How an Informal One-To-One Bible Study on Revelations 15 Led to a Successful Prophecy Investigation

Some time ago a church brother of mine and I were traveling together on a trip to the country. During the journey he raised a discussion, which seems to turn into an informal Bible study on Revelations 15. He said that another brother pointed out to him that the scene presented in verses 2-4 where the saints were seen singing on the sea of glass could be cited to support the idea that the people of God will be caught up to heaven in a secret rapture just before the mark-of-the-beast crisis.
When I looked at the text, it seems to be so on the face of it; it would appear that the saints are in heaven while the "wrath of God" is about to be poured out. But on closer examination we can see where in at least one instance it just does not fit into the rapture theory as it first appears. Concerning the saints who were seen on the sea of glass, the Bible said that they got victory over the beast and his image! In this declaration is the clear teaching that the saints went through the crisis of the mark of the beast, thus destroying the idea that the rapture will precede this event.
Even though we manage to establish beyond a shadow of a doubt that this text offers no support for a pre-tribulation rapture, the discussion was unable to go any further to unravel the difficulty with explaining the presence of the saints on the sea of glass just before the seven angels pour out the seven plagues upon the earth.
Though informal, this seems to be one of those discussions that would motivate any prophecy student into a meaningful Bible study on Revelations. It certainly set me on an investigative path to find the answers to what seems to be a very difficult chapter in the book of Revelation. But when you come across challenges like these you must always bear in mind the fact that for every difficult Bible text, there is a Bible solution. We must always allow controversies and difficulties to stir us up to study the scriptures with more diligence instead of throwing in the towel and say "this is not for me".
I eventually figured it out in a twenty-minute Bible study on Revelations 14 and 15; thank God for those years of experience in end-time prophecy studies. What I realized is that you cannot understand chapter 15 without consulting the preceding chapter. And that is one of the reasons why we cannot study the chapters in the book of Revelation in isolation because the theme of one chapter sometimes continues into another chapter in a way that is not easily noticed. Certainly, Bible study on Revelation would be meaningless if you fail to see a cohesive narrative progression of last-day events.
When I looked at both chapters together, I can clearly see how the succeeding chapters fit into the mix. Towards the latter part of chapter 14 going into chapter 15, you will see where the Bible is setting up the principle of repetition and enlargement. Repetition and enlargement is a principle in Bible prophecy where a particular event is mentioned twice; the first mention is in summary, and the second mention provides more details. Here is how the principle is illustrated (I wont elaborate much; you can do a more detailed Bible study on Revelation 14 and 15 to confirm what I am going to say to you). In Revelation 14:14-20 the following events are mentioned:
THE FIRST HARVEST, which is said to be the harvest of the earth. This harvest is clearly as a result of the gospel proclamation mentioned in verses 6-12. This reaping activity falls in line with the parable of the harvest in Matthew.
THE SECOND HARVEST where the clusters of the vine is cast into the great winepress of the wrath of God. This is a summary of the outpouring of the seven last plagues which is given to us in detail in chapter 16. The punishment of sinners under the "wrath of God" will culminate in the destruction of Babylon in the latter part of chapter 16, flowing into chapters 17,18, and the first part of chapter 19.
The next event that is summarized is the TREADING OF THE WINEPRESS outside the city and blood came out unto the horses bridles (Rev. 14:20). This is a clear reference to chapter 19:11-21, which speaks of the Second Coming of Christ. It is said that Christ "treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (vs 15).
The final summary in the narrative development of the passage is found in Revelation 15:2-4. This is where the SAINTS ARE SEEN ON THE SEA OF GLASS. In my little 20-minute Bible study on Revelations 15, I saw where we were thrown off track. The mistake that we made is to assume that because the seven last plagues was introduced in the first verse, everything that comes after is subsequent to that event. Here is why this is not so. After we read the account of the saints standing on the sea of glass in verses 2-4, here is what the next verse says,
"And AFTER that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues......" Rev. 15:5, 6. (Emphasis supplied)
This is a clear suggestion that it was after the saints were seen on the sea of glass that John saw the seven angels! Therefore, the scene of the saints is a continuation of the summary that John recounts in chapter 14, the details of which are found in chapter 20. Right after the treading of the winepress in chapter 19, the narrative flows into chapter 20 where it mentions the same group of saints "which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands" Rev. 20:4.
In your Bible study on Revelations 14 and 15, in connection with succeeding chapters (16-20), you will see a clear picture of the narrative sequence as outlined below:
The harvesting of the earth (the gathering of the saints after the gospel proclamation),
The casting of the vine in the winepress of the wrath of God (the seven last plagues).
The treading of the winepress without the city (the Second Coming of Christ)
The saints who were victorious over the beast stands on the sea of glass (judgment was given to them and they reign with Christ for a thousand years).

