intolerance: an unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behaviour that differ from one’s own.
The above dictionary definition sounds really, really bad, doesn’t it? In fact, I can’t remember ever having read anything good about intolerance.
But I think it can be a good thing, and here’s why.
God has blessed me with a car that runs on diesel. It delivers more power than a petrol engine of the same size, and it’s quite economical.
If I were to put petrol in it, the result would be quite bad.
That’s because my car is intolerant of petrol.
It doesn’t run on LPG, water, or lemonade either. It simply wasn’t designed for it.
So, I’m fussy about using only diesel.
It’s a CAR, not a blender!
The same logic, about how to run my car, applies with God’s instructions on how to run my life. When God says DON’T put something into my life… I don’t!
It works for other things also. I figure that God, my Creator, knows how humans are meant to function.
This is Why
This is why I try not to put junk food into my body.
I try not to think junk thoughts either, and I’m also fussy about lots of other decisions I make.
Plus I’m quite intolerant towards pagan practices and ideas because they dishonor God and are harmful to my well-being.
Does that make me unloving?
Well NO… It’s the pagan practices, or the misguided politics that I don’t love. But I can still love the people who are the victims of the deception they embrace.
This is why intolerance can be a good thing.
This is how you can know that people who say you shouldn’t condemn ungodly behaviour have warped thinking.
We can love and tolerate other people, without accepting their errors.
Would you prefer a car that runs well, or not?
It should not take long to figure out who really has a message of love, and who doesn’t.
In Exodus 32:8, & 9-10 God was angry with the children of Israel when they made a golden calf for an idol to worship. But Moses pleaded for the people in Exo 32:11 and God accepted his pleas, and didn’t wipe them all out – Exo 32:14.
You might say God was intolerant, but God IS also love, 1 John 4:8.
Some Old Testament Bible stories are challenging to understand. But many quite reasonableBible concepts are increasingly labeled as ‘hate speech‘ by people who themselves HATE God’s authority.
The premise that the Bible carries no authority also shows a huge lack of understanding. There is ample evidence to respect what the Bible teaches.
Much of this modern woeful lack of understanding is because we are told by ‘educators’ that we should tolerate perversion in order to show love!
That’s an amazingly ignorant belief.
It’s like saying I should tolerate putting dirt in my cars fuel tank, and expect it to keep running.
Our society tolerates perversion more and more (dictionary definition: the changing of something so that it is not what it was, or should be)… and then people wonder why things aren’t going well!
But the answer should be obvious. We can maintain standards and still have love. 1 Cor 13:6-7 is about rejoicing in the truth, with love. It combines both concepts.
God, who IS LOVE, is tolerant towards people, but is also intolerant towards sin.
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold (hold down, or suppress) the truth in unrighteousness.
Original cartoon: Don Addis
In the past, God sent prophets who were alsointolerant.
The following story about Elijah, including a few comments I’ve added, is a great example, taken from 1 Kings 18, beginning in verse 17:
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.
And the people answered him not a word.
Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
And it came to pass at noon, thatElijah mocked them,
Comment. No doubt, this would be labeled ‘hate speech’ in today’s world!
and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing (relieving himself), or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
Comment. Elijah wanted the people to not only come near to him, but also to come near to God, and wake up to the lies they were being told, and understand the truth – that God loved them, and wanted to save them from the consequences of their deception.
And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
Comment. The prophets of Baal, whom Elijah slew, were promoting idolatry, perversion, lies, and probably child sacrifice, like the Baal worshippers in Jer 19:5. However, in today’s era the media would rather censor this story for promoting violence, and promote woke BS, and the modern equivalents of those sins instead!
But, in case readers of this message still don’t get the message, I’m not promoting violence, I am promoting adherence to God’s laws of love, correctly understood and applied.
Elijah’s message was really the same as God’s Message to this present degenerate society, written in Deuteronomy 30:
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you LIFE and death, blessing and cursing: Therefore, CHOOSE LIFE, that both thou and thy seed MAY LIVE.”
Zech 4:11-12 & 13-14 describes two mysterious olive trees. They are described again in Revelation Chapter 11, which says.:
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, standing before the Lord of the earth.
And if any man desireth to hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies; and if any man shall desire to hurt them, in this manner must he be killed.
These have the power to shut the heaven, that it rain not during the days of their prophecy: and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they shall desire.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
And from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do men look upon their dead bodies three days and a half, and suffer not their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.
And they that dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and make merry; and they shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth.
And after the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them that beheld them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they went up into heaven in the cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
Understanding the Two Witnesses… THEIR MESSAGE and Who They Are
The Two Witnesses are faithful Christians who have oil in their lamps Matt 25:4 and are proclaiming the gospel message, which is a light Exo 27:20, + 2Co 4:4 that burns continually Lev 24:2, or everlastingly Rev 14:6.
Please check all Scripture references to see why I’m linking these concepts together.
They also witness against those who are enemies of God.
No one can be condemned without at least 2 witnesses.
Deut 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin … at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
Also see Matt 18:16
Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under TWO OR THREE witnesses.
These multiple witnesses speak against corrupt, so-called Christian leaders (Ezek 34:2 onwards), and the apostasy of many in the churches today, as expressed in my poem below:
This poem is about the church falling into apostasy. Scroll your mouse over the matching Scripture.
THE BLIND ANDNAKED LADY
Casting off the clothes of a lady, you became naked. Rev 3:17 Though your feet were once with the gospel shod Rom 10:15 KJV You chose to run blindly down a crooked path, – Heb 12:13 A barefoot church of God. Eph 6:15 KJV
O wall of the daughter of Zion Lam 2:18 Let your tears flow day and night Ps 80:5 You let sinful men deceive you 2 Th 2:3 And so you lost your sight. Jer 13:16 KJV
You swallowed every lie 2 Th 2:11 KJV You deceitfully were fed. Prov 20:17 Through fraudulent deception Deut 32:32-35 You went wherever you were led. 1 Pet 2:25
“Rising up early and sending” Jer 26:5 KJV His servants sent letters to every son. 2 Chr 36:15 KJV Though many invitations were sent Mat 22:3 You never answered one. Mat 22:5
O wall of the daughter of Zion Ezek 13:10 KJV Could your punishment be worse? Lam 2:20 Foretold in nearly every prophecy– 2 Pet 1:19 KJV Between the lines, in nearly every verse. 2 Ti 2:15 KJV
“Oh that my eyes were a fountain of tears” Jer 9:1 To weep for those who refuse to see. Is 56:10 God advises: “Return, O daughter of Zion, Hos 6:1 Return Rev 16:15 KJV Once again to me.” Jer 13:15
This is a song version:
The Message they bring, In More Detail
In every era, God has a message for His covenant keeping people to give to the world. Noah had a special message for his time with a dire warning. The old testament prophets had a message for the children of Israel with warnings of captivity if they hardened their hearts toward God and His principles and worshipped pagan gods.
Jesus and His disciples had a similar message of warning and Salvation – Repent, be baptised and believe on Jesus, the Way the Truth and the Life.
The Everlasting Gospel
Mark 1:14-15 … Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, … the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
The gospel of the Kingdom of God is actually a more profound message than most people realise, and is explained more fully on my page explaining the meaning and purpose of life here.
Acts 2:38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.
The same message of salvation (the everlasting gospel and three angels message, beginning Rev 14:6), and the same warnings, have been given by God’s faithful prophets down through the ages because God’s ways are absolutely constant and never change.
Mal 3:16 For I am the LORD, I change not…
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Multiple Warnings
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Before Jesus comes in the clouds at the second coming, another message is given:
• Fear God – this means to reverence God as your Lord and Master and DO NOT serve ‘sin.’ John 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
• Give glory to Him – This is done by trusting His Spirit to guide us in our daily life, by growing up to be like Jesus and reflecting, like a light, His character, through how we live our life.
Matt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
• For the hour of his judgment is come – There will come a time when Jesus will take to heaven all the overcomers as promised in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. (A few teach that people will never go to heaven, but cannot Jesus visit heaven? We will be wherever Christ is. In addition the church is the new Jerusalem in Revelation 21, which comes down like a bride from heaven after the first earth is passed away.)
• Worship the Creator, not the creation – Don’t trust your life to the powerless, dead, pagan idols, but the Omnipotent God who created the universe and cares for you. Trust the One who gives you power to overcome!
Heb 11:6 For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Plus a Final Message… a Call to Repentance and Truth:
Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen … because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
The great churches of this world, who claim to represent God and hold His truth, are corrupt and speak deception.
Rev 17:4-5 explains that there is a woman – a harlot mother church – who is riding a beast called Babylon the Great. This is not a good thing because Babylon ‘is fallen’ completely – The number7 symbolises completeness in the Bible. Modern software allows you to easily count the number of times throughout the Bible it says ‘fallen’ in relation to Babylon. Isa 21:9 = 2 times Jer 51:8 = 1 time Rev 14:8 = 2 times Rev 18:2 = 2 times The total is 7 times, God’s number for completeness!
(As an aside, who but God could orchestrate all the matching hidden 7’s in the Bible?)
This message is continued in Rev 18:3 with an additional command in Rev 18:4-5 to: Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
• Receive the Seal of God’s approval, not the mark of the beast. Rev 14:9-10. Rev 15:2 Rev 20:4 (I have written more about the mark of the beast here.)
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.
