SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 166C
April 9, 2004
The current Mahdi Army of Shiite cleric Muqtada, that now classifies itself as operating for the glory of the new Iraqi Jihad, will be overcome by the American forces, but the Islamic dream of the Messianic Mahdi coming to deliver them in a massive, consolidated end time Jihad, will not die, and will, in the end of this age, generate an Islamic empire led by the Imam Mahdi himself. (See Special Prophecy Update 165B in our Prophecy Archives). And one of the end time major events associated with the time span of the Islamic Messiah’s rule, is called a mystery by both Paul and John in the New Testament.
Words That Are Laid Out To Describe An End Time Mystery!
I Corinthians 15:51,52 – Behold, I SHEW (LEGO) you a MYSTERY; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the LAST (HESCHATOS) trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
SHEW – LEGO – This is the only place in the Bible that LEGO is translated as SHEW. LEGO means “to lay out before.” In this context it would mean “to lay out before the listener in words.”
LAST – HESCHATOS – In reference to time, it means the last thing that completes an action or event. The use of the word, in this context, means that other trumpets had sounded before it, probably in a lengthy series, for if there had only been say one, two, or three, then saying the second or third would have been the normal pattern exhibited in scripture, such as the second or third woe in Revelation.
Paul was “laying out with words” the events of a MYSTERY that would be FULFILLED when the LAST TRUMP sounded.
More than 20 years after Paul’s death, John described the FINISH of the MYSTERY that Paul had previously LAID OUT WITH WORDS, which described some of the events associated with it.
Revelation 10:7 – But in the days of the VOICE of the SEVENTH angel, when he shall BEGIN to sound, the MYSTERY of God should be FINISHED, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
When the LAST TRUMP, in a series of seven trumpets, BEGINS to sound, the MYSTERY of God will be the action that COMPLETES the gathering of all the saved into a place we call heaven. For the first time all the saved will be in heaven, gathered from the earth, both the dead and the living.
Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Christ will descend with the VOICE of the archangel, which I believe to the highest angel in the seven trumpet series, whose sounding begins the final action Paul LAID OUT IN WORDS, and then John announced its TIME OF COMPLETION when the SEVENTH TRUMPET SOUNDS.
I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the VOICE of the archangel, and with the TRUMP of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
The completion of the MYSTERY will place all of the saved of all the ages before the judgment seat of Christ in heaven, while the ones who morally corrupted the earth feel the wrath of the seven vials poured out on the earth.
Revelation 11:18 – And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which DESTROY the earth.
The very fact that the saved will not suffer the wrath of God’s seven vials is a very comforting thought.
I Thessalonians 4:18 – Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Now consider the last phrase found in Revelation 11:18, “Them with DESTROY (DIAPHTHEIRO) the earth” – The Greek word translated “destroy” is “diaphtheiro,” which literally means “to make rotten to the core.” At one time I thought this meant they had, and were, in the process of physically destroying the earth because that is the common usage of the English word “destroy,” so I did not even bother to examine the Greek meaning for the word “diaphtheiro.” Since doing so I have changed my mind. I now believe it means they have been, and still are, “morally” corrupting the earth as lost men and women, and that God’s wrath will be poured on them as the consequence of rejecting his Son, while all of the saved are being judged in heaven.
DESTROY – DIAPHTHEIRO – to corrupt throughout, to bring to a worst state of depravity, to make rotten to the core.
The word can be used to mean a physical destruction of the earth or a moral destruction of the earth, so one does have a choice, and I have chosen to interpret a double use of the same word in Revelation 11:18 to be the physical destruction of those morally destroying the earth by the one who created the earth. The same word is translated as “corrupt” in other Scriptures in the New Testament, inferring moral or spiritual adultery – One by Paul, inferring spiritual adultery for false teaching concerning the proper way to worship God, is found in I Timothy 6:5 – Perverse disputings of men of CORRUPT minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
The following Scriptures show when the saved are going to be caught out in proximity to Revelation events, but no one at the present time knows when the sounding of the seventh trump will occur. When it does occur, all the saved will be taken up to heaven to be judged for the works done in their bodies for rewards, or the lack of them. For the first time since God created man, all the believers of God’s kingdom will be in heaven in body, soul, and spirit, and all the lost will be in, and on, this present earth.
