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Today’s Devotional – October 3rd

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The Revelation of Jesus,

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Part 1,

“Seeing Jesus in Prophecy”

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A radio Bible teacher was recounting a conversation which he had many years earlier with an elder pastor, who offered a bit of ‘sage advice’.

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And at some point in the conversation, the elder pastor remarked… “I can fill up my church, by preaching on Bible prophecy, but I can empty the same church by preaching on the Book of Romans!” 

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And then, the elder pastor concluded his complaint by saying… “One thing you’re going to find out in your pastor-ship is, that most parishioners are more interested in Anti-Christ, than they are interested in Christ!”

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ABOVE PICTURE: The False Prophet – signsofheaven.org – not for commercial uses

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ITCHING-EAR-DRIVEN GOSPELS

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Another person said basically the same thing, but in a slightly different manner…“Far too many people who would travel over land and sea, to attend a Revelation seminar, wouldn’t even walk across the street to study about Jesus!”

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Yes, the sad truth is, that we current-day Christians mostly have itching ears, and long to have them scratched by spending our time hearing things which, at best, bring little profit to the soul!

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The modern media has conditioned us to love things which are exciting and titillating. And this has greatly dwarfed our ability to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear His words of life!

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“The full soul loathes an honeycomb;

but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”

Proverbs 27:7

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And isn’t this above proverb so true! When our lives are filled up with so many “other things”, it’s so hard to enjoy things which are plain by comparison! 

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Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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IT’S A VANITY-FAIR WORLD!

 

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And so, the Enemy of Souls works around the clock, attempting to distract us, by any possible means!

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And that is one great reason why we are surrounded by this “cornucopia world”, filled with so many attractions! So many seemingly nice people to be with! So many hobbies to enjoy!

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Yes, there are so many places to go, things to do, so many responsibilities and career choices, so many arts and sciences, and dramas and games and appointments, and everything that Enemy-of-Souls can possibly use, in attempt to fill up our lives and divert us from the true work at hand!

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New York Times Square – terabass – cropped image – Wikipedia – Share-alike License

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“FOR A DREAM COMETH THROUGH THE MULTITUDE OF BUSINESS”

Ecclesiastes 5:3 

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But even within the Christian culture, Satan is hard at work to divert Christians! Yes, Satan doesn’t care if we get overwhelmed in some humanitarian project! Just as long as we don’t devote ourselves to hiding Christ’s Words in our heart!

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And so, he works with tireless effort to divert the Christian into less profitable alternative endeavors. Endless music listening, endless Bible prophecy, endless Creation/evolution/health studies, humanitarian projects, and a host of other busy endeavors. Anything to keep the Christian from being fully engaged in overcoming the world & flesh!

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Yes, the one thing that Satan fears more than just about anything else, is to see a Christian searching the Bible in hopes of overcoming the world & self!

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Listen… “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.” Revelation 21:7. So it says here that those who are truly saved, God will bring to victory over self!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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HUMANITARIANISM

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And the sad fact is, that those Christians who are yet in bondage to the flesh, find it difficult to study, pray or contemplate on God’s Word!

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And so, quite often, as we engage in some humanitarian ministry, we rationalize by saying… “God has excused me from Bible study and contemplation, and instead has given me this humanitarian ministry. After all, isn’t this humanitarian effort exactly what Christianity is all about?”

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And so, we self-deceived ones continue on, neglecting our true work of crucifying the Old Man, and putting on the New Man, which after God, is re-created in righteousness and true holiness!

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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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SEARCHING WORLD EVENTS INSTEAD OF BIBLE

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But let’s get back to the subject of Bible prophecy. Satan likewise gets Christians all caught up in a counterfeit brand of Bible prophecy, which is designed to keep the Christian focused on world events!

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And so, instead of searching the Bible, the Christian now looks out there in the world, trying to see something which resembles certain Bible prophecies. Or perhaps that Christian searches through volumes of history books, trying to find some portion of world history, which seems to fulfill the Bible’s prophecies.

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And so now, when he (or she) reads about locusts in Revelation 9, the search begins to find some war-machine, microscopic virus, or black helicopter which resembles a locust. But the truth is, the Bible student only needs to search the Bible and the Bible only, to discover what locusts represent!

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black helicopters – Wikimedia – US Army – Public Domain

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REVELATION ABOUT JESUS!

