What is it about the Book of the Apocalypse that makes it so special? Of all 72 books of Scripture, none but this one is accompanied with a Divine threat - and one of eternal damnation, no less - for tampering with its words:
"For I testify to every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book." (Apoc. 22:18-19)
So why is this? What is it that sets this particular book apart from all the others? Why is it so special? The answer is that the book of the Apocalypse is the guidebook for Israel's return to God at the end of the world. In other words, the Apocalypse is the one book of Scripture God has designed specifically to guide Israel back to Him. This is why no one is allowed under ANY circuмstances whatsoever to alter its words - under pain of either the plagues written therein, or eternal damnation. It is Israel's guidebook home. In fact, the entire Apocalyptic Era is about Israel's return to God.
No doubt some will argue that I'm dead wrong. They'll tell you that the Apocalyptic Era is nothing more than an era in which evil will reign supreme on earth - and that the Antichrist will be simply the human outcome of such universal hatred among mankind. Or they'll tell you it's all about the Second Coming of Christ. Or the end of the world.
But are these logical assumptions? If the Apocalyptic Era were all about the coming of the Messiah, why was there nothing even remotely similar at His first appearance? Not even a storm? Much less the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars; or the general upheaval of all the forces of nature. And why only fleeting references to His Second Coming in the entire Apocalypse itself?
Is it about the end of the world? Not exactly. According to Scripture, at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation, all evil will be destroyed from the earth; Satan will be chained in Hell for 1000 years; mankind will finally live in peace; and the Holy Land of Israel will be renewed as the Garden of Eden (Is. 51:3, Ez. 36:35) to continue in this wonderful state under the glorious reign of the Messiah. Hardly the end of the world – rather a wonderful return to the paradise God intended for man before “The Fall”. So what is the reason behind the Apocalypse's catastrophic upheaval of nature and the unleashing of all the fury of Hell?
The reason is because this era involves the call and return of God’s beloved Israel. That's what the Apocalypse is all about: The repentance, conversion, and return of Israel – that is, the physical descendants of the Hebrew Nation. The return of the physical descendants of Israel is a common theme among the writings of the ancient prophets. It's also specifically mentioned in St. Paul's Letter to the Romans:
"For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, (lest you should be wise in your own conceits), that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in." (Rom. 11:25)
Of course, part and parcel of God's efforts to convert Israel involves the Devils’ desperate attempt to thwart it. Nevertheless, the primary objective behind the cataclysmic nature of the Apocalypse is the calling of Israel to repentance and conversion. That’s what this end-times phenomenon is all about. Granted, this might sound like nonsense to anyone unfamiliar with the writings of the ancient prophets; but I can assure you, this is the reason behind the universal chaos and destructive nature of the Apocalyptic Era.
After 3500 years of rebelliously prostituting itself to Baal and every so-called “god” under the sun; of cursing, rejecting, and spitting in the face of its Creator; of literally killing its Messiah, and blasphemously mocking Him for 2000 years, Israel is finally going to get on its knees, and with unending tears of repentance and sorrow, acknowledge its Lord and God. This is what the Apocalyptic Era is all about. God is going to bring the rebellious Nation of Israel to its knees. The actual physical Nation of Israel (of which the Jєωs are but a small fraction) will return to God. It’s clearly prophesied to occur. The only question is: When and how will it happen? After 3500 years of hardened rebellion, what will it take to bring them to their knees? Assuredly, it will take an action of Biblical proportions – one of such magnitude that its scope and depth is incomprehensible. In the end, it will require nearly the whole scale destruction of the earth itself, and the death of nearly every human being on it. That’s what it will take in order to wake Israel from its rebellious stupor. This is what the coming world-wide upheaval of nature, and the unleashing of all the fury of Hell is about.
