On Our Way Back To The Judgements: The Obedience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hktP9LHaRI0
Re 14:6 And I saw another angel in flight between heaven and earth, having eternal good news to give to those who are on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and language and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Have fear of God and give him glory; because the hour of his judging is come; and give worship to him who made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of water.
8 And a second angel came after, saying, Destruction has come to Babylon the great, which gave to all the nations the wine of the wrath of her evil ways.
9 And a third angel came after them, saying with a loud voice, If any man gives worship to the beast and his image, and has his mark on his brow or on his hand,
10 To him will be given of the wine of God's wrath which is ready unmixed in the cup of his wrath and he will have cruel pain, burning with fire before the holy angels and before the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their pain goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, who give worship to the beast and his image, and have on them the mark of his name.
12 Here is the quiet strength of the saints, who keep the orders of God, and the faith of Jesus.
13 And a voice from heaven came to my ears, saying, Put in writing, There is a blessing on the dead who from now on come to their end in the Lord: yes, says the Spirit, that they may have rest from their troubles; for their works go with them.
(BBE)
So let's start with a scene from a not angel Angel show:
"See, for us, there is no fight. Which is why winning doesn't enter into it. We go on, no matter what. Our firm has always been here on Earth... in one form or another. The Inquisition. The Khmer Rouge. We were there when the very first cave man clubbed his neighbor on the head with a rock for stealing his dinner. See, we're in the hearts and minds of every single living being. And that, friend, is what's making things so difficult for you. You see, the world doesn't work in spite of evil, Angel. It works with us. It works because of us. "
―Holland Manners
Angel was a TV show about a fallen angel, a vampire meaning who has a demon inside him but he has been given a soul by a gypsy enchantment as revenge for one of his previous bad deeds. Now he is tormented by his blood thirst, trying to earn his way back to being human by deeds performed for the Powers That Be. The speech above was delivered to him by a dead lawyer who has a contract with the evil law firm he serves that extends after death, The speech is given as Angel is riding in a an elevator that is supposed to take him to the home world of evil so he can kill as many of the leaders as possible with a magic gauntlet he has obtained.
In reality, the power to transport him has been nullified and Holland is supposed to be misleading him.
Thing is: it's true. The show has been reading the Bible and used that truth as a way to mislead Angel from going after the home of evil. But we need to realize it IS the truth. It IS what the Bible says, that IS the real truth. Evil has it's home here since the Fall. If you don't believe evil works hand-in-hand with the systems, you haven't been paying attention. In the USA it is easy for us to believe otherwise since God has blessed us because we fit his plan for the eventual End Times. In this country we have believed we are blessed because of our Puritan ethic, our race away from the ostentatious to the austere. We ignore a history of witch hunts and the slaughter of Native Americans in the midst of patting ourselves on our religious backs. We have kept alive an idea of works, of us deserving God's favor by our acts, even as the show Angel tells us that the fallen can work their way back to redemption. Angel will never earn his salvation any more than we earned the honor to serve God by ushering in the return of Israel.
But even the mislead like the writers, producers and directors of that TV show can stumble onto truth even if they don't recognize it, as they are following a false angel's leading.
All of us are really trapped in TV ad instead of show, calling: "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"
Meanwhile, we need to realize that obedience is at the core of what REAL angels do.
It's easy to forget. We see them bringing messages and now bringing curses to the Earth. We see them having great power and acting. We never see them waiting, waiting fir an eternity at the side of god for him to tell them what ot do. We see them misidentified as countries, as people in history, by those of us who have issues to prove. We see them as darling little things on gift shop shelves, looking more like the god Eros than the mighty warriors of God.
But this, this is seeing them as witnesses to the entire world.
During all those end times battles we discussed and during some we will perview later, the Two Witnesses perform their duties.
3 And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
5 And if anyone will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone will hurt them, so it is right for him to be killed.
6 These have authority to shut up the heaven, that it may not rain in the days of their prophecy. And they have authority over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
Now this is an example of God bringing HIS wrath. His witnesses will bring plagues as Moses did to Egypt. Stop the rain as Elijah. All the Old Testament powers for a time when the Spirit behaves as it did in the OT.
We don't know where the witnesses will pop up over and over again, but we know they end up In Israel. I can imagine them appearing in the USA fro full TV coverage from La before that bomb hits. I can think of them wandering into North or South Korea. Truthfully, we all see the world as much smaller than the times of Moses and Elijah or Enoch. We saw how back then God had Moses and the Israelites tramping all over for forty years in an area we could fly over in a few hours and chart perhaps even faster by satellite. The voices of complaint from the wandering Hebrews were nothing compared to the yowls from raging armkies or from football fans the world over during a World Cup game or during this weekend's Super Bowl. We see every event everywhere fully sponsored. I can see a rainmaking company sponsoring the stopping of rain coverage on some local TV stations and offering services only to abscond with the money they receive before kit becfomes obvious they failed.
Could it be they will haunt every nation, stopping rain here, bringing down fires on armies that pursue them?
Or, and this seems more likely, will they remain only in Israel moving about in the mountains, their heat signatures obscured by rock or, later, by dessert heart. appearing to perform their tasks as warnings against the Jewish alliance with the AC, disappearing even as they vanquish forces sent against them. TV coverage abundant in the EU and the rest of the world.
Heading toward their day of defeat by the AC.
But quietly doing their real task, building an army of 144, 000 world wide, ready to shake the ground like the earthquakes themselves that will follow everywhere in the Last Days.
All of them living lives of obedience, obedience to the Word, kept somehow alive whiole the AC takes his pains to crush anyone Christian.
But they are the human element we so often hear about and dwelll on. What about the angels we;ve mentioned. How are they alike?
