A Lesson Learned From Habakkuk

                 Habakkuk was a prophet in the Old Testament. He was the eighth of the twelve minor prophets collected in the Old Testament. Little is known about him besides what facts we can gather from the book of Habakkuk. It is uncertain about the period of time that he lived but it is assumed that it was around 612 B.C. The book contains five oracles about the Babylonians and this was around the time of their rise in power. Although the book only contains three short chapters it is still important. We should live by his example in our prayer life.

“How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do

not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’

but you do not save? Why do

you make me look at injustice?”

-Habakkuk 1:1-3

                In the first four verses of the book, Habakkuk is questioning God how He can tolerate the sin and evil that is happening. He tells God there is no justice and great strife. The Lord’s reply is that He has plans for the Babylonians. He tries to console Habakkuk and put peace in his heart.

“Look at the nations and watch- be utterly

amazed. For I am going to do

something in your days that you would no believe,

even if you were told.”

-Habakkuk 1:5

                Habakkuk makes a second complaint. He says that the Lord just looks on at the violence and the strife that is among the people of Jerusalem. Habakkuk compares Babylonians like fishermen and the rest of the world like fish. He says that the Babylonians conquer nations and destroys them as they get rich off of them.

“You have made men like fish in the sea, like sea creatures

that have no ruler. The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he

catches them in his net, he gathers them up in

his dragnet; and so rejoices and is glad.”

-Habakkuk 1:15

                God, in return, says that Babylon will eventually be judged and destroyed. The Babylonians work in vain and will be judged for gaining unearned wealth. The Babylonians worship idols and cause others to fall into sin. This won’t last long though according to 2:3. The end will not come right away but it will happen at its appointed time. In the third and final chapter, Habakkuk realizes that everything happens according to God’s will.

“Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity

to come on the nation invading us.”

-Habakkuk 3:16

                We can relate this story to the leadership of our country or the terrorist attacks that happened on 2001. We can even relate it to bullies in our schools and workplace. We can pray and pray that God will change their hearts or punish them. Sometimes we might feel God is taking too long and we never cease to encounter conflict. We lose hope and question how God can let these people bring harm to His people. God will take care of them in due time. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 tells us that there is a time for everything.

                At first, Habakkuk complained and tried to move the hand of God. In the end, however, he came to realize the truth and reality that we should all recognize. If our prayers aren’t answered right away, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t hear us. He will answer them if and when He sees fit. It doesn’t mean He loves us any less; after all, He gave His one and only begotten son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Although from the Old Testament, the testimonies throughout this part of the Bible can be related to our everyday lives in 2012 and beyond.

“Consider what God has done:

Who can make straight what God has made crooked?”

-Ecclesiastes 7:13

Understanding the Book of Revelation: The Woman on the Beast

                When reading chapters 17 and 18 we need to keep in mind that John is talking about the city of Rome. A harlot, or prostitute, has no husband. God never had a true relationship with the city of Rome. Rome has a sinful relationship with the leaders of the earth so she can make a profit. Rome, at one point, had conquered many nations and geographically extended over a large area of the globe. Rome was very immoral. The emperors were forcing people to bow down to them and worship them. The emperor lived extravagantly as did most of Rome and huge quantities of luxurious items and slaves were imported into Rome, hence the mourning over her doom by the merchants and ship masters who had lost their trade. By then there was great immorality within Rome and this had spread to surrounding provinces, for example, Corinth. The letters to the Corinthians were written to correct many of the problems this involved. We find in Revelation the woman Jezebel is given as an example of this within the church at Thyatira. Rome also persecuted the saints which is mentioned in this chapter; remember that John was on Patmos for his faith. However there is a deeper meaning because John is using the general term Babylon and not specifically Rome so it does not just apply to those times but extends forward in time to cover all future ungodly empires of which the Roman is his current example, but reaching its climax with the empire of the Antichrist.