Unworkable Explanations for the Two Witnesses
There are several popular explanations for the identity of the two witnesses. Theories include the idea that they could be resurrected characters from the Bible, such as Enoch and Elijah, Moses and Elijah, or any two Bible characters. These ideas are simply wrong because they are inconsistent with the way God works, and God doesn’t change – Mal 3:6.
Although Jesus spoke to Elijah in the New Testament (Matt 17:2-3) God never resurrected Old Testament characters to do New Testament jobs, that is, to play any part in current affairs of the day. Instead, God used people who were living at the time to fill whatever rolls were needed at the time. For example, God didn’t resurrect Elijah to do what John the Baptist was able to do, even though he was a type of Elijah (Matt 17:12-13).
God didn’t work like that then, He doesn’t work like that now, and He won’t work that way in the future.
Another idea is that the two witnesses will be angels. But God has no need to send angels to die for three and a half days, as the two witnesses do. In addition, angels are ministering spirits, Heb 1:14. A spirit does not have flesh and bones (see Luke 24:39), and therefore would not suffer death in this manner. It is not a viable theory.
Other theories are that the two witnesses symbolize the Old and New Testaments (John 5:39), and another is that they symbolize Israel (Isa 43:10) and the New Testament Church (Acts 1:8). These are not bad theories. I believe they are partially true, but incomplete. In Part 1 of this series I linked a number of Scriptures that indicate the two witnesses may be the last two churches described in Revelation chapter 3. However, so far as I know, that speculation is 100% unique to me!
Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) prophet, Ellen G. White, said the two witnesses were symbolic of the Old and New Testaments as they related to the French revolution, and when you study it, you can see how that history did match the two witnesses prophecy, and her interpretation IS workable.
Here’s a summary:
Ellen G. White - SDA Apostasy - the Two Witnesses - & 1260 Days
Ellen White was the founder of the SDA church. That church has drifted away from a number of her teachings and like every modern church, basically lost the plot. (Isaiah 28:8 - there is vomit on every table.) But she is worth reading on a number of issues.
She wrote that the Rev 11:3 period of 1260 prophetic days (or years) directly tied to the period of papal supremacy, which she interprets as lasting from A.D. 538 to 1798 — and she teaches that the French Revolution marks the closing events of that prophetic period.
Here’s a clear breakdown of how she explains it:
🕰 1. The 1260 days = 1260 years of Papal dominion. Ellen White follows the historic Protestant interpretation that in prophetic symbolism, a day equals a year (Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34).
1260 days → 1260 years. This period represents the “time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 12:6, 14; 13:5), which she says refers to the era when the papacy ruled over Europe and persecuted dissenters. It began in A.D. 538, when the papacy gained political power under Emperor Justinian’s decree, and ended in A.D. 1798, when General Berthier, under orders from Napoleon, took Pope Pius VI prisoner, ending papal dominance.
🕰 2. The French Revolution as the closing event of the prophecy In her book The Great Controversy, especially chapters 15–17, Ellen White explains that the French Revolution fulfilled prophecy and signaled the end of the 1260 years:
“The forty and two months are the same as the ‘time and times and the dividing of time,’ three years and a half, or twelve hundred and sixty days... This period... ended in 1798. At that time a French army entered Rome and made the pope prisoner, and he died in exile.” — The Great Controversy, p. 439 (1888 edition)
She notes that the Revolution itself, which erupted in 1789 and reached its climax in the 1790s, exposed the moral and spiritual corruption of the papacy and fulfilled the symbolic “wounding” of the beast (Revelation 13:3).
🕰 3. France’s atheism as the "beast from the bottomless pit" Ellen White also interprets Revelation 11 — where the “two witnesses” (the Old and New Testaments) are slain — as a description of France during the Revolution:
“When France publicly rejected God and set aside the Bible, wicked men and spirits of darkness exulted in their attainment of the object so long desired—a kingdom free from the restraints of the law of God.” — The Great Controversy, p. 276
She identifies revolutionary France as the “beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 11:7), representing open atheism and rebellion against God, which arose just before 1798, showing the final phase of the 1260-year prophecy.
In saying what she did, Ellen White was not wrong, and history did match this, but Ellen White herself emphasized that the truth of God is progressive, with more light continually unfolding as God’s people are able to receive it.
The 1260 days (or 42 months / 3½ years) in Revelation 11 has a well-established historicist fulfillment in the SDA understanding as 1260 literal years of papal dominance and persecution from 538 to 1798 AD, during which the two witnesses (in her view, the Scriptures) prophesied in sackcloth.
So the historic perspective is valid, but is there more to it?
Because the prophecy sits between the woes and includes elements such as the measuring of God’s people (Rev 11:1-2) and the short “three and a half days” before the witnesses’ resurrection near the time of Jesus’ return, I believe the 1260 can also carry a broader symbolic meaning of intense opposition and faithful witness of God’s people affirming the Scriptures toward the end of the church age.
I have independent reasons — from the Jubilee count article — for thinking 2028 may be a significant prophetic window. It’s worth noting, then, that counting 1260 years back from 2028 lands in 768 AD, the exact year Charlemagne became King of the Franks. Charlemagne did more than any other emperor to enforce Sunday observance as a matter of church and state, with strengthened papal ties. I’m not proposing 768 AD as a prophetic starting marker in its own right — the Charlemagne connection is a convergence observation, not a calculation. But it’s the kind of alignment that makes you look twice.
Therefore, there may yet be additional future fulfillment, perhaps less so with the time period, and more so with the completion of all prophecy and Jesus’ return.
Quoting in advance from Part 3, in this Two Witnesses series: “The witnesses are yet living and they must continue like their Lord, till they shall have finished their work; and that will not come to a close till the devil’s two witnesses—the ten-horned and two-horned beasts—are destroyed. Rev 19:20″
WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW WHO THE TWO WITNESSES ARE NOT
In the future there will be ‘false prophets’ bringing fire down from heaven in the sight of men. Rev 13:13-14, Rev 19:20. That’s already happening with modern weapons. ‘False prophets’ can also be false teachers, perhaps even political teachers or preachers. Don’t follow any false teachers!
The two witnesses will breathe fire from their mouths, but this is symbolic of their words only (Jer 5:14). Much else may be symbolic. For example, the waters mentioned may be nations (Rev 17:15). Don’t jump to conclusions too easily, or you may be deceived.
The two witnesses will die in symbolic Sodom and Egypt “where also their Lord was crucified” which seems to be Jerusalem because of Luke 13:33. But technically, Jesus was crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem. See Hebrews 13:11-14. Does this allow for the witnesses to be killed inside or outside Jerusalem? I cannot say for sure, but Rev 18:24 states ALL the blood of the prophets slain anywhere on earth symbolically is found in Babylon. Yet Matt 23:37 says essentially the same thing of the earthly Jerusalem. There is no contradiction because it is mainly symbolic. Like Babylon, the witnesses death is in a great city Rev 18:10, and the location (Rev 11:8) shows a meaning largely hidden beneath the surface, which may not be literally Jerusalem, but symbolic in meaning.
Rev 21:9 & 10 says the church IS Jerusalem. So whatever their location at the time of death, martyrs, when they die, die in Jerusalem.
Be careful you don’t jump to conclusions about the witness’s identity.
I may be just plain wrong, but it seems to me that the two witnesses are a symbolic representation of groups of people who witness for God, and finish as martyrs, proclaiming the message of the Old and New Testament Bible. The number 2 might be a symbolic number, and NOT literal. For example ‘2’ represents humility (with the shape of 2 being bent knee and bowed head) and the first thing the Bible says about the two witnesses is that they prophecy 1260 days clothed in sackcloth. That’s not literal, it’s symbolic, just as the white raiment in Rev 3:18 is also symbolic.
“Clothed in sackcloth” is a metaphorical way of saying they prophecy in sorrow, with humility.
They prophecy in a time period of great mental and physical distress. The time period revolves around Isaiah Chapter 24, which includes nuclear war, where the earth is burned and few men are left.
The True Witness
Another point worth making is that Revelation 3:14 (with Rev 22:13) says that Jesus Christ is “the faithful and TRUE WITNESS.” In the next few verses after this, Jesus is pictured as knocking on the door of the Laodicean church asking to be let in. This is the very last church mentioned before Revelation chapter 11.
Therefore, if the two witnesses message in chapter 11 is proclaimed by groups of people witnessing for God, they will be the people from chapter 3 who have let Christ come into them (John 14:20), and are now witnessing by Christ’s authority (Rev 2:26, 11:3, 6) and power, and spirit, not their own (as Jesus said HE is the True Witness). A more detailed explanation of this was covered in Part 1 here.
If I’m misunderstanding all this, no doubt, in due course it will become more obvious!
I believe Jesus IS coming soon. Jesus said in Luke 21:25 that his second coming would preceded by worldwide distress of nations, which when you study the original Greek strongly indicates lockdowns, as shown in this link.
Views expressed throughout are speculative possibilities. In no way should they be taken as doctrinal claims! Read with discernment.
“Why am I here? –Why does God allow suffering? –Why isn’t God helping me? –What’s the use of living?”
These are the most profound questions of the human heart. This article is a deep dive into the answers, so it’s not light reading. It presents a deeper understanding of the Everlasting Gospel (Revelation 14:6) and the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 24:14), which Jesus said would be preached in all the world as a witness before the end comes.
Please mouse-over ALL the Scriptures quoted below, and prove for yourself that this is true.
