SONG OF SONGS-- GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS ON SEX IN MARRIAGE #6 - WEDDING NIGHT #2

 

The Wedding Night - Part two

Keeping romance alive

Continuing with part two of Dillow's book and chapter on "The Wedding Night." By calling her "garden" an orchard of pomegranates, he says her garden contains the most delicious of fruits. Thus, he speaks of the pleasure awaiting him there. The remainder of the verse refers to exotic, fragrant plants, most of which Solomon imported to Palestine. They constitute Solomon's erotic and poetic description of her "garden." Nard is a fragrance-giving plant; saffron, a yellow plant; calainus, a plant of reedlike stem and tawny color which grows in wild marshes; cinnamon, a plant grown in the East Indies which grows to thirty feet in height. The perfumed oil obtained from the myrrh plant is called myrrh and was used in gargles to scent the breath's. The ancients were very fond of sweet perfumes of all kinds, and perfumed oils were rubbed on the body and feet. Small pellets of dried mixed spice and resins or resinous woods were burned in special censers. Perfume was used to scent the breath (Song 7:8). Clothing was perfumed (Ps.45:8; Song 3:6; 4:11). Couches and beds were sprinkled (Prov.7:17). Frankincense was sometimes chewed to give the mouth a fresh odors. The aloes plant grows in India; its wood is very aromatic and was held in veneration by the natives. The association of fragrant odor with the vagina is perplexing to many women. For various reasons many wives consider their genitals repulsive and cannot imagine how their husbands find them attractive. God created husbands to enjoy their wives bodies, including the genitals. When the genitals have been thoroughly cleaned with soap and water, and when a woman is sexually aroused, there is a faint and very stimulating odor associated with the moistness. When he says her garden contains "the finest spices," he means it is as rare and as much to be valued as the most precious of aromatic herbs. It is interesting again to see how some of the commentators avoid the obvious implications of Solomon's praises of the "scent" of her "garden." For example, Zockler in Lange's commentary says, "A particular explanation of the individual products of the garden is, on the whole, impossible, and leads to what is a variance with good taste." But why is it "in variance with good taste" if God included it in Scripture and sanctioned it as beautiful and holy? 4:15 SOLOMON: You are a garden spring, A well of fresh water, And streams flowing from Lebanon. To him, she is not a sealed garden. Her garden is an open well from which he can draw refreshment as a tired and thirsty traveller could at a fountain. To what do the "streams flowing from Lebanon" refer? This phrase is used in Prov. 5:16 in a similar sexual context of male semen: Drink water from your own cistern And fresh water from your own well. That is, have sexual intercourse only with your own wife; Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? McKane says, "It is the male semen which constitutes the 'springs'and channels of water..." Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you. "...intercourse with a strange woman is a waste of semen, since it is the fathering of children from a strange household and a consequent neglect of the building up of one's own house and posterity." McKane could have added that it is also immoral! There seems to be a parallel thought here with Song 4:15; both passages are written by the same author, Solomon. The wife in Prov.5:15,16. The husband in Prov.5:16 waters out of a cistern lest thy fountains be dispersed running waters out of thine own well rivers of water If the "fountains" and waters of the male refer to his semen, then what do the rivers of waters of the wife refer to? As semen is the product of his sexual excitement, so running waters must be the product of hers. Thus, the running waters would refer to the juices which lubricate the vagina during intercourse. Since these streams were also a symbol of refreshment, the reference speaks of the sexual refreshment her garden provided. It is worth noting she doesn't request sexual intercourse (4:16) until she is already well-lubricated. Too many husbands tend to start their lovemaking by direct genital stimulation, or they begin intercourse before the wife specifically indicates she is close to a climax and well lubricated. The mere fact that she is lubricated, however, does not mean she is ready for intercourse. Let her tell you when she's ready like Shulamith told Solomon. 4:16 SHULAMITH: Awake, O north wind And come, wind of the south. She now responds to Solomon's praises. She calls him the north and south winds. The north wind brings clear weather and removes clouds, and the south brings warmth and moisture. When they blew across a garden in Palestine, coolness and sultriness, cold and heat, would promote the growth of the garden. She is asking Solomon to stimulate her garden with caresses to promote the growth of her sexual passion. Make my garden breathe out fragrance, Let its spices be wafted abroad. As the "winds" blow through her garden, first from one direction and then from another, Shulamith's sexual passion grows and grows until all the fragrance of the garden rises in waves to become a sea of incense. She wants everything in her which pleases her lover to show itself to him in full power and loveliness. As a traveller passed by an Eastern garden its scent would draw him to enter it. Shulamith wants her garden to become more and more "enticing" to Solomon as a result of his caresses. She wants a "sea of incense" to draw his interest to her garden until his passion is great! She completely accepts her femininity and is anxious that Solomon fully experience what she has to offer. She relishes the fact that Solomon is highly aroused by the sight of her garden and by caressing it. What a healthy attitude! Now that she is fully aroused, she requests that Solomon enter her. 4:16 SHULAMITH: May my beloved come into his garden And eat its choice fruits! 5:1 SOLOMON: I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. To gather, eat, and drink are all terms that speak of sexual enjoyment. Delitzsch says, "It supposes a union of love, such as is the conclusion of marriage following the betrothal, the God-ordained aim of sexual love within the limits of morality." These references to wine and milk would be readily understood in that culture as fertility symbols. Thus the poet sings of the mixture of his love with hers, of his semen with her vaginal moistness at the climax of their love. After their love is consummated, a new speaker is introduced: 5:1 Eat, Friends, Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers. The commentators have differed widely on the identity of this speaker. The intimacies of the scene make consideration of a real human observer impossible. It cannot be the lovers who are speaking, for they are the ones being addressed. The poet seems to say this is the voice of God Himself. Only the Lord could pronounce such an affirmation. He, of course, was the most intimate observer of all. Their love came from Him (Song 8:7). Thus, the Lord pronounces His full approval on everything that has taken place. He encourages them to drink deeply of the gift of sexual love. There is a beautiful unity to this chapter. It opens with Solomon's praise and his concern for the emotional state of his bride (4:1-7). Their lovep-lay pauses while he promises her a honeymoon in the Lebanon mountains to the north (4:8). They then resume their love play and his heart beats faster and faster (4:9-11). He begins to caress her garden and stimulate her passion (4:12-15). She then invites him to enter her (4:16): they consummate their love (5:1), and the Lord pronounces His approval on everything that has taken place. COMMENT Bedroom language Notice the very erotic and sensual language they use to stimulate each other as they are making love. She speaks of the spices of her garden being wafted abroad. She asks him to eat of her garden's fruit. He calls her vagina a fruit orchard and describes her vaginal moistness as streams flowing from Lebanon (her home town). His genitals are called "fruit" in Song 2:3 and hers a "garden" in 4:12-16. The song has dealt very delicately with some extremely erotic and personal subjects, and yet one can read it and not take offense. Robert Gordis discusses the value of poetic symbolism in subjects like this very well. It is characteristic of the delicacy of the songs that the woman in each case expresses her desire for love by indirection. While a blunt avowal would repel by its crassness, the use of symbolism, which conceals as it reveals, heightens by its subtlety the charm of the sentiments expressed. Psychoanalytic theory has offered a highly plausible explanation for this powerful appeal of symbolism to the human spirit. According to psychoanalysis the unconscious persistently seeks some avenue of expression which will elude the 'censor' who stands guard over the conscious mind. Symbolism performs this liberating function for the unconscious admirably, because, in its very nature, it expresses far more than it says; its nuances are at best as significant as its explications. Its overt meaning has nothing in it to arouse the vigilance of the censor, and meanwhile its deeper context is able to cross the threshold of consciousness. In translating the symbolism, one risks the danger of appearing crass. This is the ever-present danger in this book! When God spoke of personal aspects of sex, He could have used the slang terms; however, they would tend to raise up that psychological censor. He could have used the medical terms, but that leaves a feeling of "mechanics" and science and often a sense of awkwardness. The Lord avoided both problems by using poetic symbolism. It is impossible, however, for the interpreter of the Song to leave it in poetry; to do so leaves it without interpretation to modern readers unfamiliar with ancient oriental symbols. It is the job of a commentator to explain the symbols just as an expositor of the book of Revelation must do. On "dressing up" for your mate While it is certainly true that God looks on the heart, and that the focus on clothes and appearance can be overdone, it is also true that the letters M-R-S (Mrs.) before your name do not stand for Miserable Rut of Sloppiness, or Miss Rummage Sale. But judging from the looks of the typical housewife, you would never know it. Take a look at nine out of ten women pushing carts in a supermarket. They look like survivors of a shipwreck wearing clothes distributed by the Red Cross. They spend more time selecting a head of cabbage than a new shade of lipstick. The next time you go shopping, count the number of women you feel the average man would find sexy. The aisles of a supermarket offer a horrifying potpourri of feminine ugliness. The 'Girl Scout Leader' types with their pulled-back run-a-quick-comb-through-it hair and hem lines that are never quite right. The 'good mother' types with their cracked fingernails and broken-zippered Bermudas (hair forever in plastic curlers) Ask yourself this question, ladies: "Would I have wanted him to see me looking this way before we were married?" If you cannot answer yes, you need to make some changes. When your husband leaves for work, he carries a picture of you in his mind. Is that image likely to give him romantic thoughts during his afternoon coffee break? Solomon says the image of the Shulamite left these kinds of thoughts in his mind! It seems strange that wives and husbands often save their best for comparative strangers while their mate must settle for what he (she) can get. After you collapse on the couch completely "exhausted" from a "hard day," he's supposed to understand, right? He ought to; you have explained it to him in tiresome detail. Yet let an insurance salesman or a friend drop by, and instantly you become all smiles, coffee, and conversation. What do you look like when he comes home from work? Do you get the house ready, and more importantly do you get yourself ready? A man needs a "magnet" at home that keeps drawing him back. If he does not find that magnet at home, there are hundreds of them out in the business world. The girls at the office always appear to him at their best! The way Shulamith dresses has a definite effect on her sex appeal to her husband. Note in 4:11 where Solomon comments on the "fragrance of her garments." She is skilled in the use of perfumes and cosmetics which make her as attractive to her husband as possible (see 1:9,10,15; 4:1-7; 6:4-9; 7:1-7). These comments need some qualification. No woman should be expected to appear as if she stepped out of a beauty parlor twenty-four hours a day. The home should be a place where one can relax and "let your hair down." All we are suggesting is that often we let too much hair down and the result is very thoughtless. Men are no less guilty of sloppiness than many women. Too many husbands lay around the house in sweat-shirts or dirty work clothes. They lounge in front of the TV set watching football with their overweight bellies hanging over their belts and wonder why their wives are not sexually responsive to them. Do you make her feel needed? Solomon did! When he gazed at her body and referred to the stately carriage of her neck (4:4), he was poetically telling her, "My darling, you are a constant source of encouragement and strength for me. I need you desperately to carry out my responsibilities as King of Israel." Have you ever told your wife something like that? She needs to feel needed. You also need to feel needed. If your boss continually communicated to you that you were unnecessary to the function of the company, your motivations to do a good job would rapidly disappear. You and the family are her world. She needs to know she's succeeding at her "job" just as much as you need that assurance on yours. The problem is she often has a difficult time trying to determine exactly what you need her for. She pleasures you in bed, takes care of your things, keeps the place attractive for you and sees that there are three meals on the table every day. But what else? She wants to know how much you appreciate her encouragement. Tell her what her support does to give you the incentive to go on. Tell her you need to know she believes in you, trusts you, and has faith in you. She needs to know you recognize that need and rely on her faith. Resident Ford in his acceptance speech said, "I am indebted to no man and to only one woman." He was telling the world she contributed to his success. He was giving her honor (1 Peter 3:7). If it is difficult for you to express this to her, work on your inhibitions; you might try writing it all out in loving detail and sending it to her in a special delivery letter! She may tend to evaluate herself in terms of dishwashing, floor