Vapour and Mist

Matthew 16:2He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?


It is the belief of this blog's contributors that Biblical prophecy has been fullfilling itself steadily since the ascension of Christ. When one studies prophecy in light of the last two thousand years of history it becomes evident that this is so. The "man of sin" reigning for 1260 years in the form of the Holy Roman Empire as well as the rise of Islam and the events surrounding the French Revolution are just a few examples of historical fulfilment of prophecy.


The question we often ask each other is: "Why does the (Christian)world not see this, especially since most of the early Protestant Reformers held to this view?"

Watching the stormclouds this morning, I had a thought.

One can see an approaching storm by seeing its clouds at some distance. If the storm is still far enough away, one can even see just how vast and foreboding it may be and take proper precaution. However, the nature of stormclouds is mist and vapor. Only from a distance can one discern a cloud. For instance, if one were on a mountain and standing in the midst(mist) of a cloud, all that one would really see is fog, obscuring everything, even if that cloud mass was a part of a vast building storm.

I believe this to be applicable to the world today, especially within the modern lukewarm church. If we stand firmly in this wicked world, with all its carnal distractions, the true vision of prophetic fulfillment will always be obscured. Only when we separate ourselves and try, at a distance, to see the world and history from God's Biblical viewpoint will we begin to see the gathering clouds.

Revelation 1:7 - Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Luke 18:8 - I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

...An Offender for a Word...

For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. (Isa 29:20-21)

From www.epuip.org:

The Council of Nicea was mostly Eastern. According to tradition, 318 bishops were in attendance, though most historians believe this number is a bit high. The vast majority came from the East, with less than a dozen representing the rest of the Empire.

The council was divided into three groups. Arius was in attendance, at the command of the Emperor, along with a few supporters. Most notable of these were two Egyptian bishops, Theonas and Secundus, as well as Eusebius of Nicomedia. This group represented the viewpoint that Christ was of a different substance Greek: heteroousios) than the Father, that is, that He is a creature.

The "orthodox" group was led primarily by Hosius of Cordova and Alexander of Alexandria (accompanied by his brilliant young deacon, and later champion of the Nicene position, Athanasius6). They represented the view that Christ was of the same substance (Greek: homo-ousios7) as the Father, that is, that He has eternally shared in the one essence that is God and in full deity.

The middle group, led by Eusebius of Caesarea (and hence often called the "Eusebian" party), distrusted the term homoousios, primarily because it had been used in the previous century by the modalistic8 heretic Sabellius and others who wished to teach the error that the Father and the Son were one person. This middle group agreed with the orthodox party that Jesus was fully God, but they were concerned that the term homoousios could be misunderstood to support the false idea that the Father and Son are one person. The middle group therefore presented the idea that the Son was of a similar substance (Greek: homoiousios) as the Father. By this means they hoped to avoid both the error of Arius as well as the perceived danger of Sabellianism found in the term homoousios.

Arian/Arius - of a different substance — heteroousios

Orthodox/Alexander, Hosius, Athanasius - of the same substance — homoousios

Eusebian/Eusebius of Caesarea - of a similar substance — homoiousios

The Council of Nicea was perhaps the epitome of an attempt by the carnal finite mind of man to explain in metaphysical terms the relationship between God and his Son.

As shown above, this was done by attempting to define this relationship using words and language which are nowhere found in scripture.

From the close of this council, the prevailing or 'orthodox' view within christendom would be that the Son was homoousios - or of the same substance - as the Father. Thus everyone who would not bow the knee to this carnal product of man's reasoning was made 'an offender for a word' - a word that God did not see fit to use when he inspired the writing of the scriptures.

Untold thousands were mercilessly slaughtered or exiled; and for what? For a WORD - a word which was nothing more than the product of carnal reasoning.

This sad legacy continues to this day. Those who will not confess that God is a 'trinity' (a word found nowhere in the scriptures) are made offenders or heretics because they will not acknowlege this WORD. It is not enough to confess the identity of Jesus using the pure language of scripture. No, what men need to know is 'do you beleive in the trinity?' or 'do you believe that God is three persons?' or 'do you believe in God the Son?'.

Since NONE of these can be acknowledged using only the language of scripture the just who refuse to bow to this carnal 'wisdom' of 'orthodoxy' are therefore 'turned aside for a thing of naught'.

Michael Servetus was cruelly burned at the stake because he refused to acknowlege that God is a trinity. While being consumed by the flames he cried out 'Jesus, Son of the eternal God, have mercy upon me!' Upon hearing this, the man who had delivered him to this fate, John Calvin, exclaimed: 'If only he had said 'eternal Son of God' he might have been saved'. Thus Servetus was made 'an offender for a word', and this just man who God had set as a 'reprover in the gate' was turned aside 'for a thing of naught'.

Sadly the world is filled with this type of 'christianity' which pillages the pages of scripture in order to build exclusive esoteric doctrines so that one may invent impressive sounding terminology and lay claim to the truth at the exclusion of all others.

Are you pre-trib? Post trib? Mid-Trib? Pre-Wrath?

Are you Pre-Millennial? Post-Millennial? A-Millennial?

Are in Infralapsarianist or Supralapsarianist?

Are you Calvinst or Armenian?

Where does this madness end?

Let Their Bones Rot that Compute the Times...

In a detailed exposition on the ninth chapter of Daniel, the Baptist expositor John Gill (1697-1771) wrote of those Jews who feeling the weight of the prophecy there given - in that it specifically told of the time in which the Messiah would appear - refused to so much as even attempt to compute the times:

The Jews are sensible of the force of this reasoning; so that, to terrify persons from considering this prophecy, they denounce the following curse, "let them burst, or their bones rot, that compute the times"

Many Christians find it difficult to understand how it is that the Jewish people in general failed to recognize Jesus as their Messiah when prophecies such as the one in Daniel 9 point so specifically to the times of Jesus' earthly ministry and death.

