Seeing Each Other’s Rewards? (Poem)

Ahhh, rewards!

Who among us would not appreciate,

Gifts in return for merit, hardship or service?

Rewards recognize exceptional performance.

And qualities others could inculcate.

They’re unlike awards that serve another purpose.

Awards emphasize illustrious achievement.

Interestingly, The Bible makes no such distinction.

Both in this life, and in eternity,

It speaks of ‘rewards’ for both righteousness and wickedness.

To draw from within all of us, an enhanced edition.

In this life, there’s real practicality,

In showing onlookers the rewards of our life choices. ¹

Yet there is a disturbing verse, the last in Isaiah, 

About seeing the rewards of the wicked.

It says we, the righteous, will see folks in their hellish anguish!!!

Imagine that being on our eternal agenda,

After all the sinners are resurrected.

Seeing that in our (then) immortal state, we won’t be squeamish! ²

Here’s a thought that’s worth our pondering:

Might ‘seeing them’ also infer ‘knowing them’,

As in, knowing those who rejected our salvation witness??

How ‘personal’ might be our ‘seeing’,

As these folks writhe in the lake of fire mayhem,

Weeping and gnashing their teeth across the fiery lake’s vastness?? ³

In The Bible, the words, see and know, are often connected. ⁴

Thus, I ponder whether seeing and perhaps knowing these folks,

Might potentially be a mutual experience??

Might they also know us as, ‘Those whose witness I rejected!’ 

‘Ohhhh….if only my rejection of Christ, I now could revoke!!!’ ?

Is this what they might think of their life-long intransigence?

Friends,

What images and feelings does this prospect trigger?

And what thoughts about witnessing for Jesus now flood your mind?

Standing on that fiery lake’s edge, might you imagine thinking,

‘If only I would’ve, could’ve, should’ve worked harder…’??

Yes, to build The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, we are assigned.

Yet, these folks’ fates were sealed l-o-n-g before Earth came into being!

‘So why witness then?’, I can almost hear you asking.

In His foreknowledge, The Lord foreknew their fates.

Since we don’t know, He tasks us to …exercise faith.

So let’s continue to be faithful in His tasking.

Our job is like the one on Isaiah’s plate:

To share His Word Truth, as He prepares their fate. ⁵

The Lord’s foreknowledge of our choices, whether they’re good or bad,

Does not diminish or negate freedoms He gives us to choose.

The greatest choice He gives us is what to believe about Him.

To signal His acceptance of choices we’ve made, good or bad,

In this life and throughout eternity, He will ‘broadcast clues’,

Then ‘rewards that reveal’ to all our core beliefs about Him.

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¹ This is The Lord’s ‘demonstration effect’. By His design, each life is a witness to onlookers, a ‘poster board’, advertising to onlookers our inherent, core beliefs. In life and eternity, just like magnets, our beliefs attract their due rewards. (Galatians 6:7) See: Psalm 91:8, Job 34:11, Isaiah 3:11, Hosea 4:9, Matthew 6:2 and 16:27, and lastly Revelation 22:12. See also: Kept in All My Ways for an innovative exposition of Psalm 91, my favorite.

² In Isaiah’s day, folks had no notions of the modern day expressions, zombies and the ‘un-dead’. Thus, to convey this notion, in the prophecy given to Isiah, The Lord used the expression, ‘…their worm does not die’. As if to correct the misinterpretation that Isaiah 66:24 meant people in the lake of fire will be DEAD, rather than ETERNALLY ALIVE, The Lord, in Matthew and Luke, 5 times repeated the expression, ‘There (in the lake of fire) will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ HEY, physically dead people don’t weep and gnash their teeth!!!!!!!

See: Earth 5.0, The Final Version (Poem). Contrary to popular belief, ‘Once dead, always dead!’, every human who will have ever lived will be resurrected, and their life reviewed and judged by Jesus, the Righteous Judge. Sadly, for the majority, folks who will have rejected His gracious offer of salvation by faith, their judgment sentence will be banishment in the eternal lake of fire that burns with sulfur, along with every demon and devil, hell, and death. (Revelation 20:11-15) We, The Lord’s saints, however, will enjoy a blissful eternity in His presence, as GLOWING, immortal beings. 

