Will it consist of people who have already died? Will they be part of the 144,000? Will they go to heaven before Christ’s return?

In the previous Q&A, we discussed the question, “Do the 144,000, mentioned in Revelation 7, describe spiritual Israelites prior to the Great Tribulation including those who have already died?”

We explained that Revelation 7:1-8 describes 144,000 Israelites who will be sealed after the beginning of the Great Tribulation to be protected from the plagues of the Day of the Lord. In addition, Revelation 7:9-10, 13-17 continues to describe a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, who came out of the Great Tribulation.

Many ideas exist as to who the great multitude describes. Some claim that the great multitude is identical with the 144,000, or that the 144,000 are part of the great multitude. Some claim that the multitude consists of all Gentile Christians from the beginning of the creation of man, and that the number is innumerable as it is not yet determined. Some claim that the great multitude will be in heaven after the beginning of the Great Tribulation, but before the Day of the Lord begins.

Continue reading "Who is the Great Multitude in Revelation 7?"

When considering carefully what the Bible says about the 144,000, we find that they cannot refer to spiritual Israelites who have lived and died prior to the beginning of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. When the book of Revelation begins to describe the time of the terrible DAY OF THE LORD to strike, an angel appears holding back the four winds (Revelation 7:1-3), which are the first four trumpet plagues (Revelation 8:7-12) of the Day of the Lord, until the 144,000 are sealed. We should also note, even though this is not the topic of this Q&A, that in addition to the sealing of 144,000, a great multitude of ALL NATIONS will turn to God and His protection, BEFORE the plagues of the Day of the Lord begin. The innumerable multitude shall have COME OUT of THE Great Tribulation (Revelation 7:14) to be protected during the Day of the Lord.

Continue reading "Do the 144,000, Mentioned in Revelation 7, Describe Spiritual Israelites Prior to the Great Tribulation, Including Those Who Have Already Died?"

Ezekiel 28 speaks of two individuals. The first personage is a physical human being who is described here as the “Prince of Tyre.” The second individual is the “King of Tyre.” As one reads through this chapter, one will find striking similarities between the two individuals, and some are confused about the meaning. We need to correctly understand who is being talked about; then we can start to see the types of similarities that these two individuals share; and finally, we will understand why they are important.

First of all, we should take note of chapters 26 and 27 which speak of the City of Tyre. It is referenced many times in the Bible and has played an interesting role in history. As is often the case, the Bible refers to this city as well in a dual role. The ancient city of Tyre is compared with the modern Babylonian system in Europe and the end-time city which is built on seven hills. And so we can already see the duality between the destruction of the city of Tyre and the city of Rome, and with it, the entire Babylonian system (Ezekiel 27:28-36; Revelation 18:9-21). Please read our booklet “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” specifically Part 3, entitled “Ancient and Modern ‘Tyre’ in Prophecy,” for more in depth and detailed information.

Continue reading "What Are the Correlations Between the Prince of Tyre and the King of Tyre, Found in Ezekiel 28?"

The question deals with a statement in the second letter to the Thessalonians. Let us review the particular passage in context:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 6-7 reads in the New King James Bible:

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day [of Christ’s return] will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God…

“And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He [margin: Or he] who now restrains will do so until He [Margin: Or he] is taken out of the way.”

Continue reading "Who or What Restrains or Holds Back the Manifestation of the Man of Sin?"

Actually, the Bible is full of Scriptures addressing this vital subject. Addiction in its many forms is wrong; be it addiction to cigarettes or illegal mind-altering drugs; be it addiction to wrong sexual practices, false ideas and philosophies; be it addiction to a lifestyle of sin; and be it even addiction to something which might not be prohibited per se (i.e. consumption of alcohol), but which becomes sinful due to wrong dependency.

Romans 6:12 tells us very clearly that if we let sinful conduct dictate our lives, we have become addicted to it: “Therefore do not let sin reign [“exercise dominion”, New Revised Standard Version] in your mortal bodies, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

Romans 6:16-22 gives us the following additional admonition:

Continue reading "What Does the Bible Say about Addiction and Slavery to Sin?"

To answer this important question, we need to focus on several biblical revelations.

• First, we need to understand that God IS a Family.

Jesus Christ—the Word or Logos or Son of God—was “WITH” God (Greek: theos) since all eternity, and He also “WAS” God (Greek: theos) (John 1:1-2). That means there were two God beings—Christ, the “Word of God” (Revelation 19:13) and God the FATHER.

Christ was clearly God before He came to this earth! Paul explains in 1 Timothy 3:16: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD was manifest in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.”

