I spotted this fellow in the Mississippi River not too far from where I live in Minnesota. At first I thought it was a muskrat. But after looking at its head I think it is either a beaver or a groundhog. I think it’s too big to be a muskrat. The nose and eyes I think are closer to a groundhog. I wish I had a better view of his whole body.
Three proclamation angels (Rev. 14:6-9). During the middle of the Tribulation, between the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments, john saw three angels flying through the sky, being quite visible to all.
The first angel (Rev. 14:6). The first angel was preaching the gospel to all the unbelievers on the earth, saying, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.”
The second angel (Rev. 14:8). The second angel was preaching the fall of Babylon (which is the fall of the world’s evil system—political, economic and religious). This will actually happen during the seventh bowl judgment (Rev. 16:17-21).
The third angel (Rev. 14:9ff). This angel was given a stern warning that, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God…” This wrath of God, which is described here as a torment with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb, refers not to any of the tribulation judgments, but to hell, the lake of fire; for it says that “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.”
Three reaping angels (Rev. 14:15-18). Shortly after John witnessed the proclamation angels, he saw one like a son of man (probably Jesus Christ) sitting on a cloud with a sharp sickle in his hand; and also, three angels, but only one with a sharp sickle.
The first angel (Rev. 14:15). The first angel apparently did not have a sickle, so he cried to the Lord who was sitting on a cloud. He said to Him to put in His sickle and reap. So, the Lord “swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped (that is, the people of the world were judged; in this case I think it means that they were killed in the judgments of the Tribulation—probably during Armageddon).
The second angel (Rev. 14:17). The second angel came out of the temple, just as the first one did; and he, just like the Lord, had a sharp sickle.
The third angel (Rev. 14:18). This angel had power over fire (which may mean that he was an angel that ministered at the altar in the temple, burning incense with prayers). Just like the first angel, he did not have a sickle, so he called on the second angel to reap judgment on the earth just as Christ did—the Lord provided them the example of how to judge. Well, when the second angel swung his sickle in judgment the slaughter is so horrendous that “blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses bridles for a distance of two hundred miles.” (This language is exaggerated, nonetheless, we must believe that the slaughter during this time, probably at Armageddon, will be horrific.)
Seven angels with seven bowls of wrath (Rev. 15:1-16:17). Just after the three reaping angels were introduced, John saw in his vision seven angels who would bring seven plagues on the earth (which may occur in conjunction with the reaping). These seven plagues were to be the last, because after them the wrath of God (in the Tribulation) would be finished.
Well, as it happened, the temple door in heaven was thrown open, and John saw the seven angels come out, majestically clothed in white linen with golden sashes around their chest; and they were given bowls full of the wrath of God. “Then [John] heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.’”
The first angel (Rev. 16:2) poured out his bowl on the earth, and repugnant, malignant sores appeared on all those who had the mark of the beast (all who were not believers).
The second angel (Rev. 16:3) poured out his bowl into the sea, and the sea turned to blood; and every living thing in the sea died.
The third angel (Rev. 16:4) poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fresh springs; and they turned to blood. And this third angel praised God for this judgment, because for so long the wicked people of the earth have poured out the blood of the saints, and now God has rightly in His revenge given them blood to drink.
The fourth angel (Rev. 16:8) poured out his bowl upon the sun, and the people of the earth were scorch with the heat of the sun; and they blasphemed God and did not repent.
The fifth angel (Rev. 16:10) poured out his bowl on the throne and kingdom of the beast so that his kingdom became dark. And they gnawed their tongues and blasphemed God because of their pains and their sores. Apparently, they were more mindful of their pain in the dark.
The sixth angel (Rev. 16:12) poured out his bowl on the Euphrates River, and its water dried up so that the way would be prepared for the kings of the east. Then John saw something else, which helps to explain why the Euphrates needed to be dried up. He saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They were the spirits of demons that went out to the kings of the world (including the kings of the east) and enticed them to gather together for war at a place called Har-Magedon.
The seventh angel (Rev. 16:17) poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice (probably the voice of God) spoke out from the temple saying, “It is done,” meaning that this bowl is the last of the judgments. Here are the six plagues in this bowl.
A great earthquake—the greatest ever on earth.
All the cities of the world are destroyed.
The city of Babylon, the capitol city of Antichrist’s empire is especially ruined.
Every island fled away—or disappear under the water.
The mountains are not found. They probably will be split apart and crumble.
The sky will produce huge hailstones weighing one hundred pounds each. And because of this plague and the damage and death it will cause, the people will blaspheme God.
I think the reference to “one of the seven angels” in chapter 17:1, and also two other angels in chapter eighteen, links the fall of Babylon in chapter 17-18 to the seventh bowl judgment; hence all of chapter 17 and 18 should fall under the seventh bowl.
