Revelation 8-4 the Fourth Angel and the Times of Struggle

7/30/2019 Revelation 8-4 the Fourth Angel and the Times of Struggle

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The Fourth ngeland the Times of Struggle

A closer look at one of the prophecies from the Bible and its interpretation

Pablo C. Agsalud Jr.[Revision 1]


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Foreword

I have wandered across several books, searching formysteries and looking for answers. I have wasted my timereading and pondering. And yet, I have only found myselfsinking down into the world of the occult and worldlyknowledge. All are but senseless principles, ideals, andbeliefs. Nothing in it where your soul can benefit from.

This is my version of the Great Mysteryas an opposing bookfor the occult Mysterium Magnum.

Though we all see the world in a perspective different fromeveryone else, I hope that we could all find a way to revealwhat God had hidden from us, what are too vague tounderstand, and what really matters the most, because thefuture path that our souls would take depend on it.

I will put these revelations into words that everyone couldunderstand, but with a fair warning: that my own words DOESNOT count as the word of God, and that my insights arebased on my own understanding, what appears on my mind,and what I think the abstract picture represents in reality.

Furthermore, it is not my intention to judge or criticize anyinstitution, or state, or race, but to show that some of themost perplexing riddles of the Bible make sense in OUR time.

God bless!

(Jeremiah 26:3)Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil

ways


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Parallelism

Parallelism is used all throughout this book to reveal the meaning of the hidden messages of the Bible.

Though some have already uncovered some of the mysteries of the Old and the New Testament, based on History,

there are still a lot more left to be analyzed, interpreted, and revealed.

It is true that the Bible alone can interpret itself. A verse might speak, describe, and conceal things into figurative

words, but somewhere within the Bible, another verse will come to interpret it.


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Why were the prophecies expressed in parables?

A prophecy came to Isaiah:

Isaiah 66Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the

altar.7With it he touched my mouth and said, See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your

sin atoned for.8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?And I said, Here

am I. Send me!9He said, Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never

perceiving.10

Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might

see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.11

Then I said, For how long, Lord?And he answered: Until the cities lie ruinedand without inhabitant,

until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,12

until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.13

And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave

stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.

Jesus mentioned this to his disciples:

Matthew 1310

The disciples came to him and asked, Whydo you speak to the people in parables?11

He replied, The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to

them.12

Those who have will be given more, and they will have an abundance. As for those who do not have,

even what they have will be taken from them.13

This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see;though hearing, they do not

hear or understand.14

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: You will be ever hearing but neverunderstanding; you will beever seeing but never perceiving.15

For this peoples heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed

their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and

turn, and I would heal them.


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Paul discussed them and said:

2 Corinthians 313

We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of

what was passing away.14

But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It

has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.

16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

2 Corinthians 4

2 On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyones conscience in

the sight of God.

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiledto those who areperishing.

4 The god of this agehasblinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel

that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

People came to love the world and had turned away from God to satisfy their worldly desires. Because people had

done this, it had aroused Gods anger and he hid himself from us.

The prophecies were told in parables so that the wicked may not understand, because they are intended for the

fire or destruction:

Psalm 4912

Human beings, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.13

This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings.14

They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail

over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions.

For if the wicked hear the word, understand, but do not turn from their evil ways, they will be worse than they

were before:

2 Peter 220

If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are

again entangled in itand are overcome, they are worse off at the endthan they were at the beginning.21

It would have been better for them not to have knownthe way of righteousness, than to have known it

and then to turn their backson the sacred command that was passed on to them.22

Of them the proverbs are true: A dog returns to its vomit, and, A sow that is washed returns to her

wallowing in the mud.


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What is the purpose of all these revelations?

Luke 234

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: This child is destined to cause the falling and

rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,35

so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soultoo.

Colossians 213

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, a God made you alive

with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,14

having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,which stood against us and condemned us; he has

taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Hebrews 37So, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear his voice,

8do not harden your heartsas you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness,

9where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did.

10That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, Their hearts are always goingastray, and they

have not known my ways.11So I declared on oath in my anger, They shall never enter my rest.

Like the Bible, in general, these revelations were written

To reveal the purpose of the Lord and his lasting promise To help us discern what is right from what is wrong To remind us the law and the covenant made by God with man Topierceour hearts and make us turn away from our sinful ways To give hope and deliverance


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How are the meanings revealed?

