The Little Book Series
No. 1
Rev. 10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. <>>>> MCK notes: When we begin to read this narrative in Revelation 10:1 Yochanan/John has just witnessed the Lamb opening the seven seals of the great scroll of judgment and the angel's blowing the warning trumpets, warning of judgment upon the nations. These angels, these messengers, parallel in a certain way Moshe and Aaron before Pharaoh.
Just as Moshe and Aaron announced the judgments that would come upon Egypt before those judgments came, so these trumpeting angels are messengers announcing the judgments that come upon the nations before they occur in order to warn the people of the world to change their ways. However, to this point the hearts of the nations are seen to be as hard as the heart of Pharaoh. Just like the Nazis of Germany, the hearts of the nations at the time of the judgments that Yochanan/John witnesses are full of hatred toward the God of Israel. They are proud and self-confident like Pharaoh and they will not repent. When Yochanan sees "another angel"now as this chapter opens, we are told that he has just heard this testimony, as recorded in Rev. 9:20:
The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which are not able to see, hear, or walk. And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.*By "another" angel, Yochanan/John draws a strong contrast between this angel and those with the trumpets. He knows that all angels come from different orders and ranks. He indicates that he recognizes that the angel that he now sees is of an different order than those who have been trumpeting the announcement of the judgments. This is important to draw attention to, because we see from the way that Yochanan describes this angel that this angel is most likely the same angel who brought the revelation of the presence of Yehoshua HaMashiach himself in the first chapter. And we have learned that this angel is the angel whom Yehoshua entrusted the overall revelation to Yochanan. As we will see in Revelation chapter 22 verse 16, there is a great "hint" of the Holy Scripture that is being given here about the nature of Divine revelation itself.
Even more than the mystery of the way Divine revelation works is going to be made known here, by understanding being given in how angels bring the messages of the word of God. The secret reason of the judgments and why Divine revelation comes through judgments will be given here. This same hint about the very nature of Divine revelation that is given through the revealing of the association of this "other" angel with the angel who reveals the personal vision of Mashiach in the first chapter is given in another form here as well.
A hint is also given here about what Messianic revelation in the world really is through the fact that this chapter, chapter 10, represents an interlude in the series of judgments taking place. In the narrative of the judgments upon Egypt there is also an interlude pattern woven into the narrative. The heart of that interlude pattern comes just before the final judgment, the judgment upon the firstborn of Egypt.
During The Interlude In The Judgments
The Secret That Judgment Is Redemption
Is Made Known To Israel
Here this interlude comes just before the seventh trumpeting angel sounds. When that angel does trumpet its announcement it is the final warning of judgment. After that there are no more warnings, only the seven vials or bowls which represent the wrath of G-d poured out in full measure. These seven vials or bowls are seven aspects of the last judgment. This last judgment upon the nations corresponds to the last judgment upon Egypt, that upon the firstborn. In both cases there was no more warning. Once the judgment had been announced it came irrevocably. However, before it came there was an interlude when the narrative of judgment in Egypt came away from the outside world and became private, with Israel only.So here too, through the little book, the the narrative concerning the judgments becomes private. It becomes known only to those who will be redeemed. We have already seen those as being represented in the figure of the 144,000 formed from the 12 tribes of Israel. Just as the safety of the Passover Lamb was revealed at this point privately to Israel, as an interlude in the narrative of the judgments, in the record of the redemption from Egypt, so there is a safety for the 144,000 in this last judgment, who are sealed in their minds with the seal Mashiach, of the prophecy of G-d and of the Name of G-d, Revelation 3:12.
We will see therefore that the secret of the final redemption of Israel from out of the nations, which allows for the return of Yehoshua, will be revealed in this chapter. For background, read, Psalms 118:26 and Matthew 23:39.
As the Angel of The Name was associated in the Exodus with the the cloud of the Shekinah, so here this angel is associated with the heavenly cloud. The rainbow appears as an halo. The promise of the covenant of G-d was first made with Noah. With Noah it was a promise of a promise. It was only a promise that G-d's judgment upon the world would be mitigated. The salvation of Noah and his family with the animals in the ark was itself a measured judgment, a mitigation of judgment. The rainbow would signify a covenant of G-d that the salvation of Noah would not be in vain. In the final judgment at the end of days would not wash away all life from the earth. There would be something saved, something redeemed. The judgment would be mitigated. This was the significance of the rainbow.
