For His Glory

Watch and Pray

2010-12-28T06:31:00.001-05:00

Watch! Is what the Lord has been saying to me for some time now. Watching is at the heart of what makes the rapture debate more of an issue than some would think. Satanic misdirections and lies are crafty. Nobody accused the devil of being dumb, he is far from it. It is my understanding that those who refuse to watch today and everyday for the Lord's return have 'taken the bait' in Satan's trap. These people refuse to watch for the Lord because their satanic doctrine tells them that there are many things that must happen before the Lord can or will come back for us and take us home. They are severely mistaken.....

What is it that the Lord has given me this week to give to you? We are to watch, continually, for the Lord, and how we watch (the point of emphasis in this writing today) follows....consider:

Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into ...
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

Mark 14:38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into ...
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

Luke 21:36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able ...
Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."

Mark 13:33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time ...
... Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear ...
... Therefore, practice self-control, and keep your minds clear so that you can pray. ...the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer

There are many more scriptures that can be cited to make this point. Watching is something we do by/through/with prayer....We watch through continuous prayer. Anyone who has been reading this blog for anytime knows that the Lord has put me on an indefinite "news fast." That means, apart from what I need to do for work, the "news" is more or less off limits for me. That includes all forms of "alternative news" as well. Why would the Lord tell me to completely turn my back on this world and its "news" to face Him instead? Do you really need me to answer that?

We are to be watching, and the way we watch is to be in continual prayer. Over and over again the Lord Himself makes the point by joining "watch" and "pray" at the hip throughout the New Testament. Should this be new news to us? Not really:

1 Thess 5:17 pray without ceasing, We are to pray without ceasing which would mean we are "watching" without ceasing through prayer...We find our Lord, what He is doing and saying in His Word and through prayer. That should not be anything new to any of us, but this serves as a reminder of what we should already be doing...

We have been told to pray without ceasing. To pray without ceasing is to have the Lord and his laws always before us. How can we willfully sin against the Lord while we have Him front and center in our hearts and minds? If we keep the Lord and by extension, His Word before us, in our hearts and minds continually, then we will have completed some of what is required of us when the Lord told us to watch, over and over again. The other part of watching appears to be an expectation on our part that the Lord indeed will come back for us just exactly as He said He would....

Mark 13:35 "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the ...
... Watch therefore: for ye know not when the lord of the house cometh, whether at even, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning

Matthew 25:13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the ...
... Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. ... Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Luke 21:36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able ...
... Watch therefore, praying at every season, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things which are about to come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.

We are told to watch specifically for the "lord of the house" which we know for a fact is the Lord Jesus. We are told to watch for the Lord our Saviour, not the anti-christ, not the tribulation, not the abomination of desolation, but for the Lord Jesus.

There are some believers who will be on the earth to look for such things as the anti-christ and the abomination that causes desolation, but we are told to watch for the Lord Jesus. According to the Lord's own Word, those who are found ready and watching at the time the Lord comes will be rewarded (Matt 25). Those who are not watching and ready will have the "door" (Rev 4, Matt 25) slammed in their face with the admonishment "I never knew you."

We are to watch....always. The Lord never gave us "days off" from watching so we are to do it NOW. If men tell you that the Lord cannot come for us today or tomorrow because a,b,c,x,y,z has to happen first, you can confidently and comfortably call them liars. The satanic lie, which is always subtle and always cunning and crafty always leads to death. The satanic lie to the churches today is that there is no need to watch right now. The satanic lie is that all kinds of other things must happen before the Lord will come back for us to take us to where He is. The satanic lie comes to us in the form of other doctrines that are different from the ones preached to us directly in the Word of God.

If the Lord comes back 20 years from now, but I am found watching that day and every day from today until that day, how can I suffer loss on that day? If the Lord comes back today or tomorrow for us, and many are found not watching, because of the satanic lie that they chose to believe, then they would be found not watching exactly as the Lord himself warned us, and do you think they will suffer loss? I don't even want to speculate on it.

There have been two themes that the Lord has had on my mind constantly over the past weeks. 1. Be watching....always, and 2. America is an exact match for the modern day Babylon that is judged very severely in the last days.

I needed to post this today because the Lord reminded me that He had given this to me to write, and it has been days since it was given so what was I waiting for? Well...task completed, here it is Lord :-)

grace and peace

Posted by Brother D at 12:41 AM

Is Jesus Enough?

2010-10-25T08:31:00.003-05:00

By Chip Brogden

After they had eaten, Jesus asked Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these other things?’” (John 21:15).

If Jesus was all you had, would Jesus be enough for you? Many precious believers are in love with the things of the Lord, but they are not in love with the Lord Himself. Many Christian workers and ministers are in love with the Lord’s work. Almost without realizing it, the work of the Lord becomes more important than the Lord of the work.

There are prophets and teachers who hold words from God in higher esteem than the God Who speaks the words they attribute as being from Him. People seek these words and teachings. The more they receive, the more they want. Before one word is digested they are craving another. They are seeking “things” – words, prophecies, teachings, visions, dreams – but they are not seeking the Lord Himself

Is Jesus enough?

When the saints gather together most of the activity is focused on “one another”. This is important, but it is not the most important thing. Fellowship is good: but is Jesus enough? Gatherings are good: but is Jesus enough? Meetings are good: but is Jesus enough? Special speakers and special music are good: but is Jesus enough?

Even with praise and worship it is possible to sing “about” Jesus and not truly worship Jesus. With preaching and teaching it is possible to talk “about” Jesus and not truly meet Jesus in what is shared. In prayer it is possible to talk “about” our needs and never actually commune with Jesus Himself.

