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● Matt 24:21 . . For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-- and never to be equaled again.
Some of the individual events in the book of Revelation may not seem all that significant by themselves, but when the entire scenario is compiled, the era depicted becomes spectacular.
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Tribulation Trivia
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Re: Tribulation Trivia
Post #2.
Rev 16:17-18 predicts a global earthquake so powerful on the Richter scale that cities all over the world will collapse at once.
Something like 2,829 lost their lives when the World Trade Center was demolished by a terrorist attack in 2001. Well that was only a few acres of New York City. Just imagine the body count when all of Manhattan comes down at once. along with other major cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mexico City, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, et al. The carnage will be beyond belief; and a great many of the dead will be infants and underage children.
The Bible says that we should consider not only God's benevolence, but also His severity. (Rom 11:22) We're dealing with a someone in control far more terrifying than even the tyrants of North Korea, Communist China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the awful regimes in Africa.
● Heb 12:29 . . For our God is a consuming fire.
That's a quote from Deut 4:24 which, in context, doesn't describe God's physical characteristics, rather, it's a figure of speech illustrating rage: defined by Webster's as violent and uncontrolled anger. It's hard to imagine Christianity's divine patron ticked off to that extent, but there it is.
* A consuming fire is one that cannot be extinguished, i.e. once it gets going, there's no stopping till all that's aflame is utterly destroyed, viz: an unquenchable conflagration.
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Rev 16:17-18 predicts a global earthquake so powerful on the Richter scale that cities all over the world will collapse at once.
Something like 2,829 lost their lives when the World Trade Center was demolished by a terrorist attack in 2001. Well that was only a few acres of New York City. Just imagine the body count when all of Manhattan comes down at once. along with other major cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mexico City, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, et al. The carnage will be beyond belief; and a great many of the dead will be infants and underage children.
The Bible says that we should consider not only God's benevolence, but also His severity. (Rom 11:22) We're dealing with a someone in control far more terrifying than even the tyrants of North Korea, Communist China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the awful regimes in Africa.
● Heb 12:29 . . For our God is a consuming fire.
That's a quote from Deut 4:24 which, in context, doesn't describe God's physical characteristics, rather, it's a figure of speech illustrating rage: defined by Webster's as violent and uncontrolled anger. It's hard to imagine Christianity's divine patron ticked off to that extent, but there it is.
* A consuming fire is one that cannot be extinguished, i.e. once it gets going, there's no stopping till all that's aflame is utterly destroyed, viz: an unquenchable conflagration.
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Re: Tribulation Trivia
Post #3.
● Rev 8:7 . .The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
There's quite a bit of destruction depicted in that verse; and I suspect it's all aimed at agriculture.
First a portion of the soil's organic material is destroyed which will greatly impact its fertility.
Next a portion of the trees are destroyed so that the supply of foods derived from trees-- e.g. nuts, and fruits-- will become shortened.
And finally all the green grass; which is translated from words that suggest crops will be just starting to mature and produce grain, e.g. corn, beans, wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rice; et al.
* Rice is a staple food for over ½ of the world's human population, particularly in Asia and Africa.
NOTE: Although crops will be burned, they'll bounce back. (Rev 9:1-4)
Anyway, when the availability of food stuffs is limited; demand exceeds supply; and with that prices go up.
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● Rev 8:7 . .The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
There's quite a bit of destruction depicted in that verse; and I suspect it's all aimed at agriculture.
First a portion of the soil's organic material is destroyed which will greatly impact its fertility.
Next a portion of the trees are destroyed so that the supply of foods derived from trees-- e.g. nuts, and fruits-- will become shortened.
And finally all the green grass; which is translated from words that suggest crops will be just starting to mature and produce grain, e.g. corn, beans, wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rice; et al.
* Rice is a staple food for over ½ of the world's human population, particularly in Asia and Africa.
NOTE: Although crops will be burned, they'll bounce back. (Rev 9:1-4)
Anyway, when the availability of food stuffs is limited; demand exceeds supply; and with that prices go up.
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Re: Tribulation Trivia
Post #4.
● Rev 16:8-11 . .Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire. Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who sent all of these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.
. . .Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. And his subjects ground their teeth in anguish, and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they refused to repent of all their evil deeds.
Pharaoh stiffened his resolve during those miraculous events in the book of Exodus, but to my knowledge he never once cursed God. Well these folks in Revelation show just how hostile and militant the human heart can really get in its resistance to God's demands. Pretty amazing.
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● Rev 16:8-11 . .Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire. Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who sent all of these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.
. . .Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. And his subjects ground their teeth in anguish, and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they refused to repent of all their evil deeds.
Pharaoh stiffened his resolve during those miraculous events in the book of Exodus, but to my knowledge he never once cursed God. Well these folks in Revelation show just how hostile and militant the human heart can really get in its resistance to God's demands. Pretty amazing.
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Re: Tribulation Trivia
Post #5.