scrubbing, and all those other "busy" charm and believe me, it isn't these things that make her feel important in your life! The biblical definition of "romance" Women are incurable romantics with no discernable interest in being cured. If you ever wrote her any love letters, chances are she has kept every one of them. Men are harmed by a lack of romantic love to a much less degree than importance to her. If a man is denied this, he generally throws himself into his work and finds fulfilment there. Not so a woman; since her life is more directly focused in the home she probably feels this lack more deeply than a man. A man once told his wife on their wedding day, "I want you to know I love you. If I didn't I wouldn't have married you. I expect to continue to love you, but don't expect me to say any more about it. Remember, I have already said it." The wife was speechless and, guided by instinct, said, "Oh, I can't remember something like that. I think you will have to remind me again and again." As plants need sunshine and water, so a woman needs romantic love if she is to flourish and bloom. In chapter 4 we see a beautiful illustration of romantic love. In fact, the whole book illustrates this point and defines it for us in tangible ways. Many women complain that their husbands are not romantic enough, but they never seem to be able to define exactly this mysterious substance called "romance." Listen carefully, men, you are at least going to get a definition, and from the Bible, no less! The Song of Solomon seems to teach that "romance" has at least FOUR ingredients. (1) It includes an element of the unexpected. When Solomon constructs a bedroom with cedars from Lebanon (1:16,17) to surprise his bride, he's being romantic. When he springs a surprise vacation in the Lebanon mountains on her, he's being romantic. The element of surprise is important to romance. A single long-stemmed rose when there is no special occasion is romantic. Anything that repeats itself over and over again loses its romantic value, such as always having dinner at the same restaurant, with movies always to follow. (2) It includes dating. We find Solomon taking his wife-to-be on a date in 2:8-17. After they are married, he still takes her on dates (7:11-8:14). Do you regularly date your wife like Solomon did? Let me carefully define what I do not mean by a "date." It is not hurling a newspaper her way some evening while you are laying in front of a boring TV show and saying, "Honey, why don't you see if there is anything on at the movies and call and get a babysitter?" A date is when you plan the evening, you get the babysitter, and YOU TAKE HER. You remember, like you did before you married her. You might get a list of the names and phone numbers of all the babysitters she uses. Something is missing if you have to ask her where to go. When you were dating her before you married her, you didn't wait for her to come up with the ideas. Also, a date is one husband and one wife, not a crowd. Double dates went out with the junior prom. Going out with another couple is great, do it often, but that's not a date. Generally, what happens is that you spend the evening talking to him, and your wife spends the evening talking to her, and a week later she says, "Why don't you ever take me out?" You reply, "I just took you out last week!" But you didn't take her out. You were "out" with the other wife's husband! Call going out with another couple "Christian fellowship" or something ... but that's not what we're talking about when we speak of a "date." Sometimes your dates should involve pre-planning that appears spontaneous. For example, let's say you are going window-shopping with your wife on an evening downtown. You casually pass by a restaurant and say, "Why don't we go in and get a bite to eat." When you enter the restaurant, there are twenty-five people waiting to be seated, and the waiter informs you it will be about an hour and a half before you can get a table. Just at that moment the head waiter arrives and says, "Good evening, Mr.Jones, we have your table for two right over here overlooking the lights of the city." That's romance! That's pre-planning that appears spontaneous. What can you do on a date? Here are some suggestions. -Take a window-shopping stroll after the stores have closed. -Go river bank fishing by moonlight without too much attention to fishing. -Find a secluded spot and build a fire. -Go for a drive in the car and just talk. -Go bicycling. -Go ice or roller skating. -Visit a zoo. -Visit the airport (you might even "watch the airplanes" like you did before you married her). -Go on a camp-out. -Go to a rodeo. -Visit a museum. -Visit a library some evening and browse through all the books on sex, love, and marriage. -Spend an evening sharing mutual goals and planning family objectives. -Locate an unusual and different restaurant and spend the evening there in loving conversation. -Spend an evening making love in a motel, away from the children and the phone. Be home by midnight. -Go to the drive-in. -Visit a convalescent home and take some presents to cheer up the patients and elderly people. (3) It includes the impractical. Cedars from Lebanon are very impractical for bedroom construction! Furthermore, kings can't afford time frivolously spent wandering through the forests of Lebanon mountains with their wives (7:11). How impractical! Our emphasis of "being practical" is a major killer of romance. There is a beautiful illustration of impracticality in the Old Testament. David and his mighty men were at war with the Philistines. One day David casually remarked that he desired a drink of water out of the well of Bethlehem (1 Sam.23:13-17). The problem was this well was now located behind enemy lines and in the middle of the Philistine camp! Three of David's "Five Star Generals," the chiefs of the mighty men, overheard his remark. That night they crept away from the camp and secretly crossed enemy lines and crept right into the Philistine campsite. After securing a pitcher of water from the well, they returned to the Israelite camp completely undetected. When they gave their gift to David, he was so overwhelmed that he said, "I am not worthy to drink this water," and he poured it out on an altar - a sacrifice to the Lord. What utter nonsense! The three top men in David's army risk their own lives and therefore the future of David's military operations against the Philistines for a pitcher of water! It may be impractical nonsense, but it is this kind of nonsense that makes the world go around. Creative romantic love is often stifled by the desire to be reasonable and practical. "This isn't a strategic way to spend money." "We're too old for that sort of thing." "Why don't we wait until we have fulfilled all of these other responsibilities." I'm not advocating irresponsibility. I'm simply observing that practicality can sometimes squelch love. Don't hesitate to be impractical once in a while. Your wife may need an ironing board to the point of desperation. That would be a very "practical" gift but it rates quite low in the romance department. When I was a child I always bought my mother practical gifts for Christmas like knives, plates, placemats, etc. Those gifts are necessary, but we are supposed to be men now. Buy her some perfume, scented soap, a record, lingerie, a basket of fruit, a new plant for the house, or the new outfit she wanted but couldn't afford. (4) It includes creativity. Solomon is a very creative lover. We find this illustrated profusely throughout the Song. It takes creativity to design that kind of bedroom (1:16,17); he speaks to her in poetry to describe her beauty (4:1-7); he takes her for walks in the forests and they make love outdoors (7:11-13); he buys her little trinkets and pieces of jewelry (1:11); he encourages variety in their loveplay (7:1-11). How creative are you toward your wife? Men tend to think in categories and settle down into the rut of marriage very quickly. We use a systematic and categorized approach to our jobs and unfortunately often carry it over into our relationships with our wives. I once talked to a woman who told me of her husband's lovemaking: "I can tell you exactly what my husband will do next, how long he will linger on that part of my body to the second. He hasn't changed the routine in twenty years." She doesn't want a tired old man who treats her to a "good-old-reliable-mother-to-my-children" kind of affection. It has been said the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth of it. If you have fallen into that nine-to-five, sex-only-after-the-late-news, camping-vacation- always-with-the-children-along rut, don't expect her to be a very exciting lover. Introduce creativity into your lovemaking and your total relationship like Solomon did. To find out just how creative you are as a husband, may I suggest you take the following "Lover's Quotient Test." Give yourself ten points for each item on the following list if you have done it once in the past six months. If you have done any item on the list two or more times, you get twenty points. -Have you phoned her during the week and asked her out for one evening that weekend without telling her where you are taking her? A mystery date. -Have you given her an evening completely off? You clean up the kitchen; you put the kids to bed. -Have you gone parking with her at some safe and secluded spot and kissed and talked for an evening? -Have you drawn a bath for her after dinner? Put a scented candle in the bathroom; add bath oil to the bath; send her there right after dinner, and then you clean up and put the kids to bed while she relaxes. (My wife says in order to get any points for this you must also clean up the tub!) -Have you phoned her from work to tell her you were thinking nice thoughts about her?( (You get no points for this one if you asked what was in the mail.) -Have you written her a love letter and sent it special delivery? (First class mail will do.) -Have you made a tape recording of all the reasons you have for loving her? Give it to her wrapped in a sheer negligee! -Have you given her a day off? Send her out to do what she wants. You clean the house, fix the meals, and take care of the kids. (My wife says you ought to get thirty points for this one.) -Have you put a special effect stereo recording of ocean waves on tape and played it while you had a nude luau on the living room floor? (If this seems a little far out for your tastes, you could substitute a by either removing the stereo effects tape or having a popcorn party in the privacy of the bedroom.) -Have you spent a whole evening (more than two hours) sharing mutual goals and planning family objectives with her and the children? -Have you ever planned a surprise weekend? You make the reservations and arrange for someone to keep the children for two days. Tell her to pack her suitcase, but don't tell her where you are going. (Just be sure it's not the Super Bowl.) Make it someplace romantic. -Have you picked up your clothes just one time in the past six months and put them on hangers? -Have you given her an all-over body massage with scented lotion and a vibrator? -Have you spent a session of making love to her that included at least two hours of romantic conversation, shared dreams, many positions of intercourse, and much variety of approach and caresses? -Have you repaired something around the house which she has not requested? -Have you kissed her passionately for at least thirty seconds one morning just before you left for work, or one evening when you walked in the door? -Have you brought her an unexpected little gift like perfume, a ring, or an item of clothing? -Have you replaced her old negligee? I have given this ridiculous test to men all over the country. Let's see? how your scores compare with theirs. 200-360-LOVER - You undoubtably have one of the most satisfied wives in the country. 150-200-GOOD - Very few make this category. 100-150-AVERAGE - This husband is somewhat typical and usually not very exciting as a lover. 50-100-KLUTZ - Too many score in this category. I hope you'll begin to move up soon. 0-50-HUSBAND - There is a difference between a "husband" and a "lover." The only reason your wife is still married to you is that she's a Christian; she has unusual capacity for unconditional acceptance, and there are some verses in the Bible against divorce. While the test shouldn't be taken too seriously, it does outline a plan of attack to increase your creativity level. I realize that many things on the list may not fit your temperament and your marriage relationship. Make up your own list. The idea is simply to encourage creativity in a fun way. After giving this test as a humorous conclusion to messages on sex for men, I find varied reactions. Most of the men seem to like it and leave encouraged to break the routine of the marriage. One man wrote me and said the whole thing was silly and ridiculous! Furthermore, everyone he had talked to agreed. This test may be ridiculous as far as its application to your marriage relationship is concerned. Fine. Furthermore, there are many sincere, godly men who are very creative in their approach to their wives, but who scored poorly on the test. The issue is what is appropriate in your particular and unique marriage relationship that will bring new zest and vitality. At the conclusion of one seminar, a man rated in the lover category. He had a score of 340! Another man on the front row laughed out loud when he heard the score and blurted, "How long has he been married?" He was implying that the man who scored so highly must have been only recently married. Once you settle down in the daily routine and have been married for a number of years, he reasoned, these things are no longer expected as a regular part of married life, they are for "young couples." If you are responding this way, let me ask you a question. Does your relationship with the Lord Jesus become more and more "settled" with time? Does it automatically loose its creativity and zest the longer you know Him? If it does, then you have a definite spiritual problem in your relationship with Him. It is not growing. The Bible says the believer's relationship to Christ is to illustrate the husband's relationship to his wife physically. Just as a lack of spiritual vitality reflects a spiritual problem, a lack of growth in the vitality of your marriage relationship reveals a marriage problem. If your marriage is truly an illustration of Christ and the church, it should become more and more vital, free, and exciting as the years go by. The other side of this is, creativity as a wife. We will pick up some suggestions in that area when we discuss Song 7:13 in another chapter. For now, this brings the first part of the Song to a dose. We must now turn our attention to the second half, in which we glean insight into resolving marital problems. ...................... To be continued