In regard to the destruction, chaos, and bƖσσdshɛd of the Apocalyptic Era, consider this: God does not punish mankind simply for the sake of punishing – at least not while we are still alive here on earth. That’s what Hell is for. Instead, His infinite goodness and mercy requires that punishments are carried out for a purpose; and that purpose is always geared toward correction, repentance, conversion, and salvation. He even designs His punishments so that after prayer and reflection we can discern what we are being punished for. By way of example, King David’s concubines were defiled in front of the Israelites as a Divine punishment for his defiling of Uriah’s wife in secret. In the same way, Jacob was deceived into marrying Leah instead of Rachel as a Divine punishment for his deceptively posing as Esau to his father Isaac. Finally, God allowed Judas Maccabeus’ army to abandon him in punishment for his making a league with the pagan Romans for assistance. And the examples go on and on. The point being, God doesn't punish just for the sake of punishing. His wise and merciful methods are always designed as a means of drawing us to repentance and conversion. The same is true in regard to the coming Tribulation Period. This is why we find statements such as these in the Apocalypse:
“And the rest of the men, who were not slain by these plagues, did not do penance from the works of their hands, that they should not adore devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk… Neither did they penance from their murders, nor from their sorceries, nor from their fornication, nor from their thefts.” (Apoc. 9:20-21)
“And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who hath power over these plagues, neither did they penance to give him glory… And they blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and wounds, and did not penance for their works.” (Apoc. 16:9,11)
No, the Apocalypse is not about punishing for the sake of punishment. It’s about God’s efforts toward repentance and conversion. He is driving mankind to the very brink of desperation in order to try them – to see who will turn to Him. Listen to what He says to the Church of Philadelphia:
“…the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the whole world TO TEMPT THE INHABITANTS ON THE EARTH.” (Apoc. 3:10)
To tempt the inhabitants of earth. That’s the purpose of the Apocalyptic Era. Again, it’s all about God’s efforts toward repentance, conversion and salvation – though this attempt at conversion PRIMARILY concerns the Nation of Israel. This is crucial to realize. Israel’s conversion is the one event God has been longing for - anticipating with every fiber of His Being. Anyone familiar with the writings of the ancient prophets should know this. Certainly, it is true that God loves the Gentile Church. But this love is clearly inferior to His love for the literal, physical descendants of Israel. Read what He says through Isaiah:
“Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and will set up my standard to the people. And they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and carry thy daughters upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nurses: they shall worship thee with their face toward the earth, and they shall lick up the dust of thy feet.” (Is. 49:22-23)
Mind you, these Gentiles mentioned above are converted Gentiles – Catholics who will live here on earth during the Millennial reign of the Messiah. Read the entire passage in context. They are Catholics who love and follow God, faithfully keeping His commandments. And yet what does God say? Their kings and queens will be Israel’s servants. They will worship Israel with their face to the earth, and lick the very dust off their feet. Granted, this is metaphorical language. But even so, what exactly is God saying here? Is there a difference between God’s love for Israel, and His love for the Gentiles? Of course there is. God shows a very clear preference toward Israel. Again, listen to what He says through the prophet, Zachariah, regarding the same Catholic Gentiles mentioned above:
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts: In those days, wherein ten men of all languages of the Gentiles shall take hold, and shall hold fast the shirt of one that is a Jєω, saying: We will go with you: FOR WE HAVE HEARD THAT GOD IS WITH YOU.” (Zach. 8:23)
And so we see that God's love for Israel far surpasses His love for even the converted Gentiles. Scripture is unmistakably clear about this. The Gentile Catholics will lick the dust off the feet of the Israelites, and worship them with their face to the ground. The point being, when it comes to the reason behind the cataclysmic events of the Apocalypse – the call to repentance and conversion – the conversion OF ISRAEL is first and foremost on the mind of God. Ergo, this is what the coming era of the Tribulation is primarily concerned with. It is God’s final attempt to wake Israel from its perpetually rebellious stupor; and, of course, the Devils’ final desperate attempt to thwart that return. The Devil's efforts in this regard are clearly evident in the persons of the Antichrist and False Prophet. The Antichrist will claim to be the Messiah, and the False Prophet will be hailed as Elijah - the forerunner of the Messiah (hence his calling of fire down from Heaven, as the original Elijah did). They are nothing but the Devil's attempt to deceive Israel - to thwart their return to God. Again, it's all about Israel's prophesied conversion.
Indeed, even the Book of the Apocalypse was written specifically to Israel. It was not written to the Gentiles – although they may certainly read and gain benefit from it. Nevertheless, it was written specifically to Israel. We know this for several reasons: First of all, it was originally written in the Hebrew language. Most scholars claim it was written in Greek, but this is easily disproven. The fact that it was written in Hebrew is clearly evident by the book’s sentence structure. You see, the ancient Hebrew language is peculiar in its tendency to begin its sentences with the word "And" (that is, the Hebraic equivalent). This is how one can tell if a book of Scripture was originally written in the Hebrew language. All four Gospels, for example, are renowned for beginning their sentences with the word "And"; as are the vast majority of Old Testament books, particularly those written by Moses. This is a clear indication they were originally written in Hebrew. And the same is true of the Book of the Apocalypse.
Secondly, the book was written SPECIFICALLY to the seven churches in Asia. It wasn't written to anyone else but to those seven churches. This is made clear both at the beginning and end of the book. So, if the Apocalypse was written in Hebrew, and sent only to the seven churches, then we can reasonably assume those same churches were predominantly Jєωιѕн – that is, predominantly made up of converted Jєωs. Why else would St. John write to them in the Hebrew language?