● Rev 16:12 . . And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
That is curious because in modern warfare; rivers, and even oceans, present no obstacle to military aircraft. But where are the airplanes in Revelation; and where are all the mechanized conveyances? Well; there are none, and in point of fact, war in Revelation is portrayed as fought on horseback and armies move on foot. I have an uneasy feeling that the way of life with which us modern folks are accustomed is coming to an end.
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● Rev 16:12 . . And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
That is curious because in modern warfare; rivers, and even oceans, present no obstacle to military aircraft. But where are the airplanes in Revelation; and where are all the mechanized conveyances? Well; there are none, and in point of fact, war in Revelation is portrayed as fought on horseback and armies move on foot. I have an uneasy feeling that the way of life with which us modern folks are accustomed is coming to an end.
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Re: Tribulation Trivia
Post #6.
When I was a developing Christian back in the decade of the 1970's, a radio Bible teacher recommended a book by J. Dwight Pentecost titled "Things To Come" (ISBN 0-310-30890-9)
It proved an excellent resource at the time because I was very interested in Israel's future and all the end time events. The book is still in print and can be had from Amazon dot com. I'd guess that most book stores can order it too if it's not on their shelves.
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When I was a developing Christian back in the decade of the 1970's, a radio Bible teacher recommended a book by J. Dwight Pentecost titled "Things To Come" (ISBN 0-310-30890-9)
It proved an excellent resource at the time because I was very interested in Israel's future and all the end time events. The book is still in print and can be had from Amazon dot com. I'd guess that most book stores can order it too if it's not on their shelves.
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Re: Tribulation Trivia
Post #7.
● Rev 6:12 . . I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red
Astronomically, that depicts a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse simultaneously; which nature by itself cannot produce due to specific alignment requirements.
● Rev 6:13 . . and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
Those will likely be shooting stars (a.k.a. meteors) and possibly asteroids too, rather than solar bodies like Polaris, Sirius, Betelgeuse, and/or Rigel which would cause impacts that the Earth simply cannot accommodate due to its Lilliputian size compared to the mass of those gargantuan objects.
● Rev 6:14a . .The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up
Whether that pertains to the entire cosmos or limited to the Earth's atmosphere is uncertain, although it does seem a preview of Rev 20:11.
● Rev 6:14b . . and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
No doubt previous centuries of theologians were curious about that prediction, but thanks to the relatively new science of plate tectonics, we now know that the movement of mountains and islands has been occurring all along; just not as noticeable as the shuffle depicted by Rev 16:14b.
Anyway, those events will quite naturally cause a world-wide panic.
● Rev 6:15-17 . . .Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks: Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?
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● Rev 6:12 . . I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red
Astronomically, that depicts a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse simultaneously; which nature by itself cannot produce due to specific alignment requirements.
● Rev 6:13 . . and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
Those will likely be shooting stars (a.k.a. meteors) and possibly asteroids too, rather than solar bodies like Polaris, Sirius, Betelgeuse, and/or Rigel which would cause impacts that the Earth simply cannot accommodate due to its Lilliputian size compared to the mass of those gargantuan objects.
● Rev 6:14a . .The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up
Whether that pertains to the entire cosmos or limited to the Earth's atmosphere is uncertain, although it does seem a preview of Rev 20:11.
● Rev 6:14b . . and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
No doubt previous centuries of theologians were curious about that prediction, but thanks to the relatively new science of plate tectonics, we now know that the movement of mountains and islands has been occurring all along; just not as noticeable as the shuffle depicted by Rev 16:14b.
Anyway, those events will quite naturally cause a world-wide panic.
● Rev 6:15-17 . . .Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks: Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?
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Re: Tribulation Trivia
Post #8.
● Rev 6:5 . . And when He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying: Come! And I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
Scales (a.k.a. balances) were mechanical devices used in the application of commercial weights and measures. Modern electronic scales are quite a bit more sophisticated.
The black horse in this case indicates hunger. (compare the pale horse's assignment in Rev 6:8)
● Rev 6:6a . . And I heard as it were a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying: A measure of wheat for a denarius, and three measures of of barley for a denarius;
The Greek word translated "measure" is roughly equal to 1.09 liters or 2.3 US pints. The denarius is widely assumed to have been equivalent to a day's pay for soldiers and/or laborers.
It's a pretty good guess that what we're looking at is hand-to-mouth existence due to inflationary pricing caused by the simple fact that there just won't be enough to go around; for example:
"When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied." (Lev 26:26)
● Rev 6:6b . . do not damage the oil and the wine!
Oil made from olives was common in just about everybody's kitchen and served as a shortening. (cf. 1Kngs 17:8-12) Wine was a common first aid treatment, likely due to its alcohol content (e.g. Luke 10:34) and also useful as a sedative (Prov 31:6-7)
NOTE: The oil used in Luke 10:34 was likely an essential oil rather olive, e.g. Myrrh, Clove, and/or Frankincense.
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● Rev 6:5 . . And when He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying: Come! And I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
Scales (a.k.a. balances) were mechanical devices used in the application of commercial weights and measures. Modern electronic scales are quite a bit more sophisticated.
