The End Times of the Old Church Not the Earth

Right, so one of the most important elements of our doctrines involves teaching people to pick up and tease meaning from relationships between Biblical images. We show you how they reverse, and how they associate in pairs. This is just a brief recap, so see the text "Image and image pair polarity in the Bible: a detailed guide".

Now, the following verse is not contained in that text but follows the same pattern. There are, as we know, both positive and negative pairs of Biblical images, and the most famous of course would be bread and wine (good and truth) vs bread of iniquity and wine of violence (sin and error). So this verse to follow demonstrates the latter, sin and error: 

Jeremiah 43:2 - King James Version

<2> Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:

As you can see, there is an association here between "proud", which is the sin, with "Thou speakest falsely", the error. When people commit sin, there is always an error associated with. It's indeed the same way with doing good! Because there's always a truth associated with it. Here's one of my favourite verses demonstrating the more positive relationship: "A good understanding have all they that do his commandments" (Psalms 111:110).

Pretty much, if you actually have some humility, recognising you're not the best thing since sliced bread, then you will have an associated better understanding; because people who think they're uber-important basically have a wretched understanding, since... they aren't. There's one uber-important figure: Jesus Christ.

Right, so here is another example of an association between sin and error: 

Mark 15:31 - King James Version

<31> Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.

Here we have the sin of "mocking" paired with the error "He saved others, himself he cannot save". Well, mocking is not very nice, as we know. We especially shouldn't mock innocent people. And as for His not being able to save Himself, well, scripture tells us something quite different: 

John 2:19 - King James Version

<19> Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

This is why the Bible is so often arranged in parallel structures, like all the above. Because so much of life involves marriages of good understanding with good practice and bad understanding with bad practice.

All right, let me show you another, the infamous "mark of the beast": 

Revelation 14:9-10 - King James Version

<9> And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, <10> The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Now, here the mark is specifically "in his forehead", because this signifies bad understanding; and the mark is specifically "in his hand", because this signifies bad practice.

So if someone is a proud creep, then they have the mark in their hand. And if that proud person thinks they're this uber-important being with rainbows propelling them forward, then they have the mark in their forehead. And similar. 

Those proud men that accused Jeremiah of speaking falsely? They had the mark in their hand and in their forehead. Likewise, the chief priests and so forth who mocked Jesus and said He couldn't save Himself had the mark in their hand, mocking, and in their foreheads, which is where the utterly untrue belief that He couldn't save Himself resided.

A lot of people are going to try to fill your heads with a bunch of garbage about the mark of the beast, but this is the real thing. It's not about genetic engineering. It's not about digital currency. It's not about nanobots. It's not about RFID chips. It's not about any of these lies and fabrications. Not one of 'em! It's about sin and it's about error.

See, the prophecies of God are not fortune cookies, not warnings that the Earth is going to explode or that people are going to have to damn their souls just in order to feed their families, ie by taking this "mark of the beast" just mentioned. No, people will damn their souls in the traditional manner, by disobeying Jesus' commandments and deliberately wallowing in ignorance. Let's see what Jesus says about prophecies: 

Matthew 22:36-40 - King James Version

<36> Master, which is the great commandment in the law? <37> Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. <38> This is the first and great commandment. <39> And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. <40> On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The operative part here is that "all" the law and "all" the prophets hang on these two commandments. So in other words, Isaiah, Amos, Revelation, you name it, are all about love.

Of course, love is not just love-sweet-love in the Bible. Here's how Jesus puts it:

John 14:15 - King James Version

<15> If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Now, one already explained the mark of the beast as having to do with living a sinful life that wallows in ignorance. If you live a sinful life, then of course you are not loving God by keeping His commandments, as is evident. That is why Revelation, which like all the prophecies is about love, mentions this mark of the beast so solemnly.

People love God by obeying His commandments, and they love the neighbour not by slobbering on them or giving them compliments, but by being useful in life. Obviously you can be useful by giving some charity a donation, but the 'useful' here is especially to do with being a faithful servant of humanity in whatever work it is you do.

Nurses, programmers, legislators, it doesn't really matter: all of them can and should do their work in a spirit of service, not just to become wealthy and respected and famous or whatever.

We already covered how love is the hidden subject of "all" the prophecies; every last one. The thing is, Churches start out good; they start out understanding that loving God is keeping His commandments, and that loving the neighbour is being of sincere service in the carrying out of their duties and otherwise doing good. But over time, Churches get less and less good, more and more rotten. In the prophecies, the first stage of the Church is called the dawn, the second stage is called midday, the third stage is called evening, and the fourth stage is called night. You will find references to these four stages throughout the Bible, in a variety of different guises.

We were talking about Revelation. Well, in Revelation the 4-quarter life cycle of the Church involves a sequence of four horsemen, the famous 4 horsemen of the apocalypse: the first stage is the white horse, the second the red horse, the third the black horse, and the fourth the pale horse. Dawn = white horse. Midday = red horse. Evening = black horse. Night = pale horse.