Finally, many of the symbols, metaphors, prophecies, and events mentioned in the Book of the Apocalypse are clearly those familiar to, and appreciated by, the Hebrew people – most notably its mention of New Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah. But aside from these obvious examples, we also have the Two Witnesses themselves foreshadowed in the Old Testament in the prophecy of Zechariah (Ch. 4). Then there’s the great Apocalyptic Beast that arises out of the sea – clearly a conglomeration of the four beasts mentioned in the prophecy of Daniel. And what can be said of the 144,000 chosen men from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, singled out specifically by God? The Antichrist is also prophesied by Daniel in the Old Testament, and foreshadowed numerous times by personages involved with the history of Israel, such as Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus IV, and Pharaoh. And the list of examples goes on and on.
Likewise, the things mentioned in the letters to the seven Churches are peculiarly Jєωιѕн in nature: The hidden manna; The Paradise of God; the Tree of Life; the doctrine of Balaam; the Key of David; the prophetess Jezebel; the inscription of New Jerusalem on the forehead; the mention of "those who lie and say they are Jєωs", etc. These are all things which would have been recognizable to the Jєωs of the day - at least to the learned ones. Keep in mind, this was before pagans became acquainted with the history and customs of the Hebrews, which only came about through the reading of Scripture (something very, very few pagans had access to in those days).
Had the Apocalypse been written to pagans of the day, they would have been hopelessly confused. Who the heck is Balaam? And there's no one named Jezebel here. What's this Manna stuff? And why did they hide it in the first place? What on earth is the Tree of Life? And who cares if someone lies about being Jєωιѕн? No. The Book of the Apocalypse was written to Israel – in the Hebrew language; to the seven Jєωιѕн churches in Asia; utilizing symbolic language readily understood and appreciated by the Jєωs of the day. In the end, the Book of the Apocalypse was written specifically to Israel. It is the guidebook for their return. This is precisely why, of all the books of the Bible, the Apocalypse is the ONLY ONE that God threatens mankind not to touch. It is the primary means God will use to convert Israel - to guide them to their salvation.
And how? Through its prophecies. Its prophecies are the tool that God will use to open their eyes. Consider this: Although some of these are readily identifiable - such as the Great Harlot/Babylon - many of the book's prophecies were not written as a means of predicting future events. This is not their purpose. The repeated use of bizarre, unimaginable occurrences, unexplainable metaphors, and mysterious creatures is clear evidence of this – for who could possibly predict ahead of time what is meant by a burning mountain that turns one-third of the world’s oceans into blood (not a red substance, mind you, but blood). Or who could possibly foresee what is meant by locusts that arise out of the bottomless pit with men’s faces, women’s hair, tails, and stings similar to scorpions? Or who can guess beforehand what is meant by fire-breathing horses with the heads of lions and the tails of serpents; who kill one-third of mankind with the breath of their mouths? And this is just the beginning. Predicting exactly what many of these objects, symbols, and metaphors mean is clearly an exercise in futility.
Again, the purpose of many of these prophecies is NOT the predicting of future events. Instead, what we are seeing is something along the lines of the Papal Prophecies of St. Malachy. Regarding these, no one knew what the clues meant until after the new pope was elected – then the prophecy made perfect sense. The same is true of many of the prophecies of the Apocalypse. They will be indiscernible until they actually occur, then their meaning will be crystal clear. That’s the way God intended it to be. And the reason? The reason is because the prophecies are intended as a means of discerning the credibility of the book’s authorship. They are designed so that Israel will realize they come from God. That is to say, when Israel realizes that the prophecies are not only coming true, but are amazingly accurate, they will understand that they come from God – and not only from God, but from the Son of God Himself, Who claims to be the Author of the book. Granted, the most important of the Apocalyptic prophecies, as far as the conversion of Israel is concerned, involves the Two Witnesses (which is why this prophecy is so clearly written). Nevertheless, the accuracy of the others will speak just as clearly to the credibility of the book's Divine authorship.
The Apocalyptic prophecies, then, are the means God has chosen for revealing the identity of the Messiah to Israel. This is PRECISELY why no one is allowed under ANY circuмstances to touch the words of this particular book – under pain of either the plagues written therein, or eternal damnation. No other book of Scripture includes such a dire threat. And now we know why: It is Israel’s guidebook for the return.
And now you also know why the Dimond Brothers' mutilation of this book's prophecies is so serious - and why I attacked them so viciously in my previous thread, "Exposed and Refuted". While creating their own version of an Apocalyptic Fantasy Land, the Brothers have wholly altered the ONE source of enlightenment designed by God specifically to steer His beloved Israel to salvation. This is no small matter by any stretch of the imagination.
May God open their eyes, and everyone they've deceived...
Topic: What is the reason for the Apocalypse's curse? (Read 1234 times)