The Great Shaking: Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls – Part 6
A Tale of Two Cities
When most people think of the Book of Revelation, they generally think of the intense judgments outlined in Chapters 6 through 16. We hear of God’s wrath, we look at the condition of the world we live in, the truth of God’s word, and we most-naturally jump to the conclusion that someday God will have had enough of sin and will then wave His hand and begin pouring out wrath on sinners. This is a very mistaken view. Because God gave dominion of the earth to mankind, we have to PARTICIPATE in His process in order for His plan for the earth to happen. The seals, the trumpets, and the bowls of Revelation are a very precise and brilliant plan developed by the Father designed to get everyone to participate, one way or the other. Life is not possible apart from God, and God is unwilling that ANY should perish:
2 Peter 3:9-12 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
For the last 6,000 years, God has been incredibly patient in letting all those He made to be His family decide if they WANT to be His family. Life is not possible apart from the glorious presence of God. Right now we are existing in the dim light of the sun, kept alive by a lifeline of glory coming from the other side of the veil that separates heaven and earth, but there is a desire in God’s heart for “very good”…God IS coming back to the Garden He made for His own pleasure to live face to face with everyone who wants to love Him back and let Him be their God. The day that God splits the sky and comes down, anyone not agreeing with that leadership will be destroyed. Life is not possible apart from God’s presence, and because of who He is, it is not possible to be in His presence unless you let Him be God. No one else can be God in His presence. It is really simple. The PROCESS the Bible describes for this to happen is prescribed well in advance. It was first outlined in Leviticus 26.
Jesus used a parable to describe the process: wheat and weeds growing in a field together. The wheat and the weeds will grow to maturity TOGETHER and then the WEEDS will be separated and burned, and the WHEAT will be put into “God’s barn.” (Amos 9:11 tells us how the barn will be built in night and day prayer.)
Matthew 13:25-30 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. (26) But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. (27) So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' (28) He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' (29) But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. (30) Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "
Jesus then interprets the parable, so we have no doubt what He is describing:
Matthew 13:37-42 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. (38) The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. (39) The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. (40) Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. (41) The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, (42) and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
“First gather the ‘son’s of the wicked one’ and bind them together to be burned”… “but gather the ‘sons of the kingdom’ into my barn.” Jesus is talking about two groups of people who have decided whom they will serve. People agreeing with the “wicked one” will be gathered up and bound FIRST, and those agreeing with the kingdom will be gathered into “barns.” God has a brilliant plan together the wheat and the tares into two basic groups in geographic locations (there is a third group, called “those who are left” that will resist the wicked one AND the kingdom…but that is a story for another day).
The wicked will be gathered into the cities of the earth, where God will reveal to them what life is like apart from Him. BUT, God will also gather those pursuing righteousness in agreement with God into geographic locations that desire His leadership…cities of refuge from the coming storm. In these cities of refuge, people who hate God will either come into agreement with Him, or they will move away. In the wicked cities of the earth, wickedness will increase to the point that the righteous will leave and move to cities of refuge, just like Lot left Sodom and moved to Zoar. Mass movements of people are promised for the generation that sees the return of Jesus.
God wants everyone in the barn, but God REFUSES to violate free will. SO, God has a brilliant plan to get everyone to choose in one generation, what they actually want…life face to face with God in a lush green renewed earth, or existence without life…described as an never ending lake of barren fire:
Revelation 20:15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Everyone gets what they want. God made EVERYONE because He loves them and wants to be with them experiencing the fullness of life forever. BUT, because of love, everyone needs to choose to love God back. To love God is to obey Him…to repent of making anything but Him the leader of your life. Up until now, mankind has generally gotten 70 o 80 years to work this out. However, there comes a day when God is done waiting. There comes a day called “That Day” when God decides it is time to begin forcing the choice…this is because He is coming back. When Jesus appears in the sky, it will be so bright He will “shame the sun.”
Isaiah 24:21-23 It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, And on the earth the kings of the earth. (22) They will be gathered together, As prisoners are gathered in the pit, And will be shut up in the prison; After many days they will be punished. (23) Then the moon will be disgraced And the sun ashamed; For the LORD of hosts will reign On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem And before His elders, gloriously.