BOOK OF REVELATION #13 - CHAPTER 20

 

 

Chapter One hundred-forty-two:

The REVELATION of Jesus Christ #13 

Chapters 20 CHAPTER TWENTY John sees an angel come down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. The angel lays hands on the Devil, on Satan, and BINDS HIM UP for ONE THOUSAND YEARS! Satan is put into the bottomless pit, he is shut up, and sealed from coming out on to the earth. He will not be allowed to DECEIVE the nations and peoples of the earth, UNTIL the thousand years are finished, then yes, God will allow him to come out and once more deceive SOME, but only for a very short season, a very short time (verses 1-3). What a blessing for the people of the earth, to have NO Satan around for one thousand years. We often do not realize the horrible work and depths of Satan. When it is all known, I think we will be somewhat shocked at HOW CLEVER, HOW CUNNING, HOW DECEPTIVE HE CAN BE, as he often comes as an angel of "light." Most of the world, the people who have lived in any age, have been BLINDED - they will be shocked when they are raised to life again, and really come to understand the depths of the deceptive work of Satan. The Devil really does come OFTEN as an angel of light. There are, as I write to finish off this New Testament Bible Story, OVER ONE BILLION, yes, that is with a big "B" - Billion Roman Catholics in the world. To them their Catholic "universal" church is pleasant, nice, caring, warm, comfortable, and they believe theologically correct (even if some do disagree with the ruling on "birth control" and "sex only for reproduction") on the salvation points of theology. Then you have all the hundreds of thousands in all the other "Christian" denominations around the world. Most of the members in those church denomination are blinded, they just simply do not know they do not know, or they are not concerned with real study of the Scriptures. They are in a "comfortable pew" and like it so. It is their spiritual leaders that are mainly at fault. Most of those spiritual leaders do go to "theological school" and study for four years or more. They have encountered the truth BUT just will not teach it! Satan does a number on all these one billion and hundreds of millions that go under the name of "Christ." I subscribe to a "Christian Book" club. Every month you have this magazine coming with all kinds of very fine writers (as far as English "prose" goes) - articulate, educated, and have all the "stuff" needed to sell books to the Christian community. I have nothing against the "prose" of English. Jesse, who has her Website on this Website of mine, was a much better English "prose" writer than me, she had a way of writing much like all these Christian book writer out there, with ONE EXCEPTION - the MOST important one - Jesse KNEW AND LIVED the truth of God's word. So, what am I saying, about those "Christian religious writers" of some fame, or not? To put it bluntly (and I think you know by now I do at times put things very bluntly) - they ARE DECEPTIVE teachers, who have and are NOT teaching the theological truth of God's word. But they come to you as "angels of light." Satan is using them to deceive well over a BILLION Christians on this earth! You think I'm exaggerating. Well just ask any of them about the FOURTH commandment in Exodus 20. Then you have the Islamic faith. I believe they say there are about one BILLION of Islam faith believers in the world at present. They are deceived also. You have other faiths of the Eastern world, different religious faiths in China, India, Japan. They are all deceived! And what about all the hundreds of millions, who just simply do not believe in God, period! They just do not think God exists, or do not think about if He exists or not. The creation around then TESTIFIES to the existence of the Almighty, but they choose not to think about it. They are deceived also. All this DECEPTION, and the one behind it all is Satan the Devil. Think of the LIBERATING EFFECT this world will feel when Satan is chained up and CANNOT go around deceiving in any of his many disguises. It will be ASTOUNDING and a liberating experience for those people who do live through to see the coming of Christ and who feel the effect the world will be under when the Devil is chained up, and cannot do any of his dirty work in the lives of individual people and governments of nations. John sees, what all true Christians down the ages have yearned for, have waited for, and looked forward to seeing. Thrones are there, individuals sitting on them, having judgment. They are the lives and people of God from all ages. They have refused to have anything to do with BABYLON the great. They have been willing to LIVE and to DIE if necessary, for the truths of the Lord. They were the ELECT and CHOSEN, of God. Now they sit on thrones and REIGN with Jesus Christ for a THOUSAND YEARS!! They have been the relatively SMALL FLOCK, the VERY LITTLE flock as Jesus once put it, but to them God the Father, is PLEASED to give them the Kingdom. All the prophets of old have written about the AGE TO COME (as Paul once termed it) - NOW it is hear! Now the saints with Jesus, with Enoch, with Abraham, with Moses, with David, with all the well known and not known, true Children of the Father, shall reign and rule the nations of this earth for a thousand years. And by the way, this is a literal thousand years, otherwise if not there would have been no need to have gotten so specific in saying "a thousand years." The book of Revelation, when saying "forty two months" means 42 months, not a week, or two years, or 15 months, it means 42 months. So when John writes one thousand years, it means just that, ONE THOUSAND YEARS! (verses 4-6). If you have not already done so, please read my study on the millennium (which means "thousand") called "Armageddon and the Age to Come" for some details in the Scriptures concerning that age yet ahead of us. THE REST OF THE DEAD Jesus said in John chapter 5, that ALL in the graves would be raised (John 5:25-29). Here in verse 5 is an important verse that breaks up into some detail, what Jesus said in the gospel of John. It is an example of a Bible study key - get all the verses on any particular subject. This verse here shows clearly that ONLY the "saints" of God will be in what here is called "the first resurrection." Those NOT in the first resurrection, are not raised to life UNTIL AFTER the thousand years. Now, that is pretty plain and simple to understand. Those that are not classified by God as worthy to be in the first resurrection, for whatever reasons the Father has, will not rise in a resurrection until AFTER the thousand years. BUT THEY WILL RISE IN A RESURRECTION, that is important to know and to remember. More about that resurrection a little later. SATAN AND DECEPTION FOR ONE LAST TIME When the thousand years are expired Satan is to be loosed out of his prison. He will go out to once more DECEIVE the nations which are in the four quarters of the year. Gog and Magog (the Russian part of the planet) is especially named, for reasons we are not told about. But nations in all four quarters are included. They will be gathered to battle, and the number is not small at all, like the sands of the sea. This army goes up and surrounds the camp or home of "saints", and the beloved city. This seems to indicate the saints are ones in the physical flesh, not yet made immortal, who live in the beloved city, which is pretty certain to be the Holy City - Jerusalem. You may have many question about this, well so do I. We are given no more details any where in the Bible concerning this battle. The "why" is the big question. I'm sure God will have very good reasons for allowing all this to happen, we will just have to wait until Jesus comes to receive the answers to our question. All we can do for now is read it and believe it will take place as written. It is a swift victory for God, for fire comes down from heaven and devours this huge army. I will say this, this battle has NOTHING to do with that mentioned in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Both are at the opposite ends of the one thousand years. As I will write (God willing on all the Old Testament prophetic books) on those chapters in the future going through the OT prophetic books, I will just leave it for now, as I've stated. (verses 4 - 10) The Devil is this time dealt with in another manner, he is thrown into the lake of fire that the beast "man" and the false prophet "man" were thrown into a thousand years earlier. It would seem that fire is burning continually during the thousand years. You will read about this fire in Isaiah 66:15-24, which is also a chapter on the age to come. Some capital punishment will exist in the millennium, for those who do not desire to have control over their fleshly minds (we can still be carnal without the help of Satan) and who will still want to do wicked things and transgress against the Lord. The Devil will see his handy work go up in smoke once more. He will indeed be tormented about it all for ever and ever (Greek means "ages of the ages." He now begins to see there is no victory for him, he's smashing his head against a brick way, and his fate is possibly what Jude alluded to in saying, "wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever (Jude 13). Satan will know that soon there will be no more humans he can influence, deceive, posses, or control. His time is just about up, and the thought of not being able to have humans to manipulate, and lead into sins, must give the fellow night mares at the thoughts of it all coming to pass. He indeed will have terrible mental torment over it all (verses 7-10). Not being able to deceive and influence and even control, would be one of the greatest punishments he and his demons could possibly be punished with. Verse 10 tells us that Satan will be tormented for as the Greek reads: "for ages of the ages." As Satan is made of spirit, physical fire and brimstone cannot kill him. Of course God can say the word and he is no longer, but we see from Jude and from this verse that it is very likely he will be punished forever in the blackness of darkness. THE WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT John sees a great white throne. He that sits upon it, His face makes the earth and heaven seem as if not there. Obviously it is as the next verses tell us the sea and death and hell (margin is "the grave") gave up the dead. From verse 5 we know this is the SECOND resurrection! The insignificant and the kings, the famous, all great or small, from young to old, were raised up to life again. The "books" - in Greek "the biblios" - from where we derive "the Bible" was opened. And another book - "the book of life" was opened. These dead, now raised to life, were judged by what is written in the "biblios" according to how they lived, their attitude of mind. The sea gave up the dead, and the grave gave up the dead, all the dead, and they were judged according to how they lived, how they thought, their very attitude of mind. I have written in detail about this passage and all the teaching of the rest of the Bible as to being called and chosen, and the hundreds of millions down through the ages, that have not been offered salvation in their life-time, who died knowing not the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the only way to salvation. Those studies are called, "The Great White Throne Judgment" and "Called and Chosen - When" and also "The Truth about Judgment Day." Indeed there have been millions in past ages that lived and died not having the Bible, and not knowing Jesus, the only name under heaven whereby you can be saved (Acts 4:12). This resurrection is not some millions standing at attention while some judge (God) brings out a TV screen and has two columns, the right hand one listing all the "good" deeds and the left hand column listing all the "bad" deeds. And another book on the judges right hand where the names of those to be saved will be entered. Then the two columns of good and bad are added up to see which out numbers the other. If there is more good deeds than bad one, their name is entered into the book of life, and they pass through a door that gives them entry into the eternal Kingdom of God. Some of you may laugh at such a scene. But SERIOUSLY, SOME CHURCHES TEACH SUCH A DOCTRINE! Now, do you know WHY this idea that some hold is CRAZY, and off the wall? Because if it was a true teaching of God, then SOME would obtain salvation BY WORKS!! You may not know this, but the SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS - DO HAVE such a teaching, it is called "The INVESTIGATIVE JUDGMENT." Maybe other "Christian" churches have something similar. It's a processing line, to investigate all your sins and good deeds, add them up, see which comes out on top, then depending which there is more of, you are either written in the book of life or you are cast into eternal hell fire, where you shout and scream for eternity in pain from the fire. I TELL YOU FRIENDS, BRETHREN, ALL THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST FALSE DECEPTIONS PERPETRATED BY SATAN THE DEVIL!! NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON, **EVER** IS GOING TO OBTAIN SALVATION, ETERNAL LIFE **THROUGH WORKS** It is one of the clearest teachings in the New Testament Bible Story, that you are SAVED ONLY BY **GRACE** (Ephesians 2:8-10). If you are in any doubt about that you need to study my study called "Saved by Grace." A lot of "churches" teach you that you are saved by grace, the SDA church does, BUT THEN they come up with some CRAZY, UNSCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE, about SOME being able to EARN their way to salvation and into the book of life BY WORKS, by someone (usually God the Father or Jesus) standing as judge, opening the Bible and investigating to see if you have more good works than bad, and then that decides if your going to hell fire for eternity or into God's Kingdom for eternity. I'm telling you with plain talk, SUCH A TEACHING is not only AGAINST everything the Bible teaches on obtaining salvation, but such a teaching is FROM SATAN HIMSELF! In MANY studies on this Website, you are given the TRUTH about salvation, and the truth about being "called" and "chosen" and THE ONLY way to eternal life. I show you the MANY passages that give the truth, that ALL ARE IN SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS, UNTIL God decides to call you and REMOVE that spiritual blindness. I show you that He does NOT call everyone in this physical life time. Romans chapter 9 through 11 is ONE of the many passages to ABSOLUTELY PROVE this fact of the Bible and the plan of salvation as GOD HAS PLANNED it FOR EVERY SINGLE PERSON EVER CONCEIVED AND/OR BORN. GOD HAS A PLAN OF SALVATION, we saw in the letters of Peter, that the Eternal WOULD LIKE TO SEE EVERYONE COME TO REPENTANCE! He does not want anyone to PERISH! He sent His only begotten Son into the world, that whoever believes on Him, should NOT PERISH, but have eternal life (the famous John 3:16). But UNTIL BLINDNESS is removed YOU CANNOT even start on being called and chosen, and walking the road that leads to eternal life. Until you KNOW JESUS the ONLY name by which you can be saved, you AIN'T EVEN OUT OF THE DUG-OUT, you ain't even on FIRST base! And MILLIONS down through the ages HAVE NEVER LEFT THE DUG- OUT! These verses in Revelation 20:11-13 are not talking about some investigative judgment, or people standing in a line to see if they are going to be saved or not by looking at the tally of their works in the light of the Bible. You have TWO choices, either these verses ARE talking about some "standing in line to be investigated" as to whether they get eternal life, OR these are people for the first time HAVING SALVATION OFFERED to them. The LATTER is by far the BEST and the MOST LOVING, from a God who just did NOT call and offer salvation to millions who once lived on this earth. If you choose the first, then I can see why millions think Christianity is garbage and God is a monster. Some of the teachings from Catholicism and Protestism have been garbage and did make God out to be a monster, who loves to fry people for all eternity in some hell fire. If you have not seen it before, are you getting now to see why the Lord proclaims in STRONG language that the majority of so-called Christianity is MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT? It will be DESTROYED, and TRUTH will reign supreme one day! These verses show MILLIONS of people coming up in a physical RESURRECTION, who were never called or chosen in their physical life-time. The Bible will be opened to them, they will UNDERSTAND IT! The book of LIFE will be opened to them, they will be CALLED to salvation. They will COME TO KNOW Jesus, the only door to God's eternal Kingdom. They will NEED TO REPENT! They will need to accept Jesus as their PERSONAL SAVIOR! They will need to CHANGE their life (they will come up with the mind-set they had all their life and died with) - GET IN HARMONY WITH WANTING TO LIVE BY EVERY WORD OF GOD (Matthew 4:4) WANTING TO LIVE WITH THE FAITH OF CHRIST (Galatians 2:20) IN THEM. They will NEED TO CHANGE THEIR MIND-SET, and HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST IN THEM (Philippians 2:5). ALL THAT WE HAVE STUDIED CONCERNING SALVATION IN THE WRITINGS OF PAUL, JAMES, PETER, JOHN, AND THE GOSPELS OF CHRIST, they will need TO SET THEIR MINDS WITH THIS NEW MAN IN CHRIST, JUST AS WE ARE DOING, JUST AS THOSE WHO WENT BEFORE US HAD TO DO. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO BE SAVED, AND THAT IS BY GRACE, BUT WE MUST CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK AND ACT, AND MOVE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE BIBLE. EVERY SINGLE PERSON WILL BE SAVED EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. And those coming up in this resurrection of Revelation 20:11-13, will be saved just like we are saved today. This is a WONDERFUL passage of Scripture that gives HOPE for the MILLIONS who were never given salvation in their life time, who never had the BLINDNESS removed, who never KNEW Jesus the Christ. This is not some "second chance" doctrine that some say we teach. This is a FIRST CHANCE!! And let me tell you, this explanation of Revelation 20:11-13 IS A WHOLE LOT KINDER, LOVING, AND GOOD NEWS, than the SILLY ideas of what the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches HAVE taught AND MAYBE still TEACH! I have put much of what I just said in BOLD LETTERS. I want you to REALLY get the point, of false teaching as opposed to the truth of God. The length of time for this white throne judgment period is NOT given. The one some have used in Isaiah (Isa.65:20 - a hundred years) may have nothing to do with this period and resurrection of Revelation 20, but to do with the relatively new earth and heavens of the 1,000 years age. The context in Isaiah would relate to the millennium age. If you truly LOVE God, you should be REJOICING - PRAISING GOD - for the TRUTHS you are finding on this Website. As a young man, yes I was SHOCKED at some of the things I was discovering about all the Christianity I had followed from age 7 to 18. BUT at the same time, I can remember SHOUTING FOR JOY at the truths God was revealing to me in His Word. Jesus PROMISED His true followers, "You shall KNOW the TRUTH, and the truth will set you FREE." It takes the HEART, it takes HUMILITY, if you HUNGER and THIRST after RIGHTEOUSNESS .... yes, it takes all of that, but I guarantee if you have it, YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH, AND YOU WILL BE SET FREE! So it is all done. Everyone now has had a chance for salvation. It only remains for those who REJECTED it, who would not humble themselves, who would not REPENT, to be rewarded with DEATH, not eternal life in hell fire, but DEATH, complete destruction of body and mind. "And death and hell (the grave) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the SECOND death. And whoever was not found in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire" (verses 14-15). Now, righteous, sinless eternity, in a new universe headquarters can begin. ..................... To be finished next time

SONG OF SONGS-- GOD'S INSTRUCTION ON SEX IN MARRIAGE #5 - WEDDING NIGHT #1

 