The sad fact is that many Jews - operating on two assumptions; first that Jesus is NOT the Messiah, and second that the time of the Messiah's appearance cannot be known - simply refuse to examine the plain and clear scriptural evidence while hurling curses at those who would dare to try to understand and ascertain the truth.

While many Christians puzzle at such willful ignorance of what they consider to be clear and obvious truth, I have to wonder sometimes if many Christians aren't guilty of the exact same thing.

The only standards for Christian 'truth' in our day seem to be those which present no threat to 'unity' or 'tolerance'. There seems to be a tacit mental acceptance that absolute Biblical truth simply cannot be known.

The battle cry of many is 'in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things love'. The problem is, that while this sounds great, the realm of what one considers 'essential' or 'non-essential' is itself so unclear and so undefined so as to make the whole phrase meaningless. Since even amongst themselves no one can seem to agree which doctrines are 'essential' and which are 'non-essential' the whole proposition becomes not the least bit helpful, let alone scriptural - it is simply a tautology.

While most would agree with the apostle Paul that 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for DOCTRINE, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness' they seemingly also agree that doctrinally the Bible is clear on VERY LITTLE, and so for the sake of 'unity' and 'tolerance' we shouldn't make an issue out of such 'non-essentials'.

Do they not see the absurdity in boldly proclaiming the Bible as their 'sole and final authority in matters of faith and practice' while believing in their hearts that the Bible actually speaks authoritatively on very little?

For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? (1Co 14:8)

It seems to me that the only 'essential' thing among these kinds of Christians has become a mutual agreement that none should speak with too much conviction or authority on any given topic.

I for one believe with the apostle that the scriptures are FIRST profitable for DOCTRINE. If clarity in doctrine simply cannot be known then such a statement is meaningless.

I have to wonder what really lies behind this prevalence of feeling that truth in doctrine simply cannot be known. Could it be that like the Jews of old many are simply afraid that the clarity of the scriptures may lead them to an uncomfortable or life altering conclusion? Are the scriptures really so difficult? Are they so difficult on nearly EVERYTHING as we are led to believe, or do many simply refuse to see?

Whatever the reason, for the time being it seems that most continue to choose the easy road under the banner of 'unity' - while actually agreeing on very little more than the condemnation of those who would dare attempt to speak with any kind of authority...

'Let their bones rot that compute the times...'

Robertson calls for assassination of Chavez

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight...(Joh 18:36)

Pat Robertson calls for assassination of Chavez

The Great Image of Daniel Two

This work was originally written to be the foundation of an ongoing 'Encyclopedia of Prophecy' from an historicist point of view. Obviously such a work is a massive undertaking. Perhaps with comments and coloraboration this work may yet have a future.

THE GREAT IMAGE - DANIEL 2

FOUR GREAT WORLD EMPIRES – BABYLON, PERSIA, GREECE, AND ROME; THE LAST CONTINUING UNTIL THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND BEING IN ITS FINAL STATE DIVIDED INTO TEN POWERS.


Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness [was] excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof [was] terrible. This image's head [was] of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet [that were] of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

This [is] the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, [art] a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou [art] this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all [things]: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And [as] the toes of the feet [were] part of iron, and part of clay, [so] the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, [but] it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (Dan 2:31-44)

Here we have a very general vision of four empires - Babylon, and then three which were to follow. There is little disagreement among scholars as to the identification of these four empires.

First Empire - Babylon. This was specifically identified by Daniel: 'Thou art this head of gold'

Second Empire - Persia: The kingdom here referred to was undoubtedly the Medo-Persian, established by Cyrus in the conquest of Babylon, which continued through the reigns of his successors until it was conquered by Alexander the Great.

Third Empire - Greece: There can be no reasonable doubt that by this third kingdom is denoted the empire founded by Alexander the Great - the Greek empire.

Fourth Empire - Rome: Edward Gibbon writes, “The arms of the Republic, sometimes vanquished in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and the ocean; and the images of gold, or silver, or brass, that might serve to represent the nations and their kings, were successively broken by the “iron” monarchy of Rome.” - “Dec. and Fall,” p. 642

The succession of these empires was to be followed by one which 'the God of heaven shall set up'; a kingdom 'that shall never be destroyed... it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

It is important to note that there are four, and ONLY FOUR of man's kingdoms which would precede the establishment of God's kingdom. This has proved problematic for many students of God's word.

There are a few different theories about how we are to understand the timing in which God's kingdom will be set up. These views are ultimately intertwined with many other prophecies. How we interpret here will affect how we see other prophecy. Or, how we view other prophecies may affect how we interpret here. These issues can become very complex. It should be the goal of any student of God's word to not jump to conclusions, but attempt to accumulate and examine as much evidence as possible.

What are our options in interpreting this passage?

1) If Rome was indeed the fourth and final kingdom before the establishment of God's kingdom, then this fact, interpreted in light of secular history, seems to severely limit our options.

Technically speaking, and according to the history books, Rome 'fell' in approximately 476 A.D. with the overthrow of its last emperor Romulus Augustulus. This fact has led some to conclude (a conclusion which we do not think entirely invalid) that God's kingdom MUST have been established before this date. Indeed, there are some who believe firmly that God's kingdom was established in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem by Roman Armies.

Now, as a matter of timing, and in an attempt to be loyal to the exact sense of the text, this approach to interpretation cannot be faulted. However our inquiry should lead us to ask whether or not this particular interpretation of the passage best fits all the Biblical evidence.

2) There are those who believe that since Rome must be in power when God establishes his kingdom, and since Rome is NOT currently in power, and since God has not yet established His kingdom, then in some way Rome must return to power during the 'last days'.

This type of reasoning is very popular in our time. Many modern prophecy teachers speak of a 'revived Roman Empire' comprised of ten nations (possibly something like the current European Union). They believe that this ten nation union is represented by the ten toes of the vision.

