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And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev.19:11-16). It is Jesus Christ who is going to return to this earth and fill it with the blood of wicked and apostate men and women! Further proof that this is the same YHVH that Zechariah foretold is revealed in the book of Acts. As Jesus ascended to heaven on a cloud out of the sight of His disciples, two angels stood by and told the disciples: "This 140 same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Where did Jesus ascend to heaven from, and to what point will He therefore descend, "in like manner"? "Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the MOUNT CALLED OLIVET, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey" (verse 12).
Jesus Christ will return to the Mount of Olives, in plain view of all the nations -- and then He will go forth to fight against their combined armies, and destroy them -- just as was prophesied by Zechariah of the "LORD" GOD of the Old Testament (Zech.14:1-4)! What could be plainer than that? "I Saw Satan as Lightning Fall from Heaven!" Did Jesus Christ pre-exist as "God"? Jesus said plainly to the Pharisees of His day, who accused Him of having a demon, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:56). The Jews replied, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus replied: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58). This is a perfectly clear reference to the fact that Jesus PRE-EXISTED even Abraham, and lived long before His human birth in the virgin Mary! Did Jesus live back in the time before all human life on earth was created? He told His very own disciples, who rejoiced that they had been given power to cast out demons: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:18).
Jesus was present, then, when Satan himself was cast out of heaven, long before humans were ever created! Isaiah the prophet speaks of Satan's fall in that distant, primordial time, the misty past: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations [of angels, whom he led astray -- one third of the angels in heaven followed him in his rebellion -- see Rev.12:3-4]! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit" (Isa.14:12-15). Satan's rebellion occurred long before there were any human beings created on the earth. Ezekiel the prophet tells us that Satan originally was one of the created cherubim and walked in the original Garden of Eden (Ezek.28:12-13). He was the "anointed cherub that covered" the throne of God and was "upon the mountain of God" and "walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire" (verse 14). God says of him, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, TILL INIQUITY [LAWLESSNESS] was found in thee" (v.15). Because of his pride and arrogance, God cast him out of heaven, out of the mountain of God (vs.16-17). This sin of Satan occurred perhaps millions of years ago, for Jesus said of him 141 very clearly, "He [Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, becaue there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh on his own: for he is a LIAR, and the father of it" (John 8:44). If Jesus saw Satan fall from heaven, as He so clearly says He did, then HE CERTAINLY MUST HAVE PRE-EXISTED SATAN HIMSELF! To believe otherwise is to call Jesus Christ the MESSIAH a "liar," and to call Him a liar is to invalidate one's own salvation and to make shipwreck of the true faith! Jesus is the "Word" of God, and that Word cannot lie (Titus 1:2, John 17:17, 10:35). Jesus' Own Words In Answer to This Question The fact is, in John, chapter 5, Jesus forever settles and puts to rest the false doctrine and Satanic belief that He is not God -- very God -- the offspring of the Father! In this chapter, let us study carefully and cautiously, and read HIS VERY OWN WORDS on the subject! Jesus declared: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17). Notice! In this very verse Jesus puts Himself on a par with the Father, saying in effect that He HIMSELF was doing the very work of God the Father. The Jews who heard Him were distressed. Notice! "Therefore sought the JEWS THE MORE TO KILL HIM, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that GOD WAS HIS FATHER, making himself EQUAL WITH GOD" (John 5:18).
