Condemned Articles & Craft

(Photo Above entitled: African elephants. The young ones are playful.)


NOTE: The above photograph, inclusive of the “caption” was copied from the OXFORD AMERICAN CHILDREN’S ENCYCLOPEDIA, copyright 1998 by Oxford University Press, Inc., taken from volume 3, page 16. This is a most inappropriate photograph geared toward children and is not a single incident. Photos in encyclopedias are desirable and pleasant until they cross the barrier of moral decency or become an adult vessel for the uses of Steganography- being linked to espionage and treason through non-verbal broadcasting. It becomes the moral duty of all to report the findings of such offense to lawful authorities.


ISAIAH 2:12-22 “…(the wrath of Jehovah is) against all the ships of Tarshish [regarded as the caravans that bore the merchandise of the mistress of the sea]; and against all the desirable craft [evilly embellished with wicked or treacherously deceitful ornamentation].”

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary.- Tarshish was a Phoenician colony. “Ships of Tarshish” became a phrase for richly-laden and far-voyaging vessels.

“ When God acts in judgment, it is often to upset human values so that everything can be seen from the divine perspective. Much of the imagery of this passage could be viewed as Phoenician. It was in the hinterland of Tyre and Sidon [hypothetically viewed as a Transportation System for the Liberal Arts] that the cedars grew; it was there too that the highest mountains were found, and the grand designs of stone-masons and shipwrights were to be seen in its ports. “Every trading ship” is a free translation of “ships of Tarshish” and these were based in Phoenicia. It was from this quarter that religious syncretism (combination of philosophical or religious belief) had come and its features could still stand for alien religion. The main point, of course, is that God’s act of judgment would humble every manifestation of human pride.”

Henry Commentary.- When God is bringing ruin upon a people He can sink all the branches of their revenue. The day of the Lord shall be upon all pleasant pictures, (against) the curious pieces of painting they brought home in their ships from other countries, perhaps from Greece, which afterwards was famous for painters.

Clarke Commentary.- “Ships of Tarshish.” This term is in Scripture frequently used by a metonymy (figure of speech) for ships in general, especially such as are employed in carrying on traffic between distant countries, as Tarshish was the most celebrated mart of those times, frequented of old by the Phoenicians, and the principal source of wealth to the neighboring countries.

(Continuing Isaiah 2:12-22) Verse 17 “And will be humbled man’s pride, and will be abased men’s loftiness; and [pristine holiness of] Jehovah alone will be exalted in that day. And the idols [the self-deification of man- in anyway symbolical of Jehovah] will completely vanish. And they shall go into the caves of the rocks [recesses of corruption], and into the holes of the dust [the secluded sites of refuge of the earth] from before the fear of Jehovah and from His majesty’s glory; when He arises to make tremble the earth.”

Oswalt Commentary (Expounded).- All that is great and impressive is knocked down. So it will be with human pride on the day when the Lord acts. As surely as the wind uproots the trees and knocks down the ship, as surely as the earthquake moves the mountains and cracks the walls, so will the terror of the Lord remove all human pomp and pretension.

The idols, exemplified in the Sun god “Ra”, the true means of which they [Anti-Christ and his following] sought to deify themselves will be cast aside and their precious idols of silver and gold, symbolizing their refined words of doctrine as a standard of measure of the highest form of moral purity, will be left to the bats and the moles, the unclean to the unclean.

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STEGANOGRAPHY ANALYSIS & REASEARCH CENTER

Backbone Security Center of Excelence-


The word Steganography is derived from the Greek words steganos which means writing. Thus, Steganography literally means “covered writing.” Steganography has been used throughout history for secret communications. Criminals have always sought ways to conceal their activity in real or physical space.
For example, what has been written may seem to be an ordinary beginning to an ordinary article. It is not. There is a secret message hidden there, in the very paragraph. It is not in view, and its source is modern. But the art of hiding messages is an ancient one, known as Steganography.
Steganography is the dark cousin of cryptography, the use of codes. While cryptography provides privacy, Steganography is intended to provide secrecy.
The key innovation in recent years was to choose an innocent looking cover that contains plenty of random information, called white noise. You can hear white noise as the nearly silent hiss of a blank tape playing. The secret message replaces the white noise, and if done properly it will appear to be as random as the noise was.


With these new techniques, a hidden message is indistinguishable from white noise. Even if the message is suspected, there is no proof of its existence. To actually prove there was a message, and not just randomness, is not possible. This feature is called “plausible deniability,” for absence of proof.
All of this sounds fairly despicable and disreputable, and in fact the obvious uses of Steganography are for things like espionage and treason.

CONSIDER THE PHOTOGRAPH (Above) – By familiarizing ourselves with a few basic nonverbal signals, we can improve our ability to understand what people are really communicating and become aware of what we are broadcasting to the world with our own non-verbal clues.
A person’s body posture, movements and positions more often tell us exactly what they mean (which may be the exact opposite of what they are saying). Many people are unaware of how loudly they communicate with their bodies.

(Sign of the Times)
LAMENTATION FOR TYRE – Tyre, the capital of the Phoenician Empire, likened to a great ship is wrecked.

PSALM 48:9 “You (Jehovah) break the ships of Tarshish [regarded as the caravans that bore the merchandise of the mistress of the sea] with an east wind.”

(Continuing ISAIAH 2:12-22) “…(the wrath of Jehovah is) against all the ships of Tarshish [regarded as the caravans that bore the merchandise of the mistress of the sea]; and against all the desirable craft [evilly embellished with wicked or treacherously deceitful ornamentations].”

Cargo Of Glass

GLASS.- Glass was known in the ancient world from about 1600 B.C. in Egypt. In Egypt the Phoenicia glass was opaque (hazy, shadowy) and was used chiefly to make ornamental objects- especially beads, jewelry, and small bottles. The value of glass in ancient times may be indicated in Job where the value of glass is equated with that of gold and is used in parallel with jewels (Job 28:17).
The Egyptians and Phoenicians made small bottles for perfume by winding hot glass rods around a sand and clay core and then joining the layers by reheating them.
Transparent glass was not made until New Testament times as a luxury item. During this period, Alexandria, Egypt, became world famous as a center for the production of glassware. Such items as beakers, bowls, flasks, goblets, and bottles were made from the transparent glass.

Looking Back
No one knows when or where glass was discovered. But several thousand years ago someone found that a hard transparent material could be made by heating together sand and ashes.

(Research: Glass)
GLASS.- a generally transparent or translucent, lustrous, hard and brittle substance which has passed from a fluid condition, at high temperature, to a solid condition with sufficient rapidity to prevent the formation of visible crystals. Glass is formed in nature in three main ways. Rarely a silica glass is formed in small amounts when lightning strikes sand. The concentrated heat fusses the sand. The melt immediately solidifies forming a fragile tube of silica glass sometime sever feet long. Such tubes are called fulgrites (from the process of lightning) and are generally found in desert environments. Rarely, also, natural glass is formed as the result of localized melting of rock in a large fault zone, the glass generally being black and referred to as pseudotachylite. The most common natural occurrence of glass is as obsidian, a glassy volcanic rock of acidic composition used by early man for making small implements.

