Of Popes and Prophecy, Part 2

In my last post I gave a breakdown of Bible prophecies related to the different kingdoms, starting with the Babylonian kingdom, that affected God's people, the Jewish nation.  I believe that there is something in prophecy that shows that the stepping down of Benedict XVI was not "unexpected."

From the study I did last time, let's hop over to Revelation 13.  In verse one we meet another beast.  Keep in mind that a beast in prophecy refers to a kingdom/political power.  Based on John's description of the beast, we can go right back to Daniel 7 and make a link.  It would seem that he describes in the reverse order of Daniel because he is looking backward in time, and this beast is an amalgamation (or to put it simply, a mix) of the other beasts before it.  During John's time, Rome was ruling, and he knew the history of the kingdoms going back to the Babylonian era.  Just as the beast in Daniel 7 warred against God's people, so too the beast of Revelation 13.  The fourth beast in Daniel 7 has ten horns, the first beast mentioned in Revelation 13 has ten horns.  The beast of Revelation 13 and the Roman power are one and the same.  Revelation 12, verses 6 and 14 refer to a prophetic period of 3.5 years, during which the beast of Daniel 7 and that of Revelation 13 have "power over" God's people.  In prophecy, unless the explanation following says otherwise, we use the time formula 1 day=1 year (see Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6).  And 1 year by the Jewish calendar equals 360 days.  Thus, this 3.5 years equals 1260 days or 1260 literal years.  We can confirm this practical approach by looking at prophecies that have already been fulfilled like:

• the Jews' return to Jerusalem from exile during the reign of Cyrus, the Persian king.

• the length of Christ's ministry.

• the time of His death.

I think there are times we're living in the midst of prophetic fulfillment, but we don't recognize it.  However, we are given markers that can serve to wake us up.  The Bible refers to the beast receiving a deadly wound.  It loses its power.  It is silenced for a time.  But the wound is healed.  It regains its political clout and the whole world wonders after this resurrected beast.

Utilizing clues I have already mentioned and ones like them, we can gain understanding for Revelation 17.  In this chapter, we come upon yet another beast.  But we can identify it as the same beast in Revelation 13 that is controlled by the dragon (which is Satan; see Revelation 12:9).  Important clues from Revelation 17:

• the beast has ten horns (verse 3)

• the woman riding it is drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus (verse 6)

• the beast goes away for a time, comes back and the unbelieving world (as in those who don't believe in Jesus the Christ) wonders after it (verse 8)

• a woman in Bible prophecy refers to a church (see Revelation 12); a pure woman is God's true and faithful church; a harlot woman is an unfaithful church.

• this unfaithful church has a counterfeit to the priestly order established by God while the Israelites were in the desert; it has the purple, scarlet, and gold of the priestly order and the earthly replica of the heavenly tabernacle/sanctuary/temple, but it doesn't have the blue, which was to point people back to God's law (see Numbers 15:37-39; see also Exodus 36 and 39); as I mentioned before, I do believe this unfaithful church refers to the papal system--if you look at images of Roman Catholic cardinals and bishops, you will see a sea of red and purple with gold mixed in.

• this unfaithful church was a persecuting church, "drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Revelation 17:6), up until it received its deadly wound (Revelation 13:3).

• this unfaithful church is riding political power (the scarlet-colored beast with 7 heads and 10 horns), and that combination, which is what made it "diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns" (Daniel 7:7), unites church and state together in an iron grip--a religio-political system.

• the setting for this harlot woman/beast combo is Vatican City/Rome:  "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth." (Revelation 17:9) "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:18)  The City of Seven Hills generally refers to Rome and the Bible further qualifies by stating that it is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.

As I read through Revelation 17, as I prayed and studied it, and looked at the historical clues, the passage seemed to be saying that Pope Francis will be the last pope, that some serious power plays will go down, that the world will end during his reign.  This is pretty powerful stuff!  We’re living in an exciting time in the world’s history.  A time that will blow a lot of people’s minds.  A lot of people will be confused, will feel lost about what is happening.  But the Bible gives me my grounding.

In my next post, we will delve into Revelation 17 some more, and I will explain how I arrived at these conclusions.