The two witness precede the three Angels. Wesley sees the three as men:
V. 6. And I saw another angel-A second is mentioned, Re 14:8; a third, Re 14:9. These three denote great messengers of God with their assistants; three men who bring messages from God to men. The first exhorts to the fear and worship of God; the second proclaims the fall of Babylon; the third gives warning concerning the beast. Happy are they who make the right use of these divine messages!
Flying-Going on swiftly.
In the midst of heaven-Breadthways.
Having an everlasting gospel-Not the gospel, properly so called; but a gospel, or joyful message, which was to have an influence on all ages.
To preach to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people-Both to Jew and Gentile, even as far as the authority of the beast had extended.
Matt Henry:
Revelation 14:6 Re 14:6
Ver. 6.
In this part of the chapter we have three angels or messengers sent from heaven to give notice of the fall of Babylon, and of those things that were antecedent and consequent to that great event.
I. The first angel was sent on an errand antecedent to it, and that was to preach the everlasting gospel, Re 14:6-7. Observe,
1. The gospel is an everlasting gospel; it is so in its nature, and it will be so in its consequences. Though all flesh be grass, the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
2. It is a work fit for an angel to preach this everlasting gospel; such is the dignity, and such is the difficulty of that work! And yet we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
3. The everlasting gospel is of great concern to all the world; and, as it is the concern of all, it is very much to be desired that it should be made known to all, even to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.
4. The gospel is the great means whereby men are brought to fear God, and to give glory to him. Natural religion is not sufficient to keep up the fear of God, nor to secure to him glory from men; it is the gospel that revives the fear of God, and retrieves his glory in the world.
5. When idolatry creeps into the churches of God, it is by the preaching of the gospel, attended by the power of the Holy Spirit, that men are turned from idols to serve the living God, as the Creator of the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters, Re 14:7. To worship any God besides him who created the world is idolatry.
II. The second angel follows the other, and proclaims the actual fall of Babylon. The preaching of the everlasting gospel had shaken the foundations of antichristianism in the world, and hastened its downfall. By Babylon is generally understood Rome, which was before called Sodom and Egypt, for wickedness and cruelty, and is now first called Babylon, for pride and idolatry. Observe,
1. What God has fore-ordained and foretold shall be done as certainly as if it were done already.
2. The greatness of the papal Babylon will not be able to prevent her fall, but will make it more dreadful and remarkable.
3. The wickedness of Babylon, in corrupting, debauching, and intoxicating the nations round about her, will make her fall just and will declare the righteousness of God in her utter ruin, Re 14:8. Her crimes are recited as the just cause of her destruction.
III. A third angel follows the other two, and gives warning to all of that divine vengeance which would overtake all those that obstinately adhered to the antichristian interest after God had thus proclaimed its downfal, Re 14:9-10. If after this (this threatening denounced against Babylon, and in part already executed) any should persist in their idolatry, professing subjection to the beast and promoting his cause, they must expect to drink deep of the wine of the wrath of God; they shall be for ever miserable in soul and body; Jesus Christ will inflict this punishment upon them, and the holy angels will behold it and approve of it. Idolatry, both pagan and papal, is a damning sin in its own nature, and will prove fatal to those who persist in it, after fair warning given by the word of Providence; those who refuse to come out of Babylon, when thus called, and resolve to partake of her sins, must receive of her plagues; and the guilt and ruin of such incorrigible idolaters will serve to set forth the excellency of the patience and obedience of the saints. These graces shall be rewarded with salvation and glory. When the treachery and rebellion of others shall be punished with everlasting destruction, then it will be said, to the honour of the faithful Re 14:12: Here is the patience of the saints; you have before seen their patience exercised, now you see it rewarded.
Being in a time closer to the end, we can see perhaps a bit more clearly.
This is in the middle times, The Beast has entered his last 3 1/2 years of ruling. The whore of Babylon is fallen. She was the New Age dream. the Beast proclaimed all gods were legit and all could be worshiped equally and man could seek godhood for himself. He displayed his powers in ruling, in crushing any country that resisted and bringing others to their knees by embargos and control of wealth. He will build a religious government in a way our current President is persieging with his Christian references
Referring to the way Trump has been acting in the creation of his government image:
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-is-creating-a-new-form-of-christian-nationalism-centered-around-himself-d8687f41cc49/
In some ways, this is normal. So-called “civil religion”—the use of religious references or terminology in political rhetoric—is a common part of the presidential rhetorical toolbox, so it seems logical that Trump and his speechwriters/advisors Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller would adopt it. President Barack Obama, sometimes a “theologian-in-chief,” regularly cited scripture in his speeches, as did George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and virtually every American president ever.
But Trump and his religious surrogates aren’t just lifting up general religious platitudes. Rather, the president’s inauguration—especially his inaugural address—ushered in a revival of an old but controversial American theological tradition, amended for a new era: Christian nationalism, Trump style.
When “God’s people” really means “patriotic Americans”
Trump’s first overt reference to the divine came in the latter half of his inaugural speech, when he was opining on the virtues of patriotism. After promising to “reform the world against radical Islamic terrorism” in order to “eradicate” extremists, he declared that when someone “open[s their] heart to patriotism, there is not room for prejudice.”
He then added, “the Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”
Let’s set aside for a moment the historical fact that patriotism has long been co-opted as a tool for prejudice, and focus on how Trump is referencing Psalm 133 here. His broader point—that societies function better when people are unified—makes sense generally. But things take a sharp turn when grokking what Trump is communicating theologically.
