Promises

Gospel in the OT Genealogy of Genesis 5

Ken

To illustrate God’s good intentions towards humanity, even when most all were adamantly against Him, look at what God was saying through the Hebrew meanings of the genealogical names of the godly in Genesis 5. The following is an insight from Bible teacher, Chuck Missler (The Book of Genesis Handbook, Koinonia House, Inc., 2020, p. 153).  

“Adam” signifies “Man (is)” 

“Seth” signifies “Appointed” 

“Enoch” signifies “Mortal” 

“Kenan” signifies “Sorrow; (but)” 

“Mahalalel” signifies “The Blessed God” 

“Jared” signifies “shall come down” 

“Enoch” signifies “Teaching (that)” 

“Methuselah” signifies “His death shall bring” 

“Lamech” signifies “The Despairing” 

“Noah” signifies “Comfort, Rest”  

Translated as a whole, the genealogy reads: 

“Man is appointed mortal sorrow; but the blessed God shall come down teaching that His death shall bring the despairing comfort and rest.”  

Isn’t that the Gospel?  And, didn’t that ultimately result through Yahweh’s actions from the cataclysmic Flood judgment? 

“Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34 KJV).

Excerpt From:

Understanding Spiritual Warfare

Kenneth Fall

https://books.apple.com/us/book/understanding-spiritual-warfare/id6472605817

This material may be protected by copyright.

False Prophet: Directs the Worship of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:13)

Ken

Worship director for the Great World Leader is an esteemed role, except the Antichrist is that leader, who blasphemes Almighty God (Revelation 13:6), because he receives his power from the dragon (13:4). How does the world go so horribly wrong? Why does the LORD God allow this affront on such global display? “And he [the False Prophet] doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men” (Revelation 13:13 KJV). Toleration of the smallest wickedness in ourselves is the camel’s nose in the tent that brings down the house. “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1Thessalonians 5:22). If we could not tolerate such sin in ourselves now, then would not such wholesale wickedness be condoned so easily later? “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth” (James 3:5). 

Yahweh is carefully teaching the world, directing our hearts back to Him. It has not been apparent to the Church that the Judge of All the Earth has been teaching His people, we must submit our case before the Courts of Heaven, before He can act. He will not unilaterally perform His will in judging the earth until He gets our agreement or sanction. He created us to walk in agreement with Him, not to function as an independent tool. “O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee” (2Chronicles 20:12). When sanctioned by the Courts of Heaven, Jehovah will do what He did for Jehoshaphat and Judah. “And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped” (20:24). The world will need to know the god of the World Leader and his Prophet is not the True God, and we, His people, call upon the LORD to judge the dragon, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. 

LORD, we know it is Your desire that all should repent and none should perish, but Your Spirit will not always strive with man. You alone know, when humanity’s iniquity is full. Save such as should be saved. Honor Your holiness, love, and perfection. Fulfill all righteousness. Use the devil, the Antichrist, and False Prophet, then judge them. Save Israel. Return quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

False Prophet: Beast Out of the Earth (Revelation 13:11)

Ken

Appearing with the religious character of a lamb, the False Prophet (Revelation 19:20) speaks like the devil, and he is no different from the Antichrist. “And I beheld another [Greek, allos, another of the same kind] beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (Revelation 13:11 KJV). He purposely directs the worship toward the Antichrist (13:12), who the world knows is empowered by the dragon (13:4). How could religion be used so zealously against the righteous? Christianity began with the martyrdom of Jesus at the hands of the unbelieving Jews. Yet, Judaism continues to be the root of the tree. “For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15). Typically, a prophet comes before in order to introduce the one appointed to receive the attention, just as John the Baptist came before Jesus of Nazareth. It should not surprise us to find a religious figure prior to the Tribulation with deep ties to historic anti-christianity, which especially depicts the adulteress character of the Thyatiran Church Age (representative of the center and bulk of Church History), who could answer to the description, the False Prophet (Revelation 16:13). This False Prophet would be active long before the Antichrist ascends to the throne of the World Temple in the middle of the Tribulation Week. Father, Your Son taught us to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Cause us to be those doves, as we advocate for Your Son. Cause the sting of the enemy’s objection to be thwarted by the power of Your Spirit blessing the message, preserving the messenger, but, most of all, justifying You. Return quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray, amen. 

The Way You Treat Your Neighbor

Ken

Is the way you treat God. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1John 4:20 KJV). Humanity is only able to function acceptably, when God is understood as the motivator and motivation for all our actions. Salvation or religion is that window of opportunity for us to bluster out of our slumber and attempt to understand what has just happened. Unless the Spirit of God lays hold of us and we begin understanding His efforts to communicate with us from the Word of God, we will slumber back asleep, as if nothing happened. “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD” (Jeremiah 22:29). LORD, You said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4), grant to us the privilege of proving that with our lives. Make Your Word more valuable than our words, in our daily life. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen. 