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* These are six sins against the seven aspects of the universal commandment given to all nations to obey their Creator. See, Seven Laws With Seven Thunders. The seventh sin, the sin of failing to practice justice will soon also be indicated when it is shown that instead of taking the responsibility to practice justice, as required explicitly of all families saved with Noah from the Flood, the nations agree together to submit openly and formally to the rule of Lucifer and an actor, who acts the role of the Messiah, as it is written:
John 5:43 I have come in My Father’s name, yet you don’t accept Me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him._______________
The Unrolled Little Scroll
No. 2
<>>>> MCK notes: The little scroll in the angel's hand is open. It is time for its contents to be heard. Yochanan will hear its contents but will not be allowed to reveal what he hears in the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua HaMashiach. What is here heard by Yochanan will be kept in an oral tradition until the end of days when it will be revealed, before all rulers and all peoples. What is written in the little scroll has application to all the continents of the earth, to the seas and to the land. This reference corresponds to the word of Yehoshua that before the end comes the Good News of Israel and Her Messiah would be announced to the ends of the earth.
If we take a step back and look at the way that chapter 10 fits into the structure of the Book, we can sharpen our focus in seeing the meaning of the little book. Just before the final three trumpets sound, Yochanan sees and hears an angel in the form of an eagle flying high overhead making and marking a very important announcement:
Rev. 8:13 I looked again and heard an eagle flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound!”Just before the third of these three woes this interlude in the narrative of judgment comes, beginning with chapter 10 and going on through chapter 14. The end of chapter 14 is a transition out of this interlude of inside information and back to the narrative of the final seven vials or seven bowls of judgment, which all people on earth are made to experience and "understand", whether or not they can understand the inside information given in chapters 10-14. Just before the end of chapter 14, just before it transitions out of the insider information back to the narrative of the judgments upon the nations which come out of the blowing of the seventh trumpet, Yochanan sees another angel making and marking a very important announcement flying overhead:
Rev.14:6 Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”In this parallel of angels flying overhead to mark special announcements to all the world the first is an announcement embedded within the narrative that is directed to and that will be understood by the nations, like the narrative addressed by Moshe and Aaron to Pharaoh. This second part of this parallel is embedded in the insider interlude, which corresponds to Moshe speaking inside information to Israel between the judgments, and especially concerning the preparation of the Passover just before the final judgment. This second angelic announcement is to reveal the meaning of the judgments, especially the last three woes. Just as the Passover and the redemption of Israel from Egypt was the reason for the judgments upon Egypt, as explained to the believers, those who believed Moshe and Aaron, so the revelation of the eternal good news, the Good News of Israel and Her Messiah, is the reason for the judgments in the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua HaMashiach, the judgments that come upon all nations.
When this angel making the announcement flies overhead this time two other angels follow it. The first angel announces that the purpose of the judgments is the final revelation of the Good News of Israel's redemption through the Lamb of G-d, who was sacrificed for her. This angel is described as having the responsibility of making sure this good news is heard by every nation, tribe, language and people. This is a direct reference to the same responsibility that was prophetically given to Yochanan at the end of the vision of the little book in chapter 10. We see that this angel is carrying within it the responsibility of the content of the voice of the seven thunders, that which Yochanan was to keep as oral tradition until the last day of prophetic testimony.
The announcement of the second angel, who immediately follows is:
8A second angel followed, saying: “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.”Matthew 24:14. It is when the good news of the kingdom is announced to the ends of the earth that the end comes. This begins with the end of Babylon the Great, whose only power is in darkness, the concealment of the truth of the Good News of Israel and Her Messiah. Therefore this second angel follows the first angel, which announces the good news in accordance with the promise of the little book and the seven thunders, as given to Yochanan in Revelation 10:11.
The reference to the sexual immorality of Babylon the Great is a reference to the whole rebellion of the natural Adam, the corporate Human Race, as it is called in This World, the rebellion against all obedience to the Creator. Babylon the Great is the mind, the organized evil inclination, that leads the world in inventing the devices of its rebellion against the Creator. Rebellion is in all the seven facets of the universal commandment given to the Adam. That commandment is well known, not to partake of the knowledge which belongs to the Creator alone, the knowledge for judging what is good for creation and what is evil for creation.
In Revelation 9:20 we saw listed the sins for which the world under the domination of Babylon the Great would not repent. All these sins are the weapons of Babylon the Great's rebellion against the Creator of heaven and earth:Blasphemy, which is ultimately for the purpose of sorcery. This spirit is present as the spirit in all cursing. All the evil of the human tongue originates from the misuse of the Holy Name, which is at the foundation of Babylon the Great.