It should be noted that this interpretation requires that those who hold it insert an enormous unspecified gap of time between the feet and toes of the image. It is believed that while the 'fourth kingdom' seen in the vision is in fact Rome, it is nevertheless Rome in two different incarnations; the first represented by the legs and feet, and the second by the toes. It is thought that the former is ancient Rome, while the latter is an end-time 'revived Roman Empire'.

The 'gap' of time inserted between the feet and toes of the vision is justified thusly: The image pertains only to God's dealings with fleshly, natural Israel. God only counts time on Israel's 'prophetic clock' when the Jews are in His favor. They believe that in this current dispensation, because of their rejection of the Messiah, God has 'set them aside' and that the prophetic 'clock' pertaining to Israel has stopped. As long as this 'prophetic clock is stopped' we will remain in this 'gap'. Once the Church is completed and 'raptured', then God will once again turn to the Jews and this prophecy will resume - with the prophesied 'revived Roman Empire' in power.

This theory would seem to rest on a number of assumptions which cannot be proven nor disproven. While this by itself does not make this view incorrect, it would seem to make it less than faithful to the obvious and straightforward meaning of the text.

3) In addition to the above two options there is a third which seems to be little considered in our day; namely that once Rome came into power, it would continue to exist until Jesus returns and sets up his kingdom. This implies two things: First, that Jesus has not yet returned and set up his kingdom - at least not in the way described in this passage, and second, that Rome still does exist to this day, in a very real way, although not generally recognized as such. This view would recognize this prophecy as having a continuous fulfillment from Daniel's time all the way until the consummation of the age.

This view has a number of strengths: First, it does not require the historical 'gap' noted in the previous view. It does not require non-provable theories such as 'God's prophetic clock stops when Israel is out of favor'.

Second, and in contrast to the first view, it allows for a future fulfillment of the final part of the prophecy:

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, [but] it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

It would seem that the first interpretation would have to give these words a 'spiritualized' or 'allegorical' meaning. What good does it do to 'spiritually' consume these kingdoms, when kingdoms equally as brutal and evil still exist on the earth? Additionally, since the four kingdoms mentioned were all very literal, visible entities, it is not unreasonable to suspect that the final kingdom should be realized in some tangible way. While the first view holds very literally to this prophecy as regards the 'timing' of the establishment of God's kingdom, it does not seem to maintain the same fidelity to literalism as to the nature of its establishment described in the final portion of the vision.

Third, we have the testimony of history which records that upon its dissolution the western Roman Empire did in fact break up into ten powers which would answer exactly to the ten toes of the prophecy. Furthermore, the ten powers into which Rome was divided have remained in the same condition more or less down to our own time. Once again, this would seem to lend credence to the theory that once established, Rome would continue to exist in one form or another until the consummation of the age and the establishment of Christ's kingdom.

In his book, Unfolding Daniel’s Prophecies, theologian and historian, Roy Allan Anderson identified the ten nations of western Europe into which Imperial Rome was decimated. These were the Lombards, the Alemanni, the Anglo-Saxons, the Ostrogoths, the Burgundians, the Franks, the Suevi, the Vandals, the Visigoths and the Heruli. (p. 51, Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1975)

In his excellent work Horae Apocalypticae, the historian Elliott provided two lists of the ten nations into which the Western Roman Empire disintegrated. His second list stated these ten to be the Alemanni, Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Burgundians, Visigoths, Suevi, Ostrogoths, Heruli, Bavarians and the Vandals. In his first list Elliott had substituted the Lombards for the Bavarians. A study of Gibbon’s classic Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire indicates that the Lombards hold the rightful place in the ten.

So history bears out the fact that the old Roman Empire did in fact divide into ten parts. This is a fact of history that cannot be disputed, and thus raises a number of questions for the other positions mentioned. In regard to the first position; In what way was Rome divided into ten parts in 70 A.D. when the kingdom was supposedly established? In regard to the second position: Why look for a future Ten Nation Confederation, when the breakup of the Roman Empire into ten powers occurred centuries ago - a fact that lies on the face of history? In regard to both positions: Was this partitioning of the ancient Roman Empire into ten powers significant at all in regard to this prophecy, or just a happy coincidence?

The Plagues of the Middle Ages

The following material was originally compiled as research for the ‘Two Witnesses’ series. Unfortunately the planned installment was never finished, but the material here is as relevant to Biblical truth as ever. I am not the author of this material, and no longer have any information as to its original source.

It is interesting to note that this author admits that the inhabitants of the Roman world during the dark ages understood that the chaos and calamity of those times were as a result of the direct judgment of God. The author however hints that this was done in ignorance instead of attributing the rampant death and disease to their real causes; ie poor sanitation, etc.

But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. (Rev 11:2-6)

Surely Christianity rejects history to its own peril…

At the peak of his reign, after accomplishing major political, judicial, and military successes, Justinian, emperor of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, suddenly faced an old, ferocious enemy of mankind: pestilence. The bubonic plague, which struck in A.D. 540, is justifiably the worst recorded pandemic to ever afflict humanity. Any hopes of reestablishing the Roman Empire were dashed. Records regarding the dimensions of the devastation and the untold suffering and death were carefully kept by Justinian's chief archivist and secretary, the celebrated court historian, Procopius.

If one considers the dimensions of the devastation of the bubonic plague of the 6th Century in the midst of the Dark Ages --- the savage imperial wars waged against the barbarian hordes, the terrible famines, the ubiquity of death and destruction, and finally the unleashing of this cataclysmic epidemic --- it should not be difficult to imagine that the people at the time believed that they were being scorched and ravaged by the dreaded Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as described in the biblical book of Revelation 6:8, "And I looked, and behold, a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death."