Anyone with a body not made ready for His appearance will begin the process of death as soon as He appears. The glory of His presence actually begins killing people. This is described as the bowls of Revelation, which culminate in the destruction of every location where the tares have gathered…the wicked cities of the earth:
Revelation 16:17-19 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" (18) And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. (19) Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
The wicked cities of the nations will fall…guaranteed. BUT, there is more to it than that. This great shaking will also result in many fleeing into the “cities of refuge.” Cities…or geographic locations…that have been living in covenant with God. This was the original promise to Moses in the first Tabernacle: live in covenant with God, and He will manifest heaven…called life… in your presence. Live outside of covenant with God and He will manifest death…bit by bit…in your presence, not because He hates you, but because He wants you to change your mind before it is too late. This has always been the only plan. The Revelation judgments were written out and prescribed thousands of years before John elaborated on them while exiled on Patmos:
This is what life will be like in the cities of refuge…increasing bit by bit to look more and more like this… until Jesus returns:
Leviticus 26:3-12 'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, (4) then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. (5) Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. (6) I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. (7) You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. (8) Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. (9) 'For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. (10) You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. (11) I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. (12) I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
BUT, this is what it will look like in the places that refuse to love God…to live in covenant with Him:
Leviticus 26:14-42 'But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, (15) and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, (16) I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. (17) I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
These are what Jesus called the “birth pangs.” But, if the people in the earth will not respond to the birth pangs, and come into covenant living with God, He will “turn up the heat”…seven times hotter:
(18) 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you SEVEN times more for your sins. (19) I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. (20) And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. (21) 'Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues (another reference to the plagues of Revelation 6:8), according to your sins. (22) I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate.
Here, God describes to Moses the “cliff notes” version of the Seven Seals of Revelation. BUT, if the people of the earth won’t respond to those, and come into agreement with God, He will turn up the heat…seven times hotter:
(23) 'And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, (24) then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet SEVEN times for your sins. (25) And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. (26) When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.
There we see the cliff notes version of the seven trumpets. BUT, if the people of the earth STILL won’t respond, and come into agreement with God, He will incrementally reveal to the earth what death looks like. Death is simply desiring to live apart from God, the source of life. This is not possible. Because of God’s vast patience, many in the earth have convinced themselves that they can exist in life on their own terms. This is delusional. God’s programs of Sevens are designed to shake people out of the delusions. BUT, if those with hard hearts refuse to allow themselves to be convinced by the seals and the trumpets, God will actually begin removing life from those geographic locations where the wicked have gathered. This is to get those who are still “on the fence” to choose God and resist giving their loyalty to the perfect man…the antichrist:
(27) 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, (28) then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you SEVEN times for your sins. (29) You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. (30) I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. (31) I will lay your cities waste (again, the wicked cities of the earth will be destroyed) and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas. (32) I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. (33) I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. (34) Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. (35) As long as it lies desolate it shall rest— for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it. (36) 'And as for those of you who are left (some will not choose either way and will be “left” to repopulate the earth for 1,000 years), I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues. (37) They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. (38) You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. (39) And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; also in their fathers' iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.
And then God tells Moses the “why” behind the “what” of the Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls of Revelation:
(40) 'But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, (41) and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt— (42) then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.
Life is only possible in the presence of God, but being in God’s presence is only possible for those who allow Him to be God…who submit to His perfect leadership in love. For love, everyone gets to choose to love back or to stand in defiance to love. Only those who love God will live forever. Everyone else will still exist in consciousness, but they will be given what they want: existence without life.
John 14:23-24 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. (24) He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
In the midst of this great shaking of the earth, God will prepare the cities of refuge with night and day prayer. God is actually doing this right now. Living in covenant with God is loving Him with all your mind, soul, and strength, and loving your neighbor (caring for their well being in the time of shaking) as you love yourself. Jesus said the entire law hung on these two:
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like it: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' (40) On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
The Bible says this desire of the heart is primarily expressed in night and day prayer, which is David’s Tabernacle…or also called “David’s Key”… which “unlocks heaven” over geographic places. In the places where men and women and children are actively using David’s Key to unlock heaven, they will be spared the judgments as a living testimony of Jesus in the midst of the confusion, just like Goshen was spared the judgments of Egypt, and Zoar was spared the judgments of Sodom. This has ALWAYS been God’s plan: to make a difference between His people and those in rebellion so that any who call on the name of the Lord will be saved:
Revelation 3:7-10 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "HE WHO HAS THE KEY OF DAVID, HE WHO OPENS AND NO ONE SHUTS, AND SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS": … Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Amos 9:9-11 "For I will give the command and will shake Israel along with the other nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost. (10) But all the sinners will die by the sword—all those who say, 'Nothing bad will happen to us.' (11) "In that day I will restore the fallen house of David. I will repair its damaged walls. From the ruins I will rebuild it and restore its former glory.