Manufactured glass consists primarily of a combination of silicic acid and alkali (sodium or potassium). The ingredients were rarely in a pure state, and sand generally contained some iron impurities. The green color they cause, due to ferrous silicate, may be neutralized by adding pyrolusite (manganese diocide). The resultant glass may be clear and transparent and look like still water. However, if there are numerous minute air bubbles left in the glass, it is translucent and has the appearance of ice.
Because of defective industrial processes no sizable glass containers, such as bottles or decanters, were manufactured prior to the Roman period. Pieces of glass sticks of various colors, reheated and welded together, were fashioned as pearls and elements of necklaces or other trinkets. These are commonly found in tombs together with miscellaneous jewelry. Small vases for perfumes and ungeuents (soothing or healing salve or ointment) were obtained by welding sticks of glass around a core of sand and clay built around a bar of metal; core and bar were subsequently removed. Such vessels, often of many colors, are always opaque. The above technique was common in ancient Egypt. Greek traditions, however, locate the origin of glass industry in Phoenicia, where, indeed, numerous objects showing a similar technique were found, together with articles of transparent glass which have often become iridescent because of oxidation.
The Hellenistic period is remarkable for its luxury vessels. Quantities of mosaic glass (used to form pictures or patterns) were made in Egypt, Rome, and Syro-Palestine.
A formidable technique employed in the Hellenistic period was that of sandwiching a cutout design of gold leaf or foil between two colorless glass surfaces.
Centers such as Tyre and Sidon became famous for the quantities of glass produced. Both Pliny (61-113 A.D., Roman Author) and Josephus (37-100 A.D. Jewish Historian) mentioned the Belus River near Acre as a source for excellent glassmaking sands. Many mold-blown vessels, some with religious symbols among the designs, are described as “Sidonian.”
Glassmaking quickly spread throughout the empire (Tyre and Sidon) and centers were established near many major cities. As the empire grew, glass was used for shipping and storage as well as table service.
The Phoenicians, so apt in all lines of trade and manufacture, naturally seized on glass-making as a most profitable art and they became very proficient in it. The earliest glass was not very transparent, since they did not know how to free the materials used from impurities. It has greenish or purplish tinge, and a large part of the examples we have of Phoenician glass exhibit this. But we have many examples of blue, red and yellow varieties which were purposely colored, and others quite opaque and of a whitish color, resembling porcelain. But both they and the Egyptians made excellent transparent glass also, and decorated it with brilliant coloring on the surface.
Phoenicia was the great center, and the quantities found in tombs of Syria and Palestine go to confirm the statement that this was one of the great industries of this people, to which ancient authors testify.Both the Egyptians and Phoenicians gained such proficiency in making transparent and colored glass that they imitate precious stones with such skill as to deceive the unwary. Necklaces are found composed of a mixture of real brilliants and glass imitations. Glass composed of different colors in the same piece was made by placing layers of glass wire, of different colors, one above the other and then fusing them so that they became united in a solid mass without intermingling. Colored designs on the surface were produced by tracing the patterns, while the glass was still warm and plastic, deep enough to receive the threads of colored glass which were imbedded in them. The entire piece was heated again sufficiently to fuse the threats and attach them to the body. The surface was then made even by polishing. By this process vessels and ornaments of very beautiful design were produced. Glass, in the strict sense, is rarely mentioned in Scripture, but it was certainly known to the Hebrews.


IN CONCLUSION – (Review) Note: The Seleucid Kings regarded Tyre of importance and gave it the right of asylum (an inviolable place of refuge and security). Trade and industry were again developed. The glass from Sidon and Tyre was excellent and had high reputation in all counties of the Western world.


HYPOTHETICAL INTERPRETATION – The Glass Production of Tyre: As glass…inflexibly rigid, Tyre produced a mix (an admixture) of material – opaque cultural jewels. As such, these precious ornamental [] treasures (of Phoenician orientation), were highly esteemed by the Western world.
Opaque as glass, Tyre’s abstruse creations were (unclear) difficult to understand, owing to the method adapted of transforming materials through an impure admixture – to produce the desired product.



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Sinking Ship

PSALM 48:9 “You (Jehovah) break the ships of Tarshish [regarded as the caravans that bore the merchandise of the mistress of the sea] with an east wind.”

(Review)
The word Tarshish is associated with ships and ports and the name of the Phoenician colony in the Western portion of the Mediterranean Sea with which the Phoenicians traded- being the farthest limits of the western world- remote yet rich and powerful in commerce. The ships of Tarshish trade were regarded as the caravans that bore the merchandise of the mistress of the sea.

Expounded Hypothetically:

The products of Tarshish included silver [refined “words”- from far distant places, relating stories of discoveries from specialized journals and publications], iron [fig., symbolizing words of great power, good or bad, right or wrong], lead [used to symbolize a Permanent Record of Words, of either immutable truth or words of error and falsehood] and tin [trading with words that gave strength to a currently held belief of opinion], which were imported by Tyre.

The merchant ship Tyre was depicted as a highly efficient business machine, trading in all kinds of costly goods. The seemingly interminable list of her trading partners makes clear the astonishing array of her wares. For her crew was secured with the best trained veteran seamen from Phoenician cities. Tyre became a “mart of the nations,” a place of trade- allowing access to far off places- perfected in beauty having acquired a vast port of entry.

“Ships of Tarshish” came to designate the larger sea-going vessels, regardless of their origin or ports of call. It is important to note that Tarshish has been paralleled with “the pleasant place, desire” (“beautiful craft”), suggesting that whatever the original identification of Tarshish may have been in literature and popular imagination it became a distant paradise. It was from the Phoenicians that the Mediterranean peoples learned seamanship and skill in navigation.

The Phoenicians were a powerful trading people as well as great explorers, and sent ships to trade and settle colonies. Cyprus was invaded by the “People of the Sea”. The tenth century brought the Phoenicians, who colonized Cyprus and spread from there to the shores of the W. Mediterranean. Cyprus was named after a son of Javan- the father of the Greeks. The name Javan denotes Greece. The Greeks established a high culture through the investigation of the humanities producing notable scholars, artists, and scientists. The Greeks founded and advocated the political formula of “democracy.”

