end times Archives - Colin Dye

The Last Days, a Comparison between Matthew 24 and Revelation 6

Colin Dye — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 09:51:23 +0000

THE FIRST SEAL:??? DECEPTION

Revelation 6:2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

Revelation 6:2?????? I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

Matthew 24:5????? For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

THE SECOND SEAL:?? WAR

Revelation 6:3,4 ? ? ? When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ?Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.

Matthew 24:6,7a??? You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

THE THIRD SEAL:??? FAMINE

Revelation 6:5 ? ? ? When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ?Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

Matthew 24:7 There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
THE FOURTH SEAL: ? DEATH

Revelation 6:7,8 ? ? ? When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ? I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Matthew 24:9????? “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

THE FIFTH SEAL: ?? THE GREAT TRIBULATION

Revelation 6:9-11 ? ? ? When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” ?Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

Matthew 24:21,22 ? ? For then there will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now–and never to be equalled again. ?If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

THE SIXTH SEAL:??? THE COSMIC CRISIS (Followed by the Second Coming)

Revelation 6:12-17 ? ? ?I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. ? The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. ? They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ?For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Matthew 24:29,30 ? ? “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘ the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ ? “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
In Matthew 24:31, Jesus goes on to speak about the rapture:

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

This is what is described in Revelation chapter seven. The removal of the Church is necessary before the Wrath of God is poured out on the earth, which is takes place after the opening of the SEVENTH SEAL (Revelation 8 and? 9).

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Worship in heaven

Colin Dye — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:39:30 +0000

Painting by Beth Larsen entitled "Heavenly Worship"

