Horror and Beauty - another warning and a place of refuge

I was reading through the Book of Enoch tonight, and as I read, I came to this particular chapter.
My initial reaction was as a bone chilling slap of shock.
And awe.
I know, that particular phrase has lost its impact, being so overused.
But read it yourself, and see what reaction arises within you?

CHAPTER C.

1. And in those days in one place the fathers together with their sons shall be smitten
And brothers one with another shall fall in death
Till the streams flow with their blood.

2 .For a man shall not withhold his hand from slaying his sons and his sons' sons,
And the sinner shall not withhold his hand from his honoured brother:
From dawn till sunset they shall slay one another.

3. And the horse shall walk up to the breast in the blood of sinners,
And the chariot shall be submerged to its height.

4 In those days the angels shall descend into the secret places
And gather together into one place all those who brought down sin
And the Most High will arise on that day of judgement
To execute great judgement amongst sinners.

5. And over all the righteous and holy He will appoint guardians from amongst the holy angels
To guard them as the apple of an eye,
Until He makes an end of all wickedness and all sin, And though the righteous sleep a long sleep, they have nought to fear.

6. And (then) the children of the earth shall see the wise, And shall understand all the words of this book, And recognize that their riches shall not be able to save them
In the overthrow of their sins.

7. Woe to you, Sinners, on the day of strong anguish, the righteous and burn them with fire:
Ye shall be requited according to your works.

8. Woe to you, ye obstinate of heart,
Who watch in order to devise wickedness:
Therefore shall fear come upon you
And there shall be none to help you.

9. Woe to you, ye sinners, on account of the words of your mouth, And on account of the deeds of your hands which your godlessness as wrought,
In blazing flames burning worse than fire shall ye burn.

10 And now, know ye that from the angels He will inquire as to your deeds in heaven, from the sun and from the moon and from the stars in reference to your sins because upon the earth ye execute judgement on the righteous.

11. And He will summon to testify against you every cloud and mist and dew and rain; for they shall all be withheld because of you from descending upon you, and they shall be mindful of your sins.

12. And now give presents to the rain that it be not withheld from descending upon you, nor yet the dew, when it has received gold and silver from you that it may descend.

13. When the hoar-frost and snow with their chilliness, and all the snow-storms with all their plagues fall upon you, in those days ye shall not be able to stand before them.

There will be blood. Streams...of blood!
To the horse's breast and the chariots submerged!
From and by their own hands.
Can you imagine the slaughter?

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1. And in those days in one place the fathers together with their sons shall be smitten
And brothers one with another shall fall in death
Till the streams flow with their blood.

3. And the horse shall walk up to the breast in the blood of sinners, And the chariot shall be submerged to its height.

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What initially caught my attention in those verses was, where in the Bible (and apocrypha) had I read about streams of blood, up to the breast of the horses?

It was here:

And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the bridles of the horses, for about one thousand six hundred stadia
Ḥazon (Revelation) 14:20 TS2009

They shall smite one upon another, and they shall smite down a great multitude of stars upon the earth, even their own star; and blood shall be from the sword unto the belly,
2 Esdras 15:35

And of the winepress:

The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress.
Lamentations 1:15 KJV

I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 
(For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.)
Isaiah 63:3‭-‬4 KJV

Notice, they do it to each other?

"the fathers together with their sons shall be smitten
And brothers one with another shall fall in death."
And
"a man shall not withhold his hand from slaying his sons and his sons' sons,
And the sinner shall not withhold his hand from his honoured brother:
From dawn till sunset they shall slay one another."

Hard to fathom.

The sinners will destroy themselves.

The time that this happens in, is the Great Tribulation - such as was not since the beginning of the world, no, nor ever shall be.

And we know that that time is fast approaching.

But what kind of madness must come upon them?!

(That theme is dealt with elsewhere in the Bible and at present, would only serve to distract from the purpose of this particular study.)

The sinner has to know that (s)he is sinning, having knowledge of God, regardless of the sin being committed.
The workers of iniquity, having knowledge of God, have to know that they are iniquitous.
And the reprobate has knowledge of God, and turns his back regardless and shuns God.
The evil ones know that they do evil.
The fallen angels, the truly wicked and ungodly, are reserved for judgment and perdition.
I have wrestled with the question of how?
How can they continue?
When they know the penalty.
And the ultimate end thereof.
And not repent?