Solomon on Sex #5

The Wedding Night - part one

Continuing with Mr.Dillow's book THE WEDDING NIGHT (Reflections #8, Song 4:1-5:1) CONTEXT In Chapter 1:1-2:7, we find Shulamith's memory lingering tenderly on their first night together and the events of the wedding day. Then, in the window of her mind, she begins to reflect on the events leading to the marriage. Her thoughts of the wedding procession naturally lead her to thoughts of their first night together. In this chapter we have an extended description of their lovemaking on the wedding night. It is difficult to be certain this is the wedding night, but the close proximity with the wedding procession in the preceding chapter tends to imply the wedding night is intended. It is possible, however, that this chapter describes another lovemaking experience months later in their marriage. Thus, we assume the wedding ceremony occurred between chapters three and four. Also, the events of chapter one with Shulamith in the palace and later at the banquet table all occur chronologically before this song but after the arrival of the wedding procession. The royal couple is alone. Solomon outdoes himself in praising the beauty of his bride. The beautiful love song in this scene gives us a glimpse into the consummation of their marriage. The time of the scene seems to be late afternoon or early evening (4:6). (We must remember that for the ancients, the day ended much earlier than it does for us.) It appears that the wedding procession arrived sometime in the morning or about midday. Shulamith was then taken to the palace where she prepared for the wedding banquet. There we met her in the opening verses of the book. In mid-afternoon the wedding banquet was held. Now the afternoon draws to a dose and twilight comes. The bride and groom retire to the bridal chamber eagerly anticipating the consummation of their love in intercourse. COMMENTARY 4:1 SOLOMON: How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; Presumably Solomon and his bride, on the couch in the bridal chamber, have initiated their loveplay. Solomon is overwhelmed by the beauty of his bride and begins to praise her charms as his eyes and caresses pass over her body. A dove (with which he symbolizes her eyes) is a traditional symbol of purity, innocence, and beauty. The reference to the veil most likely does not refer to the veil that covers most of the face. Even though Delitzsch seems to think it does, several factors make this improbable. (1) It seems rather unnecessary and even awkward for a bride to remain veiled on her wedding night. The veil was to seal her off from the eyes of other men, not from her husband. (2) The text clearly states that Solomon could see her teeth (4:2), her lips (4:3), her cheeks (4:3), and her neck (4:4), all of which would be covered by the oriental veil. Jews used a piece of silk or other material to cover women's faces. In view of this, it seems preferable to take the suggestion of Lehrman and others that the veil here refers to her hair cascading down her head. Thus, the long hair of his Shulamite bride hangs across her face like a veil, but between the strands of hair he sees and praises her beautiful features. Now prepare yourself for some seemingly unflattering praise. 4:1 SOLOMON: Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Mount Gilead. If a modern husband said that to his wife on her wedding night, he'd either be met with tears or a purse hurled in his direction. This is a metaphor of subjective response. Many times poets use certain metaphors in order to create a subjective response in the mind and emotions of the reader. In this particular case, these goats refer to black goats with long silky hair that glistens in the twilight sun. As they wound their way homeward coming down the restful slopes of Mt.Gilead, they created a sense of restfulness and beauty in the eye of the beholder. Solomon is saying Shulamith is like that. As he beholds her hair and her general beauty, he is overwhelmed with a sense of quiet. He loves to just look at her and take in what he sees. He's actually being quite romantic. 4:2 SOLOMON: Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes Which have come from their washing; To liken her teeth to sheep is to say they are as white as snow. To say that they are like newly shorn ewes suggests they are smooth. The allusion to the "washing" suggests that her teeth glisten with saliva. All of which bear twins And not one among them has lost her young. All her teeth are twins; they come in pairs, top and bottom, and are evenly matched. Not only that, but she still has all her teeth - she has lost none of "her young." 4:3 SOLOMON: Your lips are like a scarlet thread, And your mouth is lovely. Shulamith apparently used lipstick of some type and other cosmetics in a comely way which highlighted her natural beauty. It is very difficult to imagine that Solomon's words are separate from the parts of her body he is caressing. It would seem rather awkward to simply stare at her without caressing the parts of her body he is describing. Thus, he starts his lovemaking by kissing her hair, teeth, and lips and stroking these areas as well. Next he kisses and caresses her temples or cheeks. Your temples are like a slice of pomegranate Behind your veil. Her rosy cheeks veiled by her hair resemble the pomegranate when cut open. The preceding verse likened her charms to the rustic background from which she came. But she is not only a country maiden; she is the wife of the king of Israel. Hence, the following features are likened to things associated with Solomon. 4:4 SOLOMON: Your neck is like a tower of David Built with rows of stones, On which are hung a thousand shields, All the round shields of the mighty men. To liken her neck to a tower of David speaks of her erect and queenly carriage. The shields refer to the ornaments that normally adorned her neck as she walked in public. Shields were often hung on the outside of a tower wall to protect the tower. He is saying she is a source of strength to him. He needs her strength and encouragement. 4:5 SOLOMON: Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle Which feed among the lilies. Delitzsch comments, "The breasts are compared to a twin pair of young gazelles in respect of their equality and youthful freshness, and the bosom on which they raise themselves is compared to a meadow covered with lilies, on which the twin pair of young gazelles feed." The imagery suggests her breasts are uncovered. It is interesting to observe how otherwise brilliant Hebrew commentators will allow their cultural preconditioning to reject the obvious meaning of some of the passages of the Song. Zockler, for example, the brilliant German exegete says concerning this verse: A more detailed parcelling out of the comparison, as for instance ... by Weissb, who supposes a particular reference in the young gazelles to the dark colored nipples of her breasts as their especial charm, and in the lilies to the snowy whiteness of her bosom is inadmissible, and leads to what is in violation of good taste or to what is obscene. Detitzsch and others believe the text teaches what Zockler asserts to be in violation of good taste. Zockler rejects this interpretation because to him it appears obscene. This is not an exegete speaking. It is a man conditioned by his culture so that probable interpretations of the Song are ruled out by cultural preconditioning and not by hermeneutical principle. Others might see nothing in violation of good taste or obscene, but on the contrary, something beautiful. The symbolism of gazelle and lilies is actually quite delicate and very beautiful. The reference was to the dorcus gazelle, an animal about two feet high at the shoulders, and a marvel of lightness and grace. The beauty of its eyes was proverbial. One of the most common associations with the gazelle was that it was a delicacy served at Solomon's table (1 Kings 4:23). They are delicious to eat. They are fawn in color and when tamed are very affectionate. Furthermore, they have a frolicsomeness and gaiety which irresistibly enchants the eyes of the beholder and attracts them to come near and touch theme The lily is curvy and is often therefore alluded to as an architectural ornament. Casual reflections on the many associations connected with the words "gazelle" and "lilies" make his description of his wife's breast pregnant with beautiful connotations. They are very curvaceous like the lily. Their beauty creates within his heart a desire to reach out and fondle them as one would a gazelle feeding by a brook. The notion of frolicsomeness suggests sexual playfulness. The fact they were served as a delicacy to eat at Solomon's table suggests his desire to caress them with his lips and tongue. As gazelles were warm and affectionate, so was Shulamith as a sexual partner. 4:6 SOLOMON: Until the cool of the day When the shadows flee away, (at twilight time) I will go to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense. This appears to be synthetic parallelism. Thus the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense are the same place. But what do they represent? The female genitals are referred to in 5:1 as a "garden" and in 4:13 as "shoots" (see discussion on 4:13). In both passages, myrrh and frankincense are described as characteristic scents of her "garden." Thus, when Solomon says he will go his way "to the mountain of myrrh," the reference to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense becomes, in this interpretation, an obvious reference to the proverbial "Mount of Venus." That this is the intent of the imagery is further reinforced by the fact that Solomon's praises and caresses start at her head and work downward. Note the sequence: 1. eyes - like doves 2. hair - long and black 3. teeth - white and smooth 4. lips - red and lovely 5. cheeks - red 6. neck - erect 7. breasts - full and youthful 8. "garden" - (mount of myrrh, etc.) - erotically scented Solomon now sums up the beauty of his bride by saying: 4:7 SOLOMON: You are altogether beautiful my darling, And there is no blemish in you. I once counselled a couple who were having some difficulties in the physical dimension of their marriage. The trouble, on the surface, seemed to be the wife's inhibitions. The husband was rather distraught at her refusal to disrobe and display her body to him. The first question I asked him was, "Have you ever told your wife you thought her body was beautiful?" She volunteered, "No he hasn't. I had no idea he thought my body was appealing to him. In fact, because he never expressed that it was appealing I sort of assumed it wasn't." As a result the inhibitions set in. Every woman wants to believe her appearance arouses her man. Solomon's sensitive to this fact and expresses himself accordingly. Like any woman, Shulamith wanted to hear Solomon comment he liked what he saw when she entered the room. The problem is, many women have "hang-ups" about