Among Christians I have discovered something. There is Jesus, and then there are all the things ABOUT Jesus that are NOT Jesus. Jesus Himself occupies only a small portion of what is said and done in Christian circles. Most of what is said and done is merely ABOUT Jesus, but it is NOT Jesus.

I have learned that stress, strife, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, bitterness, anger, hurt, misunderstanding, and confusion comes from everything said and done by religious people ABOUT the Lord, and IN THE NAME of the Lord, that does not, in fact, have anything to do with Jesus Himself.

How much of your focus is directed to the things of God, and not to God Himself? How much of your discussion centers on things about Jesus, and not Jesus Himself?

Just look around. This brother is focused on end-time events, and that sister is devoted to inner healing. This brother is primarily concerned with prophetic things, while another sister is keenly interested in spiritual warfare. That brother is deeply involved with theological discussions, while that sister is in love with Christian music. One movement emphasizes this particular thing, and another group stands for another thing.

There may be diversities of gifts and callings. There may be various and sundry things to be involved with. There may be many topics to study and discuss. Many things compete for our time, attention, affection, energy, and money.

But there is only one Lord Jesus.

Just as some people cannot see the forest for the trees, I believe most sinners cannot see Jesus for the Christians. And I believe most Christians cannot see Jesus for the “church”.

Is Jesus enough?

Whenever I am ministering to pastors, whatever they think their calling is, I always have them turn to Mark 3:14:

“And he ordained twelve, that they should BE WITH HIM, and that He might send them forth to preach.”

You are called to be with Jesus. That is your calling. That is the primary thing, the highest ministry. Going forth to preach or do anything else is of secondary importance. We should be with Jesus; after that, He might send us forth to preach. But before Jesus said, “Go into all the world” He said, “Be with Me.”

The call of the Lord is not more important than the Lord of the call. The work of the Lord must not replace the Lord of the work. No amount of ministering FOR the Lord will make up for a lack of ministering TO the Lord. And knowing the Word of God does not necessarily mean that we know the God of the Word.

Everyone wants to go and do something for God, but few people are willing to stay and do “nothing” for Him.

Jesus asked Peter, “Am I enough for You? Do you love Me more than everything else? Do you love Me more than you love the things about Me?”

A few weeks later, when Peter stood with John before the religious rulers to explain the healing of a man who had never walked, “…they marveled; and they took knowledge of [Peter and John], that THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS” (Acts 4:13b).

If we will be with Jesus, then Jesus will be with us.

The reason the New Testament church had power was not because they spoke in tongues, or held meetings in their living rooms, or had a certain system for planting churches. The secret was they had been with Jesus.

But some Christians are more in love with methods and ministries than they are in love with the Man.

The prophets and teachers in the church of Antioch were gathered together: not to have a house church conference, not to begin a new ministry, not to discuss the latest prophetic word or the newest teaching, not to exchange ideas on how to grow the church, not to fellowship, not to share a meal, not to minister to one another. But “as they ministered TO THE LORD, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said…” (Acts 13:2a).

Paul and his fellow workers had many souls to save, many disciples to make, many churches to plant, many places to visit, many messages to deliver, many letters to write. There were many needs to be met, many doors of opportunity before them.

But the work was suspended. Activity ceased. Ministry came to a standstill. Fellowship and food were forgotten. The prophets were there, but the prophets did not prophesy. The teachers were there, but the teachers did not teach.

Instead, they ministered to the Lord. The focus shifted from horizontal to vertical. The emphasis was directed away from man and man’s needs, and onto the Lord and His Need. They were busy being with Jesus. They were at His feet.

So when the Holy Ghost finally spoke, they were ready to go forth. Thus began the first missionary journey of Paul.

When apostles love church planting and mission work more than Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When prophets love their prophecies, dreams, and visions more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When evangelists love traveling, preaching, and holding meetings more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When pastors love their church services and building programs more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When teachers love their teachings more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When preachers love their preaching more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When ministers love their ministry more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When musicians love their music more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When writers love their writings more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

And when the simplest disciples grow tired of “just” being with Jesus, and begin to long for something bigger, something better, something greater, something more powerful, something other than what they have in Jesus already, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

If Jesus was all you had, would Jesus be enough for you? Or do you have to have all the “trappings” of Christianity, all the bells and whistles, all the toys and trinkets?

Make no mistake: there is no life in the things that are ABOUT Jesus. There is life only in Jesus Himself.

May I speak candidly? If you are dissatisfied and disappointed with your Christian walk today, it is only because of one thing: Jesus is not enough for you. Somewhere along the line, something else became more important than Jesus. Maybe you have become focused on the things ABOUT Jesus that are NOT Jesus.

There is only one solution. You do not need more of the Lord, because He has already given Himself completely to you already. You just need less of everything else.

Remember.

Remember what it was like to hear His Voice, to be so filled with passion and love for Him, that you wanted nothing more than to sit at His feet, and hear His Word.

Remember when you were so infatuated with Him that you did not want to do anything else.

Remember what it was like to just be with Jesus.

Go back to when Jesus first called you to be with Him.

Go back to the time when all you had was Him.

Go back to the time before you were planting churches, speaking prophetic words, preaching to the unsaved, pastoring the congregation, teaching the people, or leading worship.

Go back to the time when there was no work, no ministry, no vision, no special calling – except Jesus calling you to be with Him.

Remember when you said, “He’s all I need!”

So what happened?

I pray the Lord will draw us after Himself and make us thoroughly sick and tired of things – especially the things that are ABOUT Him, but are NOT Him.

God so loved the world that He gave His Only Son, Jesus.

Well… is Jesus enough?

One Thing We Must Learn To Do

2010-10-18T08:13:00.002-05:00

By Brother D

Psalm 34:1-4
I will extol the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.

