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officialyourdailyinspiration · 3 years

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Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

Forgetting His Benefits

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits!" - Psalm 103:2

Every part of our being should join in praising God. The song of praise we sing - should not be a solo, a duet, or even a quartet - but a full chorus, the feelings, the affections, the mental powers, the tastes, the desires - all mingling in harmony and praise. There are some who praise with their voices - but not with their hearts. Others give intellectual worship, while their affections are not engaged. Others give emotional praise - but their wills and consciences do not join in the song; they have good feelings - but lack in practical obediences and in devotion to duty. Some sing missionary hymns with zest - but give nothing to missionary work Some sing consecration hymns - and then live selfishly and worldly. There is no heavenly music in such singing. The true way - is to arouse every faculty and energy and power and affection - to hearty, enthusiastic, practical praise.

"Forget not all his benefits." Many people have excellent memories for troubles, adversities, losses, and sorrows - but cannot remember the mercies and blessings of their lives. It is very unfortunate to have such defective memories. Suppose God would forget us for a time, and fail to provide for our daily needs, and fail to send us His ordinary gifts for a whole day, or even for an hour - how sore a misfortune it would be! Yet we forget continually that our blessings come from Him. We take them for granted, and never think of the Giver!

Sometimes we do not think of God for hours together. Yet there is never a moment when God is not thinking of us, and providing for us. Perhaps if there were some break in the flow of blessings - we would learn to be more thankful. The very unbroken continuity of God's gifts makes us oblivious to them. Someone kept a book for a daily record of blessings. It would be a good thing for all of us to do. Surely this matter is important. We think others are very ungrateful, who forget our little kindnesses to them. Must we not judge ourselves by the same judgment, in relation to God's goodness!

"Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases." What an enumeration of divine blessings; and what blessings they are, too - in this and the following verses! They are all blessings, too, which the world cannot give. Any one of them is worth more than all earth's treasures combined! If we are not forgiven - we must rest forever under the curse of sin, a weight greater than all the Alps; but God forgives, and forgives all our sins, and forgives fully and forever! If we are not healed - we must be sick forever, sick with the plague and leprosy of sin; but God heals, and heals all our diseases, heals completely. If we are not saved from the destructive dangers of this world - we never can reach heaven; but God keeps, rescues, redeems our life.

Earth's crowns are made of thorns, and at the best, are only what the children call "play-crowns," for they are only made of leaves that wither, or of gold and gems that fire will destroy; but God crowns His people with crowns of loving-kindness and tender mercies, which are real and radiant, which shall never fade - but shall shine forever, becoming crowns of eternal life and glory in heaven. This world cannot satisfy a heart's cravings! Its possessions only make the hunger more intense; but God satisfies the souls of His people, meets all their cravings and hungers. These are some of the things for which we have to praise God.

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy." The prodigal's father waited years in love - how slow to anger! and then ran to meet his returning son - how quick in mercy! Is this not a true picture of God's treatment of us? He is slow to anger - but quick to show mercy.

"He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever." These are wonderful pictures of the way God forgives. The best human forgiveness is very imperfect. Men forgive - but they often "chide" and "harbor resentment." They say that they "forgive, but cannot forget;" they keep the memory of the wrong always in their hearts, never forgetting, even while showing us favors, that once we injured them. The old memories of wrongs block up the channel of love - as old wrecks block up a river, arresting its flow. But God does not chide nor harbor anger. His heart is like the smooth lake which the driving keel cleaves - but which soon becomes calm and placid again, retaining no mark or trace of the crude furrowing. He puts away our sins - as far as the east is from the west, that is, infinitely.

This was taught in the ancient ceremony of the scapegoat. One goat was killed and its blood sprinkled before God; this meant the atonement of Christ by which our forgiveness is procured. The other goat then, after the priest had confessed over its head the people's sins, was led away out of sight, into the wilderness, and let loose, never to return again; thus bearing away sins to an infinite distance, so that they could never come back again to disturb those who had been forgiven. There is a wonderful passage in Jeremiah which reads: "In those days, at that time," declares the LORD, "search will be made for Israel's guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare."

"Like as a father pities his children - so the Lord pities those who fear him." This is one of the most wonderful verses in the Bible. It brings God very near to us. It shows us His heart. He is not cold and far removed from us in feeling, indifferent to our sufferings, stern and severe in His judgment upon us. Rather, He is full of pity, like a human father in his pity toward his children. The best commentary on these words is Christ's own life. See Him moved with compassion for the sick, the lepers, the sorrowing, the sinful, the fallen; weeping by a grave at Bethany, deeply touched at Nain as He saw the widowed mother following her only son to the grave; weeping again over Jerusalem because the people would not repent and receive Him. All this is commentary on this precious verse.

"For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust." God does not treat us as if we were strong and perfect and unfallen. He does not forget that we are weak, that it is hard for us in our fallen condition to live right, that we are easily tempted and overcome. Therefore, He is very patient and gentle with us when we have sinned - binding up the wounds, restoring the soul. We ought to get a great deal of comfort out of these words.

You say you are so weak - that you cannot resist temptation. Yes, and God knows all about it. You are weary and worn out through trouble or burden-bearing - but God knows all about it. You find your work very hard, and cannot see how you are ever to get through with it; but God knows. He knows your frailty; He remembers that you are only dust. He is pitiful and compassionate, and always gives needed help. There is immeasurable comfort in the knowledge that Christ lived through the whole gamut of human life and experience. He knows all about temptation, for He was tempted in all points like as we are. He knows all about sorrow, for He was acquainted with grief. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, for He was tried in every way in which we are tried.

"As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more." A dear young friend has just brought to my table a cluster of beautiful flowers. They charm my eye, and their fragrance fills my room. But tomorrow they will be withered and dead, and I shall be compelled to put them out of my sight. So it is with human lives. They may be very lovely and sweet - but soon they are gone, and there is only a memory left behind. As we think of this we grow sad, and ask, "What is there that is abiding!"

Above our heads is the blue sky, and when night comes the brilliant stars look down and say, "We do not fade." We have shone upon all the passing generations of men, and still are bright as ever." There is comfort in that - there is something at least which does not pass away in a day. But here is something better still: "But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him!" The love of God is from everlasting to everlasting. Here is a bosom, then, on which we may lean and know that our repose shall never be disturbed. Would you be safe eternally! Rest your hopes on God's everlasting love, and not on any frail thing of earth!