The Phoenicians Invented the Alphabet

Writing was a way of recording and storing words and ideas. Famous books, the country’s laws, scientific discoveries and letters for friends are all written down, to be read or remembered for various purposes later.
The Phoenicians, living alone a 20-mile strip on the Mediterranean, made the great sea their second home, giving the alphabet to Greeks in the mutual trading area and leaving inscriptions in many sites. The Phoenicians themselves were a powerful trading people as well as great explorers, and sent ships to trade and settle colonies right across the Mediterranean as far as Spain. Being able seamen, the Phoenicians were famous in the ancient world for their capacity as sailors and pilots. They took up sea trade and developed it to a degree which was unknown till then.
The ships in which the Phoenicians made these voyages were small as compared with the great vessels of the present day, but the largest known in their age, as we may infer from the long voyages they made. Their superiority is testified to by classical writers. Their ships excelled all others in speed being impelled both by sails and oars.
Trade was the very life of Phoenicia, and they sought outlets for it by sea and land. Their position was especially favorable for commerce. In the very center of the ancient world, with the great rich and populous nations of antiquity at their back and on either side, they faced the young, vigorous and growing nations of the West, and they served them all as carriers and producers. Their caravans traded all the well-beaten routes of the East, the deserts of Arabia and the mountain defiles of Armenia and Asia Minor, and their ships pushed boldly out to sea and explored the Mediterranean and did not hesitate to brave the unknown dangers of the Atlantic in their zeal for discovery and search for new avenues of trade.
We know that they had a fleet in the Red Sea and it is quite possible that they were allowed by some of the kings of Egypt to avail themselves of ports on the other branch of the Red Sea. They must have visited the eastern shore of Africa and perhaps struck across the Indian Ocean, after skirting the coast of Arabia, thus carried on trade with India.
Tyre and Sidon were the two great cities of the Phoenicians. Sidon was the mother city which was soon surpassed by her proud and rich daughter, Tyre.
The ships of the Phoenicians entered all ports of the Mediterranean Sea ad even penetrated the uncharted ocean beyond the Pillars of Hercules. They were an aggressive and progressive people. As mentioned before, if was from the Phoenicians that the Mediterranean peoples learned seamanship and skill in navigation. It is fitting, therefore, that in his dirge over the downfall of the mistress of the sea, the Prophet Ezekiel should represent Tyre as a gallant ship, well built, well furnished, and well manned, broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, fallen into the heart of the seas in the day of her ruin. Ezekiel’s description brings together more of the features of the ship of antiquity than any other that has become down to us. Her builders have made her perfect in beauty with planks of fir, mast of cedar, oars of the oak of Bashan, decks of ivory, sails of fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt, and an awning of blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah.

Tyre, (as a figurative prototype of the ships of Tarshish), was perfect of beauty, well-build and well-fitted with money and trade, well set up owing to her perfect beauty. Thusly, the format of Tyre, became the standard for others.
The mast was, her first position for effectiveness, force and speed of the ship. Therein is found the power and strength of the ship manifest within the “corporate fountainhead” providing the supply and support. Her oars were made of oak, the strength of Bashan, notable specimens- men of aggressive genius. The outward appearance of the deck the surface area of the operation exposed to the view of the public, they made with ivory, the rare and expensive material attained through the expertise of the astute men of Cyprus, those who established a high culture through investigation of the humanities- of those who walk in wise and sensible paths and ways of life.
The merchant ship Tyre is depicted as a highly efficient business machine, trading in all kinds of costly goods. The seemingly interminable list of her trading partners makes clear the astonishing array of her wares. By covering all points of the compass and virtually every imaginable precious commodity, the picture is established of Tyre as the commercial crossroads of the world…as mercantile emporium of the peoples of many sea coasts, both from the east and from the west: “A Mart of Nation”.

Informing, Educating, Marketing & Merchandising

(Marketing & Merchandising) – There is no dispute over the power of advertising to inform consumers of what products are available. In a free-market economy effective advertising is essential to a company’s survival, for unless consumers know about a company’s product they are unlikely to buy it. (Magazines are a chief print medium for advertising, offering the manufacturer of products to make contact with their most likely customers.)

The king of Tyre maintained a refinery and ship-building center with which he operated ships of Tarshish.

EZEKIEL 27:12 “Tarshish [regarded as the caravans that bore the merchandise of the mistress of the sea- fig. brought to port news related discoveries concerning the physical world and its phenomena] (they were) your traders [Tyre, for the riches of the world flowed into your harbor from specialized journals of original entry] from the plenty of (your) wealth [as a “broker of the peoples” a “mart of the nations”]…”

(Continuing Isaiah 2:12-22) Verse 14 “…and against all the lifted up hills [unlawful- illicit sites of worship]; and against every tall tower [when human aspirations of men, claiming divine entitlement go beyond the limits of the law] and against every [strongly] fortified [militaristic] wall [of protection designed to safeguard ruthless oppression]; and against all the ships of Tarshish; and against all the desirable craft.”

PSALM 48:9 “You (Jehovah) break the ships of Tarshish [regarded as the caravans that bore the merchandise of the mistress of the sea] with an east wind.”

THIRD PART OF SHIPS DESTROYED
The Tyrian merchants sailed to all ports and colonized almost everywhere. To emphasize the certainty of Tyre’s judgment, the Lord told Ezekiel to lament the city’s doom in advance. Tyre is compared to a large commercial ship made from the best wood, adorned with beautiful sails, and manned by skilled sailors. Its list of trading partners included virtually every nation and city in the known world. However, a storm (the Lord’s judgment) would destroy this great ship. All of its sailors and merchants would sink into the sea, causing its trading partners looking on from the shore to lament over its fate.

THE SINKING OF TYRE

(With your eyes you shall see the reward of the wicked)

Calvin Commentary.- It is of importance to remember, that those whom God has taken under His care are in a state of the most absolute safety.

Barnes Commentary.- Though a thousand shall fall at you side, or close to you, no matter how many fall around you, on the right hand and the left, you will have nothing to fear. You will be safe. You may feel assured of the Divine protection; calmness will conduce to your safety. The only thing which you have to anticipate is, that you will see how God punishes sinners. “With your eyes you shall behold and see the reward of the wicked.” Your own eyes shall see it.

PSALM 37:27-40 (David Penned) “Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip. The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives; but the Lord will not leave them in their power or let them (the righteous) be condemned when brought to trial. Wait for the Lord and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil, but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found. Consider the blameless, observe the upright; the future of the wicked will be cut off. The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; He is their stronghold in times of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.”

THE CHARACTER OF THOSE TAKING REFUGE IN GOD REVEALED

(The Ethos of the Church and its Righteous Dominion over all the Earth)

[Aliens Protected - New Jerusalem a City of Refuge]

ISAIAH 14:1-2 (Apocalyptic Rendering) “For Jehovah will have pity on Jacob [the patriarch of the Israelite Tribes], and will chose yet among Israel, and give them rest on their [home] land. And the alien [(non-Jew, non- Christian) left helpless in the face of oppression- who of necessity relied upon others for justice, since they were not in a position to demand it, or mete it out themselves] shall be joined to them; and they shall cling to the house of Jacob [in the thick of the battle of life- for Jacob is in enemy territory and threatened by a hostile world]. And peoples [the Persians (anti-terrorism forces)] shall take them and bring them to their place. And the house of Israel [whose very covenant safeguards the liberties of others] shall [within the scope of liberal arts] possess them [in an ethical sense] on the land of Jehovah for slaves and slave girls [who meekly accept being ruled by the laws of a democratic society], and they shall be [socially restrained] captives of their [law enforcing] captors [restoring and maintaining the boundaries of the law], and [in such a social posture] they shall rule over their [lawless and cruel] oppressors [the ruthless Babylonians].”