Right, so now let's look at something very interesting that happens at the time of the third horseman, the black horse: 

Revelation 6:5-6 - King James Version

<5> And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. <6> And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

See that last there? "See thou hurt not the oil and the wine." This is a very important bit! And it shows up in the famous parable of the Good Samaritan: 

Luke 10:33-34 - King James Version

<33> But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, <34> And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

The good Samaritan, you see, "hurt not the oil and wine", in other words still had both love to give and truth to give. Because people who do not have oil in their lamps, as in the parable of the 10 wise and foolish virgins, do not have love in their lamps, in that special Biblical sense of love to God and love to the neighbour.

Now, this parable of the Good Samaritan also mentions a couple other figures who see the wounded guy and just pass right by without compassionately helping them:

Luke 10:31-32 - King James Version

<31> And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. <32> And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

These two fellows looked all religious on the surface, but on the inside they were rotten! Which quarter of the Church life cycle were they in? Number 4, the pale horse. See, in phases 1, 2, and 3 of the Church life cycle, people in the Church still have oil in their lamps and wine to spare, which in plain English means that they still have compassion in their hearts and a willingness to express this in action. 

The actual meaning of the parable of the Good Samaritan involves someone who knows about good and truth telling someone who has been misled by false teachers how it all works. But also it simply involves just plain being compassionate and helping those in need.

Religious people who are in the 4th quarter of the Church, the pale phase phase, "hurt the oil and wine". Pretty much, they no longer understand good and truth in their Biblical senses, and they just plain aren't compassionate anymore. They may have a bunch of factoids in their head and a willingness to criticise you, but without oil in their lamps, without love in their hearts, they might as well not be religious at all!

These are just a few of the marvellous things hidden in plain sight in the Word. This is why Jesus says this when talking about the End Times (not of the world as a whole but of the Church in particular): 

Matthew 24:12 - King James Version

<12> And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

There is the love of the people in the Church waxing cold over time. That is why this gets mentioned in Jesus' prophecy known as the Olivet discourse (in Matthew 24 and also some other places).

When the love in Church people's hearts get so cold that they are at "night" or the "pale horse", then like the Levite and the priest they are just going to pass a wounded man on by, not showing compassion on him. They're just plain meaner in the 4th phase of the Church, not like God wants His people to be at all!

And also, in the 4th quarter of the Church cycle, the "priest and Levite" don't understand much either. They have no love, no oil, and no wine, no understanding. That is why Jesus says that the Pharisees "make the commandment of God of none effect through [their] tradition"; and it is also why He rhetorically asks, "When the Son of Man comes, will there be faith on Earth?" (because people like the Sadducees didn't even believe in the resurrection!)

See, folks, Jesus does not want you to be afraid because of His prophecies. That's why His prophecy about the End Times in Matthew 24 contains the command "See that ye be not troubled". In plain English Jesus means, 'When you read my prophecies, definitely don't be afraid'. So the next time someone tries to make you afraid while claiming to be explaining Jesus' prophecies, you tell them to go jump.

Ezekiel 34:28 - King James Version

<28> And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.

The reality is, the mark of the beast and things like that are no more terrifying than sin and error usually are!

The Bible has some rather blunt words to share with us on the subject of people who are afraid, people who (probably for quite good reasons) don't know how to obey the commandment "See that ye be not troubled" yet. Here it is: 

1 John 4:18 - King James Version

<18> There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

If anything in the prophecies makes you afraid, it's probably because someone has filled your head with gunk that has nothing to do with prophecies and everything to do with Hollywood disaster films. 

Or, you may be afraid just because the language sounds awfully scary sometimes. But rest assured, people, that Jesus no more means to make you afraid with His prophecies than your mom means to make you afraid when she says, 'Come to the table or I'll skin you alive!'

Everything in the Bible without exception is there for something like the following reason: 

John 15:11 - King James Version

<11> These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

There's no point in a sermon about the "End Times" that makes you afraid of the future, that makes it harder for you to keep Jesus' commandment "See that ye be not troubled". This is a real sermon on the "End Times" [of the Church, not the world]. That is why it isn't terrifying you, and that is why it is about things like joy and love.

You know what carrying out the Great Commission is? It's telling people things that help to make their joy complete. If people think they're carrying out the Great Commission and all they're doing is spreading fear, then something has gone wrong. 

Well, folks, this is real Christianity, where the idea is to help you get rid of blocks on things like joy and peace, not to terrify you or herd you around like cattle. You're grown people, you don't need another dictator in your life. 

I hope all of you find what you need. And while I emphasise that you don't need me or us to be saved at all, it's a pleasure to be a voluntary, hopefully healthy part of your lives.

Pass it on, pay it forward, in word and deed.