True worship is God?s eternal heart for all sinful people. Since the dawn of time, the Father has been actively seeking sinful men and women who will be his people and will worship him in spirit and truth.? Even now, he is drawing believers together essentially to worship him, and is still gently persuading us that this is his good-and-perfect will for our lives.
We have considered the insights of Proverbs 8, which seems to show that God has been rejoicing in-and-with himself for all eternity – even before his worship overflowed into creation. This seems to suggest that all creation was made primarily to join in with the pre-existing heavenly worship, and so to enjoy God in his presence forever.
The Scriptures include several other insights which also appear to show that heaven is characterised by true worship and great rejoicing. For example:
????????????? Isaiah 6:1-3 describes the angelic rejoicing which goes on within heaven
????????????? Ezekiel 40-47 suggests that heavenly worship is the destiny of God?s people
????????????? Luke 2:13-14 reveals the great praise of the heavenly host
????????????? Luke 15:7 & 10 show that there is rejoicing in heaven.
??????????????? These insights, however, are dwarfed by the awesome descriptions in the book of Revelation, which make God?s ultimate purposes plain. He is drawing us together to a place of total worship, where we will live together in his perfect presence forever, and will spend eternity rejoicing together in-and-with him . We can say that worship in spirit and truth participates in and anticipates the worship of heaven.
?????????????????Worship in Revelation
??????????????? Heavenly worship is the backdrop and context for all the visions of the book of Revelation. We must take care that we are not so concerned to understand the apostle John?s visions correctly that we overlook what he reveals about the place and priority of heavenly worship.
??????????????? Revelation 4 is the first of John?s descriptions of heavenly worship: verse 2 shows that this recognition and appreciation of worship can come only in-and-through the Spirit, and verses 8-11 reveal that everything in heaven lives to worship God. It is much the same in 5:8-14; 7:9-17; 11:15-19 & 15:3-5.
??????????????? These important passages show that heavenly worship embraces ancient hymns (15:3) and brand new songs (5:9); that it focuses entirely on the person of God (4:8, 11; 5:9, 13; 7:12; 11:17; 15:3 & 16:5); and that it celebrates what God has done, what he is doing, and what he has promised to do (4:11; 5:9-10, 12, 13; 11:17-18 & 15:4).
??????????????? In particular, the book of Revelation reveals that heavenly worship revolves around two great themes of worship:
????????????? The song of creation – Revelation 4:11
????????????? The song of salvation – Revelation 5:9.
These two themes appear constantly throughout Scripture, and both reveal everything about God?s person and character – his power and his love, his grace and his purity, and so on. Because God reveals himself through his mighty acts, we experience him for who he is when we worship him in his presence as Creator and Saviour.
As creation is the essential overflow of God?s own worship, the worship of God as creator has always been at the heart of worship. Creation is a visible evidence of God?s power and might, and a proof of his uniqueness and supremacy. Through creation, the Old Testament people of God were able to recognise that God was the only God, and that other gods were simply impotent idols.
The Jews were called to worship one God because they knew through creation that there was only one God, and this was meant to determine how they lived and served. Many Psalms celebrate God as creator, and his handiwork of creation and divine creativity – seen again in the new heaven and earth – is a major theme of heavenly worship.
Many modern believers fail to sing the song of creation, and neglect to worship God as creator. In their worship, they focus almost entirely upon God?s work of salvation. But the Father?s work of redemption is inseparably linked with his work of creation (he has the right to redeem only because it is his creation) and we cannot appreciate redemption properly without recognising its vital link with creation. We consider this in Knowing the Father.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel knew that God continually acted to save them from their enemies, from famine, from disease, and so on. They knew that Yahweh was their Saviour, and that their existence as a nation depended upon his mighty acts of deliverance. In particular, their deliverance from slavery in Egypt was basic to their understanding of God, and ?the song of Moses? in Exodus 15:1-21 was their definitive expression of worship to God as Saviour – this is the hymn which Revelation shows is still being sung in heaven.
We know, however, that God has performed an even greater act of salvation for his people than the Passover miracle. At the cross, Jesus became the Saviour of the whole world, delivered us all from the slavery of sin, and decisively defeated our enemy. This has become the theme of countless songs of salvation sung through the ages, and is the theme of the new heavenly songs of Revelation 1:5-6 & 5:9-14.
?Personal and corporate
Revelation?s most telling insight into heavenly worship is its consistent presentation of heavenly worshippers as being both fully individual and completely corporate.
Revelation 5:11-13, for example, reports that ?ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands and thousands? and ?every creature in heaven and on the earth and under the earth? are united in one expression of worship. They retain their distinctive personhood but have been brought by the Spirit to a climax of worshipping oneness.
It is the same in Revelation 7:9-10, which records how ?a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, people and tongue? are standing before the throne and shouting praise to God. Their individual, national, tribal and linguistic differences are still obvious, but they are united in praise and worship to God. They are offering praise and worship which is personal to them, but which is expressed through their Spirit-made corporate oneness.
This, then, is our destiny – to be an eternal worshipper who is thoroughly personal yet fully united with all other worshippers.?? Like the people of Israel in the days of the first temple, we have been drawn by God?s grace towards him. In faith, we have set out on a personal pilgrimage towards him, and have then discovered that God is building us together with the other believers in our area.
Together with them, we are journeying on towards him, learning to worship and serve together, beginning to appreciate our interdependence in the body, struggling at times with the tensions but working to maintain the unity of the Spirit.
And the great goal of eternal, heavenly worship in the intimate presence of God is always before us. It has always been God?s greatest desire for us to enjoy him in the same way, and just as intensely, as we read the persons of God rejoiced in themselves in Proverbs 8.
The God who is personal but corporate, one but more than one, is drawing us into exactly the same eternal enjoyment of personal but corporate rejoicing. In his great grace and mercy, the Father is seeking yet more sinful men and women who will worship him in spirit and truth, and will enjoy his glorious presence forever.

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The End Times Church, the fullness of Christ

Colin Dye — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:55:30 +0000

When we walk in and with the Spirit, we can be sure that he will lead us on to the Church?s glorious destiny which is set out in Ephesians 4. And this destiny is the fullness of Christ. To understand this phrase we need to go to Ephesians 1, where Paul links fullness with Christ?s headship in Ephesians 1:22-23. At the end of a long passage in which he lists truths he wants the Ephesians to know and experience, Paul says that God the Father, ?put all things under Christ?s feet and gave him to be head over all things for the Church?.