Your Role in God’s Eternal Family
Part 1: Our Astonishing Life Purpose
Various verses in the Bible cover this topic to some degree: Eph 4:13, 2 Cor 3:18, John 14:20, Romans 8:14, John 15:4-11. Here I want to emphasize John 17:21-23 which says that the one God includes us in his family, and his glory, when we commit our lives to him! Note what it says: “That they may also be ONE in US.”
Before reading further, it’s vital you understand what others don’t see – WHY the Trinity is a CLEVER DECEPTION, gullibly accepted by most churches. It will open your understanding to what follows.
The Broken Wheel and God’s Plan
God’s intention is for His family to be like spokes in a wheel, all looking to Him, and revolving around Him as the central hub (Ephesians 3:14-15). The closer we get to God at the centre, the closer we will get to each other, and, the closer we get to each other, in brotherly love, the closer we will be to God!
But mankind at the moment is like a broken wheel… a broken wheel going nowhere. But God is about to change all that.
2 Cor 6:18 is literal, not just some nice way of talking, as proven by the number of times the Bible states this. God means what He says! (John 17:17)
Romans 8:19 on this subject in the KJV is talking about creation waiting for us to fulfill our purpose. The J. B. Phillips translation says, ‘The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own.’ Verse 29 reads, ‘For God, in his foreknowledge, chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son, that he might be the eldest of a family of many brothers.‘
Although God will not give his glory to others – (Isaiah 42:8 and 48:11) – those verses are qualified by 1 Thes 2:12 and Romans 8:29, which states that God intends for us to be made into the image of Christ. The Father is glorified when we bear good fruit. John 15:8.
Do not misunderstand. God is superior to us and always will be. We will worship God forever as Psalms 145:21 says. My mouth shall speak the praise of YHVH: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Hebrews 13:21 says Jesus Christ has glory forever as well, and John 17:22 says that we who are overcomers Rev 3:21 are to share in that glory! But Christ will always be greater.
The meaning and purpose of life is also stated in Revelation 21:7. God says here, if you overcome, YOU also will be HIS SON – literally. Overcoming the lies of Satan, and overcoming being sucked into Satan’s system is needed because God cannot take the evils and disharmony of this present chaotic world into heaven, OR into a future earth made new. That’s why people DON’T just die and automatically go to heaven, despite what you’ve been told.
As a thief who steals your understanding, the devil works hard to hide this truth, even from students of the Bible! John 10:10, Eph 6:11-12.
These truths have often been overlooked or suppressed in history, yet the Bible itself provides all the answers. The Bible EXPLAINS WHY your life purpose is above anything you can imagine!
Part 2: A Starting Point for Suffering
A short answer to why God allows suffering is to draw us to Him, and to show us how helpless we are without Him.
Just as cold is the absence of heat, and dark is the absence of light, evil is the absence of God. In the Bible, when God withdraws Himself, the result is calamity, and in this way, God says He creates evil. But evil is simply the absence of the goodness of God in any place or any situation.
Suffering is a negative. As with old fashioned camera film, you first need to have a negative in order to then create the positive finished photograph. Creating character in us is a process, and we do not see the final result until the process is finished. We are a creative work in progress. 1 John 3:2 explains this.
But this short answer doesn’t provide a complete answer. To understand more, we must first lay down a larger background of understanding.
Suffering, Free Will, and God’s Help
Hebrews 5:8,9 Though he (Jesus) were a Son, yet learnedheobedienceby the things which he suffered; And being madeperfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
How did Jesus learn obedience? He trusted God to meet his needs instead of struggling to do it himself. John 5:19, John 5:30.
God allows suffering for a little while in the perspective of eternity to perfect us, by teaching us how to rely on Him, as Christ did.
God is all-powerful, but because he allows everyone free will, he isnot all-controlling.
In future, everyone in the entire universe will see the results of choices that are now being made, that go against God’s ways.
Choices always produce consequences.
Suffering is the result of breaking laws that God made to protect people from harm. The appalling results of mankind’s choices will become lessons and examples forever.
For the rest of eternity nobody will make such wrong choices ever again! (Nahum 1:9)
Suffering is the end result of breaking the laws of cause and effect, or else it is the end result that comes when our survival needs have not been met, and we try to fix the problem ourselves, without seeking God’s help.
And why isn’t God helping you? Well, he is, because you’re reading this!
We actually need some challenges in order to grow. An Arab proverb says “Too much sunshine makes a desert!”
But many Scriptures confirm God’s willingness to help us when we come to Him.
Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I willhelpyou, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Psalm 66:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 54:4 Behold, God (Elohim) is myhelper; the Lord (YHVH) is the upholder of my life.
Hebrews 13:5-6 …for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So we can confidently say, “The Lord is myhelper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
… and there are many more.
However, patience may be needed.
Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
You can have peace.
According to Romans 8:28, if you love God, it is not possible for anything to come into your life that God does not keep track of, and you can be assured of an ultimately good result at the end of time.
Part 3: Finding and Living Your True Life Purpose
When you conform to the will of God, and ask God to bring YOUR purpose into line with GOD’S purpose for you, then God will help you even more. In fact, eventually, almost nothing will be withheld from you.
OVERCOMERS in this life are offered the almost shocking reward of ruling the universe with Christ, and sitting beside him on his throne in the next life! Read and think about Rev 3:21 and what it can possibly mean.
God’s promises should not be taken casually. Hebrews 11:37 for example, mentions people who gave up their lives to uphold God’s truths, who will be rewarded beyond measure when they are resurrected.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom (i.e. royal family reign & realm) of God (YHVH) and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Plus the promise in 1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. God is about to make up His jewels. (See last section here.)
I can’t find words to add to that.
The Gospel That Makes It Possible
Jesus primarily taught about the gospel message of the Kingdom of God – see Mat 24:14, Mat 4:23 and Mark 1:14-15. The apostles tended to emphasize the gospel about Christ, who is the head of that kingdom. See 1 Co 1:23, 1 Co 2:2, Rom 16:25, Eph 1:20-22. BOTH gospels blend into each other.
They are essential to understand and ‘obey’ (1 Pet 4:17), because Christ’s life as a human being and then the sacrifice of his life on the cross is the only thing that makes our entrance into God’s family possible.
Miss out on understanding this, and you risk missing out altogether: John 3:16,
The true gospel is that God has done everything necessary to set us free from the devils captivity, and it includes the plan of salvation, showing how God will help us achieve our fullest potential. John 14:6 shows how. Set free from deception, our future is far greater than we can imagine.
Also read John 5:24, John 10:28-30, Romans 6:23, and 1 John 5:11 & 12.
According to verse 12 you do NOT have an “immortal soul” without FULL submission and obedience to Jesus Christ. This is what the Bible really teaches.
Because the law of God requires justice be done where sin occurs, and we cannot pay the penality, Jesus paid the price on our behalf, so that mercy and justice are both satisfied. This doesn’t mean we can continue to sin with abandon. Baptism by full immersion in water (Col 2:12, Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21) is obedience to the gospel because it pictures our death and resurrection to a new life, made possible by Christ’s death and resurrection, where Christ lives and reigns in us, not sin. Romans 8:29 says Jesus was the first born among many brethren. The many brethren are those who also die and are resurrected – symbolically dying to their old selves and living for Christ in an ongoing process of renewal.
In teaching this, Paul and the other apostles taught that God’s kingdom is a mental state of being that requires Christ to live in us. See Romans 14:17, Romans 1:17, Romans 8:10 , Galatians 2:20, Colossians 1:27, Ephesians 3:17 and John 15:5 and more!
Conclusion: God’s Sevenfold Plan For Your Life
One aspect of our purpose is to do good works, but our good works are the RESULT, not the cause, of our salvation. We cannot get salvation from our good works. Our future is judged by our degree of submission to God, and trust in Him and His righteousness, not our own.
God is still in the process of creating humans (including you), and developing them into his image, after his own likeness, as per Genesis 1:26. We are God’s literal children: 1 John 3:2, being transformed by the renewing of our minds: Romans 12:2.
When you submit your life to God, he becomes your father in a very literal sense. John 1:12-13 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God –children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (NIV)
God wants you to have joy. Matt 25:23, John 15:11 and dozens of other places confirm this. Understanding your deeper purpose will expand your joy. 1 John 1:3-4.
Therefore, your purpose in life will be redirected to draw nearer to God. You will pursue God’s will rather than your own. You will respect God’s commandments because they are your Father’s guidelines for living an ideal life.
If you do this you will become a disciple of Christ. Jesus spoke to the Jews and said if you abide in my word then you are truly disciples of mine– John 8:31. This means if you abide in Jesus’ words, you can be a disciple also, and be clothed with power!
“You shall be clothed with power from on high”
Speaking to his disciples, Jesus said You shall be clothed with power from on high – Luke 24:49 ASV. The KJV says endued with power. The Greek word for power here is dunamis, which means power that is miraculous. That means, as a disciple, you are able to use heavenly power, and are not limited to earthly resources! Phil 4:19 says God will supply all your needs by Christ Jesus. Phil 4:13 & 19. Psalm 34:10, Prov 21:21 (NIV), Eph 3:20, and the last section of Matthew 6.
When you understand that God is your source Pslm 68:19, John 15:7, etc, your priorities will go beyond your present needs, and extend out to helping others.
It helps to realise God mainly works through people. 2 Cor 6:16 says YOU are the temple of God. I’ve heard it said that the purpose of life, that God has for you, is to be a subcontractor, building God’s custom home! But there’s even more:
WE are supposed to be His arms, His legs, His compassion, and His very life, as an extension of God’s Family Kingdom on earth NOW – not only in the future. Eph 2:10. (Offsite cross references here.)