The black horse in this case indicates hunger. (compare the pale horse's assignment in Rev 6:8)
● Rev 6:6a . . And I heard as it were a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying: A measure of wheat for a denarius, and three measures of of barley for a denarius;
The Greek word translated "measure" is roughly equal to 1.09 liters or 2.3 US pints. The denarius is widely assumed to have been equivalent to a day's pay for soldiers and/or laborers.
It's a pretty good guess that what we're looking at is hand-to-mouth existence due to inflationary pricing caused by the simple fact that there just won't be enough to go around; for example:
"When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied." (Lev 26:26)
● Rev 6:6b . . do not damage the oil and the wine!
Oil made from olives was common in just about everybody's kitchen and served as a shortening. (cf. 1Kngs 17:8-12) Wine was a common first aid treatment, likely due to its alcohol content (e.g. Luke 10:34) and also useful as a sedative (Prov 31:6-7)
NOTE: The oil used in Luke 10:34 was likely an essential oil rather olive, e.g. Myrrh, Clove, and/or Frankincense.
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Re: Tribulation Trivia
Post #9.
● Rev 6:7-8 . .When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say: Come!
. . . I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
* The lethal sources listed are common throughout the world today; but never have they harvested so many souls as they will in the future. For example:
The current global population is roughly 7,964,189,000 i.e. 7.96 billion. By the time Mr. Death finishes his work, something like 1.99 billion of those people would be rubbed out by war, hunger, disease, and the animal kingdom; which consists of a fair number of poisonous species along with toxic critters like vampire bats and mosquitoes.
* In perspective: 1.99 billion people adds up to nearly 6x the USA's current population.
We don't usually notice someone's passing unless they're famous or one of our friends, associates, and relatives. Well; when Mr. Death goes to work, the dead will be all around us and impossible to overlook. I rather suspect funeral homes will be overwhelmed; if open for business at all.
And ER? Well, it's Mr. Death's intention that people die rather than survive, so I should think that any and all medical attention the hospitals are able to provide will be quite ineffective, viz: they'll likely serve as morgues instead of treatment centers.
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● Rev 6:7-8 . .When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say: Come!
. . . I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
* The lethal sources listed are common throughout the world today; but never have they harvested so many souls as they will in the future. For example:
The current global population is roughly 7,964,189,000 i.e. 7.96 billion. By the time Mr. Death finishes his work, something like 1.99 billion of those people would be rubbed out by war, hunger, disease, and the animal kingdom; which consists of a fair number of poisonous species along with toxic critters like vampire bats and mosquitoes.
* In perspective: 1.99 billion people adds up to nearly 6x the USA's current population.
We don't usually notice someone's passing unless they're famous or one of our friends, associates, and relatives. Well; when Mr. Death goes to work, the dead will be all around us and impossible to overlook. I rather suspect funeral homes will be overwhelmed; if open for business at all.
And ER? Well, it's Mr. Death's intention that people die rather than survive, so I should think that any and all medical attention the hospitals are able to provide will be quite ineffective, viz: they'll likely serve as morgues instead of treatment centers.
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Re: Tribulation Trivia
Post #10.
● Rev 13:8 . . All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast-- all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the world.
Jesus wasn't a stand-by paramedic sent to an unexpected train wreck, rather; he was designated, and scheduled, to die on a cross prior to God creating even a single atom for the current cosmos. (1Pet 1:18-21)
Everything is a foregone conclusion with God; nothing surprises Him. God foresaw the forbidden fruit incident, He foresaw Cain and Abel, He foresaw the Flood, He foresaw the Tower of Babel, He foresaw Sodom and Gomorrah, He foresaw the Holocaust, and He has seen the Lake of Fire and the end of the world as we know it.
There are no new believers to God. He's already foreseen every one of them back at the very beginning just as He's seen everything else ahead of time before it comes to pass. Ergo: if somebody's name isn't already in the lamb's book of life, then their name is never going to be in there.
● Eph 1:3-5 . . Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in him before the creation of the world . . . in love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.
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● Rev 13:8 . . All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast-- all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the world.
Jesus wasn't a stand-by paramedic sent to an unexpected train wreck, rather; he was designated, and scheduled, to die on a cross prior to God creating even a single atom for the current cosmos. (1Pet 1:18-21)
Everything is a foregone conclusion with God; nothing surprises Him. God foresaw the forbidden fruit incident, He foresaw Cain and Abel, He foresaw the Flood, He foresaw the Tower of Babel, He foresaw Sodom and Gomorrah, He foresaw the Holocaust, and He has seen the Lake of Fire and the end of the world as we know it.
There are no new believers to God. He's already foreseen every one of them back at the very beginning just as He's seen everything else ahead of time before it comes to pass. Ergo: if somebody's name isn't already in the lamb's book of life, then their name is never going to be in there.
● Eph 1:3-5 . . Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in him before the creation of the world . . . in love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.
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