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====== December - Eternal ====== ===== December 1 ===== ==== Fall Feasts ==== === Introduction: The Fall Feasts of Israel === **The 3 Feast Groups of Israel** The Holy Feast cycle is completed in the Fall with the Redemptive Fall Feasts. The three Biblical (Leviticus 23) Feast groups are the Spring (Passover) 'Justifying' Feasts (Romans 3:24-25, Colossians 1:20) that bring us sinners into a right relationship with God through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then our individual Christian growth 'Sanctification' and the empowerment process given from God to us on the Feast Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1, Philippians 2:12) followed by the Fall Feasts and our Final 'Redemption' (Romans 8:23, 2 Corinthians 5:10) at our own physical death – when our actual body (soul and spirit) come into the perceivable presence of God. <blockquote>Three times in a year shall all [those who desire to] thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which He shall choose [i.e. Temple Mount]; in the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover - Holy Week), and in the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and in the Feast of Tabernacles (Fall Feasts): and they shall not appear before the LORD empty [without an offering]: ~ Deuteronomy 16:16</blockquote> Spring Feasts (Justification/Salvation): Passover - Holy Week\\ Summer 'Middle' Feast (Sanctification): Pentecost - Acts 2\\ **Fall Feasts (Redemption):** Day of Atonement - 2nd Coming, Final Restoration The Eight Old Testament Holy Feasts of Leviticus Chapter 23\\ Holy Convocations, A Statute Forever, All Generations Schedule of The Lord's 8 Holy Feast Days --- Spring Feasts: Holy Week is comprised of the four **Salvation Feasts** {Sabbath (Rest), The Lord’s Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits (Easter)} --- Pentecost [Acts 2:1] is the Middle Feast: The **Sanctification Feast** --- The Fall Feasts: The three **Redemption Feasts** are comprised of {Feast of Trumpets [possibly the future Rapture of the Christian Church] (Rosh Hashanah), Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)} **Holy Week 2018 -- The Spring Feasts** Jesus Walk 2018 Starting Friday, March 23^rd 2018 until --- Easter Sunday, April 1^st 2018 <cite>The Evangelical Holy Week (Easter) Timeline Devotional [[http://www.davidansonbrown.com/downloads/Evangelical-Holy-Week.pdf|The Evangelical Holy Week PDF]]</cite> **Note:** after Resurrection Sunday (the birth of the Christian Church – Feast of Firstfruits – aka Easter Sunday to Gentiles) we are going to do another countdown this time to countdown to the yearly Feast of Pentecost [May 20, 2018] so people can see that Pentecost (a growth/harvest Sanctification Feast) comes almost two months [in a different Season] after the (Justifying) Feasts of the Spring Passover/Holy Week have already been completed. Revealing that those who are teaching the very false doctrine of Justification through Sanctification i.e. the **Progressive Justification** of Augustinian and Calvinism doctrines by wrongly claiming that both the Christian Church (Justification - Salvation) and individual Sanctification (individual Christian growth) both began only at Pentecost and that now both continue simultaneously based on our own individual actions and deeds are either knowingly or unknowingly perpetuating perhaps the biggest error in modern Christianity when in fact the work of Christian Church (Justification for our Salvation) was completed on Resurrection Sunday at the completion of Jesus' Holy Week Ministry almost two months before the individual Sanctification empowerment (Acts 1:8, Romans 15:16) work of Pentecost even began. **Note:** the Feast of Trumpets is an interesting Feast because of clouds, weather and other possible predicaments (i.e. smoke, earthquakes) the Feast gives a two day window in order to visually spot the New Moon occurrence and not knowing the day or the hour that the New Moon will be observed and fulfill the Feast it does sound a bit like End Times and Rapture talk. Also Note: if the moon is not visually located the calendar [Lunar Calendar] starts automatically on the second day for that month or year knowing that the moon cycle though unobserved is still prevalent. <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 2 ===== ==== Rosh Hashanah ==== === Rosh Hashanah 2018 (Jewish Year 5779) - Feast of Trumpets (2 days) - A Possible future Rapture Time of the Christian Church === <blockquote>And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the Children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall all of you have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of Trumpets, an Holy Convocation (a Sabbath Rest day). All of you shall do no servile work therein: but all of you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. ~ Leviticus 23:23-25</blockquote> Rosh Hashanah [looking for the New Moon - the start of a New Jewish Year] 2018 (Jewish year 5779) begins at sundown [officially when the moon's reflection is sighted] in the evening of Sunday, September 9th until [two days] in the evening of Tuesday, September 11th - Jerusalem, Israel time zone (IDT) for the Church. The Christian Church is the unique time period beginning with the cross and resurrection of Jesus when on the day of the resurrection Jesus joined the presence of His disciples and breathed His eternal Holy Spirit life into each of them individually (John 20:21-23) creating the Born Again Christian Church. Membership in the Christian Church will come to a close and the Christian Church will end in the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18) as all of the Holy Spirit filled Christians will be gathered together into heaven at the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet (announcement) of God. **The Rapture on Rosh Hashana** In the Christian world, Rosh Hashanah is known as The Feast of Trumpets - Many Christians observe this festival for its Christian prophetic application the Rapture of the [Christian] Church - All the Spring Feasts were fulfilled at Christ's first coming - All the Fall Feasts picture the Second Advent, and the Feast of Trumpets is the first of the fall feasts, picturing the Rapture - Now there are more feasts to be fulfilled with the second coming -- Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShanah) / Feast of Trumpets [possibly] The Church Rapture; the last trump; wedding of the Messiah [to the Church bride]; New Moon; Open Door [Church goes into Heaven] -- Yom Kippur / Day of Atonement -- Sukkot / Feast of Tabernacles (Booths - structures - dwelling places - homes for individuals) "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." (1 Corinthians 15:51-53) "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) All the Spring Feasts were fulfilled at Christ's first coming. All the Fall Feasts picture the Second Advent, and the Feast of Trumpets is the first of the fall feasts, picturing the Rapture. ... A special season known as 'Teshuvah' which in Hebrew means "to return or repent", begins on the first day of the month of Elul and continues 40 days, ending with Yom Kippur. Thirty days into Teshuvah, on Tishrei 1, comes Rosh HaShanah. This begins a final ten-day period beginning on Rosh HaShanah and ending on Yom Kippur. These are known as the High Holy Days and as the Awesome Days. The sabbath that falls within this ten-day period is called 'Shabbat Shuvah', the Sabbath of Return. Five days after Yom Kippur is 'Sukkot', the Feast of Tabernacles. Teshuvah begins on Elul 1 and concludes on Tishrei 10, Yom Kippur. Each morning during the 30 days of the month of Elul, the trumpet (shofar) or ram's horn is blown to warn the people to repent and return to God. Rosh HaShanah is also referred to as 'Yom Teruah', the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar, or the Day of the Awakening Blast. On Yom Teruah, the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar, it is imperative for every person to hear the shofar. Yom Teruah is the only festival that no man knows when exactly it will occur. This is due to the fact that it begins on the new moon. The new moon was sanctified when two witnesses see the new moon and attest to it before the Sanhedrin in the Temple. This sanctification could happen during either of two days, depending on when the witnesses come. Since no one knew when the witnesses would come, no one knew when the Feast of Trumpets would start. On the 30th of each month, the members of the High Court assembled in a courtyard in Jerusalem, where they waited to receive the testimony of two reliable witnesses. They then sanctified the new moon. The new moon is very difficult to see on the first day because it can be seen only about sunset, close to the sun, when the sun is traveling north. So, looking for a very slim faint crescent moon, which is very close to the sun, is a very difficult thing to do. If the moon's crescent was not seen on the 30th day, the new moon was automatically celebrated on the 31st day. For this reason, Yom Teruah is always celebrated for two days. These two days are celebrated as though it is just one long day of forty-eight hours. The reason that it is celebrated for two days is because if they waited to start the celebration until after the new moon had been sanctified, they would have missed half the celebration because the new moon can only be sanctified during daylight hours. The command seems to be that we know the season, but not the day or the hour (Matthew 24:32-36). Yom Teruah, or the Feast of Trumpets, is the only feast that we do not know the day in which to keep it. Therefore, we have to be on the alert and watch for it. Teruah means "an awakening blast". A theme associated with Rosh. HaShanah is the theme "to awake". Teruah is also translated as "shout". <html><small>Source: watch.pair.com</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 3 ===== ==== Yom Kippur ==== === Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement === <blockquote>And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a Day of Atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and all of you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And all of you shall do no work in that same day: for it is a Day of Atonement, to make an Atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that does any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. All of you shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a Sabbath of Rest, and all of you shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall all of you celebrate your Sabbath. ~ Leviticus 23:26-32</blockquote> Yom Kippur 2018 (Jewish Year 5779) - The Day of Atonement is Saturday, September 19th, 2018 (1 day) The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) "Leviticus 23:27-32 Also on the Tenth day of this Seventh month there shall be a Day of Atonement." This feast in a large part was completed at the cross of Jesus as Jesus is the Atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. **Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement** Begins at Sunset on Tuesday, September 18th until Sunset at Wednesday, September 19th, 2018 Yom Kippur is probably the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish custom will refrain from work, fast and/or attend synagogue services on this day. Yom Kippur occurs on the 10th day of Tishri. The holiday is instituted at Leviticus 23:26 et seq. The name "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement," and that pretty much explains what the holiday is. It is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. In Days of Awe, I mentioned the "books" in which G-d inscribes all of our names. On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in these books is sealed. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends. As I noted in Days of Awe, Yom Kippur atones only for sins between man and G-d, not for sins against another person. To atone for sins against another person, you must first seek reconciliation with that person, righting the wrongs you committed against them if possible. That must all be done before Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is a complete Sabbath; no work can be performed on that day. It is well-known that you are supposed to refrain from eating and drinking (even water) on Yom Kippur. It is a complete, 25-hour fast beginning before sunset on the evening before Yom Kippur and ending after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur. The Talmud also specifies additional restrictions that are less well-known: washing and bathing, anointing one's body (with cosmetics, deodorants, etc.), wearing leather shoes (Orthodox Jews routinely wear canvas sneakers under their dress clothes on Yom Kippur), and engaging in sexual relations are all prohibited on Yom Kippur. <html><small>Source: jewfaq.org</small></html> **Note:** Atonement is the repair the mending of a broken relationship. For a relationship to be repaired there has to be a desire to repair the union and there needs to be an acknowledgment of the wrong that severed the relationship in the first place. Atonement corresponds to the second coming of Jesus in that there is still much to be fulfilled with this particular Feast. For starters at the Atonement Feast Leviticus 16:1-34 there are two goats the first goat is sacrificed for the atonement, the removal of sin, because the result of sin is death so only when death occurs is sin satisfied. This sacrifice is a representation of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us. Meanwhile, the second goat called the "scapegoat" the carrier of sins is released far away carrying with it the sins of the people and if the scapegoat never returns then the sins never return and are completely removed and stay away. If the scapegoat does return then all of the sins return with it. It is evident that at the cross of Jesus that a man called Barabbas was the scapegoat as Barabbas was set free and he was never heard from again [during the Church Age]. That is until [after the Church Age] when Antichrist [the Man of Sin 2 Thessalonians 2:3] comes [is revealed]. The Antichrist will be carrying the name of "Son of the Father" which translated into Hebrew is "Barabbas" Bar = son and Abba = Father in claiming to be the Son of God, the Messiah. Unfortunately the scapegoat, the carrier of sin "Satan" will be returning one day as he will again be accepted by the people [as Barabbas - the son of the father] to be their friend and their king and when he does come he will bring with him the sins of the world, and the destruction of the world [as Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. – signifying that Barabbas did return to Jerusalem]. The Jewish people as a nation have not yet recognized Jesus as the true Messiah and this will happen at the Second Coming of Jesus so the Feast is still partially future and yet to be fulfilled. <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 4 ===== ==== Sukkot ==== === Sukkot 2018 (Jewish Year 5779) - Feast of Tabernacles === <blockquote>Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The Fifteenth day of this Seventh month shall be the feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. ... That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. ~ Leviticus 23:34-43</blockquote> Sukkot - Feast of Tabernacles is Sunday, September 23rd - Sunday, September 30th, 2018 (7 days) **Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)** The Tabernacle is a Tent a temporary shelter as opposed to a Temple which is a permanent building. The Jewish Temple originally was a Tabernacle a Tent that the Hebrews carried with them and set up during their wilderness journey prior to their entry into the Promise Land of Israel. Once in the Promise Land, the permanent living place the Tent was then replaced in Jerusalem by the permanent Temple made of stone. This is the comparison of our earthy body to our future Spiritual body. Currently we Tabernacle in a Tent body a temporary body made of flesh. Whenever anyone dies their spirit and soul departs this tent and if you are a child of God, God then accepts you into Heaven our Permanent home and we receive our new Temple body, a Spiritual body to match our spirit and our soul. <blockquote>Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brethren (brothers; James, Jude, etc.) therefore said unto Him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. *For neither did his brethren believe in him [James and Jude are known to have become believers after His resurrection]. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: *I go not up yet unto this feast; *for My time is not yet full come. When He had said these words unto them, He abode still in Galilee. But when His brethren were gone up, then went He also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret [in Resurrection]. ~ John 7:2-10</blockquote> <blockquote>In the last day, that great day of the feast [Feast of Tabernacles, shelters - temporary homes], Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly [inner-life] shall flow rivers of living water [eternal Tabernacle]. But this spake He of the [Holy] Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet Glorified [Resurrection]. ~ John 7:37-39</blockquote> <blockquote>They [Pharisees] answered and said unto Him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no Prophet. And every man went unto his own [tabernacle] house. ~ John 7:52-53</blockquote> The time of Jesus to fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles has not yet come in full that is why Jesus went in part in secret. The Feast of Tabernacles is a 'Fall feast' a 'Second Coming' Feast that has begun now with the giving of the Holy Spirit [Easter Resurrection Sunday] but we do not yet have our permanent bodies we still 'tabernacle' in our physical bodies while on earth. Jesus went to the Feast of Tabernacles 'secretly' to give the Living Water [Holy Spirit] to those who would believe in Him and receive it but the rest of the Feast the tabernacle [our physical body] becoming a temple [spiritual body] will be completed after the end of the Church Age [i.e. Rapture] at the Second Coming of Jesus or at our individual death and going to Jesus in Heaven. <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 5 ===== ==== King David ==== === King David the 2nd King of the Ancient Undivided Kingdom of Israel === The Three Undivided Israel Kingdom Kings King Saul (Asked For) - eventually becoming a type of Satan\\ King Saul - Worldly Knowledge, Worldly Kingdom - attempt at Levitical Kingdom King David (Beloved) - often a type of the Messiah Jesus Christ\\ King David - Royal Kingdom, Melchizedek Knowledge [Psalm 110:4, Acts 2:25] King Solomon (Peaceable) - partially a type of the coming Antichrist\\ King Solomon - Levitical Kingdom, Levitical Knowledge [1 Kings 3:9] **King David - Tribe of Judah** King David as a person who had actually broken most of the 10 Commandments and disregarded many of the Levitical Laws of Moses. Yet it was declared that David was a man in the manner of God’s own heart. It then couldn’t be that God has a heart for the rigged impersonal Levitical rules and laws but only that God has a heart for a personal relationship offered and provided in the Melchizedek Priesthood. <blockquote>And afterward they [Nation of Israel] desired a King: and God gave unto them [King] Saul the son of Kish (Cis), a man of the Tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised up unto them David to be their King; to whom also He gave their Testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after Mine own heart, which shall fulfill all My will. Of this man's seed has God according to His promise raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus: ~ Acts 13:21-23</blockquote> King David suffered as many dark nights and dark times as any person who has ever lived yet like his father Abraham King David the King of Israel suffered greatly yet met face to face with the God of Israel and fellowshipped on a personal level with God. <blockquote>For [King] David speaketh concerning Him [Messiah - Jesus Christ], I [via the Melchizedek Priesthood] foresaw the Lord always before my face [Levitical Law prohibited even the High Priest from seeing God and Living (Leviticus 16:2, Numbers 4:20)], for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in [resurrection] hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One [Messiah] to see corruption. Thou [God] hast made known to me the Ways of Life; Thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance [glad presence]. ~ Acts 2:25-28</blockquote> <blockquote>The LORD has sworn, and will not repent, You [Jesus Christ] are a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. ~ Psalms 110:4</blockquote> **Note:** Psalm 110 was written by King David. <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 6 ===== ==== King Saul ==== === King Saul the 1st King of the Ancient Undivided Kingdom of Israel === King Saul (Asked For) - eventually becoming a type of Satan\\ King Saul - Worldly Knowledge, Worldly Kingdom - attempt at Levitical Kingdom **King Saul - Tribe of Benjamin** According to Genesis 49:10 Saul being from the Tribe of Benjamin would not be eligible to be a linage Messiah King of Israel. Only those from the Tribe of Judah were eligible to be a linage King of Israel, the permanent Kingdom and have the Messiah [Jesus Christ] be a descendant. <blockquote>And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the Tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speak you so to me? ~ 1 Samuel 9:21</blockquote> Why did Samuel speak to Saul and anoint him King? It was because the people had asked for a King and in fulfilling the demands of the people God appointed the world pleasing Saul as King. If the people of Israel had waited on God they would still have their King in King David and it would have been a better Kingdom then the chaotic Kingdoms Israel received that were outputted from Saul's dysfunctional reign. <blockquote>Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a better [worldly] person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. ~ 1 Samuel 9:1-2</blockquote> It is interesting that Saul as a type of Satan would hide himself among the baggage, the hidden stuff, because that is often where Satan likes to accuse us from is hidden in our past baggage. God knew exactly where Saul was hiding and exactly what he was up to even though Saul had put on a good appearance and had fooled many of the people. <blockquote>And when Samuel had caused all the Tribes of Israel to come near, the Tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the Tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him [to anoint him King], he could not be found. Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, **Behold he has hid himself among the stuff** [lit. luggage or baggage]. ~ 1 Samuel 10:20-22</blockquote> The progression of King Saul's decline continued until he literally became one of the most evil of persons recorded in the Bible. <blockquote>And the King [Saul] said unto the footmen [soldiers] that stood about him, turn, and slay the Priests of the LORD: because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not show it to me. But the servants of the King would not put forth their hand to fall upon the Priests of the LORD. And the King said to Doeg, turn you, and fall upon the Priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the Priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five [85] persons that did wear a linen ephod. ~ 1 Samuel 22:17-18</blockquote> Saul and the Witch of Endor <blockquote>And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that has a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that has a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray you, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him [the deceased Samuel] up [from the dead], whom I shall name unto you. ~ 1 Samuel 28:6-8</blockquote> **Note:** of all of King Saul's evil deeds it was his Necromancy (communication with the deceased) that caused Saul's life to end the next day (1 Samuel 28:19). <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 7 ===== ==== King Solomon ==== === King Solomon the 3rd and final King of the Ancient Undivided Kingdom of Israel === King Solomon (Peaceable) - partially a type of the coming Antichrist\\ King Solomon - Levitical Kingdom, Levitical (religious) Knowledge [1 Kings 3:9]\\ <html><small>Religion - man's strict governance, strict rules, tithes, covenants, contracts, manipulation, ownership, etc.</small></html> **King Solomon - Tribe of Judah** <blockquote>Give therefore your servant [King Solomon] an understanding heart to [Levitically] judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this Your so great a people? ~ 1 Kings 3:9</blockquote> King Solomon asked for and received a type of worldly knowledge. Solomon didn't ask for and didn't receive Biblical knowledge the way his father King David had (i.e. Psalms 16:11). The Book of Psalms written primarily by King David as a Melchizedek Priest is a Melchizedek Priesthood book while Solomon's Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon are more worldly and more Levitical in nature and it is evident when reading and comparing the writings. The Book of Psalms is the most popular book in the Bible while the Book of Proverbs is one of the least popular books in the Bible. If a Pastor were to announce a long teaching series from the Book of Proverbs half the congregation would skip church and return later for another topic. To be clear different experiences and different types of knowledge are presented in the Bible particularly in the Old Testament and though all of it is instructional not all of it is for every instance in our life and this is especially true regarding the writings of King Solomon. **King Solomon - A Type of Antichrist** Solomon's (Antichrist) Splendor, Wealth and Fame <blockquote>Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was [666] six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, ~ 1 Kings 10:14</blockquote> <blockquote>Moreover the King made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. The Throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any Kingdom. And all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the [vacation] house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. ~ 1 Kings 10:18-21</blockquote> <blockquote>And through his [Antichrist] policy also he [Antichrist] shall cause craft [Witchcraft] to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and **by peace shall destroy many**: he shall also stand up against the Prince of Princes [Jesus Christ]; but he shall be broken without hand [not by physical force but supernaturally]. ~ Daniel 8:25</blockquote> Solomon deals deceitfully with Hiram the King of Tyre. <blockquote>Now Hiram the King of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire, that then King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. ~ 1 Kings 9:11-12</blockquote> Jesus Christ responds to Solomon's Antichrist Kingdom <blockquote>And yet I (Jesus Christ) say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these [flowers - i.e. resurrection bodies (1 Corinthians 15:38)]. ~ Matthew 6:29</blockquote> **Note:** King Solomon's Throne is actually separate and distinct from his father King David's Throne. In actuality though ruling the same Nation each of the 3 Kings sat on 3 separate Thrones and ruled separate Kingdoms. Also Note: the future Antichrist begins his reign in the model of King Solomon's splendor, wealth and fame yet ends his Kingdom as Satan a type of King Saul. <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 8 ===== ==== The 3 Kingdoms of Jesus Christ ==== === The 3 Kingdoms and 3 Thrones of Jesus Christ === **The 3 Kingdoms of Jesus Christ** The current Church Age Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The 8th Global Kingdom the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ on earth. The Eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ. **The 3 Thrones of Jesus Christ** Current Church Age Throne: in Heaven [alongside the Father's Throne] (Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22). Eligibility: Relative - *Son of God (Father God) eternal co-reigning with the Father and the Holy Spirit Currently Jesus Christ is seated on His own Throne (co-reigning - interceding) at the right hand of His Father's Throne in Heaven. <blockquote>Who is he that condemneth [not Jesus]? It is [Jesus] Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, **Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us** [not condemning Christians]. ~ Romans 8:34</blockquote> Future Millennial Kingdom Throne: in Jerusalem [restoring the Throne of King David] (Acts 15:16; Revelation 22:16). Eligibility: Relative - *Son of Man (descendant of King David - via His mother Mary - through the line of David's son Nathan) at a future date for the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on earth Jesus will be seated upon the Throne of King David (Acts 2:29-33). <blockquote>And to this [Millennial Reign] agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this [Church Age] I [Messiah] will return, and will build again the Tabernacle [Throne] of [King] David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the [Christian] Gentiles, upon whom My Name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world. ~ Acts 15:15-19</blockquote> Eternal Throne: the Throne of the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (Revelation 20:4; Revelation 22:3) the Eternal Throne of the New Heaven (sky) and the New Earth. Eligibility: Jesus as [Eternal God] *Conqueror (John 16:33) Jesus as the conqueror of this earth [realm] will sit eternally [continuing to co-reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit on His own Throne upon the Eternal New Earth (Revelation 21:3). <blockquote>These things I (Jesus) have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I (Jesus) have overcome [conquered] the world. ~ John 16:33</blockquote> <html><small>Source: BasicChristian.org</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 9 ===== ==== Christian Crowns ==== === Crowns: Christian Rewards === Misthapodotes (G3406) Mithos - reward, wage; Apodidomi Apo - from, departure; Didomi - give, bestow, grant; to give or grant a reward Verses - Job 21:19; Jeremiah 31:16; Daniel 5:17; Romans 4:4; Colossians 2:18; Revelation 11:18 18:6 **First Use:** //Genesis 15:1 After these things [Abram had just inflicted a big defeat on the ruling kings of the earth and Abram was afraid of their retaliation] the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.