Jehoshua is on the throne of David in New Jerusalem and He is the King of a New Israel
My continuing study on the book of Revelation from a historicist position. Revelation 11:15-19 15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.16And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,17Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.18And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.19And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thundering's, and an earthquake, and great hail. This passage is very enlightening as to the reason why Jehovah God is going to pour out His wrath on mankind. The sounding of the seventh trumpet brings without further delay the Kingdom of God and His Messiah. The Son of God will reign forever according to verse 15. This goes in line with what the prophet Daniel said regarding the future Son of man: 13I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.14And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. The eternality of the Son of God's Kingdom was also covenanted to David regarding His royal seed (2 Samuel 7). Even though the Son of God will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father when the end comes it does not mean He will no longer be King nor sit on His throne as such. It just means that all things will be reconciled to God the Father because death has been destroyed. The Father is the ultimate Sovereign over all creation including His Son Jehoshua. This is true now even though Jehoshua currently sits as King and will be more true at the end after Jehoshua defeats the last enemy. Both Revelation 21 and 22 show that both God and His Son reign over the new heavens and new earth albeit the Father is head over His Son. Verses 16 and 17 shows the 24 elders worshipping Jehovah God identifying Him as the eternal one "which art, and wast, and art to come" Verse 18, the state of the nations will be one of anger, specifically against God and His commandments. We see this going on today. The seventh trumpet is the time in which the dead will be judged, both the just and unjust. This shows the true state of the dead. The dead don't come to life again until the day of Judgment which is ushered in by the second advent. It doesn't say they are alive in hell and will be judged but rather they are dead and will be judged. The bible elsewhere says that it is appointed to die once and then the judgment. The saints and prophets will be rewarded, these are the just. It also says those that fear the name of Jehovah God. When the bible talks about fearing God, it is equated with keeping His commandments. We will see in a couple of verses that the whole reason the Son of God comes to tread the winepress of God is due to the breaking of the 10 commandments. The unjust are those who destroy the earth. This is not necessarily about those literally destroying the earth's environment although that is included as man's greed is usually the root cause of the earth's environmental issues. However, the primary understanding of this destroying of the earth is that sin destroys the earth. Sin is defined as breaking the law of Jehovah (1 John 3:4). See Leviticus 18 for this principle and the three specific sins that cause a land to be defiled. Isaiah 24:1-5 (ASV) 1Behold, Jehovah maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.2And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the creditor, so with the debtor; as with the taker of interest, so with the giver of interest to him.3The earth shall be utterly emptied, and utterly laid waste; for Jehovah hath spoken this word.4The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the lofty people of the earth do languish.5The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.6Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. In verse 5 we see that the reason Jehovah makes the earth empty is because they have broken His commandments. In Leviticus 18, we see that there are certain sins, child sacrifice, Homosexuality and incest that cause Jehovah to vomit the inhabitants out of the lamb. Let's go back to Revelation 11 and look at verse 19: "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail" This is a very revealing verse as it shows us the very reason God is sending judgment on the earth. We are shown the holy of holies in the heavenly sanctuary and the original ark of the covenant. Here it is called "the ark of His testament". Testament is the testimony. What is the testimony that is contained in the ark? Deuteronomy 10:4-5 4 And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which Jehovah spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and Jehovah gave them unto me.5 And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as Jehovah commanded me. The 10 commandments were written with the finger of God and then Moses put the tables which the commandments were written on in ark. So clearly the testimony that is in the ark is the tables of the 10 commandments. Hebrews 9:4 says the same things regarding what the ark contained: "Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant" The tables of the covenant are the 10 commandments as shown in Deuteronomy 10:4-5. If the tabernacle in the wilderness was only a shadow of the original tabernacle in heaven as Hebrews 8:2 says, then it stands to reason that the testimony in the ark in heaven also contains the 10 commandments. While most of Christendom says these commandments are no longer binding in the new covenant keep in mind that these commandments were written by the very finger of God: Deuteronomy 9:10 (ASV) 10 And Jehovah delivered unto me the two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them [was written] according to all the words, which Jehovah speak with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. Jehovah God is the one who wrote the 10 commandments and these commandments were then put in the ark of the covenant. As Isaiah 24:1-5 shows the controversy that causes Jehovah to judge the earth is the transgression of His laws and the everlasting covenant. All throughout the book of Revelation it is the commandments that are at the center of the controversy between God and Satan. The keeping of the commandments is what marks out what the true Church is, as we will see as we proceed in our study of the book of Revelation. So here in Revelation 11:19 we see the culmination of why Jehovah is pouring His wrath out which is the violation of the testimony in heaven. This verse shows that the 10 commandments, which are the testimony contained in the ark, will be the standard of judgment