Steve Sterling has been studying end-time Bible prophecy for over 25 years. He has written an instructive and very intriguing e-book entitled 'End-time Prophecy E-course'. If you wish to get further information on how you can secure a digital copy of this advanced Bible study on Revelations, go to: http://www.prophecyecourse.com.

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OUR GREAT GOD

What an awesome God we serve! I am so amazed at His presence in my daily life. He provides in indescribable ways. It is an honor to serve such a sovereign God, holy and just.

I read a saying the other day, most of the time I take little sayings as for what they are, just a saying. Many times people will write something about God and hope that He blesses them. Do they truly believe in that hope? Sometimes I wonder. See a cute little phrase may make some people feel good but that is all. They feel good for a moment or two then it is back to dreariness.

HOPE

We as Christians have a higher hope. A hope not defined as weak faith but a blessed hope. Many Christians look at hope as something to long for, maybe it will, maybe it won't. I use as example football. I was listening to a couple of guys last fall talking about the last game of the year. A team with one win and eight losses playing a team 9-0. A team ranked second in the state and looking to make a deep playoff run. The one said, "I hope they can do something tonight, it would take a miracle but here's to hoping." This is the lack of hope I am referring to, a dead faith. Fanny J. Crosby wrote the song "Blessed Assurance" blind from birth never being able to see all that most enjoy. This is the hope I wish to express, the assurance we have at the awesome hands of God.

With assurance I told the doctor my boy would be fine. They had lost his heart rate and brain waves, and doubted he was getting oxygen. They wanted to abort him so his mother at least could be saved. I said he was fine go ahead and get him out. I had no clue as to the medical conditions and just how severe they were. I did know just how big my God is. I prayed and left it in His hands. My almost ten pound baby was born and spitting as he came out. Perfectly healthy, PRAISE GOD!

A couple months ago a dear friend and brother in the Lord, our only church deacon had blockages in his arteries. Seven years ago he suffered a massive stroke and had veins replaced by stints in his neck. The stints were placed up under the jaw bone and were in critical need of repair. The doctors had checked him and said one of the stints was leaking blood and both were 95% closed. The surgery was to be extremely invasive as they would have to break his jawbone to repair the stints. He sought a second and then third opinion, all the same report. We all prayed and prayed for him, then the day of surgery came. To be exact on the procedure the doctors ordered more scans to see just how bad it would be. While looking at the scans the doctors found nothing, not a thing, no blockages, no leaking of blood. Three doctors a week earlier had all found the same results, clogged stints and bleeding. They were amazed, and in disbelief. Finally they told him he could go home that someone bigger than them took care of the problem. We all had prayed to God. We told the clogs and the bleeding how big our God is.

THE SAYING

Don't tell God how big the storm is, rather tell the storm how big your God is. What an awesome statement! I think sometimes we disqualify our prayers when we seek God in prayer and show our weakness and lack of faith. We need to put it in God's hands and let it go. He alone will suffice our needs. He alone can answer prayer, we have no need to worry when He receives our requests. I know that is so easy to say, it is so easy to sit behind a desk and type away. But my friends that is the prayer God wants, a prayer claiming Him as the omnipotent and omniscience God. A prayer claiming Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He wants His children to come to Him and leave it with Him. Leave your cares and worries with the Master of the Seas. The disciples were on the boat, storms came and they were frightened. They were professional fishermen, they knew how to sail. They also knew exactly what the boat could take in such a storm. Yet Jesus slept. In desperation they woke Jesus and cried," Master we perish"' yet calmly my Jesus stood and stretched out His arms and said to the storm,"Peace be still". God's providence, how great is our God.