"To those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts." All God's promises and blessings have conditions. We have something to do - to get them. Here the condition is obedience. There is a covenant, and it has two sides. There is not the slightest doubt about God's faithfulness. He will do His part. But we have a part to do, too. It is to those who obey His commandments, that the love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. It is important to remember the commandments - but this is not enough. A great many people remember them and can repeat them verbatim - who do not obey them. The stress of emphasis is on the word "obey." So if we want to claim and secure the blessings here promised - we must be sure that we do our part and fulfill the conditions of God's covenant of grace. If this Psalm is a palace of love, here in this verse is the beautiful gate by which all must enter in, who would enjoy its rich gladness and blessedness.

#Devotional Hours Within the Bible #J.R. Miller #devotional #Forgetting His Benefits #Psalm 103:2 #March 26 #2021

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mrsunderhill678 · 3 years

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Ya Gorl’s Been Tip Tappin’ against the keyboard and makin’ magic with her fingies

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“I met my love as she wept in her sorrow, wondering why she couldn't find freedom. But it feels like, as I dance my fingers against the etches of her spine and kiss her gently where it hurts the most, our love is the freedom she's been craving. She's got scars on her heart, but look at her, sitting gentle and peaceful like a dove prophesizing great peace and love. I'd never seen someone so gentle, so beautiful, so lovely, until I met her sorrow filled and kind eyes.” - Mel Ackers

“I've always wanted to be somebody to someone, but it feels as if, I have finally become somebody to me.” - Fern Ackers

“She stood next to me in the garden as I sprouted, everybody else stood tall, but there I stood, bent in ways I didn't think could heal. But she didn't care. She stood there every day, giving me water and watching me grow, building me up with gentle kisses in the dark and nights spent tangled in each other's arms. And now here I stand, tall and loved, knowing that without Mel, without my beautiful children, I never would've learned how to be somebody to me.” - Fern Ackers

“I'm a love riddled fool, sipping on sorrowful poetry and sad songs in the dark, knowing I shall never be me, for I was born somebody else.” - Anderson Mafasa

“Some people call me crazy, but I prefer the term lucid in reality, for I crave fantasy much more than I enjoy the real things I can touch and feel.” - Anderson Mafasa

“There's no one but me in my mind, so how could I blame anybody but myself for the thoughts in my head?” - Anderson Mafasa

“It feels as if I have sunken deep into the recesses of myself, and there's no one but me to run to.” - Anderson Mafasa

“I've learned God can never tame the monsters he's made. He sets us loose in a hunting ground and when prey fell short we'd come to love the violence and the way blood felt on our hands. So we turned on each other and brought our stones down on those weaker than us, just for that high we got from power. I won't smile, but God damn brother, I'll show you my teeth.” - Adir Butcher

“I met evil in the heart of my hometown, sinister grin brewing with trouble, heart bared black on a leather jacket sleeve. I lost myself deep in the twisted and black spine of the underground, firing off bullets for the wrong reasons and losing pieces of myself each time they flew from the chamber. But as I sit here, honor beating in my chest, who I am flowing through my veins, I know I ain't never losing myself to trouble's smile once more.” - Adellia Rustfey

“He built hell on the streets of our home, but I'll be damned if we can't find heaven in ourselves.” - Adellia Rustfey

“I've brushed my fingers against the ever expanding pages of history, eyes dragging across kills immortalized in verse, wars written as beauty in prose and poetry, humanity's darkness called natural and inescapable. And I must wonder, as I stare history eye to eye if it's a warning we didn't heed or a monster we've created up of crimson etched poetry and verses glorified in blood.” - Achilles Arrowheart

“Asking "Why," to love is like looking up to the midnight sky and trying to count all the stars.” - Achilles Arrowheart

“I cannot live dancing under the shadows of ghosts.” - Achilles Arrowheart

“I was on my deathbed, six foot underneath a man I never was.” - Abramio Gold

“The way I see it, hate is a small plate, and you fill it with the little things that upset you, gorging em down and feeling full because you trick yourself into thinking it's a complete meal. But a few minutes later your heart begins to growl so you fill your plate with more hate and keep on doing it, again, and a fucking gain until all you can do is sit there at your hateful table, wondering why you're alone in a room full of your demons. We trick ourselves into thinking not everyone wants to sit at the table, so we never even give em the fucking chance. And I think that's sad, that we've tricked ourselves into thinking a life of hate is fulfilling.” - Abramio Gold

“I can say sorry for wot I've done, but dat doesn't change dat it 'appened. For some people, it just won't mattah dat I've changed, because when dey look into me eyes dey'll see da memories'a da cruelty in me. But a man don't change because 'e expects ta be forgiven. A man changes because he just can't fuckin' live wif da person he's been, so 'e kicks 'imself outta 'is 'ead and learns ta be somebody new past all 'is fuckin' pain.” - Lincoln Essex Twis

“I've got blood on me 'ands and ghosts in me blood.” - Lincoln Essex Twis

“No man wants ta go through redemption, for it's one'a da most torturous scars a soul can bare.” - Lincoln Essex Twis

“I used ta say I was a ghost loomin' over a grave dat weren't me own, but it feels as if, I spent me three days in me tomb, and all these people I love came around ta roll back da stone for me. And so, gentle, quiet and joyful I fall inta da arms'a all I love.” - Rosie Essex Twis

“The way I see it, and the way I'll always, see it, is that the man that fears change in the right direction has been walking in the wrong direction for too long, and has come to believe walking the wrong path is the only way he can go without resistance. So he sits in his comfort level, trying to force others to bend to his own fears.” - Pete Lockman

“I've always been a little wild, dancing barefoot in the garden and digging my nails into dirt and streams, falling in love with the way nature gently hums and shows her beauty. People say the world is hateful, but if you listen to the birds hum and you sing along to the gentle roar of the river, you'll come to realize the world never hates, only people, do.” - Lassie Lockman

“My father once told me that the strongest person of all is the one that embraces her identity and lets no one else narrate who they are. We all have our own stories and memories, and everyone's always trying to tell you how it is. But only you, know your story, and you're the only one who can tell it.” - Lassie Lockman