Philippians 2:5–7 reads: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of GOD, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, TAKING THE FORM OF A BONDSERVANT, and coming IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN.”

The Bible is also very clear that Christ IS God now! Notice Titus 2:11–14: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our GREAT GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

Continue reading "Is There Any Scriptural Proof That God Is Identical With the Kingdom of God?"

The concept of “speaking in tongues” has been grossly misunderstood. However, in setting aside any human “traditions” and misinterpretations and just reviewing the Scriptures, there is really no reason for such confusion.

For instance, when Christ’s early apostles and disciples received the Holy Spirit AFTER Christ’s ascension on the Day of Pentecost, in 31 AD, they saw and heard a rushing wind and divided tongues as of fire, and they spoke with other clearly understood or understandable tongues or languages—not some kind of unidentifiable “gibberish.” As we will explain more fully below, Acts 2:7-11 reveals that the assembly heard the apostles speak “EACH IN OUR OWN LANGUAGE IN WHICH WE WERE BORN… Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—WE HEAR THEM SPEAKING IN OUR OWN TONGUES THE WONDERFUL WORKS OF GOD.”

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Many of the Psalms written by David describe his grief in facing conflict with his enemies. The context of many passages expresses his frustration, often facing dire circumstances, frequently with his life being threatened. In some of the Psalms, David prays for the demise of his enemies. For example, we read in Psalm 143:12: “In Your mercy cut off my enemies, And destroy all those who afflict my soul; For I am Your servant.” In this open prayer to God, it is apparent that David is asking for the death of people who cause him grief.

In Psalm 109 David records a plea for God’s retaliation against those who “have rewarded [him] evil for good, And hatred for [his] love” (Psalm 109:5). Within this chapter of the Bible, we read about several very specific requests. He requests for his accusers to be judged and found guilty (verses 6,7). He asks for the prayers of the one who afflicts him to become sin (verse 7). He prays that this man’s life may come to an untimely end (verse 8). David prays for the demise of his enemy’s family, to make his wife a widow and his children orphans and beggars, and remain unforgiven (verses 9,10, 13). He even prays that his accuser’s mother’s sins may not be forgiven by God (verse 14, 15). While the complete context of the situation is not revealed, it is clear that David was afflicted and troubled by those who betrayed him, and caused him to plea for vengeance.

Continue reading "How Are We to Understand Psalms that Plea for the Demise of Enemies in Light of Jesus’ Commandment to Love Our Enemies?"

These words can have a variety of meaning, depending on the context.

We addressed a related question in a Q&A, titled, “When the Bible uses the term ‘forever,’ does this always mean the same as ‘everlasting’ or ‘eternally’?

There, we pointed out the following:

“While ‘forever’ may indeed convey an absolute sense of being perpetual or interminable, ‘forever’ is also used metaphorically and in a conditional sense. The Hebrew word that is translated many times as ‘forever’, is ‘owlam.’ It can be found in Daniel 12:2. In this case, the English word ‘everlasting’ is used to translate the Hebrew word ‘owlam’: ‘And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to everlasting contempt.’ [The Revised English Bible says: “… some to everlasting life and some to the reproach of eternal abhorrence.”] This prophesied occurrence speaks of a future time when the fate of many humans will be decided on a perpetual and eternal basis.

Continue reading "What Does the Bible Mean When it Speaks of “Eternal” Concepts and “Eternity”?"

Most Christians do not really believe in the resurrection, nor do they understand that there are more than one resurrection. There is of course the first resurrection to eternal life for those who died in Christ. But only very few are called in this day and age to eternal life. Most who have died were never called. They will be called in the future… in a “second” resurrection (Revelation 20:11-12).

The “second” resurrection or the Great White Throne Judgment describes a resurrection to physical life of those who had not been called before. Ezekiel 37 pictures the resurrection of the entire house of Israel to PHYSICAL life. Other passages describe the physical resurrection of Gentiles (Matthew 12:38-42; Matthew 11:20-24).

Isaiah 65:20-25 indicates that there will be an allotted time span of 100 years during which those who are brought back to physical life can qualify for eternal life. If they do, they will be changed to immortality at the end of that judgment period (Hebrews 9:27; Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 12:36).

Those who are called in this day and age are already being judged now (1 Peter 4:17); if they don’t fall away, they will become immortal at the time of Christ’s Return and will not come into the judgment of the second resurrection (John 5:24).

Continue reading "What Does the Bible Say About the Resurrection of the Dead (Hebrew 6:2)—Especially a “Second Resurrection”?"