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WHEN HEAVEN IS ROLLED UP LIKE A SCROLL

by Craig Wm. Peters

12 And I saw when He opened the Sixth Seal and behold, there was a great earthquake. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,

and the moon became as blood. 13 And the stars of the heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its untimely figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

14 And heaven departed like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Revelation 6:12-14

a People tend to derive false deductions from Scripture because they fail to understand the ways in which the truth of the Word so often confirms itself. Still others simply lack a fuller knowledge of Scripture in their sojourn to the Kingdom. But to enter into the Kingdom, the Savior indicates we must all maintain that childlike humility by the willingness to learn, to change, and to grow.1 So we expect that all those who truly seek hwhy will certainly continue to grow in favor and knowledge.2 This article is written to impart peace of mind and spiritual edification for all those who have the desire to continue learning and growing in their expressions of faith and love towards the Almighty.

The subject of Bible prophecy is simply riveting! One popular speaker and writer over such matters has historically claimed the “sky retreating like a scroll” (Revelation 6:14) was John’s reference to a nuclear explosion. Should this interpretation be correct, the deduction is that we are being prophetically warned of a pending nuclear carnage. While we can certainly understand such a view in light of man’s modern day devices of war, does this interpretation honor the real truth of the Scripture in question? Our study will show why this view is simply not what hwhy would have us to believe over the truth of this most significant matter. Scripture indicates this

1 Matthew 18:1-4, Mark 10:15, Luke 9:48, 18:17, 1Peter 2:1-2 2 Matthew 7:7-8, 2Peter 3:17-18

monumental event is actually something which will be far more powerful than a nuclear explosion.

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The Sovereign Messiah Rules in His Sovereignty

New Covenant believers should exult in the fact that our Messiah has been given all authority in heaven and on earth:

And eswhy came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to

Me in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28:18, ISRV

These words of eswhy show us that, after His resurrection, the Messiah was made the Sovereign of all.3 He is no longer a helpless babe in a manger:

He is the Sovereign Ruler over all the earth, and nothing can happen

apart from His will.

This Messiah eswhy is “the Lion of the Tribe of Yahudah,”4 and His wrath will soon be kindled5 to conquer/destroy the kingdoms of this world and to burn up the lawless inhabitants of the earth.6

3 Acts 2:36, 10:36 4 Revelation 5:5 5 Psalm 2:12 6 Psalm 2:2-3. The rulers of the earth conspire to cast away the Torah – considering it to be as fetters and cords of bondage – all the while they themselves are held in bondage by the ensnaring cords of sin. Proverbs 5:22 Yet in rejecting the Torah, these world leaders

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Not “What” Rolls Up the Heavens But “Who”

To more fully understand the prophecies of Revelation given to Yochanan/John some 2000 years ago, we need to see this book reveals the Savior acting in His sovereignty! He is the One in complete charge of all that is about to happen: He is the One seen opening the Seals and bringing the prophesied judgment of hwhy upon the earth. We continue by reading the fuller context of our opening Scripture:

12 And I saw when He7 opened the Sixth Seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 and the stars of the heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. 14 And heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled up;8 and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 for the Great Day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand? Revelation 6:12-17

First of all, we notice the One who initiates these cataclysmic judgments is the Resurrected and Sovereign Messiah:

Ruling from the heavens, the Messiah King will open the Sixth Seal, thereby

causing these things to occur.

subsequently legislate various forms of lawlessness. In response to this lawless outrage, hwhy will justly arise in flaming anger, and he will destroy the earth’s inhabitants for nullifying His immutable and age-abiding Torah. Psalm 119:126, Isaiah 24:3-6 7 (“He” being eswhy the Messiah) 8 Isaiah 34:4

And one of the things that will clearly transpire at this time is heaven departing like a scroll when it is rolled up:

And heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled up …

Revelation 6:14

Yet this is not the only place in the New Covenant writings which indicates the Messiah will be the One who rolls up the heavens like a scroll! The writer of Hebrews tells us the very same thing:

10 And, “You, hwhy, in the beginning, did lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands. 11 They will perish; but You continue: and they will all grow old as does a garment, 12 and as a mantle You shall roll them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and your years will not fail.9 Hebrews 1:10-12

The context here shows hwhy, the Father, is speaking to the Son,10 and the prophecy declares it is the Sovereign Messiah who will roll up the heavens like garment! This is in complete agreement with the prophetic teachings which were given in the Spirit to John concerning the Day of hwhy.

