The 144,000 Of Revelation

Only 144,000?

Why is it there are only 144,000 chosen out of
4 billion souls on this earth?

NAMES OF THE 12 TRIBES OF ISREAL

Original Meanings:

The first description is given at birth by the mothers.  Gen. 29:31 - 35:18 (KJV).
The second description is the “blessings” by Jacob. Gen. 49:1-27 (KJV).

Reuben:    The Lord looked upon my affliction.
(A Son)    First fruit, my might & the beginning of my strength, dignity. & power.     Unstable as water, shalt not excel.

Simeon:    God has heard me.
(Hearing)    Instrument of cruelty (sword of violence). Self willed.   
        Simeon & Levi are alike as brothers. “The Same”

Levi:        Joined to.
(Attached)    Instrument of cruelty and self willed. 

Judah:    Praise the Lord.
(Praise)    Leader of the people in wisdom.

Zebulon:    Place to dwell.
(Dwelling)    A haven & refuge for ships.

Issachar:    Servant.
(Given for hire)    Strong servant of nations.

Dan:        Judging.
(Judge)    Snake that bites the heel.

Gad:        Good fortune.
(Fortune)    An overcomer.

Asher:    Makes happy.
(Happy)    Provider of bread & royal dainties.

Naphtali:    Wrestled.
(Wrestled/Striving)  Politician, Ambassador.  A hind let loose, giving great promise.

Joseph:    Adding.
(Increaser)    A strong shepherd; the stone of Isreal.

Benjamin:    Son of the right hand.
(Son of the right hand)   A devourer and divider

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The 12 tribal names as set forth in Rev. 7:5-8 were rearranged by God’s inspiration for His specific purpose.

Two tribes are missing in this list (since these are not in the character of Jesus) are:          
                                      Dan:                                             Judge or Judging
                                        Ephraim  (son of Joseph):     Fruitful in affliction.

The added name of:     Manasseh (son of Joseph):    Making to forget.


Judah:    A praiseworthy leader (Praise the Lord).

Reuben:    A (first) son.

Gad:        Good fortune.

Asher:    Provider of royal bread.

Napthali:    Messenger of great promise.

Manasseh:    Making to forget. (Clearing the records).

Simeon:    Swords of violence.

Levi:        Self-willed, and determined.

Issachar:    Strong servant of nations.

Zebulon:    A refuge.

Joseph:    Strong shepherd.  Stone of Isreal.

Benjamin:    Son of the right hand.  Divider of truth and error.

    Taking the description of each name from Rev. 7:5-8 and putting it into a summary, we have:

    A praiseworthy leader, a king, and a Praise to the Lord who is the first & only Son (of God).  
    Who is our Good Fortune (promise of vibrant life), a Provider of Royal Bread (the Word of life), and a Messenger of great promise (of future life).
    Who Makes us Forget (clearing the records) our Swords of Violence (sinful ways), caused by our Self-Willed determinations.
    He is a Strong Servant of Nations, our Refuge, our Strong Shepherd.  The Stone of Isreal (that cannot be moved).
    The One on the right hand of God (the Righteousness of God), who divides between truth and error.


     Thus, we see the description and mission of Christ for us, who are Abraham’s lineage by faith.  Also, we are to be the character and image of Christ reflected in the 144,000 who are able to stand without an intercessor before God during the most terrible tribulations that will have ever occurred on this earth. Most of His people will be of that group that no man can number.

When God sees us He must see His Son reflected in each of us that we may be judged worthy to be with Jesus forever.

     Be willing to be changed into His image that you may be kept in His protective love, filled with the Holy Ghost, willing to let go of all earthly encumbrances so our God and Father may receive all honor and glory by our Lord, Jesus Christ through you.

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A Mystery Question. .

For fun and to invigorate your Bible
knowledge, and understand Jesus’
purpose for His Father’s will in your life.

Please leave your thoughts, and ideas in the comments section below
Question for this week:

Did King Saul really see the ghost/Spirit of  Samuel?

God Bless your search for truth.

Spiritualism

 — Life After Ashes —

Spiritualism is the bringing to life a living form that has no body or substance to it.

When the witch of Endor succeeded in bringing up the apparition of Samuel for  the distressed King Saul to ask of him what he should do about the Philistines. He got his answer and death notice. So King Saul got his just reward and did not like it.—1Samuel 28:15.

He Worshiped The Dead

King Saul not only saw the risen ghostly form of Samuel and spoke to him, but then bowed down and worshiped that spirit. His sin was to worship a ghostly appearance.  How depraved people can get when they presume there is life amongst or in the dead. When we see how the “spirit” is the breath and life of a living soul and without it we are a non-entity or just dead, there will be interpretations applied which can blow out of proportion the truth intended in the Manufacturer’s Handbook (The Bible). 