The Lord has given us all the instruction we need to be successful in this life, the question is, are we listening? Are we searching for it? Are we seeking, knocking and asking for this instruction that is more precious than gold? For most people, that answer is no, but lets pray you are not "most people."

What is the pattern the Lord has shown us? Psalm 34 throws it like ice water right in our face:

Within the first 3 lines of this Psalm we see:

extol, praise, boast, rejoice, glorify, exalt. Praise? Yea. Praise what? HIS NAME. Glorify Him, our praise must ALWAYS be on our lips. Not sometimes, not just when we are having a good day, not just when the sun is out, not just on Sun-days, ALWAYS.

If we would just learn to do this one thing, then heaven and earth would move to greet us and to provide everything we need for our life of godliness on this earth. Why do so many people lack? They do not praise. They are waiting to praise for some reason and some day that may not come for them. I will extol the Lord at ALL times. See that word "all" there? What does "all times" mean? What does "always" mean? Am I wearing you out with my stupid questions? I hope so.

If we get nothing else right on this earth, let us be a thankful people. Lets be a people who have their God's praise ALWAYS in their mouths. Even when our backs are up against the Red Sea and the Egyptians are bearing down upon us to kill us all, lets believe, lets be faithful and lets praise our God with even the last breath that comes from our mouth should it come to that.

The Israelites were found grumbling and complaining in the desert, and we know things did not end well for most of them. Let's be the younger child that sees the mistakes made by the older brother and not make the same mistakes again. Nobody likes a complainer. Nobody likes a grumbler. Evidently, not even our God has much patience with these kinds of people.

We have been told what kind of people we should be. We should be rejoicing, always. Does "always" mean when things are looking bad in the world around us? Yea, it especially means when things look bad. Always means always. We do not worship our God in vain. We pray expecting answers, and I for one have NEVER been disappointed by my God when I have trusted Him in this. Our God cannot lie, if He said He will do something, He will do it.

All of us have something we can be thankful for today, start with that and build a list. Thank Him, praise Him, Glorify Him, especially when things look really bad. That is a display of faith for all the heavens to see, and it brings glory to our Father's name.

This poor man has called, and the Lord HAS answered him, again, and again, and again. Not because this man is anything, but because our God is faithful and His Word is true. We must learn to keep His praise always in our mouth. Always. Then watch how things turn out for you.

Be patient, keep the faith. grace and peace

Posted by Brother D at 8:12 PM

Everything is a Test

2010-10-07T05:40:00.001-05:00

by Brother D

It's been over a week since I've posted and I'm tired now, about to go to bed so this post won't have as many scriptures cited so you'll have to do the bible searches that back this stuff up for yourselves this time. I gave two citations at the end :-)

You could say that life is a test. Our faith is certainly tested by the Lord. I think its fair to say that almost everything of any significance in our life is a test.

When you are experiencing great success, that is a test. Look at the Israelites, when things started going well, they forgot the Lord. Think that happens with people today? You bet it does.

When things are going poorly for you, when you are hitting walls at every turn, that's a test too. Some people who cling to the Lord during sucess, fall away when things aren't going well for them. Failure is as much a test as success and the bible is full of examples of both these circumstances.

When the Lord is near to you and you are experiencing joy, just wait, the test is coming. We all have times when we ask, "hey Lord, where did you go?" It feels like the Lord is miles away. You haven't heard anything from him for days, maybe weeks or even months. What do you think that is? Has the Lord abandoned you? We know He will never leave us or forsake us, so what's the deal? Can you guess? If you guessed "its a test!" then you guessed right. Will our faith fail us when the Lord decides to test us with His silence?

Just about everything that means anything in this life is some kind of test. I am telling you this after a period of silence from the Lord with me :-). After the silence, what's the first thing I hear Him say to me? Well, you are reading it in this post right now.

Life is a test. We are being tested day by day. We will be tested until we are out of these earthen vessels and clothed with our heavenly bodies. This calls for patience, for faith, for endurance, for love, for perseverance. Let us not fail the test. Let's remember the rewards set before us and remember that any day could be our last on this earth.

I will leave you with these two scriptures, there are many more that make the points you read above:

1 Peter 1:7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold.

1 Peter 4:12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

time for bed, grace and peace
Posted by Brother D at 3:07 AM

Jesus Never Pleased Himself

2010-09-26T07:19:00.001-05:00

Zac Poonen

In Romans 15:3 - it is written about Jesus that "He did not please Himself". He always denied Himself. Thus He pleased the Father at all times.

Pleasing oneself can be done in many areas of one's life - for example, in the area of eating. Consider a situation where, even when you are not hungry, you decide to spend some money to buy some tasty snacks to eat. There is certainly nothing sinful or wrong in that. But it speaks of a certain way of life. Because you have money, you buy what you like, whether you need it or not. You do what pleases yourself. If you feel like buying something, you buy it. If you feel like going somewhere, you go. If you feel like sleeping late, you just sleep late. What is the end result of living like that, even if you go regularly to the meetings and read your Bible every day? You may not lose your salvation, but you will certainly waste the one life that God gave you to live for Him.

Another brother however acts differently. He decides to discipline his body. When he is not hungry, he decides not to eat anything unnecessarily. He decides never to buy any unnecessary things for himself. He decides to get up 15 minutes earlier each day to spend time with God. When someone speaks to him angrily, he decides to reply gently. He decides to remain in love and goodness always. He decides not to read certain news items in the newspapers that will stimulate his lusts. In every situation, he decides to humble himself and not to justify himself. He decides to give up certain friendships that are influencing him towards the world. Through constantly deciding to deny his own will (what pleased him), he becomes strong in his will to please God alone.