THE SHIP TYRE UNDER DIVINE JUDGMENT

(The Character of those NOT afforded protection of the New Jerusalem)

Revelation 22:14-15 “But the dogs (are) outside [i.e., the wickedly enraged and unpitying malicious wretches who hound the god fearer to their doom] and (are outside) the sorcerers [a druggists or poisoner- employing the weaponry of the “dark arts” of medicine to gain power and control over others; they are “outside” the city; there they are “in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, the second death”], and the fornicators [those who wantonly compromise the principles of conventional restraint, neither keeping to the paths of justice- safeguarding the rights and liberties of others, nor maintaining the boundaries of the law] and the murderers [who deliberately kill others through acts of crime] and the idolaters [paying homage to the self-deification of man], and everyone loving [delighting is that which is false] and making a lie [for a belief].”

Barnes Commentary.- You will see the just punishment of the ungodly, the vicious, the profane. You will see what is the proper fruit of their conduct; what is the just expression of the view which God takes of their character.

(Why was Tyre to Sink in the Heart of the Seas?)

Lamentation For Tyre - Tyre, the capital of the Phoenician Empire, likened to a great ship is wrecked.

Under the Seleucid kings who followed after Alexander, Tyre rose again slowly, and was the major center of the Phoenician coast in the Hellenistic periods. It became a part of the Seleucid kingdom when Antiochus III drove the Ptolemies from Syria, and the SELEUCID KINGS regarded it of importance and GAVE IT THE RIGHT OF ASYLUM (an inviolable place of REFUGE and security).
Trade and industry were again developed. Pottery and glassware were produced. The glass from Sidon and Tyre was excellent and had high reputation in all countries of the Western world.

(Next)

The GLASS of Tyre. The Cargo.

He Shall See My Salvation

PSALM 91:14 “’Because on Me (Jehovah) he [the Messiah] has set love, I will deliver him, I will set him on high for he has known My name. He shall call on Me, and I will answer him; with him I (will be) in distress; I will rescue him and honor him. (With) length of days [until and at the appointed hour] I will satisfy him and will make him see My salvation.’”

Le Blanc Commentary.- “Because he has hoped in Me.” (As though the claim would be): “Whatever is to be done, whatever is to be declined, whatever is to be endured, whatever is to be chosen, You O Lord are My hope. This is the only cause of all my promises, this the sole reason of my expectation. Let another pretend to merit, let him boast that he bears the burden and heat of the day, let him say that he fasts twice on the Sabbath, let him finally glory that he is not as other men; for me it is good to cleave unto God, to place my hope in the Lord God. Let others hope in other things, one in his knowledge of letters, another in his worldly- wisdom, one in his nobility, one in his dignity, another in some other vanity, for Your sake I have made all things loss, and count them but worthless; since You, Lord, are my hope.”

ISAIAH 2:12-22 “For the day of Jehovah of hosts (will be) against all the proud and lofty ones; and against all that is lifted, and it will be abased [on the grounds that they have placed their trust in that which is deceptive and empty]; and against all the high and lifted up cedars [lofty leaders from the rich pasture land] of Lebanon [who defiantly disregard God, to place their trust in that which is false]; and against all the oaks of Bashan [emblematic of noble specimens of men- rebelling against Jehovah through self-deceit or from placing their trust in that which is false] and (the day of Jehovah of hosts will be against) all the high mountains [places of strength and trust]; and against all the lifted up hills [unlawful- illicit sites of worship]; and against every tall tower [when human aspirations of men, claiming divine entitlement go beyond the limits of the law] and against every [strongly] fortified [militaristic] wall [of protection designed to safeguard ruthless oppression]; and against all the ships of Tarshish; and against all the desirable craft.”

PSALM 48:9 “You (Jehovah) break the ships of Tarshish [regarded as the caravans that bore the merchandise of the mistress of the sea] with an east wind.”

Lion & Adder Defeated

Psalm 91:13 “On the lion [King Herod] and adder [the “Chief Priest” of Israel] you shall tread, you shall trample the lion cub and the snake [the most power opponents to the Kingdom of righteousness taking a political posture over and against the worship of the “true and Living God”].”

The King's Victory Over Earth's Kings
Holman Commentary.- From his spot in the desert , John has been watching the rider descend.

KING OF KINGS ON A WHITE HORSE

REVELATION 19:11-16 “And I (John) saw Heaven having been opened, and behold, a white horse, and the (one) sitting on it being called faithful and true.”
Verse 12 “And in righteousness he judges and wars. And the eyes of him as a flame of fire, and on the head of him many diadems, having a name having been written [bestowing upon him the honored entitlement of: JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS] which no one knows [to be true- at the time] except him; being clothed (in) a garment having been dipped in blood, and is called the name of him, ‘The Word of God.’ And the armies of Heaven [divine agents having borne the prophetic witness of the word of God] followed him on white horses, having been dressed (in) fine linen, white and clean. And out of the mouth of him goes forth a sharp (word) sword [accomplishing the prophetic word of God], that with [the fulfillment of] it he may [in a judiciary capacity] smite the nations [who have set themselves over and against the worship of the “True and Living God”]; and he will shepherd them with an iron rod [of moral authority in accordance to the holy standard of God]. And he treads the press of the wine of the anger and of the wrath of Almighty God. And he has on the garment and on the thigh of him a name having been written: KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

JESUS

* Holiness to Jehovah

* Exclusive Covenant on Earth

* Produces Civil Government of Democracy on Earth

VS

Anti-Christ

* God Manifest - Evil Incarnate

* Wilfully Disobedient Theocratic Opportunist on Earth

* Self-Deification Producing Terrorism on Earth

THE BEAST AND FALSE PROPHET CAPTURED
(Christ Conquers the Beast & False Prophet)

REVELATION 19:20-21 “And I (John) saw the beast [the center of the “temporal powers” of (Antiochus Epiphanies) - Anti-Christ], and the [conspiring] kings of the earth [taking their stand against the Lord and against His Anointed One], and the [hostile] armies of them [under the power and influence of the “mad man” Antiochus] being assembled to make war with the (one) [the “King of the Jews”] sitting on the horse, and with the army of him [the Prophets of the Old Testament having borne witness to the Word of God].”

“The allusion here is to an assembling of hostile forces for the great decisive battle that is to determine the destiny of the world- and settle the question whether the Messiah or Antichrist shall reign.”