The Hebrew children were in the wilderness, between the sea and Pharaoh's army,what could they do? Certain doom was nearly upon them, how could they defeat such an awesome foe? The Word of the Lord came upon Moses and as instructed he raised his staff and the seas parted. The Hebrews passed through unhurt and safe. Moreover the army of Pharaoh was swallowed up in the waters. How great is our GOD!

By faith and assurance David stood up where others had fallen. He knew no man could stop the giant, he was too big, too strong. Yet by claiming the faith and blessed hope in the LORD GOD, David slew Goliath with a single stone. How great is our GOD!

Facing the taking of Jericho Joshua knew his army was too small and Jericho too big. The walls were several stories high and wide enough for chariots to pass on the top. Yet by faith and hope in God Joshua led Israel around the gates of the walls. Then blowing rams horns with the children of Israel yelling the walls fell. How great is our God!

Daniel was thrown into a Lions den for his faith in God. Certain he would not be alive by morning the king shut the door. Daniel stood and prayed all night, by morning the lions were laying asleep and Daniel was still standing, praying to God. Thrown into the fiery furnace the three Hebrew young men prayed God to deliver them. When the king and his men looked in they saw the three men in the fire and a fourth that looked as the Son of God. Even the unjust knew the sight of the Son of God. Jesus in the presence of Daniel protecting him for his faith and hope in God. HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!

I was lost in the rags of my sin unworthy without I was so needy within. But then But then a King became my Saviour and His riches are mine, I became God's child when my Jesus passed by. He took my sin debt He took my pride, He reached in and cleansed my heart and carried my burdens away. I ran from Him, I cared not what He had to say. I took up my life unto my own hands and lived without God. Oh I knew Him, I knew I needed to return but I was on my own. It was my life to live and do as I pleased, whether I answered to God or not. I had walked away from God, no hope left, no peace within, only despair. A beautiful wife, a good job and nice house all almost lost from my pride. In my pain stricken grief I cried out, "I am cutoff, Oh God restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation". God in His tenderness and mercy restored my life. He gave to me the joy of His salvation. How great is our God! I will sing His praise, I will tell of His love. I came to myself, trying to work out the storm in my life and try as I may I always lost, until one day I told God I was letting go. I chose to tell the storm just how big my God is. How great is our God!

Isaiah Michael Ministries and Michael I. Adams invite you to visit our website, http://www.ohiofoodministry.org to learn more about our ministries. On the site you will be able to view Food 4 Thought Ministry as well as Isaiah Michael Ministry.

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Inside My Concordance - A Super Bible School Activity for Elementary Kids

Remember the fun game you played as a kid that started out something like this..."I'm going to Grandma's house and inside my suitcase I'm going to pack my teddy bear."  The next child would have to continue this line of thinking by remembering what the last person packed and then add his own item into the suitcase.  The list of items got longer and longer and it became harder and harder to remember the list.  Therefore, the first person to forget what came next was out and the game started all over again.  I loved that game!  But my memory was a lot better then than it is now.  However, your kids' memory is probably sharp as tacks.  So why not test their memory skills in two great ways?  One will use a concordance and the other will use the wonderful Bible verse of John 1:1 - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Here's what you do:
Make alphabet letter cards on index cards for all the major beginning letters of words found in your concordance.  Place all these letters in a bucket or bag out of which your kids will pick.  After each letter is picked, be sure you display the letters in the order they were pulled somewhere in the room.  I always display mine on a pocket chart.  You will also want to have a rendering of John 1:1 as written above.  You will want to take the time to recite this verse several times so that your kids can memorize it quickly.  You also might want to write it on a board and erase some of the words so that they have a few words to prompt their memory of how it goes. You will need a scorekeeper for this game and you will need at least one concordance.
Here's how to play:
Divide your class into 2 teams.  Begin by saying the following:
John 1:1 says this: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  Wow!  The Word of God must be very important if it was in the beginning of time just like God.  In fact, this Bible verse says that "the Word was God."  If this is true, which of course it is, we should do our best at knowing God's Word and studying it the rest of our lives.  One of the best tools that we can use to study the Bible is the concordance.  A concordance gives us the most important words in the Bible in alphabetical order just like a dictionary.  So, if we wanted to look up the word "heaven" in the concordance, we would find the "H" words.  We would then search until we found the word "heaven" and then we would see several Bible verses that contained the word "heaven" and where they are found in the Bible.
Let's play a fun game called "Inside My Concordance".  I will give the first team a chance to come up and pick a letter out of my bag here.  Let's say you pick the letter "L". You must then look for a word in the concordance that begins with that letter.  Let's say you found the word "love".  You would then say, "Inside my concordance, I found some love." The next student from the second team will come and pick a new letter and go through the same process, but he will have to add onto the other words already mentioned.  As the list gets longer, it will be harder to remember.
If you mess up, you can redeem yourself by reciting John 1:1 correctly.  If you do, you will earn 100 points for your team and the game continues with the same list.  If you are not successful at reciting John 1:1, the other team gets the points and a new list of concordance words should be started.  The team with the most points.