Revelation 11:15,18 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
“And the nations were angry” – But Armageddon is five chapters away – Revelation 16:16 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
“And thy wrath is come” – God’s wrath does not come until the saved have been caught out – I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
“And the time of the dead” – The saved dead experience resurrection and living saved are instantly changed – I Corinthians 15:51 – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
“That they should be judged” – The saved of all the ages are judged by the PROMISED SEED in heaven – Genesis 3:15 – And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her SEED; IT shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise HIS heel.
“And that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great” – The saved are judged by Christ for the works they performed in their bodies, whether they were wrought by and in Christ, or by the old fleshly nature – II Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Galatians 6:7 – Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Revelation 22:12,14 – And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. [14] Blessed are they that DO his commandments, that they may HAVE RIGHT to the tree of life, and may ENTER IN through the gates into the city.
Revelation 21:7 – He that overcometh shall inherit ALL things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
The real question that a believer needs to consider, after becoming the child of God through faith in his Son Jesus, is simply this: How much am I going to submit myself to the indwelling Spirit of Christ, to let him continue what he has started, once again overcoming the world, but this time he overcomes it in me. The degree to which you allow him to again overcome in you determines two things: (1) Whether you receive ALL of the reward he has waiting for you at his Son’s judgment seat, and (2) How close a relationship you will have with him in heaven, that is to say, where you abide in heaven in proximity to where he positions himself. All the saved remain forever in heaven, and all will be happy in glorified bodies, but those who served him after salvation will be happier than all the many that did not. Salvation is by grace through faith, and once it is received it is eternal, and does not need works to maintain it, but make no mistake, our salvation is a workmanship of the Spirit of God, and he created us for the purpose of being able to perform his works of his Spirit, and if we do not, we will be judged by Christ for not having done so.
Ephesians 2:8-10 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM.
Ephesians 3:21 to 4:4 – Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. [4] I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that YE WALK WORTHY of the vocation wherewith ye are called, [2] With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; [3] Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [4] There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Ephesians 2:22 – In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Revelation 3:4 – Thou hast a FEW names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall WALK WITH ME in white: for they ARE WORTHY.
***The following has been added by me, the person who has this website and not by Bro. Tom***
1311 diaphtheírō (from 1223 /diá, “thoroughly,” which intensifies 5351 /phtheírō, “defile, corrupt”) – properly, thoroughly corrupt, totally degenerate (disintegrate); waste away by the decaying influence of moral (spiritual) impurity; “utterly corrupt”; becoming thoroughly disabled (morally depraved), “all the way through” (“utterly decayed”).
[Vine, Unger, White (NT, 130), “1311 (diaphtheírō) comes from dia, ‘through,’ ‘intensive,’ to corrupt utterly, through and through.” The noun form, 1312 (diaphthorá), likewise means “thorough decay.”]
From diaballo and phtheiro; to rot thoroughly, i.e. (by implication) to ruin (passively, decay utterly, figuratively, pervert) — corrupt, destroy, perish.
1. to change for the worse, to corrupt: minds, morals; τήν γῆν, i. e. the men that inhabit the earth, Revelation 11:18;
The purpose of the wrath of God will be to destroy those of humanity who have morally corrupted the earth. It is true, that all of humanity is corrupt to the core of their souls, but there are countless millions of people who’s corruption has such an influence, that they are actually causing the billions of humanity to become even more morally corrupt by changing their minds for the worse, to the point of becoming thoroughly rotten!!! (And should destroy them which destroy the earth.) The Greek word for the second English word “destroy” has to do with morality. It can be translated as: and destroy and bring to ruin, causing them to perish, which destroy by morally corrupting the occupants of the earth and have caused it to become thoroughly rotten.
**********************