• In considering the identity of the woman the following points need to be considered:
• She is described as the prostitute who is to be contrasted with the bride (the church).
• Babylon the earthly city is to be contrasted to the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem.
• The great city is described figuratively as 'Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified' (11:8).
• She sits on many waters which are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.
• She is to be distinguished from the beast upon whom she sits and who destroys her.
• She is the city of power, excessive luxury and great wealth.
• She persecuted the saints.
• She rules over the kings of the earth.
• She is associated with music, trade, farming, marriage, merchants and persecution.
• With her the kings of the earth commit adultery and the inhabitants are intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries
• In view of the emphasis of the book that only God is to be worshiped she should be viewed as the temptress who tempts men away from God.

In verse 2, the adultery committed is when the leaders and peoples of the world give in to their sinful lusts and desires. The beast that the woman rides on is scarlet, which is a deep red. The Antichrist and Satan will be one in appearance. Since the woman rides the beast, this indicates that Rome has a close relationship with the enemy. The Babylon is not only Rome, but those influenced by her and who followed her laws. Purple and scarlet were expensive cloths and would only be worn by the rich. Gold, precious stones, and pearls are also expensive and only the wealthy would have access to them. Rome was very rich due to its fornication, selfishness, and ungodly relationships. This also signifies that Rome is not built in a solid way like the New Jerusalem. With Rome, it’s all about outward display and ornamentation. 

The Golden Cup

                

                Then we see that she holds a golden cup. In verse 2 we found that 'the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries' now we see the gold cup in her hand from which the people drank which was 'filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries'. The woman has the allure of being attractive but her golden cup is full of filth, Jeremiah 51:7. The gold cup looks attractive from the outside and succeeds in enticing men away from God, who thereby become filthy. John is describing the spirit of the world and 'all that glitters'. He sees her as God sees her, as she really is. The world and its allure are described by John in 1 John 2:16 'For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world'. Some also point out that purple and scarlet is the ecclesiastical dress of the Roman Church, which on occasions also involves glittering jewel and of course the gold cup. The ecclesiastical side to the whore is also found in verse 6 where she is drunk with the blood of the saints. In her hand is a golden cup, another symbol of luxury and wealth, from which one would expect a pure and delightful drink. Although Babylon offers the cup to the world, in turn she becomes a golden cup in the hand of God to madden the nations (Jeremiah 51:7). She holds in her hand the cup of her own self-destruction as the consequences of her sins are turned back upon her.

Babylon 

                In verse 5 we see the title that this woman carries. The name 'Babylon' is the Greek form of the Hebrew Babel, which is derived from the Hebrew balal, 'to confuse', which produced the noun Balbel, which evolved so that the first l was assimilated into the second (Genesis 11:9). The Greeks typically added endings on names, so they changed it to Babylon. Babylon was built on the site of Babel; they wanted to build a city with a tower, Genesis 11:4, the tower represents man’s religion of self-effort. It also represents the union of politics and religion. Babylon means 'the city of confusion'. When the languages of people of Babel were confused all their wickedness was spread around the world so that all her religions and idolatry were also spread around the world. In being called mother it indicates that she has caused others to slip and fall and become ungodly.

                The woman is drunk with the blood of the saints because the saints didn’t approve of her fornication. The Romans held “games” at the Coliseum where saints would be tormented and killed, their blood staining the dirt. The saints are martyrs who lived a holy life for God unto death, separated and sanctified. The witnesses are those who are a living testimony of Jesus and faithful until death. 