various parts of their anatomy. They can stand in front of a mirror and see scores of imperfections that never even occurred to you. That appendectomy scar, for example, looks to her as if it's 18 inches long. If she has picked up a few stretch marks from having babies, as far as she is concerned her tummy looks like a plowed field. Her thighs are either too fat or too skinny. Her breasts are either too big, too small or too something. Tell her she is beautiful to you. That's what Solomon is doing here and he's doing it in poetry! Now there is a brief pause in their lovemaking while Solomon sums up her beauty in 4:7 and discusses a journey to the Lebanon mountains, her country home. 4:8 SOLOMON: Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, May you come with me from Lebanon. The passage is somewhat difficult in view of the fact that they are in the bridal chamber in Jerusalem. Delitzsch argues that the Hebrew of the passage suggests he wants her to go with him to Lebanon up to the steep heights of the mountains. He is promising her a vacation in the country. He will take her to the country home she loves. He describes what they will see and do while in the mountains: Journey down from the summit of Amana, Amana is the name of one of the outermost peaks of the Lebanon mountains. From the summit of Sent, and Hermon, Hermon is the most southern peak of the Anti-libanus chain. This chain of mountains (about 10,000 feet) forms the northeastern border of Palestine. The springs of the Jordan River take their rise here. Senir is another section of the same mountain range. It is very probable that Solomon built royal residences in this region. It was his San Clemente and Camp David, a sort of northern White House. He is, in effect, promising her a vacation, or perhaps a honeymoon in the mountains north of where she was raised. From the dens of lions, From the mountains of leopards. Leopards live in these mountains even today, although lions have long since become extinct. From the heights of these mountains, Solomon promises they will honeymoon together and look down where the lions and leopards dwell. Before moving on to verse 9, let's consider several principles related to sexual love that are evident in these verses. Put yourself in Shulamith's position. Two days earlier she had been walking around barefoot in the vineyards in the Lebanon mountains to the north In the past forty-eight hours she had been transported south in a gala wedding procession, placed in the splendid palace of the richest man in the world, officiated at a wedding banquet, and now she finds herself alone with her new husband at last. That's quite a lot to happen to a country girl in two days! Without a doubt she is probably a little restless inside. She probably is longing for her Lebanon home. She feels slightly out of place. Also, it seems evident she was somewhat concerned about her appearance in comparison to the lovely court ladies (1:5,6; 2:1,2), feeling she was only a "lily of the valley," a common country girl. In view of these inner feelings, Solomon's approach to lovemaking seems very exemplary. In 4:8 he deals with her first concern - her longing for her country home. He promises her they will return there for the honeymoon. Her second problem, her concern about her beauty, is dealt with in 4:1-7 where he tells her how beautiful she is. Solomon's a mind reader! He is very sensitive to his wife's psychological and emotional concerns and is not only concerned with his own satisfaction on the physical level. Too frequently men tend to divorce sex from the total relationship. Women on the other hand tend to be so concerned about the relationship and the "spiritual" aspects of sex that to view it as pure pleasure and fun is offensive. Both extremes are wrong. Solomon is being extremely thoughtful and tender toward his new bride. A woman needs to feel her husband wants to make love to her as a person and not as a "body" or thing. Their loveplay here was relaxed, unrushed, and a time for enjoying one another as persons and not just as objects. Too many men carry a "thirty-second" approach into the bedroom and wonder why their wives never seem to be responsive. In order for sex to be an expression of love, the needs and desires of the other person should be more important than your own. Do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (Phil 2:34). If your lovemaking tends to last only five or ten minutes, you might consider whether or not you are really making love to your wife as a person or simply using her for a sexual release. Solomon's main concern was to satisfy his bride and not himself, as a result he received plenty of satisfaction in return (5:1). After a brief interlude and joyful conversation, their lovemaking resumes at a faster pace in the following verses. 4:9 SOLOMON: You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride. You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes. Her eyes were apparently very alluring and had the ability to arouse him. You have made my heart beat faster with a single strand of your necklace. 4:10 SOLOMON: How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride, How much better is your love than wine, Solomon says her love ("caresses," see discussion on 1:2) are beautiful (2:3). They are more beautiful than wine, a symbol for supreme pleasure. When he says her love is better than wine, he is complimenting her on her love skill. She was a skilful mistress! And the fragrance of your oils Than all kinds of spices! Her oils, those she naturally produces, are more fragrant to him than "all kinds of spices." Since the spices are also oils of myrrh, etc., the contrast must be between naturally produced "oils" (the moistness associated with feminine passion), and external man-made perfumes. 4:11 SOLOMON: Your lips, my bride, drip honey; Honey and milk are under your tongue, These symbols speak of the sweetness of her kisses. "No doubt some historians of romance are under the illusion that a certain kind of kissing originated in France in recent centuries. This Song, however, was written long before that" one writer has noted. And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. This apparently refers to a flimsy, scant, and perfumed negligee she is wearing while they are enjoying their love together. It must be sheer; he can see her breasts through it (4:5) and her "mountain of myrrh" (4:6). This attire provided Solomon with ample access to her feminine charms. Shulamith knew how to dress for bed! One woman in a book I recently read put it this way: "Wives, if your husbands like black, see-through lingerie, don't wear flannel pyjamas to bed. You're not living in a nunnery, you are sleeping with a man." He's not interested in fighting through yards of cloth or "missionary mumus" in order to find you. 4:11 SOLOMON: A garden locked is my sister, my bride, A rock-garden locked, a spring sealed up. The garden refers to her vagina. When Solomon says it is locked, he is saying it has never been entered; she is a virgin. Gardens and vineyards in Palestine were surrounded by rock walls to prevent intrusion of strangers. Only the lawful possessor of the garden could enter it. Solomon's use of the word "garden" to describe his wife's genitals is full of poetic and symbolic beauty. The Hebrew word "gannah" 's literally translated, "a covered or hidden place," and in the Eastern traveller's mind denotes much more than an ordinary garden does today. Gardens in biblical times "were usually walled inclosures, as the name indicates in which there were paths winding in and out among shade and fruit trees, canals of running water, fountains, sweet-smelling herbs, aromatic blossoms and convenient arbors in which to sit and enjoy the effect. The literature of ancient Egypt, Palestine, and Babylon indicates kings were especially fond of gardens and laid out vast expanses of rich gardens containing the rarest trees and plants. To the oriental mind, a garden was a place of shade and refreshment. Frequently the ancient picture of Paradise involves a shaded garden, the air laden with sweet perfumes from the fruits and flowers, accompanied by the music of running water and a couch upon which to recline. To the Hebrew mind, especially, the reference to a "garden" recalled the beauty and perfection of the Garden of Eden. Only one who has travelled for days in a dry, glaring desert country (such as surrounds Palestine), and has come upon a beautiful shaded garden can appreciate how similar to Paradise these gardens can appear. Thus to describe Shulamith's vagina as a garden is to say it is beautiful to behold, like flowered gardens of the East. It is also a source of sexual refreshment for him to experience. As a carefully cultivated Eastern garden yields delicious "fruit," so Shulamith's garden is a source of delicious fruit (sexual pleasures), when "cultivated." Furthermore, it is a source of fertility. To make love with her is like entering Paradise. Her pleasures are secret and hidden from all but Solomon - the rightful owner of the garden. Not only does Solomon refer to her vagina as a "garden," but also as a "spring sealed up" (4:12). Because water was scarce in the East, owners of fountains sealed them with clay which quickly hardened in the sun. Thus, a sealed fountain was shut against all impurity; no one could get water out of it except its rightful owner. Thus, Shulamith was closed against the world and inaccessible to all who would disturb her pure heart or desecrate her pure person. 4:13 SOLOMON: Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates With choice fruits, henna with nard plants, 4:14 Nard and saffron, calainus and cinnamon, With all the trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices. The Hebrew word translated "shoots" is used in the Old Testament to mean a missile or a weapon. It is also used of plants or fruit (Jer.17:8; Ps.80:12). Both meanings make no sense here. It seems Solomon's giving the word a distinct meaning unique to the love song. This should not be unexpected as he takes other common words and gives them erotic meanings ("oils," "garden," "fruit," etc.). Some of the commentators suggest the word should be translated "they sendings forth." Although this interpretation has the advantage of being very literal, it lacks sense. Perhaps Harris Hirschberg is correct when he says that since the preceding verses are referring to the female anatomy, we should think of the Arabic "shalkh," or vagina. Thus "the shoots" would refer to her "garden." This interpretation gains prominence in that the aroma of frankincense is attributed to her "shoots" in 4:14 and also to her "garden," or vagina, in 5:1. The plural, "shoots," is somewhat awkward in this interpretation, but it is probably a plural of intensity like elohim (God - Gods is a plural of intensity emphasizing the divine majesty). Zockler says the term "plants" refers to a single plant. ................... To be continued