for the servants of God and for those who destroy the earth. Lightnings, voices and thundering's and an earthquake and great hail are heard and seen at the opening of the heavenly sanctuary and the ark of the testimony being seen. This shows judgment and wrath in connection with the ark of the covenant. Again, this clearly shows that it is the violation of the 10 commandments that move Jehovah to pour out His wrath on mankind. Let's now go to chapter 12: Revelation 12:1-4 1And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:2And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.3And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.4And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. Now we cycle back to the birth of the Messiah. The woman clothed with the sun is the nation of Israel which God chose to bring the prophetic Messianic King. The crown of 12 stars represents the 12 tribes of Israel. Some say the moon represents the old covenant and the sun represents the new covenant. Verse 2 of Revelation 12 shows the hardships of Israel in anticipation of her Messianic saviour likening her waiting period to the birth pangs of a woman in labour. Satan is the large dragon with the heads, horns and crowns representing earthly governments that he uses to accomplish his agenda. In the days of Jehoshua's ministry these Satanic tools of government were the Roman empire and the Jewish religious establishment. Satan was ready to destroy the Messiah even before He was born of the woman Israel. The killing of the baby boys 2 years and under show that Satan was actively trying to kill the Messiah early in His life: Matthew 2:16 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. The Messiah's father Joseph even had to take the family to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod who was used as one of the Dragons crowns to destroy the saviour of Israel. Verse 5 of Revelation 12: "And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne" The nation of Israel brought forth Her promised Messianic King who was to be the ruler of all the nations. Even though Satan tried to destroy the Son of God, the Warrior King triumphed overcoming the world and ascending to heaven being sat on the throne of David at the right hand of God. Acts 2:29-36 details the victory of the Davidic King and His ascension into heaven on the throne. Psalm 110:1-2 (ASV) 1Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.2Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. King David prophesied about His seed being raised up to sit on the throne of Jehovah God which is the same as the throne of David. It was at Jehoshua's ascension into heaven that this prophesied was fulfilled. Verse 5 of Revelation 12 says that the Messiah would rule the nations with a rod of iron. Here in verse 2 of Psalm 110 it says that Jehoshua will rule in the midst of His enemies. Jehoshua rules over His enemies even now in the interadvental age. Psalm 2 echoes the ascension theme of the Son of God, the Davidic royal seed: 8Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.9Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter`s vessel. Verse 8 is the enthronement of Jehoshua and Him being given His Kingdom and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. This takes us back to Psalm 89 in which the Davidic King was prophesied to be given the earth as His possession: 25 I will set his hand also on the sea, And his right hand on the rivers. Daniel 7:13-14 (ASV) 13I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.14And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. The above prophecy was fulfilled at the ascension of the Messiah into heaven and speaks to His enthronement as King of Israel and the establishment of His everlasting Kingdom in which will be all peoples, tribes and languages. The idea that the Son of God's Kingdom is a Jewish Kingdom is patently false. The Kingdom of Jehoshua Messiah is an international Kingdom in which all are eqaul. This international Kingdom constitutes the true Israel of God. Back to Psalm 2, the Messiah will return to break the nations with a rod of iron meaning He will utterly destroy them not rule over them as their political ruler. Jehoshua will dash the nations in pieces like a potters vessel, again this speaks to their destruction not their continued existence in some earthly millennium. Let's now go back to Revelation 12: 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. The woman is Israel i.e. the church and she flees into the wilderness due to persecution. The fact that the woman flees into the wilderness right after the ascension of the Messiah into heaven shows that the persecution/tribulation of the church began right away and that the true church has never been the visible mainstream Church system but rather has always been a small remnant. This is a serious indictment against the modern institutional Church system whether they be Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant or Evangelical as all these systems stem from the union of Church and State established by the Roman emperor Constantine. God's true church has always been a persecuted church that is the minority not the majority. The reference to the 1,260 days is important as it starts in conjunction with the woman (church) fleeing into the wilderness showing that this number is symbolic of the new covenant church age which began at the ascension of the Messiah. The 1,260 days starts right around the time of the ascension of the Messiah and the woman fleeing into the wilderness showing that this is not about a future persecution of "end time" saints. We can also know that these 1,260 days span the entirety of the new covenant church age due to the use of the number elsewhere in the book of Revelation. Throughout history the church has always suffered. Verses 7-9 of Revelation 12: 7And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels [going forth] to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels;8And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.9And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. The war of the angels symbolizes the effect of the Messiah's exaltation upon Satan and his forces. Satan's defeat relates especially to his work as the accuser of the brethren in the court of heaven. As a result of the Son of God's victory on the cross and subsequent ascension into heaven, Satan and his angels no longer have access to the heavenly courts. Satan and the fallen angels are permanently cast into the earth where they continue to rage against God's people. Satan