Idolatry, the self-worship of the creature. Today this self-worship expresses itself most notably as the arrogance of atheistic science and amoral technology. In times past wood and stone sculptures were worshiped as gods. Today, physical matter and physical energy themselves are served above all else and honored as the one true reality. No one hides the nature of this idolatry of materialism. Without shame, the shameful confession is universally made, "I only believe what I can see with my own eyes, what I can see demonstrated and proved." This is the shameful confession that the highest god to the arrogant human being today is their own mind.
The insidious corruption of justice. Everywhere there is rationalization of means in the service of "just" ends; this is the evil of the Godless human heart. In refusing to take full responsibility for truth and self-government the human heart chooses to compromise with lies, and therefore is brought into the service of demons. According to the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua the Mashiach of Israel, whoever will not repent and obey the commandments of the Creator of heaven and earth, the God of Israel, will end by avowing their servitude to demons.
Murder. Destruction of life. Whoever does not love the commandment of their Creator love death. Yehoshua the Savior and Messiah of Israel said of Lucifer that he was a murderer from the beginning. From the beginning Lucifer hated the commandment of his Creator. He is a murderer and rages against all life. The Adam was deceived by the serpent into believing that freeing life from the restrictions of the Creator's commandment would liberate life. This lie that the end, liberty, could justify the means, rebellion, covered over the deeper lie. The serpent, Lucifer, speaking through the animal, lied to the Adam by implying that he cared about the life that the Creator had created. He did not. All rebellion against the commandment of the Creator is hatred of life. In believing the serpent the Adam became a student, a child of the serpent, a murderer. The Great Babylon is the nurse employed by Lucifer to sustain all murder, war and violence in the world under the cover of darkness.
Adultery. Perversion of misused love. It is this perversion that enables the delusion of idolatry. The misuse of love expresses itself most obviously as sexual immorality. And it is through the unrestrained spread of sexual immorality that Babylon the Great entices and captures the souls of all the world. Therefore, it is by this sin that she is identified and known above all others. However, the greatest goals of Babylon the Great are idolatry and sorcery, and it is primarily through immorality and the perverting of love that souls are brought fully into the captivity of idolatry and then into sorcery. For the delusion of idolatry is the delusion of self-worship, belief above all in one's own thought. It is love that prevents this spiritual insanity. Therefore the spirit of rebellion against the truth and justice of the Creator takes opportunity through the fear of death and the need for love to pervert and twist love, seducing souls into acts of immorality. When love has been twisted it can no longer protect the human heart against arrogance and where there is arrogance the delusion of idolatry can grow.
Theft. Stealing wealth, power and souls. Thieves are portrayed as the stereotype adversary of law and order, but Babylon the Great is the great thief. And Babylon the Great is supported by the law and order of the four empires of the nations that keep Israel in captivity through the ages. All that Babylon the Great has is stolen. All who steal learn her craft.
Cruelty. Predatory behaviour toward all creators. The devil is the great predator, the great parasite. His kingdom becomes manifested in the end as the kingdom of all evil predators, all demon-hearted human beings, those who choose to live to war against all that is from Yehoshua the Lamb of Israel, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, those whose lust is cruelty.
The announcement of the third angel, who then follows is:
9And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, 11and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name. 12This demands the perseverance of the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Yehoshua.”As is seen in the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua the Mashiach of Israel, when the Good News of Israel and Her Messiah is announced to the ends of the earth Jerusalem's light will come. The cover of darkness that has covered the earth will be taken away. Babylon the Great will be exposed. That great mystery of iniquity will no longer have any power to deceive the nations. The great serpent and his false messiah and his kingdom will then have no more use for the trap of Babylon the Great. The beast, the great predator, and all who worship his image, will be exposed and destroyed by the truth. For this reason this third angel follows the second, which follows the first.
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The Roar
No. 3
<>>>> MCK notes: This roar of the angel and of the seven thunders is hidden within the roar of the seventh trumpet of the seventh angel of judgment. To learn how to hear this sound we will begin with the prophet Amos.
Amos 3
3 Can two people walk together
without agreeing on the direction?
4 Does a lion ever roar in a thicket
without first finding a victim?
Does a young lion growl in its den
without first catching its prey?
5 Does a bird ever get caught in a trap
that has no bait?
Does a trap spring shut
when there’s nothing to catch?
6 When the ram’s horn blows a warning,
shouldn’t the people be alarmed?
