The Reformed Olive Press

New Testament Imagery of the “Mark of the Beast”/Seal ·         Revelation 14:9-12 9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone WORSHIPS the beast and its image AND receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand , 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who WORSHIP the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus ·         Revelation 17:5 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.”...

The Time is at Hand Revelation 1:1 1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place . He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, Revelation 1:3 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near Revelation 3:11 11 I am coming soon . Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. Revelation 22:7 7 “And behold, I am coming soon . Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” Revelation 22:10 10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near .. Revelation 22:12 12 “Behold, I am coming soon , bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. Revelation 22:20 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon .” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! *********************...

The 144,000 First Fruits in the Book of James In the Letter of James, we see a mention of the First Fruits of Christ . Dispensationalists usually comb through this section with little to no thought. It has been acknowledged that the 144,000 is Christ’s first fruits. If Christ is coming back in the far future (21 st Century and beyond), shouldn’t these Jews be called the Last/Final Fruits? When Christ is resurrected, he is called the First Fruits . Many Jews were coming to faith since then. Interestingly, the Letter of James, the brother of Jesus, was written sometime before AD 69 or AD 62. This hints that the judgment concepts may point to the Judgment of 70AD. This letter would be somewhat irrelevant if James wrote this to a people 2,000 plus years into the future. We need to ask ourselves, what did this mean to the original audience? When we look at James 1:1, we see that the original audience is the 12 Tribes in the Dispersion/Jewish Diaspora . We see Life & Death concept...

The Book of Proverbs and Its New Covenant-Centered Outline Book of Proverbs Old Covenant Meaning New Covenant Foreshadowing Proverbs 1-24 Instruction to the King’s Son The Church are the Sons and Daughters of Christ Proverbs 25-29 Instruction to the King’s Servants The Church are the Servants of Christ Proverbs 30 Prophecy- The Coming of the Son of God The Church awaits Christ’s coming***KJV Proverbs 31 (1-9) Prophecy- King Lemuel as a Godly King The Son of God’s Standards as King and His Godly Millenial Reign Proverbs 31(10-31) Prophecy-King Lemuel looking for a Godly Wife. The Son of God creating the Perfect Wife fit for a King. ***This concept can be found by translating the names Agur, Ithiel and Ucal. Agur means “The Gatherer of Wisdom”, Ithiel means “The Arrival of The Sign/Words of God”, Jakeh means “O...

        Noah as the New Adam of Creation- Noah's Ark as the Temple of God and other New Covenant Connections       Adam is the first man of Creation           Noah is the New Adam of the New Creation           Adam performed a sacrifice in the Fallen Creation           Noah performed a sacrifice in the Fallen New Creation           Both Adam and Noah are the High Priests for their respective families           Both Adam and Noah are called the Lord of the Whole Earth-Dominion Mandate           Both Adam and Noah brought sin into their environments through eating and drinking respectively.           Both Adam and Noah shared the shame/curse of their sin.           Both Adam and Noah saw their nakedness and the covering of God’s grace.   ...

This Twisted Generation is 1st Century Israel Deuteronomy 32:5 5They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation . Deuteronomy 32:20 he said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation , children in whom is no faithfulness. NOTE: This title specifically refers to National Israel, not Gentile nations. ********************************************************************************* Matthew 1:17 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations , and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations , and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations . NOTE: According to Matthew 1, we see that 14 generations passed from the Babylonian captivity until the time of Jesus’ ministry. When we notice that Babylon took Judah into captivity in 586 BC,   we can calcula...

The Samaritan Woman The Whore of Babylon John 4:7, 17 A woman from Samaria came to draw water . Jesus said to her, “ Give me a drink .   The woman answered him, “ I have no husband .” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘ I have no husband’; Revelation 17:1, 18:7 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters , Revelation 18:7   As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow , and mourning I shall never see.’ John 4:18, 40 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband . What you have said is true.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he (JESUS) stayed there two days. Revelation 17:10   they are al...