“She who changes based on every word spoken against her will never remain the same in the seconds that pass.” - Lassie Lockman

“I look to the sky, rays of light drifting through the dreary and lazy clouds. And I begin to wonder how God looks down on us. And as the sunlight caresses my cheek and brings warmth to my skin, I come to realize she speaks so gently, like a soft and quiet wind bringing the scent of love and forgiveness in it's wake.” - Lassie Lockman

“I was born under the shadow of bad men's deeds, looking to the sky for answers, praying to a silent God. But as I stood there, silence choking the goodness in me, I came to learn there's nowhere a sinning man can run from the madness and cruelty that comes on by to claim all who are troubled. And so I put another bullet in my chamber, firing off rage from a crimson revolver and killing under the shadow of cruel men's deeds.” - Navy Remington

“For as long as the sun has risen and fallen, trouble and violence have known man's heart, and so falling deep into the disease of murder and lies, I become one with my ancestors and succumb to the hum of spilling blood.” - Navy Remington

“I was just a girl looking for her peace, but now I place my finger against a sinning woman's trigger, looking down the scope of my rifle and knowing, it's not a wolf in my crosshairs. I always close my eyes the moment before a kill, convincing myself that it's just another deer, it's just another wolf, but I'm always haunted by the dead lying face down and crimson in the snow.” - Suzanna Hargroves

“I look to the stormy skies, wondering if my mother's eyes dance in those dark clouds, wondering if her tears drip down my cheek as another drop of rain splashes against my skin. Or am I just trying to see her everywhere I go so I never have to let her go?” - Suzanna Hargroves

“I stepped into that old mansion like a flickering and killing light drawing in the wicked moth, but as I walked out, I learned I had never been the flame, nor had Ickabod been the moth. I was human, and fragile, and Ickabod knew that, huh?” - Shamallo Green

“I was a white dove grenade hurtling toward darkness, but I was caught in the arms of cruelty and thrown back to the light where pieces of my shrapnel trouble broke through the skin of peace.” - Shamallo Green

“I'll never come to understand what life has in store for this old, blood spilling sinner, but I suppose all I can do is keep my head up high and pretend I've got a heart that's whole.” - Shamallo Green

“I ain't much more than a name in a book, these days, waitin' ta be cut down with ink scrawled 'cross my damn spine.” - Andraak Flint

“My full moon faded ta black and shadow, and God damn, I ain't much but a haunted man fallin' through the echoes of his snarl.” - Andraak Flint

“There ain't enough words on my tongue ta describe the love I lost. But 'er name tastes bitter on this guilty tongue. Carmellia was everythin' I never knew I needed, and when she danced 'er fingers 'cross my bare and scarred chest and told me I was er's, I could'a sworn I was gon' die a better man than I was born.” - Andraak Flint

“I look ta a grave too young, and ta me, it still feels like that soil was freshly dug.” - Andraak Flint

“I look to a cloudy sky and in the drops'a rain that splash on my eye I see the tears'a the holy pourin' down on the man peace and mercy forgot.” - Andraak Flint

“My life fell apart before I ever had a chance to live it.” - Arco Dogson

“It's always strange, losing yourself. Because when you find yourself again, he almost feels unfamiliar. Like an old friend you haven't seen for years. But then you get to talking and you realize everything changed, all but the laughter and joy that came with talking about nothing with a friend.” - Arco Dogson

“The powerful always call your whispers too damn loud cause they're morality stands on fragile glass, cracked and hollow, ready ta break with whisper decibels.” - Lockman Pierce

“I was a cracked seed wonderin' if he'd ever bloom, but all I needed was someone ta come on by with water and love, tendin' ta my heart and my soul and touchin' the scars in me with the tips'a their words in places my hands couldn't go. And that, is what Lucille is ta me. She's strong and valiant, risin' 'bove all trouble and cruelty. And when the war cry comes, you best believe she's gon' fight.” - Lockman Pierce

“It is when we are at war with ourselves that darkness comes on by, beggin' ya to diverge from your path. But don't stray, brother. When you're at an all time low, you gotta keep on walkin' the path'a the right. Cause darkness stands as the only poison mankind dares ta swallow.” - Lockman Pierce

“On the edge of death and madness I met a man with sadness bleeding from the edges of his eyes. He was just another broken man under a cruel man's shadow, and ever since I met him, trouble's known my name. But I don't blame him, for that.” - Fisher Rupkal

“We all need to cry a little, we all need to die a little to live a little. The sky's heavy with the scent of trouble and sin, and as the storm comes down I know, we'll face the rain and cackling thunder clouds side by side with those we call brother and sister. It seems people pass by the sorrowed man, hands in their pockets and ill thoughts in their heads, wondering why we don't help ourselves. But truth is, we left our hearts out in the storm to rust and always felt like if we put them back in our chest, our bones too, would rust over with the musky scent of trouble.” - Fisher Rupkal

“Hey man, look, the powerful will tell you you're nothing, but doesn't that mean you're free to become anything?” - Derrick Furmusa

“I'm just a curious spirit walking home in the dead of night, passing old identities by like stumbling strangers, knowing all I wanna do is walk through the front door of who I am and embrace this person I've become. And sure, as I walk inside claw marks etch the wallpaper and there might be one or two shadows hiding in the corners of my sanctuary. But this person I am is home, he's me, and I'll never let that change. All these hallways and doorways of me tell a story dotted with trouble and love that builds who I am from scars and memories.” - Derrick Furmusa

“I was never strong, but I've always figured the most important kind of strength is the kind that walks in your heart and your mind, rather then the kind that resides in black eyes and broken knuckles. I've got a lot of fight left in me, so I think it's high time I face the cruelty of this world with a crooked little smile and a few quips and jokes.” - Derrick Furmusa

“Someone once asked me why in the face of death, I smile. And maybe it's because I never saw death as a foe, or something to fear, rather just another part of life coming and going as the wind blows on by.” - Derrick Furmusa

“I's got a cold shoulder, but it's all I got to lean on, holdin' on long enough for it ta haunt me. My daughter says that it's okay, ta be me, but bein' me has only ever made me regret who I am. And so I let this person I am drift away from the cigarette smoke, wishin' a princess would come and save me. Cause I sit here in my eyes like Rapunzel, lookin' out her stained window'a glass and regret, wonderin' why she can never leave her tower. And I only ever let down my hair to let those that hurt me inta my mind.” - Julianne Hufflesburg

