A Final, Closer Look at Revelation 10:11
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Remember that the fulfillment of Revelation 10:11 involves reaching peoples, nations, tongues and kings. Each of the Greek words from which those in italics are translated carry a message, one that is absolutely fascinating when these words are taken collectively—and one that backs up Mr. Armstrong’s understanding that the ;little book” of Revelation 10 ALL is the book of Ezekiel.
Let’s examine each word, noting some Chapter Eleven review.
The word for ;prophesy” is propheteuo, pronounced prof-ate-yoo’-o, and it can mean ;to foretell events, divine, speak under inspiration, exercise the prophetic office, prophesy.” Certainly, this part of the assignment is not difficult to grasp.
The word ;again” has a straightforward, literal meaning. It is palin, pronounced pal’-in, and it means ;anew, back, once more, furthermore, again.” There is no question that this understanding means the whole process must be started ;anew” and that the ENTIRE COMMISSION must occur ;again”—that a final servant and Work must go ;back, once more.”
The next several words appear to present a description similar to that of the Great Multitude. But it will become evident that there are important differences. In fact, the first and greatest difference lies in the fact that the responsibility to prophesy again to ;peoples,” ;nations” and ;tongues” is not qualified by use of the word all in front of these words, as we saw to be the case with the Great Multitude. In other words, it is clear that God had a narrower or more confined number of nations in mind when He inspired Revelation 10:11. This will soon be even more evident when we examine the words.
The word ;people” in the Greek is, once again, laos. First, realize the meaning here must be different from nations and tongues. In fact, as we saw in Chapter Eleven, it means ;a people, but involves one’s own populace.” This describes one element of people to whom the final watchman of Ezekiel was to be sent—to his own people, or what would be the tribe of Judah in the case of Ezekiel. But Ezekiel was never to be the actual watchman, and all of the tribes were to be warned by the men who would be. This sets up the next paragraph.
It becomes obvious then that the word ;nations” must involve a different people. The Greek word here is alsoethnos and, again, it means ;a race, that is, a tribe; specifically a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually by implicationpagan).” The context means that the primary reference here is to the other—the non-Jewish—tribes (nations) of Israel. Recall what Mr. Armstrong stated about reaching the other tribes—the House of Israel. It is interesting how we saw earlier that the word also means ;Gentile, heathen or nation.” In fact, Israel has truly become like the Gentile, heathen nations around her. (It certainly is possible, and maybe probable, however, that this reference somewhat speaks to the additional responsibility for God’s final servant and Work—the Philadelphia leader/Church before whom would still be an OPEN DOOR—to take the gospel to all nations—all ;ethnos”—of the world, in the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14.)
The ;tongues” of this passage also comes from the Greek word glossa. Again, it means ;the tongue; by implication a language.” Of course, reaching all of the nations of Israel, as well as the entire world, would certainly involve being able to reach them in a language they can understand. No mystery here.
Finally, the word for ;kings” is basileus, pronounced bas-il-yooce’, and the words base, basic and basis derive from it. It means ;the notion of a foundation of power, a sovereign, a king.” In principle, kings means heads of state of any title or designation—kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and chancellors, among others.
When taken together, these six words describe the things that Mr. Armstrong did—the categories of people he reached—with the Worldwide Church of God in support. He warned the nations of Israel and Judah, took the gospel to both Israelite and Gentile nations of the world, did so in a variety of man’s great languages, and he met with over one-third of the world’s heads of state of his time, again, Israelite and Gentile.
It is this pattern that becomes the one to be fulfilled again. It is no surprise then that the remainder of Philadelphia is demonstrating unprecedented momentum, unseen in the splinters, individually or collectively. Doors are being opened again in sudden and unexpected ways. In fact, rapidly unfolding events confirm in undeniable ways that doors to national leaders are also indeed opening a second time, as any number of heads of state (this was mentioned earlier) are now known to be reading The Real Truth magazine. We see their names on our mailing list. We can ask: How soon before there could be personal contact with certain leaders, this time more likely the final leaders of the nations constituting Israel?