Check out the pop-up verses that follow.
In summary, when you follow Christ you believe the Bible, which says Jesus lived a sinless life, and was crucified and resurrected for your sake, that you may be:
1) Forgiven, (Eph 4:32, 1 Jhn 2:12, Acts 13:38) 2) Raised from the Dead, (Rom 8:11, 2 Co 5:17, Co 3:1) 3) Cleansed, (Rev 1:5, 1 John 1:7) 4) Transformed and translated into God’s kingdom in this life now, (Rom 12:2, Gal 3:27, Col 1:27, Col 1:13) 5) Blessed, (Jer 17:7, Luke 11:28, Eph 1:3, Rev 1:3) 6) Empowered, (Luke 24:49, 1 Co 2:5, Col 2:10) and 7) And called to shine! (Matt 5:15, Pro 4:18, Phil 2:15, Col 1:13, 2 Co 4:6, 2 Pe 1:19, Matt 5:16)
That is God’s intended purpose for your life.
It’s an extra dimension of the true gospel message.
It’s the amazing reason why you were born!
Supplemental videos on life purpose produced by other people.
. . . . . “Your identity is a facet of the identity of God.”
Views expressed throughout are speculative possibilities. In no way should they be taken as doctrinal claims! Read with discernment.
The Mark of the Beast, described in the book of Revelation, is nottechnology. It’s about who you worship, although I do talk about technology at the end of the article.
But it’s really about worship, as is clearly seen in Revelation Chapter 14
9...If any man worship the beast AND his image, ANDreceive hismark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; 11...and they have no rest day nor night, who worshipthe beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
The Mark IS WRONG Worship. Not a microchip; not anything else.
GOD is the true source. Trusting in anything else is having another god, instead of the God who has given us life. 2 Pet 1:3.
So the Mark is false worship, buthow the Mark, or false worship, is ENFORCED does have to do with technology. You can see this here.
Revelation 13:15-18 (NIV)
15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,17 SO THAT THEY COULD NOT BUY OR SELL unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666. (Some translations say it is the number 'of' man, other translations say it's the number of 'a'man.)
Much can be said about the number 666. For example, it falls short of 7, which is God’s number of perfection. On one level, according to Ecclesiastes 3:18 the ‘beast’ is actually mankind, and just like the number of the beast where 6 falls short of 7, mankind falls short of God’s perfection.
However, a fuller explanation is, THE MARK of the beast is Satan’s trademark, as opposed to God’s sign.
Satan is ALSO the Beast (Rev 11:7) along with beast governments of men, inspired by Satan. The mark puts paganism and pagan practices in place of worshipping the true God.
Pagan practices include gay parades, homosexuality, the abortion rights movement, Gaia mother earth worship, as well as all other things contrary to Biblical standards. However, Biblical prohibitions are not designed to oppress, but rather, to bless! – Rev 22:14-15.
More Mark and Enforcement DECODES
1) THE SABBATH DECODE
In Ezekiel Chapter 9, God protects those who sigh and groan over the perversions around them, and a mark is put on their foreheads. Those who don’t have this mark are destroyed.
Ezekiel 9:4-6 New King James Version (NKJV).
4 and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a markon the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” 5 To the others He said in my [] hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; [] do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity.
A mark, and a sign both show something. The mark and the sign are both in peoples foreheads, because that’s where they think.
The Sabbath, as a sign, according to Ezekiel 20:12, signifies being set free from bondage to Satan, and set free from slavery to the devil’s lies and deceptions. As a Biblical sign, it points back to creation, and acknowledges the God of the Bible as Creator. It also pictures God’s provision. Instead of being anxious or fearful about who will provide for their needs and protect them, those who rest on this day, also rest in believing God’s promises that they will have more than enough to survive.
On the other hand, in the end times, the mark will most likely be taken by those who are in opposition to Sabbath keepers. If history repeats itself, the powers that be will accept papal authority, and will persecute and suppress Sabbath keepers. That’s why we now have the dominance of Sunday worship instead of the biblical Sabbath being observed by most churches.
In 321 AD, Constantine issued an edict making Sunday a civil day of rest — a move that progressively displaced Saturday Sabbath observance. Over the following centuries the Catholic Church actively persecuted Sabbath-keepers and others deemed heretical, with historians estimating formal executions numbered into the thousands, with possibly up to 100,000 or more dying in prison or under torture.
For those who argue there is no command to keep the Sabbath in the New Testament, read Matthew 24:20, where Jesus, speaking about a future time AFTER his crucifixion and resurrection, instructed his followers (i.e. those who follow the teachings of Jesus): “But pray ye that your flight be NOT in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.” The implication is that Christ’s followers will still observe it… I count 10 other places in the New Testament that say to keep the commandments, and none that say there are only 9 of them.
The Sabbath will still be continued in the new heavens and new earth, even after this earth has passed away – Isa 66:22-23. Although this is a way of saying people will worship God from one period or time to the next period of time, it indicates it will still be a thing in future, and therefore, should also be kept now.
Many believe the Sabbath was NOT done away with at the cross, and is still one of the commandments that is to be kept now. (Revelation 12:17, 14:12, 22:14-KJV)
Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be A SIGN between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.
Exodus 31:13
Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
For those who dispute which day is the 7th day on the calendar, or argue we should keep a ‘lunar Sabbath’ there are proofs in nature that verify which is the 7th day. Bees and beavers for example. Here’s a a short video, and I found a half hour video available at https://www.desiremedia.org/
Revelation 7:3
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Revelation 14:1
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the
mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand,
having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
(Also see Rev 22:4)
The signs and marks are also on hands, because the hands show our works.
Acts 7:41
And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
(Also see Mark 6:2 showing the good works and miracles of Jesus were the works of his hands.)
2) THE MOST IMPORTANT DECODE
ACTUAL CONVERSION – ESSENTIAL DETAILS MOST MISS ABOUT THE MARK OF THE BEAST
NOT 1 IN 100 UNDERSTAND THIS(let alone apply it in their lives). Do you realise you can still have THE MARK OF THE BEAST even while sitting in church on a Saturday?
That's because the sign of God is not superficial.
You are ONLY sealed with the Sabbath SIGN of God when you have a living connection with Christ. Read Matthew Chapter 25, especially Matt 25:11,12 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
When you rest in God, on the Sabbath and at all other times as well, then you are not in self-survival mode. You must trust God to supply all your needs. True rest on the Sabbath includes Matt 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I (Jesus) will give you rest." So you either walk by faith, or try to get by in self-sufficiency. (Deut 12:8 & Deut 12:9, plus Isaiah 26:3)
This was the sin of Adam and Eve. They did not believe God. They hid from God and ate from the tree of logic and wisdom without God's guidance (Gen 3:6). This made them children of the devil, instead of children of God (Eph 5:8), opening their eyes to darkness (Gen 3:5) as well as light (Acts 26:18).
Children of God are those who have oil in their lamps, and are not anxious or worried, because they apply Phil 4:19 "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Those who have Satan's mark do not rely on God, or even believe God, or tremble at God's word (Isaiah 66:2). For them, the door (Christ being the door - John 10:9) to the wedding banquet is shut!
People who think all they have to do is put their butt in the pew each Sabbath (whatever day of the week they think it is) are, at best, asleep. They will very likely take the mark of the beast!
3) SPECIFIC PEOPLE
There are many other decodes of WHO 666 may apply to. I will not comment further here because it’s not my job to single out specific people. You can do calculations for various Antichrist figures (in other words, more than one), and come to your own conclusions, but I don’t want to even give hints of who they could be, because I’m not against any specific person.
4) THE TRINITY
This is a decode that most people will reject right away, and I think your understanding of it may not be as vital as the other points. Nevertheless I’m including it here.
The number 666 may relate to churches that promote a CLOSED TRINITY.
A while ago, I came across a teaching that said instructions for God’s sanctuary in the Bible include a table of showbread holding only TWO rows/piles of SIX cakes of bread in Lev 24:5,6. That’s a total of twelve loaves that represent (1) Jesus, the bread of life, and (2) God the Father. On the other hand, it was stated that churches who promote a closedtrinity symbolically add a third pile of six cakes. That makes THREE piles of SIX cakes, and creates the number 666, the number of the beast! Rev 13:18.
Trinity believers should carefully consider my other article on this subject here.
Playing with numbers, 666 is 3×6 which =18. 18 is 1+8 which =9. Note that 9 is an upside down 6. It’s interesting that the Roman Catholic Church, which has more occult than Biblical practices, has deleted the second of the ten commandments (thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image) which leaves only 9 of the ten (although they split the last one, and change the fourth one).
5) THE MARK IS A BLEMISH
I believe the Mark of the Beast is also called a ‘blemish‘ in the Song of Solomon. I’ve covered this in a different article.Go here.
6) Computers, Robots, and AI
Remember, depending on which translation you choose, Rev 13:18 says The Mark is either the number of man, or the number of a man, (historically Nero).
Robots are also a type of a man, but it gets a bit crazy… I cover it more thoroughly in another article here.
7) CRYPTO as ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY
AI surveillance via mobile phones, and government control through other AI is increasing rapidly. The primary threat to freedom in the future may come through the heavy handed implementation of AI, combined with ramped up government monitary restrictions.
Buying and selling has a lot to do with enforcing the mark of the beast. The old Australian Bankcard (since replaced by Visa and Mastercard) had a 666 logo! – It had three 6’s… a yellow, orange, and red b.