“My lips taste like lies whispered on a cold afternoon, my love feels like a flickerin' spark driftin' from the cigarette, and my heart, in the hand'a someone who cares, feels like not the rose, but the thorns from it's stem.” - Julianne Hufflesburg

“I must remind myself that life is a slow and insidious killer, drainin' the soul and heart outta ya before ya ever get a chance ta fuckin' live.” - Casimir Heartfull

“When I first met Remana she asked me who I was prayin' ta, and I sparked up a cigarette and told her truthfully? I was prayin' ta the silence hopin' I'd hear sumthin' in the echoes 'a my prayers. But now I look back at all these memories'a her and I see a red eyed ghost, lost in addictions and some delusional 'ope that she could crawl 'er way outta hell. I tried ta help her, but who I am simply weren't enough, so I took our kids and I ran from 'er ghost, wonderin' if I did the right thing or the cowardly thing.” - Casimir Heartfull

“I'm just a waste'a fuckin' life, sippin' on whiskey and lies in hopes ta bury this man I am six foot deep beneath liquor, cigarettes and sex. But part time pleasures never saved a man. Only made 'im forget who he is. I've got midnight rain swimmin' in my heart, growin' a garden'a regret and weeds in my soul. And God damn, man, I forget the way her fingers feel on my skin or the way her lips tasted on mine. And I gotta wonder if she misses me when I ain't around, or if she wishes she'd never met me and saved herself the trouble'a rememberin' me.” - Casimir Heartfull

“I was stolen away in the night by wolves in the dark, and now I grasp at who I am, clutching only air, wondering how I'm to bloom in gravel and bark.” - Candie Scavell

“The thing bout life is, it ain't fair. And it ain't never going ta be, nor will it ever be. We're all born different, given different lives and opportunities, so ta say life treats all as equals would be a lie. But that don't mean we can't treat each other, as equals.” - Vernon Crazendale

“I've been a wild, country rockin' ramblin' soul for a long time now, dancin' under the sunlight with cheep beer on my breath and just another reason ta live in my heart. But when that beautiful woman caught me up in her arms and tangled her way inta my heart, I knew it had been trouble and nuthin' I'd been livin'. Bobbi's a kind, gentle and wild soul, singin' her heart out, never afraid ta share her melody. When she places a hand on my cheek and tells me we'll brave this storm together, I always git this feelin' we'll walk out the other side, all be it scarred, and damaged. But still intact and fightin'.” - Vernon Crazendale

“I've never been a blind man, but it feels like, when Bobbi presses her lips against mine, she taught me ta open my eyes. I wouldn't want anybody but her lyin' on my chest when I fall inta sleep, I wouldn't want anybody but her tangled in my sheets. She's this beautiful guardian angel and I'm always swearin' up and down she was sent from heaven on peace's wings. She always chuckles and says she's human just like me, but I always figured that's what angels were.” - Vernon Crazendale

“A place an orange capped revolver under my chin, breathing in, breathing out as with the click of a plastic trigger, I let my imagination kill me.” - Alvadia Crow

“I often wonder if trouble kisses her knuckles before they hit my cheek, or if she loves the man she torments. I've crossed my heart and vowed to die, trouble looking me up and down with hungry eyes, my faith pinning me against the wall and stealing the mercy from my lip. I have a menace in my bed, he tosses and turns, nightmares plaguing him, faith killing him, and he is me, he's always been me. And so long as I am me, I shall never truly be. How cruel it must be to live under the shadow of love and faith, falling in love with all the things that want to kill you.” - Alvadia Crow

“I am beginning to fear God watches over me not as a loving mother or father, but as a watcher and tormentor, learning the ins and outs of me before she learns the cruelest ways to kill me. Perhaps it was never God's voice I heard, but a steady and aching silence I mistook for guidance.” - Alvadia Crow

“With trembling hands and shaking fingers I place this orange capped revolver under my chin, closing my eyes with a mind so weary. And as I slide my finger gentle against the trigger, and place my hand cruel against the hammer, I whisper to the sorrowful sinner that is I, "I think I better go before I try something I might regret." - Alvadia Crow

“My head's cloudy and my mind's up in the empty sky, soaring like Icarus toward their death, knowing as they fall, clutching at the world with tears in their eyes and freedom in their smile, they died themselves.” - Juno

“My father was everything to me, you know? He was like this hero I could always look up to when my mind treated me cruelly, and when I let the truth spill from my words, he accepted me as I am and pulled me into this warm hug that smelled of leather and acceptance with the slight tinge of smoke. It honest to God feels like I'm crumbling without him, and as villains and bastards swarm around me, I cry out to a grave to save me.” - Juno

“I just wish I could have one last hug from my father, one more kiss goodnight from my mother. But as I close my eyes and fall back into my mind, it's not their smiles that greet me, it's their graves that come to haunt me.” - Juno

“I'll always stand as a whiskey burning question, wisping and fading away like cigarette smoke on a cold afternoon.” - Tristan Ripburn

“I sink ta the bottom’a my thoughts and begin ta wonder who all the bones at the bottom’a the sea belongs ta. Only ta learn they was me, they was always me.” - Alaric Alistair

“I look up at grey eyes, wonderin' who I am as my tears and sorrows disappear like silence in the rain.” - Alaric Alistair

“I was just a boy with nuthin', tryin' ta make a somebody outta himself until I met the man that'd kill all the things that made me Alaric Alistair. He always tells me it's my fault that I continue ta live in his shadows and lies, and God damn, he's right. I pass by guns in the nightstand but never pull the trigger, I walk past him as he sleeps and don't kill the monster in my head, and as he tells me ta kill another soul and enact another consequence, I do as told.” - Alaric Alistair

“I'm a skinny and starvin' dog that never learned how ta bark, and so I rile myself up and leave no warnin' for my bite, always leavin' teeth marks and claws in everythin' I ever let go.” - Alaric Alistair

“I wonder what my mother would say if she saw me today, old bat slung over my shoulder, wicked grin lyin' crooked on my lip. I ain't the boy she rose no more, just the boy that fell.” - Alaric Alistair