³ See: Hell: Is THIS the Man?! (Poem).

⁴ Search Biblegateway.com for ‘see’ ‘know’ to understand just how frequently these words, or variations thereof, appear together across The Bible. What does this signal to you?

⁵ See: The Truth Rejection Effect (Poem)

Do I Know You?! (Poem, Part 1)

See the series here

‘Do I know you?!’

That’s a question that’s asked in several situations:

-When someone’s face seems familiar, but no details come to mind,

-Or someone unfamiliar starts a chat, and you’re disinclined.

In most cases, your mind might just need some stimulations,

To give you clues. 

In some cases, it’s a case of mistaken identity,

In which both persons decide to move on.

Yet these days, we’re all alert to …flamboyant encounters,

By folks who’re just pursuing some …fraudulent endeavors!

But if to each other, they might be drawn,

Doors may open for …a new acquaintance opportunity!

Do I know you?!

It’s a simple question. But imagine the diverse outcomes.

Folks who are ‘on guard’ may shut down, and quickly move on!

While others may be more welcoming, much less withdrawn.

Which are you? To ask this question, would you have any problems?

On that, please chew…

It’s important to ‘perceive you’ on both sides of this question.

By putting yourself in ‘both sets of shoes’,

You might learn your comfort zone in asking, or being asked.

Throughout life, I perceive this simple question is broadcast,

On our personal channels angels use. ¹

Imagine with me, them asking you, on behalf of Heaven.

In your life, they know Heaven’s primary objective,

Is to custom-design streams of diverse opportunities,

For you to be drawn into a personal relationship,

With your Creator, culminating in full citizenship,

In Heaven, when He has forgiven all your iniquities.

But, like most folks, to this, you may not be attentive.

Yet, faithfully, angels remain on assignments,

Doing exactly what Jesus Christ sent them to accomplish.

Review your life to see when you have heard these ‘middlemen’. ²

Whispering, ‘Do I know you? If not yet, why not, and when?’

May they increase their volume to counter all things devilish.

Often their message comes through …people complements. ³

To perceive why angels are so incredibly passionate,

Let’s explore some key aspects of that simple question:

Why should you know Him?

How can you know Him?

How well to know Him, and, of that, how to be certain?

Their desire is that you become a …‘knowing Him graduate!’

See Part 2

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¹ Your deep-seated conscience, that is connected to your heart/your spirit.

² In every way, holy angels serve Jesus Christ, The Lord God, Creator of all things, including you and me. They clearly are not men, per se, but in this regard, they perform a ‘middleman’ function.

³ People complements, like me~ Devils are assigned to counter angels’ messages. Given the state of our world, they’ve been persistently successful!!!

Revelation - The Book (Poem)

The Book of Revelation, what a prodigious mystery.

It's full of unimaginable images and symbols.

Therein are blessings for us who read, hear and keep its words.

Revelation is The Lord’s ‘battle plan’, that is what I see,

 To re-assert His authority Adam gave to devils.

Heads-up:

It accents four ages of history, after the third!

Friends, its seals, trumpets and bowls judgments’ are best understood,

Within the broadest, strategic context possible.

Let’s perceive why The Lord, Who loves us soooo deeply,

Will be soooo wrathful against us, with harsh judgments assured,

Making life all across planet Earth soooo abysmal.

‘Why Revelation?’ Let us review that briefly.

Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden, transferred to satan,

‘Planetary Godship authority’ The Lord gave to him.

The transfer was time-limited, not permanent.

Of the 7 ages The Lord pre-determined for humans,

It’s only in 5 of them, satan would wear this diadem.

Revelation concludes with the two …abeyant.

These two are The Millennial Reign age, and eternity.

The Lord personally reserved these two ages for Himself,

So He'll be known the world over as, ‘The Lord God, Creator!’

Since the Millennial Reign age is the 5^th in history,

There‘s a strategic need to put satan’s kingdom ‘on the shelf’,

To be restored for 'a little while' - he whom humans favor. ¹

Just like any great and wise conqueror,

The Lord’s conquest of Godship authority,

Will be highly strategic, and well-targeted.

It comprises a focus on ‘key Earth factors’:

(1) Folks who will defect and join His great army;

(2) Earth’s environment; and (3) folks satan out-smarted.