What did he lose by not buying that unnecessary thing, or by getting out of bed 15 minutes earlier, or by giving up his human sense of dignity and asking for forgiveness? Nothing. But think of what he has gained!

A man like that, who is consistently faithful in the little things, will in a few years' time become a trustworthy man of God - not because of the Bible-knowledge that he possesses, but because of his faithfulness in the little decisions he takes in life not to please Himself but to please God.

Don't be weak-willed then. Exercise your will to please God at all times. Mature Christians are those who "because of practice (in exercising their will in the right direction through many years), have their senses trained to discern good and evil" (Heb. 5:14).

Consider an illustration: Two fat men go to a doctor to remove their flabbiness. The doctor gives them a course of exercises for the next twelve months. One man goes through the discipline of those exercises consistently every day, and slims down and becomes strong. The other man does the exercises for the first few days and then slackens off and finally gives up altogether. His pot-belly gets fatter and fatter with his indisciplined ways, until he finally dies prematurely. This is an illustration of how we can either make our wills strong to do God's will, or leave them flabby and weak for the devil to exploit.

I remember reading once of a young servant of the Lord who felt that he had been watching too much television (even though he had been watching only clean programs), and who decided one day not only to sell his TV set, but also to use the time that he had spent watching TV, in prayer every day. As a direct result of that little decision that he took - and maintained - God gave him a ministry that blessed thousands. Those who see nothing wrong in watching clean programs over TV, find that God does not entrust them with much - for He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and there is no partiality with Him.

Yes, you are what you are today because of those many, many little decisions that you have taken in relation to either denying yourself or pleasing yourself in the areas of food, money, sleep, reading, etc.,

So forget the blunders that you have made in life. Repent radically of your sins and be wholehearted in the days to come. God forgives you and blots out your past. Don't mope over your failures now, or you will be a drifter in the future too. The memory of your failures will help you to recognise that you are what you are only by the grace of God. It will also enable you to keep your face in the dust at all times before God.

Determine that you will become a true man/woman of God.

It Has Begun...

2010-09-14T13:57:00.003-05:00

by Chris Anderson

Mal. 3:1 "………And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple ; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. 2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 "He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness.

I Pt. 4:16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God ; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

Ps. 51:1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness ; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Amidst the extended stress of our present hour here in North America, and after a lengthy sabbatical from the writing ministry due to my own stresses, the Lord has reached deeply into my being to bring forth a message. The message is both old, yet new in a way hardly understood. The message is good news, but it is disguised as bad news. The message is this:

“It has begun.”

What is “it” that has begun?

The answer is: the long-prophesied end time judgment of the house of God.

“Where? Where?” one asks. “Where is this judgment?”

“I don’t see any judgment? Well, maybe a church here or there is having a pastor exposed. But there’s no national PTL scandal, or Jimmy Swaggart scandal. How can anyone say ‘the great end-time judgment of the house of God has begun’? Everything looks pretty much the same to me.”

Yes, I know. That’s what is different about this message. The end time judgment that has begun is not a judgment of obvious proportions—not yet at least (as it progresses, it eventually will become obvious to all.)

Rather, the judgment has come by stealth—just as He said He would come—

Rev. 16:15 Behold, I am coming like a thief.

What You Need to Know

Here is what you should know about the stealth judgment of God which has now come and will remain unto the fullness of His Appearing:

1. The judgment is in answer to the multiplied millions of prayers uttered across the church for the Lord “to come.”

For generations we have been calling out to the Lord, “Come quickly Lord Jesus.” We have all prayed this uncountable times. Well, the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple ; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming.

Indeed, He has now come — but not as we have expected.

2. The judgment which has come has begun in the “house of God.”

For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God.

Let me be more precise about this. The judgment of God begins of course with those who are closest to Him. This means that—and as we all understand—the judgment begins with the church, and then works its way to the world. But what it means for those of us in the church is that the judgment begins with those in the church who are closest and most ostensibly devoted to Him, and then works its way out to the less committed and more wayward. It begins in the Holy Place, and works its way to the Outer Court.

The present judgment has begun on the 24 hour intercessors, the full time worshippers, and the prophets and apostles whose lives are devoted to night and day service in “the temple,” eventually to work its way out to the part-time ministers and “everyday” saints. It has begun on those who have suffered the most for the Lord—those “in the wilderness”—working its way out to judge those who have suffered least in the mainstream—the popular public ministry figures and Sunday-only adherents. The judgment begins with the “repentance prophets” themselves and the obedient, and works its way to the disobedient.

“The obedient” you say? “What do you mean? Why would God judge the obedient? The whole point of obedience is to avoid judgment! Paul said, ‘If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.’ So what are you talking about?”

Please read on.

3. No one is exempt from this judgment:

But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?

The intended answer to this question is clear. The answer is no one can endure the day of his coming, and no one can stand when He appears. Not the most righteous of us, the most faithful, the most enduring. Not one of us can stand before His coming and escape this judgment.

Why is no one exempt from this judgment? It’s because the judgment is not firstly about punishing evil doing, but about bringing purification to that which is already dedicated toward becoming pure.

In truth, no matter how “sanctified” we have endured to become over our walk in Christ, short of translation we are all still beset by certain “subterranean level” blindnesses and strongholds—strongholds of fear, unbelief, frustration, resentment toward God, and many other like sinful energies—energies which in our conscious mind we know must not be allowed to commandeer our persona, but which nonetheless remain buried in us—buried beneath our ability to even consciously recognize them for what they are. We only know that we have long-standing walls and barriers in our lives we can’t seem to overcome, but don’t know why that—after a life time of devotion and service to the Lord—they still remain.

It is these hidden subterranean darknesses the Lord has come to His temple to judge at this time, and which judgment is actually critically necessary to complete our perfection and enable our translation.