The Beast

                The beast that the woman rides is the Antichrist. It was once because Caesar Nero was alive before John wrote this but is dead by the time Revelation is written. His spirit is about to come out of the abyss to reign in the slain and resuscitated body. He will perish and be sent to the lake of fire. If one has wisdom, we can know who the prostitute represents. Here, seven heads represents seven hills on which the woman sits. Rome was a city built on seven hills:

 

-          Esquiline: The Esquiline was the largest of the 7 hills of Rome. Its claim to fame comes from the Roman emperor Nero who built his domus aurea 'golden house' upon it. Before the Empire, the eastern end of the Esquiline was used for dumping refuse and the puticuli (burial pits) of the poor. Carcasses of criminals executed by the Esquiline gate were left to the birds. Burial was forbidden within the city proper, but the burial area of the Esquiline was outside the city walls. For health reasons, Augustus, the first Roman emperor, had the burial pits covered over with soil to create a park called the Horti Maecenatis 'Gardens of Maecenas'.The Colossus, Temple of Claudius, and Baths of Trajan were all located on the Esquiline.

-          Palatine: The Palatine hill was the central hill of Rome. It was about 25 acres and the residence of Augustus (and Tiberius, and Domitian), the Temple of Apollo and temples of Victory and the Great Mother are there.

-          Aventine: The Aventine Hill became the home of the plebeians. It was separated from the Palatine by the Circus Maximus. On the Aventine were temples to Diana, Ceres, and Libera. The Armilustrium was there, too. It was used to purify arms used in battle at the end of the military season. Another significant place on the Aventine was Asinius Pollio's library.

-          Capitoline: The Capitoline Hill has the least amount of area. When the Gauls attacked Rome, the Capitoline did not fall because of the geese who gave warning. The temple of Juno Moneta, possibly named moneta for the warning of the geese, is also on the Capitoline. This is where coins were minted, providing the etymology for the word "money". The assassins of Caesar locked themselves in the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter after the murder. Criminals were dropped from the hill onto the Tarpeian crags below.

-          Quirinal: The most northern of the seven hills, the Quirinal hill is where the second king of Rome, Numa, lived.

-          Viminal: A small, unimportant hill, with few monuments. Caracalla's temple of Serapis was on it. To the northeast of the Viminal were the thermae Diocletiani, Baths of Diocletian, whose ruins were re-used by churches (now the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Museo Nazionale Romano) after the baths became unusable when the Goths cut the aqueducts in A.D. 537.

-          Caelian: This is the most south-eastern hill. During the Republic, the Caelian was densely populated. After a fire in A.D. 27, the Caelian became home to Rome's wealthy.

               

                The seven kings are seven Caesars. Five have “fallen” indicates unnatural death. The first five were Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. The one who is was Nero and the one not yet to come who will only reign a short time is Galba. Galba only reigned for seven months. Nero will animate the eight king which is the Antichrist.

                Verse 12 tells us about ten kings who will rise up in power in the revived Roman Empire before the Great Tribulation. They will be one with the Antichrist in opposing God and persecuting His people. The war mentioned in verse 14 is the war at Armageddon. The ten kings and the Antichrist will leave the city of Rome poor, kill the citizens, and completely annihilate the city. It’s God’s will for this to happen. 

Understanding the Book of Revelation: The Mark and 666

            

 

                Now we come to a part of the book that requires a lot of research and wisdom and understanding. This is a continuation of the previous post about Chapter 13 but I felt it was necessary to separate the beginning of the Chapter from the last 3 verses. There have been many different interpretations about verses 16-18. Some say that the mark is a microchip and that the beast whose number is 666 is Obama or the pope. 