Of Popes and Prophecy, Part 1

During the Rome evening last Thursday, the Vatican closed the main door of the Papal Residence at Castel Gandolfo.  A chapter in the life of Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, also closed.  Many people around the world were shocked when the pope announced his resignation on Monday, February 11, 2013.  I was surprised too.  But in my surprise, I found rootedness in a Bible passage I'd read countless times, but didn't understand.  It came back to me when the news was released, and I decided to prayerfully study it.  My disclaimer is that I don't know everything, but I share what I've discovered, so you can study for yourself too, with lots of prayer.

In the Biblical book of Daniel, chapter 2, we find an incredible story.  A king has a dream he can't remember, gets angry at his wise men and magicians, and orders their death.  When the word goes out, young Daniel and his friends ask if they could have some time to pray for God to reveal this dream to them.  God answers that prayer, and we get a view into earth's history all the way from the Babylonian Empire to the end of the ages.  Now, in chapter 7, Daniel gets an expanded vision of the one God showed him in chapter 2.  We see that the four beasts align with the four kingdoms represented by the metals that form the Daniel 2 statue, and we get a bit more information.

Characters in my novel, The Remnant, go into a more detailed study of the symbolism of these chapters and what they mean than I'm going to do here; but should you have questions/comments, you can leave them at the end of this post, and I will respond.  A basic breakdown is as follows:

• The gold of the Daniel 2 statue and the winged lion of Daniel 7 refer to the kingdom of Babylon.  This is clearly identified in chapter 2 when Daniel says to King Nebuchadnezzar, "You are the head of gold."
• The kingdom to follow Babylon was represented by silver and the bear that was raised up on one side with 3 ribs in its mouth.  At the end of chapter 5, we see where the Babylonian kingdom is overthrown by Darius the Mede.  This kingdom was actually a partnership commonly referred to as Medo-Persia.
• From history we know that the brass from chapter 2 and the leopard with four wings and heads refer to the kingdom of Greece.
• The fourth kingdom of iron, which is represented by a great and terrible beast with iron teeth and ten horns in chapter 7, is the Roman kingdom.
• After iron, in chapter 2, we see that the kingdom is divided--iron and clay, which cannot mix--and eventually, a stone that is cut out of a mountain without hands comes and destroys the statue.
• In chapter 7, we understand that a judgment happens in heaven (the Ancient of days sits and the books are opened), and then Jesus (the Son of man) is given complete dominion, and the saints (those who love and serve God) gain possession of God's kingdom forever and ever.
• We also understand from chapter 7 that this fourth kingdom, the kingdom of Rome, becomes divided into 10 kingdoms (the ten horns) and that a little horn uproots 3 of those kingdoms.  This little horn has the eyes of a man and a mouth that speaks great things.  This little horn king is diverse from the other 10 kings, makes war with God's people, blasphemes God, and thinks he can change God's law and time.  It is a religio-political power.  Here we have the transition from Pagan Rome to Papal Rome and the institution of the pope.

We will continue in my next post.

Live in Jamaica? I'm taking book orders!

I know some of you can't wait to get your hands on a paperback copy of my newest book, Sex, Lies, & Holiness.  Well, you can smile now because I'm taking orders!  You can also order my other novel, The Remnant, and my collection of poems and short stories, Flight Should Be About Beauty & Grace.  The first step is to fill out your contact info below, after which the full order form will be sent to you.  Thank you!

GIVEAWAY! Advanced PDF Copies of SLH

In the event that you missed my FB post or my Tweet earlier this week, my upcoming novel is entitled Sex, Lies, & Holiness.  That's what the #SLH has been all about.  The book is set in sweet Jamrock, and looks at the broader issues surrounding sex and sexuality (marriage, relationships, etc.) through the medium of the Jamaican context.  I suppose one way to describe it is that it tries to reconcile what we see and experience in our world with the concept of a by-the-Book, yet merciful God who is seeing it all too.

Now, the giveaway.  If you are interested in getting a free PDF copy of the book for review, read and complete this form: 

Volkswagen: hier kein Problem

A few days ago, I read a post by the lovely +Shari Kelly about the unnecessarily infamous Volkswagen Superbowl Ad.  Of course, I shared the post with the Darling Doctor and he told me about this video:



I had a hearty laugh about that one.  Truly Jamaican creativity at work.  And since I studied German years ago, it was just that much funnier.

Really, we are, "One Love" and "Out of Many, One People".  If you don't get that, you can't get the VW Ad.

