods to be used, the Bible reads fairly straight forward and clear.  When this does not occur, it brings about confusion.  We had a phrase in seminary for this called ‘fractured scripture”, and the funniest example I ever saw, was in a girls’ dorm room in which they printed up on a banner “Now, I will make you fishers of men”.  On a more somber note, another example of fractured scripture is from the heretical “Gospel of prosperity” which misquotes 2 John 1-2 in wishing “for you to prosper as your soul  prospers”.  This is a personal greeting, standard for those times, and (intentionally) misinterpreted to be a theological reality and promise of prosperity to some believers.  That would be analogous to taking the command from God to Moses to “strike the rock with your staff” and produce water, which was time specific and meant only for Moses. (I don’t see anyone striking rocks now a days believing water will flow from it.)

I will end this discussion today by going over one of the responses I received from the oil spill posting.  This individual accused me of misinterpreting the oil spill, and insisted the burning platform did fulfill the burning mountain being cast into the ocean, that a third of the sea creatures will eventually die form the contaminated water, that also has a red hue which fulfills blood, and eventually, one third of the ships will be destroyed, by being dry docked or out of commission due to ocean conditions.

I will give this person the benefit of the doubt (despite the fact the first trumpet did not take place, and that it was not a cosmic event).  John the evangelist had a vision and was told to write it down as he saw it.  John saw a burning mountain being cast into the sea, the sea turned to blood, one third of the sea creatures died and one third of the ships were sunk.  In order for this individual’s interpretation to be correct, there would be an interchange of both literal and allegorical interpretations going on at the same time.  For instance, the burning platform being the mountain would be seen as a literal interpretation, but the platform sank, and was not cast down.  The sea has many colors from the spill, one of which is red, but the dominant color is black.  So the word ‘blood’ would have to be allegorical, as it would be symbolic and not literal.  As of this time, there are not the massive deaths of sea creatures, and not one ship has sunk or has been destroyed.  If one decides the sinking of the platform fulfills the word ‘cast down’,  then the problem is what does one do with ships being sunk?  Both the platform and ships float, and John would not have used different words to describe the same events.  Casting down is different than sinking, and we have the literal interpretation method being used for the first part of the prophecy, and then switching to allegorical, back to literal with the sea creatures, then back to allegorical for the ‘destruction’ of the ships.

An asteroid fulfills the prophecy in totality.  It is cast into the ocean from the heavens, burning as it enters the atmosphere, vaporizes trillions of gallons of water instantly, sending a massive tsunami in all directions that washes out coastal areas, killing most of the sea creatures in the ocean it hits, and sinking all the ships in the vicinity. The water would turn red from the blood of the dead sea creatures, as well as possible red algae plumes due to de oxygenated waters.  This interpretation is using the literal method, due to the fact that there is neither allegorical language used, no moral teachings involved in this verse, or eschatological principles.  It describes a deliberate event sent from God, and therefore, qualifies as a literal event in its totality and should be read as such.

I hope this was not too long, and hope this made sense.  See you next week for the next addition.

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION, PART 2

George Offerman

When one takes the time to study the whole Bible and begins to consider matters, especially prophecy, it should become apparent in short order that the majority of prophecy in the Bible is fulfilled.  The reason I use the word should, is there are many instances in which the so called apparent is not apparent at all to the readers, or ‘experts’ at the time.  One glaring example of this is the Magi’s request of the Jewish ‘experts’ to give the location of the Christ.  The Jewish experts tell the Magi to go to Bethlehem, but don’t bother to check it out for themselves, thus demonstrating how even the ‘experts’ can miss a glaringly obvious fulfillment.

Biblical prophecy has been fulfilled throughout the ages and has ALWAYS MET these two qualifications: The prophecy is fulfilled in its totality as written, and in the order given.  This is the universal template one must use to even BEGIN to speak with any legitimate authority on the matter.  This method requires scrutiny to the tiniest detail, and the second there is any discrepancy in the matter, it is scripture that takes precedent over whatever event is being considered.  It is in this way that ALL of the prognostications pertaining to the ‘start’ of revelation, and ‘appearance’ of the mark are false.

I was stunned by comments made by Jerry Jenkins, one of the co-authors of the ‘left behind’ series.  My wife and I were watching a program on prophecy, and Mr. Jenkins made this remarkable statement concerning our current times and Revelation: “Historically, Biblical prophecy has been fulfilled in its entirety, so I don’t understand what God is doing differently, as it seems things are happening out of order”.  Mr. Jenkins is dead on accurate with the first part of his statement, but unfortunately is demonstrating the propensity of sensationalism with the second believing that God has made an ‘exception’ with revelation, and decided to break with the way He does business, and ‘shake’ things up.  The truth of the matter is that Revelation is not being fulfilled, and we cannot take the trumpets and bowls out of order.  It is not God that has changed; it is our insistence that we are seeing trumpets and bowls out of the written order that is causing confusion.

This is why the vast majority of expositors do not have it right, and why so many people are getting frustrated with the whole aspect of prophecy to begin with.  The more bad hermeneutical processes are used, the further off most of these people are, and the average person sees how these predictions come to naught, and begin to lose faith in both prophecy and in God.  We are seeing a significant amount of indifference and apathy concerning these matters, as people have huge doubts about the validity of scripture in general, and Revelation in particular when time and time again, ‘authoritative’ figures boldly proclaim revelation is here or ready to commence, only to be proven wrong in real time.

Proper hermeneutics is the antithesis of sensationalism, and when applied properly to scripture and prophecy, paint a clear picture in which an individual can come to understand what is happening and why it has to happen.  It also becomes rather easy to disprove assertions not grounded in solid methodological application of hermeneutics (which is the vast majority of claims).  Revelation is a one-time event, and is the book end of the cannon of Scripture.  Like the first advent of the Christ (which could have been fulfilled by only one man that has ever existed) Revelation must fulfill the exact requirements written, and must occur in the exact order as written, or it is not fulfilled.  Period, end of story.  ANY OTHER CLAIM OR EXCEPTIONS TO THIS IS FALSE.

Finally, one must understand the hermeneutical methods used in reading the book of Revelation successfully.  For anyone who read my earlier posting of what hermeneutics is, I will review it quickly here.  The four structures used in interpreting scriptures are: 1) literal, reading scriptures as is, 2) allegorical, scripture utilizing symbols that are then interpreted in other texts, 3) moral, such as law, traditions and parables, and 4) eschatological/mystical, which touch upon matters such as salvation, heaven, hell, judgment and the end of time.  Revelation uses the first two methods only, as the rest of scripture covers all of God’s moral teachings, and Revelation is a FULFILLMENT of eschatology.

When using the literal and allegorical methods of hermeneutics, Revelation becomes much easier to understand, and more importantly, allows the common believer to understand the story without needing an ‘expert’ to interpret the book for them.  God’s whole plan of salvation requires an individual make a choice, and this can only be done if the individual understand the choice they need to make.  Revelation can be understood by ANYONE WILLING TO TAKE THE TIME TO LEARN ABOUT IT.   That is God’s promise to anyone reading, contemplating and praying over the book of revelation.  The good news is it does not take a middle man to make this happen.  Just someone with an open mind and a willing and searching heart.