When an object is placed to represent a wordfiguratively, the meaning or synonym usually follows. For instance:

Jeremiah 12:12

Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I willnot accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,famineandplague.

The sword, a figurative object used to represent a word for comparison, was used here to describe famineand

plague.

Example

I will bless them with gold, wheat and barley.

Based on the example above, the author doesnt mean goldto be a literally real object, but implies gold as wheat

and barleyas its literal meanings, because gold is the color of the field during the time of harvest. Now that we

know that gold refers to wheat and barley, the thought of the entire statement can be expressed as a goodharvest,food sufficiency, orprosperity.

Heres another example how a sword is equated to famine. Take note of the word or used to connect it to its

meaning:

Jeremiah 14:13

But I said, Ah, Sovereign LORD, the prophets keep telling them, You will not see the sword OR suffer

famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.

Sometimes, two separate verses mean the same thing, like for instance:

Genesis 317

Cursed is the ground because of you;through painful toilyou will eatof it all the days of your life.18

It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.19

By the sweat of your browyou will eatyour food until you return to the ground, since from it you were

taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

through painful toil = sweat of your brow

all the days of your life = until you return to the ground

When a simple thought is expressed in a verse, another verse somewhere within the inclusive text, usually

succeeding it, will come to mean the same thing. Otherwise, a verse from a different book within the Bible would

present itself as a parallel verse with one or more figurative words or metaphors.


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Which interpretation is trust-worthy?

Matthew 244Jesus answered: Watch out that no one deceives you.

5For many will come in my name, claiming, I am the Messiah, and will deceivemany.

2 Peter 218

For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature,

they entice peoplewho are just escaping from those who live in error.19

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravityfor people are slaves to

whatever has mastered them.

Many have claimed to be Christ or vicars of Christ, and some people follow them. They deceive those who lack

understanding of the Scriptures and publicly hauling money in exchange for indulgencesand spiritual reservations.

There are many teachers out there, as much as religions. And yet, not all religions agree on the same teaching, nor

do two pastors give the same opinion on a single subject. Almost all would probably give you answers derived from

learned experiences, collective knowledge, teachings and traditions.

Colossians 218

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such people

also go into great detail about what they have seen, and their unspiritual minds puff them up with idle

notions.22

These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely

human commands and teachings.23

Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false

humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any valuein restraining sensual indulgence.

So, who will we trust? I dsay no one. The only thing we can rely on is the Bible.

Hebrews 1011

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same

sacrifices, which can nevertake away sins.

Matthew 2435

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will neverpass away.

The Bible is the only book that has been thoroughly read and studied by most people for the last 2,000 years. It has

been written, rewritten, compiled, translated, and criticized for many generations, but has still lived up to its good

name. It has survived countless wars and scores of resistance. Yet, it continually proves itself to be, without a

doubt, the best-selling book of all time.


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The Seven Angels with Trumpets

Signs and Wonders

Deuteronomy 2845

All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed,

because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you.46

They will be a signand a wonderto you and your descendants forever.

Luke 1129

As the crowds increased, Jesus said, This isa wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be

given it except the sign of Jonah.

Matthew 162He replied, a When evening comes, you say,It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,

3and in the morning, Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast. You know how to interpret

the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

Many will be asking for a sign but will not be given any. Some will see signs but will wonder what it means. And

some signs will appear but no one will notice them.

How can we tell the signs of the end of times?

All these things that shall come to pass will be fulfilled through a certain sign. Although these things manifests into

real physical objects, this mediumis not a physical object, but an intangible obstacle that man would struggle from:

Ephesians 612

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against

the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

People will become slaves to these mediumsthat have prevailed over them:

2 Peter 219

for people areslavesto whatever has mastered them.

The key to understanding these signs is to look back in history, back in the Old Testament, and look for clues there.


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The Trumpets

Numbers 101The LORD said to Moses:

2 Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for

having the camps set out.3

When both are sounded, the whole communityis to assemblebefore you at the entrance to the tent ofmeeting.4If only one is sounded, the leadersthe heads of the clansof Israelare to assemblebefore you.

5When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribescamping on the east are to set out.

The blowing of the trumpet (or horns, in some texts) symbolizes the issuance of a warning.

The Angels

What are these seven angels about to deliver on people? Keep in mind that these things these revelations are

referring to are not the physical objects that these things manifest themselves from.

In the book of Romans, Paul identified seven things:

Romans 835

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall troubleor hardship or persecution or famine or

nakednessor dangeror sword?36

As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be

slaughtered.