Two angels involved in Babylon’s fall (Rev. 18). The fall of Babylon is briefly mentioned in Revelation 16:19, but the details of that fall are in chapter 18, highlighted by two angels.
Another angel (Rev. 18:1). This great angel will cause the earth to be illuminated with his glory. Apparently, he will be so bright that his own light will light up the earth—amazing! This angel comes to deliver the happy message: that Babylon has fallen.
A strong angel (v.21) gives a message to the world that Babylon will no longer be a threat to the righteous. This strong angel, to illustrate this message, took a great stone and threw it into the sea saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.”
There are other angels mentioned in the rest of Revelation, but the ones I have mentioned (above) are the only ones pertaining to the Tribulation. Also notice how many angels there will be in the Tribulation. It is very rare to see angels now in this church age, but in the Tribulation period it will be more common to see them, much like in the Old Testament.
Three proclamation angels (Rev. 14:6-9). During the middle of the Tribulation, between the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments, john saw three angels flying through the sky, being quite visible to all.
The first angel (Rev. 14:6). The first angel was preaching the gospel to all the unbelievers on the earth, saying, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.”
The second angel (Rev. 14:8). The second angel was preaching the fall of Babylon (which is the fall of the world’s evil system—political, economic and religious). This will actually happen during the seventh bowl judgment (Rev. 16:17-21).
The third angel (Rev. 14:9ff). This angel was given a stern warning that, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also…
1. Live the life of faith. Andrew Murray has stated, “Faith in the promise is the fruit of faith in the promiser.” I cannot have faith in what He has promised unless I have faith in Him as a person. I must get to know Him and learn to trust Him. Then I will grow to believe in what He says and promises. Getting to know Him takes time, but perhaps not as much time as you think. Eagerly pray and read your Bible every day. Meditate on His Word every chance you get. Then obey Him in everything He tells you. Soon, sooner than you think, you will develop a close relationship with Him. You will love Him and trust Him. This is the life of faith, and in this life there is much prayer.
The German Nuremberg Law in 1935 that defined their racism was inspired by the American Jim Crow laws. Our American laws of 1924 were these:
Prohibiting interracial marriage
Quotas for immigration based on race
Segregation laws which separated whites and blacks in schools, hotels, drinking fountains, etc.
Categories of citizenship: first class and second class
A recognition of inferiority of certain races, like Jews and blacks, etc.
American law became a regular Nazi point of reference. The Nazis repeatedly turned to the American example. They looked favorably on the racism of the Democrats.
Many blame all of America and not the Democrats or the Progressives or the Left. But it was the Progressives that passed the racist immigration law of 1924, and the Ku Klux Klan was a creation of the Democrats. As time went on we see the big lie, as racism is now blamed on Trump and the GOP.
As far as race laws go, it seems obvious that the Nazi race laws of the 1930’s were quite the same as the Democratic Party’s race laws.
Democrat racism prior to World War II was shocking. Democratic Senator Tillman and Senator Bibo repeatedly used the N word in talking about blacks. One time Bibo said, “White people will be justified in going to any extreme to keep the nigger from voting.”
In the early 1900’s many racist books were published by progressive Democrats. Here are a few titles: Charles Carroll’s The Negro a Beast; Robert Shufieldt’s The Negro: A Menace to American Civilization; Charles McCord’s The American Negro as a Dependent, Defective and Delinquent.
In the nineteenth century, Democrats denied that blacks were men—they denied their full humanity. Their defense went like this: all men are created equal, blacks are subhuman, therefore we are justified in enslaving them. This rational sounds much the same as with the Nazi treatment of the Jews; and it also sounds like what the abortion rights people would say regarding their justification to abort babies.
Another angel (Rev. 8:3-5). When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour (v. 1). This silence was in anticipation of coming judgments. During that time of silence an angel stood at the altar of incense (in the heavenly temple). Here are four things that this angel did, or that occurred.
1. He stood at the golden altar of incense with an incense burner, and mixed the incense that was given to him with the prayers of the saints (all believers that were praying).
2. He then offered the mixture on the golden alter.
3. The smoke of the incense and prayers rose up to God from the altar.
4. The angel then filled the incense burner with coals of fire from the altar and threw it down to the earth; and there came thunder and lightning…
In my last post I wrote a little on how to have great faith instead of little faith. If you are still not sure how you can increase your faith (make your faith more complete or consistent) here are a few ideas—taken from my book Prayer A to Z.
Eight Ways to Increase Your Faith
1. Take your unbelief to God. Ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit and with His desire. Surrender yourself completely to Him. Be humble before Him and confess your sins and helplessness. Be like the man who said to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mk. 9:24)! Always remember that faith is a gift from God. None of us were born with it; none of us can create it in ourselves. We have to humbly ask for faith. Asking for faith in prayer is the way we received it when we were…
There are several references to angels during the time of the Tribulation, which means that they have a prominent role and responsibility in all that God sets forth to do during the great time of His wrath.