Mounce Commentary.- John now sees the beast and his armies arrayed against the Messiah and his army. The battle of Armageddon has arrived. The scene is eschatological [concerning religious doctrine] in an absolute sense. The Seer (John) is not describing the gradual conquest of evil in the spiritual struggles of the faithful, but a great historic event that brings to an end the Antichrist and his forces and ushers in the long-awaited era of righteousness. History may offer examples of the triumph of right over wrong, but far from exhausting the truth of Revelation, they merely prefigure the actual consummation with its end to [idealistic] wickedness [the “Reign of Terror”] and beginning of universal peace.
Interestingly enough, there is no description of the actual warfare. This should remind the reader that the Apocalypse is dominated by metaphor and symbol. While the events portrayed in apocalyptic (prophetic yet symbolic) language are to be taken with all seriousness, they are not to be taken literalistically. Armageddon portrays the eschatological defeat of Antichrist [Antiochus Epiphanies] (an event that takes place in time and brings to a close this age as we know it) but does not require that we accept in a literal fashion the specific imagery with which the event is described.

Holman Commentary.- John picks up the action of the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies at the same point we have seen them before: gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. The action has been moving toward a climactic battle scene. We are poised for a description of “the battle of Armageddon.” What is described is more an anticlimax then a climax. Poof! The battle is over before it even begins.The war at the end of the world never really materializes. John puts it simply: the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet.

(The Messiah Prevails)

PSALM 91:13 “On the lion [King Herod] and adder [the “Chief Priest” of Israel] you shall tread, you shall trample the lion cub and the snake (the Dragon) [the most power opponents to the Kingdom of righteousness- taking an aggressive political posture over and against the worship of the “true and Living God”].”

Joseph Caryl Commentary.- “You shall tread upon;” “you shall trample under feet.” Thou shall tread upon them, not accidently, as a man treads upon an adder or a serpent in the way; but his meaning is, you shall intentionally tread upon them like a conqueror, you shall tread upon them to testify the dominion over them, so when the lord Jesus gave that promise to his disciples, that they should do great things, he said, “You shall tread upon serpents;” that is, you shall have power to overcome whatsoever may annoy you: serpentine power is all hurtful power, whether literal or mystical.

The Lion & Adder

PSALM 91:13 “On the lion [King Herod] and adder [the “Chief Priest” of Israel] you shall tread, you shall trample the lion cub and the snake [the most power opponents to the Kingdom of righteousness who took a political posture over and against the worship of the “true and Living God”].”

Barnes Commentary.- You shall be safe among dangers, as if the rage of the lion were restrained. The idea is, that he who trusted in God would be safe amidst the most fearful dangers,- as if he should walk safely amidst venomous serpents.

PSALM 91:14 “’Because on Me he has set love, I will deliver him, I will set him on high for he has known My name. He shall call on Me, and I will answer him; with him I (will be) in distress; I will rescue him and honor him. (With) length of days [until the time of and at the appointed hour] I will satisfy him and will make him see My salvation.’”

Barnes Commentary.- “Because he has set his love upon me.” Has become attached to me; has united himself with Me; is my friend. It refers here to the fact that God is the object of supreme affection on the part of His people; -and it also here implies, this springs from their hearts. Therefore will I deliver him.” I will save him from trouble and danger. I will set him on high. By acknowledging him as My own, and treating him accordingly. “And I will answer him”. I will regard his supplications, and will grant his requests. There could be no greater privilege- no more precious promise- than this. I will be with him, and honor him. I will not only rescue him from danger, but I will exalt him to honor. I will recognize him as my friend, and will regard and treat him as such. On earth he shall be treated as my friend; in another world he shall be exalted to honor among the redeemed, and angels forever.

Spurgeon Commentary.- “You shall tread upon the lion and adder.” Over force and fraud shall you march victoriously; bold opponents and treacherous adversaries shall alike be trodden down. The strongest foe in power, and the most mysterious in cunning, shall be conquered by the man of God. Not only from stones in the way, but from serpents also, shall he be safe.

Henry Commentary.- The psalmist assures believers of divine protection. The character of those who shall have the benefit and comfort of these promises- is much the same with that they are such as make the Most High their habitation.

PSALM 91:5 (Review) “You shall not fear [the trepidation and dread] the terror of night [from the consequences associated with the aspirations of men who set themselves above the limits of the law] (you shall not fear) the [divinely sanctioned] arrow (that) flies by day, of the plague [associated with legal liability and civil prosecution] that walks (in) darkness [a time characterized by the evil of those who have forsaken the paths of uprightness to wantonly and shamelessly walk in the ways of evil]; (you shall not fear) of the destruction (that) lays waste at noon [the hottest hour of the day- when light is at its strongest- a time associated with divine judgment, military invasion and displacement].”

Henry Commentary (Paraphrased).- It is our duty to be at home in God, to make our choice of Him, and then to live our life in Him as our habitation, to converse with Him and delight in Him, and depend upon Him; and then it shall be our privilege to be at home in God; we shall be welcomed to Him as a man to His own habitation.
Observe the charge given to the angel’s concerning the “Messiah”. He who is the Lord of the angels…He shall give His angels a charge over you, not only over the church in general, but over this particular believer. The angels keep the charge of the Lord their God; and this is the charge they receive from Him. It denotes the great care God takes of the Messiah, in that the angels themselves shall be charged with them, and employed for them. The charge is to keep him in all his ways; that is, “as long as you keep in the way of your duty;” those that go out of that way put themselves out of God’s protection [to become legally liable to civil prosecution and the wrath of the Almighty God]. But observe the extent of the promise; it is to keep you in all your ways: even where there is no apparent danger yet we need it, and where there is the most imminent danger we shall have it.

“The poetic hyperbole and allusion are meant more to evoke then to specify; thus the psalmist affirms that no place, no time no circumstance that befalls the Anointed is beyond God’s ability to protect the Messiah. God’s “angels” or messengers will “guard him in all his ways”. God’s faithfulness knows no bounds.”

PSALM 91:14 “’Because on Me he has set love, I will deliver him, I will set him on high for he has known My name. He shall call on Me, and I will answer him; with him I (will be) in distress; I will rescue him and honor him. (With) length of days [until and at the appointed hour] I will satisfy him and will make him see My salvation.’”

Henry Commentary.- Here we have the Lord Himself speaking of His own chosen one. “I will set him on high, because he has known My name.”

Spurgeon Commentary.- This man has known the attributes of God so as to trust in Him, and then by experience has arrived at a yet deeper knowledge, this shall be regarded by the Lord as a pledge of His grace and He will set the owner of it above danger of fear, where he shall dwell in peace and joy. None abide in intimate fellowship with God unless they possess a warm affection towards God, and an intelligent trust in Him; these gifts of grace are precious in Jehovah’s eyes, and wherever He sees them He smiles upon them. How elevated is the standing which the Lord gives to the believers. We ought to covet it right earnestly. If we climb on high it may be dangerous, but if God sets us there it is glorious.
“He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him.” He will have need to pray, he will be led to pray aright, and the answer shall surely come.