Take Trump’s use of “God’s people.” He didn’t have to use this phrase, since it varies depending on the Biblical translation— it’s “God’s people” in the New International Version, but others read “kindred” (New Revised Standard Version), “brethren” (King James Version), or “brothers” (English Standard Version). It’s also not clear if he or his speechwriters understand the original Old Testament/Hebrew Bible meaning of the term, which was specifically referencing the Jewish people.
Regardless, Trump parrots “God’s people” anyway, implying that all Americans — or at least all Christian Americans — are somehow chosen by God. And more importantly, he intentionally conflates the spiritual unity of “God’s people” with patriotism, merging commitment to country with a devotion to the Almighty.
This is not a new idea. Ever since Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of Rome in 313 CE, innumerable Christian leaders (and politicians) have spouted spiritual nationalism or jingoism in the pursuit of power. The American expansion westward—and the subsequent subjugation of the Native Americans—was justified using theological concepts of “manifest destiny,” for example, and modern China has a habit of promoting state-sponsored versions of Christianity that meld patriotism and religious devotion.
Trump parrots “God’s people” anyway, implying that all Americans — or at least all Christian Americans — are somehow chosen by God. And more importantly, he intentionally conflates the religious unity of “God’s people” with patriotism, merging commitment to country with a devotion to the Almighty.
These efforts have been vociferously opposed by both liberal and conservative theologians and thinkers for centuries. There are numerous arguments against the approach, including the fact that the Christian/Jewish God explicitly forbids religious nationalism in the Biblical 10 Commandments, when God tells believers not to put any gods/idols—country or otherwise—before the divine (Jesus said something similar).
Others simply call religious nationalism by another name: heresy.
Yet the Trump administration’s steadfast commitment to a “Christian America” framing was all but confirmed on Friday, when Prosperity Gospel preacher and Trump spiritual adviser Paula White delivered a prayer during the inauguration.
“Let your favor be upon this one nation under God,” White prayed, referencing the Pledge of Allegiance. “Let these United States of America be that beacon of hope to all people and nations under your dominion, a true hope for humankind.”
This interlacing of nationalism and faith was quickly flagged by experts. Peter Manseau, author of “One Nation, Under Gods: A New American History,” told the Washington Post that Trump’s inauguration rhetoric reflected a “desire to fuse the languages of faith and nation.”
But things were made even more explicit three days later, when it was revealed that Trump issued an official proclamation designating January 20, 2017 a “National Day of Patriotic Devotion.”
“A new national pride stirs the American soul and inspires the American heart,” the statement reads. “Our Constitution is written on parchment, but it lives in the hearts of the American people. There is no freedom where the people do not believe in it; no law where the people do not follow it; and no peace where the people do not pray for it. There are no greater people than the American citizenry, and as long as we believe in ourselves, and our country, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.”
Trump as a divinely ordained, supernatural ruler?
Trump didn’t invent American Christian nationalism. Leaders of the Religious Right have spent years promoting the idea that America is a “Christian nation,” and entire religions such as Mormonism—which views the U.S. Constitution as a divinely inspired document—have already baked similar theology into their dogma.
But another paragraph of Trump’s inauguration speech hints that he and his advisers are crafting a new version of this America-focused Christianity—one that keeps Trump at the center.
After suggesting there should be “no fear” while he is in office, Trump assured Americans they will be safe because they will be protected by the military, law enforcement officials, and God.
CREDIT: Adam Peck/ThinkProgress
CREDIT: ADAM PECK/THINKPROGRESS
It’s not uncommon for presidents to praise the might of the American military, which is, without question, the most powerful fighting force in the world. Nor is it unusual for people of faith to implore God to protect the United States and its citizens—both liberal and conservative religious groups pray similar orisons each week.
But Trump drags both concepts into a very different—and highly unusual—theological space: he appears to be arguing that America will be protected by God because he is president.
Granted, the phrasing here is vague. But the conviction of his construction—that God will protect Americans now—raises questions. Was America not protected before Trump, when Southern states seceded from the Union in 1861 and sparked a brutal Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in our nation’s history? Did God turn a blind eye to the land of free when Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941? Did the divine simply ignore us all when terrorists struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, murdering nearly 3,000 people?
Does this mean that presidents Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and George W. Bush just weren’t good enough to curry God’s favor?
But Trump drags both concepts into a very different — and highly unusual — theological space: he appears to be arguing that America will be protected by God because he is president.
Trump didn’t answer these questions in his speech, but he didn’t have to. His bevy of religious surrogates glossed over them for him on Inauguration Day.
On the morning of his inauguration, Trump attended a traditional service at St. John’s, an Episcopal Church directly across from the White House. He chose megapastor and devoted supporter Robert Jeffress—who also happens to endorse anti-Catholic, anti-Muslim, anti-Mormon, and anti-LGBT theology—to deliver his sermon.
The title of his homily? “When God chooses a leader.”
“As the prophet Daniel said, it is God who removes and establishes leaders,” Jeffress said. “God has raised [Trump] and Vice-President-elect Pence up for a great, eternal purpose.”
He went on to argue that God elevates great leaders, gifting them with seemingly supernatural powers to achieve impossible goals and defy all those who oppose them. Trump, he says, is one such leader.
A similar sentiment was echoed later that day by evangelist Franklin Graham, who delivered a prayer shortly after Trump spoke.
“Mr. President in the Bible rain is a sign of God’s blessing,” Franklin said, a bizarre claim directly contradicted by the Biblical flood God used to wipe out almost all of humanity in the book of Genesis. “And it started to rain, Mr. President, when you came to the platform.”
[Jeffress] went on to argue that God elevates great leaders, gifting them with seemingly supernatural powers to achieve impossible goals and defy all those who oppose them. Trump, he says, is one such leader.