The Story That Started It All

As you may know, I'm working on my second novel.  A short story I wrote a few years ago served as the catalyst for this book.  Thanks to those of you who did read it a few years back and gave me your reviews.  I would like to thank especially my friend Janneth Mornan-Green for her critical feedback.

While the story is not graphic, it does contain mature/disturbing themes.  Remember that the book I'm currently writing deals with issues surrounding sex and sexuality.    As I said a few years ago, it's not for the fainthearted.  Click here: http://snack.to/fdcf483p, to read the story.

It's All Coming Together

I've been writing up a storm to meet my publishing deadline.  For those of you who don't know, the novel I'm working on deals with sex, sexuality, their surrounding issues, and what God has to say about it all.  The Darling Doctor has given good reviews of what he's read so far--even reading outside what I asked him to read [gasp!].  Aaand, the gears have been set in motion for the book trailer.

Let me know what you'd like to read about in the book.  In fact, if you tell me here (on.fb.me/UMXwDV), you'll get a chance to receive a FREE copy of the book once it's published.  Just for sharing your thoughts.  Sounds pretty good, right?  It is!  Stay tuned for lots more tidbits and giveaways in the following days and weeks.

What If Marriage Were A Hot Air Balloon Cloud?

This evening, as the sun slipped down, the sky-view outside my kitchen window held a little pink cloud that looked very much like an old-time hot air balloon.  As it moved through the atmosphere, it changed its shape with the wind, and the beauty that I'd found in it was lost.

My children have exhibited some characteristics since birth that inspire me even as they put me on my P's and Q's about what I'm in for in a few short years.  This week, I found myself thinking about the benefits of these characteristics in marriage.  AJ's perseverance, Ana's tenacity, and their strength, can work for good between a husband and wife.

While perseverance and tenaciousness can be used as synonyms, they have different connotations for me.  Perseverance connotes trying again.  When something isn't working, try again.  Sometimes we'll catch our son struggling to accomplish something, and he'll tell himself out loud, "try again".  Once he's achieved his goal, he tells himself, "good boy, good boy."  In marriage, there are times where things aren't really working.  A common culprit is miscommunication.  In his book Good to Great in God's Eyes, Chip Ingram writes:

Communication is the meeting of meanings, and I haven't communicated with my wife until she knows what's really on my heart and mind.  I also haven't heard her until I understand what's on her heart--not just what she said or did, but what was really behind it. (pg. 51)

I love this definition of communication:  "the meeting of meanings".  If you're not getting what your spouse is saying, listen again; if your spouse doesn't seem to understand you, don't walk away before you explain it again--even better if you can try a different way to explain your thoughts.  And when you've accomplished understanding each other, celebrate this meeting of your hearts.

Tenacity brings to mind clinging to something with all your might.  Our daughter is great at doing this.  She has a surprisingly strong grip for such a little baby.  But I believe this tenacity got her through the several days of labor that exposed her to loads of medications and whatever may have been happening in my body that could have put her life at risk.  It also probably helped her during those lonely days in the hospital nursery.  This characteristic is especially helpful in the difficult times of marriage, when desperation may threaten to set in.  When everything is falling apart--or seems to be--and you're not even sure it's worth it anymore, hang on.  Hang on for all you're worth because marriage was never meant to be a temporary set-up, a feel good all the time relationship, or a construct of the law.  God meant it to be for life--meant it to be sacred.  Which means that as life journeys through its ups and downs, your marriage should be there right along with them.  This does not apply to you if you're in a relationship with an abusive spouse.  It is not God's desire for you to be raped, beaten, belittled, controlled or otherwise abused by your husband/wife.

In closing, let's consider strength.  Both my babies were born early and both have been strong from birth--strong cries, strong personalities, physical strength.  The strength of a Godly marriage lies in God.  He created marriage, and thus, understands all its nuances and what it takes for marriage to work.  If you and your spouse have a deepening relationship with God, you will each draw closer to Him and each other.  An easy image to remember this is to picture a triangle with God being at the apex, and you and your spouse standing at the left and right corners of the triangle.  As each of you moves closer to the apex, the distance between those corners gets shorter until you become unified in vision and purpose with God.  A similar thing happened on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, when unity in God (not man) created the atmosphere for God's Spirit to be poured out on His people.  Pretty powerful stuff this marriage thing.  In being "one flesh" with my husband and us being under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1), we are the closest manifestation of the image of God.  The Bible says in Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."  He created Eve for Adam, to be his partner.  Their cleaving together, their union, glorified God and reflected His image.

Even today, God upholds His standard--going so far as to equate the relationship between Christ and the church  to that of a man and his wife (Ephesians 5:21-33).  Marriage isn't to be like that hot-air-balloon cloud I mentioned, becoming disfigured and tossed about by whatever winds of circumstance may come its way.  God's concept of marriage is holy and finds its roots deep in Him.

Giveaway--SLH Copies

I'm running a giveaway from now until January 23, 2013 for my next novel, known as SLH for now.  Here are more details: http://on.fb.me/UMXwDV.

Marriage Devotional and 2013 Greetings

Devotions | Proverbs 31 Ministries

My husband and I just read the above devotional together.  The perspective is really for the wife wanting to contribute to a day-to-day honeymoon lifestyle, but it's grounded in the Word, which is always great, and it got us talking (that's great too!).

Happy new year to you all.  And for those of you who are married, may this be the best year yet for your marriage!

P.S. if you're looking for a good new marriage resource, Beyond Ordinary is releasing this week.  It's gearing up to be a good read.  Hope to see for myself soon.

Sometimes it's easy to feel irresponsible or unreliable when you're having trouble meeting deadlines, or doing all the things that other people expect you to do.  For you who struggle with this and for myself:

I'm not irresponsible, I'm just more responsible to the priorities in my life.

Like my beautiful babies.  And my darling husband.  And most importantly, to God.

How I've Come To See 9/11

This year is just like that year--eleven ago--when I was a frosh at Muhlenberg, and being an international student became a position of suspicion. Thankfully, I didn't encounter ignorance at my school.  Just like 2001, the 11th is on a Tuesday.  I was in NY that Sunday and as we passed the Towers, I figured I'd visit on another trip into the city, as the group I'd traveled with was trying to be on time for an off broadway show.  What a missed opportunity.

I was going to say that looking back, it's a little jaw-dropping to see how the global face has changed. Perhaps, though, it's better to say that true colors came out after 9/11. I'm not getting into all the theories, conspiracy theories, facts, and figures. Underneath all of that is the reality that the world has always been like this. Sure, as expected (See Matthew 24 and Luke 21), things are intensifying and happening more frequently, but the general condition of humanity hasn't changed. September 11, 2001 was another day when God wept over mankind's rampant heartlessness towards his fellows.

The Remnant E-book Now Available!

You can finally get your copy of my debut novel! The Kindle version is now available: http://amzn.to/Q4AaXH. On Saturday and Sunday, it will be FREE, so be sure to take advantage. And for those of you who don't know, there are lots of free Kindle apps for you to use if you don't own a Kindle. Enjoy the upcoming weekend!

This close

My debut novel is just about ready for publication. The e-book will be available first on Kindle. The print edition will be out in October. You can get the most recent updates by clicking on the tab "The Remnant". Stay tuned for more info!

When Your Bad Day Becomes A Bad Week

Do you ever have one of those "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" days? Did it ever turn into an awful week? I am having one of those weeks. But even as I wait out this dengue fever that's taken me over (praying that no one else in my house contracts it)--amongst everything else that's happening (did I mention we might get a hurricane this weekend?)--I'm trying to find things to smile about. Like this innovative way of handling chores with your kids:

Source: via Tammy on Pinterest

If you want to know where I got the quote in the first question, see this reading [Click Here] of the classic children's story, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by the author herself. Scroll down to the end of the page for the video.

What I've Been Up To

Practically a year and a half later, I've decided to resurrect this blog. Lots of interesting things to come. And lots of interesting things have happened since February 2011. Here are some highlights:

-We had our second child (a girl this time =D)
-I finished the manuscript for my first novel
-We started a small group
-I've decided to let go of a dream to which I clung too tightly

Each of those things has backstory. Maybe I'll share some time.

In other news, The Darling Doctor, otherwise known as my husband, has been especially supportive of my writing this year. Most recently, he created a simple, easy-to-use Blackberry App where you can keep up-to-date with my blog, Facebook page, and Tweets. It's called Alana A Wellington Feeds.

Today, he suggested that instead of publishing the sequel to my novel next, I should work on "that book you've been talking about". What book? you ask. Well, you shall soon find out. I'm warming up to the idea. Of course I'll be working on Book 2 too. Yes, I just did that. And all this before Book 1 is out.