“All that's left of me is an old chalk outline laying at the bottom of the streetlight, knowing that it was a knife in the back that killed this man I am.” - Maxlion Saltkal

“Some men will claim themselves good, some men will claim themselves bad, but I don't think I've got a definition for me. Cause I've been good, bad and everything in-between, wondering who I'll be when that first bullet flies. It was in the flashing and colored lights of the nightclub that I met my demise. There he stood, dancing to dead melodies and sins, not knowing, as the two of us met, fate had decided both of us would die.” - Maxlion Saltkal

“Bits and pieces of me have died throughout the years, and as I realize I can't carry all of them in my arms, I regretfully shove them into my empty chamber, slinging six broken pieces of me at the man that shattered me.” - Maxlion Saltkal

“I can never tell if I'm the hammer or the nail, but when we stare each other down, pistol's eye to pistol's eye, the smoke that leaves the gun shall determine who we are.” - Maxlion Saltkal

“Carva was just another justice bound soul until we met, and in my eyes she saw something wild, something reckless, but more importantly, she saw the possibility of us. She didn't care that I was a fucking lowlife livin' the outlaw life, because all she saw when she looked at me were the beautiful things I built my scars of. I've got blood on my hands and regret in my mind, but when she takes me by my hand and tells me I'm good enough for her, I can't help but think I'm on the path to redemption.” - Mika Hammerclub

“All cruel men who ever walked always left some kind of death in their stride, gunshots and echoes always following wherever their bootprint lied. But to all the cruel men of this world? I'm a cold fucking reckoning. Because God damn, I stand for justice these days and my chamber's full of names.” - Mika Hammerclub

“I'm a finger trembling on a dead woman's trigger, knowing I've no bravery left, only the emptiness that comes with sorrow.” - Kecia Brightburn

“It feels as if, in someway, my heart has become vacant in my chest and my demons rent out rooms in my head. And here I lie under the shadows of the bed, waiting for my monsters to slide their ankle over the edge. And as they do, I drag them under, hoping I have the courage to do what I must. But I always stare back into the eyes of my son, wondering if it's right of me, to kill the monster that stares at me with eyes I used to love. And so I let him go and sit like a shadow under the bed, knowing above me lies a wicked angel sleeping gently in his chaos.” - Kecia Brightburn

“In the span of a few days I lost my life, and now I swing from the hook skinny, starved and silent, wonderin' who I'd be if I never met all the things God's come ta fear.” - Markus Caesar

“In my small town'a secrets and lies I found an angel watchin' over the remnants'a Eden with a flamin' sword and sorrow in 'is eyes. And there he stood, defendin' the serpent for he was just another victim ta the lies'a the wicked. I used ta damn the man who bit down on his tongue ta keep secrets in the dark, but I's learned we're all victims ta the cold, hearts beatin' empty in a heavy and burdened chest.” - Markus Caesar

“I look up ta the empty sky, wonderin' what my aunt would think if she saw me now. She were my light in the dark, really, but now that she's gone my restless head's been singin' the damn blues and I'm lost on the silent highway ta freedom and grace. When ya lose your guardian angel, what are ya 'sposed ta become? I sit here like a regretful dog, layin' at his owners' grave, wonderin' when she'll come back. But it's bones and soil I'm lovin' and hopin' on.” - Markus Caesar

“A thousand dreamless lives sit heavy on my heart, howlin' for justice, but the beat'a my heart's become just another sound, and my bravery's fadin' like sparks in July.” - Markus Caesar

“The way I see it death has always been mercy. The moment a man falls he's been spared of the misery life tends ta bring, and whosoever lives on shall die a man they're not. After all, it's what happened ta me, eh? I stared into the unblinking eyes of death, but she turned my gaze to cruelty and shut my damn eyes.” - Zachary De’Lillium

“I bite down on bullets etched with my own fucking name.” - Max Tripp

“I've been a bad, bad man, and as I look at the sky and see the sorrowed eyes of my love in the clouds, I know she died ashamed of this man I am. I was her last mistake, and now here I sit like a flickering remnant of who she was, wondering when I'll get the justice I deserve. But I never find karma at the bottom of the glass, I never find redemption in the burnt stump of the cigarette. It's impossible to find who you are when you've always been blind, huh?” - Max Tripp

“Me and my demons play this funny little game of two regrets and a lie. I let her down, I whisper, I loved another, I shout. I'm a good fucking man, I weep. And there the demons sit in my mind, laughing and clapping, for they always know the lie.” - Max Tripp

“In the shadows of the wood I met a wolf, and with childlike glee and curiosity I followed him as he tossed rose petals on the ground. I built a rose from his lies, not caring for the way the thorns bled my palm. And just as I began to realize all wolves lie, he ripped me away with hungry eyes and carved my innocence into darkness.” - Carrie Howl

“I've got a few scars beatin' in my chest, whisperin' in the melody of my heart that I don't deserve these things I've got. But family ain't about deserve I reckon, it's more about who sticks by your side even when you don't really deserve it. When my rifle becomes too much ta bear, and my sins sit too heavy on my shoulder, I've got my family ta lean on. Cause it's when you're at your worst, that family's love is at it's best.” - Despevada Solace

“I've got prayers sittin' on my cowboys' sleeve that never made it ta God, and I wonder if he sees these words I scrawl on the scarred leather and linen'a who I've become.” - Despavada Solace

“I've got demons in my fucking head, man. They stand there just in the edges of my sanity, always leaving scratches and bites on the inside of my skull until pieces of them bleed into me. I've never been someone worth while, just another sad boy whispering lies to himself that everything would be okay. But look at me now! I've got power and insanity on my side, and I can't help but think these wicked things are what I should build my name off of.” - Wulf Azari

“In the shadows of murder and the light of sin I met a devil like me. She sits quiet and still with a festering rage in her heart and when you dare think she's a sheep, she'll smile and show you her fangs.” - Wulf Azari

“I've said goodbye to myself too many times, it's time I met who I'm not.” - Wulf Azari

“The world will remember the boy it forgot.” - Wulf Azari

“I am a quiet strangulation hidden behind words like, "No need to worry bout lil' ol' me.” - Hildon Crowrappha