The idea of God-chosen leaders is an old one, rooted in scripture and dating back to a theological concept known as the “divine right of kings”—or that leaders (specifically monarchs) are chosen by God, and thus beholden to no one but God. Despite the constancy of Christian nationalism in American history, there is a rich history of patriots opposing this idea: Thomas Paine, for instance, dedicated a healthy part of his landmark “Common Sense” to debunking the concept.
Yet an atmosphere of divine selection surrounded Trump’s inauguration all the same (although, thankfully, he has yet declare himself immune to the democratic process). And while preachers have lauded any number of past Commanders-in-Chief, few if any presidents have packed their stages with those who flaunt it, or inculcated their speeches with such self-righteous claims.
An uncertain theological future
This kind of theology has obvious pitfalls, of course. After all, if America does endure another terrorist attack during Trump’s tenure, does that mean God has turned against Trump?
Meanwhile, his message is already sparking backlash among some observers. Michael Peppard, associate professor of theology at Fordham University, railed against “Trump’s God” in a recent post for the Catholic publication Commonweal, noting that his rhetoric paints the divine as “an extension — even a projection — of the American military and law enforcement.”
“If our civil religion is heading that direction, toward theologically grounded militarism and policing, then we Christians really are in grave spiritual danger,” Peppard wrote.
But Trump, flanked by his menagerie of loyal faith leaders, is already preaching a nationalist gospel from the largest of pulpits. And while the exact parameters of this developing theology remain to be seen, it’s clear a revival of American Christian nationalism is on the horizon—with Trump as its high priest.
The AC will do something similar except he will be quoting all manner of religious texts. And using himself as an example not just of genius but of godhood. And actually using powers to show it off.
The AC godhood will resemble the Wallace character in Blade Runner 2049. One who wants the secret not just of creating artificial life but of giving it the ability to reproduce so he will have an army of "angels" to multiply and conquer all the worlds of the universe. He randomly creates and then destroys new life forms. In a testament to Hollywood's "new consciousness", I guess, almost all the nude designs for light and humanoid forms are naked women. Satan wants women seen as goddesses or sexual playthings to reduce them to rolls he can understand and easily manipulate even though that plan went far wrong while trying to destroy Christ. Satan has to twist the truth to every degree possible but can never come up with anything new.
But the one being featured in all that worship will be the angel, They exist in most modern religions in one form or another. Angels gave Joseph Smith and Mohamed their sacred books. You see them ion TV in "Touched by an Angel" reruns where God is all love and Jesus isn't mentioned as he may offend someone. In reruns of "Highway to Heaven" where the angel gets oddball missions.
But actual angels of heaven are given a specific mission from God, one they were created to handle from the beginning, perhaps eons before they were called to it. Some are given great power but are not as powerful as others. Jesus suggested he could call in a legion and wipe out the whole Roman army. Others seem only designed to deliver a message and be gone. We are never told how many there are or what all the purposes are because we are not God and have no real use for that knowledge even if we had it.
Bit these three are given an honor among angels to deliver God's message of salvation and destruction and a warning for the last half of the Tribulation. They will be seen by all the Earth, either by TV coverage or by their appearance live in various places, perhaps at the same time. We know that the Two Witnesses will be speaking as Peter did at Pentecost, in a voice that will be heard and understood in all languages. We can expect nothing less of the Three.
The first delivers the Salvation message. This may trigger all the 144,000. It seems likely. it will be their sounding call. Imagine having to tell people who saw their loved ones disappear and believed in the lie of a Harmonic Conversion of some sort that they were wrong. This is like a Paul experience for the entire world! Not the image of Christ, true, but the glory of one of God's true angels before all humanity.
At that point the next angel lets everyone know that Babylon was destroyed in Mid Tribulation because of her evil. this evangelist says everyone must repent of their ways, their false worship, their materialism, their love of false miracles and entertainment over the love of Christ for eternity.
Then the third angel delivers the warning to not take the mark that the AC will be demanding, may even then be demanding of humanity. It warns that there is a greater tomorrow and a special reward for those who do not fail in the face of losing their lives to great torture and hunger and poverty. The gas chambers at Auschwitz will seem like kindness compared to what believers will face in those last 3 1/2 years. They will echo the tortures throughout the years that our people suffered.
And these evangelists will be ones that have been honored beings, worshiped being, throughout history and in the first stage of the Tribulation. This is not just men voicing God's will. This ese are revered figures. These are the supposed sources of much of the literature that millions follow.
"Hello! the ones who commissioned your sacred texts are gtelling hyou to go back to the true God. to the Jesus of your own texts. Listen."
And there is this little addendum concerning the ones who listen to this angel, to the Two, to the 144,000: "For their works go with them."
Our works today, any that are of true service, get placed in a crown to be cast before our Savior. Any false works get burned up like chaff in the fire of entering God's presence. But these, these ones will have ALL their works carried with them. ALL. Imagine what that means. That every step of the way has been in resistance to the power of Satan. Today, we slosh through a wadding pool of evil that is deepening every day. Even our most tortured have a beacon of hope from churches in various countries, have a truth preached openly in many of those places, though oppressed and threatened. Have a hope to escape to The USA and other Western ntions where they can worship as they wish, .But these in the future who are going to be saved then will be up to their necks in a raging river of evil, fighting a current that wants to sweep them away with nowhere to turn, no hope in the present day, nowhere on Earth that will welcome them.
While we have those suffering today and facing death for their belief, poverty for their stand for Christ, the "next generation" will have absolutely no hope, will be taking A STAND FOR CHRIST JUST BY EXISTING.
What glory they will bring in the face of annihilation.