SONG OF SONGS-- GOD'S TEACHING ON SEX IN MARRIAGE #4

 

Solomon on Sex #4

The Wedding Procession

We continue with Dillow's book "Solomon on Sex." CHAPTER FIVE THE WEDDING PROCESSION CONTEXT As if jolted by a sudden noise, Shulamith's daydreaming is abruptly focused on the gala wedding procession Solomon has sent to her home on the day of their marriage. Chronologically, this section comes before Song 1:1. After Shulamith sweetly remembers the joys of their first night together, she reminisces first of the days of their courtship and now of the glorious wedding procession. In Song 4, she once again turns her reflections to the wedding night. Solomon has sent a bridal procession to bring his bride from the foothills of the Lebanon mountains in the north, to the palace in Jerusalem in the south. As the "scene" opens the wedding party is nearing Jerusalem; the speakers are evidently the chorus. They describe the wonders of the procession and thus make a transition from the dream of separation (3:1-5) to the events of the wedding night described in the next chapter. COMMENTARY 3:6 CHORUS: What is this coming up from the wilderness Like columns of smoke, It is possible that the Chorus here is supposed to represent the inhabitants of Jerusalem who marvel at the gorgeous procession of their king marching toward the city. Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense With all the scented powders of the merchant? As a wedding procession moved along, a censer of frankincense was swung at the front and back of the procession. Columns of smoke from the burning incense marked the beginning and end of the procession line. 3:7 CHORUS: Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon; Presumably Solomon followed traditional Hebrew custom and picked up his bride at her home in Lebanon and then had her brought back to his palace in Jerusalem. Thus Shulamith is seated on the "traveling couch" and is being carried to the palace. This traveling couch was a box litter with poles projecting from the front and back and was carried on the shoulders of four to six men. It formed a bed upon which she reclined, and she was brought to Solomon in a cloud of incense. 3:8 CHORUS: Sixty mighty men around it Of the mighty men of Israel. All of them are wielders of the sword, Expert in war, Each man has his sword at his side, Guarding against the terrors of the night. Her way certainly led through the wilderness, and Solomon took special care to see she was protected against attack. 3:9 King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair from the timbers of Lebanon. As the bride approaches, the king is carried out to meet her on a "sedan chair" especially designed for the occasion. It is a couch long enough for the rider to recline, covered with a canopy and resting on pillars at four corners. It is hung around with curtains to exclude the sun and has a door, sometimes of lattice work, on each side.1 As the bride approached Solomon's "sedan chair" she would enter it with him, and both would be carried to the palace. 3.10 He made its posts of silver, Its back of gold And its seat of purple fabric, With its interior lovingly fitted out By the daughters of Jerusalem. The headboard to which the canopy was attached was gold, and the couch itself was royal purple, the color of kings. The "daughters of Jerusalem" refer here to the court ladies who had lined the inside of the canopy with flowers intermingled with short sentences telling of the power of love.2 3:11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And gaze on King Solomon with the crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his wedding, And on the day of his gladness of heart. The women of Jerusalem collectively are addressed by the Chorus and called to behold their king. The crown here is not a symbol of royalty but of happiness. In ancient times garlands were worn on festive occasions, especially marriages.3 His mother wreathed a fresh garland around the head of her youthful son. "The men have already welcomed the procession from afar, but the king in his wedding attire has special attractions for the women - they are here called upon to observe the moment when the happy pair welcome one another," Delitzsch comments.4 COMMENT This beautiful little song suggests several points of practical application to marriage today. Marriage involves public attestation This is simply taken for granted here in that it follows traditional Hebrew custom. In the varied morality of our society, the question frequently comes up: "What constitutes marriage biblically?" I'll never forget an evening that my wife and I spent with a charming young college couple who had been living together for over a year. They had just received Christ. They were not "marred." What were they to do? Did God want them to stop counting each other as man and wife even though they had been living together as such for over a year? It was obvious by the way they related to each other that they were truly committed for life and were deeply in love. Should they separate now and call their relationship fornication? Or consider a couple who have been "living together" for four years. During two of those years they were legally married to someone else. They are now divorced but very much in love. They then become Christians, open the Bible, and it says that they are not to get a divorce. Are they still married to their former mates? Should they go back? These are difficult questions. They are made difficult because we have strayed so far from God's norms. In the case of the second couple, if they are legally married to the person they are living with now, they are prohibited from returning to their former mates (Deut.24:1-4). What constitutes marriage as far as the Bible is concerned? Unfortunately, the Bible doesn't state it as specifically as we like. It more or less assumes certain things. (1) A commitment to leave the parents. "For this cause a man shall leave his motherand father, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh." (Gen.2:24). Thus, leave, cleave, and one flesh mark three prerequisites of marriage. To leave involves a break of dependency upon the parents and other in-laws. Too many marriages today are harmed because one mate continually sides with his or her parents against the other mate. Or a wife continually goes back to her parents and undermines her husband's authority and trust. This commitment means that, if necessary, the person must be willing to stand with his mate against his parents. (2) A commitment to cleave. The Hebrew word translated "cleave" has the notion of "to stick like glue." It implies a permanent and unbreakable relationship. Thus, a basic prerequisite of marriage is a commitment to one mate for life. Casual promiscuity prior to marriage does not make one married to that person. (This "theological" teaching that someone is to stick like glue to a mate until death does them part, no matter what takes place, is NOT supported by the Bible or the New Testament. For a full in-depth study on Divorce and Re-marriage, see my study on this Website - Keith Hunt) (3) Sexual intercourse. Becoming one flesh involves a sexual union. This is what consummates the marriage. Sexual intercourse apart from the above mentioned commitments does not constitute marriage. (4) A public attestation. Throughout the Bible there is an emphasis on obedience to the constituted rulers and authorities. If the rulers require a legal license, the believer is bound to meet that requirement (Many examples of marriage of God's people in the Bible, were just witnessed by the immediate families only - we need to be willing to read the WHOLE Bible and not just certain verses - Keith Hunt). Malachi 2:14 speaks of God's hatred of divorce. The prophet describes it as dealing treacherously with the wife of one's covenant, or mutual public promise. (This verse in Malachi is VERY misunderstood, and has given rise to many false teaching about marriage and divorce and re-marriage. In one section of Scripture God COMMANDED people to divorce - again ALL the Bible must be read to understand God's teachings correctly - see my study on Divorce and Re-marriage - Keith Hunt) References on obedience to ordained authorities are many (1 Pet. 2:13-25; Rom. 13:1-7). (Yes, but sometimes the situation of marrying does not involve the so-called "authorities." What if you were living in an atheist country or a Moslim country or a country where Christianity was outlawed, and two Christians wanted to marry each other? You think such countries do not exist today? Think again - being a Christian in some countries even today, could cost you your life. Many false ideas come about by only reading a few verses, and not using natural logic. I have commented a number of times on this Website about the danger of "tunnel vision" when studying the Bible - Keith Hunt). In Song 3:6-11 we find Solomon and Shulamith attesting their marriage publicly (the only way it's ever done in the Bible). (Maybe so, but publicly was sometimes between just the immediate family or families - Keith Hunt). However, the second factor - to cleave - seems to be the most important and perhaps the only indispensable prerequisite. These four points describe a general biblical picture of marriage for which there may be legitimate exceptions. For example, a public attestation may not always be possible. A couple could be legally married and yet violate the first condition of LEAVE. But ideally, these four factors seem to constitute the prerequisites of marriage from the biblical viewpoint. (Yes, within the rest of the Bible and its examples, with no tunnel vision reading - Keith Hunt). Public attestation is important We are all familiar with the type of bridegroom who stalwartly maintains he will endure the public ceremony because everyone knows the wedding day is for the bride. It's simply an unnecessary inconvenience he must go along with. Solomon's elaborate preparations for the procession display an interest in the wedding itself. This interest can come across as saying, "Honey, you're a beautiful bride, and I want everyone to know how lucky I am." A modem groom, on the other hand, who demonstrates no interest in the wedding or its preparation indicates the attitude, "I want to many you, but ... this is such an awkward situation, and I don't like weddings and ... I wonder if it's worth it." The bride can pick up the unfortunate attitude that he is unwilling to sacrifice for her, even that he is not proud of her. A wedding is a time of being set apart, a time for the bride to be shown off and admired by all. If the groom makes it seem an ordeal, it's as though the effort of showing off his bride is too great for him to bear. Grooms-to-be, take an active interest in the wedding plans. Even ask if there is anything you can do to lighten the load your bride will be carrying. If she desires it and it is possible, go with her to pick out the flowers, cake, etc., as well as china and silver. Make fun outings out of these ventures. (Yes, under modern average situations and countries we live in, this is a great time for BOTH to share with others in a joyous day. But remember some situations of marriage in some countries, for various reasons, may have to be simple and plain, with possibly only a few as witness to the marriage - Keith Hunt) FOOTNOTES 1. Rabbi Dr. S. M. Lehrman, "The Song of Songs, The Five Megilloth," ed. Dr.A.Cohen (The Soncino Press, 1946), p.12, 2. Ibid., p.12. 3. [bid., p.12. 4. Franz Delitzsch, "Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes" (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d,), p.70. ...................... To be continued with a much longer chapter "The Wedding Night."

BOOK OF REVELATION #12 - CHRIST COMING

 

 

Chapter One hundred-forty-one:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ #12 