Keep me safe, O God,
For in You I take refuge.
I said to the Lord, ‘You are my
Lord;
Apart from You I have no
Good thing.’
As for the saints who are in the
Land,
They are the glorious ones in
Whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those will
Increase
Who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their
libations of blood
Or take up their names on
My lips.
Lord, You have assigned me my
Portion and my cup;
You have made my lot
Secure.
The boundary lines have fallen
For me in pleasant
Places;
Surely I have a delightful
Inheritance.
I will praise the Lord, who
Counsels me;
Even at night my heart
Instructs me.
Because He is at my right
Hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad
And my tongue rejoices;
My body also will rest
Secure,
Because You will not abandon
Me to the grave,
Nor will You let Your Holy
One see decay.
You have made known to me
The path of life;
You will fill me with joy in
Your presence,
With eternal pleasures at
Your right hand.
(Psalm 16)

Spurgeon Commentary.- He will have need to pray, he will be led to pray aright, and the answer shall surely come. Not without prayer will the blessing come to the most favored, but by means of prayer he shall receive all good things. “I will be with him in trouble,” or “I am with him in trouble.”
Heirs of heaven are conscious of the special divine presence in times of severe trial. God is always near in sympathy and in power to help His tried ones.

A Sad Reframe

(End of Day's)

Zechariah 12:8-10 “In that day Jehovah shall protect around the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And it will be, he who is feeble among them in that day (shall be) like David; and the house of David (shall be) like God, like the Angel of Jehovah before them. And it shall be in that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour out on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and prayers. And they shall look, on Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only son, and will be bitter over him like the bitterness over the firstborn.”

Messiah Protected

The Birth of Jesus - The Flight Into Egypt

PSALM 91:9 “Because You O Jehovah, (are) my refuge; you make the Most High your habitation not shall befall you evil [of divinely sanctioned punishment], and plague [associated with legal liability and civil prosecution] not shall come near your tent. For His angles [divine mediators assigned with the special task of caring for the nation Israel] He [Jehovah] will order for you [unavailing and disclosing hidden things, revelations concerning the consummation of God’s eternal kingdom] and to keep you [safeguarded] in all your ways, on their palms they shall bear you up, least you dash your foot on a stone.”

God would command to His angels to protect the Messiah, proving that the righteous, or those who were the friends of God, might rely confidently on His protection.

Cook Commentary.- “They shall bear you up in their hands.” Take the same care of you as a nurse does of a weak and tender child, least you receive any kind of injury, or be prevented from pursuing your path with safety.

The advent of Jesus was announced by angels. His actual birth occurred in a place and time that seemed to be no place and time for a baby to be born. Angels announced. Shepherds heard, came, and wondered. Magi came later to bring gifts. A wrathful and jealous King (Herod) killed many innocent children hoping to find the right one. The “right one” escaped to Egypt.

Matthew 2:1-8 “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’”
“When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priest and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ (the Messiah, the "Mighty God") was to be born. In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, ‘For this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”

“Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.’"

McGee Commentary.- The wise men had assumed that Herod was sincere and wanted to come down and worship him. However, he would have killed the child had not an angel of the Lord warned the wise men to go back to their own country by a different route.
The angel of the Lord appeared also to Joseph and told him that it was time to get the child out of Bethlehem because Herod would attempt to murder him.

Reward Of The Wicked

Defeat of the Wicked

Cook Commentary.- Destruction that might lay thousands in defeat will not affect a trusting believer; rather, he will see…the wicked destroyed.
The psalmist explained that no harm or disaster can befall those who have made the Lord their refuge.

Calvin Commentary.- “A thousand shall fall at you side.” He proceeds to show that, though the state of all men may to appearance be alike, the believer has the special privilege of being exempted from evils of an imminent and impending nature; for it might be objected that he was but man, and, as such, exposed with others to death in its thousand different forms. To correct this mistake, the Psalmist does not hesitate to assert that, when universal ruin prevails around, the Lord’s children are the objects of His distinguished care, and are preserved amidst the general destruction. The lesson is one which is needed by us all, that, though naturally subject to the common evils which are spread around, we are privileged with a special exemption which secures our safety in the midst of dangers. There is much that is dark in the aspect of things in this world, yet the Psalmist hints that, amidst all the confusion which reigns, we may collect from what we see of God’s judgments, that he does not disappoint the expectations of His believing people. He must be considered, however, as addressing those who have eyes to see, who are privileged with the true light of faith, who are fully awakened to the consideration of the Divine judgments, and who wait patiently and quietly till the proper time arrive; for most men stagger and confuse their minds upon this subject, by starting to precipitate conclusions, and are prevented from discovering the providence of God by judging according to sense.

Spurgeon Commentary.- “Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of the wicked.” The sight shall reveal both the justice and the mercy of God; in them that perish the severity of God will be manifest, and in the believer’s escape the richness of divine goodness will be apparent.

Plagues Of The Final Day

The New Jerusalem
(Revelation)

NOTE: REVELATION 21:1-8 “And I John saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth went away, and the sea [personifying chaotic or irrational, fundamental structural theological beliefs] is not still. And I John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, [in a religious or theological sense- God’s Spiritual Kingdom, the Church of God] coming down from God out of Heaven, having been prepared as a bride [personifying the completion of fundamental ideology] having been adorned [in perfect beauty] for [harmonious unity with] the Husband of her [uniting the authoritative moral imperatives and judgments of God to the church]. And I heard a great voice out of Heaven, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God with men! And He will tabernacle with them, and they will be peoples of Him and God Himself will be with them (the) God of them. And God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of them [for Israel shall no longer be forsaken by their God, or left desolate by the hand of man]; and death [destruction and ruin of the Church] will not be longer, for the first things went away.”

Revelation 21:9 “And came to me (John) one of the seven angels, he having the seven bowls being filled of the seven last plagues…”

The Seven Plagues on the Final Day

(Armageddon)

1st Bowl - Skin Sore - Liability to Civil Prosecution (No impunity for Anti-Christ & followers)

2nd Bowl - Sea Became Blood - Fierce Maritime Warfare (Terrorism vs Anti-Terrorism)

3rd Bowl - Rivers Became Blood - Ethical Carnage & War (Anti-Christ vs Democracy)

4th Bowl - Men Burned by Sun - Prevalence of Moral Supremacy & Law Enforcement

5th Bowl - Throne of Beast Darkened - Condemnation of Anti-Christ (God Manifest)

6th Bowl - Proclamation of War on Terrorism

7th Bowl - Commotion in Political & Religious Realm

(Continuing Psalm 91) Verse 3 “For He delivers you from the fowler’s trap [saving you from the purposes of wicked men whose aspirations go beyond the limits of the law] from destructions plague.”