In a way, it is true. heaven is counting on them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAZbSp2yCmE
And for today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gSugruC1jQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hktP9LHaRI0
Re 14:6 And I saw another angel in flight between heaven and earth, having eternal good news to give to those who are on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and language and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Have fear of God and give him glory; because the hour of his judging is come; and give worship to him who made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of water.
8 And a second angel came after, saying, Destruction has come to Babylon the great, which gave to all the nations the wine of the wrath of her evil ways.
9 And a third angel came after them, saying with a loud voice, If any man gives worship to the beast and his image, and has his mark on his brow or on his hand,
10 To him will be given of the wine of God's wrath which is ready unmixed in the cup of his wrath and he will have cruel pain, burning with fire before the holy angels and before the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their pain goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, who give worship to the beast and his image, and have on them the mark of his name.
12 Here is the quiet strength of the saints, who keep the orders of God, and the faith of Jesus.
13 And a voice from heaven came to my ears, saying, Put in writing, There is a blessing on the dead who from now on come to their end in the Lord: yes, says the Spirit, that they may have rest from their troubles; for their works go with them.
(BBE)
So let's start with a scene from a not angel Angel show:
"See, for us, there is no fight. Which is why winning doesn't enter into it. We go on, no matter what. Our firm has always been here on Earth... in one form or another. The Inquisition. The Khmer Rouge. We were there when the very first cave man clubbed his neighbor on the head with a rock for stealing his dinner. See, we're in the hearts and minds of every single living being. And that, friend, is what's making things so difficult for you. You see, the world doesn't work in spite of evil, Angel. It works with us. It works because of us. "
―Holland Manners
Angel was a TV show about a fallen angel, a vampire meaning who has a demon inside him but he has been given a soul by a gypsy enchantment as revenge for one of his previous bad deeds. Now he is tormented by his blood thirst, trying to earn his way back to being human by deeds performed for the Powers That Be. The speech above was delivered to him by a dead lawyer who has a contract with the evil law firm he serves that extends after death, The speech is given as Angel is riding in a an elevator that is supposed to take him to the home world of evil so he can kill as many of the leaders as possible with a magic gauntlet he has obtained.
In reality, the power to transport him has been nullified and Holland is supposed to be misleading him.
Thing is: it's true. The show has been reading the Bible and used that truth as a way to mislead Angel from going after the home of evil. But we need to realize it IS the truth. It IS what the Bible says, that IS the real truth. Evil has it's home here since the Fall. If you don't believe evil works hand-in-hand with the systems, you haven't been paying attention. In the USA it is easy for us to believe otherwise since God has blessed us because we fit his plan for the eventual End Times. In this country we have believed we are blessed because of our Puritan ethic, our race away from the ostentatious to the austere. We ignore a history of witch hunts and the slaughter of Native Americans in the midst of patting ourselves on our religious backs. We have kept alive an idea of works, of us deserving God's favor by our acts, even as the show Angel tells us that the fallen can work their way back to redemption. Angel will never earn his salvation any more than we earned the honor to serve God by ushering in the return of Israel.
But even the mislead like the writers, producers and directors of that TV show can stumble onto truth even if they don't recognize it, as they are following a false angel's leading.
All of us are really trapped in TV ad instead of show, calling: "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"
Meanwhile, we need to realize that obedience is at the core of what REAL angels do.
It's easy to forget. We see them bringing messages and now bringing curses to the Earth. We see them having great power and acting. We never see them waiting, waiting fir an eternity at the side of god for him to tell them what ot do. We see them misidentified as countries, as people in history, by those of us who have issues to prove. We see them as darling little things on gift shop shelves, looking more like the god Eros than the mighty warriors of God.
But this, this is seeing them as witnesses to the entire world.
During all those end times battles we discussed and during some we will perview later, the Two Witnesses perform their duties.
3 And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
5 And if anyone will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone will hurt them, so it is right for him to be killed.
6 These have authority to shut up the heaven, that it may not rain in the days of their prophecy. And they have authority over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
Now this is an example of God bringing HIS wrath. His witnesses will bring plagues as Moses did to Egypt. Stop the rain as Elijah. All the Old Testament powers for a time when the Spirit behaves as it did in the OT.
We don't know where the witnesses will pop up over and over again, but we know they end up In Israel. I can imagine them appearing in the USA fro full TV coverage from La before that bomb hits. I can think of them wandering into North or South Korea. Truthfully, we all see the world as much smaller than the times of Moses and Elijah or Enoch. We saw how back then God had Moses and the Israelites tramping all over for forty years in an area we could fly over in a few hours and chart perhaps even faster by satellite. The voices of complaint from the wandering Hebrews were nothing compared to the yowls from raging armkies or from football fans the world over during a World Cup game or during this weekend's Super Bowl. We see every event everywhere fully sponsored. I can see a rainmaking company sponsoring the stopping of rain coverage on some local TV stations and offering services only to abscond with the money they receive before kit becfomes obvious they failed.
Could it be they will haunt every nation, stopping rain here, bringing down fires on armies that pursue them?
Or, and this seems more likely, will they remain only in Israel moving about in the mountains, their heat signatures obscured by rock or, later, by dessert heart. appearing to perform their tasks as warnings against the Jewish alliance with the AC, disappearing even as they vanquish forces sent against them. TV coverage abundant in the EU and the rest of the world.
Heading toward their day of defeat by the AC.
But quietly doing their real task, building an army of 144, 000 world wide, ready to shake the ground like the earthquakes themselves that will follow everywhere in the Last Days.
All of them living lives of obedience, obedience to the Word, kept somehow alive whiole the AC takes his pains to crush anyone Christian.
But they are the human element we so often hear about and dwelll on. What about the angels we;ve mentioned. How are they alike?