Does disaster come to a city
unless the Lord has planned it?
Understand! Two legs walk together because they walk together by design for the same purpose. Likewise, two people walk together because they have one design in common. The prophet points to the foolishness of the atheism and materialism of the philosophy inherent in the mind of sin.
The mind of sin seeks wisdom and understanding by excluding G-d from thought, simply because it does not want to obey the commandment of G-d. By excluding G-d from thought the mind of sin is able to conclude that good and evil occur in the world by random chance. In truth, people do not manage the business of their lives on the principle of chance but by will and decision. Sinners walk with one another to do business only when they are agreed.
The mind of sin considers itself the one exception to the randomness of existence. Foolishly excluding from its thought The One who created the Adam in the beginning, the wisdom of the sinner is made meaningless and their understanding is made violence. Having made chaos its god, the mind of sin will face chaos in judgment, face to face, measure for measure.
In truth the lion roars because it has its prey in its sights. The messenger of G-d roars because the time that the Creator of heaven and earth will allow rebellion has come to its end.
We have already heard about this in >
Amos 1:2
This is what he saw and heard: “The Lord ’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem!And this is repeated in >
Joel 3:16
The Lord ’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will shake. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a strong fortress for the people of Israel.
And here we see that the roaring of the Lord's voice will signify the separation of His people from the nations, as in the day of the redemption of Israel out of Egypt.Joel 3:17
“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,How and when does this occur? It is at this time, when the voice of the Lord roars out of Zion. First it will be heard by those who hear the seven thunders through the mystery of eating the word of G-d which is written in the little scroll, as we will see.
live in Zion, my holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be holy forever,
and foreign armies will never conquer her again.
Why are these prophecies from Amos and Joel applicable to this vision of the angel roaring with the voice of the seven thunders? Is the prophecy not that it would be the Lord who roared? Are they not that He would roar out of Zion? The revelation is teaching us that the roar of the Lord is the roar of the Good News of Israel and Her Messiah. This is His roar out of Zion, for this is the roar of His redemption of Israel out of all nations through the sacrifice of Yehoshua in Zion. The announcement of the angel is that the time for the manifestation of the accomplishment of what G-d has done through Yehoshua for Israel is come.
See this entry on this site:
A Shofar a Thousand Cubits Long
He will take up a Shofar a thousand cubits long and will sound it, and it will reverberate from one end of the world to another. With the first blast the world will be in an uproar; with the second, the earth will split," and so on. See also Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, sec. 34.
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The Seven Voices of The Seven Spirits of G-d
No. 4
Rev. 10:4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them."
11 Your word have I hid in my heart,<>>>> MCK notes: To hide the word of G-d in his heart was more for David than only the act of recording it there by memory. It was a prophetic act. It was the very act of eating the Word of God. Indeed, eating the Little Scroll will be the means by which Yochanan comes to seal up what is written in the scroll, instead of writing it down. This does not mean that the word that was written by all the prophets, from Moshe on, was not also "eaten" by them. Rather, the understanding is that all the Word of God is eaten by all the prophets, but that which is written down is also available to be read by those who do not, necessarily, eat it. We see here that there is that which is revealed to the prophets which is to be eaten by them but is not to be written for those to read who do not eat it. This is the deep root, the taproot, of the principle of Oral Torah, of the tradition of the faithful, of the elders and the righteous.
That I might not sin against You.
To read the written word from God and not to eat it means not to receive it into one's spirit, not to receive the Holy Spirit with the word and not to ingest the word into and with the Holy Spirit dwelling within. We learn from here and from the letters to the seven assemblies in Asia in this Book, and from other places in Holy Scripture, that is is possible to eat some of the words of God but fail to eat all. There are many who have eaten the words written in the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua HaMashiach who have not yet eaten the words given in the same revelation that were not written down, but were sealed up here.
It is possible to eat those words with Yochanan, if the door is opened by Mashiach for you to do so. Only beginning with the understanding of the Good News of Israel and Her Messiah will this understanding be opened to you. I am writing here — for anyone to read — the way in which it is possible to hear the voices of the seven thunders. First understand that these voices and what they say are as much a part of the revelation of Yehoshua the Messiah of Israel as anything else that was shown to Yochanan, even though what they said was not written down. Anyone who receives the whole of the revelation will hear and receive this part of the revelation as well as every other part. To use a common expression, it is 'written' between the lines.
