The Remnant of Her Seed—Again

Another incredible scenario emerges as Philadelphians depart for the Place of Safety, and those of Laodicea are left behind. God’s people would do well to meditate on what comes next.
Recall that in Revelation 12:16-17 those of Laodicea are described as the ;remnant of her [the woman’s] seed [children]. Turn there and notice how, just after Philadelphia escapes, the dragon’s pursuing ;flood (army) is swallowed in an earthquake—yet another type of ancient Israel leaving Egypt: ;And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood [army] which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed [Laodicea], which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The angry, rebuffed ;dragon (Satan) is immediately described as turning his attention—and his ;guns—toward the horrified ;remnant brethren (most of whom will still be scattered around the world) still in shock over the unexpected turn of events they just experienced. Those so recently driven out—ejected—you have seen will be ;trodden underfoot by other divisions within Satan’s Gentile armies readily available around Jerusalem. This may not happen immediately. Desperate people will try to hide—will try to save themselves through any means.

But soon—imprisonment, torture and death arrive!

Of course, others in Laodicea will not have come to Judea. They will have been deceived by events—perhaps thinking ;the time is not right and that their fellow brethren have ;panicked, and could have continued ;eating and drinking, and ;buying, selling, planting and building (Matt. 24:38; Luke 17:27-28) for awhile longer. Others will simply have come to a painful awareness that they ;blew it. Yet these will probably also try to hide from the Beast who will force his ;mark without exception.

However, all of these will be hunted down and ;brought to justice! The only ;good news in this horror is that half of God’s remnant people will admit their condition, deeply repent and be grafted into the Body and Temple so that they will receive salvation! This regrafting will occur during the same period that the other half who are too weak to resist and repent will succumb to the mark of the Beast.

Now ask: Could it possibly be more obvious that when Christ said to lukewarm Laodicea, ;I will spew you out of My mouth—and the Church has long known He specifically meant into the Great Tribulation!—being cast into the streets of Jerusalem is the very moment He had in mind?

How could so many have forgotten something so important?

Leave out the court is a phrase of truly immense importance to thousands with God’s Spirit today. The picture it elicits is not pleasant to contemplate, but what you have seen described will happen! How many will be willing to act on what they have learned? While most will not, or will not be worried much about it if they do, some will read and act.

You could be one of the few of the seventh era who will refuse to let events overtake them!

Revelation Means Reveal

Turn to the very beginning of the book of Revelation. It opens with Christ’s stated purpose for which John recorded the book: ;The revelation of Jesus Christ…to show [make known, reveal] unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass…blessed is he that reads, and they that HEAR the words of this prophecy, and KEEP [ Grk: obey] those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand (Revelation 1:1-3). The book closes with this repeat for emphasis: ;Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that KEEPS [obeys] the sayings of the prophecy of this book (Revelation 22:7), and ;Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand (Revelation 22:10).

The Greek word translated ;revelation is apocalypse. This word means to reveal—not conceal, hide, veil or close up. The dictionary definition of revelation is: ;The act of revealing or disclosing; something revealed, especially a dramatic disclosure of something not previously known or realized.

Let’s be clear. God intends that His servants understand the book of Revelation. The chapter 11 Measuring the Temple of God would certainly be no exception—and in fact it is not. Its meaning has been revealed. After all, Christ’s instruction would be impossible to carry out if God did not disclose what specific terms and symbols mean. (And His leader would have to know first so that he could explain them.)

God knew that the burden was on Him to be sure His servants had no excuse—that they could not claim ;ignorance of the law. If one chooses not to ;read or ;hear what can be known, that is one thing. But how can one obey what was never shown (revealed) to him?—and how can one ;keep what he never had?

Will you hear what has been shown? Will you keep it?

No Exceptions!

One of the greatest quirks of human nature is that human beings—nearly all of them—believe they are ;exceptions to the rule. Most people live their entire lives under this illusion.

Here are a few examples: Employees tend to assume that they can leave bad work habits unaddressed and this will not catch up to them over time. Others believe they can drive while intoxicated and get away with it. Of course, most believe they can eat junkfood every day but not get sick. Millions of married couples believe they can violate the principles governing a happy union, but that their marriage will still survive. Worse, the majority of human beings believe they can, at least in little ways, lie, cheat and steal without consequences. Much worse, criminals believe they can commit crimes and misdemeanors and never be brought to justice.

Recall from ;ANOINT YOUR EYES how I explained that most people assume ;accidents only happen to others. While people generally recognize that there is cause and effect in life, the human nature within them lulls them into believing that it only applies to the ;unfortunate others—that they can ;get away with what would catch up to anyone else. In fact, almost no one lives his life truly believing ;you reap what you sow.

The same is true of God’s judgment. Most people would readily acknowledge what has been referenced several times, that ;judgment is [now] on the House of God, but very few seem to live as though this verse applies to themselves. People can read in the scriptures the many places that warn ;there is no respect of persons with God, (Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9, etc.), meaning that no one receives favoritism in judgment. They can also be generally aware of verses like these two—;But he that does wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done; and there is no respect of persons (Col. 3:25), and ;if you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear (I Pet. 1:17)—but they are not deeply sobered by any need for close personal application of them. They do not move through each day of their lives with this understanding constantly before them.

They do not ;sojourn here with fear as they should!

If you think you do, and you are in a splinter—any splinter—I urge you to think again. While you could be one of the rare exceptions to this, you probably are not, and should concern yourself with what you will do from this moment forward.

Each of us should hold no illusions about our conduct in the eyes of God. All parts of it will eventually come to light for exactly what it has been. Ultimately, it will be measured of God. Jesus declared, ;For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known (Matt. 10:26). Paul added this: ;Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God (I Cor. 4:5).

Now this sobering warning from the very apostle Paul himself, who recognized even he had to ;keep under [Grk: beat] my body…lest…I myself should be a castaway (I Cor. 9:27).

Then there is what Ezekiel wrote in the context of the Tribulation and the events surrounding it: ;Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 14:14). Just six verses later (Ezekiel 14:20), this is repeated by God for emphasis, using nearly the same language, but noting that even family members—;neither son nor daughter—would receive special treatment.

Ezekiel’s words should carry much greater meaning to you because they must be considered part of his overall warning message!

The blunt message of Scripture is that no matter how great a servant of God may be, no matter how high his office, no matter his prior record of service, in the end, ;every tub has to sit on its own bottom—;for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap (Gal. 6:7).

Ponder very, very carefully the verses of the last few paragraphs—and really those of the whole chapter. Practice telling yourself that they apply not just to others—but to YOU! Force yourself to make them personal. Practice remembering them until they are habit, and this will literally transform your thinking—and both your view of and your place within the prophecy explained in this chapter!

During the time of measuring: Your personal wealth does not count. Who you know does not count. Your level of education does not count. Your last name—who you are related to—does not count. Number of years ;in the Church does not count. Previous early reputation for character and service does not count. Being beautiful, handsome, young, old, white, black or yellow does not count. It will come down to who is in the Temple.

THAT—and THAT ALONE—will count!

Just as there is today no mystery to who is and who is not in the Temple of God, in the near future there will also be no mystery. On Christ’s authority, I tell you that there will be no exceptions to God’s application when the complete measuring is finished!

Why Did Mr. Armstrong Not Know?

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