The Vineyard of Israel, Armageddon
(read Gospel of Thomas)
Matthew 13:38-39, Isaiah 5:7, Isaiah 40:6, Isaiah 5:1-3,, Isaiah 5:4, Isaiah 5:3, 1 Corinthians 3:6, Acts 18:24, 1 Corinthians 3:7-8, Matthew 13:44, Deuteronomy 28:38-40, Deuteronomy 28:29-31, 1 Kings 21:2, 1 Kings 21:6, 2 Kings 5:26, James 5:3-5, Proverbs 24:30 Amos 9:13, Isaiah 5:5, Ezekiel 24:21-23, Jeremiah 49:9, Isaiah 24:12-14,Psalm 147:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 1 Corinthians 15:36, Ezekiel 18:31-32, Exodus 34:12,Jeremiah 26:5-7,Matthew 10:1, Mark 15:40, Exodus 18:22, Ezekiel 18:26,, 1 Peter 2:1-3, Leviticus 5:5,Ezekiel 24:14-16, Deuteronomy 19:15,, 1 John 5:7-9, Psalm 104, Rev 6:11, Daniel 10:15-17, Ezekiel 24:17, Acts 20:18-20, Psalm 129:2-4, Job 29:15-17, Matthew 13:40, Matthew 3:3-5,, Amos 7:1-3,Hebrews 4:13,Revelation 9:6-8, Deuteronomy 28:42, Revelation 14:17-20, Revelation 14:16-18, Revelation 9:7, Revelation 9:1-3, Isaiah 63:2-4, Luke 12:17, 2 Chronicles 34:27, Hebrews 6:10-12, Psalm 104, Genesis 40:11. Ecclesiastes 1:11, Exodus 15:17, Isaiah 17:10, Jeremiah 13:17, Philippians 1:17-19, Colossians 1:12, Revelation 1:3, Job 31:38-40.
The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.
What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it?
“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.
I planted, Apollos watered, an eloquent man, and he was mighty in the Scriptures, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it.
You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.
And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes.
(So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”
And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you?
Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants?)
You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down.
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned;
The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it.
If grape-gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, would they not destroy until they have enough?
‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. In the city desolation is left, And the gate is stricken with destruction. When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, it shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the Lord They shall cry aloud from the sea.
Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
So also is the resurrection of the dead.The body is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”
Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?
For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God.
“Therefore turn and live!”
Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. Heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded).
And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.
And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.
When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
‘And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing;
I, the Lord, have spoken it; It shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, Nor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your deeds They will judge you, “Says the Lord God.’”
“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.
For there are three that bear witness in heaven: The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: The Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.
Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”
…Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”
He said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; Yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long.
I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, And plucked the victim from his teeth.
Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’
Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed, it was the late crop after the king’s mowing’s. And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said:
“O Lord God, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!”
So the Lord relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.
Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.
Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth, and to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.
Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?
“I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come.
And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord.
That is why I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be laid in your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place and its inhabitants,
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
...Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
Selah
There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after. You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. Therefore, you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings; In the day you will make your plant to grow, and in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive. But the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. Elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
“If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together; If I have eaten its fruit without money, or caused its owners to lose their lives; Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Matthew 13:38-39, Isaiah 5:7, Isaiah 40:6, Isaiah 5:1-3,, Isaiah 5:4, Isaiah 5:3, 1 Corinthians 3:6, Acts 18:24, 1 Corinthians 3:7-8, Matthew 13:44, Deuteronomy 28:38-40, Deuteronomy 28:29-31, 1 Kings 21:2, 1 Kings 21:6, 2 Kings 5:26, James 5:3-5, Proverbs 24:30 Amos 9:13, Isaiah 5:5, Ezekiel 24:21-23, Jeremiah 49:9, Isaiah 24:12-14,Psalm 147:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 1 Corinthians 15:36, Ezekiel 18:31-32, Exodus 34:12,Jeremiah 26:5-7,Matthew 10:1, Mark 15:40, Exodus 18:22, Ezekiel 18:26,, 1 Peter 2:1-3, Leviticus 5:5,Ezekiel 24:14-16, Deuteronomy 19:15,, 1 John 5:7-9, Psalm 104, Rev 6:11, Daniel 10:15-17, Ezekiel 24:17, Acts 20:18-20, Psalm 129:2-4, Job 29:15-17, Matthew 13:40, Matthew 3:3-5,, Amos 7:1-3,Hebrews 4:13,Revelation 9:6-8, Deuteronomy 28:42, Revelation 14:17-20, Revelation 14:16-18, Revelation 9:7, Revelation 9:1-3, Isaiah 63:2-4, Luke 12:17, 2 Chronicles 34:27, Hebrews 6:10-12, Psalm 104, Genesis 40:11. Ecclesiastes 1:11, Exodus 15:17, Isaiah 17:10, Jeremiah 13:17, Philippians 1:17-19, Colossians 1:12, Revelation 1:3, Job 31:38-40.
The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.
What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it?
“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.
I planted, Apollos watered, an eloquent man, and he was mighty in the Scriptures, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it.
You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.
And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes.
(So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”
And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you?
Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants?)
You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down.
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned;
The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it.
If grape-gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, would they not destroy until they have enough?
‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. In the city desolation is left, And the gate is stricken with destruction. When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, it shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the Lord They shall cry aloud from the sea.
Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
So also is the resurrection of the dead.The body is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”
Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?
For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God.
“Therefore turn and live!”
Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. Heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded).
And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.
And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.
When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
‘And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing;
I, the Lord, have spoken it; It shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, Nor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your deeds They will judge you, “Says the Lord God.’”
“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.
For there are three that bear witness in heaven: The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: The Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.
Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”
…Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”
He said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; Yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long.
I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, And plucked the victim from his teeth.
Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’
Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed, it was the late crop after the king’s mowing’s. And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said:
“O Lord God, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!”
So the Lord relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.
Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.
Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth, and to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.
Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?
“I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come.
And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord.
That is why I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be laid in your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place and its inhabitants,
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
...Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
Selah
There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after. You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. Therefore, you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings; In the day you will make your plant to grow, and in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive. But the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. Elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
“If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together; If I have eaten its fruit without money, or caused its owners to lose their lives; Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
References and external links
- "BibleGateway." Thomas Nelson, 1982. Web. 18 July 2016. <https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=goliath&qs_version=NKJV>.
- Patterson, Steven, and Marvin Meyer. "The Gospel of Thomas Collection - Translations and Resources." The Gospel of Thomas Collection - Translations and Resources. Gnostic Society Library Nag Hamadi, n.d. Web. 18 July 2016. <http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html>. Selection from Robert J. Miller, ed., The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholars Version. (Polebridge Press, 1992, 1994).
Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. 11/02/2015