Barnes Commentary.- The fatal pestilence; the pestilence that spreads [eternal] death in its march. That is, He can prevent its coming upon you; or, He can save you from its ravages, while others are dying about you. This promise is not to be understood as absolute, or as meaning that no one who fears God will ever fall by the pestilence,-for good men do die at such times as well as bad men; but the idea is, that God can preserve us at such a time; and that, as a great law, He will be thus the protector of those who trust Him.

(Continuing Psalm 91) Verse 4 “With His feathers He shall cover you [as one’s dear and valuable to Him], and under His wings [as a bird in protecting her young gathers them under her wings] you shall seek refuge; a shield and buckler [protective armor of defense] (is) His truth.”

Clark Commentary.- “He shall cover you with his feathers.” He shall act towards you as the hen does to her brood- taking you under His wings when birds of prey appear, and also shelter you from chilling blasts. “His truth shall be your shield and buckler.” His revelation; His Bible. The truth contains promises for all times and circumstances, and these will be invariably fulfilled to him that trusts in the Lord.

Calvin Commentary.- “He shall protect you with His wings.” This figure, which is employed in other parts of Scripture, is one which beautifully expresses the singularly tender care with which God watches over our safety. When we consider the majesty of God, there is nothing which would suggest a likeness such as is here drawn between Him and the hen or other birds, who spread their wings over their young ones to cherish and protect them. But, in accommodation to our infirmity, He does not scruple to descend, as it were, from the heavenly glory which belongs to Him and to encourage us to approach Him under so humble a similitude. Since He condescends in such a gracious manner to our weakness, surely there is nothing to prevent us from coming to Him with the greatest freedom. By the truth of God, which, the Psalmist says, would be His shield and buckler, we must understand God’s faithfulness, as never deserting His people in the time of their need; still we cannot doubt that he had in his eye the Divine promises, for it is only by looking to these that any can venture to cast themselves upon the protection of God.

(Continuing Psalm 91) Verse 5 “You shall not fear [the trepidation and dread] the terror of night [from the consequences associated with the aspirations of men who set themselves above the limits of the law] (you shall not fear) the [divinely sanctioned] arrow (that) flies by day, of the plague [associated with legal liability and civil prosecution] that walks (in) darkness [a time characterized by the evil of those who have forsaken the paths of uprightness to wantonly and shamelessly walk in the ways of evil]; (you shall not fear) of the destruction (that) lays waste at noon [the hottest hour of the day- when light is at its strongest- a time associated with divine judgment, military invasion and displacement].”

“While darkness is associated with evil, God and His people are bathed in the clear light of day. Thus, according to Isaiah, if the Israelites turn from oppression to justice, then ‘your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noon-day.’ (Isaiah 58:10).”
-Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

Barnes Commentary.- What God approves will be marked by and followed by, deeds of justice, kindness, and charity. The people of God were to dissolve every tie which unjustly bound their fellowmen. If they were exercising any unjust and cruel authority over others; if they had bound them in any way contrary to the laws of God and the interests of justice, they were to release them.

…loose the chains of
Injustice
And untie the cords of the
Yoke,
To set the oppressed free
And break every yoke.
Is it not to share your food with
The hungry
And to provide the poor
Wanderer with
Shelter-
When you see the naked, to
Clothe him,
And not to turn away from
Your own flesh and
Blood.
Then your light will break forth
Like the dawn,
And your healing will quickly appear;
Then your righteousness will
Go before you,
And the glory of the Lord will
Be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the
Lord will answer;
You will cry for help, and He
Will say: Here am I.
If you do away with the yoke
Of oppression,
With the pointing finger and
Malicious talk,
And if you spend yourselves in
Behalf of the hungry
And satisfy the needs of the
Oppressed,
Then your light will rise in the
Darkness,
And your night will become
Like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always,
He will satisfy your needs in
A sun-scorched land
And will strengthen your
Frame.
You will be like a well-watered
Garden,
Like a spring whose waters
Never fail.
Your people will rebuild the
Ancient ruins
And will raise up the age-old
Foundations;
You will be called Repairer of
Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with
Dwellings.”
(Isaiah 58:6-12)

Barnes Commentary.- “And let the oppressed go free.” It may be applied to those who are treated with violence in any way, or who are broken down by hard usage. It may refer, therefore, to slaves who are oppressed by bondage and toil; or to inferiors of any kind who are subjected to hard usage by those who are above them; or to the subjects of a tyrant groaning under his yoke. Set at liberty those who are broken down.
A yoke, in the Scriptures, is a symbol of oppression, and the idea here is, that they were to cease all oppressions, and to restore all to their just and equal rights.
Religion requires us to treat all our kindred, whatever may be their rank, with kindness and affection, and enjoins on us the duty of providing for the wants of those poor relatives who in the providence of God are made dependent on us.
If they were faithful in the discharge of their duty to God, He would bless them with abundant prosperity. The image is, that such prosperity would come on the people like the spreading light of the morning. “Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you.” Here the sense is, that if they would return to God, they would be delivered from the calamities which their crimes had brought on them, and that peace and prosperity would again visit the nation. “And your righteousness shall go before you.” Shall be your leader- as an army is conducted. The idea is that their conformity to the Divine laws would serve the purpose of a leader to conduct them in the ways of peace, happiness, and prosperity.
“Then shall your light rise in obscurity.” That is, it will be as if the cheerful light of the sun should rise amidst the shades of midnight. The sense is, that their calamities and trials would be suddenly succeeded by the bright and cheerful light of prosperity.

Barnes Commentary.- “You shall not be afraid for the terror by night.” That which usually causes alarm at night- a sudden attack; an unexpected incursion of enemies; or the pestilence which seems to love night, and to “walk in darkness.” Any one of these things seems to be aggravated by night and darkness; and hence we most dread them then. We cannot see their approach; we cannot measure their outlines; we know not the extent of the danger, or what may be the calamity. The idea is, that he that trusts in God will be calm.

The New Interpreters Bible.- These verses affirm the effectiveness of trusting God in every circumstance, even the very worst. God provides the psalmist both a “safe place” and a “safe journey”; God’s protection is effective everywhere.

Musculus Commentary.- “You shall not be afraid.” Not only do the pious stand safe, they are not even touched with fear [from divine retribution or the plague associated with legal liability and civil prosecution]. For the prophet does not say, You shall not be sized; but, You shall not be afraid.

Westminster Assembly’s Annotations.- Not that we (the God fearers) are always actually delivered out of every particular danger or grievance, but because all will turn (such is our confidence in God) to our greater good; and the more we suffer the greater shall our reward and our glory be. To the same purpose is the expression of Isaiah: “When you pass through he waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you.”

(Continuing Psalm 91) Verse 7 “A thousand shall fall by your side [through defeat], and ten thousand at your right hand [through political collapse and military loss]; not it shall come near you. Only with your eyes you shall look and see the reward of the wicked.”