Of course, any sins and corrections we have consciously repressed, refusing to acknowledge and find cleansing from will also be exposed and judged as well. And they will be judged as punishments rather than purifications.

“Be sure your sins will find you out.”

4. The present judgment is a judgment of mercy, not of vengeance or condemnation.

The term “judgment” most ordinarily conjures up thoughts of divine vengeance and condemnation. Conversely, the term “mercy” ordinarily is believed to mean the entire absence of judgment. Because of this, it is difficult for anyone following hard after the Lord and believing for His mercy to hear that they are being “judged.”

But the present judgment which is on us all is not about vengeance and punishment. It is about the mercy of God to reach into exposing, cleansing out and purifying us of hidden darkness of which we are unconscious and incapable of partnering with Him for cleansing—our “secret faults” (Ps. 19:12). This judgment on our secret faults is in fact “merciful judgment.”

It is imperative that we understand this and therefore fully welcome and embrace this judgment in our lives—not resist and reject the word of judgment because all we understand is the concept of vengeance and of judgment-free mercy. The Lord is not taking out vengeance on us. He is not condemning us. Conversely neither is His mercy without correction.

The present judgment is also of mercy because, as severe and difficult as it is (who can stand before it?), the Lord wants us to know that we are being judged on the least difficult terms possible. That is not a truth you may be able to feel. But the Lord wants you to accept it by faith. If you know that you have pursued faithfully and obediently after the Lord, then know also that as hard as what you are passing through is, there are harder ways He could have taken you. Offer thanks by faith amidst the pain that the Lord is indeed good, and His mercy endures forever.

Understand that mercy does not cancel out all judgment. Mercy offers a lesser judgment of purification in place of a greater judgment of vengeance. (To rephrase James, “the mercy of judgment triumphs over the judgment of vengeance.”)

5. The judgment is from the “inside out.”

The present judgment is not a judgment of outward divine actions and consequences (such as an angel striking someone dead in a pulpit) by which the fear of God is then impressed upon the hearts of observers. The present judgment is not observably from the “outside in”—which again is what has been most prophesied and expected.

No. The present judgment is from “the inside out.” It is a judgment beginning in the inward parts. Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.

In advance of the translation and the next revelation of Christ, there is only one thing that matters to the Lord. It is truth in the inward parts. God has given his people many callings and ministry enterprises to engage. But none of these is of any comparative importance to His internal objectives in the heart. In this, God is no respecter of destinies.

Whether for purification or for punishment then, God’s judgment is also no respecter of destinies, or callings, or ministry enterprises. Not mine. Not yours. Not Billy Graham’s. Not closet intercessor Mary Doe.

Eventually, as the judgment kicks into greater gear and moves from the desert to the mainstream, and from the Holy Place to the Outer Court, the more prominent ministries will come down. That is when the world and the larger body of the church will recognize that “the judgment has come.” Many of those judgments will also then be in punishment for profligate disobedience to the call to true discipleship. They will not be judgments of mercy. And in that time, judgments will fall more and more evidently as divine outward actions meant to instill the fear of the Lord in others.

But now, the hidden unexpected judgment unto purification is engaged in the wilderness in the secret place of the hearts of God’s people. It is being “fought” out with God in the intensity of the prayer closet, in the wandering on the streets by day of those dazed in tongues over the dealings of the Lord, and in those interminable gut-wrenching wee hour sessions with the Spirit of Truth in the night seasons....

And again, the judgment is no respecter of destinies. Untold hidden ministry callings and enterprises are under great unfulfilled frustration as the Refiner’s fire burns in the inward parts of the most dedicated saints. It is especially intense in the camps of those who have looked only for God’s vengeful judgments on the obvious sins of the outer court church, while entirely blind to the Lord’s determination to purify them of their own subconscious dirt.

Be assured. God does not finally care about what He has promised He would do with your life outwardly apart from His intent to deal with you fully regarding truth in your inward parts. And He will not save us until we cry “uncle” in the battle for our hearts over those subterranean issues.

6. The internal judgment is being triggered by extremely negative events which are the instruments of our testing, but are not themselves “the judgment.”

This is an important word from the Lord to grasp. The inward judgment that has come is being triggered by external negative events. These events are severe. But the events are in and of themselves not judgments. They are difficulties and calamities designed only as instruments for triggering the internal judgment. The judgment is what is being released on the inside of those affected by the events.

Many of us are under severe and trying conditions right now. I have witnessed or heard of numerous calamities in many lives over recent times, and especially this last year. Healthy spouses have been unexpectedly snatched away by the Lord. Others have had severe life threatening accidents. Some have been facing terminal illnesses with no recourse whatsoever for deliverance. And of course the worsening economic conditions have forced yet others out of homes and into hand-to-mouth existences with no end in sight.

Significantly, these trigger events are so personalized from individual to individual and family to family that they do not gain mass media attention, and therefore the idea that “judgment has come to the church” is masked. But the truth is that these personalized events are happening in such numbers across the church that the Lord wants us to understand that indeed, His judgment has come to the entire house of God.

All of these events are triggers of God’s judgment in our lives. They are triggers of the merciful exposure and cleansing of hidden darkness in our inward parts. But these events are themselves not God’s judgment of condemnation upon us. We are not to blame God regarding them, but are to ask, “What inner attitude—what practiced line of ill thought—do I need to recognize and confess from my inward parts in regard to this calamity?”

7. Healing from God’s present judgment will not be found apart from transparent confession to one another of what God is exposing in our lives.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.

