Daily Devotional, Year 2 – AUGUST 19 (Apocalypse Now! Part 6: Fire & Brimstone!)
By admin On May 30th, 2024.
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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – AUGUST 19
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Apocalypse Now!
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Part 6:
“Fire & Brimstone!”
To read Part 1, click here… AUGUST 3 (Apocalypse Now! Part 1: Silencing the Gospel!)
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“And the third angel followed them,
saying with a loud voice,
If any man worship the beast and his image,
and receive his mark in his forehead,
or in his hand,
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,
which is poured out without mixture
into the cup of His indignation;
and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone
in the presence of the holy angels,
and in the presence of the Lamb:”
Revelation 14:9, 10
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Mark of the beast – pub. dom. – Wikipedia
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This above passage from Revelation presents a fearful scenario about the punishment of all those who worship the beast and his image…“and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:”
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Now at first blush, it would appear that unsaved humanity will be tormented by literal “fire & brimstone”, as their eternal reward.
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Brooklyn Museum – The Rich Man In Hell – James Tissot – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE SAY?
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But the Bible is a spiritual book, and must be carefully studied to be properly understood.
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And so, it might be well to take a few minutes to better understand what God is speaking of concerning, “fire & brimstone”.
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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.
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FIRE AND MUCH WOOD?!
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Listen… “For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.” Isaiah 30:33
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Here is a verse concerning the judgment of the last days. And yet, when God speaks here of the “pile thereof is fire and much wood”, this is a tip-off that God is speaking metaphorically, and not literally.
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After all, this verse says that Tophet will burn because of all the wood. So if we would take this literally, it would be totally ridiculous! And this is confirmed by the next words, “the breath of the LORD, like a steam of brimstone, doth kindle it.”
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Now obviously these metaphors, speaking of piles of wood and the breath of the LORD and the fires of Tophet are presenting an allegorical description of the great Day of God’s wrath.
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Firewood – Tres Tombs in Igualada – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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GOD IS A DEVOURING FIRE
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Here is another passage which even further confirms the metaphorical nature of fire & brimstone… “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming (devouring) fire.” Hebrews 12:28, 29
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Here it says that our God is a “consuming” or “devouring fire”. Now obviously, God is a Spirit, and not an actual fire.
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Transfiguration – Bloch – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain
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DEVOURING FIRE ON MOUNT SINAI
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The point is, we need to interpret the Bible as a spiritual book. And while there are many verses which are plain spiritual statements, yet there are many other verses which must be interpreted spiritually, in order to make any sense.
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Now let’s look at one more passage… “And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.” Exodus 24:17
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Here again, the words, “devouring fire” are used here to describe the glory of God, when He appeared to Israel from Mount Sinai. This word, “devouring” can also be translated, “consuming”. And so, the Bible consistently compares the glory and judgment of God to a consuming and devouring fire. But it is not a literal fire. Rather it is a spiritual fire which burns up the wickedness of all who are cast into that fire…
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Gérôme, Jean-Léon – Moses on Mount Sinai – Jean-Léon Gérôme – 1895-1900 – Wikimedia – Pub. Dom.
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DWELLING WITH THE DEVOURING FIRE
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Listen to this rather lengthy passage…
“The sinners in Zion are afraid;
fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.
Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly;
he that despiseth the gain of oppressions,
that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes,
that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood,
and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
He shall dwell on high:
his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks:
bread shall be given him;
his waters shall be sure.
Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty:
they shall behold the land that is very far off.”
Isaiah 33:14-17
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As this above passage reveals, only the righteous will be able to dwell with the devouring fire and everlasting burnings. And here is veiled, allegorical language to describe the LORD! It is God who is that devouring fire and everlasting burnings. And only righteousness can dwell with Him. And everything else will obviously be burned up! Spiritually burned up! Wickedness cannot dwell with our God, who is a consuming fire!
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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WICKEDNESS BURNED UP FOREVER!
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And so, all this information gives us a much greater understanding of what the coming indignation will be like.
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Yes, the coming Judgment Day will be a day of fire, and torment for all those who are proud.
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But it is a spiritual fire that will burn up and destroy the wickedness in the world!
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Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.
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LITERAL FIRE
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Now, having said all this, it is interesting (and very sad) to see so many literal fires burning in these last days: forest fires are devastating the western United States, and haters throw fire-bombs, igniting many cities, etc….
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Now as we tearfully behold all these tragedies, it should be a wake-up call to all those who desire to live forever!
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Paradise California – Wikipedia – US Govt. Public Domain
Protesters – Wikimedia – Share-alike License 3.0
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TO READ PART 7, CLICK HERE…
AUGUST 21 (Apocalypse Now! Part 7: Tormented With Fire!)
Christian and Apollyon – Pilgrim’s Progress – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Hide me from the fiery tempest which is now coming upon the earth. Help me to put away any worldly traits and affections and lusts which I may still be clinging to. Let me take refuge under the shadow of Thy wings…
Morning Prayers – Ebenezer Newman – Downard – 1860 – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Ark of the Covenant Constellation, Pt. 2: How To Enter The Most Holy Place, or you can also read this shorter article…JULY 2 (Hide Thyself…For A Moment! Part 1: Dwelling In Love! (“John’s Victorious Life”))
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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7 STARS IMITATE THE CROSS OF ORION
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This phenomenon begins in late October, in the pre-dawn hours. It then begins a little earlier each night, and lasts for several months, until they both appear to lie down once again.
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This Wikipedia star-chart to the left, has this Orion Constellation sketched in. You must locate Orion, when it is mid-sky, between east and west. You’ll be facing southward most likely, unless you are far south. Try to imagine it as a Cross on a steep hill. The 3-star belt of Orion becomes the crest of the hill. The 3 very faint stars that make up Orion’s head become the very top of the Cross.
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Next, locate the 7 Stars Constellation. This 7 Stars Constellation is seen by facing northward. It stands upright a little later in the night. Eventually, Orion will lay down and no longer be seen as an uplifted Cross! Beginning in November, the 7 Stars (AKA Big Dipper) can be seen as a Cross a little bit later in evening.
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When you are comfortable in locating Orion & The 7 Stars Constellations, then show a friend. This can be a great witnessing tool!
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ABOVE CHART: The Cross of Orion Constellation star-chart – not for commercial use
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… ‘7 Stars’ Imitate ‘The Cross of Orion’
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TOMORROW…
AUGUST 20 (The Great Babylonian Dream-Machine! Part 2: Pursuing My Dreams!)
ABOVE PICTURE: Dream Maker of Babylon – Signs Of Heaven.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 #596 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.
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