“saying: ‘“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”’
~ Revelation 7:12
Hi James and Ellen,
How real are your dreams? Do you remember your dreams? Have you ever told a kid friend what you have dreamt? Are your dreams like visions? A vision may have in it an apparition, prophecy or revelation. An apparition in a dream or vision is an entity that is not human. A prophecy in a dream or vision is a word forecast of an incident that is going to take place in the future. A revelation in a dream or vision is a mental picture of a happening that is going to happen in the future. Your grandpaa does not think that God gives dreams or visions anymore to guys and gals that describe in detail future incidents or happenings on planet Earth. Your grandpaa believes that Apostle John was the last guy who has lived and will live on planet Earth who God has given or will give visions to about future incidents and happenings on planet Earth. Your grandpaa believes that after God gave Apostle John visions of what the end of life on planet Earth and what life in heaven is going to be like, that God stopped giving guys visions that are word forecasts and mental pictures of incidents and happenings that will take place in the future. Do you know who Apostle John was who your grandpaa believes received the last visions from God about what planet Earth will be like when life comes to an end on planet Earth and what heaven will be like when God has before Him all His specially chosen and elected guys, gals and kids and all the angels, beings and heavenly hosts who God created to reflect His glory back to Him as He is being worshipped? Apostle John was one of the twelve guys who Jesus chose to be His disciples. Apostle John wrote in his John Book – which is the book that concludes the four Gospel Books, that he was the disciple who Jesus loved. Apostle John was exiled to an island called Patmos more than fifty years after His mentor – Jesus, died after being cruelly nailed to a crude cross for the sins of His specially elected guys, gals and kids. Apostle John by this time was an old guy.
What would you do if you were one day put on a small island where there was no one else on the island but you? Apostle John – from the time that Jesus picked him out of the humanity crowd, was a faithful Jesus follower. Apostle John and his bro James were netting fish when Jesus told them to leave their dad – Zebedee, and their nets behind to follow Him. Your grandpaa believes that God honored Apostle John’s faithfulness to Him by blessing Apostle John by giving him through word forecasts and mental pictures what the end times are going to be like both here on planet Earth and in heaven. Revelation 7 includes two mental pictures of what Apostle John saw what the end times are going to be like. The first mental revelation picture that God gave to Apostle John was of four angels. Apostle John saw in his first mental revelation picture an angel at each one of planet Earth’s four corners holding back the wind. The angels were keeping the destructive winds from blowing across the land, trees on the land and seas. Apostle John saw a fifth angel appear out of the east carrying God’s seal. The fifth angel told the four angels not to harm any guys on planet Earth until he had put God’s seal on the foreheads of 144,000 guys. Your grandpaa believes that these 144,000 guys will be God’s specially chosen guys whose heritage is with the Israelite people group – that God will choose from twelve different Israelite people group’s tribal clans 12,000 guys from each tribal clan. The Israelite people group’s twelve tribal clans’ guys – the 144,000 guys who God will have specially marked with His seal, will be descendants of kids born to Jacob and Joseph. Jacob or Israel had twelve boys by four mas. Joseph had two boys. When God’s specially chosen guys, gals and guys entered into and overran the land that God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that their extended families would always have to live in as their very own land, this land area was divided between eleven of Israel’s sons and Joseph’s two sons. The vision that God gave to Apostle John did not have the Dan tribal clan listed as one of the twelve tribal clans that would have 12,000 guys marked with a seal on their foreheads. The Ephraim tribal clan – Joseph’s second son, was not listed in the list either. The reason for the Dan tribal clan not being listed in the list was because the Dan tribal clan had turned early on to worshipping gods made from wood, stone and metal. Your grandpaa thinks that the Ephraim tribal clan did not make the list because the Ephraim tribal clan continually rebelled against God.
The second mental revelation picture that Apostle John had was of a throne with four living creatures who were surrounded by elders who in turn were surrounded by angels. Also in this mental revelation picture that Apostle John had was of a great multitude that could not be counted. This great multitude was standing in front of the throne. Every guy, gal and kid in the great multitude had on a white robe and had palm branches in their hands. The living creatures, elders and angels were bowing on their faces before the throne. On the throne was the Lamb. The Lamb was Christ. In verse 12 the living creatures, elders and angels were “saying: ‘“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”’ Apostle John wanted to know where the great multitude of white robed, palm branch carrying worshippers of the Lamb and God had come from. One of the elders told Apostle John that the great multitude of white robed, palm branch carrying worshippers of the Lamb and God were guys, gals and kids who had during the great tribulation made a decision of faith to accept Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior. There is no way for your grandpaa – or any guy or gal, to know when the great tribulation will begin but . . . this definitely is an intriguing time to be living on planet Earth.
Revelation 7 (326)