// <blockquote>But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is [exists] and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. ~ Hebrews 11:6</blockquote> <blockquote>Every man's work (Ergon (G2041), effort, energy) shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire [judgment]; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work (effort) abide which he hath built thereupon [Jesus], he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 </blockquote> Rewards are individual recognition for individual accomplishments. Every redeemed person will receive the reward of heaven, but then there are additional rewards from God. The rewards are what we have done here on earth that translate to the kingdom of God. God is going to test through the judgment of fire every action, thought, word and deed of every person. Our actions that are Godly in nature will be permitted to enter into heaven with us; the acts that are worldly will not be permitted into heaven. All of the Godly thoughts, conversation, prayers and devotions that we have had toward God will be permitted into heaven. If we meet and get to know a fellow Christian here on earth we will remember it in heaven. It is our reward from here on earth. The more we build on the foundation of Jesus and the more we prepare ourselves to live in the everlasting presence of the Holy God the more rewarding heaven will be for each of us. Some rewards are represented in the Bible as crowns. There are two types of crowns in the Bible, __Diadema (G1238)__ crown of authority and rule, kingly crown; and __Stephanos (G4735)__ a symbol and award of accomplishment. The Christian receives the "stephanos," the recognition of the reward. Jesus wears the "diadem," the crown of authority. For a short 3 1/2 years Satan will also wear a counterfeit diadem of stolen authority. Some of the reward crowns mentioned in the Bible are the, everlasting crown (1 Corinthians 9:25), the crown of fellowship (Philippians 4:1), crown of rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19), crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8) crown of life (James 1:2, Revelation 2:10) and the crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4). These are all rewards that we can participate in here on earth and then enjoy them for eternity with God. <blockquote>And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. ~ Daniel 12:3</blockquote> <blockquote>And every man that strives for the mastery [rewards] is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a [physical] corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible [spiritual crown]. ~ 1 Corinthians 9:25</blockquote> <blockquote>Henceforth there is laid up for me a **crown of righteousness**, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but __unto all them also that love His appearing__. ~ 2 Timothy 4:8</blockquote> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 10 ===== ==== The 3 Global Judgments ==== === The 3 Global Judgments - The 4 Earths === **The 4 Earths - Universes, Cosmoses** Earth 1.0 Adam and Eve (creation earth) Earth 2.0 The present earth (since the flood of Noah) Earth 3.0 The coming Millennial Reign (at the 2nd Coming return of Jesus Christ) Earth 4.0 The New Heavens (sky) and New Earth (unjudged) - The Eternal State **The 3 Global Judgments** Judgment 1.0 water: flood of Noah Judgment 2.0 blood: moon, stars, earthquakes Judgment 3.0 spirit: earth and sky dissolved with fire (2 Peter 3:12-14) Judgment 4.0 no judgment: eternal earth (Revelation 21:1-4) **Creation Earth 1.0** <blockquote>In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the *waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ~ Genesis 1:1-3</blockquote> <blockquote>And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. ~ Genesis 1:7</blockquote> **Water Earth:** Original creation earth 1.0 and Judgment 1.0 <blockquote>But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered [witnessed to] the whole face of the ground. ~ Genesis 2:6</blockquote> <blockquote>And a river (witness) went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. ~ Genesis 2:10</blockquote> Judgment 1.0 <blockquote>There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. ~ Genesis 7:9-10</blockquote> <blockquote>And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a *wind [as a witness to mankind] to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged; ... And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the [second] earth dried. ~ Genesis 8:1-14</blockquote> **Current Earth 2.0** <blockquote>Whereby the world [earth 1.0] that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now [earth 2.0, and later earth 3.0], by the same word are kept in store [modified into earth 3.0], reserved unto fire [judgment 3.0] against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. ~ 2 Peter 3:6-7</blockquote> **Blood Earth:** Creation of Resurrection (out of the water of Noah's flood) creating earth 2.0 <blockquote>And to Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant, and to the [Priestly - Melchizedek] blood of sprinkling, that speaks [witnesses] better things that that of Abel. ~ Hebrews 12:24</blockquote> <blockquote>Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, Make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. ~ Hebrews 13:20-21</blockquote> Judgments of Earth 2.0 <blockquote>Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I [Moses] will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river [Nile], and they shall be turned to blood. ~ Exodus 7:17</blockquote> <blockquote>And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; ... And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; ~ Revelation 6:12-8:8</blockquote> **Millennial Reign Earth 3.0** <blockquote>And in mercy shall the [earthly] Throne be established: and He shall sit upon it in Truth in the Tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16), judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness. ~ Isaiah 16:5</blockquote> <blockquote>With my soul have I desired you in the night; yes, with my spirit within me will I seek you early: for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. ~ Isaiah 26:9</blockquote> <blockquote>Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness [is] quietness and assurance forever. ~ Isaiah 32:15-17</blockquote> **Spirit Earth:** Creation of Millennial Reign (restored - modified, shaken) earth 3.0 <blockquote>You send forth Your Spirit, they are created: and You renew the face of the earth. ~ Psalm 104:30</blockquote> <blockquote>And there were voices [witnesses], and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon [Mystery Babylon - fallen angelic realm] came in remembrance before God, to give unto her [scarlet woman - false church] the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. ~ Revelation 16:18-20</blockquote> <blockquote>But with righteousness shall He [Messiah, Jesus] judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins [determination]. [for 1,000 years] The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. ~ Isaiah 11:4-6</blockquote> Judgments of Earth 3.0 <blockquote>In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, **and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.** And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain. ~ Isaiah 4:2-6</blockquote> **Eternal Earth 4.0** <blockquote>Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the Day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for New Heavens and a New Earth [earth 4.0], wherein dwelleth [only] righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him [Jesus Christ] in peace, without spot, and blameless. ~ 2 Peter 3:12-14</blockquote> <blockquote>And I saw a New Heaven and a New Earth: for the first heaven and the first earth [all of earth 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0] were [completely] passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice [witness] out of heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former [earth] things are passed away. ~ Revelation 21:1-4</blockquote> <html><small>Source: BasicChristian.org</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 11 ===== ==== Advanced Judgment Accountability ==== === The Two Generations of Advanced Judgment Accountability === The 1st generation the people of the generation of the 1st coming of Jesus [with the Nation of Israel, the Laws of Moses (O.T.) and the Jerusalem Temple all in operation as a witness] <blockquote>Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But He [Jesus] answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas [Jonah]: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in *judgment with this generation [the generation of the 1st coming of Jesus], and shall condemn it: because they [Nineveh] repented at the preaching of Jonas [Jonah]; and, behold [the Christ], a greater than Jonas [Jonah] is here. The queen of the south [Queen Sheba] shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold [the Christ], a greater than Solomon is here. ~ Matthew 12:38-42</blockquote> The 2nd generation the people of the generation of the 2nd coming of Jesus [with the re-established Nation of Israel, the first coming of Jesus (N.T.) and the future Jerusalem Temple all as a witness] <blockquote>If any man have an ear, let him hear. He [of this 2nd generation, the 2nd coming of Jesus] that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the [Tribulation] patience and the [End Time] faith of the saints. ~ Revelation 13:9-10</blockquote> **Testimony, Salvation and Judgment of the Cross of Jesus Christ** The Biblical triune (3 in 1) nature *testimony (physical life), *salvation (Spiritual life - eternal life) and *judgment of the cross of Jesus Christ. 1st Judgment at physical death (1 Corinthians 4:4-5, 2 Corinthians 5:10) 2nd Judgment and eternal death, 1 Corinthians 5:13, Revelation 2:11, Revelation 20:6,14 Revelation 21:8 The **water**, **blood** and **Spirit** (also represented in breath, wind, fire) that are each freely offered and given from God to all of mankind globally as a life giving (sustaining) witness and also as a witness of sin (and eventually as a judgment against sin), and importantly as a testimony of the once physical presence of Jesus Christ on earth (John 19:30, John 19:34-35) and of His eternal remedy for our own individual eternal Salvation. <blockquote>In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word [Jesus] was [and is] God {validated by His resurrection (Romans 1:4)}. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him [Jesus]; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him [Jesus] was [an is] life; and the life was [and is] the light of men. ~ John 1:1-4</blockquote> <blockquote>Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of *water [womb, physical human life] and of the *Spirit [Holy Spirit - born again], he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, *Ye must be born again. The wind [G4151 - Spirit] bloweth [speaks] where it listeth [desires], and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit [G4151]. Nicodemus answered and said unto Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master [teacher] of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, *We (1 John 5:7-9) speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He [Jesus] that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in Heaven. ~ John 3:5-13</blockquote> <blockquote>But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His [Jesus'] side, and forthwith came there out {the global Judgment, global Testimony and global Salvation of} *blood and *water [and *Spirit] {the Spirit departing Jesus in Truth (John 19:30)}. And he (Disciple John) *that saw it bare record [testimony], and his [testimony] record is true: *and he knoweth that he saith true, *that ye [individuals] might believe [salvation]. ~ John 19:34-35</blockquote> <blockquote>For there are *three (triune) that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word [Jesus Christ], and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear *witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, *the witness [Spirit, water, blood] of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son [Jesus Christ]. ~ 1 John 5:7-9</blockquote> <html><small>Source: BasicChristian.org</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 12 ===== ==== Church Integrity ==== === The Christian Church will Remain an Operational Entity === <blockquote>And I (Jesus Christ) say also unto you, That you are [Apostle] Peter, and upon this Rock [our confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God] **I will build My Church**; and **the gates of hell shall not prevail against it**. And I will give unto you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven. ~ Matthew 16:18-19</blockquote> <blockquote>For this cause have I [Apostle Paul] sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of __my ways which be in Christ__, as I teach everywhere in every Church. ~ 1 Corinthians 4:17</blockquote> <blockquote>Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, Unto Him be Glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. ~ Ephesians 3:20-21</blockquote> The Christian Church will prevail while on earth but the coming Martyred Saints of Revelation will not prevail. This is one of the distinctions between the current existing Church Age and the coming Ages of Tribulation and Great Tribulation. <blockquote>And it was given unto him [Antichrist] to make war with the Saints, **and to overcome them**: and power was given him over all families, and tongues, and Nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [Antichrist], whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) slain from the foundation of the world. If any man has an [spiritual] ear, let him hear. He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity: he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. __Here is the patience and the faith of the saints__. ~ Revelation 13:7-10</blockquote> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 13 ===== ==== Mystery Babylon ==== === Mystery Babylon - The Fallen Angelic Realm - The 7 Global Gentile Kingdoms === Mystery Babylon is apparently the fallen Angelic realm that is in rebellion against God. Mystery Babylon interacts with mankind primarily through the interation of notable Global Gentile Kingdoms. The notable Global Gentile Kingdoms have spanned the entirity of the Dispensations since just after the flood of Noah. Nimrod a Gentile was the first King of the first communal Kingdom on earth. <blockquote>And **the beginning of his [Antichrist] Kingdom** [the 1st Kingdom - Tower of Babel] was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. ~ Genesis 10:10</blockquote> The spiritual Kingdom of Mystery Babylon has been unfolding on earth since shortly after the flood of Noah's day and will continue until a culmination of human events during the time of the Bible's Book of Revelation. <blockquote>And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. ~ Revelation 17:5-6</blockquote> <blockquote>And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are Seven Mountains [7 Global Gentile Governments], on which the woman [Mystery Babylon - false religion] sits. And there are Seven Kings: five are fallen [Babel, Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece], and one [Rome] is, and the other [Revised Rome] is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space. And the beast [Antichrist] that was, and is not, even he is the eighth [a fake 666 Satanic resurrection - A fake new eternal kingdom], and is [still] of the seven [not a new Kingdom], and goes into perdition [the Lake of Fire]. ~ Revelation 17:9-11</blockquote> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 14 ===== ==== The 8 Global Kingdoms ==== === Introduction: The 8 Global Kingdoms; 7 Gentile Kingdoms - 1 Messiah Kingdom === Overview: 8 Kingdoms - The premise of the 8 Kingdoms Study is that each of the Kingdoms are unique in that they each have a unique (advanced) interaction with the spiritual realm. The 7 Gentile Kingdoms primarily interact with the fallen spiritual realm while the coming 8th Kingdom the Kingdom of Jesus Christ will be the visible presence of God on earth. The study is presenting Mystery Babylon [Revelation 17] as the Fallen Angelic realm out to deceive mankind, the 7 Mountains (hills) are the 7 Gentile Kingdoms (Governments) with False Religion [including pseudo (emergent) Christianity] as being represented by the scarlet woman [placed in between the fallen angelic spiritual realm and the human political realm], influenced by Mystery Babylon and able to manifest while temporarily riding above the 7 Gentile Global Governments emplaced throughout world history. The 8 Global Kingdoms of the Earth - The 7 anointed Gentile Global Kings of the Earth (anointed from God) and the anointed 8th Kingdom the Eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ **The 7 Gentile Global Kingdoms** 1. Kingdom of Shinar [Gen 10:10] Tower of Babel - King Nimrod 2. Egypt [Genesis 41:39-40, 41:56] - Pharaoh Akhenaten (probably Joseph's Pharaoh, the Dream Pharaoh - Genesis 41:1) 3. Babylon [2 Kings 24:7] - King Nebuchadnezzar 4. Persia [Isaiah 45:1-7] - King Cyrus the Great 5. Greece [Daniel 8:21, 10:20 - Joel 3:6] - Alexander the Great 6. Rome [Luke 2:1] - Julius Caesar (the Caesars Dynasty) 7. Revised Rome the Holy Roman Empire beginning (313 AD - with the Edict of Milan - legalizing a State 'Mystery Babylon' pseudo Christian system) by Emperor Constantine (the Emperors Dynasty) - Ending with a temporary 8th Kingdom [Revelation 17:11] the Satan/Antichrist Kingdom (Daniel 7:19-20, Revelation 10:13) <blockquote>And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are Seven Mountains [7 Global Gentile Governments], on which the woman [Mystery Babylon - false religion] sits. And there are Seven Kings: five are fallen [Babel, Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece], and one [Rome] is, and the other [Revised Rome] is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space. And the beast [AntiChrist] that was, and is not, even he is the eighth [a fake 666 Satanic resurrection - A fake new eternal kingdom], and is [still] of the seven [not a new Kingdom], and goes into perdition [the Lake of Fire]. ~ Revelation 17:9-11</blockquote> 8. Followed by a separate and the real 8th Kingdom the Global Millennial Reign in Jerusalem the Kingdom of Jesus Christ [Revelation 20:4] <html><small>Source: BasicChristian.org</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 15 ===== ==== The 8 Global Conquering Kings ==== === Introduction: The 8 Global Kings; 7 Gentile Kings - 1 Messiah/Jesus Christ === Each of the 8 Kingdoms has a defining King who essentially brought the Kingdom into existence and personified it on earth. **The 8 Conquering Kings** 1. Tower of Babel: Nimrod, conquered the world, gained his Kingdom, probably through the Mystery Arts of physical personality and persuasion (Genesis 10:9). 