At the time, it looked like it could be a way of enforcing the mark in the future. But technology has moved on.
Even so, buying & selling technology will be used to enforce the Mark in the future. Again, the beast mark is paganism incorporating Satan’s Sun-Worshipping Sunday observance and Self-Sufficient, Self-Survival Strategies. (Satan is like a hissing snake, so I used a lot of S’s here!)
Difficult choices in future may include having to choose between financial security through government compliance, or trusting God for supply of basic needs.
It’s interesting to look at the tie-ins between the Bible’s mention of the number 666 and modern cryptocurrency technology.
CRYPTOCURRENCIES Fascinating Enforcement Details
You may have seen the claim online that WWW = 666 That’s because the Hebrew letter Vav equals 6, and W is the closest equivalent. This doesn’t actually hold up linguistically — Hebrew and English simply don’t work that way — But I still find it interesting, as crypto is Internet based.
A better Biblical tie-in is 1 Kings 10:14
Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year
was six hundred threescore and six (666) talents of gold.
The secret society of Freemasons identify their beliefs and beginnings with King Solomon. Also note that the Masons use the symbolism of masonry trowels.
Now check out Stellar Lumens crypto payment system logo. As shown here, it consists of two masonry trowels, put one on top of the other to look like Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun! So because of the Freemasons, this cryptocurrency has a connection with 1 Kings 10:14 and King Solomon’s 666 talents of gold in the Bible – the only other place in the Bible that specifies the 666 mark of the beast number!
Could this be a clue to a future 666 tie-in?
It’s my educated guess that Stellar Lumens will be used in future to enforce the mark of the beast.
In the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games opening ceremony they play-acted ‘Stella’ soothing a sinister ‘beast’ and after a ‘bull run’ they showed a new world order with a different form of ‘common-wealth’ that is obviously predictive programming showing their future plans. This ceremony was a perfect demonstration of outright paganism. Check out the replay on YouTube if you like.
The name ‘Stellar Lumens’ is also meaningful, as Stellar comes from the word star, and Lumens = light. Check out the word ‘Lucifer’ and you’ll find it means basically the same thing: light bearer and bright morning star. That’s essentially the name of the beast (as in Rev 13:17) if the beast is the devil, although as already noted, it also says the beast is the number of aman, OR simply the number of man.
Of course, other cryptos, such as XRP also have interesting logos.
To me, the XRP logo is showing “as above, so below.” That phrase promotes the Satanic concept that you can’t have good without evil.
Here’s a video for anyone wanting to research these crypto’s place in the New World Order in more detail:
At the moment, the two main ISO compliant cryptos that can be used for cross border payments in the New World Order are XRP and Stellar. (ISO is the international messaging standard used by SWIFT for interbank telecommunications.)
XRP may be the phoenix that rises out of the ashes of the huge economic crash that is ahead of us. But exactly when that will take place is unknown at this stage.
XRP is also likely to be the leading crypto in future because it was created by a company called Ripple.
Most people don’t know this, but in the minds of those who control us behind the scenes, money has to do with maritime law, and ripples are tied to the movement of water, and are therefore a part of maritime law. To understand what I’m talking about, watch this:
Using any form of money, be it gold, silver or cryptocurrency is not wrong.
However, controlling who you worship, how you worship, and what day you worship on, by enforcing buy and sell penalties, IS wrong.
But I see it coming all too soon.
How to easily pay off the 30 Trillion Dollar U.S. DEBT…
Ripple holds a little over 30 billion XRP in escrow, and releases a little of it every month. If unsold it is returned to escrow. If a secret agreement was made now by the United States government to buy ALL of the escrow coins in advance of release, at current low pricing, and then, in future, raised the price of xrp to several thousand or even a million dollars percoin (either by decree or by using it for all government business transactions in future), the government could instantly wipe out its debt. Dividing the 30 triillion dollar debt amount by a million equals 30 million dollars… An amount that is easy to pay off!
I suspect something like this solution, using crypto, may be implemented in the future.
What about Bitcoin?
To me, Bitcoin is like this old car.
As an investment, I would be cautious. Here are ten reasons why:
1) Bitcoin is outdated technology.
2) Bitcoin is not scalable.
3) Transfers are very slow
4)Transactions are expensive.
5) It’s controlled by Chinese miners
6) Although not likely, it is subject to a 51% attack.
7) There is no real use for Bitcoin… As a store of value, there are much safer options.
8) It’s an environmental disaster… it takes 72,000 GW (or 72 Terawatts) of electricity to mine one Bitcoin.
9) Because of this, I believe there is a possibility of it being outlawed by the future one-world government which is on the horizon.
10) Bitcoin can easily crash and burn.
On the other hand, the original developers of crypto, who are the Ripple developers and others who pull the strings, may keep Bitcoin alive and well – this is speculation only.
Time will tell!
____________________________
Please note: Nothing on this web page is financial advice! You are responsible for your own actions.
(There is an alternate possibility for the meaning of 666 because 666 in the original text looks like Arabic for “in the name of Allah.” That is a possibility, however, I believe the explanation above is more likely.)
There is a SECRET place of hiding and safety you can go to, mentioned in the Song of Solomon, or Song of Songs in the Old Testament, in the Bible. That secret place is spoken of in Song 2:14.
The Song of Solomon is a struggle to read when you skim the surface. A few verses – actually many of the verses – seem quite strange or inappropriate. But I’m about to unravel much of it for you, and if you’re spiritually awake, you will be amazed.
This book depicts the courtship and marriage of Solomon to a Shulammite woman. Possibly the term Shulammite identifies with Shulem, or Salem, and therefore possibly refers to a woman from Jerusalem.
Can you see a spiritual parallel here between the woman and the Church? In Revelation 21:9 & 10 the wife of Christ is a woman, and also Jerusalem.
"Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
More Physical /Spiritual Parallels
There are a number of parallels in the Song of Solomon between the physical and the spiritual, and this is just one example.
Check this out. In Song 1:6 the woman says:
Look not upon me, because I am black (swarthy), because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
This fits perfectly with Jesus parable about the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16.
Matt. 20 Verse 1:
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
Skipping down to verse 12:
Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
The workers in the vineyard are members of God’s spiritual church depicted here. In Song of Solomon the workers are depicted as a woman. Notice both are caretakers of a vineyard, and have become sunburned from bearing the heat of the day.
Solomon depicts Christ.
Just as Solomon built the physical temple /house of God (1 Kings 5:5) Jesus built the spiritual temple /house /church. In Matt 16:18 Peter is the little stone and Jesus himself is the rock he said he would build his church on. Pslm 18:2, Matt 7:24. You’ll see more proof for this concept the deeper we get go.
Let’s move on to some end time prophecy in this book.
The Song of Solomon, and Where to Find the Place of Safety
In Revelation 12:14 the Bible talks about a special place of safety for the church in the end times:
And to the woman (God’s church) were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. (In the previous verse the church is being persecuted by the devil – the serpent – and she needs to flee from the persecution the world and the devil are inflicting.)
Would you like to know where the place is, that the woman flies to? A clue, to where the place of safety is, is given in The Song of Solomon. To recap, if this book is about Christ and the church (which it is), then Solomon represents Christ, and the woman is the church.
In Chapter 1:6 she is sunburned from bearing the heat of the day, which is also referenced in a parable in Matthew 20:12.
The setting for the last half of the Song of Solomon Chapter 2 is just after the winter Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:20-21. Jesus, perhaps, made a duel prophecy here pertaining to prior 70 AD, and also the end of the age just ahead now.
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved…
Is this a prophecy for prior to 70 AD, or could it refer to a future nuclear or volcanic winter – or both – with resultant ash drifting across the world, obscuring the sun, and causing a drop in temperatures and widespread crop failures?
Does speculating about the meaning of winter sound crazy? You are welcome to disagree. All I’m doing is looking at possible options, and saying the Bible is like a jigsaw, and this piece could fit here!
As an aside, when Jesus mentions “earthquakes in divers places” in Matthew 24:7 the word earthquakes can include volcanoes – the Greek word also means a commotion of the air.
Song 2:11 For, lo, the (nuclear or volcanic?) winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
Song 2:13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
In Song of Solomon Chapter 2 verse 13, the fig tree of Matthew 24:32 (the fig tree is a metaphor for Israel) has progressed in its season. In other words, Israel, a modern nation since 1948, has had plenty of time to mature. If this prophetic time setting is correct, look what happens next to the true followers of Jesus, Christ’s bride.
The Pre-Tribulation Rapture – a Dodgy Doctrine?
The pre-tribulation rapture is a popular teaching among many church denominations. But the following sequence contradicts it, in my view. Notice that when Solomon (symbolic of Jesus) tells his bride to arise and come away the winter (the tribulation?) is then finished.
Song 2:11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
Song 2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle (dove) is heard in our land;
Song 2:13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.
Arise (the New Living Bible says rise up), my love, my fair one, and come away.
If the church is ‘raptured,’ I believe THIS, and not before, is when it happens.
Matt 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh.
Also perhaps related:
Amos 8:2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
In the Hebrew language there is a play on words here. The word for Summer is qayits, pronounced kahyits; and the word for end is qets, pronounced kates. So the verse is saying Amos sees a basket of Summer fruit, and it sounds like a basket of end fruit!