Chapters 18 and 19

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Let's use the same common logic in this chapter as we did in chapter 17. We will notice some key verses. This Babylon has influenced kings, governments, all nations in an overall of the word "all" and have been made drunk by the wine of her wrongs, spiritual fornications. And "merchants" of the earth have grown rich through her. So we are dealing right away with MORE than just a "church" and its theology. She sits as a queen, and thinks she is correct, and will see no sorrow. She is going to suffer death in one day, quick and deliberate death. Kings or government authorities will bewail her, when the smoke of her burning is seen. They will need to be far off, but will lament her destruction as it comes so fast (verses 2-10). The MERCHANTS of the earth will weep over her death, because it's the end of her trading and economy. Again, much more than just a "theology church" (verse 11). Notice the END of verse 13 ... no more "slaves" (margin has "bodies") and lives of people ... Oh, indeed we are back into person's lives being handled. Merchants who were "made rich by her" shall stand off and weep and wail, at her torment of destruction. They will say, "Alas, alas, the GREAT CITY, that was clothed in fine linen, and people, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls. For in one hour so great riches is come to nought" (verses 15-17a). All the shipmasters, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried, when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, "What was like unto this great city!" (verse 17b-18). This is going to be such a massive and LARGE destruction that people working in the ship industry will see from afar the smoke of her burning. Those merchants that do their trading via the movement of ships will weep and cry because their riches are now over and finished (verse 19). This is way more than just a "theological church" of some religion. This great city or power called Babylon will be thrown down with VIOLENCE! (verse 21). She will be a power that did proclaim the "bridegroom" and the "bride - Jesus as the bridegroom, and the "church" as the bride of Christ, but it was DECEPTION and all (certainly a very large part) of the nations were deceived by her gospel. And once more notice verse 24. In her was found the BLOOD OF THE PROPHETS, and of SAINTS, and of all that were slain upon earth (in the context of "Christianity"). She is guilty of killing God's true prophets and saints! This is no mere "church theology" religious group. It is THAT, yes indeed, BUT this account GOES WAY BEYOND, some nice quiet little "religious" church. This chapter is talking about AN EMPIRE! A massive political/trading POWER in the world, that makes merchants RICH and wealthy - literally! A power that deals in all kinds of merchant good, even slaves and the lives of people. It is a world power that kills God's prophets and saints! Let's look at the world scene. Now granted, what I'm about to say could be argued, if you perhaps think Jesus will not return for another five hundred year, things would be drastically different by then, on the world scene. But if you believe Jesus' return if not hundreds of years away, then.... Could South America, very high in Roman Catholic religion, be the global power to be this Babylon here spoken about? VERY UNLIKELY indeed. Could the African continent be this global power - even more unlikely I would say. Could this global power be Russia, a hundred years or so back, Roman Catholicism was very prominent in Russia. I guess you could argue given enough time, maybe Russia is the Babylon o=f Revelation 18. Could this mighty power of this chapter be China? They have right now a red hot industry as of 2007, but they are not and never did have the history of worldwide Christian deception, and mass killings of the saints of God. What about the Arab nations, could they be this Babylon of Revelation? Once more I guess if you argue and answer with "a few hundred years or so before Jesus returns" - you might be able to think the Arab nations will be this power of Revelation. But finally what about Europe? With what we have seen from Revelation chapter 17, this chapter would flow right along, as an extension or further expounding of chapter 17 and Europe being this end-time economical and deceptive "christian" power, that has in its history killed the saints of God, and put forth teachings, and customs and practices, that have indeed covered much of the earth in DECEPTIONS. Europe has finally come together, after many centuries of certain nations and leaders of those nations WANTING to bring Europe together by FORCE of warfare, and did NOT succeed. But "economical" reasons have persuaded them to hook up-arms and walk together. And it so happens that most of those countries are predominately Roman Catholic. I submit to you, that of all the "powers" in the world - the United European Empire fits the description and the future prophecy (taking all the centuries of the past into consideration) of Revelation 18. And so the reality at the end of the day is that this prophecy of Revelation 17 and 18, is the BABYLON POWER OF EUROPE with THE WOMAN "CHURCH" - THE BABYLON MYSTERY RELIGION OF ROMAN CATHOLICISM, riding this last end-time political/economical/religious system. She will come to power relatively quickly, and be so great on the world scene it will take your breath away. She will be the world's greatest trading and economical power that will do wonders in making some people very wealthy. This end-time Babylon will be the "king of the north" in Daniel 11, who will come and destroy the "king of the south" - the Arab confederacy. Then march into the Holy Land, and take Jerusalem - Daniel 411:40-45. THEN there shall be a time of trouble as never was on the earth - Daniel 12:1. It is the same time Jesus spoke about (Mat.24:24) and Jeremiah wrote about (Jer.30:7). The GREAT TRIBULATION will begin. The Western world will come under the heal of this end-time, 7th resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire. It will deal in slavery and the lives of people. It will kill many of the saints of God for one more time, before Jesus returns. Other of the Lord's people will have to flee to the wilderness. The two witness of God will preach in the city of Jerusalem. Then into the Day of the Lord, this power will try to conquer the people of the East (the 5th trumpet of Revelation 9). But it will not succeed, just as it did not succeed before in World War 1 and 2. The power to the East will counter attack (the 6th trumpet of Revelation 9) and THAT POWER TO THE EAST will be God's hammer to SMASH, BLAST, and bring DESTRUCTION on Europe. And so we are back in Revelation 18, at the time of this Babylon Mystery Religion Empire being DESTROYED, and the merchants of the earth wailing and weeping over her. Chapter 17 and 18 are chapters that "clue us in" on this mighty end-time Beast power and tell us about her destruction in the blowing of the 6th trumpet. They are "clue us in" and "destruction" INSET chapters that have taken us back to the 6th trumpet sound. The 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation are CONNECTED - they are two parts of the WHOLE. And chapter 17th is proved by history to be the Roman Catholic church - a woman whore - riding the empire or Beast, which had SEVEN head resurrection (the 7th yet to come in full reality) in history called the Holy Roman Empire. Every one of those resurrection was in Europe. The 7th and final resurrection will be in the same geographical area of the planet - Europe! It's ALREADY THERE, but the woman/beast has not yet reached full maturity, but it will, in God's time plan, He can hold it back from maturing for as long as He wishes, according to how long He wants the church of Jesus Christ to do its work, before He closes the door on their teaching and preaching of His word, to the nations of the world. The world wide INTERNET is of the greatest tools to proclaim the full Gospel, but when the woman rides the Beast for one last time, and as I have been VERY PLAIN as to who this woman is, you can be assured this Website will disappear off into outer-space, and there will be a time of SILENCE, for the last 42 months of this age, except for the Elijah to come, and the two witnesses in Jerusalem. There is one more important voice that comes from heaven saying, "COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE, THAT YOU BE NOT PARTAKERS OF HER SINS, AND THAT YOU RECEIVE NOT HER PLAGUES!" (verse 4). Do YOU love God's Word, do you fear and tremble in the right way, before the Almighty? Do you desire to DO HIS WILL and live His commandments. The Eternal wants to give you eternal LIFE with Him, but you must be willing to see the deceptions of Babylon and COME OUT OF HER! THE WOMAN THAT RIDES THE BEAST If you need IN-DEPTH proof and reading material, the Roman Catholic church being the "woman that rides the beast" at the time of the end, then you need to read "A Woman Rides the Beast" by Dave Hunt (no relation to me). This large, (over 500 pages) book was published in 1994, by Harvest House Publications. It may still be in print, or Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com may have copies, or your local Public Library may carry it. The book is LOADED with facts and histories to prove the "woman whore" of Revelation is the Roman Catholic church. CHAPTER NINETEEN Now, in chapter 19 we are brought forward again to the very coming of Christ IN THE CLOUDS with His army, to battle, and have "the supper of the great God" (verse 17). John hears the voice of "much people" (Green in his English/Greek Internilear translates "a voice of a crowd") - not human people for humans do not go to heaven at death - saying, "Alleluia; Salvation, glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: True and righteous are His judgments: for He has judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornications, and has avenged the blood of His servants at her hand." And again they said: "Alleluia." and her smoke rose up for ever and ever, and the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, "Amen; Alleluia" (verses 1-4). John hears another voice coming out of the throne area, saying: "Praise our God, all you His servants, and you that fear Him, both small and great." He hears as it were the voice of a multitude, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of many thunders, saying: "Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent REIGNETH. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the MARRIAGE of the LAMB is come, and His WIFE has made herself ready" (verses 5-7). Here we are in the time frame and scene of Jesus coming for His bride the true church of God, and the marriage feast is taking place. What a BLESSED AND WONDERFUL time that will be. Finally the saints of all ages are resurrected or if alive at Jesus' coming, CHANGED from mortal to immortal, from human to divine, from corruption to incorruption. It is the time of what Paul was inspired to tell us about in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. It is the last trumpet sound, the RESURRECTION takes place, the angels gather together the saints from the four corner of the earth (Matthew 24:30,31). It is the time of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. The angels will gather the saints and lead them to Christ in the CLOUDS, in the AIR of this planet. The BRIDEGROOM and the BRIDE shall be together, the marriage of the Lamb to His bride has come! What GLORY, what SPLENDOR, the angels sing, a display of fireworks like no other display blazes away. The HAPPINESS, the JOY, the PRAISES, the SINGING, the heavenly choir thunders out the news and the approval. At last the time has now come for Jesus the Christ, with His bride and the angels, to TAKE RULERSHIP over the nations of the earth. Jesus' bride, the Church of God, all of them, each individual is dressed in CLEAN, WHITE, linen, which represents RIGHTEOUSNESS! (verse 8). They will be BLAMELESS before Christ and God the Father. No sin will be found in them. No sins will be mentioned, they are clean and white, pure and holy. You need to read my study (if you have not done so) called "The Truth about Judgment Day" and understand it correctly. John says he was told: "Write, BLESSED are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. These things are the true sayings of God" (verse 9). John falls at the angels' feet to worship him, but is told not to do so, for the angles are like his fellow servants and brethren, that have the testimony of Jesus; all are to worship only God. And the testimony of Jesus Christ is the "spirit of prophecy." Those in Christ, at the time of the end of this age, will KNOW the prophecy of Jesus, they will understand, the truth of the matter will be shown to them, they are the ELECT that cannot be deceived. They will know the prophecy of Jesus, they will know who the true servants of God are and who the false teachers are. JESUS COMES AS KING AND LORD John sees heaven open, and behold a white horse and He that sat upon it was called FAITHFUL and TRUE. He is coming in RIGHTEOUSNESS to JUDGE and make WAR!! This is not the little Lord Jesus in a manger in a stable, this is not the bloody and battered Lord shedding His blood on the cross. This is the MIGHTY, the POWERFUL, the ONE who can make RIGHTEOUS WAR, who can JUDGE with righteousness the nations and the people of the earth. He is the ONE who can perfectly decide who are to be DESTROYED of those on earth who are destroying the earth. His eyes are as a FLAME of FIRE; on His head are MANY CROWNS (He is King of kings); and He has a name that no human knows, only He Himself. He is clothed with a tunic dipped in blood (He will now spill the blood of the armies of the world who come to fight Him); and His name is called "The WORD OF GOD." He is the very living word of God, the PERFECT ONE! Oh yes, He has His armies also, just like the world and the Beast power and the people from the East, will have their armies, so Jesus will come with His mighty armies of saints and angles. What a scene, the armies of the Lord will ride white horses, be clothed in white raiment, clean and white (verses 11-14). Put yourself in the mind-eye picture, can you imagine the scene? It is the battle of the ages. It is the battle like no other battle. It is the battle to STOP men from destroying the earth. It is the time as Jesus said, that unless those days were CUT SHORT, no flesh would be saved alive, the people of the earth would indeed obliterate themselves from off this planet. But the days will be cut short. Jesus will come with His army. At the command of His voice (a sharp two edged sword) He will SHOUT the battle CRY! His army will come down from the clouds with a mighty thunderous shout, the heavens will be ablaze, the lightnings flashing here and there. What the world (and especially the human armies at the place called Armageddon, led by Satan, by the man "beast" general, the man "false prophet") will believe is the forces from another planet, an invasion from outer space, will in fact be the GLORIOUS, POWERFUL, MIGHTY, SPECTACULAR, JUDGE of the nations, Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, coming to RULE with a ROD of iron, and to tread out the winepress of the fierceness and WRATH of ALMIGHTY GOD!! The prophecy of Zechariah 14 will be! It has now come to pass, it is now a reality in our New Testament Bible Story. Jesus has come. On His vesture and on His thigh is the name KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. The armies of the Beast power in the Holy Land, and the armies of the Eastern powers, from the other side of the Euphrates, will have collected themselves together at the plain called Armageddon. They will have their state-of-the-art space age rockets and tanks, and their fast nuclear weaponed planes and all the latest war machines that man has invented, to that time in history. They will be ready to DO BATTLE! But it will be NO CONTEST! Jesus will say the word, and all the people of the armies there to fight Him, all their flesh shall MELT off their bones. The blood will flow from Armageddon like a river for 183 miles, going south, passing Jerusalem, and on down to the land below. Indeed the time has then come in Revelation 19 that was foretold long ago by Zechariah - chapter 14 (verses 14-16). THE END FOR THE BEAST AND FALSE PROPHET We still step back a little in time. God wants to give emphasis! An angel standing in the sun, cries out: "COME YE FOULS OF THE AIR, GATHER TOGETHER FOR THE SUPPER OF THE GREAT GOD, That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and they that sit on them. the flesh of all, both small and great, free and slaves." Yes, that GREAT WAR of the end of the age has come. The rubber is going to hit the road. The acid test has come. The beast man and the kings of the earth, and their armies are gathered together (verses 17-19). The BATTLE is under way! THE BEAST MAN IS TAKEN, TOGETHER WITH THE "FALSE PROPHET" MAN, who wrought miracles. Yes, Satan will have his miracle working man on earth also, just as God will have His two miracle working men - the two witnesses in Jerusalem. Jesus will take these two evil men - the beast man and the false prophet man, and they will face capital PUNISHMENT. They will both be THROWN INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE - they are now DEAD, dead as a door nail! The armies of these two end-time evil men with be slain. He who sits on the white horse - Jesus the Christ, will speak the word and the armies of mankind will be slain. The fowls of the air will have their feast of the supper of the Great God (verses 20-21). It only remains now for the Devil, for Satan to be chained, and God's promised ONE THOUSAND YEARS of the age of RESTITUTION will commence. The AGE TO COME, is about to start! ................... To be continued