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And the fact is, if one studies the Book of Revelation, by searching only the Bible, it will be discovered that those prophecies of Revelation are really about the heart, and our relationship with Christ!

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Yes, Revelation is written in veiled, allegorical language, to reveal Jesus Christ, and His Gospel!

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But Satan has been orchestrating many world events, in hopes of deceiving Christians into interpreting Bible prophecy by what they read in the daily newspapers!

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But that’s not how we are to interpret Bible prophecy!

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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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THE APOSTLE, JOHN

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The big question that each of us must ask ourselves is this: “Just what is my goal, in being a Christian?

And how can I focus on that goal?”

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It was the goal of the Apostle John, to become totally Christlike! And even though he had the unique privilege of receiving the Revelation of Jesus Christ, chances are, he was not given the interpretation of much of that Revelation!

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But when reading his letters and Gospel, it becomes apparent that John only wanted his life’s focus to be upon Jesus his Lord! The love of Jesus! The purity of Jesus. The patience, the temperance, the faith, the meekness of Jesus! And when we read his writings, it soon becomes apparent that John obtained his goal! Yes, his writings reveal that John had so merged with his Lord, that by all accounts, he became totally Christlike!

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John The Apostle by Alonzo Cano 1635-1637-wikipedia-public domain

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THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST

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Oh yes, the entire Bible is prophetic! But it is prophetic as it reveals Christ and how He deals with sin and sinners!

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But far too many Bible prophecy seminars seem to divorce themselves from Christ and His Gospel! They don’t understand that the locusts, and scorpions, and horses, and swords and heads and crowns and fire, smoke and brimstone, and all the many other symbols found in Revelation, are all revealed by searching the Bible and the Bible only.

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And by carefully and prayerfully searching out all the types and symbols, one discovers that they are just what the name of that Book reveals: The Revelation of Jesus Christ!

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Jesus – by J. Tissot – Brooklyn Museum – US Public Domain

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To read part 2, go here….

October 4th (The Revelation of Jesus, Part 2: Perfect Peace!)

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Open my eyes to rightly understand this very personal message which is found in all 22 chapters of Revelation. Help me to search the Scriptures for all related passages which give spiritual insight into that unsealed book…

Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Dragon, The Beast & His Image & His Mark” or you can also read… “January 24th (The True Message of Revelation!)”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

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“ARCTURUS AND HIS SONS”

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So what does this verse, “there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel”, have to do with us today? After all, this prophecy of Balaam (left) was fulfilled in the coming of the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ!

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Well, if a person will go out at night, starting in January, and continuing through the warmer months, they might locate the star, Arcturus. This star was spoken of in Job… “Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?” Job 38:32. This star is the host star for this Signs Of Heaven website. And the star, Arcturus, also seems to fulfill the previous verse as well…“…there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel….” Numbers 24:17.

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As earlier stated, this passage seems to find a double fulfillment, not only concerning Jesus, but also, as we look into the heavens. This star just happens to lead an entourage of constellations, which span the spring, summer, fall and winter skies, telling the beautiful, wonderful Gospel story. This is the only known place in all the Earth and heavens in which God has created a pictorial account of the Gospel. And no, this has nothing to do with the Zodiac.

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But this revelation showcases the biggest and brightest constellations in the heavens, revealing an entirely different interpretation of those constellations from that of the ancient Babylonian and other pagan culture interpretations.

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ABOVE STAR-CHART – Summer Constellations with Two Turtledoves (Sagittarius) & Flower of the Field (aka: Scorpio) & The 12-Star Crown (aka: Corona Borealis) & The Cross-Scepter (aka: Ophiochus & Serpens) & Revelation 12 Woman (Ursa Major) & Arcturus Star – www.theheavensdeclare.net

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… ARCTURUS (THE STAR THAT WISE MEN FOLLOW)

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TOMORROW:

“October 4th (The Revelation of Jesus, Part 2: Perfect Peace!)”

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL. 

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THIS IS STUDY #274 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain

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Today’s Devotional – October 2nd

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Come Out of Her Big Buildings, My People! 

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Well, it’s not hard to see that this world loves its big buildings!

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And now, by way of Internet, one can search the amazing skylines of every large city!

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Hong Kong Skyline Restitch Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License CC-BY-SA 3.0

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CHURCH BUILDINGS

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Well, to love all the big buildings is okay for the world.

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But what about the church? Where did all the church buildings come from? After all, we don’t read of church buildings in the Book of Acts.