When most people think of the Book of Revelation, they generally think of the intense judgments outlined in Chapters 6 through 16. We hear of God’s wrath, we look at the condition of the world we live in, the truth of God’s word, and we most-naturally jump to the conclusion that someday God will have had enough of sin and will then wave His hand and begin pouring out wrath on sinners. This is a very mistaken view. Because God gave dominion of the earth to mankind, we have to PARTICIPATE in His process in order for His plan for the earth to happen. The seals, the trumpets, and the bowls of Revelation are a very precise and brilliant plan developed by the Father designed to get everyone to participate, one way or the other. Life is not possible apart from God, and God is unwilling that ANY should perish:
2 Peter 3:9-12 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
For the last 6,000 years, God has been incredibly patient in letting all those He made to be His family decide if they WANT to be His family. Life is not possible apart from the glorious presence of God. Right now we are existing in the dim light of the sun, kept alive by a lifeline of glory coming from the other side of the veil that separates heaven and earth, but there is a desire in God’s heart for “very good”…God IS coming back to the Garden He made for His own pleasure to live face to face with everyone who wants to love Him back and let Him be their God. The day that God splits the sky and comes down, anyone not agreeing with that leadership will be destroyed. Life is not possible apart from God’s presence, and because of who He is, it is not possible to be in His presence unless you let Him be God. No one else can be God in His presence. It is really simple. The PROCESS the Bible describes for this to happen is prescribed well in advance. It was first outlined in Leviticus 26.
Jesus used a parable to describe the process: wheat and weeds growing in a field together. The wheat and the weeds will grow to maturity TOGETHER and then the WEEDS will be separated and burned, and the WHEAT will be put into “God’s barn.” (Amos 9:11 tells us how the barn will be built in night and day prayer.)
Matthew 13:25-30 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. (26) But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. (27) So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' (28) He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' (29) But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. (30) Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "
Jesus then interprets the parable, so we have no doubt what He is describing:
Matthew 13:37-42 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. (38) The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. (39) The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. (40) Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. (41) The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, (42) and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
“First gather the ‘son’s of the wicked one’ and bind them together to be burned”… “but gather the ‘sons of the kingdom’ into my barn.” Jesus is talking about two groups of people who have decided whom they will serve. People agreeing with the “wicked one” will be gathered up and bound FIRST, and those agreeing with the kingdom will be gathered into “barns.” God has a brilliant plan together the wheat and the tares into two basic groups in geographic locations (there is a third group, called “those who are left” that will resist the wicked one AND the kingdom…but that is a story for another day).
The wicked will be gathered into the cities of the earth, where God will reveal to them what life is like apart from Him. BUT, God will also gather those pursuing righteousness in agreement with God into geographic locations that desire His leadership…cities of refuge from the coming storm. In these cities of refuge, people who hate God will either come into agreement with Him, or they will move away. In the wicked cities of the earth, wickedness will increase to the point that the righteous will leave and move to cities of refuge, just like Lot left Sodom and moved to Zoar. Mass movements of people are promised for the generation that sees the return of Jesus.
God wants everyone in the barn, but God REFUSES to violate free will. SO, God has a brilliant plan to get everyone to choose in one generation, what they actually want…life face to face with God in a lush green renewed earth, or existence without life…described as an never ending lake of barren fire:
Revelation 20:15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Everyone gets what they want. God made EVERYONE because He loves them and wants to be with them experiencing the fullness of life forever. BUT, because of love, everyone needs to choose to love God back. To love God is to obey Him…to repent of making anything but Him the leader of your life. Up until now, mankind has generally gotten 70 o 80 years to work this out. However, there comes a day when God is done waiting. There comes a day called “That Day” when God decides it is time to begin forcing the choice…this is because He is coming back. When Jesus appears in the sky, it will be so bright He will “shame the sun.”
Isaiah 24:21-23 It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, And on the earth the kings of the earth. (22) They will be gathered together, As prisoners are gathered in the pit, And will be shut up in the prison; After many days they will be punished. (23) Then the moon will be disgraced And the sun ashamed; For the LORD of hosts will reign On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem And before His elders, gloriously.