After the letters to the seven churches (Rev. 2-3), John, in a vision saw through an open-door, certain things happening in heaven. He saw One (God) sitting on a throne encircled by a rainbow. And there were twenty-four thrones around God’s throne, and twenty-four elders were seated on them, having on white garments with gold crowns on their heads. And there were other strange and glorious things that John saw, including the presence of four living creatures.
Four living creatures (Rev. 4:6-9). These four living creatures it seems were placed closest to God and His throne, and so they were His guardians. The sight of them were as such: they were “full of eyes in front and behind.” One (or the first) creature was like a lion, and the second like a calf, and the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. And they all had six wings. John MacArthur writes,
These are the cherubim, those angels frequently referred to in the Old Testament in connection with God’s presence, power, and holiness.[1]
The testimony that John gave of them was this: day and night they did not cease to say,
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.
And John saw that when these angels would give glory and honor to God, the twenty-four elders would fall down and worship Him. Hence, one of the purposes of these glorious ones were to lead and inspire worship in the elders (see also Rev. 19:4).
Besides being leaders in worship they were involved in the administration of the various judgments, as we see in Revelation 15:7, where one of them gave to seven angels, seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God (see also Rev. 5:11, 14; 6:1, 3, 5, 7; 7:11; 14:3; 19:4).
A strong angel (Rev. 5:2). We don’t know for sure, but this may be a reference to the angel Gabriel, because his name means “strength of God.” Anyway, his particular role was to ask the question, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”
“The book” was held by God on His throne and it was sealed up with seven seals (v. 1). No doubt the book is the title deed to the earth and it describes seven things God will do to the earth.
Now as to the question that the “strong angel proposed, no one seemed to have an answer, and John began to weep because no one was found worthy to open the book.
But then, out of the blue, one of the elders said, “Stop weeping! Look over there.” And he pointed out a small pet lamb that had been slain (and killed), but was now alive and standing. And the elder said of Him that He was “the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David [and He has] overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
So we see two things here: 1) We see in the lamb the true Passover Lamb, which is God’s Son. He was slain for our sins, but He is now alive. He has been resurrected and has triumphed over sin and Satan. 2) We also see that He is called the “Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” This is clear confirmation that He is the living Messiah, the descendant of David. And so, the Lamb (which is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah) are found worthy to open the book and its seven seals. And so, having this confirmation, the Lamb came and took the book out of the right hand of God.
And then, in a response of praise to the lamb and to God, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb and they sang a new song, saying,
Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.
Many angels (Rev. 5:11). And then besides the voices of the elders and the living creatures, John heard the voice of many angels numbering “myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands—which could be translated as innumerable or as an amount beyond calculation. And they said with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
And besides these many angels, the entire universe began to praise both God and the Lamb (v. 13).
Four angels, and another angel (Rev. 7:1-3). After the first six seal judgments and just before the seventh seal judgment is an interlude of time (Rev. 7:1-17); and to begin that period of time, four angels appeared and stood at the four corners of the earth—that is, north, south, east, and west. And it was their job to hold back the wind from all directions. And then John saw another angel holding a seal of God in his hand. And he cried out to the four angels saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea until the bond-servants of God (the 144,000 Jews) are sealed on their foreheads.” The seal was apparently a mark put on to protect them from harm; the harm that was soon coming to the earth by the same four angels.
All the angels (Rev. 7:11). After the 144,000 Jews were sealed, suddenly there erupted loud praises in heaven around the throne of God. It first came from the great multitude of resurrected martyrs (Rev. 7:9-11; 13-16). And then, all the angels (probably the same group of angels in Rev. 5:11), plus the elders and the four living creatures joined in the praise. And then all of them fell on their faces and said,
Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
I think, apparently, the praise was to God for His salvation of all those martyrs who were saved and now enjoying eternal life (Rev. 7:15-16).
[1] John MacArthur, Ibid, John MacArthur’s notes of Revelation 4:6.
The apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 2:2, wrote, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby.” Here we see that spiritual growth is by the Word. But what I want to point out is that since faith is the foundation of Christian life, when we grow spiritually, which is by the Word, our faith grows too. Our spiritual growth is always a growth of faith. And so we grow from faith to faith (Rom. 1:17). Just as we were saved by faith, we live the Christian life by faith; and at every point we are to continue to live by faith—“from faith to faith.”
Now the question is, why do some people have very little faith (their faith doesn’t seem to grow), while others have great faith (their faith grows and grows)? Here are…
Stephen Nielsen 