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The only mention of meeting places of churches in Acts, was in the homes of Believers!

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Church Attendance – www.thebiblerevival.com – Public Domain

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WHEN THE WORLD EMBRACED CHRISTIANITY

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So, just where did the tradition of constructing church-buildings come from? And when did this phenomenon begin?

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Well, if one looks at Wikipedia, there is a page devoted to highlighting the earliest church-buildings. And it appears that in the late 300’s, buildings specifically designated to be church-buildings showed up.

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And well, that makes sense! Because it was in the early 300’s, that the world declared peace with Christianity. And, as most people know, the world began to merge its pagan customs and idols into the Church.

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And so, it just makes sense that Christians were now free to live at peace with the world. No longer was the Church hunted down like outlaws! No longer was the Church on the run!

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And so, with this new “peace treaty”, Christians could now build specially-designed buildings, without fear of having them ransacked, burned, or destroyed by their enemies.

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The Christian Martyrs Last Prayer – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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TRUE CHURCH FLED TO THE MOUNTAINS

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Now as the churches in Europe became more and more apostate, in the mid-to-late first Millennium, A.D., Christians faced new persecution, by false-brethren who controlled those fallen European churches.

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And as a result, Christians eventually had to either pledge allegiance to the fallen churches or flee to the European mountain strongholds.

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But the tradition of church-buildings continued through the New Testament centuries, mostly by the apostate portion of Christianity. And faithful Christians continued to suffer through those Dark Ages, by the hand of the apostate churches, as this old drawing illustrates.

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Thus, during these centuries, for the most part, only the apostate churches could have their grand cathedrals!

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WALDENSES HUNTED BY THE ARMIES OF ROME courtesy gutenberg.org public domain

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WORLD AND CHURCH JOIN HANDS AGAIN

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But once the newly invented printing presses began to churn out Bibles by the thousands, then the ruthless apostate churches could no longer hold the great European community in spiritual darkness through ignorance of God’s Word! The general populace could now at last read the Bible for themselves!

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But sadly, as time continued, this Christian Reformation became the dominate power, eventually taking a more relaxed stance, because of the absence of persecution.

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And so, church-buildings were now being built by the Reformationists! And once again, the Church and the World rejoined hands in friendship.

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Milano Duomo – 1856 – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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PEACE & SAFETY AGAIN!

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And so, here we are, hundreds of years after that Great Reformation! And still we see the Church busily raising up their dedicated church-buildings, unafraid of attack and persecution from the world!

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Now, why even bring up this subject? After all, what’s wrong with building a church-building?

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Well, there’s nothing in the Bible which condemns specially-designated church-buildings.

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ABOVE PICTURE: The False Prophet – signsofheaven.org – not for commercial uses

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EMPTY SEATS MUST BE FILLED

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However, one problem with church-buildings comes in, when the building is large.

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Okay, so why is a large building a problem?

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Beside the high cost of maintenance, the even bigger problem with a large building comes in, when all the pews have to be filled.

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In other words, if you have a big building, then you need “warm bodies”, as the saying goes. Yes, all those empty seats must be filled. And human nature tends to relax standards in attempt to fill the void.

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And so, because faithful Christians are always just a remnant, then that big church will usually allow many who probably have no business being there.

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Church of Christ worship music – cropped image – wikipedia – share-alike license

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“Think not that I (Jesus) am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword… a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”

Matthew 10:34, 36

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The second problem comes in, when one considers the question: “Why is there so much peace between Christianity and the World, that these dedicated church-buildings can peacefully co-exist with this Anti-Christ world?”

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This is the big problem! Why is the present-day Church enjoying all this peace and safety, in a world ruled over by Satan and his countless minions?

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It reminds one of that saying… “If Satan isn’t coming against you, then maybe it’s because you’re both traveling in the same direction!”

 

Listen to this… 

“For yourselves know perfectly

that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

For when they shall say, ‘Peace and safety’;

then sudden destruction cometh upon them,

as travail upon a woman with child;

and they shall not escape.

1st Thessalonians 5:2, 3

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Yes, there seems to be a false covenant of peace between the Church and the “god of this world”. After all, how can Christianity live in peace and safety in this, the Devil’s world?

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Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikpedia – US Public Domain

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MINGLING SACRED THINGS WITH COMMON THINGS 

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The third problem with big church-buildings, is that in order to keep the many seats filled, requires a gifted leader who can keep a large church-building full of people.