The Mark 

                First we will talk about the mark that men will be forced to receive on their right hand or forehead.  He will try and make everyone worship him by making them get his mark in order to survive. The mark is not literal. It shows possession and it shows who the Lord over that person is. God marks the forehead and right hand in Exodus 13:9, 16 and Deuteronomy 11:18 to show that His peoples showed total obedience to Him. In Ezekiel 9:9, allegiance is shown by the mark. The Antichrist tries to mirror God! Revelation 13:16 says the Mark will be placed in the "right hand." Again, this is a symbolic term used to denote a position of power. The Lord is said to be at one's "right hand" (Psalm 16:8; 73:23; 121:5, Isaiah 41:13; 45:1; 63:12, Acts 2:25), so the right hand is symbolic for who your Lord is, who you obey. The "right hand" denotes the power of the Lord (Exodus15:6,12, Psalm 16:11; 17:7; 18:35; 98:1; 118:15-16; 139:10, Isaiah 41:10; 48:13; 62:8, Acts 5:31), and the power of Jesus Christ (Mat.26:64, Mark 14:62). Jesus is at the "right hand" of the Father (Psalm 110:1,5, Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36; 16:19, Luke 20:42; 22:69, Acts 2:33-34; 7:55-56, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3,13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2, 1 Peter 3:22). The "right hand" also denotes work (Psalm 78:54; 80:15), and the power of man (Psalm 45:9; 89:13). The "right hand" could be an adversary of the Lord (Psalm 21:8; 89:42, Lamentations 2:4, and Zechariah 3:1). A wise man's heart is at his right hand (Ecclesiastes 10:2), and whatever you embrace with the "right hand" is where your heart is (Solomon 2:6; 8:3). Similarly to how Jesus places the things he values on his right hand, and the things he despises on his left (Matthew 25:33-34), the right hand is symbolic for the things we value more than other things. 

Who Does 666 Refer To?

                Now we will take an in depth look at verse 18. Some claim that 666 refers to the Pope because the Latin title to the Pope of Rome is "Vicarius Filii Dei" (which, in English, means "Vicar of the Son of God"). When you add up the Roman numeral value of this Latin Title, it totals 666. Scripture is clear that 666 is the number of a man's name (Revelation 13:18; 15:2). Vicarius Filii Dei is a title to the pope's office, it is not his name. Therefore, this does not fulfill prophesy because this is not a name of a man, like scripture says. It is a title. Some claim that computers are the beast because they have "666" encoded in their programs. The Bible explains how to recognize this beast, by his number. Revelation 13:18 says that 666 "is the number of a man," and Revelation 15:2, going into more detail, says it's "the number of his name." So how can a computer become the number of the beast? Or how can any inanimate object be the number of the beast? How can any inanimate object be a sin? Some claim, "well, the first three digits of all computers are 666". So? What does it matter if it's the 1st 3 digits, the last 3 digits, the middle 3 digits, or if three 6's are scattered throughout the entire number? The Bible is clear that 666 is the complete number. The number is not 666395386669487302666, or 75682946009482654. The number is 666, period! Others say that no one knows the identity of the Antichrist, but it is clear that with knowledge and wisdom we can know. Verse 18 clearly says:

“This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him

calculate the number of the beast….”

            So, who is this beast? I know that there is a chance of error in my understanding but I will tell you who I believe he is: Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. He is commonly known as Nero Caesar, who’s name in Greek is Neron Kesar. No Jew ever thought of Nero except as ‘Neron Kesar.’ The form Neron Kesar is the linguistically "correct" Hebrew form, is the form found in the Talmud and other rabbinical writings, and was used by Hebrews in the first century. Using gematria, where numbers represent letters, we can see that his numbers add up to 666. The letters we would use in gematria are NRWN QSR

-          N=50

-          R=200

-          W=6

-          N=50

-          Q=100

-          S=60

-          R=200

                The fact that Nero fits the description of the "beast" is well documented. He was a torturer, a homosexual rapist, and a sodomite. He even married two young boys and paraded them around as his wives. One of the boys, whose name was Sporus, was castrated by Nero. He was truly bestial in his character, depravity, and actions. He devised a type of game: covered with the skin of a wild animal, he was let loose from a cage and attacked the private parts of men and women, who were bound at stakes. He also initiated the war against the Jews which led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. Revelation 13:14 says that the image was made to the beast, who had the stroke of the sword. How did Nero die? He drove a dagger into his throat, aided by Epaphroditus, his secretary.  