It is a new “day” in the body of Christ. Call it the “third day” or whatever you want to. But regardless of what you think this “new day” means in terms of “power” and “revelation,” it is first and foremost a day of judgment. And the judgment of God that has come is requiring a new level of interpersonal confession of the darknesses His judgments are uncovering in us unlike any day before us. This confession will require transparency and willingness to be made vulnerable to others. In order for this to happen, everyone is going to have to abandon their personal masks and ministerial personas to receive their healing from their judgment—everyone from the most prominent mainstream prophet to the most hidden wilderness repentance prophet.

To my knowledge, there has never been a move of the Spirit fashioned on what I am seeing and saying here. There have been oodles of prophecies about and intercession for “revival.” Always envisioned with this have been the bombastic works of signs and wonders. But that is not what I am seeing here.

What we are actually in the beginning of is an “internal judgment revival.” As this judgment progresses, triggered by calamities, and reducing ministry destinies and aspirations to rubble through the internal exposures, there must and will come a new forum of interpersonal confession in the body of Christ. I do not know what that will eventually look like. But at this time, God is requiring interpersonal confession of our faults in order to find our healing from His internal judgments.

Wilderness people with all their wounds are not exempt from this process of confession. And for those of us who have no close knit body of believers, our confessions must begin with those closest to us in our believing families, and from there to our closest ministry confidantes. (The Lord will orchestrate the specifics.)

Conclusion

In conclusion, here is my sincerest advice. First, embrace the internal judgment of God through your situation. Yes it hurts. But embrace it. Don’t resist. Don’t argue with Him over what is happening with you. Recognize this Day for what it truly is. Steadfastly maintain the spirit of Elihu who justified God in the midst of Job’s calamities (Job 33ff).

Second, if out of your present calamities you have begun to discover what the Spirit of Judgment is mercifully exposing to you of your subterranean fault lines, let the Spirit also therefore witness to you of whom you must visit and make your confession. There will be the temptation to try to skirt this issue by simply “confessing your faults to the Lord.” But that will not be acceptable for what the Lord is trying to do in you and in the greater body of Christ.

This does not mean God expects you to open up to just anyone. He knows the professing body is riddled with the untrustworthy. Nevertheless, you can be sure He does have someone you need to go to and confess your faults. And you need to repair the relationships He brings to heart that you discover you have damaged by your previously hidden subterranean darkness. This will require great humility, but there is no other way to find the healing we need from the present burning judgment that has been released among us.

Let the Spirit of Truth guide you in all of this. But let us all here today know one thing for sure….

It has begun.

Chris Anderson
First Love Ministries
Anglemar Fellowship
Bristol, Rhode Island
September 10, 2010

Overcoming Heart Idols

2010-09-09T13:12:00.000-05:00

By Dr. Stephen Jones

When I was young and still attending Bible College, one of the most important questions that came up in my own life was this: How do we know the will of God?

The question is so simple and yet the answer is elusive. The simple answer is to pray to know His will. But there are often obstacles that must be overcome before the right answer comes. Many are unaware of these obstacles, and so they go with the immediate answer that they get and never question whether or not there may be a deeper or better answer.

In my book, Hearing God's Voice, I devoted an entire chapter to the topic of heart idolatry and how it can affect the answer we get from God. This idea is shown to us in Ezekiel 14:1-11. The elders of Israel came to the prophet to inquire of the Lord. Yet they came with "idols in their hearts." God asks Ezekiel if He they deserved an answer. "Should I be consulted by them at all?" God asks.

Then without waiting for a response from Ezekiel, God launches into a full answer. Yes, God said, I will give them an answer, but I will answer them according to the idol of their heart. The answer will cause them to fall.

In other words, if they have already heard an answer from their heart-idol, God will simply confirm that answer to them, because they were not really interested in a contradictory answer from God.

Heart idolatry can play a large role in our ability to hear God's voice. We simply do not know how many idols yet remain in our hearts, which may influence our hearing. Overthrowing those idols, depending on how deeply entrenched they are, can be traumatic. God does not usually overthrow our idols directly, but instead He directs our circumstances and leads us to a crisis point that can shake our world.

It is at that crisis point, however, that the idols are exposed, and once exposed, they fall, and we are set free.

I have been through this a few times, and believe me, I do not like the experience. I do like the result, however. One is never the same afterward.

But there are also more "minor" idols that are overthrown without so much trauma. These are the idols that are not held too firmly in our belief system, and yet they are there. These are overthrown just by learning truth. An idol is only as strong as our opinion. Being "opinionated" is usually a symptom of heart idolatry, and the strength of our opinion measures the strength of the idol. Our ability to learn and to change our view is the key to overthrowing idols without a great earthquake rocking our world.

In 2 Chronicles 18 we read how King Jehoshaphat of Judah joined with King Ahab of Israel in fighting Syria. After they made their decision to attack (vs. 3), then they decided to inquire of the Lord (vs. 4). Four hundred prophets told them to go into battle. Jehoshaphat sensed that something was not quite right, so he asked if there was a prophet of the Lord to ask.

Yes, Ahab said, "but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil" (vs. 7). So Micaiah was summoned. The messenger begged him not to give a contrary word (vs. 12). So Micaiah answered the kings according to the idol of their hearts. "Go up and succeed, for they will be given into your hand" (vs. 14). Jehoshaphat answered,

(15) . . . How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?

Only then did they get the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. "Let each of them return to his house in peace" (vs. 17). In other words, do not fight this war.

Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, "Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?"

Micaiah then told them that he had seen a vision of the throne of God, and God asked who would go down to earth and deceive Ahab into fighting this war so that he would die in battle. A lying spirit came forward to apply for the job. The lying spirit was then sent into the mouths of the prophets to deceive Ahab into going to war.

Ahab was not amused by this vision and put Micaiah into prison. "Just wait till I get back safe and sound," Ahab told him. "When I prove you to be a false prophet, I will have you stoned."