The two witness precede the three Angels. Wesley sees the three as men:
V. 6. And I saw another angel-A second is mentioned, Re 14:8; a third, Re 14:9. These three denote great messengers of God with their assistants; three men who bring messages from God to men. The first exhorts to the fear and worship of God; the second proclaims the fall of Babylon; the third gives warning concerning the beast. Happy are they who make the right use of these divine messages!
Flying-Going on swiftly.
In the midst of heaven-Breadthways.
Having an everlasting gospel-Not the gospel, properly so called; but a gospel, or joyful message, which was to have an influence on all ages.
To preach to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people-Both to Jew and Gentile, even as far as the authority of the beast had extended.
Matt Henry:
Revelation 14:6 Re 14:6
Ver. 6.
In this part of the chapter we have three angels or messengers sent from heaven to give notice of the fall of Babylon, and of those things that were antecedent and consequent to that great event.
I. The first angel was sent on an errand antecedent to it, and that was to preach the everlasting gospel, Re 14:6-7. Observe,
1. The gospel is an everlasting gospel; it is so in its nature, and it will be so in its consequences. Though all flesh be grass, the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
2. It is a work fit for an angel to preach this everlasting gospel; such is the dignity, and such is the difficulty of that work! And yet we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
3. The everlasting gospel is of great concern to all the world; and, as it is the concern of all, it is very much to be desired that it should be made known to all, even to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.
4. The gospel is the great means whereby men are brought to fear God, and to give glory to him. Natural religion is not sufficient to keep up the fear of God, nor to secure to him glory from men; it is the gospel that revives the fear of God, and retrieves his glory in the world.
5. When idolatry creeps into the churches of God, it is by the preaching of the gospel, attended by the power of the Holy Spirit, that men are turned from idols to serve the living God, as the Creator of the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters, Re 14:7. To worship any God besides him who created the world is idolatry.
II. The second angel follows the other, and proclaims the actual fall of Babylon. The preaching of the everlasting gospel had shaken the foundations of antichristianism in the world, and hastened its downfall. By Babylon is generally understood Rome, which was before called Sodom and Egypt, for wickedness and cruelty, and is now first called Babylon, for pride and idolatry. Observe,
1. What God has fore-ordained and foretold shall be done as certainly as if it were done already.
2. The greatness of the papal Babylon will not be able to prevent her fall, but will make it more dreadful and remarkable.
3. The wickedness of Babylon, in corrupting, debauching, and intoxicating the nations round about her, will make her fall just and will declare the righteousness of God in her utter ruin, Re 14:8. Her crimes are recited as the just cause of her destruction.
III. A third angel follows the other two, and gives warning to all of that divine vengeance which would overtake all those that obstinately adhered to the antichristian interest after God had thus proclaimed its downfal, Re 14:9-10. If after this (this threatening denounced against Babylon, and in part already executed) any should persist in their idolatry, professing subjection to the beast and promoting his cause, they must expect to drink deep of the wine of the wrath of God; they shall be for ever miserable in soul and body; Jesus Christ will inflict this punishment upon them, and the holy angels will behold it and approve of it. Idolatry, both pagan and papal, is a damning sin in its own nature, and will prove fatal to those who persist in it, after fair warning given by the word of Providence; those who refuse to come out of Babylon, when thus called, and resolve to partake of her sins, must receive of her plagues; and the guilt and ruin of such incorrigible idolaters will serve to set forth the excellency of the patience and obedience of the saints. These graces shall be rewarded with salvation and glory. When the treachery and rebellion of others shall be punished with everlasting destruction, then it will be said, to the honour of the faithful Re 14:12: Here is the patience of the saints; you have before seen their patience exercised, now you see it rewarded.
Being in a time closer to the end, we can see perhaps a bit more clearly.
This is in the middle times, The Beast has entered his last 3 1/2 years of ruling. The whore of Babylon is fallen. She was the New Age dream. the Beast proclaimed all gods were legit and all could be worshiped equally and man could seek godhood for himself. He displayed his powers in ruling, in crushing any country that resisted and bringing others to their knees by embargos and control of wealth. He will build a religious government in a way our current President is persieging with his Christian references
Referring to the way Trump has been acting in the creation of his government image:
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-is-creating-a-new-form-of-christian-nationalism-centered-around-himself-d8687f41cc49/
In some ways, this is normal. So-called “civil religion”—the use of religious references or terminology in political rhetoric—is a common part of the presidential rhetorical toolbox, so it seems logical that Trump and his speechwriters/advisors Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller would adopt it. President Barack Obama, sometimes a “theologian-in-chief,” regularly cited scripture in his speeches, as did George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and virtually every American president ever.
But Trump and his religious surrogates aren’t just lifting up general religious platitudes. Rather, the president’s inauguration—especially his inaugural address—ushered in a revival of an old but controversial American theological tradition, amended for a new era: Christian nationalism, Trump style.
When “God’s people” really means “patriotic Americans”
Trump’s first overt reference to the divine came in the latter half of his inaugural speech, when he was opining on the virtues of patriotism. After promising to “reform the world against radical Islamic terrorism” in order to “eradicate” extremists, he declared that when someone “open[s their] heart to patriotism, there is not room for prejudice.”
He then added, “the Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”
Let’s set aside for a moment the historical fact that patriotism has long been co-opted as a tool for prejudice, and focus on how Trump is referencing Psalm 133 here. His broader point—that societies function better when people are unified—makes sense generally. But things take a sharp turn when grokking what Trump is communicating theologically.