In case you need further indication that the ‘rapture’ doesn’t happen pre tribulation, study Matthew 13:24-30. Look especially at the time sequence in the last verse, where the weeds are destroyed BEFORE the wheat is gathered:
Let both grow together until the harvest. (See verse 39 - the harvest is the end of the world). At that time I will tell the harvesters: FIRST (Strong's G4413) collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.
In this parable the wheat is being harvested, which in Israel is in Spring, which coincides to the same time of year in Song of Songs where it says the Winter is over, and the woman is told to rise up. Both passages are talking about the harvest of the church at the end of the world.
Continuing in Song 2, verse 14 it says the girl (a metaphor for the end time church) is hidden in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs (or the secret place of the steep climb)… I believe this passage has a mainly SPIRITUAL meaning.
Song 2:14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
Young's Literal Translation says "My dove, in the clefts of the rock, In a secret place of the ascent..."
1 Corinthians 10:4 explains more about the clefts of the rock:
"for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, AND THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST."
Psalm 27:5 has more about hiding on a rock:
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
In addition Psalm 71:3 (ASV) Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come; You have given commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress.
Isaiah 44:8 (ASV) : Besides God, there is no other rock. (ASV is a better translation then the KJV here. The KJV says besides God there is no God, but the second time it uses the word ‘God’ it’s word #H6697 in Strong’s, which means ROCK.)
This is where the true followers of Christ find their Place of Safety in the tribulation, or ANY TIME OF TROUBLE.
Those who belong to Christ have learned to lean upon him. Song 8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?
The Easy English translation for the first part of this verse says: Someone is coming up from the dry, empty place with the man who loves her! Her head is against the man’s shoulder.
That’s a poignant description of how we need to be when we walk with Christ.
Psalm 91
He that dwelleth in the Secret Place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
– (Most likely this is the SAME secret place Song 2:14 refers to… Also see Col 3:3 – ‘For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.’)
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
________________
The Psalm continues, but I think that’s an interesting place to stop!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
Daughters of Jerusalem get a mention seven times in the Song of Solomon. .
Who are these daughters?
It may, or may not, be referring to churches who don’t marry Christ.
I’m not sure on this point. Jesus mentioned daughters of Jerusalem only one time.
Luke 23:28
But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
Revelation 1:20 and onwards addresses seven churches, who are, in a sense, seven daughters in Jesus right hand.
However, elsewhere, seven daughters are referred to in Exodus. Exodus 2:16 and 17 says the Priest of Midian had seven daughters.
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses (a type of Christ who delivers God’s people from oppression) stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
Again, this possibly has more than one application, also being PROPHECY for the end time where the shepherds (the ministers and priests) drive the daughters (good church members drawing water which is a type of the Holy Spirit) away! If you are one of those ministers, God has a message for you here.
Considering the symbolism, Song 5:7 also talks about ministers that are culpable for the mistreatment of church members.
Even More Prophecy
Is there additional prophecy in the Song of Solomon? Possibly YES. More than I’ve covered here. For example, I think this one is interesting:
The BBE translation says in Song 4:7
"You are all fair, my love, there is no MARK on you."
This reminds me of Revelation 13:16-17.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a MARK in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the MARK, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
To be strictly accurate, other translations indicate Song of Solomon is talking about having no spot or blemish, rather than no MARK, but, to have the MARK of the beast surely would also be a blemish for a Christian, would it not?!
Here’s another Song of Solomon /Book of Revelation connection. Song 5:2 says
My beloved was knocking.
This corresponds with Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Concluding Verses, and Jesus ‘Nice Timing’
The Song of Solomon concludes with these words:
Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.
This makehaste statement aligns with the conclusion in Revelation 22, in the last chapter, in the last words of the Bible:
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Revelation 22:12 makes it a promise.
Behold, I AM coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.
Views expressed throughout are speculative possibilities. In no way should they be taken as doctrinal claims! Read with discernment.
AND HOW IT RELATES TO THE COMING OF THE DAY OF THE LORD
Several years before secret weather warfare (or perhaps global warming – choose your own explanation) gave us daily weather disasters, I was studying the Bible timeline leading to Christ’s return, and then I prayed about a LIGHT shower of rain that happened to fall, and said it represented the FLOOD of Bible insight I was getting. This (showing my original photo’s of the next days newspaper) was the result…
There are a lot more details about this incident, but I’ve removed them because (a) my prayer is not provable, plus (b) it’s not good to draw attention to myself… (although I do have some extra details in the article following this here.) I know what I know, and that’s all that really matters.
Here’s what I DO want you to get:
Understanding 1000-year ‘Days’
As I said I was studying the Bible timeline, but especially the timing for Jesus’ return.
Matt 24:37 says the timing will be like the days of Noah when the flood came and took them all away. Matt 24:39
But elsewhere we are given additional clues about the timing. Several places in the Bible talk about 1000 year days. For example Psa 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
The Bible says “do not overlook this,” but most people do overlook it. Why not overlook it? Because it is key to knowing when Christ will return! The next few verses then continue to talk about the day of the Lord coming, and it talks about waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Remember, in Gen 2:17, God told Adam that IN THE DAY he ate from the forbidden tree he would die. But, Adam lived for 930 years! Did you ever wonder why Adam didn’t die the same day he ate from the tree? The answer is that God’s days can be a thousand years long.
The Bible indicates that God has allotted mankind SIX one thousand year “DAYS” before a ONE thousand year Sabbath rest ‘DAY’ or millennium to follow (Rev 20:2 or 20:7), starting from the time of Adam and Eve’s sin, up to the time Jesus will return. This follows the principle God gave in Exo 20:11.
Six thousand years in the Bible timeline calculates to a Second Coming date that puts us well and truly into the heart of the Daniel 12:4 “time of the end” right now.
(The Sabbath principle is not nullified by the New Covenant, because the Sabbath was created well before even the Old Exo 24:7 Covenant was made, and therefore it is separate, as part of creation, and stands apart from any covenants that were made.)
Jesus was crucified around TWO “one thousand year days” ago. The exact date is controversial. Calculations range within an 8 year window, between 27 AD to 35 AD.
(I’m well aware of the crucifixion date controversies, and also claims that hundreds of years have been added to or subtracted from our history timeline, but independent Chinese calendar records and also world events don’t back that up. At this stage I still believe it’s been about 2,000 years.)
Additional Confirmation
Before going deeper, let’s compare these two parables of Jesus.
First Matthew 20:1,2 The parable of the labourers in the vineyard:
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Second, the parable of the good Samaritan:
Luke 10:30-35
And on the morrow when he departed, he (the good Samaritan who represents Jesus) took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Combining both parables, with 2 Peter 3:8 (one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day), we have
one day = 1,000 years
one penny = one day
the good Samaritan gave two pennies, because he expects to RETURN about TWO days after he left.
Hence, Jesus returns after 2 one thousand year long ‘days,’ or near to 2,000 years after he left… I do understand these are merely parables, however…This is not presented as any sort of proof – It’s an interesting observation!
The next article covers some of my personal history, plus the AI calculations about my flood miracle. I go back to the main prophecy subject after this section.
Views expressed throughout are speculative possibilities. In no way should they be taken as doctrinal claims! Read with discernment.
The lockdowns we’ve had over the past few years reveal exactly where we are now in the timeline of Bible prophecy.
Furthermore, I believe Luke 21:25 may make reference to these LOCKDOWNS!
The usual way to read Luke 21:25 is in the KJV translation. Luke quotes Jesus here, speaking about the end of this age:
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and UPON THE EARTH DISTRESSOF NATIONS, WITH PERPLEXITY; the sea and the waves roaring”
But is ‘DISTRESS OF NATIONS’ the best translation to use here?
Note the word distress, from Thayer Definition means “a holding together” – συνόχηsunochē Phonetic: soon-okh’-ay
Although Strong’s Concordance says G4928 in Greek means DISTRESS, Strong’s also says the root word is G4912; which means RESTRAINT, plus (figuratively) anxiety: – anguish, distress.
So, after doing a word study, I believe this verse could legitimately be translated as follows:
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, and across the earth, A LOCKDOWNOF NATIONS, without resources, being in straits, being left wanting, the sea and the waves roaring.” (This is both literal and figurative. Read more about the word ‘sea’ as a metaphor here.)
You can read onwards to Luke 21:26, 27, 28. if you like.
From the dictionary: RESTRAINT, noun
1a. The act of restraining:
b. The condition of being restrained, especially the condition of losing one’s freedom.
2a. An influence that inhibits or restrains:
b. A device or other means of restraining movement:
3. Control of the expression of one’s feelings;
CONSTRAINT: noun
1. The threat or use of force to prevent, restrict, or dictate the action or thought of others.
2. The state of being restricted or confined within prescribed bounds:
3. One that restricts, limits, or regulates; a check:
By studying the words and the context, we find that Jesus prophecy about the end of this age may have included LOCKDOWNS
“UPON THE EARTH DISTRESS OF NATIONS” can be understood as the RESTRAINTS, CONSTRAINTS or the LOCKDOWNS and VIRUS PASSPORTS being implemented by the world’s governments. Notice that the RESTRAINTS, CONSTRAINTS or the LOCKDOWNS and VIRUS PASSPORTS would have to result in “PERPLEXITY.” The root word of “perplexity” in Thayer Definition:
1) to be without resources, to be in straits, to be left wanting, to be embarrassed, to be in doubt, not to know which way to turn
2) to be at a loss with one’s self, be in doubt
3) not to know how to decide or what to do, to be perplexed.
