ANNAPOLIS – SWEET AND BITTER!
November 16, 2007
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Revelation 10:7-11 – But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. [8] And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. [9] And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. [10] And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
[11] And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Revelation 11:15,18 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
[18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
An exposition of the Scriptures above is found following the Jerusalem Post Article in this Blog.
The events of the Middle East since my many incursions into it in from 1952 to 2000, plus all current and prophesied future events, h ave
never failed to be a bitter and sweet taste, like the taste of a dish called “sweet and sour pork. If I were not a believer that one day soon the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, was going to suddenly return, I do indeed confess my “taste” of individual events would, in most cases, be either bitter, sweet, or bland. As I read the terrible things that will be happening to the Jewish population during the last three and one-half years of the tribulation period, it creates a sweet thought in my mind, because it means the coming of the Messiah is on our doorstep, but as I consider the horror it will create on both young and old, it generates a very bitter taste in my stomach. The Bible translations at times render a certain word as “bowels,” which really means a feeling in the stomach usually associated with anger, anxiety or compassion. On more than one occasion I have been advised by some of my Jewish friends that I am “getting in their stomach.” It is usually at this point that I change the conversation as it relates to Jesus being the Messiah of both Jew and Gentile.
The Annapolis Peace Conference is a bitter and sweet affair for me. I know that IF a Middle East peace actually comes out of it, it must be a false peace. Seeing a false peace actually come out of it would generate a sudden surge of mixed emotions within me. It would be very sweet news to me, because I have been waiting for years for it to occur
with the awareness its arrival would mean Messiah’s coming was so close I could taste it.
But at the same time I would be acutely aware it also meant God’s judgment and wrath was about to be poured out on this earth. I have a sweet taste because false peace means the long awaited millennial reign of Jesus is near, but a bitter feeling of sadness because I know the descendents of Jacob are being led down a garden path to a quicksand mire at the end of the trail. Whatever God does, whether it involves his love or wrath is a sweet taste to me, and I feel absolutely no bitterness toward him, because he is good, gracious, merciful, and just. The bitter taste I feel is toward myself, and my fellow man, for making his judgment necessary by our conduct toward him.
An exposition of Revelation 10:7 with 11:15,18 may be found after the Jerusalem Post Article, which perhaps would shed light on the bitter and sweet feelings John experienced from the time he tasted it until he digested it.
Begin Jerusalem Post Article
Civil Fights: Ehud Olmert’s misplaced trust
Evelyn Gordon, THE JERUSALEM POST
November 14, 2007
It is too soon to know the full extent of Ehud Olmert’s pre-Annapolis concessions. But already, according to press reports that his office has not denied, he has made one concession devastating to Israel’s security: accepting Washington as the arbiter of whether the Palestinians have fulfilled their counterterrorism commitments under the road map.
The road map states that as the Palestinians progress on counterterrorism (arresting terrorists, confiscating weapons, reforming their security services, etc.), Israel must dismantle its own counterterrorism measures: For instance, it must remove checkpoints and withdraw the IDF to
the September 28, 2000 lines. Clearly, taking these steps before the Palestinian Authority is both willing and able to prevent attacks would leave Israel vulnerable to the same relentless terrorism that characterized the first years of the intifada, before these measures were in place. Thus a premature determination that the PA is in fact willing and able to take over is a recipe for renewed suicide bombings in Israel’s heartland.
The crucial question, therefore, is whether the US can be trusted to make this determination in Israel’s stead. Since America has long been Israel’s staunchest ally, entrusting it with this task might seem unobjectionable. However, there are two reasons why the US cannot be trusted to protect Israel’s security needs in this case: Keith Dayton and Condoleezza Rice.
LIEUTENANT General Dayton is the official US security coordinator for the “peace process.” His mission includes helping the PA reform its security services and monitoring Palestinian progress on counterterrorism. As Washington’s point man for security-related issues, he would naturally be the one to decide whether the PA had in fact fulfilled its counterterrorism responsibilities sufficiently to mandate reciprocal Israeli measures.
Unfortunately, Dayton has proven himself an utterly incompetent judge. This past June, when Hamas launched its takeover of the Gaza Strip, it crushed Fatah’s forces in a mere five days. Yet during weeks of preliminary skirmishes, Dayton – virtually alone among journalistic and diplomatic observers – had insisted that Fatah was fighting much better than anyone gave it credit for and would win a decisive clash if one came.