If you want a preview of Book 1 and a bit of what it's all about, and to see me in living color, you can see my indiegogo campaign page. Yes, it was a failed campaign, but it was a quality one, and failure isn't always a bad thing!

Heart Chocolate: Hurting with those who hurt

I read a touching story in the wee hours of this morning after my baby settled down for the night.  The link is below.  I encourage you to do something after you've read it.  The littlest things mean so much sometimes.
Heart Chocolate: Hurting with those who hurt

From Junk to Joy

The other day, I was listening to a program called Woman to Woman.  The guest on the program was Debbie Holley, who has developed a class called Peace of Mind or a Mind in Pieces?  She talked about how, as women, we tend to keep a mental junk drawer of all kinds of negative things we've heard about ourselves or told ourselves.  While this does happen more with women, I do think some men do this as well.

I admit that I keep a junk drawer.  I've emptied it out from time to time because I recognize the damage it inflicts.  But inevitably, it gets filled up again, and before I realize it, I've gotten into a slump.  This junk definitely steals my joy.  What makes it worse is that I'm responsible.  I'm not responsible for what other people say to me, but I am responsible for hoarding those things, responsible for what I say to myself.  That means that cleaning out that drawer is up to me.  While acknowledging this doesn't necessarily make the clean-up easier, it signifies that this doesn't have to be a permanent condition.  I can go from a drawer full of junk to a heart full of joy.  What junk do you need to throw out?

Remember that God doesn't think negative thoughts about you, so that rubbish piling up inside comes from the enemy of souls.  "For I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end" Jeremiah 29:11. Our God wants to restore our joy.  It comes with peace of mind.

Thoughts on Acts 13

The texts used to support the belief that God's Sabbath was changed from the 7th day to the 1st day of the week (John 20:19, Acts 20:6-11, and 1 Cor 16:1-3) cannot stand up to the truth that God never changed the day. Here in Acts 13, it is clear that the disciples continued to worship on the 7th day Sabbath. They did not change God's day of worship to Sunday to celebrate Christ's resurrection. I think it's fair to say they celebrated it by proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the world.

The Catholic Church has stated on more than one occasion that she changed the day to Sunday under the authority that she believes God has given her to replace Him here on earth. A huge part of the reason for the change came at a time when the church wanted to gain control; as such, the pagan day to worship the sun was embraced, within a melding of church and pagan traditions. This way everyone could be happy--or so they thought.

And let me just say that the whole notion of the Mark of the Beast dividing the masses today is an inaccurate notion. The Mark of the Beast and the Seal of God do not come into play until persons must make a decision to follow God or follow the world. That won't happen until the Sunday worship laws are being enforced. This will be the period of time foreshadowed by Stephen's sermon and subsequent stoning, the last chance to get it right before your decision seals your fate for eternity.

Thoughts on Acts 12

The juxtaposition of horror and humor in chapter 12 is almost palpable. Also juxtaposed is the true prosperity of God's people versus the pseudo-prosperity of the "worldians".

Horror: Herod kills James with the sword then locks up Peter with intention to snuff him out too (because the Jews were pleased about James's murder). He commands the keepers be executed because Peter disappears. He gets eaten by worms and dies.

Humor: (As Rohan mentioned earlier) The angel has to strike Peter to get him to wake up, and even then, Peter's not sure he's awake. Then he wakes up, but Rhoda leaves him on the doorstep. So he stands out there knocking, knocking, knocking. Those inside tell the girl she's crazy, but she keeps saying it's true, till finally they settle on accepting that it's Peter's angel outside. However, the constant knocking inevitably draws them out, and they see the truth for themselves.

Herod seems to be prospering, what with his riches, capturing Peter, the Jews' approval and that of the Tyre and Sidon citizens. He even is hailed as a god--right before being cut down by the only God.

Things seem a bit dismal for the believers, but they're quick and constant in prayer, and God is pleased to answer. He sends an angel on a recon mission for Peter and eliminates their "big" enemy. Right after that the Bible says, "But the word of God grew and multiplied" (Acts 12:24). Herod's death is insignificant compared to the growth of the gospel.

Today, as we look around, we can recognize that juxtaposition of God's remnant people with those indulging in worldly traditions, the "unseen" war between God and Satan. So often, it seems that God's people are losing the battle, that we're being snuffed out. The world on the other hand is rife with attractive pursuits and material wealth. Who, however, will be asking the rocks to fall on them when Jesus returns (Revelation 6:16)?