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The Fourth Angel

Revelation 812

The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sunwas struck, a third of the moon, and a third

of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the daywas without light, and also a third of

the night.13As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: Woe! Woe!Woe to the

inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!

Time Chart 1. The Sign of the Fourth Angel

We will use Time Chart 1, the illustration above, to explain and interpret this sign.


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Day and Night

A day constitutes a 24-hour period, consisting of day(morning) and night(evening):

Genesis 13

And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the lightfrom the darkness.

5God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was

morningthe first day.

Psalm 1368the sunto govern the day, His love endures forever.

9the moonand starsto govern the night; His love endures forever.

The dayand nightare equally divided into 12-hourperiods:

John 119Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hoursof daylight? Those who walk in the daytime will not

stumble, for they see by this worlds light.10

It is when people walk at night that they stumble, for they have no light.

Hence, daywill be from 6 AM (sunrise) to 6 PM (sunset) and nightwill be from 6 PM (dusk) to 6 AM (dawn).

Time Chart 1a. The Sign of the Fourth Angel


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Light and Darkness

What does lightand darknessmean? Light could mean a lot of different things. One could easily say it refers to

day, or the sun, and the darkness, to night or the moon. For the religious, lightcould mean good, and the darkness,

evil. For the enlightened, lightis life, darknessmeans death.

But, let me explain this to you thoroughly, as if you were a five-year old: When you close your eyes, you see

darkness. When you open your eyes, you see light.

Light is when you wake up and start your day. Darkness is when you stop your activity and rest. Light is when you

sweat your brows and you pick up that tool. And darkness is when you end your toil.

Genesis 317

Cursed is the ground because of you;through painful toilyou will eat of it all the days of your life.18

It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.19

By the sweat of your browyou will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were

taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

So, lightis when you work to get a reward, or earn a living. And darknessis just the opposite of it.


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A Third of the Sun

Revelation 8:12

"and a third of the sun was struck"

Psalm 10419

He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.20You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

21The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.

22The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens.

23Thenpeoplego out to their work, to their laboruntil evening.

Time Chart 1C. A Third of the Sun

Now that we know that lightrefers to work, we now have the idea that this has something to do with the timewe

go to work.

Since we have represented dayand sunwith the time from sunrise to sunset, or from 6AM to 6PM, a third of the

sunmeans that one third of the day will be darkened.

Examine Time Chart 1C Row A, the one in yellowrepresents the day, a 12-hour period.

Now, examine Time Chart 1C Row C, it illustrates one third of the 12-hour day period being darkened (gray).

This means that the day was changed and was shortened, just as it was written:

Matthew 24:22

"those dayswill be shortened"


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A Third of the Moon

Revelation 8:12

"a third of the moon was struck"

Time Chart 1D. A Third of the Moon

Since we have represented nightand moonwith the time from dusk to dawn, or from 6PM to 6AM, a third of the

moonmeans that one third of the night will be darkened.

Examine Time Chart 1D Row A, the one in bluerepresents the night, a 12-hour period.

Now, examine Time Chart 1D Row D, it illustrates one third of the 12-hour night period being darkened (gray).

This means that the night was changed and was shortened, just as it was written:

Matthew 24:22

"those dayswill be shortened"

A third of the moonmay also mean that one third of the monthwill be affected. Since months are based on the

lunar cycle and each month consists of at least 28 days, one third of it will be treated as in the darkness. We will

learn more about this on the succeeding pages.


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A Third of the Day and a Third of the Night

Revelation 8:12

"A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night"

Matthew 24:22

"those days will be shortened"

Time Chart 1. A Third of the Day, A Third of the Night

Since a day represents 12 hours, "a third" corresponds to four (4) hours.

For people who work during the day, a day of work was shortened from 12 hours to 8 hours. This means that

instead of working from 6AM to 6PM, one must work from 6AM to 2PM. This period now constitute a day of

work.

For people who work during the night, a night of work was shortened from 12 hours to 8 hours. This means that

instead of working from 6PM to 6AM, one must work from 10PMto 6AM. This period also constitute a day of

work.

Given the situation, a void was created between 2PMto 6PM. This becomes the third day of work:

Time Chart 2. The Days of Work


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A Third of the Stars

Revelation 8:12

"and a third of the stars"

Stars represent heavenly bodies, since distant planets and stars all lookthe same from the night sky.