Antichrist: Response to the Rapture (Revelation 13:10)

Ken

The sudden disappearance of people worldwide will not only be noticed by all, but must be explained by world leadership, especially by the one Christians identify as the Antichrist. “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” (1Corinthians 15:52 KJV). If we recall the words of Jesus, “Surely I come quickly” (Revelation 22:20), we should understand the “dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [Greek, harpazō] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air” (1Thessalonians 4:17). The Second Coming of Christ combines the Resurrection of the Saints “first,” then accompanies the harpazō of the living saints “together with them” (4:17). The nature of our translation is called a “mystery,” because much takes place in the Unseen Realm, before His return, then “every eye shall see Him”  (Revelation 1:7). “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (1Corinthians 15:51). This is for our encouragement, not just theological slight of hand. 

The “mystery of iniquity” (2Thessalonians 2:7) has been conspiring against the Almighty, since the original rebellion. Answering the Removal of Saints worldwide would be the goal of the devil, certainly by the time of the modern rapture theory discussions, but anciently speculated due to the examples of the raptures of Enoch and Elijah. 

What will be the response of the Antichrist to the Rapture?

 First, the sudden removal of all the godly influence of Spirit Indwelt Saints would leave not just a moral vacuum, but a disruption of the peace due to the absence of all the godly, who have departed this world (Jeremiah 29:7). Second, Antichrist must offer himself as a leader, actively promoting and attempting to replace the world’s missing peace, requiring the cooperation of the world’s leaders. This would be in connection with the peaceful-conquering-by-displaying-power diplomacy of the First Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:2). A “king of fierce countenance” (Daniel 8:23), shall promote the demonic “craft [witchcraft] to prosper in his hand” (8:24), and will eventually proclaim his divinity, when “he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many” (8:25). Third, Antichrist will do like the New Age literature prophecies of a coming alien visitor Avatar, seeking to aid us in our evolution, overcoming poverty, disease, famine, war, political, cultural, religious, and economic division, while promoting unity through “globalism, ecumenism, personal immortality (reincarnation), pantheism (‘you will be like gods,’ Genesis 3: 15), moral relativism, and the notion that the Bible is not the word of God” (from Alien Encounters, Ch. 13 “The Cosmic Deception” by Chuck Missler). 

Fourth, malcontents have been removed, i.e., by the Rapture, and are being removed, i.e., the Fifth Seal Judgment of martyrdom of post-Rapture, born-into-the-Kingdom-during-the-Tribulation Saints (Revelation 6:9-11). Fifth, global unity will be promoted through the construction of a World Temple at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. If Solomon built the Temple in seven years, Oppenheimer built the atomic bomb in less than three years, couldn’t the Antichrist complete the Tribulation Temple with all the resources of the world, in less than 3 1/2 years? “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains” (Matthew 24:15-16). 

Sixth, miracles and “powers and signs and lying wonders” (2Thessalonians 2:9) will be used by the Antichrist to persuade the religious and the scientific to trust the Antichrist, and to unreasonably fight the LORD God Almighty. The inexplicability of UFOs defying the laws of physics, the paranormal activities of demon possessed individuals, all of these will increase. “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2:10-12). Seventh, it is extermination by Antichrist for any found godly, but of more significance, God’s patience has finally come to an end in finishing His Final Harvest, so He can now complete a thorough cleansing of the ungodly from the earth. “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints” (Revelation 13:10).

LORD, cause the Sleeping Church to awaken to the battle against the enemy. May we be praying for the success of Your Gospel, the unstoppability of Your Gospel, obedience to the Gospel, showing us who must next receive Your Message, the boldness to explain Your plan, the preparation of their hearts to repent and receive the Gospel, education of Your children, the sustenance of Your family, the overcoming of our ignorance, the hastening of Your return, the defeat of the forces of Antichrist, and the judgment of the devil and his little gods. Make us willing to witness a good confession laying down our lives, if need be. May the ideas put forth by this writer prosper, even as it is understood, if Your Spirit is making me think these thoughts, there are others thinking them, as well. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

What God Requires of Us

Ken

Just because you can do something, doesn’t necessarily mean you should do it. You might have the disposable income to afford a new smartphone, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you should purchase one. Impulse purchasing is why manufacturers compete for space next to the cash register at the supermarket, hoping you’ll do something simply because you can. But, if you actually need a smartphone, should you purchase the least expensive? “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48 KJV). If God has not given you other necessities demanding your resources, then the smartphone that fulfills your legitimate needs, represents the one God would have you purchase. Spirit filled action is Scripture justified action, and it flows from the heart attitude, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6), in expectation of the necessary guidance, “This is the way, walk ye in it” (Isaiah 30:21). LORD, may our daily walk with You always be in light of Your Word, but acutely sensitive to the choosing of Your Spirit. May we develop a sensitivity to Spirit filled direction that answers not simply what You require of us, but how we can best serve You. In Jesus’ name, we pray it. And, do return quickly. Amen. 