The Emperor Justinian, defeated by the cataclysm of the bubonic plague, saw with horror the disease demolishing his once invincible armies and killing his generals and soldiery alike faster than the wounds inflicted on the battlefield. Entire villages and towns were obliterated; the apocalyptic visitations were considered divine retribution from God as punishment for worldly sins. Demoralized and disheartened, he returned to his capital, Constantinople, only to find that there, too, the terrifying pestilence was relentlessly killing his people, rich and poor, regardless of kinship or station in life. The mortality in the city at this time was approaching 5000 deaths a day and would eventually reach an all-time high of 10,000 deaths daily. In despair and in need to fill the void, Justinian sought solitude, and the comfort and solace of religion.

The learned physicians of Justinian's day, who at the time followed the precepts of Graeco-Roman medicine, were discredited because their nostrums proved useless at the time of the cataclysm. Instead, the people turned for consolation to monastic medicine and the teachings of Christianity. The Christian church did rush in and, as best it could, tried to fill in the medical void. The monks in the monasteries quickly became the spiritual as well as corporeal healers by tending both to the needs of the soul and the requirements of the body. They used prayer and only the rudiments of physical or herbal medicine to console and heal the sick.

The humbling of the medical profession because of its impotence to control the plague of the 6th Century, essentially halted the advancement of medical knowledge for centuries. Medicine regressed, and disease in general was equated with vice and sin, rather than with filth, poor hygiene, and natural causes.

Yet, medicine was not the only profession in abeyance to disease. Other ancient professions, such as law, engineering, and the natural sciences (not to mention the liberal arts of the Greeks and Romans), were largely erased from the collective memory of humanity. All areas of human endeavor were doomed to intellectual dormancy. Progress stopped. The turning wheels of Western culture and civilization had ground to a shrilling halt as humanity became fully immersed in the Dark Ages. New hordes of barbarians were marauding and ravaging the West, while the plague was humbling the East.(2)

The great pestilence of the medieval period was the Black Death (1346-1361), the bubonic plague caused by the then highly virulent bacterium, Pasteurella pestis and transmitted generally by the black rat, Rattus rattus. The plague is passed from rat to rat by fleas. Man becomes infected when he unwittingly interrupts the infectious cycle by being bitten by an infected flea. Once the infection takes place, Pasteurella pestis causes disease by septicemia or by invasion of the lymphatics, spreading in the body with two types of presentations. The pneumonic form of the plague is most ominous. In this highly contagious acute form, the disease may also be transmitted directly from person to person via the pulmonary route (i.e., aerosol droplets), and death takes place rapidly. It was said that one day a person would cough-up phlegm and then be dead by the fifth day.

The predominant form of the disease, though, was the subacute bubonic form, characterized by severe involvement of the lymphatic system with the formation of buboes (from which the disease takes its name). The buboes are swollen, infected lymph nodes, most commonly involving the inguinal and/or the axillary lymph node chains. The buboes may grow to a significant size to erode through the skin and spontaneously burst, draining infectious purulent material. Death came in a slower and more agonizing way. Very few so afflicted lived beyond 10 days, and the affliction still carried a mortality of 90 percent.

The epidemics of bubonic plague were veritably history's greatest scourges. In the case of the Plague of Justinian, the epidemic ravaged the populace for five decades between A.D. 540 and 590 and, although precise figures are not possible to ascertain, it may have caused the death of one-third of the population. The Black Death, which peaked in 1347-1348, also inflicted morbid devastation and rampant desolation and death in medieval Europe and exacted a death toll of perhaps 27 million lives and lasted 15 to 20 years. The Black Death seriously disrupted the social and economic fabrics of Western society. In Europe, the people began to question religion and faith and looked instead for answers in the emerging science of the medieval universities sprouting up throughout Europe, the reverse of what took place after the Plague of Justinian. Moreover in England, large tracts of land were left uncultivated because of the lack of a work force. Suddenly, labor because precious. Workers demanded higher wages and poor peasants disappeared, at least for a time, and were replaced by more prosperous farmers and landowners, threatening the very structure of feudal society.

The Great Plague of London, which assailed England from 1665 to 1666, at its peak killed 2000 Londoners a week but mercifully only lasted several months, coincidentally ending with the Great Fire of London.

The literary nascence of this period was first voiced by Flavio Biondo of Forli (1388-1463) when he published Historiarum ab Inclinatione Romanorum Imperii Decades (Decades of History from the Deterioration of the Roman Empire) around 1483. Forli describes this historical period as "a suspension of progress - a period of cultural stagnation....as the Dark Ages, between the glory of classical antiquity and the rebirth of that glory in the beginnings of the modern world." His key words are "suspension, stagnation, dark" and each term appropriately describes a general populace devoid of academic motivation.

A Problem Illustrated

From an 'interesting' website:

Why The Beast/Antichrist And The False Prophet Enter The Lake of Fire First

Have you ever noticed that all the wicked go to the Lake of the Fire after the Millennium but the Beast and False Prophet go in before the Millennium? Why the inconsistency? The answer is not for weak-hearted.

The question here is an excellent question. In the work 'A Challenge to the Doctrine of Eternal Torment' I wrote:

'The first two occupants of the 'lake of fire' are the Beast and False prophet, but when we enquire as to their identity we generally get a different answer for each person we ask. The modern evangelical will answer along these lines: The Beast is the 'Antichrist', a powerful world leader who will arise in the end times and via one world government rule the entire earth. The False Prophet is a religious leader who with the Antichrist leads the world into one united false religion. While this is a rather novel (and I might add relatively new) teaching concerning the Beast and False Prophet, there are problems with this interpretation. If this be the case, then one would assume that these are humans. That would seem to follow without question. But the trouble is this: If these are indeed human, then they are the only two wicked humans who will escape the Great White Throne Judgment. These would go into the Lake of Fire BEFORE the judgment, in contrast to the rest of wicked mankind who go into the lake of fire FOLLOWING judgment. Not even Satan is thrown into the 'Lake of Fire' prior to this judgment. The Bible is clear that every child of Adam must appear for judgment to give account; how do these escape? I suppose we could say that their wickedness is such that it precludes judgment and they are sentenced to the lake of fire directly, but that would be a matter of pure guesswork.'