“I was just another man on the streets, consuming part time highs, filling myself full of substances that would kill me. But as the angels started carrying me back home on wings of glass and fragile prayer, I had this horrible realization that I had never lived, for it had always been through death I walked. And so, kicking and screaming I tore myself from heaven, condemning myself to a life on Earth.” - Hildon Crowrappha

“I'm standing under the shadow of another woman's damnation, wondering why, if God is watching over us, she is allowed to exist? But perhaps God never had a plan for us, and all he could do was observe us like a dream, wondering why it was never lucid.” - Hildon Crowrappha

“It feels as if I carry a cross in my heart, and slowly but surely, it is turning itself upside down.” - Hildon Crowrappha

"I'm drownin' under the trouble I created, and I can blame my problems all I like, but it's my mind workin' against me, so in a sense, I've got an enemy inside my head and he looks like a God damn mirror." - Stefanio Dogvalk

"You wanna kill a man? Well then God damn, brother, just give 'im a reason ta hate." - Milo Horvinshay

"Something sinister lurks deep within his kindness, for it is just another masks he wears like gossamer and silk." - Maddox Spelfellheim

"Even the farmer stares at the coyote through the scope of a rifle." - Alfred Godsel

"And so when fate finds itself at the crossroads of two promises, which do you think it'll choose? Because from where I'm standing it sure as fuck seems like fate don't vow for the conquerors." - Mac McVale

"Sometimes life bats around the good people because it doesn't trust them to keep good hearts in their chests, so it dares fate to make the good hearts black." - Coby Mackentime

"I'm pretty sure the soul is a concept we made up ta answer the uncertainty of our morality." - Lockman Pierce

"Fear is a very funny word, it runs through many a man's veins, bringing them so gently to death. But death was never a friend, nor was life, nor fate, nor mortality. It was always just another way God could keep us trapped, for the day we sinned, immortality flitted away into nothing." - Calzell Flickerfeid

"A threat is a threat, the words matter not, the intention breathes through the blood in the air." - Calzell Flickerfeid

"Life is lived right up until the moment it isn't." - Calzell Flickerfeid

“Crazy only exists in the eyes of the well man." - Comodus Kalchamber

"Staring into my eyes, you see every man who fell like an angel from the sky. I used to believe God stood by all who worshipped, but I now know he only stands by those who worship right. I knelt at the altar, heart empty in my bones, and I prayed to a God who could never hear the quiet whispers I spoke. For he was never there, it was just who I am shouting in the corner of my mind." - Alvadia Crow

Man dun'it make a sound as he falls apart." - Oswin Sealock

"You think me a crack in this castle of glass? Brother, I'm the fucking hammer." - Lorenzo Storm

"My monster looks at me through the edges of my eyes, he's corrosive like poison, seepin' into my thoughts, my actions and the way I speak. Because in the end he's apart'a me, and ain't nuthin I can do to change that other than hope he leaves with the driftin' smoke." - Rustin Threadpatch

"I don't fear. I analyze, I come to understand. Then I damn, I fight. I condemn not what I don't, understand. But what I do." - Rustin Threadpatch

”I’m falling apart like a 1965 photograph. I’m faded and torn at my edges, little pieces of me missing, like a puzzle that you know ain’t never gonna look right. They can put little pieces of me back together, stitch my edges back against one another, but in the end I’m the still the same old photograph, caught as a ghost in a single frame of time.” - Rustin Threadpatch

"Some people like to think that getting away with it is another form of mercy. This is untrue! You didn't get away with it, my friend. The world simply forgot you did it. How unfortunate for you that I didn't." - Lieutenant Stenbarge

"People are, monsters at best, human at worst." - Rustin Threadpatch

"He walks confident like a loaded gun with the hammer pulled back and ready." - Rustin Threadpatch

"A delusion is only beautiful if the mad gives it a reason to be." - Maureen Chiseldowe

"Thing bout second chances, Graham. Is that they give the spared man the wicked fuckin' idea, that he can get away with it." - Henry Sinix

"Mankind does not believe the broken man. In the whole we trust, in the broken we condemn." - The Crow

"Be it God or man, we are always looking for someone to blame. Unfortunately, I am the blade others fall onto." - Arasill

#writing #oneliners #characters #author #dialouge

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allie1804-fan · 4 years

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Please Assist Me (Chapter 16)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10 , Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15

Thanks to @ladyreapermc for her mention in “This is Not a Rom Com” of Neruda’s love poems - what a beautiful thing to discover!

Warnings: Angst

She Said

I stood in Keanu’s kitchen a couple of days later, tears streaming down my face as I read a verse from Neruda’s Sonnet 17. Keanu had put a print out in English inside this page. I’m guessing he’d only come across it in translation and I knew why this one meant so much to him, to us. I’d read it as a younger woman, before I really had a clue what it meant to love like this.

… so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

He’d often said how at ease I made him feel, right from the start of our romantic involvement and this poem articulated that closeness and ease so perfectly. I messaged him quickly. “sonnet 17!” followed by crying face emoji. I did a quick calculation of the time in Germany - he wouldn’t be working yet anyway as he had to quarantine for 2 weeks first. Hopefully he wouldn’t be sleeping. I hit send.

A moment or so later, a video call pinged in, which I accepted despite fearing I must look a state after the crying!

“Hey sweetie, I didn’t mean to make you cry!”

“It’s OK – they’re happy tears, kind a!! I smiled at him. “Miss you so much”

“miss you more!” he countered. “I am so bored, I’ve got nothing else to think about except how much I miss you!”

“Poor baby”

“What about learning the script? And training?”

“Script yes, you’re right, and some training is possible in the gym here … you at O now while I’m at H?!”

“well we have to be on rotation right?”

He kissed his fingers and blew me a kiss. He really is just the sweetest soul.

We talked some more then he let me go so I could get on with the household chores I was dealing with at his house. I wanted to get going quickly - being there was definitely harder than being at my home from a ‘missing him’ point of view.

In the first month, it was pretty easy to stay in touch which we did most days via a video call at the end of his working day . When the kids were with me we’d shift it to later at his end and do the call at our lunchtime so they’d have a few minutes to share their stories of the day. Often in the weekday calls, the other kids would realise that my two had disappeared and would hunt them down meaning Keanu was dealing with 5 kids muscling in on the call as the others didn’t want to miss out on video calling a movie star!

