Questions and Answers
The most complete summary of the Holy Days given by God and to be observed by His people is found in Leviticus 23. Carefully note how the first two verses introduce these special days: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying. ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “THE FEASTS OF THE LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are MY FEASTS”’” (Leviticus 23:1-2). In this record, we see that God revealed to Moses the specific feasts, and Moses was to, in turn, teach the nation of Israel about these observances. Earlier, as He began to intervene and deliver Israel from Egyptian captivity, God very specifically established a calendar system to be used by His nation (Compare Exodus 12:1-2). At the same time He also established the observance of the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread as recorded in chapters 12 and 13 of the book of Exodus. In addition to establishing this unique yearly calendar, God also reminded Israel of the proper way to mark the weekly period by setting apart the seventh day—the Sabbath—as a time in which the nation of Israel was to rest, because the Sabbath was holy to the LORD (Compare Exodus… This particular passage has caused great confusion for many readers, and has prompted some Christians to adopt wrong and unbiblical teachings. This is what Jesus said in Mark 9:43-48: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched–where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched–where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire–where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.'” This passage raises numerous areas, requiring clarification: (1) What “life” is Christ referring to? We are told in Revelation 21 that John sees in a vision that God will create a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21: 1; compare 2 Peter 3:13; Isaiah 65:17-18; 66:22; Psalm 102:25-26)—apparently after this earth and the heavens have been burned up (compare 2 Peter 3:7, 10). There will be no more sea on the new earth (Revelation 21:1) In addition, John sees the “holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:2). This is a literal city–albeit not physical, but spiritual (For more information on the spiritual nature of the new Jerusalem, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”). That this city is literal and not just a symbolic reference to the church, for example, can be seen from the very detailed and specific description in Revelation 21:10-22; 22:1-5. We are told in Revelation 21:2, in conjunction with other Scriptures, that God is presently “preparing” this city in heaven (compare Revelation 3:12; Hebrews 11:9-10; 12:10, 22; 13:14; Galatians 4:26). We also read that Jesus Christ is presently “preparing” for us a place in the “Father’s house”–the new Jerusalem (John 14:1-3). When the heavenly Jerusalem descends to the new… The question as to the exact identity of the 144,000 and the great multitude, as well as the woman and the dragon, has puzzled many over the decades and centuries. 1) The 144,000 and the Great Multitude in Revelation 7: Revelation 7 describes an important event in the plan of God. Before God will pour out His wrath on unrepentant mankind during the coming Day of the Lord–a still future time beginning shortly before Christ’s return, when God commences to actively intervene in the affairs of humans–certain servants of God will be sealed to be protected (Revelation 7:1-3; compare Ezekiel 9:4; see also Revelation 9:4). First 144,000 will be sealed—12,000 out of each tribe of Israel (Revelation 7:4-8), excluding Dan (for a possible explanation as to why Dan might be excluded, compare Judges 18:30; Deuteronomy 29:17-20; and Genesis 49:16-18). Lehmann Strauss, The Book of Revelation, copyright 1964, 1972, makes the following comments on pages 171-173 regarding the 144,000: “Judgment is suspended till 144,000 Jews [better “Israelites”; Strauss makes the common mistake of equating the Israelites with the Jews] are sealed. If language means anything, these sealed ones are literal Israelites… not one Gentile is among them… Dan… is omitted because he was guilty of… We find two references in the Bible about the Nicolaitans, and they are both contained in the second chapter of the book of Revelation. In His message to the church of Ephesus, Jesus Christ says in Revelation 2:6: “But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” Again, in His message to the church of Pergamos, He says in Revelation 2:15: “Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.” Much has been speculated about the origin and exact nature of the Nicolaitans and their teaching. The Catholic New Advent Encyclopedia states that the Nicolaitans were “a sect… about the character and existence of which there is little certainty. Irenaeus… discusses them but adds nothing… except that ‘they [led] lives of unrestrained indulgence.’ Tertullian refers to them… Hippolytus based his narrative on Irenaeus, though he states that the deacon Nicholas was the author of the heresy and the sect… Clement of Alexandria… exonerates Nicholas, and attributes the doctrine of promiscuity, which the sect claimed to have derived from him, to a malicious distortion of words harmless in themselves… Eusebius [states]… that the sect was short-lived… Another… Chapters 17 and 18 of the book of Revelation need to be read together with Revelation 13. We discussed the events in Revelation 13 in the Q&A in our last Update (#329). We pointed out that the first beast, which is described in Revelation 13 as having seven heads and ten horns, identified past military and economic resurrections–as well as one still future resurrection–of the ancient Roman Empire in continental Europe. We explained that the second beast, which is also described in Revelation 13, is identified as a religious power. It is depicted as working hand in hand with some of the political and military resurrections or revivals of the first beast. We showed that the first “beast” can describe the revived Roman system, as well as the respective leader of that system, including the last leader of the final revival of the Roman Empire–which is yet future. In chapter 17, a woman is described, riding a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns (verse 3). We discussed in a prior Q&A (in Update #312) the passage in Revelation 17:9, 18, which states that the woman is a city that is built on seven mountains or hills. A) The… In the thirteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, two “beasts” are described. As we will see, these are symbolic descriptions of powerful world empires. 