This question should in fact be viewed as a huge problem for evangelical theology. The fact that it is not speaks volumes. Seeing that evangelical theology has reduced the final judgment of mankind to an empty show (in their view the destiny of each being decided at the moment of their death) the fact that any should enter their doom without judgment can easily be sidestepped without much difficulty.

It would seem that the website mentioned above does in fact recognize this question as a legitimate difficulty. The way in which they answer this is however a classic example of what is wrong with much of evangelical biblical interpretation...

So if all the wicked get judged and thrown ino the Lake of Fire after the Millennium, why do the Beast and False Prophet get thrown in before the Millennium? I don't care how terribly wicked they obviously are, it seems inconsistent of God to throw them in before the Final Judgment for humans. This was a mystery for many years until a chain of events got me to see the only other possibility: the Beast and False Prophet could not be human. Only Possibility: They Are Not Human

So there you have it. The only possibility is that the Beast and False Prophet are 'not human'. This in itself is a reasonable conclusion. Since Daniel 7 says 'the fourth beast shall be the fourth KINGDOM upon earth' this SHOULD have been obvious. The Beast is not human because it represents a kingdom - this according the Bible's own definition of this symbol.

Is this however the logical and biblical conclusion drawn by the author of this article? Unfortunately not:

So could the beast and false prophet be angels or some angel/human hybrid (clearly neither of them is the Devil since he is established above as a separate entity)?

In order to maintain their sensational futurist predictions of a future one-man super-human antichrist, they present this completely bizzarre and unscriptural interpretation. It appears to have never crossed this author's mind that these are not human because they are not individual personal entities at all.

This sad example shows the abysmal depths to which Christian 'scholarship' has sunk in our day.

Cain's Sacrifice

Through the years I have heard much speculation about why Cain's sacrifice was unacceptable to God. Some give his choice of sacrifice as faulty and others may even say that God rejected it since crops are the works of his hands..etc...

The only one that ever made sense is that the rejection came due to God's ability to read Cain's heart, although no one really gave any other scriptural reasoning to this.

Gina, however, seems to have given the simple explanation with proof-text....


Gen 4:3-8

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.


And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.


Referencing:

Matt 5: 21-24

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:


But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;


Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

......and......
1 John 4: 20-21
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.


Simply put, Cain's sacrifice was rejected because he did not love his brother. Once his sacrifice was rejected, his hatred turned to murder.

Further Thoughts on Isaiah 66

Prior to verse seven: "Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child."

Comes this statement:

Isa 66:5
Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.

Cross reference with:
Jhn 16:2
They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

John's account is the "man child" speaking to the "children" who get cast out and killed by their religious Jewish brethren before the Jewish tribulation.

Chris

The Travail of Zion

Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
(Isa 66:7-9)

'Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was deleivered of a man child'...

It seems to me that this indicates that Zion would bring forth the Messiah before their time of 'great tribulation', and so it was...

'for as soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children'...

Just as the Jewish nation began to experience her time of great tribulation at the hands of the Romans, Christianity exploded throughtout the Romans world.

Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.
(Isa 66:10-11)

These verses, and the description of glory and blessings upon Zion which follow can only be understood when Isaiah 66:7-9 is compared with Revelation 12-13.

Some would attempt to say that the blessings and glory of Zion described in Isaiah 66 are simply the blessings that were transferred to the church after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Some would attempt to say that the words of verse 19:

And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
(Isa 66:19)

...is a description of the gospel going to Gentile lands as Christianity spread in its earliest centuries.

This however simply will not follow. The apostolic writings are full of warnings that Christiany itself was already headed into apostasy, an apostasy which would eventually reach a climax.

The gospel in its pure and unadulterated form barely made it out of the first century before it became corrupted by worldly philosophy and politics. Examining the history of 'christianity' it is difficult, or rather impossible to imagine how anyone can realistically apply the glorious promises made to Zion in Isaiah 66 to the Christianity of the past 19 centuries.

But there is no reason nor any excuse for interpreting the promises of Isaiah in this way. A comparison with Revelation 12 yields the proper interpretation:

And 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: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And 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. 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. 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.
(Rev 12:1-6)

After being delivered of a man child, the woman was forced to flee into the wilderness. Additionally, her children were to endure intense satanic persecution. Since the woman and her Children represent the Zion of the Old Testament (regardless of whether we try to apply them to Israel, or the Church - although I believe the point is that these were never meant to be understood as mutually exclusive to one another) it is readlily seen here that the blessedness described in the latter part of Isaiah 66 would not immediately follow the delivery of the man child, nor of the children she was to bring forth.

Quite to the contrary, the true Zion would first be forced underground for a period prophetically defined as 1260 days.

For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
(Isa 66:15-16)

It is only after the days of Zion's tribulation that the Lord will come. As we see so many times elsewhere in scripture, the glory of Israel is promised only after a great time of trouble:

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
(Mat 23:38-39)

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
(Luk 21:24)

Only after Zion's time of trouble will the Lord return. Only then will the promises made to Zion be fulfilled and the light of the truth shine forth.

And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
(Isa 66:19-23)

Sequence of Apocalyptic Events

Originally Written 9-20-04...

FIRST ROUGH DRAFT – NEW ATTEMPT AT RECONCILLIATION OF SEQUENCE OF APOCALYPTIC EVENTS


Purpose – There seems to be some confusion, at least on my part concerning the apocalyptic events as given in Matthew 24, when compared to those in Revelation. The confusion stems from the very clear reference to signs in the ‘sun moon stars, etc.