Antichrist: Leopard, Bear, Lion (Revelation 13:2)

Ken

Antichrist, the villain of this story, is illuminated by the imagery of the leopard, bear, and lion. “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority” (Revelation 13:2 KJV). The swiftness of the leopard, ferocity of the bear, and domination of the lion are all empowered by the dragon, who is the “god of this world” (2Corinthians 4:4). If disciples do not fully appreciate they are “not of this world” (John 8:23), they will become confused by the gatekeepers of the world system represented by the leopard, bear, and lion, whose master said (without Christ’s contradiction), “All the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them” (Matthew 4:8) are his. Though we are “in this world” (12:25), God’s “kingdom is not of this world” (18:36). Our “citizenship is in heaven – and we also eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20 NET). As “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13 KJV). this status only troubles the world, if they do not understand we pray for the peace of wherever God sends us (Jeremiah 29:7). Our power is the recognition, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).

Just as John outlined a story concerning a leopard, bear, and lion, similarly, the Old Testament prophet Daniel was given a vision of “four great beasts [of prey, which] came up from the sea” (Daniel 7:3). Daniel described the Babylonian Empire as a “lion, [that] had eagle’s wings” (7:4). A second kingdom, the Medo-Persian Empire, was represented as a bear, i.e., “And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs [i.e., dominating Media, Persia, Babylonia] in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh [i.e., subduing Lydia, Egypt, etc.]” (7:5). A third world empire, Greece, was depicted as a leopard, which speaks of the swiftness of Alexander the Great’s conquests, i.e., “After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it” (7:6). Finally, the Roman Empire was likened to a dreadful beast with ten horns, i.e., “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns” (7:7). And so, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a “great image” (2:31) agrees with both Daniel’s vision of “four great beasts” (7:3) and John’s vision of the “beast which… was like unto a leopard… a bear… [and] a lion” (Revelation 13:2).

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (1John 2:18). Understanding the Antichrist as being a man, yet he embodies the history of world systems of many antichrists building up to his emergence on the world stage. Christ’s First Coming was initially noticed only by humble shepherds, but at His Second Coming, “every eye shall see Him” (Revelation 1:7). How will the Devil so effectively position the Antichrist to be received by all? Conquering, war, famine, death, martyrdom (Revelation 6), prepare for the Temple to be built in Jerusalem, where three major monotheistic religions worship. The most noticeable and acutely felt event in the world, since the Flood or the Tower of Babel, would be the removal of the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit through the Rapture of the Church. “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way” (2Thessalonians 2:7 NKJV). 

LORD, we do not pretend to have answered all the questions You must answer to bring this grand story to its conclusion. As much as we desire understanding of Yourself and these End Times, we know the Kingdom of God is not simply “in word, but in power” (1Corinthians 4:20 KJV). May that power rest on the presentation of Your story in the Gospel message (1Thessalonians 1:5). Magnify Yourself in the salvation of sinners and sanctification of saints. In Jesus’ name, we pray, come quickly. Amen. 

Explanation: Name of Jesus

Ken

The name of Jesus is powerful because Jesus saves us from the sin separating us from God, whose holiness frees us from the sin separating us from Jesus. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 KJV). The adversary hates the name of Jesus both because he loses followers, and he can no longer be saved from his own sins. Jesus, meaning ‘Jehovah is salvation,’ seeks to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). OT Israel had a limited view of salvation for the gentile world, just as the NT church has a limited view of salvation as only delivering us from the penalty of sin, but not from the necessity of having to sin. “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thessalonians 5:23). The “name of Jesus”: (1) is essential to “receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38), (2) was used for a lame man to “rise up and walk” (3:6), (3) was proclaimed, taught, spoken, and “preached boldly” by early disciples (4:10, 18; 5:40; 8:12; 9:27), and (4) was used to command a demon out of a fortune teller, “in the name of” (16:18). Why such critical importance for the “name of Jesus”?  Because Jesus is the tip of the spear, the point of the arrow, the edge of the knife that defeats our true “adversary the devil” (1Peter 5:8), who tempts us to sin. But, of more importance, Jesus has promised to save us from ourselves. “He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). Either sin separates us from God or God separates us from sin. LORD, You are the God of Salvation, who is able to save “to the uttermost” them that come to You through the name of Jesus (Hebrews 7:25). We do not want to waste our time with gods many and lords many, but only You. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). In Jesus name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