The Rapture

This is an outstanding revelation and it is no wonder that Paul wanted his readers to grasp its significance. In effect, he says that Christ who was raised from the dead has been exalted high above all things and been given headship and authority over everything that is, both in this age and in the age to come. But then he adds that God has taken the headship of Christ and given it as a gift to the Church.
This means that the first sphere in which Christ?s headship will be seen and acknowledged is the Church. One day the whole universe will see and acknowledge the headship and authority of Christ but we can experience it now, and more than that, we are called to manifest it to the world, so that the world may see it also and bow before him. But the next question is, how? And Paul answers that in verse 23.

This work is is massive and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. It is a depiction of the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse. The souls of humans rise and descend to their fates, as judged by Christ surrounded by his saints. By Michaelangelo.

Paul links headship with fullness, and says, that the Church over which Christ is the head, ?is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all?. Just as Christ is now head over all things, but the first visible sphere of that headship is the Church, so Christ?s presence which fills the universe, will first be manifested in his body, the Church.
? The fullness, or glorious presence of Christ, can only be seen and manifested where his authority is recognised and acknowledged. The teaching in Ephesians 1 is taken further in Ephesians 4. But to understand the significance of that you must first understand how Paul?s letter is structured. Ephesians, as many of Paul?s letters, is divided into two main parts. First, Ephesians 1 to Ephesians 3, deals with spiritual truth, namely our position and possessions in Christ. Then, from Chapter 4 onwards, Paul turns to the practical section of his letter and calls us to walk in accordance with these spiritual truths.
? The second section of Ephesians begins at Ephesians 4:1 with these words, ?I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called?. Paul is telling us that we must work out in practice our spiritual calling and live out these truths practically.
?? This means that his teaching in Ephesians 4:11-16 is a picture of what the Church is meant to look like, on earth, and it carries within it the promise that the plan of God for the Church will be fulfilled. This is what the end-time church will look like, and it will happen before the return of Christ. Jesus is not coming back for a tired, worn out, sinful, dead and useless Church. He is coming back for a glorious Church in which his headship is fully acknowledged and in which his presence is fully manifested.
? This is the vision of the Church that every believer, every leader and every worker in the body of Christ should have in mind. It is a vision of the finished product, the glorious destiny of God?s precious Church. Jesus said he was going to build his Church and he meant it. He is not going to leave the job half-done, but is going to bring his body to complete maturity before the end of the age. And this means we are going to fulfil the work that God has given us to do. We are going to successfully evangelise the world and disciple the nations.
The Spirit will complete what he began at Pentecost. He will establish an effective, functioning church so that a mature bride is ready when Jesus returns. Jesus promised that he would build his Church, and Ephesians 4 shows that the building will be completed.
?As Christ?s body, the Church is God?s representative in the world. Christ?s work on earth can only be carried out through his body. When it is not a mature, strong and healthy body, the work of Christ is not done. But when the body is strong, and growing towards maturity, God?s work on earth can be accomplished.
?As we have seen, Ephesians 4:11-16 describes the Church attaining the fullness of Christ. This means that, one day, the Church will perfectly reveal Christ in all his fullness on earth. As we have also seen, this underlines Ephesians 1:23, where the Church is described as ?the fullness of him?.
Jesus has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to his Church to knit God?s people together for the work of service. It is this which builds up Christ?s body, and these leaders are meant to go on with their work, building up the Church, until four things occur.
?1.?Unity
The Church will reach the unity of the faith. This is not the unity of the Spirit which began at the cross and already exists, but unity in the essential doctrines of the faith and a mature understanding of Christ.
This does not mean that all Christians will believe exactly the same things about everything, but rather that there will be strong unity in all the essentials of the faith throughout the whole Church.
?2.??Full knowledge
The mature Church will reach a full knowledge of the Son of God. This is not an improved version of our knowledge; it is full knowledge. And this full knowledge will mean that we will know Christ and experience him fully in our lives.
In Philippians 3:8-16, Paul longs to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection, and the depth of his sufferings. And in Philippians 2:5-11, he urges us to make the mind of Christ our own. He offers a roller-coaster description of the Son of God who emptied himself, took the form of a slave, accepted death, and was raised so high that all beings everywhere should bend the knee to him.
The Church begins to rise towards this full knowledge of the Son when it moves beyond wanting power for its own sake, and longs to think and be like Jesus – when we yearn to share his power and his suffering. We can be sure that, sometime soon, we will experience this full reality in every area of church life.
?3.??Full stature
The mature, end-time church will form the perfect human; we will be of full stature, fully mature. We will no longer be children, tossed one way or another; instead we will be strong and mature in Christ. Despite what some people say, the Church is not dying out; it is not fading away – it is coming of age!
The Church we read about in the New Testament is the infant Church. The end-time Church will be a mature, adult, vigorous Church. If the early church was able to achieve so much, what will the end-time church accomplish?
If the biblical promises mean anything, we can surely expect that the coming biblical Church will experience a massive outpouring of the Spirit which will lead to effective world-wide evangelism. We will take the gospel to all nations. God?s glory will be seen throughout the earth. There will be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus.
4.?Christ?s fullness
As we have seen, Ephesians 4:13 follows on from Ephesians 1:22-23 to show that the mature Church will be filled with the fullness of Christ himself. This means we will be so full of Jesus and his Spirit that we can accurately represent him in the world – genuinely reveal his glory – and achieve everything he has asked. He will manifest himself fully in the Church, so much so that it will be as if he was actually on this earth, living in his body. Without exaggerating the point, I believe that Jesus is coming first in his Church before he comes back for his Church. I don?t mean that there are two second comings! But simply that the Spirit will so manifest Christ?s presence in the end-time church that it will be as if Christ was already here. Surely that is what it means to be his body on the earth.
This biblical, mature Church will be full of his power, his wisdom, his love and his authority. It will show the world the fullness of his grace and holiness. The glory of God will be fully manifest both in us and though us.
The Christ-full Church of the end-time will be a body of credible, active witnesses throughout the entire world, in every nation and culture. This does not mean that we have to wait until then before we become effective witnesses of Christ. We can and must begin to work for this now, in our lives and in our churches, as we prepare for and look forward to the manifestation of the end-time church. This is surely a vision worth working and praying towards, a dream worth living and dying for. Even the smallest step towards it will be extremely valuable.
As we live by the truth and in love, we will grow completely into Christ – who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together. Every joint will add its own strength for each individual part to work according to its function. So the Church will keep on growing, until it has been fully and finally built in love.

