XXXIII Revelation and the Creation

XXXV: REVELATIONAND THE CREATION

The travail of the Creation as it awaits the redemption of its sons.

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The Creation figures, in my mind, as a sixth protagonist

in the Revelation narrative . . . bit of a stretch, perhaps,

but the way the Bible treats the situation of God’s Creation, it’s hard to to get a little anthropomorphic

reading about what the Creation endures and receives in

the End-Times.

Bear with me one more time . . .

I’m just filler . . . you know, ‘No hyperlinks for you till Slide 4!” This is my last

appearance, since you’ve reached the end of the series and y’all

won’t need me anymore.

EMAIL: [email protected]

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Prophecy Series 30 Presentation Set

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AN OVERVIEW OF THE BIBLE’S TREATMENT OF

THE CREATION

1. A Bright Beginning

“. . . let there be light .”

1. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.

2. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

3. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. Genesis 2:1-3

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31

2. A Tragic Fall

17. Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.

18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; Genesis 3:17-18

The Creation And The Curse

3. Sin’s Lingering Legacy

The Present Situation

19. For the anxious longing of the Creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20. For the Creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21. that the Creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22. For we know that the whole Creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. Romans 8:19-22

4. A Violent Cleansing

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The Creation In The Tribulation

For behold, the Lord will come in fire, and His chariots like the whirlwind to render His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire. Isaiah 66:15



5. A Glorious Restoration

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24. “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25. The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD Isaiah 65: 24-5



6. A Radical Renewal

http://son-of-encouragement.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-not-old-jerusalem-is-true-promised.html

“Behold, I Create All Things New.”






But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. II Peter 3:10

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for

the first heaven and the first earth passed

away, and there is no longer any sea. And I

saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming

down out of Heaven from God, made ready as

a bride adorned for her husband. Rev 21:1-2









4. A Violent Cleansing


But let’s look at the matter at hand. . .



THE CREATION IN THE END-TIMES

The Creation at the beginningof the 70th Week:Jesus speaks on the Mount of Olives

http://frank.itlab.us/photo_essays/small/nov_21_3021_mt_olives.jpg



4. And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.

5. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead

many. 6. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not

frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7. For

nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various

places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8. But all these things are

merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

Matthew 24:4-8

The Creation at the beginningof the 70th Week

4. And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5.

“For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7. “For nation will rise against nation, and

kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8. “But all these things are merely the

beginning of birth pangs.

Matthew 24:4-8

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Stay informed and focused on Christ, not events

4. And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5. “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the

Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet

the end. 7. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and

earthquakes. 8. “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

Matthew 24:4-8

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:1. Stay informed and focused on Christ, not events

2. Don’t give in to a spirit of fear


Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened,

for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7. “For nation will rise

against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8. “But all these things

are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

Matthew 24:4-8

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:1. Stay informed and focused on Christ, not events2. Don’t give in to a spirit of fear

3. Realize these disasters are part of God’s plan


Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things

must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7. “For nation will rise against nation, and

kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8. “But all these

things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

Matthew 24:4-8

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:

4. PREPARE for a Controlled Process– a sequence

that has an end and a beginning.



must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7. “For nation will rise against nation,

and kingdom against kingdom, and in various

places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8. “But all

these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

Matthew 24:4-8

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:4. Prepare for a PROCESS– a SEQUENCE that has an END and a BEGINNING

5. EXPECT widespread Wars and Famines and

Earthquakes (note the plurals here!)



must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places

there will be famines and earthquakes. 8. “But all these things are merely the

beginning of birth pangs.Matthew 24:4-8

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:4. Prepare for a PROCESS– a SEQUENCE that has an END and a BEGINNING5. Expect widespread WARS and FAMINES and EARTHQUAKES (note the

plurals here!)

6. EXPLORE the implications of the operative

metaphor for this experience: BIRTH PANGS!!

4. And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.

5. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead

many. 6. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not

frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7. For

nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various

places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8. But all these things are

merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

Matthew 24:4-8

In brief, the 70th Week opens with geological and ecological disasters which, awful though

they seem, constitute only the initial contractions of a long delivery process.

Birth pangs! One ‘pain’ after another,

increasing in intensity and in frequency as time goes on!

Expect to see this pattern as we continue the study.

Note: No animals were harmed in the creation of this slide. At least one was bemused if not somewhat annoyed.

And to what does stricken Creation give

birth?

Oh, pilgrim, wait until you see the issue of

all these things!

The Creation in John’s Revelation:Enduring layers

of judgmental destruction

http://www.flickr.com/photos/svj/1144756696/sizes/m/in/photostream/



Seal Layer: Revelation Chapter 6

The Seals In Succession:1. Rider on the White Horse! (Christ? AntiChrist?)

2. Rider on the Red Horse: Wars and civil strifes3. Rider on the Black Horse: Famine.4. Rider on the Ashen Horse: Death5. The Martyrdom of the Saints, Distress in Heaven6. The heavens convulse, kings cower and

earthquakes rumble7. A stunned (post-apocalyptic?) silence (Hab 2:20?, Zech

2:13?)

Almost all these judgments consist of

human dysfunctions writ large . . . not so

much agonies of the Earth, itself.

Trumpet Layer: Revelation Chapters 8-11 Trumpets in Succession:

1. 1/3 of earth burned up!2. 1/3 of sea turned to blood, 1/3 of its ships sunk and

1/3 sea life killed.3. 1/3 of fresh water turned bitter; many die.4. 1/3 of sun, moon and stars darkened5. Smoke from bottomless abyss darkens sun,

pollutes air6. 1/3 of mankind killed by 200,000,000 horsemen7. Thunder, lightening, earthquake and hail attend

the Last Trumpet’s blast

Notice how these judgments, while affecting human life, fall upon the Earth itself!