Take Trump’s use of “God’s people.” He didn’t have to use this phrase, since it varies depending on the Biblical translation— it’s “God’s people” in the New International Version, but others read “kindred” (New Revised Standard Version), “brethren” (King James Version), or “brothers” (English Standard Version). It’s also not clear if he or his speechwriters understand the original Old Testament/Hebrew Bible meaning of the term, which was specifically referencing the Jewish people.
Regardless, Trump parrots “God’s people” anyway, implying that all Americans — or at least all Christian Americans — are somehow chosen by God. And more importantly, he intentionally conflates the spiritual unity of “God’s people” with patriotism, merging commitment to country with a devotion to the Almighty.
This is not a new idea. Ever since Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of Rome in 313 CE, innumerable Christian leaders (and politicians) have spouted spiritual nationalism or jingoism in the pursuit of power. The American expansion westward—and the subsequent subjugation of the Native Americans—was justified using theological concepts of “manifest destiny,” for example, and modern China has a habit of promoting state-sponsored versions of Christianity that meld patriotism and religious devotion.
Trump parrots “God’s people” anyway, implying that all Americans — or at least all Christian Americans — are somehow chosen by God. And more importantly, he intentionally conflates the religious unity of “God’s people” with patriotism, merging commitment to country with a devotion to the Almighty.
These efforts have been vociferously opposed by both liberal and conservative theologians and thinkers for centuries. There are numerous arguments against the approach, including the fact that the Christian/Jewish God explicitly forbids religious nationalism in the Biblical 10 Commandments, when God tells believers not to put any gods/idols—country or otherwise—before the divine (Jesus said something similar).
Others simply call religious nationalism by another name: heresy.
Yet the Trump administration’s steadfast commitment to a “Christian America” framing was all but confirmed on Friday, when Prosperity Gospel preacher and Trump spiritual adviser Paula White delivered a prayer during the inauguration.
“Let your favor be upon this one nation under God,” White prayed, referencing the Pledge of Allegiance. “Let these United States of America be that beacon of hope to all people and nations under your dominion, a true hope for humankind.”
This interlacing of nationalism and faith was quickly flagged by experts. Peter Manseau, author of “One Nation, Under Gods: A New American History,” told the Washington Post that Trump’s inauguration rhetoric reflected a “desire to fuse the languages of faith and nation.”
But things were made even more explicit three days later, when it was revealed that Trump issued an official proclamation designating January 20, 2017 a “National Day of Patriotic Devotion.”
“A new national pride stirs the American soul and inspires the American heart,” the statement reads. “Our Constitution is written on parchment, but it lives in the hearts of the American people. There is no freedom where the people do not believe in it; no law where the people do not follow it; and no peace where the people do not pray for it. There are no greater people than the American citizenry, and as long as we believe in ourselves, and our country, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.”
Trump as a divinely ordained, supernatural ruler?
Trump didn’t invent American Christian nationalism. Leaders of the Religious Right have spent years promoting the idea that America is a “Christian nation,” and entire religions such as Mormonism—which views the U.S. Constitution as a divinely inspired document—have already baked similar theology into their dogma.
But another paragraph of Trump’s inauguration speech hints that he and his advisers are crafting a new version of this America-focused Christianity—one that keeps Trump at the center.
After suggesting there should be “no fear” while he is in office, Trump assured Americans they will be safe because they will be protected by the military, law enforcement officials, and God.
CREDIT: Adam Peck/ThinkProgress
CREDIT: ADAM PECK/THINKPROGRESS
It’s not uncommon for presidents to praise the might of the American military, which is, without question, the most powerful fighting force in the world. Nor is it unusual for people of faith to implore God to protect the United States and its citizens—both liberal and conservative religious groups pray similar orisons each week.
But Trump drags both concepts into a very different—and highly unusual—theological space: he appears to be arguing that America will be protected by God because he is president.
Granted, the phrasing here is vague. But the conviction of his construction—that God will protect Americans now—raises questions. Was America not protected before Trump, when Southern states seceded from the Union in 1861 and sparked a brutal Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in our nation’s history? Did God turn a blind eye to the land of free when Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941? Did the divine simply ignore us all when terrorists struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, murdering nearly 3,000 people?
Does this mean that presidents Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and George W. Bush just weren’t good enough to curry God’s favor?
But Trump drags both concepts into a very different — and highly unusual — theological space: he appears to be arguing that America will be protected by God because he is president.
Trump didn’t answer these questions in his speech, but he didn’t have to. His bevy of religious surrogates glossed over them for him on Inauguration Day.
On the morning of his inauguration, Trump attended a traditional service at St. John’s, an Episcopal Church directly across from the White House. He chose megapastor and devoted supporter Robert Jeffress—who also happens to endorse anti-Catholic, anti-Muslim, anti-Mormon, and anti-LGBT theology—to deliver his sermon.
The title of his homily? “When God chooses a leader.”
“As the prophet Daniel said, it is God who removes and establishes leaders,” Jeffress said. “God has raised [Trump] and Vice-President-elect Pence up for a great, eternal purpose.”
He went on to argue that God elevates great leaders, gifting them with seemingly supernatural powers to achieve impossible goals and defy all those who oppose them. Trump, he says, is one such leader.
A similar sentiment was echoed later that day by evangelist Franklin Graham, who delivered a prayer shortly after Trump spoke.
“Mr. President in the Bible rain is a sign of God’s blessing,” Franklin said, a bizarre claim directly contradicted by the Biblical flood God used to wipe out almost all of humanity in the book of Genesis. “And it started to rain, Mr. President, when you came to the platform.”
[Jeffress] went on to argue that God elevates great leaders, gifting them with seemingly supernatural powers to achieve impossible goals and defy all those who oppose them. Trump, he says, is one such leader.