Opinion: Another Lone Gunman

Ken

“For loners, they sure are a big group,” observed Wall Street Journal columnist, Peggy Noonan (July 14, 2024). Thomas Matthew Crooks (20-years-old) joined the fraternity of loners to attempt an assassination of a US President, then he was killed by the US Secret Service after wounding former President Donald Trump (R) at a campaign appearance in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13th. Sadly, one other was killed, and two others were injured by the gunman. Freedom to choose does not guarantee the right choice. Why did he act? It is not certain. Not requiring a conspiracy or even a clear political statement to explain the assassination attempt; it is only clear, God cannot always wisely prevent sin.

Why did Crooks act? “Having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12 KJV). A generation set adrift without hope will lash out against any authority, which to them represents God in their lives. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Only the “power of God” (1:16) could change that negative outcome.

Unless the Church embraces doctrine: (1) requiring “holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14), (2) understanding you cannot be holy and sinful at the same time, since “no man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24) and “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?” (James 3:11), and (3) promising the Holy Spirit’s assistance “which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13), then we will be powerless to prevent more lawlessness. No more assuring anyone of Heaven, while pulling a trigger to assassinate a President.

LORD, the world is turned upside down, when the Church does not have the understanding or influence to keep us from consuming ourselves, our families, our churches, the nation, or the world. Let understanding start with us and spread to the world. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Antichrist: Seven Heads, Ten Horns, and Ten Crowns (Revelation 13:1)

Ken

Antichrist is this arch blasphemer against God. Going beyond simple disobedience or impious actions; but, “who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2Thessalonians 2:4 KJV). Where did this blasphemer originate? “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy” (Revelation 13:1). The Gentile nations are represented by the “seas” (13:1). John draws upon Daniel to explain the beast. Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a “great image” (Daniel 2:31), whose “head was of fine gold [Babylon], his breast and his arms of silver [Medo-Persia], his belly and his thighs of brass [Greece], 33 His legs of iron [Rome], his feet part of iron and part of clay [the Revived Roman Empire]. 38 Thou [Nebuchadnezzar] art this head of gold [the Babylonian Empire]. 39 And after thee [Nebuchadnezzar] shall arise another kingdom [the Medo-Persian Empire of Darius and Cyrus] inferior to thee, and another third kingdom [the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great] of brass, which shall bear rule over all the Earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom [the Roman Empire] shall be strong as iron” (2:32-33, 38-40). 

To this initial interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel had a subsequent vision, which John uses to describe Antichrist’s “ten horns” (Revelation 13:1). A governmental system and its head, here, are interchangeable. “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast [the Roman Empire], dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another Little Horn [the Antichrist], before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things” (Daniel 7:7-8). 

Of the seven stages of Gentile world power, six are historical, and the seventh is a revived form of the sixth (the Roman Empire):

(1) Egypt (1600-1200 BC),
(2) Assyria (900-600 BC),
(3) Babylon (606-536 BC),
(4) Medo-Persia (536-330 BC), 

(5) Greece (330-146 BC),

(6) Rome (200 BC-400 AD), and

(7) the Revived Roman Empire, which seems to be the European Union, that was formed from the older European Economic Community (1957-1958) through the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty), which was enacted on November 1st 1993.

What Daniel’s interpretations and visions teach us is God has a discernible succession of governments and empires defining world history. The LORD would not reveal this unless He expected us to understand it, i.e., “whoso readeth, let him understand” (Matthew 24:15), acquiesce to His will being done through them, i.e., “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” (6:10), and pray for the fulfillment of His prophecies by them, i.e., “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). 

Since “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2Peter 1:20), the fulfillment of any discussed prophecies is subject to your estimation of whether they have been, are, or will be fulfilled, but most of all, whether the “Spirit of Prophecy” (Revelation 19:10) agrees they have fulfilled their purpose. If you listen to the preaching or teaching of God’s Word, then you are listening to a human opinion. Your job is to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1Thessalonians 5:21). Remember, agreeing with the interpretation of any scholar, teacher, commentator does not mean accepting man’s opinion over God’s, since any good thought first had to come from the mind of God. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). Pray only to be receptive to the thoughts coming from Him. “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law” (Psalm 119:18).

LORD, give Your servants understanding of Your prophecies that we may labor with You in praying for the fulfillment of those prophecies. Hasten Your return to us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. 

Suggestion: For a coherent opinion about Bible Prophecy, I recommend Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times by John Walvoord.