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Yes, now all those marginal Christians, sitting in the pews, must have their itching ears scratched! And so, the tendency is to provide entertainment in the form of comedy, drama, colored lights, attractive singers and speakers, exciting and worldly-sounding music, and many fun social events, etc… And these allurements are combined with prosperity-driven sermons!

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In other words, churches had slowly devolved into social/fraternal organizations, with a veneer of lukewarm religiosity.

Photo – cropped image – Share -Alike License – Jesus in Jeans – Wikimedia

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“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine”

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And so, what does all this compromise lead to? Well, it leads to exactly where we are today!

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Listen… “For the time will come

when they will not endure sound doctrine;

but after their own lusts

shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,

and shall be turned unto fables.”

2nd Timothy 4:3, 4

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Yes, this above passage foretells of a time when the church-world becomes filled with itching-ears gospels. 

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And the reader is encouraged to click on and begin reading this series of devotionals called “Come Out of Her, My People”, to gain a fuller understanding of just why God considers today’s churches to be spiritual Babylon.

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Photo – cropped image – Share -Alike License – Jesus in Jeans – Wikimedia

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And therefore, it is no wonder that the trumpet is now sounding the clarion call…

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“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen…

Come out of her, My people,

that ye be not partakers of her sins,

and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

Revelation 18:2, 4  

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, let me not have a religion which makes peace with Satan’s kingdom, the World! But let my religion be such, that the world will behold in me, the offence of the Cross of Christ…

Pray for Our Nation sign – Wikimedia – Share-alike-lic.

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… ““Vanity Fair” & The False Prophet” or you can also read… “February 11th (Come Out From Among Them!)“

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

 

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LOCATING THE DRAGON

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REVELATION 12 DRAGON IS NOT DRACO!

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First, let it be stated, that this Dragon Constellation is not the same constellation commonly referred to as “Draco” (photo to right is Draco, AKA Ursa Minor).

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This Revelation 12 Dragon from Signs Of Heaven, has not been previously recognized. But you will discover that it is a very intricate and complex constellation, once you are comfortable locating it (picture below, left).

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Draco, (Picture right) Ursa Minor Wikipedia share-alike license

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THE DRAGON OF REVELATION 12 CONSTELLATION. 

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The star-charts below (below, right) are from Wikipedia and are combined into one chart to show these three constellations, which the editor has sketched over with these three constellations, as they appear when in the west. Hopefully, this will be an assist in locating these constellations in the night-sky.

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LOCATION…

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The Revelation 12 Dragon Constellation can be located by finding Orion in winter months. The Dragon is to Orion’s left, and the Dragon’s mouth is right next to Orion’s shield. This Dragon’s mouth is the V-like constellation The Hyades Cluster, which is also known as the head of Taurus the Bull. The Dragon’s tail-tip is Pleiades and the lower shaft of his tail is partly of Aries  and Pisces. Then with aid of a dark and starry night, you may begin to connect the mouth and the tail with a very long body in an oval shape. The front and back legs are made of a few stars: the front legs partially of stars from Taurus . The back legs and rear fin are made of 6 stars from the Cetus Constellation.

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BODY HARD TO SEE

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The long oval-shaped body has relatively few stars, but can been seen, howbeit with a dark, starry night. The four stars of the front fins are made partially of Taurus .

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FIRST APPEARS IN MID-SUMMER

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This Dragon constellation appears in the eastern horizon about mid-summer in the pre-dawn hours, spewing his flood-waters northward toward the Revelation 12 Woman in Travail (not pictured in this chart).

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The Wave of Water is primarily composed of the Constellation Auriga. There are two dimmer stars (#’s 1 & 2) which are closest to the Dragon’s mouth. These two dimmer stars are also part of this Wave of Water, but are not part of the Auriga Constellation.

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THE ZODIAC NAMES

It is not the purpose, nor the desire of www.theheavensdeclare.net to give any validity or recognition to the Zodiac or any pagan deities. But unfortunately, the common names of many constellations (such as Scorpio or Sagittarius, etc.), must be given, solely for the purpose of locating them on star-charts.

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Dragon of Revelation 12 Constellation” 

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TOMORROW:

“October 3rd (The Revelation of Jesus, Part 1: Seeing Jesus in Prophecy)”

Revelation – www.pri.org/stories/2011-08-10/revelations-book-revelation – courtesy www.pre.org

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL. 

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THIS IS STUDY #273 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain

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