Ahab was killed in battle. But the remarkable thing is that King Jehoshaphat went with Ahab into battle. He did not listen to the prophet either. He too had the same idol in his heart. Yet because he was a godly king (2 Chron. 17:3-6), his life was spared. Nonetheless, there is little doubt that many soldiers of Judah perished in that battle as the result of his disobedience.

Jehoshaphat's example shows us that it is quite possible for a true believer to house idols in the heart. Too often we have an unreasonable confidence, thinking that because we have faith in Christ or are "filled with the Spirit," we cannot possibly have any idols in our hearts. That is simply not true. You can tell when idols have fallen, because the person has more humility than he had before the crisis.

All of this is related to the principle that Paul mentions in Romans 1:28,

(28) And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.

What follows is a whole list of sin and fleshly deeds which do not please God at all. Yet "God gave them over to a depraved mind." Such people are then totally convinced--even by "revelation," I have observed--that these depraved things are of God. They see nothing wrong with doing those things any longer. Were they to pray about their actions, they would hear nothing but accolades and encouragement to continue on that path.

Everyone has heard stories of the preacher who ran off with the church pianist. Few people understand how this could happen. More often than not, they had received "revelation" that they were to be together. There are many variations of this type of scenario, but many of these incidents would have been avoided except that God answered them according to their idols.

Why does God do this? In order to bring a hidden moral problem to the surface. That way the problem can be addressed. As long as it is hidden and covered, it will remain, unless the people resolve the problem privately with God. God has mercy on those who have sincere hearts as long as they have not been turned over to a depraved mind.

You see, it is not those whose sins are exposed that are in serious trouble, but those whom God leaves to their own devices. When idols are exposed, it is actually good news, for then we know that God has acted on their behalf to get rid of their idols and to prepare them for work in the Kingdom. Their crisis has bequeathed them a new humility, having less confidence in the flesh, and more able to forgive their fellow sinners. Yet these are the very ones who are despised by all whose heart idols remain hidden.

On a more "minor" scale, I have found that the revelation of the past is often insufficient for the present. As we grow in grace, learning more of Christ, lesser idols are discarded without much fanfare. So we find ourselves standing on higher ground as time passes. The revelation we are able to receive from this higher position is often different from what we had received earlier. We need to be able to give up what used to be good in order to receive the better revelation. If we are growing, we ought to have a greater revelation as time passes. What was revealed in the past was according to what we were able to handle at the time.

Disconnect From The World

2010-09-08T11:06:00.002-05:00

by brother D

As I was out for my daily run today, the Lord gave me some instruction. I ran by a girl who probably walked half a mile without ever looking up from her ipod/blackberry/you name it device. This called to mind many of the people I see today who are never present to us in the body because they are always wanting to be connected "virtually" so they can be somewhere else. Have you seen these people?

I was around this one guy recently in a social setting and I swear, he could not talk to you for 3 minutes without picking up his iphone or whatever it was to check to see if "anything new" was there for him. These people have become "connected" to the world in a way that has almost because like a crack cocaine addiction.

If you have been reading here recently, you know that the Lord has specifically directed me to disconnect with the world. What does that mean? 100% boycott of all "news" whether it be lame stream media or "alternative" media. All of it: boycotted. No iphone, no blackberry except to check it once in a long while for mandatory work related issues, that are by the way, not every 3 min.

What's the effect of disconnecting from the world? Quieting the mind and spirit. The Lord speaks to us in a still quiet voice, how are you going to hear Him when your mind is full to overflowing with the absolutely useless worldly sewage that all forms of "news" and current events provide you?

What about being a "watchman?" Glad you asked. Many people today consider themselves "watchmen" for the Lord, but they have it all wrong. We are told to "watch" and be "ready," I think we can all agree on that, but watch what? Did the Lord ever instruct us to "watch" the flesh, the world and satan? I don't think so. The bible tells us that we are not unaware of his (satan's) devices, but it never tells us to fix our gaze on him perpetually does it? No, it doesn't. So again, watch what?

Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.

1 Peter 3:1 that even if some of them disbelieve the Message, they may, apart from the Message,be won over by the daily life of their wives, after watching your daily life ...

Watching at HIS doorway, watching OUR DAILY LIFE. Doesn't sound like eyes stuck on the flesh, the world or satan to me...

And what about this "disconnect from the world" business?

Romans 12:5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each ... ... In the same way, even though we are many people, we are one body in the
Messiah and individual parts connected to each other.

Ephesians 4:16 from whom the whole body, fitted together, and connected by every joint of supply,according to the working in its measure of each one part, works for itself ...

Hebrews 6:9 But we are persuaded concerning you, beloved, better things, and connected with salvation, even if we speak thus.

We are in the world but not of it. We are in the world but "connected" to Christ, who is our salvation. What happens when we are connected 24/7 to the world?

Colossians 2:19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom ... ... and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body.

For a full discussion and understanding of who and what we should be connected to as believers, go re-read John 15 in its entirety. It's about the vine (Jesus) and the branches (us).

Remember Lot's wife. Remember the warnings we are given in Luke 17 and Matt 24 to not go back down into your house to get anything or come back from the fields to get anything on "that day." On the day the Lord comes for us, if we look back, because there is something within us that just "has to connect" with the crack cocaine intravenous mainline that so many people get from the world today, well, I think that's going to end tragically.

We are in the world but not of it. We are watching, at the Lord's doorstep, not the world. Anything that we need to know, the Spirit will provide. Take that attitude of faith when it comes to needing to know what "news" is afoot today. I am absolutely 100% confident that on the day I stand before the Lord, one of the things I will not be chastised for is "disengaging from the world." Do we still love people? Yep. Do we give? Yep. Do we work? Yep. Are we PRESENT to the people around us instead of being somewhere else via social media/the internet. YEP. Do we listen? Yep, one of the deepest human needs is to be heard and deeply undestood, and only a fully "present" person can do that, a true rarity in today's world.