During the worldwide lockdowns, people have not only been physically restrained. They have also lost many freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom to work, freedom to enter many public places and shops, loss of freedom involving freedom to run businesses, and medical freedom involving freedom of conscience.
Lockdowns easily fit the description of “distress of nations with perplexity.”
Of course, lockdowns are by no means the only interpretation of these verses.
God knows world events in advance (see Isaiah 46:10), therefore the application of this prophecy to recent events is valid. However, “distress of nations with perplexity” will take on other forms as Jesus’ prophecy continues to unfold… War, weather disasters, control of food supplies, the mark of the beast enforcement, and a one-world government are all coming soon!
According to Jesus’ prophecy, when ‘restraint of nations’ happens, the world is approaching it’s “Use by” date!
Revelation 18:8 plus the rest of the chapter, describe the ongoing fall of modern day ‘Babylon’ and the systems of this world.
Like the Titanic, this world is on a collision course to disaster.
Does Isaiah 30 Include a Prophecy About 9/11?
DISCLAIMER
Views expressed throughout are speculative possibilities. In no way should they be taken as doctrinal claims! Read with discernment.
There are many other interesting things in the Bible that may apply currently.
Isaiah 30:8 says “Now go, write it before them in a table, and NOTE IT IN A BOOK, THAT IT MAY BE FOR A TIME TO COME for ever and ever.”
Here is one of the things that were prophesied to come:
Is 30:25 mentions towers falling… “In the day of the great slaughter, When the towers fall.“
Perhaps verses 13 and 14 describe 9/11 in very specific detail…
Is 30:13 “Therefore this iniquity shall be to you Like a breach ready to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant.“ Before the towers fell on 9/11, video cameras recorded a breach in the high walls. Then they fell in an instant!
Is 30:14 “And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel, Which is broken in pieces; He shall not spare. So there shall not be found among its fragments a shard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water from the cistern.”
The Easy English translation says “You will not be able to use any bit to bring water from a pool.” I asked ChatGPT to find images of drinking cups from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, but it couldn’t. Here’s what it says about my query: Drinking cups / kitchenware — everyday items (glasses, cups, mugs) were recovered in many cases as damagedfragments; museum photo galleries and article roundups show smashed glasses, fused items, and personal effects rather than intact disposable cups or pristine mugs.
Is this a prophecy fulfilled, or what?
Am I taking this too far? Here’s a summary of what I see in Chapter 30:
Prophecies for the future were to be written in a book Is 30:8.
That book is the Bible, which lasts forever and ever, Matt 24:35, Pslm 119:89, Is 40:8.
Ancient alliances are referred to in the first part of chapter 30. But then it moves on to prophecies that reach far into the future. It says the Lord’s is angry with the nations (Is 30:27-28). The World Trade Center, that was destroyed on 9/11, may fit into these prophecies! Is 45:7 claims the Lord is responsible for both good and evil. I explain this concept elsewhere.
Bible translations vary. By mixing translations, the last half of Isaiah 30:25 can be translated as “many shall perish when the high towers collapse.”
Before the fall, they will have a breach, “swelling outwards.” Is 30:13
When they do fall, it happens in an “instant.” Is 30:13
After the fall, only small fragments are left. Is 30:14
If you know of anything else that describes a total destruction of towers being breached, with no drinking containers left afterwards, that even could fit this prophecy, please let me know.
Of course, I don’t know for sure that Isaiah 30 references 9/11, just as I don’t know 100% for sure that Nahum 2:4 refers to modern roadways. Or that Daniel 12:4 is for right now, but I think it actually has to be. I do know God says he knows the end from the beginning, and I do take the Bible seriously…
Mask illustration by James Stephen. Parts of this information have been sourced, with permission, from https://www.facebook.com/phinehas.eleazar/posts/2983368291913558
I’m updating this post, because the headline gives a false impression that I want to correct here. The headline should say this is just one part of solving the mystery. However it’s still interesting…
The following explains how many of the large stone blocks were lifted.
I
I get indignant every time I think about how the mainstream media miseducates people (especially regarding evolution) and suppresses so much truth.
It’s difficult to sort the truth from so many lies.
WHO built the Great Pyramid?
This off-site link is worth reading for a possible partial answer. It may not be the full answer though, but it is based on some interesting research.
The other day my wife and I tided our bedroom in preparation for putting our house on the market.
I took a photo. Here it is.
After this, my wife discovered that it looked better when she put something extra on the bed – a red blanket.
I took another photo. Here it is.
What a difference something extra made!
And it was so simple.
This made me think. How easy is it to add something extra?
It could make all the difference. If you’re making a meal, you really should add that extra little bit of garnish to the plate.
If you’re giving a gift, it probably is worth putting a ribbon on the box.
If you’re writing a story, leave it for a few days, and then come back and add something extra for a finishing touch. I did this with my quotes article here. The final quote didn’t quite fit, but it added some extra life. Don’t you agree?
So, perhaps you’re going to a nice restaurant. Why not wear a tie? …Not your style. I get that… But, is there something you could add that makes it a little bit more special for the people you’re mixing with?
Who knows, just that bit of extra attention, or an additional longer look into your loved ones eyes could brighten their whole evening.
As W. Clement Stone wrote in “The Success System That Never Fails”
“Little hinges swing big doors.”
In 2019 St. John Properties handed out $10 million in bonuses to their employees. That was a nice surprise. But it’s not what I’m talking about, because it doesn’t have to cost you big time.
It can be something as little as an extra cherry on top of the cake.
Little things do matter.
Who doesn’t like it when they service your car, and they add tyre black to the tyres at no extra charge? But you don’t have to add extra for commercial advantage. You can just do it for the fun of it.
Add extra for your own satisfaction. Give it some thought.
It makes sense.
If you’re selling your house, why not add that extra blanket?
Depression, loneliness, despair. Most people have been there —
Sorry, the rhymes were meant to start further down.
Let’s look at what you can you do, when you’re feeling blue.
Sorry again! I think I’d better get all the poetry out of the way first.
Here goes:
THE BUS TO NOWHERE
Today I could take a holiday And visit somewhere nice. Maybe take the bus to Burleigh (Avoiding Surfers Paradise).
I’d go down by the sea Where the breeze blows on my face, And then buy a cup of coffee In a certain lonely place.
Then walk up to the bluff lookout To see the blue sea, blue sky sights. And stare down at the rocks From dizzy, dangerous heights.
And I’d consider all the seagulls And I’d make my mind up not to fall. They fly around forever. But I don’t fly at all.
Then… I’d walk back to the bus stop Feeling hardly any pain. Some days, I take a bus to nowhere Then I come back home again.
As you may be able to tell, I can relate to feeling blue.
I’ve had years of unemployment with no car and a bad back…
I’ve been married three times, divorced twice, with my second marriage lasting only two weeks. We had a great honeymoon. Immediately afterwards, this beautiful lady sent me out on an errand, then dumped all my furniture and things on the pavement outside the unit, and when I returned she told me I couldn’t come back inside – all without any argument or warning! Then she divorced me.
It broke my heart…
I know what it’s like to feel deeply lonely and depressed!
I’ve also lived in substandard housing, with cockroaches crawling over me when they came out of every crevice overnight, even after using insect spray bombs!
Then, I owned a stunningly beautiful 12 acre property for several years, but I sold it when it was debeautified by fire (photos here).
As the Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly, was supposed to have said, just before they hung him, “Such is life!”
Before I talk about what you can do to shake the blues, here’s what not to do.
Don’t commit suicide, fast or slow… don’t take drugs, don’t take booze, and don’t throw your life away.
Whatever doesn’t build you up will generally tear you down. So don’t be stupid!
MORE ABOUT ADVERSITY
Life is precious, but often full of adversity.
NAPOLEON HILL’S BIBLICAL LIKE OBSERVATION
The author of the book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ once made a famous observation. He said:
“Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”
It’s a powerful idea—one that’s inspired countless people to view failure, not as defeat, but as opportunity. But is it just motivational fluff?
Is it really true?
I’m going to search deeper into my past history with that question in mind.
ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCE #1
I lay on the floor in the empty house, in the living room.
I put a blanket over my face and my body, like a shroud. I told God “I may as well be dead.
I was so low.
I prayed more about my situation.
I was extremely depressed because of three things hitting me, one on top of the other.
After 13 years of marriage my wife was divorcing me.
My job prospects were poor and getting worse.
On top of that, I had just lost faith in the church that I’d worked for for ten years, that I’d believed and supported since I was a teenager. So you could say I’d lost my religion as well.
I asked God, why had it all come to this?
Why was the church that I used to respect losing it so badly?
What was going on?
And God came through for me.
About two weeks later, a package arrived in the mailbox. I don’t know who sent it.
The information explained that the church I’d been a member of was turning away from the truth. But a breakaway church that still clung to the truth had formed.
This was my answer, and I joined this new group.
Everything was wonderful for a while.
ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCE #2
It was even more wonderful when I met another lady in that church and got married.
But it only lasted two weeks, and that lady cancelled the marriage for unknown reasons! Reading this over, it sounds too hard to believe, yet it’s the truth!
I sank to rock bottom once again.
But God came through for me.
I didn’t know where to live at the time. I needed temporary accommodation, and after checking out some appalling accommodation options, I told God that I needed the best accommodation.
I truly believe God came through for me once again, and I found top grade accommodation. The marriage disaster was a heavy blow for me, and it took me literally years to recover from the emotional trauma. But I did – eventually.
Now, I want to tell you about a third low spot in my life.
ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCE #3
That new church that I’d joined began losing it also.
In fact it had become a full blown cult!
My time in that church came to the end when I objected to a directive that was against Biblically sound doctrine, and I was promptly disfellowshipped.
Several Bible passages come to mind, such as:
Isaiah 66:5 “Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.” (Also see Luke 6:22)
Again, I was feeling low. A few months later I sat at my computer in my parents second empty house I was caretaking while they lived in another state. I felt just as lonely and vulnerable as ever. I decided to study online information about Christ’s return.
I had no idea that a miracle was about to happen.
Some of my study material included information about “1000-YEAR DAYS.”
I noticed a few light drops of rain. Then in a whimsical moment, I told God in prayer that this light sprinkle of rain represented the flood of truth He was giving me in my study of Bible chronology, thousand year ‘days’, and the possible timing for Christ’s second coming.
I said ‘Amen’ to my prayer.
The very instant after saying Amen, some awareness made me look towards the ceiling. Suddenly, unexpectedly, an extremelyheavy and continuous24 hourdownpour of rain POUNDED loudly onto the decramastic roof above, shocking me into an awareness that this was no ordinary event!
This was the front page newspaper headline that confronted me the morning after my flood hit the Gold Coast, way back in mid-2005 before almost daily weather disasters became the new normal!
The chances of having an UNFORECAST,exact one day, ‘1 in 1000 year’ flood happen randomly, the EXACT SECOND after saying Amen from studying and praying about ‘1 in 1000 year days’, after declaring the LIGHT shower of rain to metaphorically BE a FLOOD, and then reading the ‘1 in 1000 year’ newspaper headline the next day, are IMPOSSIBLE.
I recently asked an AI bot to calculate the statistical odds of this happening. It said:
Timing of Rain Relative to the Prayer There are 86,400 seconds in a day (24 hours × 60 minutes × 60 seconds). If the rain began within 1 second of your prayer, the probability is 1 in 86,400. Rain Being Significant Enough to Be Reported Assuming 1 in 100 rain events are significant enough to make a headline. Specificity of the Headline’s Language Assuming 1 in 1,000 headlines use language metaphorically aligning with your interpretation. Connection to the “1000-Year Days” Framework Assuming 1 in 1,000 events align with such theological patterns. Combined Probability The combined probability is: P = (1/86,400) × (1/100) × (1/1,000) × (1/1,000) P = 1 / 8,640,000,000,000 This translates to a 1 in 8.64 trillion chance of these events aligning randomly! Statistically, this might occur only once every 8.64 million years, assuming the conditions remain constant.
The heavy downpour was not forecast by the weather bureau and was entirely unexpected.
The flood of rain continued unabated for exactly one day, from about 3 pm to about 3 pm. If this was not a miracle, it was very nice timing!
I’ve yet to fully understand the implications of this miracle, but it encouraged me to create this website, so you could say that your viewing this now was the result of a supernatural event! (But then again, so also, is origin of everything else.)
Surprisingly, the principle Napoleon Hill gave aligns closely with biblical wisdom. Scripture repeatedly affirms that adversity, when surrendered to God, can lead to growth, transformation, and even divine purpose.
Let’s explore how the Bible supports this idea—and how it goes even further.
THE BIBLE AFFIRMS THIS PRINCIPLE
Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
This verse assures us that God is actively working through every circumstance, even the painful ones, to bring about good for those who love Him. The “good” may not be comfort or success—it’s often spiritual maturity and alignment with God’s purpose.
James 1:2–4
“Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials… because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance…”
James challenges us to embrace trials with joy, not because they’re easy, but because they’re productive. Trials build perseverance, which leads to spiritual completeness. Adversity becomes a tool for transformation.
COMPARING HILL’S PHILOSOPHY WITH SCRIPTURE
Napoleon Hill’s quote resonates with these biblical truths, but there’s a key difference in focus:
Napoleon Hill
Biblical Perspective
Personal success and achievement
Spiritual growth
Human potential and mindset
God’s purposes and grace
Self-driven transformation
Surrender and trust in God
Hill’s message is empowering, but Scripture offers a deeper, eternal hope—one that doesn’t rely on our strength, but on God’s grace and power.
Additional Scriptures:
Romans 5:3–5
“Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” A beautiful progression that begins with pain and ends in unshakable hope.
John 16:33
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus doesn’t promise a trouble-free life—but He does promise peace and victory.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s not just theory. I can list several more examples in my own life where a setback played out over time, and turned to greater good in the long run.
a) I was retrenched from a job in Melbourne, so I moved to the Gold Coast, found another job, found a wife, and was better off.
b) Years later, I was out of work again, divorced a second time, and now I had no car. Cutting a long story short, this led to ride sharing with a lady I helped out, who also became my wife, and I was better off!
c) In a previous post I wrote about a fire that went through our property, burning some expensive things we owned. Long term, this worked for the good also. We moved to a more suitable location and the insurance payout enabled me to make an investment that has now returned more than the loss we made at the time.
Setbacks are not the end—they’re often the beginning of something greater. Whether viewed through the lens of personal development or divine providence, adversity carries transformative potential.
Napoleon Hill was right! Adversity contains the seed of benefit. But the Bible takes it further—the greatest benefits are not just equivalent… they’re eternal.
Excluding medical help, which is totally outside the scope of this article, here are:
FOUR IDEAS FOR BEATING THE BLUES
1) Change your scenery or location
2) Make a new plan
3) Change your thinking
4) Wait on God, trusting in Him for Supernatural help!
A change of scenery may only be a temporary fix, as illustrated in my poem. But it may help, because it can change your mood and give you time to reevaluate things. Sometimes stuff just takes time to work through. As the Bible says, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)
A change of plan You need hope, and having a plan can give you hope. You need to get a vision for yourself of what could be, not what is. Again, to quote the Bible, where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18) There are lots of books about goal setting, and they might help, but just ask yourself, What’s the next step I can take in order to make things better? That’s how you begin to make a plan. Take it from there.
A change of thinking Negative thinking will take you deeper into depression. Although your thinking may seem like it’s on autopilot, you can steer your thoughts if you really want to – your thoughts are actually choices you’re making! So – begin by refusing to dwell on any negative thoughts and choose to focus on the things you can do to make your life better. Be thankful for every asset you have. It may take a little effort to change your thought habit patterns, but it works better than any pill in the long run.
Bible quote time: In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God. (1 Thes. 5:18)
Also: Those who sow in tears Shall reap with cheers. (Psalm 126:5)
And another: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2)
Finally, the book of Jeremiah has a reputation for being negative, yet it also has positive messages. Here’s a verse worth noting:
Jer 29:11 I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for well-being, and not for calamity, in order to give you a FUTURE and a HOPE. (ISV)
God can work in your life also, to give YOU a future and a hope.
Supernatural Help
You can also beat the blues and change your life by moving up to a higher level of existence where you rely totally on God. If you are in a dry, empty place, you can lean heavily on God to help you. Psalm 127:1 – Let the Lord build your house, rather than trying to do it yourself!
The more you lean on God, the more help you will get! Lev 26:12 was a covenant God made with ancient Israel. It was a covenant they broke. But you can make the same covenant with God, and not break it!
I’ve written more about this on my page about How to be Safe in a Time of Trouble.
Change your thinking, change your mindset, and you can change your life, especially with Supernatural help.
If you do find yourself on a bus to nowhere, make sure you get home safely.
Even more about my background
I’ve had some great life experiences and opportunities.
This was my first car.This was my second.
I’ve owned several cars and houses, and mainly lived in Victoria and Queensland. I’ve travelled to Asia as well, living in Thailand for 3 months.
This is me in Asia.
And here are some shots I took of transportation in Asia.
One of my hobbies is photography,
and turning photography into art.
This next one is on Coconut Island. It’s a day-night combination and it’s one of my favourite photo-art creations:
Some photos are skill, others are luck. The ancient Greeks considered dolphins to be a sign of good luck. Then again, some people think the number 7 is good luck. In 2019 I photographed both items of luck together. Seven dolphins in one wave.
It was just a lucky shot!
Poems about Australia…
In 1988 I wrote this poem about Australia’s bicentenary:
OZ BICENTENARY
Here’s to the lucky country Here’s to the land of beers And all that water under the bridge Now we’ve come 200 years.
As Australians individually A few of us are sus’ But as a nation on the whole There are no flies on us!
We have our flags and anthems Our fauna, and our birds Our dingoes and our yowies Our drongos, and our nerds.
But, I’m proud to be Australian Proud of our tall gum trees And 200 years of history Tho’ I come from overseas!
Actually, that is nottrue… I’m really 100% Australian by birth.
And although I appreciate Australia, I’m NOT proud of Australia’s history, or Australia’s politics … the devil, who is the author of confusion and sows lies (1 Cor 14:33, James 3:16, and John 8:44), has sown great confusion on both sides of the political arena. It’s the same story with other countries as well.
I’ll finish with another poem. Like ‘The Bus to Nowhere,’ this also ends with arriving home:
He Is Greeted Well
Exhausted by the extended heat My dusty feet, tramping, through gumtree roots and bush – Tired leaves hanging, – Shoulders drooping I’m slowing. Wilting
Reviving though, at the sight of something In the distance, beckoning. A red tin roof I’m coming. To a little dot across the valley Walking faster. Hurrying. Longing
No gate, no fence, only Veranda steps and lonely. Empty rooms that greet me But I’m SO happy now to be In one piece – Home!
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