The Jews understood what Jesus implied -- what He meant, when He literally called God His "Father," and said He worked as His Father worked. They were furious at this! They wanted to kill Christ for heresy! Jesus declared: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. . . . For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should HONOUR THE SON, EVEN AS THEY HONOUR THE FATHER. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him" (John 5:19-23). How clear! Jesus Christ, the MESSIAH, is just like the Father! He does the VERY WORKS OF THE FATHER! Even as the Father, who is God, raises the DEAD, so Jesus Christ has entered into this very same work -- He has this very same AUTHORITY! ONLY GOD CAN RAISE THE DEAD! Since Jesus has been given this authority, even as the Father has it, He also is very God of very GOD! Notice further! Jesus went on, "For as the Father hath life IN HIMSELF; so hath he given to the Son TO HAVE LIFE IN HIMSELF; and hath given him AUTHORITY 142 TO EXECUTE JUDGMENT also, because he is the Son of man" (John 8:26-27). Only GOD has "life in Himself." This Scripture shows that Jesus Christ, just like God the Father, has LIFE INHERENT WITHIN HIMSELF -- that is, He is the Author of LIFE -- HE IS THE LIFE-GIVER AND LIFE-SUSTAINER! That is one of the key definitions of "GOD"! Notice! God told Moses at the burning bush, "I AM THAT I AM . . . Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you" (Exodus 3:14).
The very name of God, YHVH, the Tetragrammaton, pronounced YAHVEH in English, means, by definition, "THE I AM" -- THE EXISTING GOD, THE ONE WHO WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO BE, AND WHO CAUSES TO BE -- THE ETERNAL ONE WHO IS! Jesus Christ IS Very GOD! In the book of Malachi, the YHVH of the Old Testament says, "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6). In the book of Hebrews, in reference to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, we read, "Jesus Christ THE SAME, yesterday, and today, and forever" (Heb.13:8). Both the YHVH and Jesus Christ are the SAME -- CHANGE NOT -- yesterday, today and forever! This could only be said or stated of ALMIGHTY GOD HIMSELF! Therefore, Jesus Christ is very God even as the Father is very God! The Alpha and Omega John records in Revelation the words of God, saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, THE ALMIGHTY" (Revelation 1:8).
Who is this Person who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, who is also the Almighty God? This refers to none other than Jesus Christ, the Messiah! John records, in Revelation 22, the very promise of Jesus Christ to return to this earth quickly (verse 7). Jesus goes on, saying, "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END, the first and the last. . . . I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star" (Rev.22:12-16). Jesus Is CREATOR and SUSTAINER Yes, JESUS CHRIST IS VERY GOD! As Paul wrote, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the IMAGE of the invisible GOD, the firstborn of every creature: For by him [this same Jesus!] were all 143 things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible . . . all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things exist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in ALL THINGS he might have the preeminence" (Col.1:14-18).
To be continued:
Jesus Christ will return to the Mount of Olives, in plain view of all the nations -- and then He will go forth to fight against their combined armies, and destroy them -- just as was prophesied by Zechariah of the "LORD" GOD of the Old Testament (Zech.14:1-4)! What could be plainer than that? "I Saw Satan as Lightning Fall from Heaven!" Did Jesus Christ pre-exist as "God"? Jesus said plainly to the Pharisees of His day, who accused Him of having a demon, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:56). The Jews replied, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus replied: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58). This is a perfectly clear reference to the fact that Jesus PRE-EXISTED even Abraham, and lived long before His human birth in the virgin Mary! Did Jesus live back in the time before all human life on earth was created? He told His very own disciples, who rejoiced that they had been given power to cast out demons: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:18).