Anyone with a body not made ready for His appearance will begin the process of death as soon as He appears. The glory of His presence actually begins killing people. This is described as the bowls of Revelation, which culminate in the destruction of every location where the tares have gathered…the wicked cities of the earth:
Revelation 16:17-19 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" (18) And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. (19) Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
The wicked cities of the nations will fall…guaranteed. BUT, there is more to it than that. This great shaking will also result in many fleeing into the “cities of refuge.” Cities…or geographic locations…that have been living in covenant with God. This was the original promise to Moses in the first Tabernacle: live in covenant with God, and He will manifest heaven…called life… in your presence. Live outside of covenant with God and He will manifest death…bit by bit…in your presence, not because He hates you, but because He wants you to change your mind before it is too late. This has always been the only plan. The Revelation judgments were written out and prescribed thousands of years before John elaborated on them while exiled on Patmos:
This is what life will be like in the cities of refuge…increasing bit by bit to look more and more like this… until Jesus returns:
Leviticus 26:3-12 'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, (4) then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. (5) Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. (6) I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. (7) You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. (8) Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. (9) 'For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. (10) You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. (11) I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. (12) I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
BUT, this is what it will look like in the places that refuse to love God…to live in covenant with Him:
Leviticus 26:14-42 'But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, (15) and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, (16) I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. (17) I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
These are what Jesus called the “birth pangs.” But, if the people in the earth will not respond to the birth pangs, and come into covenant living with God, He will “turn up the heat”…seven times hotter:
(18) 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you SEVEN times more for your sins. (19) I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. (20) And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. (21) 'Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues (another reference to the plagues of Revelation 6:8), according to your sins. (22) I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate.
Here, God describes to Moses the “cliff notes” version of the Seven Seals of Revelation. BUT, if the people of the earth won’t respond to those, and come into agreement with God, He will turn up the heat…seven times hotter:
(23) 'And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, (24) then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet SEVEN times for your sins. (25) And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. (26) When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.
There we see the cliff notes version of the seven trumpets. BUT, if the people of the earth STILL won’t respond, and come into agreement with God, He will incrementally reveal to the earth what death looks like. Death is simply desiring to live apart from God, the source of life. This is not possible. Because of God’s vast patience, many in the earth have convinced themselves that they can exist in life on their own terms. This is delusional. God’s programs of Sevens are designed to shake people out of the delusions. BUT, if those with hard hearts refuse to allow themselves to be convinced by the seals and the trumpets, God will actually begin removing life from those geographic locations where the wicked have gathered. This is to get those who are still “on the fence” to choose God and resist giving their loyalty to the perfect man…the antichrist:
(27) 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, (28) then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you SEVEN times for your sins. (29) You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. (30) I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. (31) I will lay your cities waste (again, the wicked cities of the earth will be destroyed) and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas. (32) I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. (33) I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. (34) Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. (35) As long as it lies desolate it shall rest— for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it. (36) 'And as for those of you who are left (some will not choose either way and will be “left” to repopulate the earth for 1,000 years), I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues. (37) They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. (38) You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. (39) And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; also in their fathers' iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.
And then God tells Moses the “why” behind the “what” of the Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls of Revelation:
(40) 'But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, (41) and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt— (42) then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.
Life is only possible in the presence of God, but being in God’s presence is only possible for those who allow Him to be God…who submit to His perfect leadership in love. For love, everyone gets to choose to love back or to stand in defiance to love. Only those who love God will live forever. Everyone else will still exist in consciousness, but they will be given what they want: existence without life.
John 14:23-24 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. (24) He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
In the midst of this great shaking of the earth, God will prepare the cities of refuge with night and day prayer. God is actually doing this right now. Living in covenant with God is loving Him with all your mind, soul, and strength, and loving your neighbor (caring for their well being in the time of shaking) as you love yourself. Jesus said the entire law hung on these two:
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like it: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' (40) On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
The Bible says this desire of the heart is primarily expressed in night and day prayer, which is David’s Tabernacle…or also called “David’s Key”… which “unlocks heaven” over geographic places. In the places where men and women and children are actively using David’s Key to unlock heaven, they will be spared the judgments as a living testimony of Jesus in the midst of the confusion, just like Goshen was spared the judgments of Egypt, and Zoar was spared the judgments of Sodom. This has ALWAYS been God’s plan: to make a difference between His people and those in rebellion so that any who call on the name of the Lord will be saved:
Revelation 3:7-10 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "HE WHO HAS THE KEY OF DAVID, HE WHO OPENS AND NO ONE SHUTS, AND SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS": … Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Amos 9:9-11 "For I will give the command and will shake Israel along with the other nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost. (10) But all the sinners will die by the sword—all those who say, 'Nothing bad will happen to us.' (11) "In that day I will restore the fallen house of David. I will repair its damaged walls. From the ruins I will rebuild it and restore its former glory.
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