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The maturity of the Church

Colin Dye — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:21:56 +0000

Glory in the Church, from the Sword of the Spirit series

The New Testament church was an infant church, but the endtime church will be a mature church that is strong and fully developed. When the church comes of age it will be able to stand against all the antagonism and deceitfulness of the enemy. The endtime church will rise to greater power and effectiveness than at the beginning. We see in the book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament what the infant church was capable of. Just imagine the glory of the church in maturity! It will be an effective instrument of world harvest. The Church will rise up and get the job done.
The whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13)
This is God?s ultimate goal for the church on earth – Christ filling his body to capacity. The one who fills everything in every way, already fills the church (Ephesians 1:22-23). But this fullness, which we know by faith now, will one day be fully experienced by the church. Christ wants to manifest the fullness of his power, his wisdom and his authority in the church. He wants us to demonstrate to the world the fullness of his love and his grace. He wants us to attain to the fullness of holiness and joy so that he would have a credible body of witnesses on the earth through whom he can manifest his salvation to the world.
It must be the goal of the church in any age to move towards this manifest fullness, and there are some encouraging signs in our generation. All over the world, the body of Christ is rising up and laying hold of the person and presence of Christ. The Holy Spirit is falling on whole nations. The gospel is sweeping over 100,000 people into the kingdom every day worldwide. The growth of the Christian faith, particularly in the so-called developing world, is phenomenal. And in the West, too, there is some progress. We must not falter now. We are on the verge of the church?s finest hour. In our day, we could well see the fullness of Christ manifest in the church!
God?s vision for the church will only be fulfilled when the church truly acts as his representatives on the earth doing the great work he gave us – reaching the world with the gospel. It is something worth dreaming about. It is something worth being a part of. Paul clearly saw the time when it would happen. It must become our goal as individuals and our goal corporately. That is what cell church offers.

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The End-Times Harvest

Colin Dye — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:27:12 +0000

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