“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Cor 6:2; Isa 49:8 These words of the Apostle, quoted from the Prophet Isaiah, are generally understood to be a call to the world to improve the present opportunity of accepting Christ by faith in order to salvation, with the warning that the present time furnishes the only opportunity, this being the day of salvation. But this is NOT the meaning of the text. Neither the…
Ezekiel Chapter 28, Part 1 Proclamation against the King of Tyre VERSE 1 and 2 “The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as…
Luke 19:11-27 “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”–Luke 16:10. The Parable of the Pounds and the Parable of the Talents, as companion parables, illustrate from different standpoints the responsibilities of the stewardship of God’s people. The apostle Paul says “Let a man so account of us as of the ministers [servants] of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of…
Ezekiel Chapter 27, Part 5 VERSE 27 “Your riches, wares, and merchandise (teachings, doctrines), your mariners and pilots (teachers, leaders, the clergy), your caulkers (older more experienced leaders) and merchandisers (the “kings of the earth” rulers both civil and ecclesiastical), All your men of war (supporters) who are in you, and the entire company which is in your midst (those who bare the mark of the beast or the number of his name), will fall into the midst of the…
Ezekiel Chapter 27, Part 4 VERSE 12 “Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods.” “Tarshish” is Spain in this context. Tyre traded all around the Mediterranean basin, and Spain was known for its mineral wealth. VERSE 13 “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. “They bartered human lives.” Slave traffic was a primary staple of…
Ezekiel Chapter 27, Part 3 VERSE 4 “Your borders are in the midst of the seas. Your builders have perfected your beauty.” I believe the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary states it well. “Tyre itself, in consonance with her sea girt position (i.e. being surrounded by the sea), separated by a strait of half a mile from the mainland, is described as a ship built of the best material, and manned with the best mariners and skillful pilots, but at last wrecked…
Ezekiel Chapter 27, Part 2 Isaiah Chapter 47 Verse 5 “Sit in silence, and go into darkness (“darkness” and “silence” are descriptions of Sheol, the unconscious condition of death), O daughter of the Chaldeans [Papacy, Mystic Babylon]; for you shall no longer be called The Lady of Kingdoms (Presently Papacy is called the Catholic or universal Church, i.e., the church of many nations).” Verse 7 “And you said, ‘I shall be a lady forever,’ So that you did not take…
Ezekiel Chapter 27, Part 1 Lamentation for Tyre VERSE 1 and 2 “The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, “Now, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre.” The previous chapter was proclaimed to be a Proclamation against Tyre while Chapter 27 is designated a Lamentation for Tyre. A proclamation is a public or official announcement, especially one dealing with a matter of great importance: a decree, order, edict, command, rule, ruling, announcement, declaration. A lamentation is…
Additional Time-Measurements There are a number of time-features which are, in a sense, related to these (1260, 1290, 1335) prophetic periods of Daniel. Some of these are direct, and some are indicated by proportions, such as the proportion of the ratio pi, and by the numbers, 5, 7, and 10, all of which are special Pyramid numbers, 5 being the sacred number, 7 the perfect number, and 10 the building’s basic, complete, number. These proportions appear so often in the…
It is inevitable that at some point in time every Christian comes to a fork in the road in regards to their faith a point in time in which they must choose between either accepting the wisdom of men or that wisdom which comes from above, the wisdom of God. This is a pivotal test in distinguishing between the mere professor and the true Christian. Understand we’re not talking about blind faith here as is commonly practiced by the majority…