The Ministry of the Two Witnesses: Rev 11

These “two olive trees which stand before the Lord of the earth” validate their prophesying with signs and wonders AntiChrist cannot control!

1. Command drought at will2. Turn water to blood at will3. Strike the earth with plagues at will4. Upon their resurrection and ascension,

a. A great earthquake occursb. 7000 people die (in Jerusalem?)c. 1/10 of city (Jerusalem?) falls

The Layer of the Bowls: Rev 16

The bowls appear as a series of final, crushing blows, a violent, cleansing climax to seven years of judgment.1. Boils cover worshippers of the AntiChrist.2. Entire sea turned to blood; rest of its life dies.3. Rest of fresh water becomes blood.4. Sun scorches men with fire.5. Beast’s kingdom is darkened.6. Euphrates dries up, preparing the way for invasion

of the Holy Land.7. Thunder, lightening, earthquake and 100-pound

hailstones attend the final bowl’s outpouring.

The Bowl judgments complete the destruction

started by the Trumpet judgments. Unbelievably,

still greater ruin awaits . . .

The Creation at Christ’s Return:

The established order breaks apart.

http://http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3016/2550530346_94e35baf3a.jpg.flickr.com/photos/svj/1144756696/sizes/m/in/photostream/

“The Earth will be completely laid waste . . .”



1. Behold, the Lord lays the Earth waste, devastates it,

distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants. 2. And

the people will be like the priest, the servant like his

master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the

seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the

debtor. 3. The Earth will be completely laid waste and

completely despoiled, for the Lord has spoken this word.

Isaiah 24:1-3

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4. The Earth mourns and withers, the world fades and

withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away.

5. The Earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they

transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the

everlasting covenant. 6. Therefore, a curse devours the

Earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore,

the inhabitants of the Earth are burned, and few men are

left. Isaiah 24:4-6




19. The Earth is broken asunder, the Earth is split through, the Earth is shaken violently.20. The Earth reels to and fro like a drunkard and it totters like a shack, for its transgression is heavy upon it and it will fall, never to rise again.21. So it will happen in that day that the Lord will punish the host of Heaven on high and the kings of the Earth on Earth.Isaiah 24:19-21




29. “But immediately after the tribulation of those

days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not

give its light and the stars will fall from the sky, and

the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30. And

then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the

sky . . .” Matthew 24:29-30

“Creation” includes more than just our planet!

29. “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE

MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the

heavens will be shaken. 30. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.”

Matthew 24:29-30

12. I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13. and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Rev 6:12 (Sixth Seal)

29. “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS

LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30. And then the sign of the Son of

Man will appear in the sky.”

Matthew 24:29-30

12. “I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black

as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13. and the stars of the sky fell to the

earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14. The sky was split apart like a

scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” Rev 6:12 (Sixth

Seal)

19. And the temple of God which is in Heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm. Rev 11:19 (Seventh and Last Trumpet)

29. “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS

WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky,”

Matthew 24:29-30

12. I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and

the whole moon became like blood; 13. and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great

wind. 14. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Rev

6:12 (Sixth Seal)

19. And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His

temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a

great hailstorm. Rev 11:19 (Last Trumpet)

17. Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” 18. And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. Rev 16:17 (Seventh and Final Bowl)

29. “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the

powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30. “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky,

Matthew 24:29-30

12. I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13. and the stars of

the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved

out of their places. Rev 6:12 (Sixth Seal)

19. And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of

thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm. Rev 11:19 (Last Trumpet)

17. Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” 18. And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. Rev 16:17 (Seventh and Final Bowl)

1. When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Rev 8:1 (Seventh and Final Seal, all heaven suspends its breath in a silent coda to the spent wrath of holy God) But the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him. Habakkuk 2:20

Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation. Zechariah 2:13

The Creation in The Millennium:A restoration and a healing

http://www.arteyfotografia.com.ar/contenido/objetos/0f/c5/8a/0fc58a286a404f97a6cfb4f34549b4143d4abf89/mini_500_6544_1221342376775586.jpg

When the earth experiences Your judgmentsthe inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Isaiah 26:9



In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east and the Mount of Olives will be split in the middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south . . . Zech 14:4And the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem, but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate to the Corner Gate and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine press. Zechariah 14:10Now it will come about that in the last days, the mountain of house of Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains and will be raised above the hills and all the nations will stream to it. Isaiah 2:2

Descriptions of Millennial alterations to the Creation chiefly focus on the new world center of

worship and civil administration: Jerusalem

And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only

One, and His Name the only One. Zechariah 14:9

In the Millennial Earth, our Lord is King over all the Earth! All humanity

rejoices.

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When the plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed, when the mountains will drip sweet wine and all the hills will be dissolved.” Amos 9:13

And they (the nations) will hammer their swords into plowshares and their

spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation and

never again will they train for war. Micah 4:3

And to what does stricken Creation give

birth?

"Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?" says the

LORD. "Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?"says your God.

A Peaceable Kingdom, indeed! All Creation at last knows “the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

Finally, in the Eternal State, a radical renewal


“Behold, I Create All Things New.”





THE END!

. . . of the series in which I worked backwards through Revelation-from the Eternal State to the Millennium to the Tribulation.. . . of the whole set of 30 slide presentations that represent my church’s Sunday School’s investigation into Biblical prophecy.

I encourage you to read “AN ESCHATOLOGICAL ROAD

TRIP” for an investigation of how we get here from there,

the Bible’s presentation of the End-Times. I continue to

‘backwards engineer” from known future events and

consider how our times might connect with them.

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XXXIII Revelation and the Creation

Spiritual

creation groans

creation figures

day god

situation of gods creation

sons of god

children of god

new earth

things new