Some have taken the plain words and applied their own thoughts and misconceptions to “make alive” that which is dead or inanimate. Essentially it is a “concern with things of the spirit.”—WordNet

How To Communicate

There are those who hold “seances” or meetings where alleged non-corporeal intelligences would supply communications through a spirit medium, coded tappings, sounds, Ouija Boards, or other means. At many sessions the assumption of spirit communication was validated by many contemporaries, among them many scientists and philosophers who attended séances and studied the phenomena. It's a lie and a deception to communicate where there is no life. Might as well talk to a stone ( there are those that do just, too).


Trying to communicate with the dead is mentioned in the Bible when King Saul went to the witch of Endor, to find an answer to his problem, while masquerading as someone else.  The ‘witch’ found out through the apparition who he really was. It seems that back then they were wanting to talk to the dead.  This is an evil deception by the father of lies.

We might presume that God answered him, but we are told that God is a God of the living and not of the dead. So his answer must have come from the father of lies, the devil, who was impersonating Saul. Besides, Saul had already been told by God what would become of him because of his disobedience and sins.

Since even a king such as Saul would die because of his disobedience, what does this mean to us who also do not believe and obey what we already know is right. As the hymn says: “Trust and Obey, for There’s No Other Way . . .”
"What Kind Of King Will You Choose?"

God Bless

A Mystery Question. .

For fun and spruce-up your Bible knowledge, and understand Jesus’ purpose for His Father’s will in your life.
Please leave your thoughts, and ideas in the comments section below
Question for this week:

How does the Spirit dwell in us?

God Bless your search for truth.

Introduction To Evil

Sin Lives Within

Genesis 2 & 3

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day

God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day (Sabbath)

from all His work which He had made.” —Genesis 2:1.

Evil and sin includes their effect also on food - plants and herbs of the field, as well as our character.

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.”—Genesis 2:7.   Eve also must have been made from the dust of the earth including a rib from Adam so they would be one flesh; needing each other for support and companionship.  Living alone is no fun.

So we have Adam and Eve together in the Garden of Eden getting acquainted with life as one person, and with their Father, God, the one person to look up to and to trust for all the answers to their needs.

We aren’t told how long this bliss lasted, until another element was introduced into their domain. A wonderful awesome being was found by Eve in that tree of the knowledge of good and evil of which she and Adam were not to eat, as their test of obedience to God.

This tree of the knowledge of good and evil in our understanding must be symbolic rather than physical, but whatever it was, they were not to eat of that tree, because when they did they would “surely die (or begin dying).”  Eventually they died.

Did you notice that the word ‘devil’ uses the four letters of ‘evil’.

In Genesis chapter 3 an evil serpent comes upon the scene.  From other Bible texts we understand this serpent to be the devil, a dragon, a deceiver, the father of lies, Satan and Lucifer. To Eve he was more subtle and deceptive than any beast of the field.  Thus his character and purpose was not easy to understand. So he was a different beautiful creation to her or them.

He then proceeds to deceive Eve by telling her God will not allow her to ”surely die,” and if she eats of this tree she will be as a god knowing good and evil.  She looks again and the fruit seems beautiful, good for food, and something desirable to make one wise.

Now do you think God would supply everything and then withhold something from His most perfect Creation?  She evidently thought so for she thought “to be wise” was important for her and them.  She knew the command not to eat of that tree. But wanting more self gratification than God allowed at that time, she disobeyed God and ate that delicious fruit.

Eating the fruit was alright.  But her disobedience was not. Feeling she needed someone to join in her disobedience she turned to Adam who took some too, because he loved her too much to let her die alone.

“For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived. but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”—1 Tim 2:13, 14. She already sinned, but Adam did not trust God to work out a solution to the situation.

Thus through Satan (our author of death), we have the same problem from the Garden of Eden today.  SIN begins in disobedience to God, and, then a lack of trust for Him to solve our problems without Him.

It is interesting to note that SIN (pronounced ‘seen’) in Spanish means without. Making this easy for our understanding, we might conclude that sin is the same as doing anything apart and without God’s intervention or help.  We choose to be our own god (“I’ll do it my way”) just as Adam and Eve did in that paradise garden. 

When we find we have no solutions to our dying through selfishness, greed, hate, “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life” (1 John 2 15-17), we SIN and are worthy of death (for the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life throught Jesus Christ, our Lord—Rom 6:23), because we could not live in God’s holy atmosphere of love, trust and with obedience to Him. 