also controls people (unbelievers) with his lies. Verse 10 of Revelation 12: "And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night" "Now is come", this is a present tense statement in connection with the casting out of Satan, showing us that the Kingdom of God and His Messiah was established at the ascension of the Son of God into heaven which resulted in the casting out of Satan. This is another clear scripture that destroys the futurist doctrine that the Kingdom of the Son of God begins in some future millennium. Salvation and strength is connected with the arrival of the Kingdom. We know that salvation has come in the arrival of the Son of God onto the scene nearly 2,000 years ago which means the Kingdom also arrived at that time since salvation and the Kingdom are inseparable. Satan is the accuser of the brethren who was defeated at the cross and cast out of heaven for good. He is no longer able to accuse the brethren before God in the heavenly places. Verse 11 of Revelation 12: "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death" The brethren cannot be accused by Satan as they have overcome him not by their works but by the blood of the Son of God and the word of their testimony. This testimony is not the testimony of their conversion or past life before their conversion but rather the testimony of Jehoshua Messiah who is the Spirit of prophecy. We as the church overcome the world by proclaiming the gospel of our Lord Jehoshua Messiah which is His testimony as He is the pinnacle of all bible prophecy, hence Jehoshua is the Spirit of prophecy. We as the church are to prophesy which is to proclaim the Messianic prophecies in the old testament that pointed forward to the Messiah and were fulfilled at His first advent. Also, we proclaim future prophecy that will be fulfilled at His second advent. Verses 12 and 13 of Revelation 12: 12Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.13And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. This passage shows that immediately upon the devil being cast down to earth he starts to persecute the woman which is Israel, which is the new covenant church. Remember, that it was upon the ascension of the Messiah into heaven that resulted in the casting out of Satan. Immediately upon his casting out he started persecuting the church. This is key in understanding as it helps us determine the timing of bible prophecy in terms of futurism vs. Historicism. Verse 14 of Revelation 12: "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" The fact that this time period "time, and times, and half a time" begin right after the ascension of the Messiah into heaven shows this to be a symbolic time period covering the new testament church age. This is the same time period mentioned in Revelation 11:2 which is called the "forty and two months" which is eqaul in time to the time period mentioned in Revelation 12:14. This supports the Historicist understanding of prophecy and destroys the futurists doctrine of end times. Also, it shows that the woman i.e. the church goes into the wilderness right after the Messiah's ascension into heaven which means that the true church has always been a persecuted minority and never the mainstream majority. This destroys the Orthodox (RCC, Protestant, EO, Evangelical) claims of being the true church and guardians of truth. In a few verses we will learn what identifies God's true Church. Verses 15 and 16 of Revelation 12: 15And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.16And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. Satan's flood is persecution which he sends after the church in the form of human governments and false religion. Again, this persecution took place right after the Messiah ascended to heaven. It initially took the form of religious political Israel and the Roman empire. The persecution of the woman eventually took the form of the Roman Catholic Church. Again, this shows that the true church has always been a persecuted church and never the established state churches of Christendom. The same is true today in regards to the state 501 c 3 churches. "The earth helped the woman", throughout history the church has found refuge in the crevices of the earth. The Jerusalem church found refuge in the Mountains of Pella before the events of AD 70. The early church in the Roman empire found refuge in the underground catacombs. The Waldenses found solace in the french and Italian alps. The Anabaptists in the dark European forests. Even today, Christians worldwide meet in underground hideaways to worship God and His Son for fear of persecution. Verse 17 of Revelation 12: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" Satan persecutes the church on earth, the spiritual offspring of Israel i.e. the woman. This verse right here shows us the identifying marks of the true church of God. This one verse destroys any claim of Orthodoxy of being the true church and guardian of the truth. Every single church under the umbrella of what is called "Orthodoxy" fails to meet the criteria listed above regarding what is the remnant church. One of the identifying marks of the true church is that they keep the commandments of God. This is an obvious reference to the 10 commandments. Many churches try to deny that this verse is a reference to the 10 commandments or say that this passage is strictly about the Jews and fleshly Geo-political Israel (dispensationalism). Just about every denomination under the umbrella of "Orthodoxy" violates the 4th commandment of the Sabbath day by either keeping a Sunday Sabbath or disregarding it all together. Even the denominations that keep the Sabbath commandment, such as Adventism, Seventh Day Baptist or the various churches of God, violate the first commandment by worshipping a trinitarian or binitarian god. God's true church has never been a trinitarian church nor a Sunday keeping church. This destroys the claim of all of "Orthodoxy" that they are the "Church". Again, Orthodoxy includes the Roman Catholic Church, The Eastern Orthodox Churches, Protestants and Evangelicals. Also, the testimony of Jehoshua Messiah is an identifying mark of the true remnant church. Revelation 19:10 says that the testimony of Jehoshua Messiah is the Spirit of prophecy. The true church preaches what the prophets foretold regarding the Messiah and also the fulfillment of those prophecies with the Messiah's arrival onto the scene. Also, the Spirit of prophecy testifies of the Son of God's future arrival & consummation of His Kingdom.
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