Category Archives: Reblogs

The Fourth Seal — Revelation 6:7-8

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarStudying Bible Prophecy

In the breaking of the fourth seal John looked up and saw an ashen horse; and its rider’s name was Death; and one called Hades was following him.

An ashen horse. The ashen horse and its rider give us an image of death—or of dead bodies. And the one who follows him, Hades, tells us that all who die will soon stand before God and will be given a judgment of eternal hell. Thus, we may be sure that those who die under this seal are not believers; for when believers die, they will go straight to heaven to be with the Father.

What kind of death is this? First of all, we know that the rider (Death) and his follower (Hades) has the authority (or the power) granted to them from God to bring death to a fourth of the earth. Hence, death to around one billion people will…

View original post 606 more words

Fasting: Three Categories of Fasts

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

 

When you pray, sometimes it is beneficial to fast. There are all kinds or types of fasts. Here are three categories of fasts.

 Fasts That Depict the Degree of the Fast

Normal fast.  This is a fast from food and drinks, but not from water.  It is the normal way to fast, and how Jesus fasted for forty days.

Absolute fast.  This is a fast from food and drinks, including water.  It is how Moses fasted for eighty days on Mount Sinai, and how Elijah fasted in the desert (both were miraculous feats).  There were other absolute fasts not miraculous, but were not much over three days.  For no one can naturally live for much over three days without food and water.

Partial fast.  In a partial fast, you would eat only fruits and (or) vegetables—like Daniel did.  If you have health problems, if you are concerned…

View original post 581 more words

The Second Seal (Revelation 6:3-4)

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarStudying Bible Prophecy

The second seal was broken by the Lamb just as the first one was, and John again heard another living creature (the second living creature) say, “Come and see.” Notice that in the first four seals all of the four living creatures (or cherubim) are involved. That is, in the second seal the second cherubim speaks; in the third seal the third cherubim speaks; then in the fourth seal the fourth cherubim speaks. So it seems that they all have their parts, one for each seal.

A red horse. The blood-red horse is a symbol of war. It is what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:6-7. And from the language of the text, that the rider was granted to “take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another,” this indicates that after a short time of peace, suddenly peace was taken away through war—war all over the…

View original post 679 more words

3 Reasons Why Most Christians Don’t Fast

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

I would say that most Christians these days don’t fast.  Here are three reasons why:

We have reacted against extremism.  Those whom we have read about in the Bible who have fasted, most of those in the early church who have fasted, and all the others we have talked about, I think were quite sincere and dedicated Christians; and I think their fasting was with right motives.  But I suspect that there were some that were off base, that is, they were extreme and legalistic.  Perhaps there were even some who were saying that you have to fast regularly in order to gain God’s acceptance.  I think this is why many people have revolted against fasting—because they don’t see the good side of it, only the negative side.  And so, because of those extremists, many have thrown it all out.  They say fasting is all bad, or it…

View original post 499 more words

The First Seal Judgment — Revelation 6:1-2

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarStudying Bible Prophecy

As you can see from the text, the biblical record of the seal judgments—as well as all of the judgments—are quite short. For that reason, and since this is such an important subject, I will endeavor to look at each part thoroughly.

The Lamb Breaks the Seals

Before we get to this first seal, there are a couple of points that I want to go over. First of all, it comes to our attention that the Lamb breaks the seals. Why does the bible use the term “Lamb” and not “Jesus” or “the Lord?” Why use this name? What is the significance of the name Lamb here?

Well, I’ll give it a try. First of all, using the term “Lamb” will be a constant reminder to us, and to all, that He was and is the true Passover Lamb (Is. 53:7); He is the One whom the Jews were believing…

View original post 956 more words

Guidelines for Fasting

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

GUIDELINES FOR FASTING

 

Here are 16 guidelines for fasting taken from my book Prayer A to Z.  This list is very brief.  For more information you can get my e-book by clicking on Prayer A to Z.

 

1.  Most importantly, your fast must be a fast that God chooses.  If it is a fast that God chooses then He will lead you and give you the right motives.  You will be fasting for Him and not for any selfish reason (Is. 58:3-5).

 

2.  Pray about your fast and set objectives.  Before you start, make it clear in your mind how you believe God wants you to fast.  Then determine that you will fast that way.

 

3.  Be flexible in your fasting plans.  If you have planned to fast on a certain day, and, because of circumstances, it will not work out, move your fast to…

View original post 642 more words

Twelve Reasons to Fast

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

Twelve Reasons to Fast

 

1.  To humble self so God can use me.  In fasting we attempt to bring ourselves to a humble state so God can make us holy, so we will be willing to seek Him, able to minister to Him, honor Him, and do His will (e.g. Ezra 8:21).

 

2.  To express grief and repentance for sin, and for deliverance.  If we fast to express repentance, it will also be for deliverance.  When Ninevah fasted they did turn from their evil way, but their main purpose was to avert God’s wrath.  And that is just what happened.  “…God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them…” (Jonah 3:10).          

We in America also need to repent with fasting because of our evil (e. g. materialism, sensuality, pornography, and…

View original post 1,214 more words

Personalities in the Tribulation: Jesus Christ – Part 2

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarStudying Bible Prophecy

Certainly, Jesus Christ must be included in the list of Tribulation personalities; for He is the underlying theme of Revelation. He is the central figure. In my study I have found seven different titles for Jesus Christ: Lamb, Son of man, Jesus, Faithful and True, Word of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We will highlight these titles as we present Him to you in chronological order as He appears in the Tribulation. In an earlier blog I wrote on Jesus the Lamb. In this blog we will deal with the six other of His names.

The Son of man will be the leading reaper in the judgment (Rev. 14:14-16). In this vision of John’s, he sees a white cloud and one like a son of man sitting on the cloud. I think we can be fairly sure that the Son of man is Jesus, because He has…

View original post 861 more words

Eight Descriptions of Fasting

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

The following is an excrept from my e-book Prayer A to Z.  

 Eight Descriptions of Fasting

1.  It is abstaining from food for spiritual purposes.  The Hebrew word for fast (tsuwn) means “to cover the mouth.”  The Greek word (nesteia) means “not to eat.”  Therefore fasting means primarily to abstain from food.  As for the second part of our description, “for spiritual reasons,” that comes from the Biblical context and from the purpose the Bible gives for fasting.  Accordingly, it was for spiritual reasons that Jesus fasted, and why Moses, David, Elijah, and all the others fasted.  And it is why the Bible teaches us to fast (Is. 58:6-9).  We can certainly fast for other reasons, but, as I can see, the main reason why God has called us to fast is for spiritual reasons—to improve our relationship with God.  Some would argue that our physical…

View original post 734 more words