Jesus affirms that these signs, whether literal or indicative of some great shaking of nations, institutions, etc is immediately at the CLOSE of the period of ‘great tribulation’ and immediately PRECEDE the time of his appearance and second coming. Joel also states that the sun should be darkened and the moon not give light BEFORE the ‘great and terrible day of the Lord’. We affirm that the day of the Lord is to be contrasted with the great tribulation – one being man’s wrath against God’s people, and the latter God’s punitive wrath on the nations. Jesus’ return is explicitly IN the day of the Lord and thus follows the great tribulation.

In spite of arguments to the contrary, arguments with which I myself have asserted and defended, there seems to be a clear parallel of Matthew 24’s reference to the ‘sun moon and stars’ within the SIXTH SEAL of Revelation.

The evidence seems quite clear that the FIFTH seal at the least (or perhaps the prior four seals) with its reference to Martyrdom, and that more brethren must be killed – it seems to me that this may denote a time of ‘great tribulation’.

This seems borne out by the facts that the said martyrdom of the fifth seal is immediately followed by the signs in the ‘sun moon and stars’ delineated under the sixth seal.

Further evidence is given in the fact that the sixth seal seems to announce the great day of the Lord and the impending wrath to follow.

All of this seems to parallel Matthew 24 in a most uncanny way. Further evidence is borne out by the fact that after the sixth seal we are told of those who CAME OUT OF TRIBULATION – THE GREAT ONE. This indicates that THAT THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOME MENTION OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION IN WHAT WENT BEFORE – NAMELY WITHIN THE PRIOR SEALS.

Matthew 24 gives a clear sequence – Great Tribulation, the signs in the sun moon and stars, the anguish of the nations during the ‘sign of the sun of man in heaven’ and his gathering of the elect and second advent – the events following the signs in the sun, moon, etc being those events of the ‘day of the Lord’

Our current (and now questionable) understanding is that the events of the sixth seal DO NOT parallel the signs in the ‘sun, moon stars’ etc as described in Matthew 24, but rather are a description of the eclipse of the truth and the introduction of doctrinal heresies in the fourth century which brought down the judgment of God.

It has been my position that at the time those in the Roman world believed that they were in fact living in the days of the Lamb’s wrath due to the horrific judgments which began to fall upon the Roman world, and hence the declaration that ‘the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand’ as stated under the sixth seal.

Given the above, however, this seems a bit troublesome. The parallel of the events of the sixth seal – the reference to the ‘great tribulation’ and the day of the Lord seems as though the sixth seal is addressing those very events as given in Matthew 24. The reference to the ‘day of his wrath’ under our current understanding would only then reflect a PERCEPTION of those who lived in the Roman world of the 4th century and NOT ATUALLY A REALITY OR FACT -ALTHOUGH THERE IS NOTHING UNDER THE SIXTH SEAL WHICH WOULD LEAD US TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE LORD’S DAY HAD NOT COME IN REALITY, BUT ONLY IN THE PERCEPTION OF THOSE IN THE 4TH CENTURY.

Now the fact is, if we understand Revelation in such a way so that the trumpets are subsequent to the seals, and thus the bowls subsequent to the trumpets, then an understanding which makes the sixth seal coincident with the ‘sun moon etc’ of Matthew 24 seems completely impossible. It would be impossible for many reasons, but the following may suffice:

1) The tribulation would be over before any trumpet or bowl judgments took place. Remember that the signs in the sun, moon, etc FOLLOW the great tribulation. This would place all the events of the trumpets and bowls AFTER that period of great tribulation.
2) In our recent paper ‘Whoso Readeth, Let Him Understand’ we believe to have proven what the great tribulation is, being the time between the destruction of Jerusalem and the time immediately preceded by Jesus’ second advent, announced by the said signs in the ‘sun, moon, etc’
3) Daniel and Paul clearly place the Man of Sin, and his time of 1260 years WITHIN that period of tribulation.
4) Revelation places this Beast within the trumpets. If the trumpets are subsequent to the seals, and the sixth seal equals the astronomical signs of Matthew 24, then trumpets would FOLLOW the great tribulation, thus placing the reign of the beast AFTER the tribulation. As noted however Daniel makes it clear that the beast functions DURING the tribulation… therefore the two lines of thought seem incompatible.

I propose that in order to be more consistent in interpretation WE MUST TRY TO ALLOW THE SIXT SEAL TO BE THAT WHICH IT SO OBVIOUSLY SEEM TO BE – A DIRECT REFERENCE TO THE SIGNS IN THE ‘SUN MOON START ETC’ IN MATTHEW 24. We must also attempt as best we can to allow the ‘great day of the Lamb’s wrath’ as announced by that seal to be exactly what it purports to be.

It should go without saying that there is an undeniable principle of recapitulation within the Book of Revelation, in which one and the same time period is addressed by more than one passage. We note this in the following:

The sixth trumpet takes us first up to the destruction of Constantinople and the fall of the eastern Empire at the hands of the Turks. Then it describes the giving of the Scriptures in the following reformation. But then it must back up in time to describe the trampling of the temple by the Gentiles for 42 moths, and the prophesying of the witnesses – both events which do not begin subsequent to the prior mentioned events of the sixth seal, but PRIOR to those of events by many years. Thus the trampling of the temple court, and the prophesying of the two witnesses began BEFORE the events initially described by the sixth seal.

The text moves back and then takes us forward because the END of the 1260 days of both the witnesses prophesying and the trampling of the temple court IS SUBSEQUENT AND REPRESENTS SOME OF THE FINAL EVENTS OF THE SIXTH TRUMPET. The final events of the sixth trumpet being the rousing of the two witnesses and the ensuing signs following that event.

Then we are introduced immediately to the seventh trumpet, and the opening of the temple in heaven. But beginning in Chapter 12 the text once again goes BACKWARDS and describes both the Woman’s flight in the wilderness for 1260 years, and the reign of the two beasts in Chapter 13. Both of these chapters portray events which are NOT subsequent to the seventh trump, but rather PRECEDE the seventh trumpet.