Chart A. Stars as Days.

Here, the heavenly bodies are represented by days on the lunar

calendar:

Chart B. Days of the Week in the Lunar Calendar

One lunar cycle is equivalent to 28 days.

One third of 28 days is equivalent to 9.33 days.

Chart B illustrates a set of workweeks with four (4) work days, followed by two (2) rest days (or days off),

that varies every month. Although results for the number of days off may vary every month, it is enough

to assume that one third of each month will be days off. Hence, a third of the starsmay represent one third

of the lunar cycle, or 9 days, which fits the illustration above.


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The Sign Carried by the Second Angel

Meaningless Toil

In general, the Bible interprets all worldly desires as worthless, including labor:

Habakkuk 213

Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the peoples laboris onlyfuel for the fire, that the nations

exhaust themselves for nothing?

Ecclesiastes 221

For people may laborwith wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leaveall they own to others

who have not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.22

What do people get for all the toiland anxious strivingwith which they laborunder the sun?23

All their days their work is griefandpain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

1 John 215

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If you love the world, love for the Father is not in you.16 For everything in the worldthe cravings of sinful people, the lust of their eyes and their boasting

about what they have and docomes not from the Father but from the world.17

The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

A Punishment for Disobedience

In the book of Genesis, God put Adam and Eve in a paradise where they can eat any fruit they want (except for

one). When they disobeyed Gods command, God banished them out of Eden and cursed them, so that they would

have to work for their own food.

Genesis 317

To Adam he said, Because you listened toyour wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded

you, You must not eat of it,Cursed is the ground because of you;throughpainfultoilyou will eatof it all

the days of your life.


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An Avenue for Disaster

In the book of Romans, hardshipis one of the seven things that separate us from the love of Christ:

Romans 835

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or

nakedness or danger or sword?

Why? It is because it has the capacity to lead us to other sinful and worldly desires.

Take for example, money. Money is the reward for hard work. Yet those who dwell on money find no satisfaction

in them:

Ecclesiastes 510

Those who love money never have enough; those who love wealth are never satisfiedwith their income.

This too is meaningless.11

As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to

feast their eyes on them?

Isaiah 552Why spend moneyon what is not bread, and your laboron what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me,

and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.3Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my

faithful love promised to David.

Money invites trouble, envy, corruption, greed, and other forms of evil:

Micah 311

Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for aprice, and her prophets tell fortunes for money.

1 Timothy 610

For the love of moneyis a root of all kinds of evil.

Consider now, what most people are now slaves to:

2 Timothy 31But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their

parents, ungrateful, unholy,3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,

4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God5having a form of godliness

but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

2 Peter 219for people areslavesto whatever has mastered them.

Matthew 624

No one can serve two masters. Either youwill hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to

the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.


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Salvation

Why do you worry about your life? God knows man more than he understands himself. He knows that man is

sinful by nature and so He had put everything under a test. For what purpose is preparing the whole earth for if

not for himself and the last of His creations? And arent we all here on earth to learn something before wetranscend into what God has prepared for us?

Luke 126Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Dont be afraid; you are worth more thanmany

sparrows.22

Then Jesus said to his disciples: Therefore I tell you, do not worryabout your life, what you will eat; or

about your body, what you will wear.23

Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.24

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And

how much more valuable youare than birds!25

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?27

Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his

splendor was dressed like one of these.28

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the

fire, how much more will he clothe youyou of little faith!

The Covenant

Deuteronomy 79Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenantof loveto a

thousand generations of those who love himand keep his commandments.

Hebrews 1014

For by one sacrificehe has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.15

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:16

This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their

hearts, and I will write them on their minds.17

Then he adds: Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.

Romans 59 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from Gods wrath

through him!10

For if, while we were Gods enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much

more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

John 316

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not

perish but have eternal life.17

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.18

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already

because they have not believed in the name of Gods one and only Son.


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Through Faith

Those who believe in the Lord are justified by their faith and are saved through their righteousness:

Romans 1:17

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealeda righteousness that is by faith from first to last,

just as it is written: The righteous will live byfaith.

Acts 158God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did

to us.9He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

Romans 324

and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.25

God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his bloodto be received by

faith. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed

beforehand unpunished26

he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those

who havefaithin Jesus.28

For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Romans 45However, to anyone who does not workbut trusts Godwho justifies the ungodly, their faithis credited

as righteousness.6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of those to whom God credits

righteousnessapart from works:7Blessed are thosewhose transgressionsareforgiven, whose sinsare covered.