Jesus was present, then, when Satan himself was cast out of heaven, long before humans were ever created! Isaiah the prophet speaks of Satan's fall in that distant, primordial time, the misty past: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations [of angels, whom he led astray -- one third of the angels in heaven followed him in his rebellion -- see Rev.12:3-4]! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit" (Isa.14:12-15). Satan's rebellion occurred long before there were any human beings created on the earth. Ezekiel the prophet tells us that Satan originally was one of the created cherubim and walked in the original Garden of Eden (Ezek.28:12-13). He was the "anointed cherub that covered" the throne of God and was "upon the mountain of God" and "walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire" (verse 14). God says of him, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, TILL INIQUITY [LAWLESSNESS] was found in thee" (v.15). Because of his pride and arrogance, God cast him out of heaven, out of the mountain of God (vs.16-17). This sin of Satan occurred perhaps millions of years ago, for Jesus said of him 141 very clearly, "He [Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, becaue there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh on his own: for he is a LIAR, and the father of it" (John 8:44). If Jesus saw Satan fall from heaven, as He so clearly says He did, then HE CERTAINLY MUST HAVE PRE-EXISTED SATAN HIMSELF! To believe otherwise is to call Jesus Christ the MESSIAH a "liar," and to call Him a liar is to invalidate one's own salvation and to make shipwreck of the true faith! Jesus is the "Word" of God, and that Word cannot lie (Titus 1:2, John 17:17, 10:35). Jesus' Own Words In Answer to This Question The fact is, in John, chapter 5, Jesus forever settles and puts to rest the false doctrine and Satanic belief that He is not God -- very God -- the offspring of the Father! In this chapter, let us study carefully and cautiously, and read HIS VERY OWN WORDS on the subject! Jesus declared: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17). Notice! In this very verse Jesus puts Himself on a par with the Father, saying in effect that He HIMSELF was doing the very work of God the Father. The Jews who heard Him were distressed. Notice! "Therefore sought the JEWS THE MORE TO KILL HIM, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that GOD WAS HIS FATHER, making himself EQUAL WITH GOD" (John 5:18).
The Jews understood what Jesus implied -- what He meant, when He literally called God His "Father," and said He worked as His Father worked. They were furious at this! They wanted to kill Christ for heresy! Jesus declared: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. . . . For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should HONOUR THE SON, EVEN AS THEY HONOUR THE FATHER. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him" (John 5:19-23). How clear! Jesus Christ, the MESSIAH, is just like the Father! He does the VERY WORKS OF THE FATHER! Even as the Father, who is God, raises the DEAD, so Jesus Christ has entered into this very same work -- He has this very same AUTHORITY! ONLY GOD CAN RAISE THE DEAD! Since Jesus has been given this authority, even as the Father has it, He also is very God of very GOD! Notice further! Jesus went on, "For as the Father hath life IN HIMSELF; so hath he given to the Son TO HAVE LIFE IN HIMSELF; and hath given him AUTHORITY 142 TO EXECUTE JUDGMENT also, because he is the Son of man" (John 8:26-27). Only GOD has "life in Himself." This Scripture shows that Jesus Christ, just like God the Father, has LIFE INHERENT WITHIN HIMSELF -- that is, He is the Author of LIFE -- HE IS THE LIFE-GIVER AND LIFE-SUSTAINER! That is one of the key definitions of "GOD"! Notice! God told Moses at the burning bush, "I AM THAT I AM . . . Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you" (Exodus 3:14).
The very name of God, YHVH, the Tetragrammaton, pronounced YAHVEH in English, means, by definition, "THE I AM" -- THE EXISTING GOD, THE ONE WHO WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO BE, AND WHO CAUSES TO BE -- THE ETERNAL ONE WHO IS! Jesus Christ IS Very GOD! In the book of Malachi, the YHVH of the Old Testament says, "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6). In the book of Hebrews, in reference to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, we read, "Jesus Christ THE SAME, yesterday, and today, and forever" (Heb.13:8). Both the YHVH and Jesus Christ are the SAME -- CHANGE NOT -- yesterday, today and forever! This could only be said or stated of ALMIGHTY GOD HIMSELF! Therefore, Jesus Christ is very God even as the Father is very God! The Alpha and Omega John records in Revelation the words of God, saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, THE ALMIGHTY" (Revelation 1:8).
Who is this Person who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, who is also the Almighty God? This refers to none other than Jesus Christ, the Messiah! John records, in Revelation 22, the very promise of Jesus Christ to return to this earth quickly (verse 7). Jesus goes on, saying, "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END, the first and the last. . . . I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star" (Rev.22:12-16). Jesus Is CREATOR and SUSTAINER Yes, JESUS CHRIST IS VERY GOD! As Paul wrote, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the IMAGE of the invisible GOD, the firstborn of every creature: For by him [this same Jesus!] were all 143 things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible . . . all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things exist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in ALL THINGS he might have the preeminence" (Col.1:14-18).
To be continued:
