Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.
- Woe to Israel and the global government of the beast.
- The governing system, the courts, and the churches are like wolves on the prow.
- The Lord remains righteous within a corrupt and anti-Christian world.
- The Lord cuts off the nations to lead them to repentance, but they reject Him.
- Gathering of the global nations is followed by the wrath of God.
- Jesus Christ restores a pure language to reconcile us to God to make us His people.
- The Lord gives us reason to rejoice in the eternal City of Zion.
- Jesus Christ came to save and to heal to give us a home in the New Jerusalem.
Woe to Israel and the global government of the beast.
“Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, to the oppressing city! She has not obeyed His voice, she has not received correction; She has not trusted in the Lord, she has not drawn near to her God.” Zephaniah 3:1-2
In the days of Jesus Christ, the leaders of the Jewish culture were rebellious of the Spirit of the word of God, were polluted in their interpretation of the Scriptures, and oppressive to the Jewish population, as Jesus said, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; … For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” Matthew 23:4, 15 That sounds like the leaders of the fallen churches of today who have abandoned the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to form a partnership with community values. The values that they share focus on the beast that gives what to say, do, think, and feel.
The Jewish people did not and do not obey the voice of the Good Shepherd because they were not sheep in spirit, and it is His sheep who hears His voice. The Jewish culture did not and do not receive correction from the word of God and “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 The Jewish people did not and do not trust in the Lord and has not drawn near to God.
Where did the spiritual pollution, oppression, disobedience, and rebellion of the Jewish culture come from? Jesus says this, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44
The Jewish leaders, and the Jewish culture as a whole, formed a partnership with the Roman government…they feared stirring up the wrath of the Romans more than they feared God. As plainly stated, “Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What will we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” John 11:46-48 And again, “… but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, ‘If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar...[the Jewish people] cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Will I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” John 19:12, 15
Our Lord Jesus says, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthe w10:28
We live in a world today where the church leaders and the general population are crying out, “We have no king but Caesar!” and they make demands, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” All the world are serving the “Caesar” of this world, everyone except we whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. That “Caesar” is the image of the beast that is given breath/life to speak by speaking and living through people. The beast has power over physiology to be able to give people what to say, do, think, and feel. People are being conformed to the mark, name, number of the beast by what they are given to say and do. “Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, to the oppressing city! She has not obeyed His voice, she has not received correction; She has not trusted in the Lord, she has not drawn near to her God.”
“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,” Acts 4:27-29
“I am thine Oh Lord, I have heard your voice, and it told Your love to me
But I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord to the cross where thou hast died
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord to your precious bleeding side.”
[Draw me nearer]
The governing system, the courts, and the churches are like wolves on the prow.
“Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves that leave not a bone till morning. Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.” Zephaniah 3:3-4
In the days of Jesus, it was obvious that the Jewish rulers [princes] were roaring lions, their judges were predatory wolves, their prophets were arrogant, treacherous, and absorbed with their own word [not God’s], their priests polluted the sanctuary of God, which is our body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and they all did violence to the word of God. All the while, they dressed themselves up to look like someone important to God to demand the respect of the Jewish population, as Jesus said, “But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ Matthew 23:5-7
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:15-20
We live in a world system today that is dominated by those who serve the beast that governs by giving people what to say, do, think, and feel. They are governors of cities, states, nations, and globally. They are judges in the court of local cities, to the state supreme court, to the supreme court of a nation, and to the global courts of the United Nations. Prophets exist on all levels of governments as they predict the catastrophe coming through global warming and salvation of the planet and humanity coming through the “Sustainable Development Goals” of the United Nations. The yare arrogant in that they speak prophecy from their own heart, not the word of God. Global warming is sent by God as the Fourth Plague of Revelations 16:8-9, and Jesus says this about the prophets of today’s government, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” Matthew 16:2-3
The priests of today’s culture pollute the sanctuary of God, which is our body as the temple of the Holy Spirit. They require people to invite the beast into their body and to live according to what the beast gives them to say, do, think, and feel. The priests have made the beast their god that sits in the temple of God as if it is God and is the one “…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Click for post on that. They have done violence to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
the governors, judges, prophets, and priests are roaring lions, predatory wolves, treacherous, arrogant, and have polluted the temple of the Holy Spirit and have done violence to the word of God. They keep the presence of the beast hidden in the dark as no one is openly talking about it. They crucify the way of Jesus Christ habitually in their intent to drive Christianity into extinction [Revelations 12]. They keep Jesus entombed within the graveyard of people’s heart, mind, and soul, with guards posted to oppose a born-again experience. They divert people from living in the Light by the way of the Cross.
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” Matthew 10:16-23
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come… But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!” Matthew 24:9-14, 19
The Lord remains righteous within a corrupt and anti-Christian world.
“The Lord is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, but the unjust knows no shame.” Zephaniah 3:5
Jesus Christ remains righteous in the midst of all the corruption of this world. Even though all the world rejects Him He stills remains righteous and uncorrupted and will never be unrighteous, “For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.” Romans 3:3-4 Global warming is in the world, which all the world can see, but they do not believe it is because God sent it as the Fourth Plague of Revelations 16:8-9. Their unbelief does not change the word of God any at all!
Before we came to Jesus Christ, our unbelief did not make Him unrighteous, but He waited for us all the time within His righteousness, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 Nothing can separate us from His justice that He brings to light every morning, and that justice is that He gave His life for us to atone for our sin, “For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16 He never fails us.
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Roman 8:35-39
Those who live for the power of darkness through the beast that gives them what to do, say, think, and feel knows no shame. The governors of cities, nations, and the world feel no shame in bringing the people together as the culture of the beast. The judges of the courts feel no shame in judging against the way of Christ but in favor of the culture that denies God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Chritians are already judged as being hateful, bigoted, and not humanitarian because we do not embrace homosexuality, abortions, the dismantling of the family as God intended, etc. The prophets of today’s atheistic culture have no shame in promoting an earthly Garden of Eden when the Lord clearly says that their vision of an earthly paradise is a dark and gloomy day, Joel 2:2-3. The priests have no shame in polluting the temple of God by encouraging people to make their body the home of the image of the beast that is given breath/life to speak by speaking and living through people.
Today’s culture feels no shame because their conscience has been seared by living according to what the beast gives them to say and do. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…” 1 Timothy 4:1-2
The Lord cuts off the nations to lead them to repentance, but they reject Him.
“I have cut off nations, their fortresses are devastated; I have made their streets desolate, with none passing by. Their cities are destroyed; There is no one, no inhabitant. I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me, you will receive instruction’— So that her dwelling would not be cut off, despite everything for which I punished her. But they rose early and corrupted all their deeds.” Zephaniah 3:6-7
All through history, nations have been devastated, destroyed, and no longer exist. Hitler’s Germany is an example of one. Today, there are many sympathizers to Hitler’s cause to create a national culture and master race. Even farther in the past, as far back as in Noah’s day, there was a master race of superhumans, called Nephilim, as described in the post on Genesis 6. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5 God destroyed the whole earth and saved only Noah and his family, a total of eight people, and every type of animals of the earth.
Over the thousands of years on this earth, of the power of darkness trying to rule over God and to dominate the earth, but ending in ruin, the Lord said, “Surely you will fear Me, you will receive instruction“. As we see in the world today, that didn’t happen! We live in a world today that is following the same plan for world domination as they have “…rose early and corrupted all their deeds.” This time, Satan is taking direct control over humanity and the nations to set up his own government of the earth. Satan is doing that by seizing control over physiology through his beast. That beast gives breath/life to the image of the beast to speak by speaking and living through people. The government of the beast is here, and the people of its global culture are in every city around the world. People welcome the beast that gives them what to think, say do, and feel. Their thoughts are evil continually in opposing belief in God, intending to drive the way of Christ into extinction, and making war with the presence of the Holy Spirit.
“And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:6-8
This present world system is the last government that will rule on this earth. It will end when the power center of the beast is plunged into darkness in the Fifth Plague and it began when the United Nations was formed in 1945, immediately after World War 2, as described in Daniel 8:1-14 and also Revelations 17. Click for a post on the beginning and end of the beast’s reign on this earth from Revelations 13:4.
God is trying to wake-up the people of this world but they persist on rejecting the Christ, whose name is Jesus, “But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Revelations 9:20-21 “And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory…They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds…And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.” Revelations 16: 9, 11, 21
Gathering of the global nations is followed by the wrath of God.
“Therefore wait for Me,” says the Lord, “Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all My fierce anger; All the earth will be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.” Zephaniah 3:8
We are already seeing the Lord beginning to rise up for plunder. His determination to gather all nations to His assembly of nations is referring to the Battle of Armageddon of the Sixth Plague of Revelations 16:12-16. We already see the gathering of the assembly of nations within the assembly of the United Nations. The nations were gathered to the UN in 1945, immediately after World War 2, and brought the government of the beast with it, as described in the post on Daniel 8:1-14 and also Revelations 17. Nations and people have also been gathered together in every city around the world through the beast that unifies people through what they are given to say, do, think, and feel. There isn’t a place a person can go without someone revealing their uncanny knowledge, heightened intuition, extraordinary talents and skills etc.