2. Egypt: Pharaoh Akhenaten, gained his Kingdom, through the means of finances [financial warfare] (Genesis 47:20). 3. Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar, conquered his [known] global Kingdom primarily through military force (Jeremiah 34:1). 4. Persia: Cyrus the Great, conquered his global Kingdom primarily through the use of superior technology (Ezra 1:2). 5. Greece: Alexander the Great, conquered his global Kingdom primarily through the use of philosophy, knowledge, formal education and superior tactics (Daniel 11:2-3, Daniel 10:20, Joel 3:6). 6. Rome: Julius Caesar, conquered his global Kingdom primarily through the use of laws, Senate legislation, legalities (taxation), and treaties (Matthew 22:17, Luke 2:1, Acts 16:21). 7. The Revised Roman Empire: Antichrist (Satan), is in the process of conquering his global Kingdom primarily through the use of spiritual personality [witchcraft]; persuasion, conjure, embellish and through a combination of all of the previously used techniques (Daniel 8:23-25). <blockquote>And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are Seven Mountains [7 Global Gentile Governments], on which the woman [Mystery Babylon - false religion] sits. And there are Seven Kings: five are fallen [Babel, Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece], and one [Rome] is, and the other [Revised Rome] is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space. And the beast [AntiChrist] that was, and is not, even he is the eighth [a fake 666 Satanic resurrection - A fake new eternal kingdom], and is [still] of the seven [not a new Kingdom], and goes into perdition [the Lake of Fire]. ~ Revelation 17:9-11</blockquote> 8. Millennial Reign: The Messiah, Jesus Christ has conquered the enemies of mankind for mankind. Jesus has personally conquered human sin and human death and in His Glorious victory He is making available His Kingdom of eternal Life to all of mankind (Romans 8:37, 1 Corinthians 15:26, Hebrews 2:9,14, Hebrews 9:28, Revelation 4:11). <blockquote>And He (Jesus Christ) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day [Saturday], and stood up in order to read [scriptures]. And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The [Holy] Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He (Father God) **has anointed** Me (Jesus Christ) to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious Words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? ~ Luke 4:16-22</blockquote> <html><small>Source: BasicChristian.org</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 16 ===== ==== 1st Kingdom - Shinar ==== === Kingdom of Shinar - Tower of Babel - Nimrod === <blockquote>And **the beginning of his [Antichrist] Kingdom** [the 1st Kingdom - Tower of Babel] was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. ~ Genesis 10:10</blockquote> **The Tower of Babel** The Tower of Babel (lit. jumbled, confused god) forms the focus of a story told in the Book of Genesis of the Bible. According to the story, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar. The Tower of Babel has often been associated with known structures, notably the Etemenanki, a ziggurat dedicated to the Mesopotamian god Marduk by Nabopolassar, King of Babylonia (610 BC). The Great Ziggurat of Babylon [in ancient times thought to be the origional Tower of Babel] had a base that was square not round [the Tower of Babel is thought to have been round], 91 metres (300 ft) in height, and demolished by Alexander the Great. Genesis narrative The narrative of the city of Babel is recorded in Genesis 11:1-9. Everyone on earth spoke the same language. As people migrated from the east, they settled in the land of Shinar. People there sought to make bricks and build a city and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for themselves, so that they not be scattered over the world. God came down to look at the city and tower, and remarked that as one people with one language, nothing that they sought would be out of their reach. God went down and confounded their speech, so that they could not understand each other, and scattered them over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. Thus the city was called Babel. Etymology The phrase "Tower of Babel" does not appear in the Bible; it is always, "the city and its tower" or just "the city". "Babel" means the "Gate of God", from Akkadian bab-ilu, "Gate of God" (from bab "gate" + ilu "god")." According to the Bible, the city received the name "Babel" from the Hebrew word balal, meaning to jumble [or confusion]. **Nimrod** Nimrod a Gentile was the first King of the first communal Kingdom on earth. Nimrod, King of Shinar, was, according to the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the son of Cush and great-grandson of Noah. He is depicted in the Tanakh as a man of power in the earth, and a mighty hunter. Extra-biblical traditions associating him with the Tower of Babel led to his reputation as a King who was rebellious against God. Several Mesopotamian ruins were given Nimrod's name by 8th-century Arabs, including the ruins of the Assyrian city of Kalhu (the biblical Calah), built by Shalmaneser I (1274-1244 BC). Historical interpretations The Christian Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea as early as the early 4th century, noting that the Babylonian historian Berossus in the 3rd century BC had stated that the first King after the flood was Euechoios of Chaldea, identified him with Nimrod. George Syncellus (died about 810 AD) also had access to Berossus, and he too identified Euechoios with the biblical Nimrod. More recently, Sumerologists have suggested additionally connecting both this Euechoios, and the King of Babylon and grandfather of Gilgamos who appears in the oldest copies of Aelian (200 AD) as Euechoros, with the name of the founder of Uruk known from cuneiform sources as Enmerkar. Idiom In 15th-century English, "Nimrod" had come to mean "tyrant". Coined in 20th-century American English, the term is now commonly used to mean "dimwitted or stupid fellow", a usage first recorded in 1932 and popularized by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny, who sarcastically refers to the hunter Elmer Fudd as "nimrod", possibly as an ironic connection between "mighty hunter" and "poor little Nimrod", i.e. Fudd. <html><small>Source: wiki.com</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 17 ===== ==== 2nd Kingdom - Egypt ==== === Egypt - Pharaoh Akhenaten - probably Joseph's Pharaoh, the Dream Pharaoh (Genesis 41:1) === **Acient Egypt** Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. It is one of six civilizations globally to arise independently. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology) with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh. The history of ancient Egypt occurred in a series of stable Kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age. Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power during the New Kingdom, in the Ramesside period where it rivalled the Hittite Empire, Assyrian Empire and Mitanni Empire, after which it entered a period of slow decline. Egypt was invaded or conquered by a succession of foreign powers (such as the Canaanites/Hyksos, Libyans, Nubians, Assyria, Babylonia, Achaemenids and Macedonian Greece) in the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt and Late Period. In the aftermath of Alexander the Great's death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter, established himself as the new ruler of Egypt. This Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to defeat foreign enemies and assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh, who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs. The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that supported the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques, the first known ships, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty, made with Hittites. Egypt left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries. A new-found respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period by Europeans and Egyptians led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy. **Pharaoh Akhenaten** Nefertiti - Royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten Pharaoh Tutankhamun – Royal son of Pharaoh Akhenaten Akhenaten known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV (sometimes given its Greek form, Amenophis IV, and meaning Amun is Satisfied), was a pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He is especially noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, which is sometimes described as monotheistic or henotheistic. An early inscription likens the Aten to the sun as compared to stars, and later official language avoids calling the Aten a god, giving the solar deity a status above mere gods. Akhenaten tried to bring about a departure from traditional religion, yet in the end it would not be accepted. After his death, traditional religious practice was gradually restored, and when some dozen years later rulers without clear rights of succession from the Eighteenth Dynasty founded a new dynasty, they discredited Akhenaten and his immediate successors, referring to Akhenaten himself as "the enemy" in archival records. He was all but lost from history until the discovery, in the 19th century, of Amarna, the site of Akhetaten, the city he built for the Aten. Early excavations at Amarna by Flinders Petrie sparked interest in the enigmatic pharaoh, whose tomb was unearthed in 1907 in a dig led by Edward R. Ayrton. Interest in Akhenaten increased with the discovery in the Valley of the Kings, at Luxor, of the tomb of King Tutankhamun, who has been proved to be Akhenaten's son according to DNA testing in 2010. A mummy found in KV55 in 1907 has been identified as that of Akhenaten. This man and Tutankhamun are related without question, but the identification of the KV55 mummy as Akhenaten has been questioned. Modern interest in Akhenaten and his queen, Nefertiti, comes partly from his connection with Tutankhamun, partly from the unique style and high quality of the pictorial arts he patronized, and partly from ongoing interest in the religion he attempted to establish. Name change to Akhenaten On day 13, Month 8, in the fifth year of his reign, the King arrived at the site of the new city Akhetaten (now known as Amarna). A month before that Amenhotep IV had officially changed his name to Akhenaten. Amenhotep IV changed most of his 5 fold titulary in year 5 of his reign. The only name he kept was his prenomen or throne name. Religious policies Some recent debate has focused on the extent to which Akhenaten forced his religious reforms on his people. Certainly, as time drew on, he revised the names of the Aten, and other religious language, to increasingly exclude references to other gods; at some point, also, he embarked on the wide-scale erasure of traditional gods' names, especially those of Amun. Some of his court changed their names to remove them from the patronage of other gods and place them under that of Aten (or Ra, with whom Akhenaten equated the Aten). Yet, even at Amarna itself, some courtiers kept such names as Ahmose ("child of the moon god", the owner of tomb 3), and the sculptor's workshop where the famous Nefertiti bust, and other works of royal portraiture, were found, is associated with an artist known to have been called Thutmose ("child of Thoth"). An overwhelmingly large number of faience amulets at Amarna also show that talismans of the household-and-childbirth gods Bes and Taweret, the eye of Horus, and amulets of other traditional deities, were openly worn by its citizens. Indeed, a cache of royal jewelry found buried near the Amarna royal tombs (now in the National Museum of Scotland) includes a finger ring referring to Mut, the wife of Amun. Such evidence suggests that though Akhenaten shifted funding away from traditional temples, his policies were fairly tolerant until some point, perhaps a particular event as yet unknown, toward the end of the reign. Following Akhenaten's death, change was gradual at first. Within a decade a comprehensive political, religious and artistic reformation began promoting a return of Egyptian life to the norms it had followed during his father's reign. Much of the art and building infrastructure created during Akhenaten's reign was defaced or destroyed in the period following his death, particularly during the reigns of Horemheb and the early Nineteenth Dynasty Kings. Stone building blocks from Akhenaten's construction projects were later used as foundation stones for subsequent rulers' temples and tombs. <html><small>Source: wiki.com</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 18 ===== ==== 3rd Kingdom - Babylon ==== === Babylon - Nebuchadnezzar === **Ancient Babylon** Babylon was originally a Semitic Akkadian city dating from the period of the Akkadian Empire circa. 