Once filming proper started though, the calls became harder to achieve as filming didn’t always go to plan and he was staying in an apartment a little way from the studios. I had been around movie sets enough in the past when I was a runner to know how chaotic it could get but I found weekend lapses harder to forgive.

One Saturday in July, the kids and I got ourselves all set at 9am but were left hanging with no Keanu in sight and no response from him to texts and messages. As it turned out , they’d added an extra day’s filming to the schedule and he’d intended to do the call from set as he knew he wouldn’t finish on time to do it from his apartment but had left his phone behind. Another time he fell asleep and a third he simply forgot!

When it was just me affected, I was merely hurt but when he forget, when the kids were excited to see him and share their achievements, my Latin hot temper got the better of me and I ignored his messages for 3 whole days. By day 4 (and after flowers and cards had been sent by him to apologise) his voicemail messages to me were getting frantic and I caved and picked up his call.

“Thank god you’re OK, I was about to send my sister round to check on you!, Listen you know I’m sorry I let you all down, I promise to do better. Please forgive me Sophia”

I stared at my hands, still fuming and feeling like we’d become an afterthought to him all those thousands of miles away.

“Sophia, please” he pleaded.

“You have to do better” I said pouting.

“I know sweetheart, I know and I will, are the kids there?”

I nodded.

“can I talk to them, tell them I’m sorry?”

I fetched them from the other room and soon saw they had far less difficulty with their forgiveness than me. That made me realise that maybe my righteous anger had been more about me and less about them.

Keanu gave them his full attention, looking at their paintings and listening to their stories. Soon we were laughing and everything felt more relaxed at last.

He Said

Boy did I fuck up. No wonder she was mad at me. I’d screwed up, missing calls 3 times and 2 times when the kids were involved - I thoroughly deserved her wrath. I sent flowers, cards and left numerous messages before finally managing to get her to pick up one of my calls after 4 days of the cold shoulder.

Luckily, she let me speak to the kids and it was clear they weren’t actually that upset. Their chatter and positivity relaxed the atmosphere and I capitalised on that, asking Miguel to give Eva a hug on my behalf to say sorry. Then it was Sophia’s turn as I asked Eva to hug her on my behalf. She dutifully squeezed her mother and Sophia looked over her shoulder straight at me into the iPad camera. I mouthed “Forgive me” and “Please” and saw her nod her head slightly, her eyes crinkling up as she smiled just a little.

“Ok kids, time to let me and Keanu have a chat on our own” she said, taking them back to the living room.

“So am I forgiven” I asked on her return, still slightly fearful of her reply.

“Yes, OK but Keanu how are we going to keep this going? There’s at least 3 more months and, god it’s so hard when you go awol. If we make the calls less often, do you think you can commit to them with more certainty?”

“Yes, yes, I promise. And you know I’d fly back in a heartbeat if I could to make it up to you but we can’t leave, even if there were time in the schedule, we have to stay put till the end”

“I know honey, I know”

“What else can I do?”

“Let’s just try to keep in touch properly, regularly. We knew this would be hard, our relationship is so new and this distance” she said, gesturing between herself and my image on the iPad “well it would be tough even if we’d been together longer”

“You’re not regretting starting it are you?” I couldn’t keep the quaver out of my voice.

Thankfully she shook her head “no” and I rubbed my fingers against the image of her face on the screen.

“I wish I could be there, touch you, hold you!”

“Me too”

She Said

Luckily, with fewer calls arranged and some focus on Keanu’s part, we didn’t have any more missed calls but it was still tough to keep things going over the next few months without any physical contact. Keanu was a class act when it came to long distance love though, regularly sending me flowers, books, more love poetry and hand written love letters of his own. He’d write them during downtime on the set and they helped quell the worries that had been growing about whether we could make this work longer term. I knew film shoots were often outside LA and, post pandemic I guessed there’d be a return to promotional tours and premieres in person. We were always going to have to deal with separation.

@fortheloveoffanfic @kindainlovewithkeanu @omg-imagine @iworshipkeanureeves @fics-not-tragedies @ficsnroses @keanureevesisbae @penwieldingdreamer @witty-wallflower @paperplanesandwallflowers @bitchyslut99 @ladyreapermc @toomanystoriessolittletime @fanficsrusz @keanuficfiles

#keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves fanfiction #keanu #keanu reeves #romance with boss

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galacticsun-blog1 · 7 years

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( tag dump! )

#{ verse: we have not touched the stars nor are we forgiven; platinum }#{ verse: the night sky is vast and wide; pre platinum }#{ verse: i turned away from darkness to see daylight; post platinum }

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namizc · 1 year

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tag dump

#✖wishlist║where the sea meets the moon-blanched land #✖dash games║the sea does not like to be restrained #✖queue║heading to the grand line #✖dash commentary║the evening has come down upon the shore & in the fading light the seabirds come flying to their nests #✖unknown verse║we have not touched the stars nor are we forgiven #✖bleach verse║what are we made of but hunger & rage?#✖demon slayer verse║but it does not illuminate / darkness here is like a wound that even as it heals continues bleeding—#✖naruto verse║& you are found in the cerulean movements of birds #✖bnha verse║i wish to believe that those tragedies are swathed in a sacred light #✖pre-canon verse║mourn/mourned/mourning to drain the ocean from one shell #✖main verse║amidst the roaring noise how do i whisper that the waves have accepted me?

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frederickwiddowson · 4 years

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The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 21: 5 - 38 comments: the fall of Jerusalem and the end of the world

Luke 21:5 ¶ And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, 6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? 8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. 9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. 10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. 12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. 13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony. 14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: 15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. 16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. 17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. 18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish. 19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

Jesus restates His prophecy of the temple’s destruction from 19:41-48. I will repeat some of what I wrote. Here is a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD70. Josephus, a Jewish general who went over to the Romans, gave us the history of that event if we can believe what he wrote. The siege and destruction of Jerusalem was the main event of the First Jewish-Roman War that ended not only in the disaster to the city but the destruction of the Temple, as well.

What was called Herod’s Temple, the Second Temple with the first destroyed by the Babylonians hundreds of years previously, will be destroyed. The Jews will suffer for rejecting their Messiah and for fabricating a false religion, a house of cards built on the Mosaic Law, not too different from what many Christians have done. It seems to be a character trait of mankind, making it up as they go along. But, some historical writers say that the destruction of Jerusalem marked the great shift away of Christianity from its Jewish roots.