Revelation carefully un-cloaks this strategy.

The Lord’s Church is the initial focus.

It then segues to environmental degradation,

By warfare and its cascading results, acutely.

Next are invasion tactics, audacious!

After His reign, satan is released, all life to cheapen. 

The Book then transitions to the dispensation eternal,

Featuring new heavens, and a new Earth, with a scar --

The eternal lake of fire, burning with sulfur.

There, devils, sinners, death, and hades will be cast, terminal

While the righteous live forever, shining like the stars. ²

The contrasts can’t be more stark, though some folks demur. (Do you?)

The Lord promises unspecified blessings,

To us who read, hear and keep what’s written in this book. ³

Just knowing The Lord’s plans for us in this life and afterwards,

Helps us to avoid the trap of blind guessing,

And to recognize trends on which the world becomes hooked.

It helps us to avoid sin, and look forward to His rewards!

Key Judgment Events:

-The 4th seal represents the last days of the 3rd age of history (Church age), which is NoW;

-The 5th seal represents Heaven waiting for 4th age (tribulation) converts whom the anti-Christ will martyr;

-The 6th seal represents the 2nd coming of Jesus with His saints and angels to end the Ezekiel 38, 5-nation attack on Israel, which I refer to as the 1st War of Gog and Magog;

-The 7 trumpets judgments and the first 6 bowl judgments represent Jesus beginning His conquest of Earth; and 

-The 7th bowl represents Jesus completing His conquest of Earth, and starting His Millennial Reign.

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¹ See: Revelation 20:1-3

² All devils and humans in the lake of eternal fire will be forever ALIVE and SENTIENT. I imagine all devils might also be in human form, joining their cohorts who, before the global flood, became humans and married women, per. Genesis 6:1-2, and who were locked away pending their final judgment in the eternal lake of fire, per 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6. An angel confirmed to Daniel that we, the righteous in Christ, 'will shine like the stars forever and ever'. John confirmed when we see Jesus, 'we shall be like Him', Him Who shone before 3 disciples on the mount of transfiguration! Are you ready for that??

3 See The Lord’s promises to those who read and keep the prophecies of this book.

(As an introductory summary, this poem is referenced

in my 3 series on Revelation)

Revelation - Seven Bowls Poured (Poem, Part 2)

See the series here

 

The last phase of Heaven’s ‘planet Earth invasion’,

Will feature the worst ever judgments dispersion. ¹

By then, the anti-Christ’s will have branded all people alive,

So of the remaining comforts of life, they’ll all be deprived.

Imagine the scene when all waters are turned to blood,

Only what’s stored can folks drink, no matter where they trudge.

All sea creatures are dead (a horrible smell), scorching heat,

Foul, loathsome sores, folks gnawing their tongues,

nowhere to retreat.

These finishing judgments will trigger,

MASSIVE PROTESTS the whole world over.

How will the anti-Christ and his prophet respond??

Will all of the remaining world leaders abscond??

 

Just like in movies that depict alien invasions, ²

How The Lord will end the 1st Gog and Magog aggression,

Will attract a massive, global, ‘counter coup’ response. ³

Remaining armies from across the whole world will launch,

The awesome Armageddon attack in Israel.

This time, they won’t come for life’s basics, 'material'.

 

Knowing how the first attack in Israel ended,

It’ll ‘take some nerves’ to launch the massive one intended!!! ⁴

They’ll attack an army of glowing, humanoid aliens!!!

With no other choice, they will ‘throw every caution to the winds’.

You see, The Lord says His Words will accomplish what He intends.

This tells me His ‘future history’ for us is …‘around the bend!’ ⁵

 

By the time of their attack, Armageddon's purview,

There may likely be no Christians to blame or pursue.

The anti-Christ will have beheaded most post-rapture converts,

So people may only have The Lord to blame for all their hurts.

And in their writhing pains, and unquenchable thirst,

They will gnaw their tongues, and Him they’ll blaspheme and curse. ⁶

 

Revelation predicts 5 HUGE earthquakes, Earth to deface.

It may be the last one that will shake Earth …‘out of her place’. ⁷

From Heaven will fall GREAT HAILSTONES, each hitting its mark!