The idea of God-chosen leaders is an old one, rooted in scripture and dating back to a theological concept known as the “divine right of kings”—or that leaders (specifically monarchs) are chosen by God, and thus beholden to no one but God. Despite the constancy of Christian nationalism in American history, there is a rich history of patriots opposing this idea: Thomas Paine, for instance, dedicated a healthy part of his landmark “Common Sense” to debunking the concept.
Yet an atmosphere of divine selection surrounded Trump’s inauguration all the same (although, thankfully, he has yet declare himself immune to the democratic process). And while preachers have lauded any number of past Commanders-in-Chief, few if any presidents have packed their stages with those who flaunt it, or inculcated their speeches with such self-righteous claims.
An uncertain theological future
This kind of theology has obvious pitfalls, of course. After all, if America does endure another terrorist attack during Trump’s tenure, does that mean God has turned against Trump?
Meanwhile, his message is already sparking backlash among some observers. Michael Peppard, associate professor of theology at Fordham University, railed against “Trump’s God” in a recent post for the Catholic publication Commonweal, noting that his rhetoric paints the divine as “an extension — even a projection — of the American military and law enforcement.”
“If our civil religion is heading that direction, toward theologically grounded militarism and policing, then we Christians really are in grave spiritual danger,” Peppard wrote.
But Trump, flanked by his menagerie of loyal faith leaders, is already preaching a nationalist gospel from the largest of pulpits. And while the exact parameters of this developing theology remain to be seen, it’s clear a revival of American Christian nationalism is on the horizon—with Trump as its high priest.
The AC will do something similar except he will be quoting all manner of religious texts. And using himself as an example not just of genius but of godhood. And actually using powers to show it off.
The AC godhood will resemble the Wallace character in Blade Runner 2049. One who wants the secret not just of creating artificial life but of giving it the ability to reproduce so he will have an army of "angels" to multiply and conquer all the worlds of the universe. He randomly creates and then destroys new life forms. In a testament to Hollywood's "new consciousness", I guess, almost all the nude designs for light and humanoid forms are naked women. Satan wants women seen as goddesses or sexual playthings to reduce them to rolls he can understand and easily manipulate even though that plan went far wrong while trying to destroy Christ. Satan has to twist the truth to every degree possible but can never come up with anything new.
But the one being featured in all that worship will be the angel, They exist in most modern religions in one form or another. Angels gave Joseph Smith and Mohamed their sacred books. You see them ion TV in "Touched by an Angel" reruns where God is all love and Jesus isn't mentioned as he may offend someone. In reruns of "Highway to Heaven" where the angel gets oddball missions.
But actual angels of heaven are given a specific mission from God, one they were created to handle from the beginning, perhaps eons before they were called to it. Some are given great power but are not as powerful as others. Jesus suggested he could call in a legion and wipe out the whole Roman army. Others seem only designed to deliver a message and be gone. We are never told how many there are or what all the purposes are because we are not God and have no real use for that knowledge even if we had it.
Bit these three are given an honor among angels to deliver God's message of salvation and destruction and a warning for the last half of the Tribulation. They will be seen by all the Earth, either by TV coverage or by their appearance live in various places, perhaps at the same time. We know that the Two Witnesses will be speaking as Peter did at Pentecost, in a voice that will be heard and understood in all languages. We can expect nothing less of the Three.
The first delivers the Salvation message. This may trigger all the 144,000. It seems likely. it will be their sounding call. Imagine having to tell people who saw their loved ones disappear and believed in the lie of a Harmonic Conversion of some sort that they were wrong. This is like a Paul experience for the entire world! Not the image of Christ, true, but the glory of one of God's true angels before all humanity.
At that point the next angel lets everyone know that Babylon was destroyed in Mid Tribulation because of her evil. this evangelist says everyone must repent of their ways, their false worship, their materialism, their love of false miracles and entertainment over the love of Christ for eternity.
Then the third angel delivers the warning to not take the mark that the AC will be demanding, may even then be demanding of humanity. It warns that there is a greater tomorrow and a special reward for those who do not fail in the face of losing their lives to great torture and hunger and poverty. The gas chambers at Auschwitz will seem like kindness compared to what believers will face in those last 3 1/2 years. They will echo the tortures throughout the years that our people suffered.
And these evangelists will be ones that have been honored beings, worshiped being, throughout history and in the first stage of the Tribulation. This is not just men voicing God's will. This ese are revered figures. These are the supposed sources of much of the literature that millions follow.
"Hello! the ones who commissioned your sacred texts are gtelling hyou to go back to the true God. to the Jesus of your own texts. Listen."
And there is this little addendum concerning the ones who listen to this angel, to the Two, to the 144,000: "For their works go with them."
Our works today, any that are of true service, get placed in a crown to be cast before our Savior. Any false works get burned up like chaff in the fire of entering God's presence. But these, these ones will have ALL their works carried with them. ALL. Imagine what that means. That every step of the way has been in resistance to the power of Satan. Today, we slosh through a wadding pool of evil that is deepening every day. Even our most tortured have a beacon of hope from churches in various countries, have a truth preached openly in many of those places, though oppressed and threatened. Have a hope to escape to The USA and other Western ntions where they can worship as they wish, .But these in the future who are going to be saved then will be up to their necks in a raging river of evil, fighting a current that wants to sweep them away with nowhere to turn, no hope in the present day, nowhere on Earth that will welcome them.
While we have those suffering today and facing death for their belief, poverty for their stand for Christ, the "next generation" will have absolutely no hope, will be taking A STAND FOR CHRIST JUST BY EXISTING.
What glory they will bring in the face of annihilation.
In a way, it is true. heaven is counting on them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAZbSp2yCmE
And for today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gSugruC1jQ