2300 BC. Originally a minor administrative center, it only became an independent city-state in 1894 BC in the hands of a migrant Amorite dynasty not native to ancient Mesopotamia. The Babylonians were more often ruled by other foreign migrant dynasties throughout their history, such as by the Kassites, Arameans, Elamites and Chaldeans, as well as by their fellow Mesopotamians, the Assyrians. The remains of the city are found in present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometres (53 mi) south of Baghdad. All that remains of the original ancient famed city of Babylon today is a large mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The city itself was built upon the Euphrates, and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods. Available historical resources suggest that Babylon was at first a small town which had sprung up by the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC (circa 2000 BC). The town attained independence as a small city state with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in 1894 BC. Claiming to be the successor of the more ancient Sumero-Akkadian city of Eridu, Babylon, hitherto a minor city, eclipsed Nippur as the "holy city" of Mesopotamia around the time an Amorite King named Hammurabi first created the short lived Babylonian Empire in the 18th century BC. It was from this time that South Mesopotamia came to be known as Babylonia, and the city of Babylon itself grew in size and grandeur. The empire quickly dissolved upon his death and Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian, Kassite and Elamite domination. After being destroyed and then rebuilt by the Assyrians, Babylon again became the seat of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 608 to 539 BC which was founded by Chaldeans from the south east corner of Mesopotamia, and whose last King was an Assyrian from Northern Mesopotamia. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After the fall of Babylon it came under the rules of the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid empires. **Persia Captures Babylon** In 539 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, with a military engagement known as the Battle of Opis. The famed walls of Babylon were indeed impenetrable, with the only way into the city through one of its many gates or through the Euphrates, which ebbed beneath its thick walls. Metal gates at the river's in-flow and out-flow prevented underwater intruders, if one could hold one's breath to reach them. Cyrus (or his generals) devised a plan to use the Euphrates as the mode of entry to the city, ordering large camps of troops at each point and instructed them to wait for the signal. Awaiting an evening of a national feast among Babylonians (generally thought to refer to the feast of Belshazzar mentioned in Daniel V), Cyrus' troops diverted the Euphrates river upstream, causing the Euphrates to drop to about 'mid thigh level on a man' or to dry up altogether. The soldiers marched under the walls through the lowered water. The Persian army conquered the outlying areas of the city's interior while a majority of Babylonians at the city center were oblivious to the breach. The account was elaborated upon by Herodotus, and is also mentioned by passages in the Hebrew Bible. Cyrus later issued a decree permitting captive people, including the Jews, to return to their own land (as explained in 2 Chronicles 36), to allow their temple to be rebuilt back in Jerusalem. Under Cyrus and the subsequent Persian King Darius the Great, Babylon became the capital city of the 9th Satrapy (Babylonia in the south and Athura in the north), as well as a centre of learning and scientific advancement. In Achaemenid Persia, the ancient Babylonian arts of astronomy and mathematics were revitalised and flourished, and Babylonian scholars completed maps of constellations. The city was the administrative capital of the Persian Empire, the preeminent power of the then known world, and it played a vital part in the history of that region for over two centuries. Many important archaeological discoveries have been made that can provide a better understanding of that era. The early Persian Kings had attempted to maintain the religious ceremonies of Marduk, but by the reign of Darius III, over-taxation and the strains of numerous wars led to a deterioration of Babylon's main shrines and canals, and the disintegration of the surrounding region. There were numerous attempts at rebellion and in 522 BC (Nebuchadnezzar III), 521 BC (Nebuchadnezzar IV) and 482 BC (Bel-shimani and Shamash-eriba) native Babylonian Kings briefly regained independence. However these revolts were relatively swiftly repressed and the land and city of Babylon remained solidly under Persian rule for two centuries, until Alexander the Great's entry in 331 BC. **King Nebuchadnezzar** Nebuchadnezzar II (634 – 562 BC) was King of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, who reigned 605 BC – 562 BC. He is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and for the destruction of the First Temple. He is featured in the Book of Daniel and is mentioned in several other books of the Bible. The name Akkadian means "O god Nabu, preserve/defend my firstborn son". Nabu is the Babylonian deity of wisdom, and son of the god Marduk. In an inscription, Nebuchadnezzar styles himself as Nabu's "beloved" and "favourite". His name has previously been mistakenly interpreted as "O Nabu, defend my kudurru", in which sense a kudurru is an inscribed stone deed of property. However, when contained in a ruler's title, kudurru approximates to "firstborn son" or "oldest son". He is also known as Bakhat Nasar, which means "winner of the fate", or literally, "fate winner". Sources While researchers rely mostly on firsthand accounts to learn about Nebuchadnezzar, that is not the only way they can get information. Much of the autobiographical information collected by historians about Nebuchadnezzar is taken from [ancient] inscriptions on buildings that were erected during the rebuilding of Babylon. <html><small>Source: wiki.com</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 19 ===== ==== 4th Kingdom - Persia ==== === Persia - Cyrus the Great === **Ancient Persia** The history of Iran, commonly known as Persia in the Western world, is intertwined with the history of a larger region, comprising the area from Anatolia and Egypt in the west to Ancient India and Syr Darya in the east, and from the Caucasus and the Eurasian Steppe in the north to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in the south. The southwestern part of the Iranian plateau participated in the wider Ancient Near East with Elam, from the Early Bronze Age. The Persian Empire (Persia) proper begins in the Iron Age, following the influx of Iranian peoples. Iranian people gave rise to the Median, as the Persian people gave rise to the Achaemenid, the Parthians, and the Sassanid dynasties during the classical antiquity. Once a major empire of superpower proportions, Iran has endured invasions by Greeks, Arabs, Turks, and Mongols. Iran has continually reasserted its national identity throughout the centuries and has developed as a distinct political and cultural entity. Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC. The Medes unified Iran as a nation and empire in 625 BC. The Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) was the first of the Persian empires to rule from the Balkans to North Africa and also Central Asia from their capital in Persis (Persepolis). They were succeeded by the Seleucid Empire, Parthians and Sassanids who governed Iran for almost 1,000 years. The Islamic conquest of Persia (633–656 AD) ended the Sassanid Empire and was a turning point in Iranian history. Islamicization in Iran took place during 8th to 10th century and led to the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. However, the achievements of the previous Persian civilizations were not lost, but were to a great extent absorbed by the new Islamic polity and civilization. After centuries of foreign occupation and short-lived native dynasties, Iran was once again reunified as an independent state in 1501 by the Safavid dynasty which established Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam. Iran had been a monarchy ruled by a shah, or emperor, almost without interruption from 1501 until the 1979 Iranian revolution, when Iran officially became an Islamic Republic on 1 April 1979. **Cyrus the Great** Cyrus II of Persia (about 600 BC – 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much of Central Asia and the Caucasus. From the Mediterranean Sea and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet seen. His regal titles in full were The Great King, King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, and King of the Four Corners of the World. He also proclaimed what has been identified by scholars and archaeologists to be the oldest known declaration of human rights, which was transcribed onto the Cyrus Cylinder sometime between 539 and 530 BC. This view has been criticized by some as a misunderstanding of what they claim to be the Cylinder's generic nature as a traditional statement of the sort that new monarchs may make at the beginning of their reign. The reign of Cyrus the Great lasted between 29 and 31 years. Cyrus built his empire by conquering first the Median Empire, then the Lydian Empire and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Either before or after Babylon, he led an expedition into central Asia, which resulted in major campaigns that were described as having brought "into subjection every nation without exception". Cyrus did not venture into Egypt, as he himself died in battle, fighting the Massagetae along the Syr Darya in December 530 BC. He was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II, who managed to add to the empire by conquering Egypt, Nubia, and Cyrenaica during his short rule. Cyrus the Great respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered. It is said that in universal history, the role of the Achaemenid Empire founded by Cyrus lies in its very successful model for centralized administration and establishing a government working to the advantage and profit of its subjects. In fact, the administration of the empire through satraps and the vital principle of forming a government at Pasargadae were the works of Cyrus. What is sometimes referred to as the Edict of Restoration (actually two edicts) described in the Bible as being made by Cyrus the Great left a lasting legacy on the Jewish religion where because of his policies in Babylonia, he is referred to by the Jewish Bible as Messiah (Isaiah 44:24, 26–45:3, 13) and is the only non-Jewish to be called so. <blockquote>Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue Nations before him; and I will loose the loins of Kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before you, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in two the bars of iron: And **I will give you the [i.e. Mystery Babylon Wealth] Treasures of Darkness [lit. night], and Hidden Riches of Secret Places**, that you may know that I, the LORD, which call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called you by your name: I have surnamed you, though you have not known Me. I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside Me: I girded you, though you have not known Me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Drop down, all of you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it. ~ Isaiah 45:1-8</blockquote> Cyrus the Great is also well recognized for his achievements in human rights, politics, and military strategy, as well as his influence on both Eastern and Western civilizations. Having originated from Persis, roughly corresponding to the modern Iranian province of Fars, Cyrus has played a crucial role in defining the national identity of modern Iran. Cyrus and, indeed, the Achaemenid influence in the ancient world also extended as far as Athens, where many Athenians adopted aspects of the Achaemenid Persian culture as their own, in a reciprocal cultural exchange. <html><small>Source: wiki.com</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 20 ===== ==== 5th Kingdom - Greece ==== === Greece - Alexander the Great === **Ancient Greece** Ancient Greece was a Greek civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity (600 AD). Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in ancient Greece is the period of Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Classical Greece began with the repelling of a Persian invasion by Athenian leadership. Because of conquests by Alexander the Great, Hellenistic civilization flourished from Central Asia to the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Europe, for which reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture. 4th century BC Greece thus entered the 4th century under a Spartan hegemony, but it was clear from the start that this was weak. A demographic crisis meant Sparta was overstretched, and by 395 BC Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Corinth felt able to challenge Spartan dominance, resulting in the Corinthian War (395-387 BC). Another war of stalemates, it ended with the status quo restored, after the threat of Persian intervention on behalf of the Spartans. The Spartan hegemony lasted another 16 years, until, when attempting to impose their will on the Thebans, the Spartans suffered a decisive defeat at Leuctra in 371 BC. The Theban general Epaminondas then led Theban troops into the Peloponnese, whereupon other city-states defected from the Spartan cause. The Thebans were thus able to march into Messenia and free the population. Deprived of land and its serfs, Sparta declined to a second-rank power. The Theban hegemony thus established was short-lived; at the Battle of Mantinea in 362 BC, Thebes lost her key leader, Epaminondas, and much of her manpower, even though they were victorious in battle. In fact such were the losses to all the great city-states at Mantinea that none could establish dominance in the aftermath. The weakened state of the heartland of Greece coincided with the Rise of Macedon, led by Philip II. In twenty years, Philip had unified his Kingdom, expanded it north and west at the expense of Illyrian tribes, and then conquered Thessaly and Thrace. His success stemmed from his innovative reforms to the Macedon army. Phillip intervened repeatedly in the affairs of the southern city-states, culminating in his invasion of 338 BC. Decisively defeating an allied army of Thebes and Athens at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), he became de facto hegemon of all of Greece, except Sparta. He compelled the majority of the city-states to join the League of Corinth, allying them to him, and preventing them from warring with each other. Philip then entered into war against the Achaemenid Empire but was assassinated by Pausanias of Orestis early on in the conflict. Alexander The Great, son and successor of Philip, continued the war. Alexander defeated Darius III of Persia and completely destroyed the Achaemenid Empire, annexing it to Macedon and earning himself the epithet 'the Great'. When Alexander died in 323 BC, Greek power and influence was at its zenith. However, there had been a fundamental shift away from the fierce independence and classical culture of the poleis—and instead towards the developing Hellenistic culture. Ancient Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. In many ways, it had an important influence on modern philosophy, as well as modern science. Neither reason nor inquiry began with the Greeks. Defining the difference between the Greek quest for knowledge and the quests of the elder civilizations, such as the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians, has long been a topic of study by theorists of civilization. Some well-known philosophers of ancient Greece were Plato, Socrates, and many others. They have aided in information about ancient Greek society through writings such as The Republic, by Plato. **Alexander the Great** Alexander III of Macedon (July 356 – June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a King of the Greek Kingdom of Macedon. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II to the throne at the age of twenty. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa, until by the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to Egypt and into present-day Pakistan. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful commanders. During his youth, Alexander was tutored by the philosopher Aristotle until the age of 16. When he succeeded his father to the throne in 336 BC, after Philip was assassinated, Alexander inherited a strong Kingdom and an experienced army. He had been awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid empire, ruled Asia Minor, and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. Seeking to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea", he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, the city he planned to establish as his capital, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexander's surviving generals and heirs. Alexander's legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics. <html><small>Source: wiki.com</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 21 ===== ==== 6th Kingdom - Rome ==== === Rome - Julius Caesar === **Ancient Rome** Ancient Rome was an Italian civilization that began on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants (roughly 20% of the world's population) and covering 6.5 million square kilometers (2.5 million sq mi) during its height between the first and second centuries AD. In its approximately 12 centuries of existence, Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy to a classical republic to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate Southern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa, parts of Northern Europe, and parts of Eastern Europe. Rome was preponderant throughout the Mediterranean region and was one of the most powerful entities of the ancient world. It is often grouped into "Classical Antiquity" together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. The Romans are still remembered today, including names such as Julius Caesar, Cicero, and Augustus. Ancient Roman society contributed greatly to government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language, society and more in the Western world. A civilization highly developed for its time, Rome professionalized and greatly expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. It achieved impressive technological and architectural feats, such as the construction of an extensive system of aqueducts and roads, as well as large monuments, palaces, and public facilities. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond: its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia and from the mouth of the Rhine to North Africa. The Roman Empire emerged under the leadership of Augustus Caesar. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak. Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a common ritual for a new emperor's rise. States, such as Palmyra, temporarily divided the Empire in a third-century crisis. Soldier emperors reunified it, by dividing the empire between Western and Eastern halves. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the western part of the empire broke up into independent Kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of universal history from the pre-mediaeval "Dark Ages" of Europe. The Eastern Roman Empire survived this crisis and was governed from Constantinople after the division of the Empire. It comprised Greece, the Balkans, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt. Despite the later loss of Syria and Egypt to the Arab-Islamic Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire continued for another millennium, until its remnants were annexed by the emerging Turkish Ottoman Empire. This eastern, Christian, medieval stage of the Empire is usually called the Byzantine Empire by historians. **Gaius Julius Caesar** Gaius Julius Caesar (July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general, statesman, Consul, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed a political alliance that was to dominate Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power through populist tactics were opposed by the conservative ruling class within the Roman Senate, among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar's conquest of Gaul, completed by 51 BC, extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine. Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both when he built a bridge across the Rhine and conducted the first invasion of Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, who had realigned himself with the Senate after the death of Crassus in 53 BC. With the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to lay down his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused, and marked his defiance in 49 BC by crossing the Rubicon with a legion, leaving his province and illegally entering Roman territory under arms. Civil war resulted, from which he emerged as the unrivaled leader of Rome. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a program of social and governmental reforms, including the creation of the Julian calendar. He centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity". But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus. A new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the Republic was never restored. Caesar's adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to sole power, and the era of the Roman Empire began. Much of Caesar's life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources. Caesar is deemed to be one of the greatest military commanders in history. Dictatorship and Assassination While he was still campaigning in Spain, the Senate began bestowing honors on Caesar. Caesar had not proscribed his enemies, instead pardoning almost all, and there was no serious public opposition to him. Great games and celebrations were held in April to honor Caesar’s victory at Munda. Plutarch writes that many Romans found the triumph held following Caesar's victory to be in poor taste, as those defeated in the civil war had not been foreigners, but instead fellow Romans. On Caesar's return to Italy in September 45 BC, he filed his will, naming his grandnephew Gaius Octavius (Octavian) as his principal heir, leaving his vast estate and property including his name. Caesar also wrote that if Octavian died before Caesar did, Decimus Junius Brutus would be the next heir in succession. In his will he also left a substantial gift to the citizens of Rome. During his early career, Caesar had seen how chaotic and dysfunctional the Roman Republic had become. The republican machinery had broken down under the weight of imperialism, the central government had become powerless, the provinces had been transformed into independent principalities under the absolute control of their governors, and the army had replaced the constitution as the means of accomplishing political goals. With a weak central government, political corruption had spiraled out of control, and the status quo had been maintained by a corrupt aristocracy, which saw no need to change a system that had made its members rich. Between his crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BC, and his assassination in 44 BC, Caesar established a new constitution, which was intended to accomplish three separate goals. First, he wanted to suppress all armed resistance out in the provinces, and thus bring order back to the empire. Second, he wanted to create a strong central government in Rome. Finally, he wanted to knit together the entire empire into a single cohesive unit. The first goal was accomplished when Caesar defeated Pompey and his supporters. To accomplish the other two goals, he needed to ensure that his control over the government was undisputed, and so he assumed these powers by increasing his own authority, and by decreasing the authority of Rome's other political institutions. Finally, he enacted a series of reforms that were meant to address several long neglected issues, the most important of which was his reform of the calendar. On the Ides of March (15 March; see Roman calendar) of 44 BC, Caesar was due to appear at a session of the Senate. Mark Antony, having vaguely learned of the plot the night before from a terrified Liberator named Servilius Casca, and fearing the worst, went to head Caesar off. The plotters, however, had anticipated this and, fearing that Antony would come to Caesar's aid, had arranged for Trebonius to intercept him just as he approached the portico of Theatre of Pompey, where the session was to be held, and detain him outside. (Plutarch, however, assigns this action to delay Antony to Brutus Albinus). When he heard the commotion from the senate chamber, Antony fled. According to Plutarch, as Caesar arrived at the Senate, Tillius Cimber presented him with a petition to recall his exiled brother. The other conspirators crowded round to offer support. Both Plutarch and Suetonius say that Caesar waved him away, but Cimber grabbed his shoulders and pulled down Caesar's tunic. Caesar then cried to Cimber, "Why, this is violence!" ... Deification Julius Caesar was the first historical Roman to be officially deified. He was posthumously granted the title Divus Iulius or Divus Julius (the divine Julius or the deified Julius) by decree of the Roman Senate on 1 January 42 BC. The appearance of a comet during games in his honour was taken as confirmation of his divinity. Though his temple was not dedicated until after his death, he may have received divine honors during his lifetime: and shortly before his assassination, Mark Antony had been appointed as his flamen (priest). Both Octavian and Mark Antony promoted the cult of Divus Iulius. After the death of Antony, Octavian, as the adoptive son of Caesar, assumed the title of Divi Filius (son of a god). <html><small>Source: wiki.com</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 22 ===== ==== 7th Kingdom - Revised Roman Empire - Holy Roman Empire ==== === The Revised Roman Empire - Emperor Constantine - Antichrist (Satan) === **Edict of Toleration - Milan 313 AD** The document known as the Edict of Milan is found in Lactantius' De Mortibus Persecutorum and Eusebius of Caesarea's History of the Church with marked divergences between the two. In February 313 AD, Emperor Constantine I, who controlled the western part of the Roman Empire, and Licinius, who controlled the Balkans, met in Milan and, among other things, agreed to treat the Christians benevolently. Whether or not there was a formal 'Edict of Milan' is debatable. The version found in Lactantius is not in the form of an edict; it is a letter from Licinius to the governors of the provinces in the Eastern Empire he had just conquered by defeating Maximin later in the same year and issued in Nicomedia. **The Holy Roman Empire** The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the middle ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. The core and largest territory of the empire was the Kingdom of Germany, though it included at times the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Bohemia, and the Kingdom of Burgundy, as well as numerous other territories. The empire grew out of East Francia, a primary division of the Frankish Empire. Pope Leo III crowned Frankish King Charlemagne as emperor in 800, restoring the title in the West after more than three centuries. After Charlemagne died, the title passed in a desultory manner during the decline and fragmentation of the Carolingian dynasty, eventually falling into abeyance. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne and beginning a continuous existence of the empire for over eight centuries. Some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles comprising the empire, describing a gradual assumption of the imperial title and role. The precise term Holy Roman Empire was not used until the 13th century, but the doctrine of translatio imperii ("transfer of rule") was fundamental to the prestige of the emperor, the notion that he held supreme power inherited from the emperors of Rome. The office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. The German prince-electors, the highest ranking noblemen of the empire, usually elected one of their peers as "King of the Romans", and he would later be crowned emperor by the Pope; the tradition of papal coronations was discontinued in the 16th century. The empire never achieved the extent of political unification formed in France, evolving instead into a decentralized, limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of sub-units, principalities, duchies, counties, Free Imperial Cities, and other domains. The power of the emperor was limited, and while the various princes, lords, and Kings of the empire were vassals and subjects who owed the emperor their allegiance, they also possessed an extent of privileges that gave them de facto sovereignty within their territories. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire in August 1806 after its defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz. **7th King - Emperor Constantine** === The Revised Roman Empire of Emperor Constantine - The 7th Throne is Established === Constantine the Great (27 February 272 – 22 May 337 AD), also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 AD to 337 AD. Constantine was the son of Flavius Valerius Constantius, a Roman army officer, and his consort Helena. His father became Caesar, the deputy emperor in the west in 293. Constantine was sent east, where he rose through the ranks to become a military tribune under the emperors Diocletian and Galerius. In 305, Constantius was raised to the rank of Augustus, senior western emperor, and Constantine was recalled west to campaign under his father in Britannia. Acclaimed as emperor by the army after his father's death in 306, Constantine emerged victorious in a series of civil wars against the emperors Maxentius and Licinius to become sole ruler of both west and east by 324 AD. As emperor, Constantine enacted many administrative, financial, social, and military reforms to strengthen the empire. The government was restructured and civil and military authority separated. A new gold coin, the solidus, was introduced to combat inflation. It would become the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years. The first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine played an influential role in the proclamation of the Edict of Milan, which decreed religious tolerance throughout the empire. He called the First Council of Nicaea in 325, at which the Nicene Creed was professed by Christians. In military matters, the Roman army was reorganised to consist of mobile field units and garrison soldiers capable of countering internal threats and barbarian invasions. Constantine pursued successful campaigns against the tribes on the Roman frontiers—the Franks, the Alamanni, the Goths, and the Sarmatians—even resettling territories abandoned by his predecessors during the turmoil of the previous century. The age of Constantine marked a distinct epoch in the history of the Roman Empire. He built a new imperial residence at Byzantium and named it New Rome. However, in Constantine's honor, the Romans called it Constantinople, which would later be the capital of what is now known as the Byzantine Empire for over one thousand years. Because of this, he is thought of as the founder of the Byzantine Empire. His more immediate political legacy was that, in leaving the empire to his sons, he replaced Diocletian's tetrarchy with the principle of dynastic succession. His reputation flourished during the lifetime of his children and centuries after his reign. The medieval church upheld him as a paragon of virtue while secular rulers invoked him as a prototype, a point of reference, and the symbol of imperial legitimacy and identity. Beginning with the renaissance, there were more critical appraisals of his reign due to the rediscovery of anti-Constantinian sources. Critics portrayed him as a despotic tyrant. Trends in modern and recent scholarship attempted to balance the extremes of previous scholarship. Constantine—as the first Christian emperor—is a significant figure in the history of Christianity. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on his orders at the purported site of Jesus' tomb in Jerusalem, became the holiest place in Christendom. The Papacy claimed temporal power through Constantine. He is venerated as a saint by Orthodox Christians, Byzantine Catholics, and Anglicans. The Eastern churches hold his memory in particular esteem, regarding Constantine as isapostolos or equal-to-apostles. <html><small>Source: wiki.com</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 23 ===== ==== 7th Kingdom and 8th King - Antichrist (Satan) ==== === The Kingdom of Antichrist - 7th Kingdom and 8th King - Antichrist (Satan) - Final Gentile on Mystery Babylon Throne === **The Antichrist** <blockquote>And the beast [Antichrist] __that was__ [7th Kingdom - Revised Roman Empire], and is not, even he [after Satan's fake resurrection] is [later] __the eighth__ [King - attempting to userp the Messiah Jesus Christ], and __is of the seven__, and goes into perdition. ~ Revelation 17:11</blockquote> <blockquote>Then I [Prophet] Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. And one said to the Man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these [7 Gentile Kingdoms] wonders? And I heard the Man [Jesus Christ] clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when He held up His right hand and his left hand unto Heaven, and sware by Him that liveth forever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half [3½ years]; and when he [Antichrist] shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And He said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the Words are closed up and Sealed till the Time of the End [after the resurrection - the Church Age]. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice [from the rebuilt Jerusalem Temple] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up [thought to be the Antichrist Throne in Jerusalem], there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days [end of the Great Tribulation]. But go you your way till the end be: for you shall rest, and stand in your lot at the end of the days. ~ Daniel 12:5-13</blockquote> **Note:** the Antichrist is thought to emerge out of Europe [Revised Rome] and in a sense is at first seated on the Revised Roman Empire Throne of Emperor Constantine. Later (3 1/2 years) the Antichrist is thought to expand his Kingdom into Jerusalem and sets up his Throne [known as the "Abomination of Desolation"] in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. Also Note: it's considered that the Antichrist will claim to be as [Messiah/Christ] seated on the Throne of King David in Jerusalem though in actuality it will be the Throne of King Solomon, who technically built his own Throne and did not sit on his father's throne. Jesus Christ is a descendant [via Mary] from King David's son Nathen so technically the Antichrist will be claiming the wrong lineage in King Solomon and seated on the wrong Throne of David again in King Solomon as it is referenced as the "Abomination of Desolation". The Antichrist is a Christian concept based on interpretation of passages in the New Testament, in which the term "antichrist" occurs five times in 1 John and 2 John, once in plural form and four times in the singular. In traditional Christian belief, Jesus the Messiah appears in his Second Coming to Earth, to face the emergence of the Antichrist figure. Just as Christ is the savior and the ideal model for humanity, his opponent in the End of Days will be a single figure of concentrated evil, according to Bernard McGinn. Age of Enlightenment Bernard McGinn noted that complete denial of the Antichrist was rare until the Age of Enlightenment. Following frequent use of "Antichrist" laden rhetoric during religious controversies in the 17th century, the use of the concept declined in the 18th century. Subsequent eighteenth-century efforts to cleanse Christianity of "legendary" or "folk" accretions effectively removed the Antichrist from discussion in mainstream Western churches. **Early Christian Interpretations** The only one of the late 1st/early 2nd Century Apostolic Fathers to use the term is Polycarp (ca. 69 – ca. 155) who warned the Philippians that everyone who preached false doctrine was an antichrist. His use of the term Antichrist follows that of the New Testament in not identifying a single personal Antichrist, but a class of people. Irenaeus (2nd century AD – c. 202) wrote Against Heresies to refute the teachings of the Gnostics. In Book V of Against Heresies he addresses the figure of the Antichrist referring to him as the "recapitulation of apostasy and rebellion." He uses "666", the Number of the Beast from Revelation 13:18, to numerologically decode several possible names. Some names that he loosely proposed were "Evanthos", "Lateinos" ("Latin" or pertaining to the Roman Empire). In his exegesis of Daniel 7:21, he stated that the ten horns of the beast will be the Roman empire divided into ten Kingdoms before the Antichrist's arrival. However, his readings of the Antichrist were more in broader theological terms rather than within a historical context. The Ascension of Isaiah presents a detailed exposition of the Antichrist as Belial and Nero. Tertullian (ca.160 – ca.220 AD) held that the Roman Empire was the restraining force written about by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8. The fall of Rome and the disintegration of the ten provinces of the Roman Empire into ten Kingdoms were to make way for the Antichrist. Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170-c. 236) held that the Antichrist would come from the tribe of Dan and would rebuild the Jewish temple on the Temple Mount in order to reign from it. He identified the Antichrist with the Beast out of the Earth from the book of Revelation. Origen (185–254) refuted Celsus's view of the Antichrist. Origen utilized Scriptural citations from Daniel, Paul, and the Gospels. **Other Christian Interpretations** As "Man of Lawlessness" The Antichrist has been equated with the "man of lawlessnes" or "lawless one" of 2 Thessalonians 2, though commentaries on the identity of the "man of lawlessness" greatly vary. The "man of lawlessness" has been identified with Caligula, Nero, and the end times Antichrist. Some scholars believe that the passage contains no genuine prediction, but represents a speculation of the apostle's own, based on Dan 8:23ff; 11:36ff, and on contemporary ideas of the Antichrist. As a Merger of 10 Regions "being in league with other figures" Several American evangelical and fundamentalist theologians, including Cyrus Scofield, have identified the Antichrist as being in league with (or the same as) several figures in the Book of Revelation including the Dragon (or Serpent), the Beast, the False Prophet, and the Whore of Babylon. Others, for example, Rob Bell, reject the identification of the Antichrist with any one person or group. They believe a loving Christ would not view anyone as an enemy. As "Satan" Bernard McGinn described multiple traditions detailing the relationship between the Antichrist and Satan. In the dualist approach, Satan will become incarnate in the Antichrist, just as God became incarnate in Jesus. However, in Orthodox Christian thought, this view was problematic because it was too similar to Christ's incarnation. Instead, the "indwelling" view became more accepted. It stipulates that the Antichrist is a human figure inhabited by Satan, since the latter’s power is not to be seen as equivalent to God’s. <html><small>Source: wiki.com</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 24 ===== ==== 8th Kingdom - Millennial Reign ==== === The Kingdom of Jesus Christ - The Millennial Reign on earth === **Biblical Significance** <blockquote>And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse [King David's father], and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him [Messiah], the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Might, the Spirit of Knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: But with Righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod [words] of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And Righteousness shall be the girdle [belt] of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins [determination]. The wolf [during the Millennial Reign restoration] also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid [young goat]; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp [snake], and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' [spider] den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My Holy Mountain [government]: for the earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root [offspring] of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign [guide] of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be Glorious. ~ Isaiah 11:1-10</blockquote> <blockquote>Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection: on such the Second Death [eternal judgment] hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him __a thousand years__. ~ Revelation 20:6</blockquote> **Note:** the True 8th Kingdom on earth, The Millennial Reign Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Not to be confused with the attempted and failed Mark of the Beast 666 Kingdom (8th kingdom) of the Antichrist. <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 25 ===== ==== Christmas Day - Savior Day ==== === The name Jesus means "God and Savior" === Christmas Day is "Savior Day" the day God (Jesus Christ) the Savior of mankind entered into the physical human realm to accomplish both the Redemption and Salvation of mankind. The exact Christmas Day is thought to be in the Fall sometime however the actual day is unknown as the Bible highlights the adult Ministry of Jesus and particularly the last week, Holy Week, when Jesus was with His disciples in and around Jerusalem and among His fellow Jews in their Temple. <blockquote>Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he has visited (Mary is pregnant with Jesus) and __redeemed__ His people, And has raised up an horn of __salvation__ for us in the House of His servant [King] David; As He spoke by the mouth of His holy Prophets, which have been since the world began:</blockquote> <blockquote>And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from [the Roman King] Caesar Augustus [born Octavian and reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD], that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was Governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the [birth] City of David, which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and lineage of David: To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her Firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn [G2646 - the guest room at the house]. ~ Luke 2:1-7</blockquote> <blockquote>And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the Glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the Angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David [Bethlehem] a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; All of you shall find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host [Angels] praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth Peace, Good Will toward men. And it came to pass, as the Angels were gone away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, His Name was called JESUS, which was so named of the Angel before he was conceived in the womb. ~ Luke 2:8-21</blockquote> **Note:** The word "Savior" means "healer" to be made healthy, whole, to be safe and sound, saved from mortal danger. The name Jesus means "God and Savior" Je=Jehovah (God-YHWH), sus=salvation (life giver). <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 26 ===== ==== The Cross of Jesus Christ ==== === The 7 Sayings of Jesus from the Cross === 1. Forgiveness is Given <blockquote>Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. ~ Luke 23:34</blockquote> Innocence/Forgiveness is required before one could enter a City of Refuge. Jesus provided the forgiveness allowing us to enter His eternal City of Refuge. <blockquote>That by two immutable things [the promises of God and the will of God], in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil; Where the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. ~ Hebrews 6:18-20</blockquote> <html><small>Note: we remain in the City of refuge forever as Jesus the High Priest will never die.</small></html> 2. Heaven/Paradise is Promised <blockquote>And Jesus said unto him, Assuredly I say unto you, Today shall you be with Me in Paradise. ~ Luke 23:43</blockquote> The reality that the Kingdom of God "paradise" is a real place a real location and something to really be entered into. 3. Fellowship is Initiated <blockquote>When Jesus therefore saw His Mother (Mary), and the Disciple (John) standing by, whom He loved, He says unto His Mother, Woman, behold your son! Then says He to the disciple, Behold your mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. ~ John 19:26-27</blockquote> <html><small>Note: this is the closeness of Christian fellowship not an adoption. If it had been a simple adoption John would have gone to Mary's house instead Mary went to John's house.</small></html> 4. Jesus' Suffering on the Cross <blockquote>And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama azavtani? that is to say, My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? ~ Matthew 27:46 (Mark 15:34-35)</blockquote> The evidence that Jesus did take our sin upon Himself as the Father removes His presence from our sin that now encompasses Jesus. <html><small>Note: the original sayings of Jesus on the cross were all in Hebrew and not in Aramaic as is now often cited.</small></html> 5. Jesus Thirsting for Righteousness and His New Kingdom <blockquote>After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, says, I thirst. ~ John 19:28</blockquote> Fulfilling yet another prophecy in that Jesus in His hour of need and suffering would thirst and the best this world would do is offer Jesus a taste of sour vinegar. 6. It is finished - Redemption is Completed <blockquote>When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the spirit. ~ John 19:30</blockquote> It is finished – the sins of the word are "paid in full" Tetelisti (G5055) the debt to sin (death) has been paid with the only currency sin knows death. 