Why Washington did not recall him after this fiasco remains a mystery. What is certain, however, is that a man who so badly overestimated Fatah’s will and ability to fight Hamas in Gaza cannot be trusted to correctly estimate its will and ability to fight Hamas in the West Bank. Yet that is precisely what Olmert is trusting him to do: By accepting the US as an arbitrator, Olmert has effectively pledged to withdraw the IDF from much of the West Bank the moment Dayton declares the PA both willing and able to fight terror – even if his judgment is as delusional as it was last summer.
THE SECOND problem is Dayton’s boss, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Since she will be responsible for making Israel obey Dayton’s decisions, Israel could theoretically appeal to her should it consider these decisions flawed. In practice, however, there is no chance of her accepting such an appeal – because if there is one thing Rice has proved definitively over the past two years, it is that she has no interest whatsoever in Israel’s security concerns.
If that assessment seems harsh, consider her behavior over the Agreement on Movement and Access, which she brokered following the August 2005 disengagement.
The agreement was meant to ensure the free flow of goods and people to and from Gaza, including between Gaza and the West Bank. Israel’s consent, however, was predicated on the assumption that Fatah, then in sole control of the PA, would work to suppress Gaza-based terror. Instead, rocket fire on southern Israel from Gaza not only continued, but intensified: In 2006, the first full year post-disengagement, the number of rockets launched from Gaza at Israel more than tripled compared to 2004, the last full year pre-disengagement.
And Fatah forces made no effort whatsoever to stop this fire.
Israel thus refused to allow regular convoys between Gaza and the West Bank unless and until the PA, which would be responsible for security on these convoys, took serious action against the rocket threat. That was an obviously vital security measure: Because the West Bank, unlike Gaza, is in rocket range of all of Israel’s major cities, rocket technology must be kept out; yet with the PA demonstrably unwilling or unable to fight the rocket plague in Gaza, it clearly could not be trusted
to ensure that Gaza-West Bank convoys were not used to transfer this technology.
Rice, however, did not see it that way: She demanded that Israel honor its commitments regardless of whether the Palestinians were honoring theirs. Indeed, she continued pushing this issue up until Hamas kicked Fatah out of Gaza in June. As late as May, she was still promoting Dayton’s “benchmark” plan, which called for starting Gaza-West Bank convoys on July 1, even though it required the PA to deploy a revamped security service in Gaza – i.e. one willing and able to fight Gaza-based terror – only by the end of 2007.
In other words, Rice thought Israel should enable convoys to the West Bank six months before PA forces were even in position to keep them from transporting rocket technology, much less demonstrably doing so.
The message could not have been clearer: She considered rocket fire on Tel Aviv an acceptable price to pay for Palestinian freedom of movement.
TO HIS credit, Olmert resisted her on this issue. But now, in his desperation to demonstrate “progress” at Annapolis, he has pledged to dismantle Israel’s entire security network in the West Bank merely on Dayton’s and Rice’s say-so. He has thereby created an impossible trap: Either Israel will indeed have to dismantle its security measures prematurely, leaving the country vulnerable to a new wave of suicide bombings, or it will have to mortally insult its closest ally by refusing to accept its decisions even after having promised to do so.
If that is the measure of Olmert’s judgment in the pre-Annapolis talks, none of us should be sleeping well at night.
End Jerusalem Post Article
Begin Exposition to explain the events which caused John to have a sweet taste in his mouth which turned to a bitter taste in his stomach after he swallowed the little book of Revelation 10.
Words That Are Laid Out To Describe An End Time Mystery!
I Corinthians 15:51,52 – Behold, I SHEW (LEGO) you a MYSTERY; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the LAST (HESCHATOS) trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
SHEW – LEGO – This is the only place in the Bible that LEGO is translated as SHEW. LEGO means “to lay out before.” In this context it would mean “to lay out before the listener in words.”
LAST – HESCHATOS – In reference to time, it means the last thing that completes an action or event. The use of the word, in this context, means that other trumpets had sounded before it, probably in a lengthy series, for if there had only been say one, two, or three, then saying the second or third would have been the normal pattern exhibited in scripture, such as the second or third woe in Revelation.
Paul was “laying out with words” the events of a MYSTERY that would be FULFILLED when the LAST TRUMP sounded.
More than 20 years after Paul’s death, John described the FINISH of the MYSTERY that Paul had previously LAID OUT WITH WORDS, which described some of the events associated with it.
Revelation 10:7 – But in the days of the VOICE of the SEVENTH angel, when he shall BEGIN to sound, the MYSTERY of God should be FINISHED, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
When the LAST TRUMP, in a series of seven trumpets, BEGINS to sound, the MYSTERY of God will be the action that COMPLETES the gathering of all the saved into a place we call heaven. For the first time all the saved will be in heaven, gathered from the earth, both the dead and the living.
Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Christ will descend with the VOICE of the archangel, which I believe to the highest angel in the seven trumpet series, whose sounding begins the final action Paul LAID OUT IN WORDS, and then John announced its TIME OF COMPLETION when the SEVENTH TRUMPET SOUNDS.
I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – 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: [17] 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.
The completion of the MYSTERY will place all of the saved of all the ages before the judgment seat of Christ in heaven, while the ones who morally corrupted the earth feel the wrath of the seven vials poured out on the earth.
Revelation 11:18 – And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which DESTROY the earth.
The very fact that the saved will not suffer the wrath of God’s seven vials is a very comforting thought.
I Thessalonians 4:18 – Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Now consider the last phrase found in Revelation 11:18, “Them with DESTROY (DIAPHTHEIRO) the earth” – The Greek word translated “destroy” is “diaphtheiro,” which literally means “to make rotten to the core.” At one time I thought this meant they had, and were, in the process of physically destroying the earth because that is the common usage of the English word “destroy,” so I did not even bother to examine the Greek meaning for the word “diaphtheiro.” Since doing so I have changed my mind. I now believe it means they have been, and still are, “morally” corrupting the earth as lost men and women, and that God’s wrath will be poured on them as the consequence of rejecting his Son, while all of the saved are being judged in heaven.
DESTROY – DIAPHTHEIRO – to corrupt throughout, to bring to a worst state of depravity, to make rotten to the core.
The word can be used to mean a physical destruction of the earth or a moral destruction of the earth, so one does have a choice, and I have chosen to interpret a double use of the same word in Revelation 11:18 to be the physical destruction of those morally destroying the earth by the one who created the earth. The same word is translated as “corrupt” in other Scriptures in the New Testament, inferring moral or spiritual adultery – One by Paul, inferring spiritual adultery for false teaching concerning the proper way to worship God, is found in I Timothy 6:5 – Perverse disputings of men of CORRUPT minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
The following Scriptures show when the saved are going to be caught out in proximity to Revelation events, but no one at the present time knows when the sounding of the seventh trump will occur. When it does occur, all the saved will be taken up to heaven to be judged for the works done in their bodies for rewards, or the lack of them. For the first time since God created man, all the believers of God’s kingdom will be in heaven in body, soul, and spirit, and all the lost will be in, and on, this present earth.
Revelation 11:15,18 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
“And the nations were angry” – But Armageddon is five chapters away – Revelation 16:16 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
“And thy wrath is come” – God’s wrath does not come until the saved have been caught out – I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
“And the time of the dead” – The saved dead experience resurrection and living saved are instantly changed – I Corinthians 15:51 – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – 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: [17] 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.
“That they should be judged” – The saved of all the ages are judged by the PROMISED SEED in heaven – Genesis 3:15 – And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her SEED; IT shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise HIS heel.
“And that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great” – The saved are judged by Christ for the works they performed in their bodies, whether they were wrought by and in Christ, or by the old fleshly nature – II Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Galatians 6:7 – Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Revelation 22:12,14 – And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. [14] Blessed are they that DO his commandments, that they may HAVE RIGHT to the tree of life, and may ENTER IN through the gates into the city.
Revelation 21:7 – He that overcometh shall inherit ALL things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
The real question that a believer needs to consider, after becoming the child of God through faith in his Son Jesus, is simply this: How much am I going to subm it myself to the indwelling Spir
it of Christ, to let him continue what he has started, once again overcoming the world, but this time he overcomes it in me. The degree to which you allow him to again overcome in you determines two things: (1) Whether you receive ALL of the reward he has waiting for you at his Son’s judgment seat, and (2) How close a relationship you will have with him in heaven, that is to say, where you abide in heaven in proximity to where he positions himself. All the saved remain forever in heaven, and all will be happy in glorified bodies, but those who served him after salvation will be happier than all the many that did not. Salvation is by grace through faith, and once it is received it is eternal, and does not need works to maintain it, but make no mistake, our salvation is a workmanship of the Spirit of God, and he created us for the purpose of being able to perform his works of his Spirit, and if we do not, we will be judged by Christ for not having done so.
Ephesians 2:8-10 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM.
Ephesians 3:21 to 4:4 – Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. [4] I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that YE WALK WORTHY of the vocation wherewith ye are called, [2] With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; [3] Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [4] There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Ephesians 2:22 – In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Revelation 3:4 – Thou hast a FEW names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall WALK WITH ME in white: for they ARE WORTHY.
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