The final chapters will discuss in greater detail fast-increasing momentum. Of course, some of this has already been mentioned. You will want to read slowly, giving thought to what YOU will do in light of what The Restored Church of God is doing.
No Surprise
Satan is the master counterfeiter. He counterfeits every major and minor doctrine of the Bible. It should come as no surprise then that the devil would know he must create a counterfeit—a substitute thinking and approach—for what Mr. Armstrong taught about the little book being the book of Ezekiel.
Some years ago, Gerald Flurry wrote a small book called Malachi’s Message. He stated in it that the little book was centered around Malachi, not Ezekiel, and that his book was in fact the ;little book.” Incredibly, while claiming to most perfectly uphold Mr. Armstrong’s teachings, this man, in fact, threw out the correct biblical understanding of which book of the Bible is the little book, and replaced it with a silly, shallow counterfeit understanding from the wrong book of the Bible. More incredibly, thousands followed him, and still do. They seem completely oblivious to the fact that their leader has rejected what Mr. Armstrong taught about the special Ezekiel Warning and prophesying again.
The false leader of PCG has capitalized on Revelation 10 ALL , offering the ridiculous assertion that the Revelation 10 7mention of the word ;mystery” references Mr. Armstrong’s book MYSTERY OF THE AGES and involves bringing the ;same prophecy again,” meaning taking this particular book to the ;widest possible audience” again, within the framework of being God’s selection to ;raise the ruins” of all that the apostates destroyed.
This man has probably done more than any other to blur and confuse the understanding you have received from this chapter. But perhaps more astonishingly, a much greater number of God’s people seem to have no recollection whatsoever of when or what Mr. Armstrong taught about the little book, or even that he taughtanything about the meaning of either Revelation 10 ALL, generally, or Revelation 10 11 within it, specifically. This is but one more example of mass amnesia afflicting thousands!
These same thousands should be almost preoccupied with the fulfillment of a single Bible chapter (and verse) to which almost none seem to give a thought!
What; Comes With the Territory”
There is a good reason most people are not willing to participate in or even be associated with warnings. Warnings—delivering BAD NEWS!—bring persecution, including condemnation and much worse, by all those who, we have seen, view exhortations, admonitions, rebukes, and warnings as ;unloving.” In fact, in this age of never-ending ;tolerance” for everything, no matter how wrong or evil something may be, this describes the vast majority of people today. God’s faithful spiritual remnant has been terribly persecuted by former brethren and leaders, and increasingly by the world, and this is almost entirely because we are willing to do the ;heavy lifting” that they will not. We ARE willing to deliver tough but necessary messages when others are not! Like Paul, we know that persecution comes with the territory (II Tim. 3:12).
And we now know that it will grow worse before ESCAPE!
Some assert that any message preached to the world should ;always be positive.” This is naïve to world conditions and ignores reality. More specifically, most leaders describe our Work as ;negative.” This is because they are too cowardly to accept being unpopular—and too faithless to believe and obey God.
Of course, the gospel—meaning ;GOOD NEWS”—is a wonderfully positive message. It is truly the good news of tomorrow beyond the bad news of today—and we thunder it in every nation!
But recognize that there is NOTHING positive about a warning—particularly the one involved here. No amount of spin can make it so. But, as with Paul, difficult ;necessity is laid upon me” (I Cor. 9:16)—and all others in The Restored Church of God.
I, and they, will stand the test!
Future protection from what lies ahead cannot be separated from whether you will help shoulder the burden of responsibility with us—whether you will help do some of the heavy lifting yourself—and while there is still time! Those who are willing to ;bear the heat of the day” doing their part in this formidable task, rather than staying in the ;cool shade” of the splinters away from persecution, will experience the later ;shade” of protection. Tragically, most will be forced to endure the hottest ;fire” of all history (Rev. 3:18).
But this will have been by choice!
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