One last thought for today, God did not give us SIN.  He gave us the fruit of His Spirit: “. . love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22,23).  The only laws that were ever given were against SIN, and not against God’s love, peace and grace.

Find your salvation in Jesus for yourself and LIVE forever.  It’s a promise you can trust.

“And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God, abideth forever.”—1 John 2:17.

God bless.

Emery Thompson

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A Mystery Question:

For fun and spruce-up your Bible knowledge, and understand Jesus’ purpose for His Father’s will in your life.
Please leave your thoughts, and ideas in the comments section below
Question for this week:

Was Satan/Lucifer a son of God?

God Bless your search for truth.

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Valuable Objects in Nature Are Pruned or Refined

We Are Tried and Tested

     Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver, I have tested
you in the furmace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10, NKJV.

    THE FURNACE FIRES are not to destroy, but to refine, ennoble, sanctify. Without trial we would not feel so much our need of God and His help; and we would become proud and self-sufficient. In the trials that come to us we should see the evidences that the Lord's eye is upon us, and that He means to draw us to Himself. It is not the whole, but the wounded, who need a physician; it is those who are pressed almost beyond the point of endurance who need a Helper.

    The fact that we are called upon to endure trial proves that the Lord sees something in us very precious, which He desires to develop. If He saw in us nothing whereby He might glorify His name, He would not spend time in refining us. We do not take special pains in pruning brambles. Christ does not cast worthless stones into His furnace. It is valuable ore that He tests.

    The blacksmith puts the iron and steel into the fire that he may know what manner of metal they are. The Lord allows His chosen ones to be placed in the furnace of affliction, in order that He may see what temper they are of, and whether He can mold and fashion them for His work.

    It may be that much work needs to be done in your character-building, that you are a rough stone which must be squared and polished before it can fill a place in God's temple. You need not be surprised if, with chisel and hammer, God cuts away the sharp comers of your character, until you are prepared to fill the place He has for you. No human being can accomplish this work. Only by God can it be done. And be assured that He will not strike one useless blow. His every blow is struck in love, for your eternal happiness. He knows your infirmities, and works to restore, not to destroy.

    When trials arise that seem unexplainable, we should not allow our peace to be spoiled. However unjustly we may be treated, let not passion arise. By indulging a spirit of retaliation, we injure ourselves. We destroy our own confidence in God, and grieve the Holy Spirit away. There is by our side a witness, a heavenly messenger, who will lift up for us a standard against the enemy. He will shut us in with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, Beyond this, Satan cannot penetrate. He cannot pass this shield of holy light.—Signs of the Times, Aug. 18, 1909.

A Mystery Queston:

Please leave your thoughts, and ideas in the comments section.
Question for this week:

Why was Moses not allowed to enter the promised land?

God Bless your search for truth.

Revealing the Woman Standing On The Moon

Why is that Woman standing on the moon in Rev. 12:1?

The Sun, Moon, and Earth seem to be the main objects in this scene. “. . she is clothed with the sun, and the moon is under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: . . “ And she’s pregnant and ready to deliver. Amazing picture!

What’s the sun’s purpose here? To give Light to the Earth and Moon.

What’s the moon’s purpose? To reflect that Light to the Earth.

The Earth? It collects Light for life from the sun for daytime growth of plants, and then for animal life when the plants are eaten. Yes, I know. The food chain does not stop there. And it receives light from the moon.

The woman and the twelve stars? Later.

To see God's Purpose
First we must realize that the Bible is God’s story for us to learn about Him and His purposes. In John 4:24 “God is a Spirit . .”, John 6:63 “It is the Spirit that quickeneth (makes alive) . . the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life.” There are more references you may look up to see that God’s Spirit gives life, the words of understanding (the light of the world, the light of our understanding, Jesus is the Word (John 1:1-4 & 14), etc.) so we may not be in the dark as to what and who this God and His Son, Jesus, really are.

Symbolism Steps In
The sun gives light. The moon receives the reflects that light. The earth receives light from the moon. God’s truth hits the moon and reflects it to the earth. Now for the symbology of this. God is the source. The moon becomes His messenger (church). The earth takes the reflected truth and shares it to the rest of the world.

The woman enters the scene clothed with the sun (truth) and is known as the True Church where there is no distortion of His message to us on earth. A long time ago this truth about God was given to the twelve chosen tribes of Israel (the crown of twelve stars) who were to share this with the rest of humanity. They didn’t, and error of the truth began to propagate into other nations.

