We are the conquerors who follow Jesus Christ and have the seal of God in our foreheads.
Revelation 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
We have gained victory(conquered) over the beast and his mark.
The mark of the beast is on Adamic man or earth man, them that are earth dwellers and not heaven dwellers these have the mark(mindset) of the beast.
We have overcome the beast and his mark by the blood of Jesus Christ and the word affirmed in our testimony.
Revelation 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
The temple is a symbol of our spiritual perfect place where we commune with God, the holy of holies in our being.
The seven last judgments are to be a spiritual practice of keeping our being free of the Adamic man we no longer adhere to.
Each judgment is a spiritual reality that must be dealt with to continue in and as the Trmple of God.
The conquerors, those governed only by the Holy Spirit renew their minds to the perfection of spiritual reality in Jesus as the perfect man in Ephesians 4:12-13
Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Isn't the context of Rev 15 the tribulation period? We are not in the tribulation yet (antichrist has not been revealed), so we can't be the marked ones in Rev 15. However, all of those who belong to Christ have the seal of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV84 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession---to the praise of his glory.
Dont be confused. Any interpretive method other than "spiritual or or idealist interpretive method" (which is what SovereignSon is using) will elicit a more sensible understanding of the Biblical text.
Spiritual or or idealist interpretive method = Make the text mean whatever you want
That would be dishonest. One of the principles of following the Holy Spirit is honesty.
It also helps to believe that the Holy Spirit is actively teaching you truth.
I appreciate your input in my threads. I mean that, we learn together.
This I can agree with. But the Spirit doesn't teach you grammar, or the rules of interpretation, or how to understand the historical context of a passage or epistle, etc....These things you have to learn on your own. He doesn't just open up your cranium and dump the correct interpretation of a certain passage or chapter into your Mind. He might bring up certain other passages that may relate to what you may be studying at any given moment, but even that is in conjunction with your own effort of reading and studying the Scriptures and memorizing them, storing them up in your heart.
This is all part of the command to "rightly divide the Word of Truth" (which, oddly enough, assumes there is a wrong way).
It is the Glory of God to conceal a matter, but it is the glory of kings to search a matter out.
Consider 2 Peter 3:15-16:
It's interesting to note how the early Apostles interpreted Old Testament passages when trying to understand the events they lived through. You'll notice that they didn't use the Spiritual or or idealist interpretive method, they used the authorial intent or historical-grammatical approach to interpretation. This method aims to uncover the original meaning and message intended by the authors of the biblical texts. This is actually the method that even you use when discoursing with me here (or others) on this platform and in life. I have specific meanings and intent with the words I am using. It is my job to communicate those meanings and intent in a clear manner. It is your job to parse out those meanings and intents correctly. This is how communication works. If we were to utilize your method of biblical interpretation with each other, then we would get no where, since we would simply be allegorizing (spiritualizing) everything into some other meaning. If you don't use this method when trying to figure out what people mean or say on a regular basis, then why do you approach the Bible with this method?
The Bible consists of various literary genres and types that serve different purposes and convey different forms of expression. For example:
Historical Narrative: This genre includes accounts of historical events, such as the books of Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, and Acts, which recount the history of God's people and the early church.
Poetry: The Bible contains poetic passages found in books like Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and parts of the prophetic books. Poetry often utilizes figurative language, parallelism, and imagery to convey emotions, wisdom, and worship.
Wisdom Literature: Books like Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job fall into this category. They provide wisdom teachings, philosophical reflections on life, and discussions about human suffering and the nature of God.
Prophecy: This genre includes prophetic books such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, which contain messages of divine revelation, warnings, and predictions concerning future events.
Law/Commandments: The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy contain legal codes and commandments given by God to the people of Israel, including instructions for worship, moral conduct, and civil matters.
Epistles/Letters: These are letters written by apostles like Paul, Peter, James, and John to various early Christian communities or individuals, offering teachings, guidance, and encouragement.
7.Apocalyptic Literature: The books of Daniel and Revelation are examples of apocalyptic literature, which use highly symbolic and visionary language to reveal heavenly mysteries, eschatological events, and the ultimate triumph of God. It is important to note, almost all of the symbols and images used in Revelation are decoded by the OT (since the OT was what John was most familiar with in Patmos). In other words, almost all of the symbols used in Revelation have specific meanings attached to specific OT references, and are not left up to our own imaginative interpretation.
These are just a few of the literary types found in the Bible, and often a single book may contain a combination of different genres. Understanding the specific genre and literary conventions within each biblical text helps in interpreting and appreciating the intended message and style of the respective authors.
To simply spiritualize or allegorize everything one wants (or what you think the Holy Spirit tells you to) does a disservice to both the biblical texts and the authors of those texts.
Very nice, thank you for taking the time to give a great answer.
I don't pretend to be a Bible scholar, but I know some. I've been a disciple of Jesus Christ since the 1980s, I've read my Bible and know my scriptures. I've been influenced by many Bible teachers. That being said I'm not all that smart, I've grabbed onto what works in that time and am quite settled in where the Lord has me.