And I saw when He opened the Sixth Seal … and heaven departed as a scroll

when it is rolled up … Revelation 6:12,14

Yet when the powers of heaven are thus shaken, the result will be overwhelming cataclysms upon the earth. And so, the Messiah eswhy warns us:

And there will be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon

the earth distress of nations, in bewilderment at the roaring of the sea and the waves; men’s

9 A quote from Psalm 102:12, 25-27. For a cross-reference on the last part of this text, see Hebrews 13:8. 10 Hebrews 1:8

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hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on

the earth: for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Luke 21:25-26

In speaking this Word, we believe our Messiah eswhy was elaborating on, and further explaining, a prophecy given by Chaggai (Haggai):

6 For thus says hwhy of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and

the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations will come; and I will fill this House

with splendor, says hwhy of hosts. Haggai 2:6-7

A shaking sea most certainly connotes fearsome and devastating tsunamis, and thus, eswhy spoke of “the roaring of the sea and the waves.”11 This Haggai prophecy tells us it is at the time of this great shaking that hwhy will, once more, exalt Yerushalayim12 above all the nations,13 and His chasidim14 will “possess the Kingdom,”15 as the Spirit of hwhy fills the earth with 1000 years of peace and joy.16 But before that time of unprecedented peace, hwhy will arise to “shake mightily the earth:”17 He will destroy all those nations that devour His people Yisrael;18 He will destroy all the sinful kingdoms of this age:

Behold, the eyes of the Sovereign hwhy are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will

11 In doing this, eswhy also connected Psalm 46:2-3 with Haggai 2:6. Other psalms, too, talk of how the sea will roar before the Presence of hwhy at His coming! (See Psalm 96:11-13, 98:7-9 along with the study, “Why do the Seas Roar, the Earth Quakes, the Mountains Smoke, and the Heavens Shake?”) 12 (i.e., Jerusalem) 13 Haggai 2:7, Isaiah 2:2-4 14 (i.e. those who are recipients of and ambassadors of His lovingkindess/chesed, 1John 4:10-11) 15 Daniel 7:21-22, 27 16 Romans 14:17 17 Isaiah 2:19-21 18 Psalm 79:6-7, Jeremiah 10:25

destroy it from off the face of the earth: only that I will not utterly destroy the house

of Ya’acob, says hwhy. Amos 9:8

It is also quite edifying when we realize the writer of Hebrews knew what would result when eswhy rolls up the heavens like a scroll.19 This first century believer knew that the monumental event under consideration would result in everything on earth being greatly shaken. We know this is the case because, later in his letter, the prophet wrote about these immense cataclysms, and he quoted nothing less than the very same prophecy given to Haggai (2:6) during Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles:20

25 See that you refuse not Him that speaks. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape, if we turn away from Him that is from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more, I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.”21 27 And this word, “Yet once more,” signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, we, receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have favor, by which we may serve hwhy acceptably, with reverence and awe. 29 For our Elohim is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:25-29

In quoting the prophet Haggai, this Messianic writer indicated hwhy will shake everything that can be shaken. Such widespread shaking can be considered nothing less than

19 Hebrews 1:10-12 20 Haggai 2:1, Leviticus 23:33-43. Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles extends from the 15th to the 22nd day of the Seventh month. The prophecy being studied came in the Spirit to Chaggai (whose name means, “My Festival”) on the 21st day of the Seventh month. Haggai 2:1 The 21st day of the Seventh month is the seventh day of the Feast. 21 A quote from the first part of Haggai 2:6.

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overwhelmingly cataclysmic. And in the same breath, this first century believer also wrote of the consuming, fiery judgment which will characterize these days of Heavenly Vengeance (vs. 29). From all that we can see, presently, this immense, apocalyptic shaking appears to begin in its fullest when the Sovereign Messiah rolls up the heavens like a scroll.

Yet Yochanan and the writer of Hebrews were not the only ones to speak of eswhy rolling up the heavens like a scroll! The apostle Kepha/Peter also wrote of this very same instance in time, and he indicated when this great event occurs, the heavens will pass away with a great noise:

10 But the Day of hwhy will come as a thief; in the which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat. And the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing that these things are, thus, all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in set apart living and reverence, 12 looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the Day of Elohim, by reason of which the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 2Peter 3:10-12

So Kepha speaks of the great, burning judgment of hwhy El Shaddai beginning when the heavens pass away with a great noise. Consequently, when the Messiah rolls up the heavens like a scroll, from the words of the apostle Peter, we see this colossal event will be accompanied by a great noise. And we see the power to be exhibited here will be far more extensive than what would occur in an atomic explosion. As water came from above and below in the days of Noah, so fire will come from above and below in the Day of hwhy. hwhy will come forth with burning judgments just as it is written in the prophecies of Isaiah:

Behold, the Name of hwhy comes from afar: Burning is His anger, and in thick rising

smoke. His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue is as a devouring fire.