The indignation of the Lord will be poured on the government of the beast during the Battle of Armageddon but also before that. Nations and people have already been gathered together as a global culture, and we are beginning to see the indignation and fierce anger of the Lord coming against them. Global warming is here and is the Fourth Plague of Revelation 16:8-9. The more unified the United Nations become as the undisputed one world government the more intense the effects of global warming becomes. The gathering of the global culture will suffer the fierce anger of the Lord through the events of the Seven Trumpets of Revelations 8, 9, and 11, and also the Seven Thunders of Revelations 10, and also the Seven Plagues of Revelations 16.
All the earth will be devoured with the fire of His jealousy, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:10-13
Jesus Christ restores a pure language to reconcile us to God to make us His people.
“For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord.” Zephaniah 3:9
After the destruction, lawlessness, violence, social and economic collapse of this earth from the Battle of Armageddon, Christ Jesus returns in combination with the Seventh Plague of Revelations 16:17-21 and the Seventh Trumpet of Revelations 11:15-19. That is the Day of the Lord as described in Zephaniah chapters 1 and 2 and also Zachariah 14.
A new heaven and a new earth will be created where the New Jerusalem is and that is our eternal home. In the New Jerusalem, we will all have a pure a language, and that language is one of Holiness to the Lord where we all praise God and His Lamb Jesus Christ forever and ever. “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,” Revelations 21:1-2
God has given every person of this earth a pure language that we are to use to call on the name of the Lord and to serve Him with one accord. That pure language is the lifeline that reaches the ears of God by faith in Jesus Christ. Whoever uses that pure language to call on Him will be saved, “For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13 “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9 “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:8-9
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
“From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, the daughter of My dispersed ones, will bring My offering. In that day you will not be shamed for any of your deeds in which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you will no longer be haughty in My holy mountain.” Zephaniah 3:10-11
Who were those beyond the Ethiopian rivers? They were the Israelites who fled there due to previous invasions of Israel and even sold as slaves in those regions. Even while being far from home, far from the temple in Jerusalem, God calls them His worshippers. They were the daughter of His dispersed ones, meaning that the Israelites were dispersed in other places as well, all around the “world”. When they would return to Jerusalem, they would be bringing offerings to God.
Today, as followers of Jesus Christ we are dispersed all around the world, in many different nations, under many different forms of government, speaking many different languages. Even so, the Lord calls us His worshippers because we worship Him from within our heart in spirit and truth, “…the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24 We bring our heart, mind, and soul to Him which is our offering.
Our sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ and He does not shame us…all of the shame, as far as He is concerned, is taken away. That is the shame of not believing in Him, the shame of scoffing at the need for forgiveness of unbelief, and the shame of living in opposition to the presence of the Holy Spirit. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
There are plenty of people in this world that rejoices at our pride because we foolishly place ourselves over others and God. Because of pride, people become vulnerable to flattery and smooth words that leads them in many wrong directions. The Lord says this about people who rejoice in our pride, “For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.” Romans 16:18 The Lord speaks against those who causes the spirit of a person to fly like a bird for the purpose of hunting souls, “‘Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against your pillows, by which you hunt the souls to make them fly; and I will tear them from your arms and will let the souls go, even the souls whom you hunt to make them fly.” Ezekiel 13:20 Or said another way, “I hate the magic charms they use to trick people into believing their lies. I will rip those charms from their wrists and set free the people they have trapped like birds.” CEV Click for a post on Ezekiel 13.
The Lord looks away from a haughty spirit of pride but smiles upon a humble spirit, “Though the Lord is on high,
yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.” Psalms 138:6 There will be no pride in His Holy Mountain. What is His Holy Mountain? It is Mount Zion, the eternal City of God, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant,” Hebrews 12:22-24
When our Lord Jesus Christ returns, when the Seventh Trumpet sounds, He will gather all of His worshippers from the “four winds”, from all directions. We will be gathered from one end of the sky to the other. He gathers us to be with Him eternally. That will happen after the tribulation, as Jesus says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24: 29-31
“I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they will trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel will do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; For they will feed their flocks and lie down, and no one will make them afraid.” Zephaniah 3:12-13
We have to realize that the only time when anyone will no longer do unrighteousness is when we enter into the eternal New Jerusalem. God credits us with that righteousness while we are on this earth because we believe the testimony of His Son, Jesus Christ. The only way to enter into eternal life is though Jesus Christ, because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. For Israel to do no unrighteousness is talking about all the Jewish people who acknowledge Jesus as the Christ and their Lord. Also, we know a remnant of the Jewish people will be saved after the Battle of Armageddon, as described in the post on Ezekiel 39. We also know that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ are of Israel, “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed will be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed…And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Romans 9:6-8, Galatians 3:29
The flock of born-again believers can only be fed by those who feed them with the Bread of Life, and Jesus is that Bread. To lie down is not to be puffed up with pride but to humbly lay within the fellowship of believers. As Jesus Christ said to Peter, He also says to us, “So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.” John 21:15-17
The Lord gives us reason to rejoice in the eternal City of Zion.
“Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will see disaster no more.” Zephaniah 3:14-15
Who are the daughters of Zion? Not those of the earthly Zion, but everyone who is granted eternal life through Christ Jesus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and will not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24 Zion is our eternal home, as quoted, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant,” Hebrews 12:22-24
As born-again believers, we are the daughter of Jerusalem, being born into the family of God through Jesus Christ, an Israelite from the tribe of Judah [in earthly terms]. “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise…Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” Galatians 3:29, Galatians 3:7. Be glad and rejoice with all your heart.
The Lord has taken His judgment away from us, and we “…will not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24 Our enemy is Satan and his beasts, who have been cast aside when Jesus atoned for our sin on the Cross, was resurrected from the grave three days later, and ascended into Heaven. We now live for God in the presence of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ returns, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelations 20:10
How do we know if we have the Holy Spirit? If we do not speak against Jesus and say that He is Lord then we have the Holy Spirit, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.: 1 Corinthians 12:3
The King of Israel is in our midst, through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our eternal inheritance in the New Jerusalem, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.” Ephesians 1:13-14 The King of Israel, the Lord, is in our midst; We will see disaster no more.
Our Lord Jesus returns as the King of kings and Lord of lords, and we will forever be with Him, “And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelations 19:14-16 The King of Israel, the Lord, is in our midst; We will see disaster no more.
“In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:16-17
There are two Jerusalems, there is the old Jerusalem on this earth and the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and earth. The old Jerusalem passes away with the destruction of this heaven and earth, but the New Jerusalem is created for those who receive Jesus Christ. In reference to the Salvation of the Lord, His rejoicing and gladness, comforting us with His love, Mount Zion, and singing, that refers to the eternal reward of the New Jerusalem for those who live for Jesus Christ.
The Church hymns of Christianity speak of Zion as the beautiful city of God, our eternal home in the New Jerusalem.
Come, we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord,
And thus surround the throne.
We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.
(Church Hymn)
Jesus Christ came to save and to heal to give us a home in the New Jerusalem.
“I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden.” Zephaniah 3:18
Today, we who live for Jesus Christ are within a world filled with wolves and roaring lions seeking to drive the way of Christ into extinction, as described in Revelations 12. Our days are filled with many difficulties, afflictions, and sorrows and Jesus Christ says, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, ” Matthew 5:11-12 Our sorrow will be turned to joy, “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.” John 16:20
Within this world, the reproach against Christianity is a heaven burden to carry because the culture of the beast disapproves of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They live by the beast that gives them what to say and do towards Christians and what to think and feel about Christianity. They are disappointed by anyone who calls Jesus Lord, and we are firmly criticized and blamed for inhumanities. Jesus says to us, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26
“The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” Ecclesiastes 7:4
“Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, and gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame.” Zephaniah 3:19
Upon the return of Jesus Christ, within the Day of the Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ will deal with those who afflict us. “For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.: Zachariah 2:8-9
“You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.” Revelations 16:5-6
The lame and those who have been driven out from mainstream society are who the lord came to save and to gather into His eternal kingdom. That is why He says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Mattew 7:13-14
We are appointed for praise and fame as we will be praising Him in the eternal New Jerusalem and that will be our day of fame. This whole world, where the way of Christ is put to shame, will be mourning at His coming, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.: Revelations 1:7
Let the weak say “I am strong”
Let the poor say “I am rich”
Let the blind say “I can see”
It’s what the Lord has done for me
Hosanna, hosanna
To the Lamb that was slain
Hosanna, hosanna
Jesus died and rose again
[Let the weak say I am strong}
In the Day of the Lord, wrath comes against all those who afflict us, drive us out, and makes life difficult for us who live for God in the name of Jesus. The Day of the Lord is described in Zachariah 14 and also all three chapters of Zephaniah.
“At that time I will bring you back, even at the time I gather you; For I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I return your captives before your eyes,” says the Lord.” Zephaniah 3:20
The reason our Lord Jesus Christ came is to return the captives back to God, His Father, by atoning for sin. As human beings, we are captives to sin and death, but through Jesus Christ we are freed from our captivity to sin and death and reconciled to God. Jesus Christ spoke the words quoted below,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Luke 4:18-19
“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
“I am coming soon.
Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.’”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1
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