In 35 of those years as a Christian working the scriptures, I ignored the book of Revelation because it did not make sense to me. The book did not agree with the Spirit of Christ that I endeavored to walk in.
I found a spiritual interpretation that was in depth and agreed with the Spirit of Christ in me. It took me about two years to read through the whole study.
I don't agree with everything in that study because I don't follow men or their ministries, I follow Jesus Christ.
So I approve the spiritual method from my study of scripture. I vow to be honest in giving that interpretation and I value opposition. If you see my saying unscripural things I will consider your correction. If you disagree because you have chosen a different doctrine I will attemp to show the two doctrines, how they differ, and people can make up their own minds.
Thank you for taking the time.
I believe Revelation stands alone in scripture type. It agrees with the Body of scripture and the best interpretive method for the book is spiritual.
I'm not using a historic or futurist interpretive method. I'm using a spiritual or or idealist interpretive method.
I read the Revelation of Jesus Christ outside of time, the things of the book are always coming to pass in the body of Christ, in the churches, in the individual saint.
---------all below is quote----------
There have been three, or rather four, main lines of interpretation applied in the course of time to the prophetic word given to John on that never-to-be-forgotten morning which broke over the troubled soul of the aged apostle long ago on the isle of Patmos.
The Preterist. This theory which naturally had a peculiar appeal to the people of God in the early centuries of the Church’s history, holds that the events of the Book are descriptive of the sufferings of the Church in the days of the Roman Caesars and most of the great prophecy was consummated in the downfall of the Roman Empire and the subsequent, establishment of the Christian Church, as the one enduring feature on the page of history.
The Historical. Akin to the Preterist, but in the light of after events extended to embrace the whole of the Church’s history, so that the numbers in Revelation may be actually related to a long succession of historic events which have affected the Church in century after century, leading up to the end of the world.
The Futurist. This is the most popular theory found amongst evangelical people today, and has been dignified with such authority that in some regions a man who does not hold with it is regarded if not as a heretic, at least as a disturber of the peace. The Futurist theory is in its nature historic (like the foregoing) with the important difference that Futurism holds that the Book deals almost entirely with history which has not yet begun, which may be reckoned as being about due to begin in our time, and when it does begin it will have no relevance to the Church at all; by that time the Church will have ceased to exist on the earth, having been removed to the eternal world, this lower earth having been given over to terrible and horrifying judgments chiefly affecting the Jewish people who once again move into the centre of the prophetic picture after a lapse of 2,000 years. It is of interest to note that variations of the Futurist theory have largely been responsible for the founding of the prophetic ‘cults’ which have sprung up in the Western World, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventism, Christadelphianism and numerous smaller bodies. In a lesser degree, Mormonism takes its rise from a very much modified form of Futurism.
The Spiritual Interpretation. This theory holds to the view that the Book is for the people of God in all ages, that the ‘history’ in the Book is subordinate to the overruling consideration that the Book can never be confined in any of its parts to the exclusive use of any age or people, but its message is to all who read, who hear the words of the prophecy, and who keep the sayings written in the Book for the time is always at hand. (Rev.1.3)
It may be said for the Preterists (of whom there is only a slender survival in modern times) that at least they had the advantage of believing that all the Book was for them in the earliest ages of the Church. Though they read into contemporary history more from the Book of Revelation than could be found there, at least they perceived where their consolation lay, and they are to be excused for supposing that their age was to usher in the golden age of Millennial triumph seeing that almost everyone else today is saying the same about THIS age in which we now live.
http://www.allbygrace.com/alexrev047-01.html
pour.
Thank you.
I thought that was wrong, but couldn't think of the right spelling.
I'm the worst speller so I greatly appreciate you helping me out
:)
I greatly appreciate your helping me out.
I blame my grammar; she never encouraged me in school.
:)
LOL, thank you too. Writing isn't my preferred communication type. :)
As we study and pray about life with Jesus Christ, we learn to spot the beast system in our own flesh, we are to put that to death, slay it with the word of truth that Jesus Christ gives through the Holy Spirit.
The gracious sore is us not liking anything in us that is old Adamic man influenced by fallen Babylon doctrine. We have the power in Jesus Christ to affirm truth and eradicate error in our doctrine.
These things of the mark of the beast do not go into the holy city which we are. The first final judgment is complete daily in keeping the temple clean to walk the streets of God now in the Holy Spirit.
That end times theology has you pretty messed up in the head.
Some doctrine needs to be eliminated from your thinking in order to be right minded.
The antichrist is not a thing in Revelation. Babylon doctrine is a thing. The churches you've been listening to teach this end time theology that can mess your mind up.
I wonder what it takes to heal from end times indoctrination. They used to deprogram people in cults. Basically right doctrine or truth destroys the lie of false doctrine.
It's a lot to take in.