Next, if you liked this Sunday School/Homeschooling idea, then sign up to today to receive Scripture Lady's Free Email Kid Tips packed full with creative ideas and receive 6 FREE BIBLE REVIEW GAMES to help get the kids you minister to excited about the Bible!
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Kathy Vincent is the director of a performing ministry for children called The Scripture Lady and has been traveling around Southern California for the past 15 years ministering to preschoolers and elementary aged children with the Word of God through musical, thematic presentations.
She is also a regular seminar speaker, author/creator of over 30 products for the Christian children's worker and a veteran homeschooling mom of two.

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Reading Your Bible - Getting Started and Sticking With It

Are you a person who has trouble reading your Bible. You've seen a hundred "Get Through the Bible in One Year" advertisements, but you can't seem to stick with the program. If you're having trouble then you're like I was when I began reading my Bible.
The purpose of reading your Bible is to seek Jesus not to read through the Bible in one year. The Bible tells us the person that reads the Bible and meditates on it day and night will bring forth fruit. (See Psalms 1:1-6)
A Small Commitment
The key to reading the Bible is to make a commitment to read the Bible every day and sticking with it. I recommend that new believers read five or ten verses of the Bible every day. If you're reading a great passage that is more than your allotment and you want to finish it, by all means finish it. But, don't increase your commitment until you are ready.
It is better to read small portions of the Bible and meditate on what you've read than to read a large portion that you can't remember.
Don't be afraid to write notes in your Bible. When you write something down you are thinking about it. Underlining and writing notes in your Bible helps you find passages quicker and easier.
Life Happens
Keep your allotted reading low enough so that when your day is especially hectic you can still meet your commitment. There was more than one day I barely finished my reading before I passed out from exhaustion.
By making a daily commitment and sticking to it you will begin learning. Just as a baby needs daily food, Christians need daily spiritual food.
Pray and Meditate
Begin each Bible reading session with prayer. A simple prayer like, "Lord help me to read, hear, do, and share the word you give me today. In Jesus name. Amen."
We are to do everything in Jesus name, and that includes reading the Bible. (Read Colossians 3:17) When you pray believe that God through his Spirit will reveal his word to you. (Read James 1:5-8)
After reading the Bible take a few minutes to think about what you read. (That's what meditation is.) If you pray, read, and meditate on the word you will be surprised how quickly you'll be able to grasp the knowledge.
Do the Word
True understanding of the word only comes through applying the word to your life. If you don't apply what you study a full understanding will escape you. (Read Hebrews 5:14)
Where to Begin
I always advise new Christians to begin in the New Testament. Read through the New Testament at least two or three times before trying to read through the Old Testament. That will give you time to grasp the grace of Jesus Christ.
Don't get Discouraged
If you miss a day don't try to catch up on your reading by doubling it. You may put a burden on yourself that you will increase your disappointment. Just keep your commitment from that point.
Finally
If you find you can do more reading and want to do more reading then by all means do it. If you find that you increased too much then by all means decrease the commitment to the previous level. The point is to read your Bible daily. I find many days I go over my allotted number of pages, but there are days when it's a real struggle to meet my allotted number of pages.
The idea is to seek the Lord's face through his word, the Bible. He will honor your commitment.
II Timothy 1:12, "...for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."
Copyright 2010 J-me

Award winning author, Mark Brown, who writes under the pen-name, J-me, invites you to receive your free subscription to the Mason Bricklin Newsletter. Each family friendly monthly issue features a humorous short story, and articles about family, writing, internet marketing, and the amazing creation. Or visit his humorous books and stories site which features his Bible blog: http://www.masonbricklin.net.

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