8Blessed are those whose sin the Lord will nevercount against them.


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Through Hope

We consider ourselves bound to the Old Law by tradition, thus, we believe that by observing it, through works, we

will be saved. However, because man is sinful by nature and falls short of the Law, the Law has been fulfilled

ultimately in Christ.

Hebrews 1014For by one sacrificehe has made perfectforeverthose who are being made holy.

There is nothing in this world that does not belong to God. So, what good is offering him what is already his in the

first place?

Colossians 116

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones

or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.17

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

So, what does God wants us to do? Consider what Jesus said about these works:

John 628

Then they asked him, What must we do to do the worksGod requires?29

Jesus answered, The work of God is this: to believein the one he has sent.

Matthew 1916

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal

life?17

Why do you ask me about what is good? Jesus replied. There is only One who is good. If you want to

enter life, keep the commandments.18

Which ones? he inquired. Jesus replied, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you

shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,19

honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.20

All these I have kept,the young man said. What do I still lack?21Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will

have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

Therefore, we are to put our hope in Christ and believe in him, as it was written:

Matthew 1221

In his name the nations will put their hope.


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Read your Bible and find out more about Christsteachings and commandments.

Jesus gave some decrees for people to follow, including:

Matthew 712

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Lawand the

Prophets.

In the book of Romans, Paul sums it up as:

Romans 139The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, Youshall not murder, You shall not steal, You

shall not covet, and whatever other commandthere may be, are summed up in this one command:

Love your neighbor as yourself.10

Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore loveis the fulfillment of the law.

Furthermore, those who walk the path of righteousness must not boast, for Jesus had not come to save the

righteous but the sinners:

Matthew 913

But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the

righteous, but sinners.


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Through Love

Isaiah 111

The multitude of your sacrificeswhat are they to me? says the LORD. I have more than enough of

burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bullsand

lambsand goats.

Isaiah 663But whoever sacrifices a bullis like one who kills a human being, and whoever offers a lambis like one

who breaks a dogs neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pigs blood, and

whoever burns memorial incenseis like one who worships an idol.

Why has God stopped people from presenting burnt offerings and sacrifices? God saw that people had began

offering the same sacrifices to their own gods and man-made idols, and this aroused his anger:

2 Kings 1711

At every high placethey burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had

done. They did wickedthings that aroused the LORDs anger.

And knowing that all people have departed from the law and turned to sin, he gave his own son as the ultimate

sacrifice that will make up for the sins of the whole world:

Romans 83For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending

his own Son in the likeness of sinful humanity to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in human

flesh,4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to

the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Why? It is probably because he saw that no one on earth can live a perfectly righteous life, or a life without sin.

Everyone is in danger of sinning and falling for it:

James 210

For whoever keeps the whole lawand yet stumbles at just one point is guiltyof breaking allof it.

So God saved us, not because we keep his laws or work out our own salvation but because he loves us deeply:

Ephesians 24But because of his great lovefor us, God, who is rich in mercy,

5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been

saved.6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his

kindness to us in Christ Jesus.8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faithand this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of

God9not by works, so that no one can boast.


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To the Lord, every sinner is a lost sheep:

Luke 15:7

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents

than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Everyone is entitled for salvation. Take a lesson from the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard:

Matthew 201For the kingdom of heaven is like alandowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his

vineyard.2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

3About nine in the morning he went out andsaw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

4He told them, You also go and work inmy vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.

5So they went. He went out again about noon and aboutthree in the afternoon and did the same thing.

6About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, Why

have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?7 Because no one has hired us, they answered.He said to them, You also go and work in myvineyard.

8When evening came, the owner of the vineyardsaid to his supervisor, Call the workers andpay them

their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.9The workers who were hired about five inthe afternoon came and each received a denarius.

10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also

received a denarius.11

When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.12

These men who were hired last worked only one hour, they said, and you have made themequal to us

who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.13

But he answered one of them, Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didnt you agree to work for a

denarius?14

Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.15

Dont I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am

generous?16

So the last will be first, and the first will belast.

But, dont think that you could just repent at the last minute. We will be judged according to what we have done

and reap what we have sown:

Romans 620

When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.21

What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in

death!22

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads

to holiness, and the result is eternal life.23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal lifein Christ Jesus our Lord.

Documents

Revelation 8-4 the Fourth Angel and the Times of Struggle