1) The First Beast (Revelation 13:1-10): Beginning with Revelation 13:1, John sees in a vision a fantastic beast rising out of the sea, which has seven heads and ten horns, and on his head ten crowns. This reminds us of Satan’s description in Revelation 12:3 as “a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns…” Revelation 12:9 identifies the dragon as Satan the devil. This shows that Satan is giving his power to the beast (compare Revelation 13:2, 4). The beast with the seven heads and ten horns was like a leopard, with feet of a bear and a mouth of a lion (Revelation 13:2). In the book of Daniel, chapters 2, 5, 7 and 8, we are told that, beginning with the ancient Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, there would arise four world-ruling empires on this earth—the Babylonian Empire (Daniel 2:36), the Medo-Persian Empire under Cyrus, Xerxes and others (Daniel 5:28), the Greco-Macedonian Empire under Alexander the Great and his generals (Daniel 8:20-21), and finally, a fourth Empire (Daniel 2:33; 7:7). In Daniel 7:3-24, these four empires… Even though the ancients in Old Testament times did swear, the New Testament tells us that we should not do so today. We read Christ’s words in Matthew 5:33-37: “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” James adds in James 5:12: “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No,’ lest you fall into judgment.” We note that Jesus, when here on earth as a human being, did not swear. We read in Matthew 26:63 that the high priest attempted to have Christ swear, when he said: “I… We have already written about this subject in two previous Updates (Update #157 and #187). We explained that it has long been understood and taught by God’s Church that Christ’s message to the seven churches has at least a three-fold application. First, it relates to seven literal churches or church congregations in Asia Minor at the time of John. Then, it describes the history of the Church in seven distinct prophetic “Church eras” from the time of John until Christ’s return. And finally, it points out character traits of spiritual strength and weakness of God’s people throughout the existence of the New Testament Church. Christ’s message to the seven churches, although in some respects directed foremost to individual congregations and/or Church eras (Revelation 2:6, 10, 14-15, 20-23; 3:3, 10, 20) is, in its overall sense, meant for all Christians at all times (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:5-6, 12-13, 21-22). Regarding the understanding that Christ’s message ALSO includes seven church ERAS, please note the following interesting comments by Baptist minister, Dr. Lehman Strauss, “The Book of the Revelation,” copyright 1964, 1972, pages 33, 34, 45: “… each church individually, and the seven churches combined, set forth prophetic anticipation.… Many have been confused about the scroll with seven seals (compare Revelation 5:1), and they have tried to attach human interpretations to them. But John saw, in a vision, that no one was able to break and explain the seven seals, except for the Lamb, Jesus Christ (compare Revelation 5:3, 5-7, 9; 6:1). We therefore need to turn to Jesus Christ’s Words in order to understand the seven seals. And IF we accept the explanations of Jesus, as written, then the meaning becomes very clear. The first six of the seven seals are all recorded in Revelation 6. When Christ opens the first four seals, described in Revelation 6:2-8, John sees in the vision the famous four horsemen of the Apocalypse which kill “a fourth of the earth” with “sword, hunger, death and by the beasts of the earth” (Revelation 6:8). When comparing Revelation 6:2-8 with Matthew 24:4-7 and Luke 21:8-11, then the meaning of the four horsemen or the first four seals becomes clear: (1) The FIRST SEAL (Revelation 6:2) — RELIGIOUS DECEPTION (compare Matthew 24:3-5; Luke 21:8). (2) The SECOND SEAL (Revelation 6:3-4) — WAR (compare Matthew 24:6-7; Luke 21:9). (3) The THIRD SEAL (Revelation 6:5-6) — FAMINE (compare Matthew 24:7;…Were the Holy Days given at the time of Moses actually observed before—including even in the times before the flood?
Please explain Jesus' sayings in Mark 9:43-48.
(2) Are we to literally cut off our hands and feet and pluck out our eyes…Would you please explain the concept of the "New Jerusalem," as described in Revelation 21 and 22?
Please explain the identity of the 144,000 in Revelation 7 and 14, the great multitude in Revelation 7, and the woman and the dragon in Revelation 12.
Who were the Nicolaitans, mentioned in Revelation 2?
Would you please explain what is being described, in symbolic language, in Revelation 17 and 18?
Would you please explain the identity of the two beasts, which are described in the 13th chapter of the book of Revelation?
Does the New Testament say that we should not swear, but that we are allowed to affirm? Is it advisable to raise our right hand, when affirming?
Would you please explain Christ's message to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, as recorded in chapters 2 and 3?
Would you please explain the time sequence and meaning of the seven seals, mentioned in the Book of Revelation?