The Key
As I have already indicated in previous posts in this series, the key is to understand that this revelation is a revelation of the redemption of Israel out of the nations by Mashiach in a way that parallels the redemption of Israel out of Egypt through Moshe and Aaron. The plagues or judgments in this revelation parallel the plagues or judgments in the story of the Exodus. As those judgments had two sides, one seen in the affliction of Egypt and the other in the redemption of Israel, so these judgments have the same two sides. In this revelation we see that "Egypt" is the old Adamic nature of the children of Israel as well as the corporate and personal nature of the seventy nations. Israel, as redefined by the Creator of heaven and earth in the calling of Abraham and his seed, must be redeemed from captivity to this old nature and its evil inclination. The power of that redemption is in the sacrifice of the Lamb.Each of the voices of the seven thunders will be heard, by those who have ears to hear, to correspond to the seven judgments that come upon the old Adamic world. First the realm of food is judged, the river of provision to Egypt is turned to blood. In the Land of Israel provision will come by faith. Redeemed Adam will not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Those who hear these seven thunders, one after the other, are those who, (like Israel in Egypt, who heard and understood the reason for the judgments), will be kept by the word of God hidden in their hearts, through the great trial that will come upon all the earth.
When we read in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah >
Isaiah 26:20 Come, my people, enter into your chambers, and shut your doors around you: hide yourself for a little moment, until the indignation has past. 21 For, behold, Hashem comes forth out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.And when we read in the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua the Messiah >
Rev. 7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascend from the sunrising, having the seal of the living G-d: and he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we shall have sealed the servants of our G-d on their foreheads.— we are reading of this same reality — the concealment of G-d's people in the concealment of the Word of G-d, the concealment of the purpose of the judgments from Egypt, the concealment of what the voices of the seven thunders said from the nations who may read the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua the Messiah. This is the concealment of faith wherein those who believe are concealed in faith itself, as Israel believed in the words of Moshe in Egypt in the days of the judgments which came upon the land of Egypt. These judgments were a trial also for the Israelites. For when the Nile River was turned to blood, this was a trial for the Israelites as well as for the Egyptians, for the Israelites also had depended upon the Nile River to provide their food and sustenance. However, when these judgments came upon Egypt, those who believed Moshe were sealed with the word of G-d in their faith. All that was judgment upon this world became unto Israel redemption. Through redemption Israel comes to the time and the place of Torah, wherein she is enabled to serve G-d.
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The Name of G-d
No. 5
Rev. 10:5 And
the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his
right hand to heaven (6) and swore by him who lives forever and ever,
who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and
the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, (7) but
that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel,
the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his
servants the prophets.
The Concealment At The Core of The Revelation
<>>>> MCK
notes: That this event in the Revelation occurred where the Revelation
itself was concealed and not written down for the world at large to
read — and that we are told about this event occurring, this, for us, is
the essence of the mystery. Those who are able to hear the voice of
the seven thunders will understand this. Once
again, the key to hearing the voice of the seven thunders and what they
said, which was already written in the little scroll in the angel's
hand, is to become attached to the prophetic calling of the Revelation
of Israel's Mashiach. It is to eat the little scroll. In doing this, if you are someone who is called and commanded to eat the word of G-d, as in Yochanan 6, you will know that,
as the reason for those judgments that came upon Egypt through Moshe
was to deliver Israel from captivity, so these judgments which come
through Yehoshua HaMashiach are to deliver Israel from captivity.
Knowing this, you will be able to begin to learn and understand the
hidden side to each of the seven judgments. Just as those who were
attached to Moshe and Aaron were able to know the hidden side of the
judgments in Egypt, from the side of Israel, so you will be able to hear and know what Yochanan was told not to write down.
As to what Yochanan did write down, we have a certainty that it will happen, because it is written. What of this element of the Revelation that is not written down? What certainty do we have that it will happen? We have this certainty that is given here, that is written, the oath of the angel who delivered the Revelation of Yehoshua HaMashiach to Yochanan and to us. In the days of the trumpet sound to be given by the seventh angel the mystery of G-d will be made fully known, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.
As to what Yochanan did write down, we have a certainty that it will happen, because it is written. What of this element of the Revelation that is not written down? What certainty do we have that it will happen? We have this certainty that is given here, that is written, the oath of the angel who delivered the Revelation of Yehoshua HaMashiach to Yochanan and to us. In the days of the trumpet sound to be given by the seventh angel the mystery of G-d will be made fully known, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.