Isaiah 30:27

So all evidence indicates the three Scriptures we have pondered are speaking of the very same instance in time:

When our Messiah opens the Sixth Seal,22 there will be many convulsions in the heavens.

Subsequently, the heavens will pass away with a great noise.23 By a direct, sovereign

act, the Messiah King will roll up heaven like a scroll,24 and in the process of these things transpiring, His burning cataclysmic judg-

ments will begin descending upon this earth to awaken its inhabitants to righteousness.25

Additionally, the earth’s crust will break forth with great volcanoes and lava flows as fire

comes forth from beneath to burn up the earth and the works that are within it.

Why Will Such Great Wrath Bring Such Widespread Death and Destruction?

Just as hwhy destroyed the earth with water from above and below during the Great Flood,26 so He will destroy the earth with fire from above and below in the Day of hwhy.27 And just as hwhy used the overwhelming waters of the Flood to punish the lawlessness of the unrepentant world in the days of Noah, so He will use widespread burning judgments to punish the abject lawlessness of the unrepentant world in our days. The judgments of the Apocalypse, which are coming forth in

22 As John wrote in the Apocalypse (Revelation 6:12-17). 23 As the apostle Kepha/Peter testified in his second letter (2Peter 3:10-12). 24 And as the writer of Hebrews stated in his opening lines (Hebrews 1:10-12). 25 Isaiah 26:9 26 Genesis 7:11-12 27 Psalm 21:8-9, 46:6-9, 97:3-5, Isaiah 24:3-6, 30:27-33, 33:14-16, 66:14-16, Nahum 1:5-6, Malachi 4:1-3, Matthew 3:11-12, 2Thessalonians 1:7-8, 2:8, Hebrews 10:26-27, 12:25-29, 2Peter 3:10-12, Revelation 1:14, 2:18, 8:5,7,8, 9:13-19, 11:5, 14:10, 16:8-9, 18:8-9, 19:12,20, 20:9-10,14

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the Day of His Wrath, may be summarized in a single verse from the 119th Psalm:

It is time for hwhy to work; they have broken Your Torah/Law.

Psalm 119:126

This work of hwhy will soon be seen in the immense, burning judgments which are now set to come forth in response to the world’s increasingly flagrant, anti-Torah lawlessness:

8 Your hand will find out all Your enemies: Your right hand will find out those that hate You. 9 You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger: hwhy will swallow

them up in His wrath, and the fire will devour them. Psalm 21:8-9

3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for hwhy has spoken this word. 4 The

earth mourns, fading away; the world languishes, fading away; the haughty people of the earth do languish. 5 The earth also is defiled under its inhabitants; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the

ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore has the curse devoured the earth,

and they that dwell in it are found guilty: therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. Isaiah 24:3-6

There are many fiery judgments which will be associated with the shaking of the heavens and the earth: We speak here of massive earthquakes, of heretofore unheard of volcanoes and lava flows, of tidal waves created by enormous earthquakes/magma convulsions under the sea, of fire and brimstone from heaven, of the scorching heat of the Sun, and of the most fearsome Fire of all – that which will come forth from hwhy Himself.28 When all is said and done, none of the cities of the nations will be left standing,29

28 Job 38:12-13, Psalm 11:6, 97:3-5, Isaiah 24:3-6, 30:27-28, 33:14-16, 66:15-16 > 2Thessalonians 1:7-8, 2:8; Joel 1:15-20, Haggai 2:6, Zechariah 14:12, Hebrews 12:25-29, 2Peter 3:10-12, Revelation 16:8-9 29 Revelation 16:17-21, Isaiah 2:10-21

but Elohim will be in the midst of Yerushalayim and she will not be moved.30 Mount Tziyon will not only remain, but evidence indicates it may well be the highest mountain on earth when all of the unspeakable, indescribable convulsions have finally ended.31 hwhy will restore the Kingdom to Yisrael,32 and the earth will be filled with 1000 years of peace, joy, and abundance.33

In view of the coming wrath and the great burning judgments, we see there is only one answer: putting your trust in the Son of the Most High, even as it is written in the Second Psalm:

“Blessed are all those that put their trust in Him!”