7. Jesus Trusts His Father with His Spirit <blockquote>And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into your hands I commend My Spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the Ghost. ~ Luke 23:46</blockquote> Jesus is still trusting His Father for all things. Leaving this earth Jesus is about to be reunited, after the third day, again with His beloved Father in Heaven. Conclusion: <blockquote>We then, as (Christians) workers together with Him, plead to you also that all of you receive the grace of God not in vain. For He says, I have heard you in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I (God) helped you: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ~ 2 Corinthians 6:1-2</blockquote> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 27 ===== ==== The Mark of the Beast ==== === The Mark of the Beast (Antichrist) 666 === **The Mark of the Beast is Satan's mark** The event that Satan is commemorating by offering his mark (666) is his own fake, arranged death and resurrection. That's right, Satan in being the Antichrist is attempting to counterfeit and copy what Jesus has already done for real in His Atoning death and His Sanctifying Resurrection. <blockquote>And I saw one of his heads [the Antichrist] as it were wounded to death [fake death]; and his deadly wound was healed [fake resurrection]: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him [who cannot die]? ~ Revelation 13:3-4</blockquote> Worship is to acknowledge where our life comes from. Jesus proved His claim to be the source of all life by His Resurrection after His death on the cross. Satan is going to attempt to stage the death of a person and will then possess this dead or near dead person enacting out a counterfeit resurrection. A resurrection that will give Satan a claim that he is a creator of life and this is to be the cause of the worship to Satan and it is Satan's resurrection and his false claim that he is the giver of eternal life that his mark, icon, and name (666) are commemorating and representing. In fact the response from God to the fake resurrection of the antichrist is to send an angel to proclaim that mankind is to Worship God and God only as God is the Creator and sustainer of all life. <blockquote>And I [Apostle John] saw another Angel (1st Angel) fly in the midst of heaven, having the Everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every Nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment has come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another Angel (2nd Angel), saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third Angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy Angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. ~ Revelation 14:6-12</blockquote> **The Mark of the Beast is a Satanic counterfeit** The mark of the beast is the Satanic counterfeit to the "Born Again" Spirit and condition of the Christian. **Note:** at this future time the Christian Church will have been Raptured and will be in heaven. This fake mark will only be an option to those who are still left on the earth and have not yet become Martyred Saints. Just as the Christian Receives the Holy Spirit from God as a seal a mark of belonging to God, in the future Satan will counterfeit the "Born Again" condition of the Christian with his own Satanic version. Remember that the issue here is Eternal Life and who can provide it the God who Created Life or the counterfeit and lies of Satan. Satan's counterfeit mark is the promise to offer eternal life yet Satan is not God and does not have the ability to fulfill his promises and likewise Satan is not God and does not have the Triune nature of God therefore Satan cannot give a holy spirit so continuing his counterfeit Satan seals the initiate with a demonic spirit. It is this sad and permanent spiritual marriage/matting between the human and the demonic spirit [Nirvana] that so alters the human that the human is no longer in the image that God created the human to be in and is now therefore incapable of ever receiving salvation from God. The human with the mark of Satan has forfeited any opportunity to receive Salvation from God. This demonic infusion (mingling - Nirvana) into the human spirit and soul by the human receiving the mark of the beast is best explained by the Old Testament Prophet Daniel. <blockquote>And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the (Satanic) kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron [demons] mixed with miry (bad/unusable) clay [people], they (demons) shall mingle themselves with the seed (soul) 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 [return and] set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the Kingdom shall not be left to other (non-Christian) people, ... ~ Daniel 2:42-45</blockquote> The consequences of taking the Mark of the Antichrist are irreversible and eternal. <blockquote>And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. ~ Revelation 14:11</blockquote> <html><small>Source: BasicChristian.org</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 28 ===== ==== Millennial Reign - Church Fathers ==== === The Early Church Fathers in general expected a Millennium Reign 'Millennial Sabbath' of Jesus Christ === The Church Fathers who expected Christ to Return and inaugurate the Millennium of a literal 1000 years included: Justyn Martyr (100-165 AD), Theophilus of Antioch (115-181 AD), Irenaeus (120-202 AD), Hippolytus (236 AD), Tertullian (150-225 AD), Cyprian (200-258 AD), Commodian (200-275 AD), Lactantius (240-320 AD), Methodius (d. 311 AD). They all affirmed their Millenarian views with comments like those of Victorinus of Petau, who died around 304 AD, and wrote: "The true sabbath will be in the seventh millennium of years, when Christ with His elect shall reign." [Victorinus: "On the Creation of the World"]. Lactantius wrote that God's "religion and truth must labor during these six thousand years, while wickedness prevails and bears rule..." whereupon "all wickedness must be abolished from the earth, and righteousness reign for a thousand years; and there must be tranquility and rest from the labors which the world now has long endured." [Lactantius, "The Divine Institutes" 7.14]. Similar statements were made by other early Church Fathers. These early Church Fathers, generally believed in a literal Millennium of 1000 years in which Christ will reign over the whole earth. Some called this the Millennial Sabbath. From this Biblical concept there developed the idea of what might be called the "Earth's Great Week." This idea was expressed first by a Jewish Christian, Barnabas, in Alexandria, Egypt, around 117 AD. He believed that man would have 6000 years on earth corresponding to 1000 years for each of the 6 Days of Creation. Then the 7th Day corresponded to the Millennial Sabbath of 1000 years with Christ reigning from David's throne. Following this was to be the New Heaven and New Earth and the New Jerusalem. Even though a literal 1000 years for the Millennium of Revelation 20 is a Biblical entity, it was not a Scriptural idea to allocate 1000 years to each Day of Creation. Nevertheless, this plausible basis for mankind's history was adopted by many of the Church Fathers. As a result, they expected the Lord to Return and inaugurate the Millennium sometime in the vicinity of 300-500 AD. This was done, as we noted above, on the basis of the Scriptural genealogy in the LXX and paleo-Hebrew which placed Creation roughly 5700-5500 BC. In other words, it was generally agreed that the Millennial reign of Christ was a period of a literal 1000 years. In my study of Scripture, I have found in a number of instances that prophetic scriptures were fulfilled to the very day. This is also the approach that the early Fathers took. The problem that arose was the additional idea from Barnabas which suggested an approximate time when this Return would occur. We know that Christ did not return about 300 to 500 AD. But by 395 to 430 we have the time of Augustine. The Church leaders during this period had noted that Christ had not returned and offered an alternative interpretation of the Millennium as a result. The one important event that had occurred around the expected time was the acceptance of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. As a consequence, the church leaders at the time, like Augustine, concluded that the Millennium was the church age and that the Kingdom of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven was the Church. The Church of Rome later carried this a little further and claimed the kingdom was exclusively the Roman Catholic church on the basis of Augustine's statements. Thus we have two erroneous doctrines, one from Barnabas, one from Augustine, which have contributed to a mis-understanding of what the Scripture is actually saying. CONCERNING "ULTIMATE THINGS" by Dennis E. Engleman, Conciliar Press, Ben Lomond, California, 1995 <html><small>Source: setterfield.org</small></html> <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 29 ===== ==== The Second Coming of Jesus ==== === The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is a return to the Jews === The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the return of Jesus to Jerusalem and to the Jews and not to the Christian Church as the Church in its entirety at that moment is in Heaven and is unable to meet Jesus on the earth during His initial 2nd Coming – Jesus doesn’t return to the Church instead Jesus returns bringing the Church. The Christian Church follows Jesus (Revelation 19:14) to the earth to participate in the Millennial Reign on the earth. <blockquote>And the armies which were in heaven followed Him (Jesus) upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. ~ Revelation 19:14</blockquote> <blockquote>And I will pour upon the [Jews] House of David, and upon the inhabitants of **Jerusalem**, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look [2nd Coming] upon Me [Jesus] whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day [2nd Coming] shall there be a great mourning in **Jerusalem**, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. ~ Zechariah 12:10-14</blockquote> **The Second Coming - New Testament** <blockquote>The former treatise [Gospel of Luke] have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which He was taken up [ascension], after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the Apostles whom He had chosen: To whom also He shewed Himself alive after His Passion [Holy Week] by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized [not for Salvation but for their Empowerment as a Witness to the world -- the Apostles were already Saved (John 20:22, Luke 24:45) having already recognized the Resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and for their eternal salvation] with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom [Millennial Reign] to Israel? And He [Jesus] said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward Heaven as He went up, behold, two men [Angels] stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, **why stand ye gazing up into Heaven?** this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner [back to Mt. Olivet - near Jerusalem] as ye have seen Him go into Heaven. **Then returned they unto Jerusalem** from the Mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath Day's journey. And when they [Apostles] were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren [James and Jude]. ~ Acts 1:1-14</blockquote> **Note:** the Angel tells the Christians that Jesus will return to the Mt. of Olives and then apparently included in the comment the Angel tells the Christians to leave the Mt. of Olives as the Disciples then departed the area and returned to Jerusalem. Apparently departing because the return of Jesus Christ is intended for the Jews of Jerusalem and not for the Church. It’s interesting that the original Church, Peter, James, John, etc. spent their time in the Upper-room and at the Temple and not out at the Mt. of Olives where they would be if they expected the 2nd Coming of Christ to concern them at the Mt. of Olives location. <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 30 ===== ==== The Peace Offering ==== === Jesus Christ the voluntary Peace Offering === Some End Times – Speculation **Peace Offerings** <blockquote>And this is the law of the sacrifice of Peace Offerings, which He shall offer unto the LORD. ~ Leviticus 7:11</blockquote> <blockquote>And the flesh of the sacrifice of His peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. But if the sacrifice of His offering be a vow, or **a voluntary offering**, it shall be eaten the same day that He offers His sacrifice: and on **the next day also** the remainder of it [Communion] shall be eaten [i.e. for Two Thousand years]: But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day [3rd Millennium] shall be burnt with fire. And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of His Peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it [Communion] shall not be accepted [after the 2nd Coming - during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ], neither shall it be imputed unto him that offers it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eats of it shall bear his iniquity. ~ Leviticus 7:15-18</blockquote> <blockquote>For I [Apostle Paul] have received of the Lord [Jesus] that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed [by Judas] took bread: And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: **this do in remembrance of Me**. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had eaten, saying, This cup is the New Testament in My blood: this do all of you, as often as all of you drink it, **in remembrance of Me**. For as often as all of you eat this [Communion] bread, and drink this [Communion] cup, all of you do show the Lord's death [only] **till He comes**. [Communion is not continuing after the 2nd Coming] ~ 1 Corinthians 11:23-26</blockquote> Jesus Christ the voluntary Peace Offering for mankind - Gospel of John <blockquote>I Am (Jesus Christ) the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knows Me, even so know I the Father: and I [voluntarily] lay down My life for the sheep. ~ John 10:14-15</blockquote> <blockquote>Peace I (Jesus Christ) leave with you, My Peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ~ John 14:27</blockquote> <blockquote>These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me (Jesus Christ) all of you might have Peace. In the world all of you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. ~ John 16:33</blockquote> **Note:** It's possible that the Church Age (Christian Communion) has a two thousand year expiration date. If that is the case and it's not known if it is even possible. The original Holy Week and Communion events took place in about 33 AD placing an end of the Church Age at sometime around 2033 AD. -- This is just a consideration and not a concern because the Church has always had a designed beginning at Holy Week and it also has a designed ending at some future unknown time. <blockquote>**For He (Jesus Christ) is our Peace [offering]**, who has made both [Jews and Gentiles] one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; in order to make in Himself of two one new [Christian] man, so **making Peace**; And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body **by the cross**, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached Peace to you [Gentiles] which were far off, and to them [Jews] that were nigh. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore all of you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the [N.T.] Apostles and [O.T.] Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the [eternal Temple] building fitly framed together grows unto an holy Temple in the Lord: In whom all of you also are built together for an habitation of God through the [Holy] Spirit. ~ Ephesians 2:14-22</blockquote> <blockquote>What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, has found? ~ Romans 4:1</blockquote> <blockquote>And he (Abraham) received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. ~ Romans 4:11-12</blockquote> **Also Note:** both the Jews and the Christians should be practicing the continuing Abrahamic Judeo/Christianity faith of King David while tending away from the finished O.T. Moses/Levitical (legalistic) practices and certainly avoiding any of the Solomon/Kabbalistic (occult) practices. <html><center>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </center></html> ===== December 31 ===== ==== Conclusion ==== === Conclusion: eternity, the deep things of God === <blockquote>Nevertheless we speak wisdom among them that are complete [complete in Jesus Christ]: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nothing: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the [eternity] things which God has prepared for them that love Him. But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:6-10</blockquote> <html><small>God bless everyone,<br /> <author>David Anson Brown</author></small></html>