In
Egypt, the mystery or secret of G-d had first to do with the hour of
the redemption and with the identity of the redeemer. Here also, in the
final redemption the exact hour is kept secret and while it has already
been given to Israel and to the world to know that the redeemer is
Yehoshua, even so, it is too hard for Israel to believe this and too
hard for the world not to misunderstand how this is so. As a result,
even though it is known it is not fully believed. At the hour of the
sounding of the seventh trumpet it will be fully believed as well as
fully known — by all those who eat the word of G-d. To this fact, the
angel of the Revelation has sworn.
It
is at this hour, of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when it is
made manifest, as it was made manifest at the time of the plague of Fire
Hail in Egypt, that the G-d of Israel, in order to save Israel, could
have easily annihilated all the nations with a plague, just as he did
the livestock in Egypt. But for the purpose of revealing the glory of
his Name in all the world, through the redemption of Israel through his
Anointed One, he preserved the nations alive in order to show them his
judgments, his justice and his mercy. When the trumpet begins to sound,
this will be fully known and understood by all who eat the word of G-d.
The beginning of the revealing of the mystery of G-d will have begun
in the world and will be irreversible. By the time it has finished
sounding the final seven bowls of judgment will have been poured out
upon the earth, the mystery city of Babylon, through which Israel has
been kept captive among the nations, as she was once kept captive in
Egypt, will have been destroyed, and the fullness of the knowledge of
her G-d will be made known in all the earth, through her Mashiach.
The Meaning of The Time of The Sounding of The Seventh Trumpet
During the time of the great woes the lines will again be clearly drawn between 'Goshen' and 'Egypt,' that is to say, between those people who eat the word of G-d on the one side and the seventy nations of the world who eat the word of the serpent and do not repent of blasphemy and idolatry through modern sorcery, murder, promiscuity, theft and injustice on the other hand, Rev. 9:20-21. The children of Israel, of all the twelve tribes of Israel will have eaten the word of G-d and will be sealed in their foreheads with the Name of the G-d of Israel, so that they will not be harmed by the final judgments that come upon those whose life is corrupted by union with the demons of death. This is the secret of the Name of G-d which he has whispered in the ear of Israel alone.
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<>The Seal of G-d</>
No. 6
All who have eaten the word of G-d, as Yochanan ate the word of G-d, are able to hear the voice of the seven thunders, which the world as a whole will not hear until the final hour comes upon us. Those who have eaten the word of G-d, but whose hearing is impaired by something other than the word of G-d, are hearing the seven thunders at all times but may not be able to hear clearly what the seven thunders are saying. To them, the thunder of certain judgment seems to be like a rolling thunder in the distance. The sense of distance is an illusion which has been created by the impairment of their hearing.
The bitter root of spiritual hearing impairment is the bitter root of terror. This is the terror that comes to someone who looks down from a high, narrow bridge. It is just as Rebbe Nachman of Breslov says, "This world is a narrow bridge. The main thing is not to be afraid." The fear of spiritually falling comes from our own sight, from looking down and imagining what would happen if we fall. Israel saw what happened to Pharaoh and to Egypt. They knew they had crossed the Red Sea on a narrow spiritual bridge. Miriam led all Israel in a song of joy and praise!
But immediately then they found themselves in the dead wilderness and when they finally came to water it was poisonously bitter. In Miriam's merit, G-d showed Moshe a sweeting tree to cast into the waters, to make them pure to drink. This was an object lesson for Israel. It is an object lesson also for all who have entered into the redemption that is in Mashiach Yehoshua of Israel. We will learn that the bitter waters, the waters of Marah, are the waters of our own sight and imagination and fear of spiritually falling from the narrow bridge of this world.
It is written that when Moshe had cast the tree into the waters and the waters had become sweet that, "[G-d] made a statue and an ordinance for them there and tried them. And He said, If you carefully listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d, and you do what is right in His eyes, and you pay attention to His commandments, and keep His statutes, I will not put on you all the plagues that I have put on Egypt, for I am Hashem your Healer."
We can understand from this that G-d was making it clear to Israel that it was through His Torah that they would be sealed from the judgments that He would bring upon the nations, which He had begun to demonstrate upon Egypt. We can understand that He was making it clear to Israel that their crossing of the Red Sea was not the end of their redemption, but only the beginning of it. The promise of the redemption was not only that Israel would be redeemed from Egypt and from the judgment of G-d upon the world and its empires.