For all islands and mountains, there’ll be …no more landmarks!!!

By this, might continents be joined, and all lands become a plain???

If so, Earth will be re-designed for The Millennial Reign! 

 

To signal that, with Armageddon, He is through,

The Lord will deal with satan’s …‘magnificent two’. ⁸

Into the lake of fire, ALIVE, they both will be cast,

The anti-Christ and his prophet, good riddance at last!

Among all of satan’s fans, they may be the most deceived.

It will be The Lord’s plans, there, all others they will precede! ⁹

 

What a unique distinction that, to them, will someday transpire,

To be the first residents in the eternal lake of fire,

Somewhere on the new Earth The Lord promised to create.

Their timing means the new Earth will exist by that date!!!

Hey, somewhere in the universe, it may already exist!

Why??…

This promise is 3 millennia old in Isaiah’s list! ¹⁰

Bowls poured       Judgment
#1 on Earth            A foul and loathsome sore comes upon the men who
                               had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped
                               his image.
#2 on the sea         The bowl's contents become blood as of a dead
                               person; and every living creature in the sea dies 
#3 on rivers            Rivers and water springs become blood 
& springs 
#4 on the sun         An angel is given power to scorch people with
                               fiery heat. They blaspheme the Name of God
                               Who has power over the plagues, and they refused
                               to repent and give Him glory. 
#5 on the beast's   The kingdom of the beast becomes full of darkness; 
throne                     and beast’s [people] gnawed their tongues 
                               because of the pain, blaspheming the God of     
                               Heaven because of their pains and their sores. 
                               Yet they refused to repent. 
#6 on the                The Euphrates River dries up. satan, the anti-Christ 
Euphrates               and his prophet release evil, frog-like spirits from
                               their mouths, demonic spirits that work         
                               wonders to deceive the whole world, 
                               especially national leaders and those 
                               from the East, to gather them for the  
                             Armageddon War against The Lord and His saints.
#7 into the air         A loud voice from The Throne declares, 
                               'It is done!', followed by noises, thunderings, 
                               lightnings and an un-precendented, great  
                               earthquake. All mountains and islands 
                               disappear, and giant hailstones fall on 
                               people, yet they continue to revile and  
                               blaspheme The Lord.

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¹ See: Revelation 16

² Ponder this: The Lord’s predicted return to Earth with all His saints and angels literally depicts an alien invasion of Earth! Ever thought of that?!

³ See: Revelation - Future Attacks in Israel.

⁴ See: Zechariah 14:12

⁵ See: Isaiah 55:11

⁶ See: Audacious Christians (Series), especially Part 2. If there were any remaining Christians still on Earth at this time, as some Bible teachers teach, they would be severely, negatively impacted by these worst ever judgments, with no Goshen Effect protection. That totally goes against The Lord's nature, practice and promises across the pages of His Word! So here’s a question to ponder: To whom might Revelation 16:15 be addressed??

⁷ See: Isaiah 13:13. See also: Global Earthquake (Series). Does this infer a new orbit, or what??

⁸ The anti-Christ and his prophet, two men who will possess the fullness of satanic deceiving powers in the tribulation age

⁹ See: Revelation 19:20.  See also: Anti-Christ (Series). The anti-Christ might be the MOST DECEIVED man who will have ever lived! And the reward for is service?? It seems he and his prophet will be the FIRST residents in the eternal lake of fire that burns with brimstone (sulfur). They will be transformed into their immortal/eternal bodies that will forever feel and know anguish. The Lord will cast them into it at the end of the 7 bowl plagues, which correspond with the Armageddon War at the end of the tribulation age. They will be there over a thousand years before satan, his remaining devilish crew, and ALL unrepentant, deceived humans who will have ever lived! This thousand-year delay will be because The Lord will have a strategic, post-Millennial Reign job for satan and his crew to accomplish. Revelation 20:10 reveals the anti-Christ and his prophet will even be in the lake of fire long before death and hades are cast into it! Imagine the greeting when they encounter satan and his devils, then possibly also in an immortal human form. See: Anti-Christ: Not Who? What? (Poem, Part 2) and also: Hell: Is THIS the Man? (Poem).