It cannot be shown with any exactness exactly where these events fit in within the preceding trumpets, but it IS CLEAR that they belong to a time preceding the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and not following it. The narrative does not begin again in sequence until Revelation 14:1 which is the logic sequel to Revelation 11:19. Thus there is a principle of recapitulation in Revelation which cannot be denied.

Without detail at this time, I propose with great caution, that the same principle of recapitulation might be viewed within seals and trumpets, namely that the trumpets are not subsequent to, but rather recapitulate some of the material given in the seals.

For example in Revelation seven, after the opening of the sixth seal and announcing that the day of the Lamb’s wrath is at hand, there seems to be a break in the vision in which God’s servants are sealed, and the a great crowd is pointed out. Now of the great crowd it is said that they CAME OUT OF THE GREAT TRIBUALTION. If this is so, and if the sixth seal parallels the material in Matthew 24, then the salvation and cleansing of the great crowd occurred PRIOR to their mention here… in or during the judgments of the fifth seal, or even perhaps the prior seals.

Because the vision of the 144,00 seems linked to that of the great crowd, it also seems reasonable to suppose the sealing of the 144,000 took place DURING the previous seals, and NOT SUBSEQUENT to the sixth seal. We noted above how the text of Revelation backs up, gives more information, and then brings us back forward in time. Could this be the case here?

Might it be possible that Revelation 6 describes the six seals and takes up right up until the brink of the Day of the Lord, then in chapter seven pauses to tell us that God’s elect would be sealed during those times of tribulation as well as the fact that there would be a great harvest of mankind as a result of that tribulation. Thus Revelation 8:1 is the logical sequel to 6:17, with the intervening material of chapter 7 being a recapitulation of the first seals. If this is so then it might also seem plausible that the trumpets (at least the first six – more on this later) sound BEFORE the opening of the 7th seal, and not subsequent to the seventh seal. The seals take us forward to the day of wrath, then the trumpets move backward and take us forward again.

Consider this also, that the day of the Lamb’s wrath (the day of the Lord) is announced with the opening of the sixth seal… that is, it would follow shortly following the events of that seal. Why then do we read at the sounding of the seventh trumpet that ‘THY WRATH IS COME’? If the trumpets are subsequent to the seals then the ‘Lamb’s wrath’ would have started many centuries earlier. ‘Thy wrath has come’ indicates the beginning of the day of the Lord, but if the sixth seal is allowed to mean what it says, then that day of wrath would have had to have begun in the 4th century… UNLESS IT MAY BE THAT THE TRUMPETS RECAPITULATE THE EVENTS OF THE SEALS.

Therefore the logical sequel to Revelation 8:1 is not the seven trumpets, but rather the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

If this recapitulation is true, notice then that the slaying of the two witnesses would not only coincide with the astronomical signs of Matthew 24, but ALSO with those of the sixth seal… and just as the wrath of God is announced in sixth seal as that which is soon to come, but we also read immediately in the seventh trumpet that ‘thy wrath is come’. As there is an earthquake announced under the sixth seal, so is there an earthquake associated with the sixth trumpet on the ascension of the witnesses to heaven.

Because the resurrection signaled by the 7th trumpet must take place IN the day of the Lord, then the day of the Lord and the opening of the seventh seal must take place BETWEEN the ascent of the two witnesses and the resurrection. We read that the after the sixth trumpet the seventh comes ‘quickly’ but not ‘immediately’ see timeline. We also read in Rev 8:1 that at the opening of the sixth seal there is silence in heaven about the space of half a hour’.. . this may indicate part of the time between the beginning of the day of the Lord and the sounding of the seventh trumpet which takes place in that day.


I should point out that I believe that the bowl judgments are absolutely subsequent to seals and trumpets and that THOSE judgments represent the judgments associated with the Lord’s Day. They represent the wrath of God, not the great tribulation.

In short it seems to me that the seals sketch out two great epochs – the great tribulation, and the Day of the Lord. These two epochs are then detailed, the trumpets being the events of the great tribulation, and the bowls beings the events of the day of the Lord. The 144,00 are on earth during the prior and in heaven during the latter, hence their first mention exactly between these two epochs as sketched out in the seals.

FURTHER COMMENTS

If the great tribulation precedes the opening of the sixth seal, as a comparison with Matthew 24 would seem to indicate(as is also indicated by the reference to those who CAME OUT OF the great tribulation) then we might ask in what way this might affect our view of the first four seals.

I might ask if it might not seem possible that the first rider on the white horse is not only Rome prosperous and conquering, but might it be a presentation of Rome that conquered and destroyed Jerusalem. That desolating of Jerusalem was to mark the start of the great tribulation… might it seem fitting that the seals begin exactly with those events which began the tribulation. This then would match Matthew 24 and Daniel 11, that the great tribulation is bounded by the destruction of Jerusalem on one end, and the signs in the sun moon and stars (the consummation) on the other end. Thus we read after the sixth seal of those who had come out of the great tribulation.
---------------

Notice also then a seeming type of parallel… after the sixth trumpet there is a shift backwards in time which brings us back forward, and after the seventh trumpet there is equally a shift back in time backwards in time which brings us forward.

I’m proposing that the seals do EXACTLY THE SAME THING. After the sixth seal there is a shift in time backwards which then brings us forward, and likewise after the seventh seal there is then a shift backwards in time which includes the six trumpets which then again brings us forward.
----------------

First 5 seals = trumpets 1-6 up until the slaying of the two witnesses = great tribulation
Sixth Seal Trumpet six’s slaying of the two witnesses = signs in sun moon = Matthew 24
Seventh Seal = Day of the Lord = Thy wrath is come (6:17 = 11:18)

Seventh Trumpet sounds early on in the Day of the Lord

Seventh Seal – Seventh Trumpet = Day of Wrath = Seven Bowls

--------------------------
Regarding the 144,000 and the Great Crowd… the above scheme might actually make better sense out of these two than ever before. That which goes into the tribulation is a small election of Jews, but that which comes out of the tribulation is multitude which no man can number.