The promise of the redemption was that Israel would be redeemed from its own evil inclination, from whatever prevented it from being transformed from the ways of sin to keeping the Torah of G-d from the heart. For, if this redemption of the heart and hearts of Israel did not come there would be no redemption at all. Even the redemption out of Egypt would have been in vain. For without Israel being sealed in heart and mind by the Torah, in the end, all the plagues that came upon Egypt would all come upon Israel as well. Just as the waters of Egypt were turned to poison and blood, so Israel would find only poisonous, bitter waters to drink. However, the redemption of Israel would not fail. It was begun by G-d's word and it would be completed by G-d's word. It was guaranteed by G-d's word to Abraham.
If the Jew looks down from the hight of the narrow bridge of the covenant of G-d with Abraham and his offspring and sees Pharaoh and his armies, and many other enemies of Israel, falling into the depths of the sea of G-d's judgments and then imagines themselves slipping and falling they could be overcome with the fear of their imagined fall. Those also who have been redeemed from the idolatry in their heart by the offering up of that lamb, Mashiach Yehoshua of Israel, have also been elevated to the high point of that high narrow bridge of redemption, and if they consider that high elevation through the understanding of their own sight they can be overcome with terror.
The deepest darkness of separation from G-d is a long way down. Even the nations who are living in darkness are afraid of this darkness. Those who have been raised up out of such darkness could not see it clearly before they were redeemed out of the nations. Now, if they depend on their sight, the temptation to terror is overwhelming. So now, the voice of G-d speaks to them, saying, Don't look down! Yet they do look down and are overcome with fear. And the fear deafens them to the voice of G-d. And they do not clearly hear the promise of G-d that seals Israel, and would seal them, against the plagues which He brings upon Egypt and the nations. They hear only the rumbling of the certain judgment that is coming and do not hear clearly what the voice of the seven thunders is saying.
Here is the fear that has deafened the nations, even those who have been called out of the nations, (for all of this is a testimony to Israel): the nations see that Yehoshua came to his own, to the Jewish nation, and his own did not receive him... immediately, they look down into the depths of the darkness and do not look upward to the Redeemer of Israel. The frightened nations see that to as many as receive him he gives the power to become his brothers and sisters, the children of G-d. They do not hear the voice of the Spirit of G-d telling them that this is the sign of G-d's mercy to Israel. In their fearfulness they imagine that this is the sign of Israel's condemnation for having rejected their Messiah. As they measure, so it is measured to them.
Instead of being comforted and reassured through the certainty of the covenant of G-d with Israel, they begin to imagine that the Torah is a word of condemnation and not a word of promise. From then on, they begin to be overcome by fear of loosing their own grip on the narrow bridge of redemption, of somehow slipping away... Their fear grows and spreads to their neighbours. They have heard the word of G-d, but immediately, because of their fear of the chastisement of Israel have turned that chastisement into condemnation in their own imagination, and thus their fear impairs their further hearing of the voice of the word of G-d to Israel, comforting her and reassuring her in her chastisement. They cannot find the tree that purifies the bitter waters of judgment which is in the hand of Moshe.
It is impossible, therefore, to hear clearly what the seven thunders of judgment are saying if we are in any way looking down upon Israel, or upon the stumbling of Israel. For the secret of what the voice of the seven thunders is saying is the secret of comfort and reassurance that the Comforter sent by Yehoshua is whispering in the ear of Israel. It is impossible to hear this whisper unless one's ear is very close to the Torah ear of Israel. Only from that position will it be possible to go on to the next post in this series. Believe, therefore, in the prayer of Yehoshua for the forgiveness of the nation of Israel, as G-d defines that nation through His Torah, and let us go on...
The bitter root of spiritual hearing impairment is the bitter root of terror. This is the terror that comes to someone who looks down from a high, narrow bridge. It is just as Rebbe Nachman of Breslov says, "This world is a narrow bridge. The main thing is not to be afraid." The fear of spiritually falling comes from our own sight, from looking down and imagining what would happen if we fall. Israel saw what happened to Pharaoh and to Egypt. They knew they had crossed the Red Sea on a narrow spiritual bridge. Miriam led all Israel in a song of joy and praise!
But immediately then they found themselves in the dead wilderness and when they finally came to water it was poisonously bitter. In Miriam's merit, G-d showed Moshe a sweeting tree to cast into the waters, to make them pure to drink. This was an object lesson for Israel. It is an object lesson also for all who have entered into the redemption that is in Mashiach Yehoshua of Israel. We will learn that the bitter waters, the waters of Marah, are the waters of our own sight and imagination and fear of spiritually falling from the narrow bridge of this world.