Holman Commentary.- The blessings these redeemed people enjoy are spelled out in terms of John’s final vision. They will be full citizens of New Jerusalem, the city, for their names are already entered in its citizenship registry, the Book of Life. [These are those who have not worshiped and made an allegiance with the beast, signifying the “Reign of Terror” of Antiochus Epiphanies, the “evil incarnate”, self-defied madman.] Therefore, they [the God fearing, redeemed people] have free and unhindered access. They may go through the gates into the city.

There are only two eternal destinations, “heaven” and “the lake of fire.” The blessed will enter the city [of refuge] while the damned are described as outside. Such a city (the New Jerusalem) had its citizens, but also impacted surrounding smaller kings and nations. The benevolent reign…however, required that wicked persons be outcasts pariahs (being rejected and despised). Unlike modern cities where imprisonment is the major punishment, in ancient cities banishment from the king’s presence was the penalty that made a criminal the most ashamed.

Barnes Commentary.- You will be safe. You may feel assured of the Divine protection. Your mind may be calm through a sense of such guardianship, and your very calmness will conduce to your safety. You will see the just punishment of the ungodly, the vicious, and the profane. You will see what is the proper fruit of their conduct.

Holiness To Jehovah

The Name of Jehovah is a Tower of Strength
(Review)

ISAIAH 33:6 “And Jehovah is exalted for (He) lives on high; He has filled Zion (with) justice and righteousness. And He will be the security of your times, wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of Jehovah [the hatred of evil], it (is) his [a kings] treasure.”

“Jehovah will be the security of the times, meaning that in those times knowledge of God and the fear of the Lord would be settled on a firm foundation. The times would be distinguished for great reforms.”
“He (Jehovah) the glorious Lord will display His glory for us and be a glory to us, such as shall eclipse the rival-glory of the emeny."

Anti-Christ
* God Manifest - Evil Incarnate
* Theocratic Oportunist on Earth
* Self-Deification Producing Terrorism on Earth

REVELATION 22:14 “Blessed [favored for success] (are) those doing the command of Him [fearing the Lord, walking in His ways and obeying Him], that will be the authority of them over the tree of life, and by the gates [of “Grace and Hope” for all humanity] they [(those) keeping to the paths of justice- safeguarding the rights and liberties of others, while maintaining the boundaries of the law] may enter into the city [of refuge]. But the dogs (are) outside [wickedly enraged and unpitying malicious wretches who hound the god fearers to their doom]…”


The Name of Jehovah is a Tower of Strength

PSALM 97:7-10 “All are ashamed who serve graven images [whether of an idol or a symbolical image in the likeness of Jehovah], those [are ashamed] who [defiantly disregard the word of God to] boast themselves in idols [forbidden objects of worship]; bow down before Him all [self-defied] gods [worshiped in the universe]. Zion heard and was glad; and rejoiced the daughter of Judah because of Your judgments, O Jehovah. For You, O Jehovah, (are) high above all the earth; for You are exalted above all the gods [the idols of the people].”
Verse 10 “You who love Jehovah, hate evil; He keeps the souls of His saints; out of the hand of the wicked He delivers them. Light [of the pristine holiness of God] is sown for the righteous; and gladness for the upright.”

PROVERBS 18:10 “The name of Jehovah [the Mighty God, by which His existence was known in the universe - who exemplified the characteristics of holiness] (is) a tower of strength; into it the righteous run and is exalted.”

The saint’s security is in God. The righteous, by faith and prayer, devotion towards God and dependence on Him, run into it, as their city of refuge.


Strong Refuge - Tower of Strength

TOWERS.- David’s Song began, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior- from violent men You save me. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” (2 Samuel 22:2-4)

Some towers were large enough to serve as citadels or fortresses into which the population of a village could retreat at a time of danger.

Towers are mentioned figuratively in reference to God’s protective power, and as a symbol of human strength.

PSALAM 91 “He who dwells in the covert of the Most High [living where God lives] shall abide (in) the Almighty’s shade.”

The New Interpreter’s Bible.- The noun “refuge,” especially when it is associated with God’s “wings”, originally may have referred to the practice of seeking sanctuary from persecutors in the Temple or to Israel’s experience of finding security in worship. If either is the case, the image was broadened to mean the entrusting of one’s whole shelf and life to God in every circumstance.

In the Shelter of the Most High
Gaebelein Commentary.- Psalm 91 contains both a wisdom psalm and a divine oracle. The wisdom psalm encourages the godly to pursue the path of godliness and holds out the many promises of God’s protection and blessings.
By using the third person impersonal (“he who dwells”), the palmist directs himself to anyone seeking wisdom. The blessings of godliness and the pursuit of wisdom are for all who seek God as their highest good in life. To this end he employs several names for God, Most High, the Almighty, the Lord, Jehovah and “my God”. He also encourages the reader by proclaiming that God is “my refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust.” The names of God evoke confidence, as they connote the power of the Creator-God as well as the endearing love of the covenant-God. Each of these characteristics are brought together in the confession: “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Duncan Commentary.- “Under the shadow of the Almighty.” This is an expression which implies great nearness. We must walk very close to a companion, if we would have his shadow fall on us. Can we imagine any expression more perfect in describing the constant presence of God with His chosen ones, than that-they shall “Abide under His shadow”? And it is he who chooses to dwell in the “covert” of the Most High, who shall “abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” There is a condition and a promise, that if we do so we “shall abide under the shadow.”

Henry Commentary.- A great truth is laid down in general, that all those who live a life of communion with God are constantly safe under His protection, and may therefore preserve a holy serenity and security of mind at all time. He that by faith chooses God for his guardian shall find all that in Him which he needs or can desire. He is at home in God, returns to God, and reposes in Him as His rest; He acquaints himself with inward religion, and makes heart-work of the service of God.
Idolaters [worshiping a “lie”, or guilty of instituting a practice of abominable self-deification, whether the figure of a false deity or one in any way symbolical of Jehovah] called their idols their strong-hold, but therein they deceived themselves; those only secure themselves that make the Lord their God, their fortress. There being no reason to question His sufficiency, fitly does it follow, In Him will I trust. If Jehovah be our God, or refuge, and our fortress, what can we desire which we may not be sure to find in Him? He is neither fickle nor false, neither weak nor mortal; He is God and not mortal man, and therefore there is no danger of being disappointed in Him. We know whom we have trusted.
The great encouragement he gives to others to do likewise, not only from his own experience of the comfort of it, but from the truth of God’s promises, in which there neither is nor can be any deceit.

Security in God
Cook Commentary.- “The psalmist expressed his great confidence in the fact that whoever trust in the Most High finds security and protection. The titles of God in the verse (Most High and the Almighty) are significant, for they stress His power as the sovereign Ruler of the world.
The images of the shelter and the shadow vividly portray divine protection. “Shelter” is a hiding place. The shadow, perhaps the shadow of a bird’s wing, also pictures shelter and protection as well as comfort.

(Continuing Psalm 91) Verse 3 “For He delivers you from the fowler’s trap [saving you from the purposes of wicked men whose aspirations go beyond the limits of the law] from destructions plague.”