NB: Hades is the place on Earth where the conscious spirits and souls of dead sinners (who were not born again in Christ, before they died) are held, pending their resurrection in time for The Great White Throne judgment. Hades is noted 11 times in The New Testament.

¹⁰ See: Isaiah 65:17-18. Here’s a Bible study strategic tip: Pay attention to verb tenses The Lord uses. Written some 30 centuries ago, in these verses, The Lord uses the present tense of the verb, ‘to create’. To you, what does that signify?!

Revelation - Seven Bowls Poured (Poem, Part 1)

See the series here

The 7 seals on the scroll will have been opened, ¹

The 1st Gog/Magog war armies decommissioned, ²

Jews in Israel then filled with exuberance,

As the world learns of their awesome deliverance! ³

It’s now time for The Lord to turn His attention,

To folks who would prevent His global ascension.

Finally, the plot thickens as attacks worsen.

Angels will pour on people, Earth and the heavens,

Seven bowlfuls of harsh, ‘finishing judgments’,

To hurt people and change Earth’s environment.

The Lord says He’ll make people on Earth ...'as rare as fine gold’. ⁴

But with staunch resistance, people and devils will be BOLD!

The only things devils are GREAT at is deceiving their fans!

Beyond that, they are powerless to ‘off ramp’ from The Lord’s plans!

They well know what He’s written about them in His Bible Book, (Do you?!)

And they also know, to fulfill every bit, they’re on the hook!!!

So they work to have our company in their ‘lake of fire’ nook! 

As we climb on their hook, they know ‘hell cannot be overbooked’. 

By the time The Lord’s bowl judgments are poured out,

Of His plans, people on Earth should have no doubts,

That they’re becoming increasingly rare on Earth,

And to a new age, He is slowly giving birth.

Yet, with the anti-Christ’s mark, they’ll be ‘fully his’.

But will they be aware …he’s really satan’s wiz?? (Are you?!)

With his mark, their eternity will be sealed,

Because to devils' deceptions, they did yield.

Many of them will survive The Lord’s gruesome blows,

Why, since they will be His worst ever ‘people foes’?! ⁵

Ahhh…

They will sow seeds, the Millennial world to transpose,

Some new people who, to righteousness, are pre-disposed!

These righteous people will be among those saints,

In the scene Revelation 20:9 paints.

In the post-Millennial Reign age, that scene will unfold,

When, on Earth, people are no longer ...'as rare as fine gold'.

But for now, let’s just focus on how, from satan, The Lord will wrest,

‘Earth-Godship authority’, and seal His Millennial conquest.

Bowls poured       Judgment
#1 on Earth            A foul and loathsome sore comes upon the men who
                               had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped
                               his image.
#2 on the sea         The bowl's contents become blood as of a dead
                               person; and every living creature in the sea dies 
#3 on rivers            Rivers and water springs become blood 
& springs 
#4 on the sun         An angel is given power to scorch people with
                               fiery heat. They blaspheme the Name of God
                               Who has power over the plagues, and they refused
                               to repent and give Him glory. 
#5 on the beast's   The kingdom of the beast becomes full of darkness; 
throne                     and beast’s [people] gnawed their tongues 
                               because of the pain, blaspheming the God of     
                               Heaven because of their pains and their sores. 
                               Yet they refused to repent. 
#6 on the                The Euphrates River dries up. satan, the anti-Christ 
Euphrates               and his prophet release evil, frog-like spirits from
                               their mouths, demonic spirits that work         
                               wonders to deceive the whole world, 
                               especially national leaders and those 
                               from the East, to gather them for the  
                               War of Armageddon 
#7 into the air         A loud voice from The Throne declares, 
                               'It is done!', followed by noises, thunderings, 
                               lightnings and an un-precendented, great  
                               earthquake. All mountains and islands 
                               disappear, and giant hailstones fall on 
                               people, yet they continue to revile and  
                               blaspheme The Lord.

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¹ See: Revelation - Unsealing the Scroll (Series)

² See: Revelation - Future Attacks in Israel and Revelation - Seven Trumpets to Sound (Series)

³ See: Dear Armageddon Soldier (Poem) and The Final Nuclear-type Effects

⁴ See: Isaiah 13:12

⁵ See: Worst of the Worst (Poem)