There is a warning in verse 8 to follow no one after Christ who claims to be Him. Many terrible things will happen, both natural and man-made, before this dreadful event and the disciples are told not to be concerned by them. Based on the context we have the Preterist justification for saying that the events of Revelation were fulfilled when Jerusalem fell to the Romans but this has nothing to do with the events of Revelation. Jesus did not come to physically rule the earth from Jerusalem in 70AD. The Preterist view is simply insane and denies the text of Revelation.

Christ here tells His disciples that He will give them the words to say when they are under persecution.

Jeremiah 1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

In chapter 12 Jesus also underscored this point in speaking of persecution.

Luke 12:8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: 9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. 10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: 12 For the Holy Ghost shall

teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

The fact that Jesus is talking to His disciples about a persecution to come in time that is not too far distant is evidenced by the following statement.

18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

If this passage is foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70AD this undercuts Roman Catholic tradition which has Peter dying at Rome in 64AD. Jesus is promising that not a hair of their head will perish during this terrible national tragedy, that He will give them the words to say.

Remember, that Peter didn’t say he was going to Rome. He said he was writing from Babylon where there was a strong Jewish community.

1Peter 5:13 The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.

Babylon was part of the Parthian kingdom at this time and Josephus wrote about how the Jews in Judea appealed to the strong community in Babylon to help them in their rebellions against Rome.

Based on some written evidence by Eusebius, a famous early church historian, and other writers, Christians escaped from Jerusalem before the destruction in 70AD. We know in Acts how God permitted a situation to exist where many Christians had to leave Jerusalem because of persecution, perhaps not only forcing them to be witnesses to the world but also saving them from the awful terror that was to unfold in the Jewish-Roman War that resulted in the destruction of the Temple.

If this passage is a reference to the events leading up to and including the Fall of Jerusalem then literally Christ is assuring these disciples in front of Him that they will survive it. The fearful sights and natural disasters that surrounded the Fall of Jerusalem are spoken of by Josephus, who was not a Christian but a Jew who had sided with the pagan Romans.

Josephus wrote about incredible signs that preceded the conquest of Jerusalem by the future Roman emperor, Titus. They are hard to be believed like soldiers and chariots in the sky and other events that many eyewitnesses claimed to see, according to him. False prophets arose in abundance and a couple are mentioned in Acts by the Jewish teacher of Paul, Gamaliel.

Acts 5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. 37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.

Verse 19 gives us one reason for including longsuffering, which is patience, in the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. Trust in Christ, wait on Christ, be faithful and strong. Remember that words joined by and are typically synonymous. We like to think of longsuffering as putting up with the kids’ nonsense but it carried a far more heavy weight in the first century in regard to persecution and suffering.

Colossians 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

Luke 21:20 ¶ And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Here is a clear distinction between the Fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple versus the end of history. Read 20-24 to the comma before until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. There is a couple thousand-year gap in that comma.

Paul wrote about the period of Israel’s blindness over the last two thousand years;

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Notice Paul’s until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Notice also that God is not done with the Jews but their apostasy turned to our salvation and we are to be witnesses to them, not their persecutors.

Now, back to the comma and the two thousand plus year gap. Here is another example of that type of handling of time in the Bible. Read this prophecy in Isaiah.

Isaiah 61:1 ¶ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Now, read up to the comma after to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD. Jesus refers to this passage in His early ministry.

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

He stopped where that comma is for us. Before that comma is His first advent and after that comma the day of vengeance of our God holds the second advent as related in the Book of the Revelation. There is a long time in between, two thousand years so far.

From the point at the end of Luke 21:24 and onward we have the events of the end foretold. There was some question about how long that gap might be. If the council had, as related in Acts 7, when they were addressed by Stephen, acknowledged, as he said in verse 52, that they had had the Messiah killed by the Romans, like David killed Uriah by the Ammonites (2Samuel 12:9), that gap may have been much smaller than two thousand years.

Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

Christ was ready, perhaps, to receive the repentant Jews. In Mark 16:19; Colossians 3:1; and Hebrews 10:12 He is said to be seated on the right hand of God but in the following He might have been prepared, as an example to us, to receive the Jews if they had been repentant and acknowledged who He is and what they did.

Acts 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

They had used the sword of Roman justice to murder the Innocent One (Psalm 94:21; Matthew 27:4) but Peter said they did it out of ignorance.

Acts 3:17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

Confirming what Jesus said from the Cross.

Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

And the Law provided a way to deal with the rulers’ sin from ignorance as per Leviticus, chapter 4. But, it was not to be. The Jews had rebellion against God on their spiritual hearts.

Matthew 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

John 19:15 But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

And so, we have the age of the Church until the times of the Gentile domination are over. Israel still has to deal with the Gentiles and their very existence, from a temporal and strictly earthly point of view, depends on the support of powerful nations, the holding back of their enemies, and a very, very shaky geopolitical situation with another holocaust from the Beast and Satan’s fury coming. But, when Christ returns to rule Gentile domination is over.

Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Verses 25-27 summarize the events of the Book of Revelation. For 27 see;

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Finally, as in verse 28, we are told to be expectant of Christ’s return, of His calling us out as the church, His body on earth being removed or translated from here to Heaven.

1Corinthians 15:51 ¶ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1Thessalonians 4:13 ¶ But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Luke 21:29 ¶ And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. 33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. 37 And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. 38 And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.

See here in Jesus’ closing statements how with the age of the Christian church not revealed that the two prophecies of events at least two thousand years apart appear to be conflated. This confuses the Preterist who say the events of Revelation were fulfilled in 70AD, which is nonsense.

First, it must be understood that the events of the Fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple will happen so close in time that the generation hearing Christ will have many who will witness them. With the First Jewish-Roman War less than four decades away this generation will experience it.

But, He includes in His closing remarks something more, that the whole earth will experience, the coming of the kingdom of God physically on earth at Christ’s return. Without the two thousand years of the Church Age in between it appears confusing to some. But, look at the disaster the Jews faced in 70AD as a type and a portent of what the end of human history will look like. The signs of Jerusalem’s fall and the signs of the time before Christ’s return will be similar and Christians will be delivered from both sets of horrors involved in those signs.

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