Bully's Blog

For those attempting to deal with the status quo futurist interpretation of Matthew 24, one of the most important observations is the fact that Jesus’ material has an Old Testament literary context. Some of his language is quoted from Isaiah 13. His prediction that the stars would fall from heaven comes from Isaiah’s burden against Babylon. The prophet used the Creation week as a structure for his denunciation.

Because the Creation week/Tabernacle is chiastic, the prophet uses it brilliantly. Get this… he plays it backwards and forwards simultaneously. The only other place I have seen this is Revelation 16, which also concerns a fall of Babylon, the great city where Jesus was crucified. [1]

Glorification (Un-Sabbath)
This is a “call to worship” for the Persian armies. But it carries the “mountain of God” theme common in Booths. For Babylon, the empire which breached its Covenant with God, rest was being deconstructed.

The burden against Babylon
…..which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
……….“Lift up a banner on the high mountain,
……………Raise your voice to them;
……….Wave your hand,
…..that they may enter the gates
of the nobles.

Conquest (Un-Passover)
The Lord delegates His authority to new servants. They are washed, which I guess means Un-Laver for Babylon.

I have commanded
…..My sanctified ones;
……….I have also called
……………My mighty ones
……….for My anger –
…..Those who rejoice
in My exaltation.”

Maturity (Un-Firstfruits)
This one is easier to see. It is the Land and Grains/Fruits of Ascension overrun by the plague armies of Trumpets.

1 – The Call; 7 – Ingathering
The noise of a multitude in the mountains,
…..Like that of many people!
……….A tumultuous noise
…..of the kingdoms of nations gathered together!
The LORD of hosts musters the army for battle.

2 – Delegation; 6 – Presentation of the Bride
They come from a far country,
…..From the end of heaven –

3 – Assignment; 5 – Plunder & Plagues
……….The LORD and His weapons of indignation,
……….To destroy the whole land.

4 – Law applied
……………Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand!
……………It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

5 – Plagues; 3 – Un-assignment
……….Therefore all hands will be limp,
……….Every man’s heart will melt, and they will be afraid.

6 – Curse of the Bride; 2 – Un-delegation
…..Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
…..They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;

7 – Scattering; 1 – Calling Revoked (Un-Shekinah)
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.

Testing (Un-Pentecost)

Behold, the day of the LORD comes, (Ark)
…..Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, (Veil)
……….To lay the land desolate; (Altar)
……….And He will destroy its sinners from it. (Table – BAD FRUIT)
……………For the stars of heaven (Lampstand)
……….and their constellations will not give their light; (Incense) (
…..The sun will be darkened in its going forth, (Adam)
…..And the moon will not cause its light to shine. (Eve)
I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity. (Day 7 – Consuming Fire)

Maturity (Un-Firstfruits: un-Ascension)
This one, too, mostly seems to work both backwards and forwards. The ascended Man is the plunder, a combination of 3 and 5. It also combines the every-man Covenant body with the sacrificial animals of the altar.

I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
…..And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
……….I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
……….A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
……………Therefore I will shake the heavens,
……………And the earth will move out of her place,
……….In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
……….And in the day of His fierce anger.
…..It shall be as the hunted gazelle,
…..And as a sheep that no man takes up;
Every man will turn to his own people,
And everyone will flee to his own land.

Conquest (Un-Passover)
Here, the theme is a reversal of the “covering” of Passover.

Everyone who is found will be thrust through,
…..And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
…..Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
……….Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished.
……………“Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,
……….Who will not regard silver; And as for gold,
……….they will not delight in it.
…..Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces,
…..And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb;
Their eye will not spare children.

Glorification (Un-Sabbath)
Here there is rest taken away, mixed with the Jew-Gentile tents of Booths.

This works as two separate cycles (Covenant Head: Creation to Ascension), and Covenant Body (Testing to Glorification). The first concerns the overthrowing of the glorious Head, and the second the “false filling” of the Body.

You will agree this is a lot of themes to cover in so few words, yet he does it.

And Babylon, (Creation source)
…..the glory of kingdoms, (Division/Delegation)
……….The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, (False Ascension)
……………Will be as when God
……………overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. (Testing/Law/Ruler)
……….It will never be inhabited, (Maturity/fullness denied)
…..Nor will it be settled (Conquest/Land denied)
from generation to generation; (Covenant succession denied)

Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there,
…..Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.
…..But wild beasts of the desert will lie there, (unclean beasts)
…..And their houses will be full of owls; (unclean birds)
……….Ostriches will dwell there, (unclean birds)
……….And wild goats will caper there. (unclean beasts)
…..The hyenas will howl in their citadels, (Adam’s house)
…..And jackals in their pleasant palaces. (Eve’s house)
Her time is near to come,
And her days will not be prolonged. (Covenant succession denied)

Now, I mightn’t have cut all this up entirely correctly, seeing as it is translated poetry. But the themes, and this miraculous simultaneous inversion, must be unparalleled. I suppose the point is that even God’s judgments are visionary. They are not punitive but restorative. De-Creation is never the end.

And this is only the first half of the burden against Babylon, which means that as we take a further step back to look at the complete structure of 13-14, we see a deconstruction of Babylon as Head in 13 and an emancipation of the nations as Body in 14.

Creation – A restored Israel as new head. The city of hanging gardens was replaced by a restored Eden in Judah.

Division – A plague upon the oppressors

Ascension – The Land rests.
The nations rise up in judgment against Babylon

Testing – Lucifer thrown down to the pit

Maturity – The nations sleep but no resurrection for Babylon

Conquest -Babylon’s children die for the fathers’ sins (Atonement)

Glorification – Babylon denied succession. Psalm 137 will be fulfilled.

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[1] See Un-Passover.