This would not be to say that the 144,000 do not still represent an elect class. They would in every age be those who maintained their first love and were Israelites indeed in who there was no guile, and who kept themselves undefiled. All these would be counted among the firstfruits. The vision does seem to show something remarkable though; namely what I stated above… that what went into the tribulation as a small election of Jews ‘a remnant according to the election of grace’ as Paul says, would produce by the end of the tribulation (those who came OUT OF the tribulation) a greater crowd than any could number. That is, the perpetuation of the remnant of the elect – sealed so that they cannot be destroyed – guarantees an enormous harvest of mankind throughout the centuries of tribulation.

PAUSES IN NARRATIVE
There is something here that I never noticed before, namely that in each sequence of seals, trumpets, and bowls, there is a pause following both the sixth and seventh in each series. Perhaps it might be better said that it is plain that there is recapitulation after both the sixth and seventh in the trumpet and bowl series… this lends credence to the theory that the same recapitulation exists in the seal series after both the sixth and seventh seals.


Within Seals

AFTER 6TH
Narrative stops at 6:17 (sixth seal) starts again at 8:1 (seventh seal)
Material inserted = sealing of 144,000 and great crowd (backs up to time earlier in sequence (sealing before trib.), and brings forward to present (after trib, before the day of the lord)

AFTER 7TH
Then immediately stops at 8:1 (seventh seal) and starts between 11:14 and 15 (day of the Lord – 7th Trumpet – wrath has come)
Material inserted=six trumpets (back up into tribulation (seals), brings forward to day of the lord (seventh seal)

Within Trumpets

AFTER 6TH
Narrative stops at 9:21 (sixth trumpet) starts again at 11:15 (seventh trumpet)
Material Inserted=Little Book, Measuring of Temple, Trampling 1260 days, Two Witnesses death and resurrection (backs up to time of earlier trumpets brings forward to present immediately preceding seventh trumpet)

AFTER 7TH
Narrative stops at 11:19 (temple opened) and starts again at 14:1 (harvest – noticed temple opened in 15:5)
Material Inserted=1260 Days (backs up to time of earlier trumpets, brings forward to day of the Lord – ‘if any man worship the beast or tae the mark, etc)


Within Bowls

AFTER 6TH
Narrative seems to stop after 16:12 (sixth bowl) starts again at 16:17
Material Inserted=Frogs gathering to the great battle (backs up to ??? brings forward to Armegeddon)

AFTER 7TH
Narrative stops at 16:21 (after seventh bowl) starts again in 19:1
Material Inserted=Description and Fall of Babylon
(Backs up to time of Babylon’s rise brings forward to second coming)

Newberry - Genesis 1:30 '...wherin there is life'... margin notes 'living soul' 

Newberry - Matthew 5 ... Hard to see but notice 'gehenna' in the margin 

Newberry - 2 Peter 2... Notice Tartarus is marked in the margin. Notice also the underscores in 'cast_down_to_hell' indicating that this entire phrase is being translated from a single Greek word. A more correct translation would be that God 'tartarused' them... 

Newberry - From Isaiah... Notice how easy it is to recognize the content of the chapter from the leading words in bold 

Newberry - Isaiah 29... Notice the leading words as well as date info in the margin 

Newberry - Daniel 11. Notice the 'Fulfilled' dates in the left margin which are absolutely correct. He however stops at verse 31, as he should due the difference of opinions. 

Newberry - Psalm 49. 'Power of the Grave is noted in the margin as Sheol, the equiv. of Hades. Note also the left margin noted as 'First Resurrection' 

Newberry - Margin for Matt 24... note the bold leading words in the text 

Newberry - Note the margin for Matthew 24, 'end of the world' = 'completion of the age' 

Newberry - showing Greek manuscript variants 

Newberry - Note the margin... the marriage is 'fully come' 

Newberry - Note the margin it Rev 20 'the ages of the ages' 

newberry - list of manuscripts 

Newberry - List of manuscripts 

Newberry - Genesis 1 

Maps Comparison 

Concordance comparison... notice how the word list in the Concord seems much more complete with the Nelson even skipping 'Abba' 

New Testament Title Page Comparison 

Comparison Psalms 

Comparison Genesis (Nelson Top) - Note how the concord references are always rigt next to the verse indicated by a bold number... in the Nelson the references are not next to the vers 

Comparison - Title Pages (Nelson Top) 

Concord - Harmony of the Gospels... Nelson puts parallel passage references in the section headings which is more convenient, this however gives a complete overview... 

Concord - From the Bible dictionary 

Concord - from the Bible Dictionary 

Concord - Concordance... appears to me more complete than Nelson 

Concord Glossary - explains archaic terms - Nelson puts these in the text 

Concord - Revelation 

Concord Matthew 24 

Concord - New Testament Title Page... Compare with Nelson 

Concord - Daniel 

Concord - Psalm 119 

Concord Psalms - notice how topic headers are at top of page, not withing text. This makes them less prescise than the Nelson but less distracting... 

Concord - not clear in photo but note how tabs on both sides face up when Bible is opened to the middle... 

Concord - Genesis 

Concord - Translators to reader 

Concord - Epistle Dedicatory 

Concord - Contents 

Concord Title Page 

Nelson Maps - Compare to Concord maps 

Concord - From the end of Second Timothy - note the traditonal end notes, which were in the textus receptus and in earlier English Bibles, though omitted in most modern editions 

Nelson Concordance - NOTE: The Concord concordance seems to have many more words listed, though there seems to be fewer references on a few listed words 

Nelson New Testament Title 

Nelson Matthew 24 

Nelson Daniel 

Nelson Psalm 119 

Nelson Psalms 

Nelson Genesis 

Nelson Genesis 

Nelson Title Page 

Concord Maps 2 

Concord maps 2 

Concord maps 

Concord Glossary 

Concord Revelation