We see that she is pregnant with the “Word of Truth” (Jesus) in her to present God’s word of truth to the world, so they too may have that eternal life through acceptance of that Word through the Son of God.

Satan Cannot Win
Here comes that old snake, Lucifer, Satan or the Dragon (also known as the father of lies and the great deceiver) to destroy that holy thing in her belly, as soon as He is born. Satan can never succeed, and he didn’t. Jesus the Word, the Truth and the Life came to give us everything we need to overcome that deceiver, and become a child of God by faith. He showed us the way to God through Him, saying “Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me.”—John 5:39.

And now as a child, each of us must grow up day by day and learn of him now and forevermore, even by one verse a day.

Smile and rejoice, for the blessing is yours to keep.

God bless.




A Mystery Question. .

For fun and spruce-up your Bible knowledge, and understand Jesus’ purpose for His Father’s will in your life.
Please leave your thoughts, and ideas in the comments section below
Question for this week:

What is the genealogy of Mary (mother of Jesus Christ)?  Is it in the Bible?  If so, where?

God Bless your search for truth.

Emery Thompson

Father's Love — A given

He Really Cares

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.
Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”—1 John 3:1 & 2

A new convert came to a preacher saying, “No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I’m losing my salvation. The preacher responded, “Do you see my dog here? He is my dog. He is house-trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient; he is a pure delight to me. Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He makes a mess, he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my legacy? Not my dog; my son is my heir. You are Jesus Christ’s heir because it is for you that He died. We are children of God and heirs of His kingdom, not through our perfection but by His grace.

What is Sin?
SIN is an acronym for Self Induced Need. Something you try to control, accomplish without God’s help, or without including Him in your plans. This leaves you alone in your pursuits, showing that you do not want or trust God or His partnership in this world or the kingdom to which He invites you. In Spanish the word ‘sin’ means ‘without.’ So it seems that, ‘without’ God you are in ‘sin.’

Can we be His sons while we choose to violate His laws?
Jesus, our Example of a true Son, Who came and lived with us to show us the way to love and worship the Father and live a lifestyle, which is contrasted by the sinful way Satan wants keep us so we lose our inheritance.

The Battle for the mind.
But the battle for us and God is the battle for our minds. Who do we wish to be with for eternity, and with whom we would rather choose to have as our best forever Friend, no matter where we are? He love us without preconceived rules, and has promised us an inheritance far beyond anything we could imagine.

Two choices. You must choose only one.
The choice should be clear; to chose and hold on to Jesus, our elder brother, who promises to show us the true character of the Father, and take us to Him at the end of this present world.

God Bless.

Beginning Of The Rest Of The Story

THE BEGINNING OF

THE REST OF THE STORY

Genesis 1 & 2
After the ‘beginning,’ the rest of God’s plan gets put into action. He needed to have His reasons and purposes fulfilled. And He needed you and I to help complete that plan. This gets exciting.

The Creation of Man
God formed Adam from the dust or clay of the earth and breathed the breath of life into His most perfect creation — MAN. Adam became a living soul. An intellectual being with an extra gift of being able to reason, which the other animals do not have.

A Spirit
An interesting side-note here: the Greek word ‘pneuma’ is air or breath, and is applied as the ‘spirit of man’ because it is inspired (drawn into) to keep life in and for the body. Other people have construed the word Spirit to have other meanings such as, a spirit (not having a form - like a ghost), or having a spiritual nature (again - no form) and then causing it to mean spiritualism (giving life to an inanimate object or dead body - which only God can do, but does not need to). After all, we are already born with His breath (spirit).

So God finished His Creation including placing man in the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it. He was given his work to do; grounds keeper of the Garden, exploring what God made, eating all the right foods, drinking the best water, looking after the animals (even naming them as God brought them to him), having domain over all that creation as was given him to maintain, and just enjoying all that was set before him. He was able to talk to the angels who must have instructed him on how to live in this beautiful environment, and then during the day he would be able to walk and talk with God Himself. His joy must have been beyond our understanding. But . .

Here Comes the Woman
After a period of time he must have become a little lonely for another soul to communicate with, as he had seen the other animals had their partners, and he didn’t. So God caused him to sleep and took his rib and made a soul mate for him. She must have been very beautiful, the perfect mate for Adam to be with.

Now they were married as one flesh together, as God ordained it should be. And now they shared all things in the most perfect garden with a perfect Father, our Creator.

Later on we are told that there will be another Garden Of Eden when the earth is made new, where He will dwell with us forever, and where no sin will ever raise its ugly head, which started in that glorious ‘Garden of Beginnings.’

God bless.