To that question, I have no answer.

But their end is certain.

But, there is hope!
Hope that in and through Jesus, the sinner may yet be redeemed.
Unless they consciously decide to go the way of the wicked and ungodly...and for them I pray...

I don't want to meet Christ as a sinner. Full of wretchedness and fear.
It is my greatest desire and fervent prayer that I meet Him as a friend. A brother. A son.

Jesus paid the ultimate price for our redemption.
And no human mind has any idea of (or even any right to comprehend) the magnitude of the price that was paid. He did that just...for...you...let that sink in for a minute...

God came to earth.

And became a man.

Just like you and I.

And He died.

He was murdered.

Tortured.

And murdered.

That we may live.

Why?

He died.

He went down to the pit, into the grave and Sheol, and came back with the keys to hell and death.

For you!

Are you worth that?
Am I?

Heaven forbid!

I am not worthy of His death.
None of us are.

Of Jesus, the Son of the Living God, suffering, and enduring the pain that He went through.

How did He do it?

Why did He do it?

Through and by His love for us!...
Just to let you know that He loves you!
Before you were born!
And He wants you with Him, where He is. Back Home.

How?

How much do we owe Him?!
How much ought we be thankful?!

I know that I am not worth anyone dying for, let alone the Son of God!
For all the awful things I've done....
I'm pretty sure that I've broken every commandment.
I should be dead.
A million times over.

But Jesus.

But...Jesus!...

Jesus, in his aspect of the Ancient of Days, and knowing the end from the beginning, the Word through which all was created, He who is, was and will be, knew...

He knew, that I, we, you, would one day,  come grovelling before the Cross.
Trembling, and fearful to incontinence, begging forgiveness.

But He's already forgiven us!

He just wanted to hear it from our mouth!

That's why He gave us 'free will.'
That we, would choose to love Him.
That we would seek forgiveness, and repent.

That we would give our lives for Him...

Just as He gave His life for us.

Lord, have mercy.

Now, back to what I read in the Book of Enoch.

We read of the horrors of what is (soon) to come upon this world.

But did you catch the verse that is, to my mind, beyond incredibly beautiful?

The promise of His Love?

I didn't, until I re-read the chapter!

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Enoch C:5 And over all the righteous and holy

He will appoint guardians from amongst the holy angels

To guard them as the apple of an eye,

Until He makes an end of all wickedness and all sin, And though the righteous sleep a long sleep, they have nought to fear.

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Who are "the righteous and holy?"

We are!

The ones He called, predestinated and chose!
The ones who seek forgiveness and who truly repent.
The ones who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb.

Oh how He loves you!
How He loves us!

"To guard (us) as the apple of an eye!"

He promises us that He WILL hide us!

"Until He makes an end of all wickedness and all sin"

We will be hidden!

Just as we've read elsewhere in the Bible:

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.
Psalms 32:7 KJV

 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
Psalms 119:114 KJV

 For in the day of evil He hides me in His booth; In the covering of His Tent He hides me; On a rock He raises me up.
Tehillim (Psalms) 27:5 TS2009

 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
Psalms 9:9 KJV

 “My Elohim is my rock, I take refuge in Him, My shield and the horn of my deliverance, My high tower and my refuge. My Saviour, You save me from violence.
Shemu’ĕl Bĕt (2 Samuel) 22:3 TS2009

 Elohim is our refuge and strength, A help in distress, soon found.
Tehillim (Psalms) 46:1 TS2009

 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord : he is their strength in the time of trouble.  And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
Psalms 37:39‭-‬40 KJV

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Now. After all this, it is my belief that there will not be an ἁρπάζω, except that when all is fulfilled, and we that are alive and remain...

We are to be HIDDEN from all the horrors of the tribulation that most certainly is coming and will transpire upon the earth...for "Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked."

Because He loves us.
Because He loves...you!

Real.
Agape.
Love!

I pray that you will give your life to Christ. Repent from your sins. Receive your salvation. Seek His face. That under His wing, you too, may be hid in the hour of temptation.

Because He loves you.

He really, really loves you!

😊

God bless ❤ 🕆

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord , He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.  A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.  Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.  Because thou hast made the Lord , which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;  There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.  Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.  Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.  He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.  With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Psalms 91:1‭-‬16 KJV