It is written that when Moshe had cast the tree into the waters and the waters had become sweet that, "[G-d] made a statue and an ordinance for them there and tried them. And He said, If you carefully listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d, and you do what is right in His eyes, and you pay attention to His commandments, and keep His statutes, I will not put on you all the plagues that I have put on Egypt, for I am Hashem your Healer."
We can understand from this that G-d was making it clear to Israel that it was through His Torah that they would be sealed from the judgments that He would bring upon the nations, which He had begun to demonstrate upon Egypt. We can understand that He was making it clear to Israel that their crossing of the Red Sea was not the end of their redemption, but only the beginning of it. The promise of the redemption was not only that Israel would be redeemed from Egypt and from the judgment of G-d upon the world and its empires.
The promise of the redemption was that Israel would be redeemed from its own evil inclination, from whatever prevented it from being transformed from the ways of sin to keeping the Torah of G-d from the heart. For, if this redemption of the heart and hearts of Israel did not come there would be no redemption at all. Even the redemption out of Egypt would have been in vain. For without Israel being sealed in heart and mind by the Torah, in the end, all the plagues that came upon Egypt would all come upon Israel as well. Just as the waters of Egypt were turned to poison and blood, so Israel would find only poisonous, bitter waters to drink. However, the redemption of Israel would not fail. It was begun by G-d's word and it would be completed by G-d's word. It was guaranteed by G-d's word to Abraham.
If the Jew looks down from the hight of the narrow bridge of the covenant of G-d with Abraham and his offspring and sees Pharaoh and his armies, and many other enemies of Israel, falling into the depths of the sea of G-d's judgments and then imagines themselves slipping and falling they could be overcome with the fear of their imagined fall. Those also who have been redeemed from the idolatry in their heart by the offering up of that lamb, Mashiach Yehoshua of Israel, have also been elevated to the high point of that high narrow bridge of redemption, and if they consider that high elevation through the understanding of their own sight they can be overcome with terror.
The deepest darkness of separation from G-d is a long way down. Even the nations who are living in darkness are afraid of this darkness. Those who have been raised up out of such darkness could not see it clearly before they were redeemed out of the nations. Now, if they depend on their sight, the temptation to terror is overwhelming. So now, the voice of G-d speaks to them, saying, Don't look down! Yet they do look down and are overcome with fear. And the fear deafens them to the voice of G-d. And they do not clearly hear the promise of G-d that seals Israel, and would seal them, against the plagues which He brings upon Egypt and the nations. They hear only the rumbling of the certain judgment that is coming and do not hear clearly what the voice of the seven thunders is saying.
Here is the fear that has deafened the nations, even those who have been called out of the nations, (for all of this is a testimony to Israel): the nations see that Yehoshua came to his own, to the Jewish nation, and his own did not receive him... immediately, they look down into the depths of the darkness and do not look upward to the Redeemer of Israel. The frightened nations see that to as many as receive him he gives the power to become his brothers and sisters, the children of G-d. They do not hear the voice of the Spirit of G-d telling them that this is the sign of G-d's mercy to Israel. In their fearfulness they imagine that this is the sign of Israel's condemnation for having rejected their Messiah. As they measure, so it is measured to them.
Instead of being comforted and reassured through the certainty of the covenant of G-d with Israel, they begin to imagine that the Torah is a word of condemnation and not a word of promise. From then on, they begin to be overcome by fear of loosing their own grip on the narrow bridge of redemption, of somehow slipping away... Their fear grows and spreads to their neighbours. They have heard the word of G-d, but immediately, because of their fear of the chastisement of Israel have turned that chastisement into condemnation in their own imagination, and thus their fear impairs their further hearing of the voice of the word of G-d to Israel, comforting her and reassuring her in her chastisement. They cannot find the tree that purifies the bitter waters of judgment which is in the hand of Moshe.
It is impossible, therefore, to hear clearly what the seven thunders of judgment are saying if we are in any way looking down upon Israel, or upon the stumbling of Israel. For the secret of what the voice of the seven thunders is saying is the secret of comfort and reassurance that the Comforter sent by Yehoshua is whispering in the ear of Israel. It is impossible to hear this whisper unless one's ear is very close to the Torah ear of Israel. Only from that position will it be possible to go on to the next post in this series. Believe, therefore, in the prayer of Yehoshua for the forgiveness of the nation of Israel, as G-d defines that nation through His Torah, and let us go on...
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