Psalm 2:12

The days ahead are serious: We live in a country which has turned its back on the Almighty and which is now sinking into the irreparable depths of apostasy. Our concern is that many believers will associate the fall of America with the return of the Messiah. So what occurs if this country is judged for its sins and falls at the hands of its enemies many years before the Savior appears to rule out of Tziyon? As they go into captivity,34 will scores of believers lose their faith when they realize they were not “raptured” out of it all? We fear these events may lead to an even greater falling away on the part of those who will feel they have been abandoned by the Most High. We must keep our faith and we must remember He will never forsake us, even in death.35

30 Psalm 46:5. The great city, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), will be divided into three parts (Revelation 16:19), but unlike the other cities of the nations, it will most certainly remain! 31 Isaiah 2:1-3, Micah 4:1-2 32 Acts 1:6-7 33 Amos 9:13-15 34 Revelation 13:10 > Jeremiah 21:5-9 35 Iyob 13:15, Hebrews 13:15

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Now are the days to seek hwhy and to build our faith in a Kingdom that can never be shaken.36

May all of our readers seek hwhy while He may be found.37 t

C.P. 7/19/2009 Northridge, CA

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Recommended for Further Reading

• The Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy’s Merger With the Milky Way Galaxy: http://www.viewzone.com/milkyway.html

[We believe the above study shows why the heavens and the earth are about to shake as never before!]

• The Real Doomsday? December 21, 2012: Part 1: http://www.viewzone.com/endtime.html Part 2: http://www.viewzone.com/endtime2x.html

• Strange Rumblings at the Center of our Galaxy http://www.aztlan.net/rumblings_center_galaxy.htm

Postscript What This Study is Not Saying

The author makes no claim we will avoid a nuclear holocaust at some level, and we pray such terrible things will never come to pass. As far as the coming judgments to be poured out from on High, numerous Scriptures indicate all people of the Earth will know this wrath is from Above. For more thoughts on why we believe it is the wrath of hwhy which will make mankind cower before Him (and not nuclear war), see the study:

“Unless Those Days Were Shortened.”

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36 Hebrews 12:rr-rr 37 Isaiah 55:6-9, Zephaniah 1:1-6

Copyright 2008 - 2009, by Craig Wm. Peters

Copyright Stipulations This document may be freely copied and distributed (in hardcopy or electronic pdf format) if it is left unaltered and in its entirety. It must also be given away without cost to recipients, and it may not be included in any publication without the author’s written permission.

hwhy El Shaddai will rebuke anyone who copies these truths for republication

and/or who subsequently attempts to reproduce and sell them.

Isaiah 55:1-2, Micah 3:11, 1Peter 5:2

We believe most copyrights have been abused worldwide in religious circles as false shepherds and other merchants feed themselves instead of feeding the sheep. Ezekiel 34:1-3 These many abuses have filled the worship house of hwhy with money changers who hinder True Worship by robbing and oppressing the poor. Zechariah 7:10

Many have turned reverence and the worship of hwhy into a means of great, personal gain. Micah 3:11, 1Timothy 6:5-10, 1Peter 5:2 We assert such things were never meant to be. Isaiah 55:1,2, Mark 11:15-17 Hence, our copyright is intended to allow for free distribution of the Word of hwhy with the following minimal limitations:

• This document may be copied and distributed (or freely printed in its pdf format after being downloaded from the Internet):

– If it is left unaltered.

– If it is left in its entirety.

– And if it is given away at absolutely no cost. (Matthew 11:5, Luke 4:19, Galatians 2:10)

• Neither this article, nor any portion of this article, may be included in any publication which is sold. This stipulation applies regardless of the nature of the organization or

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the nature of its sales, meaning: profit or nonprofit. Further, whether an organization’s publication is of a religious nature, or otherwise, this restriction still applies.

• With the exception of the first stipulation (specified under the first bullet point), publishing any portion of this work without the author’s written permission is strictly prohibited.

All peaceable correspondence is invited:

Craig Peters P.O. Box 280114

Northridge, CA 91328-0114

For other free documents which are offered to provide encouragement and edification from the Word of hwhy, please refer to the following website:

http://www.yahuyahweh.org/iah

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An Excellent Translation of the Scriptures “ISRV” is an abbreviation which readers will have seen at one or more locations in the present study. “ISRV” is an acronym which means: “INSTITUTE FOR SCRIPTURE RESEARCH

VERSION.” Thus, ISRV is our abbreviation for the Institute’s translation of the Scriptures.

The INSTITUTE FOR SCRIPTURE RESEARCH is an organization of Messianic believers based in South Africa. They have published an excellent version of the Word of hwhy which they have called, “The Scriptures.”

The ISRV is an outstanding translation which fulfills the Word of hwhy to Mosheh by restoring His Qadosh Name – the Name which hwhy declared to be His unchanging Memorial across an immense time span of 1000 generations! Exodus 3:14-15, Deuteronomy 7:9. For those wishing to make further inquiry and to possibly order this translation, the website address for the ISR is:

http://www.isr-messianic.org