                Nero’s persecution, which was initiated in A.D.64, was the first ever Roman assault on Christianity. Their death was aggravated with mockeries so much that, wrapped in the hides of wild beasts, they were torn to pieces by dogs, or fastened to crosses to be set on fire, that when the darkness fell they might be burned to illuminate the night. Christians were crucified, beheaded, burnt alive, and used as torches to light the palace gardens. Historically, Nero is the one that persecuted Christians beyond all comparison. St. John’s banishment to Patmos (where he wrote the book of Revelation) was itself a result of the great persecution of Nero. The apostle Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. The apostle Peter, who was crucified upside down, was another victim of Nero. Nero was the first of the emperors who showed himself an enemy of the divine religion. Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79) described Nero as "the destroyer of the human race" and "the poison of the world." 

            The Christians of the first century were under the military authority of Rome, a nation which openly proclaimed its rulers, the Caesars, to be divine. All those under the jurisdiction of Rome were required by law to publicly proclaim their allegiance to Caesar by burning a pinch of incense and declaring, "Caesar is Lord". Upon compliance with this law, the people were given a papyrus document called a "libellus", which they were required to present when either stopped by the Roman police or attempting to engage in commerce in the Roman marketplace, increasing the difficulty of "buying or selling" without this mark. This is exactly the kind of thing that Revelation 13:16-17 talks about, and Nero will bring it back to order once he returns as the Antichrist.

Understanding the Book of Revelation: The Antichrist and the False Prophet

The Beast Out of the Sea

                  In this segment I will be discussing Chapter 13, the Beast out of the Sea and the Beast out of the Earth. The beast out of the sea is the Antichrist. The sea is the Mediterranean Sea. When saying he will come out of the sea, it is telling us he will come from two sources: his spirit from the abyss and his body from one of the Gentile nations around the Mediterranean. The sea signifies Gentile nations (Revelation 17:15, Isaiah 57:20). The ten horns and seven heads are those of the dragon (Revelation 12:3); the beast is therefore one with the dragon. The ten horns are the ten coming kings (Daniel 7:24) and the seven heads are the seven Caesars (Revelation 17:10). The ten heads correspond to the ten toes in Daniel 2:42-4. The Roman Empire, Antichrist, and ten kings (represented by the ten crowns) are one with Satan. The seven Caesars, symbolized by the seven heads, claimed deity and ordered their people to worship them, which is a blasphemy against God.

 

                A leopard, characterized by swift and crucial movements, was the symbol of Alexander the Great, king of Greece. The bear, characterized by its destroying feet, was the symbol of the monarchy of Medo-Persia. The lion, characterized by its devouring mouth, was a symbol of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. The Antichrist will have their characteristics. He’s the totality of all evil powers in human history. Giving his power, throne, and authority to the beast, he makes the beast one with him so he can resist God and persecute God’s people on earth. Verse 3 refers to one of the Caesars who will be resuscitated, causing the earth to marvel. He is one of the Caesars who was assassinated or murdered because it says his face was slain. During the last three and a half years he will terminate all Jewish worship and service to God (Daniel 9:27), persecute the saints, and destroy Jerusalem. The saints that he will make war with are the believers that remain on earth.

The Beast Out of the Earth

                13:11 brings our attention to the beast out of the earth. This other beast is the false prophet mentioned in Revelation 16:13, 19:20, and 20:10. Since the earth signifies Israel, the false prophet will most likely come from the Jews. By saying that he looks like a lamb but talks like a dragon this verse is indicating his falsity. He is the ultimate of all the false prophets that we were forewarned about. He helps persuade people to worship the beast from the sea.  He will be able to do what Elijah did in 1 Kings 18:36-38 by bringing fire out of the sky. People won’t be able to distinguish the truth from the lies. In his being able to give breath to the statue of the beast of the sea he is doing something that has never been done before in human history. Psalm 115:5 tells us that no idol made by human hands has ever been able to speak.