I think you get the point. I begged the Lord to remind me of all these things when I sat down to write since He seems to like to speak to me when I'm out running. I guess that's one of His and my favorite times to talk :-)

Just wanted to share what was given to me today. Keep the faith, grace and peace.

Posted by Brother D at 6:06 PM

Satan Uses Subtle Devices

2010-09-02T08:05:00.001-05:00

By David Wilkerson

"And the king of Assyria sent…Rabshakeh…to king Hezekiah with a great host
against Jerusalem" (2 Kings 18:17). The Assyrians represent today's "guides to
prosperity." The devil will parade his army around your walls: people who are
powerful, beautiful and seemingly successful in all they undertake. When you
see them, you will feel walled in like a prisoner!

The first trick of the man of sin is to question a believer's commitment to
trust the Lord fully. Rabshakeh, whose name means "drunken envoy," was the
king's ambassador. He mocked the godly with a taunt (see 2 Kings 18:19–20).
The accusation was, "God is not going to get you out of this mess. You are
going down! You are in real trouble, and your faith is not going to work."

Satan then adds another twist; he tells you that God is the one behind all your
troubles. Assyria's messenger claimed, "The Lord said to me, Go up against this
land, and destroy it" (2 Kings 18:25). Satan will try to convince you that God
is getting even with you, that he is mad at you. This is his slickest lie! He
makes you believe God has forsaken you and turned you over to trouble and
sorrow. He wants you to think all your problems are the result of God's
punishment for your past sins. Don't believe it! It is Satan who is out to
destroy you.

Our Lord is a deliverer, a fortress. Isaiah said he comes "to appoint unto them
that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be
called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be
glorified" (Isaiah 61:3).

No, dear saint, you are not going down. You are simply under attack, being
barraged by the enemy's lies because you have set your heart truly to trust in
the Lord. Satan is trying to destroy your faith in God.

Haggard and Worn

2010-09-01T05:19:00.001-05:00

Michael Boldea

A furtive glance in the mirror confirms what I have been suspecting all along, time is leaving its mark. With each passing day I notice more hairs from atop my head going on one way trips down the shower drain, and the graying temples that once seemed distinguished seem so no longer. The harbingers of a fleeting life seem more pronounced, from sprouting hairs in odd places such as my ears, to achy joints, to a constant and unnerving need for quiet and solitude.

Futile and foolish things such as a leaky roof or a persistent toothache monopolize my time, and when I take an accounting of the day that was, I realize very little time was dedicated to lasting or purposeful pursuits.

I find myself spending more and more time in prayer not to grow, or to ascend, but merely to stay level, merely to hold my ground and not retreat. Already, I am haggard and worn, and then I have to remind myself that we have not yet begun to fight, we have not yet stood against the full fury of the enemy’s last siege.

In talking to friends and fellow ministers, I’ve discovered I am not alone in this state of being. The enemy is attempting to whittle away our resolve, to whittle away our dedication, to dampen our fire, and bring us to a place of sluggish spirituality, a state of spiritual dryness, wherein spiritually speaking we’re just drudging along, getting by from one day to the next, and the very act of spiritual survival seems like an overwhelming and taxing effort.

Every minister I’ve spoken to thus far has confirmed what I’ve been suspecting for awhile, the enemy is not employing full frontal assaults, but rather sneak attacks, small jabs and pricks that accumulate over time and both frustrate and weaken us.

I’ve been debating whether or not I should post this, it’s mostly just my early morning ramblings, but I decided to post it because I think there are many others who are feeling this selfsame oppression, this persistent onslaught that isn’t coming from anywhere in particular but is evident nevertheless.

There is one conclusive truth that we must never lose sight of, even when spiritually speaking we are not feeling like giants, or supermen, but rather like tired souls trying to break through the storm clouds and into the light.

Whether haggard, worn, bruised, bloodied, blistered or exhausted, the only thing that matters is that we make it home. There are no believers that make it to heaven with their garments in pristine condition. By the time we get there our garments will be torn and bloodied, caked in our own exhaustion, hence the reason we are given a new garment, a white garment upon arrival. Our duty is not to try and spare ourselves, to keep ourselves from battle, to avoid the hard tasks and the dark times, but to commit to holding our ground, to commit to putting one foot in front of the other and barreling through until that glorious day when we will see Him face to face, when our fight will have been fought, and our race will have been run, and the only thing left to do will be to enter into His eternal rest.

Haggard, worn, bruised and bloodied as I might be I will not give up because home is closer now than ever before. There is finality to every journey, there is a point of arrival, and our destination, our point of arrival is within view.

Hebrews 10:37, “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.”

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

What is the Spirit Saying to the Churches?

2010-08-31T08:16:00.005-05:00

At the leading of the Lord, I have not even glanced at what calls itself "news" in this world, for about a week now. That includes all the doom and gloom "alternative media" as well. As a result, I am beginning to understand why the Lord has me on this "news" diet.

The Lord speaks to us in a still, quiet voice. The restriction the Lord has placed on my mental inputs has significantly quieted my mind. Can you see the benefit in that? I have faith, I trust that the Lord will bring to my mind anything and everything of importance that I need to know. Notice the attitude of faith that is required to hold this perspective. Not that I am anything, I am less than nothing. The point is, the Lord rewards faith.

With this quieted spirit, what is this writer hearing the Lord say today? Am I hearing about the end of the world? No. The rapture/escape from all? No. So what then is the Lord saying? We've already discussed one thing. The Lord told me to get rid of wordly inputs. Garbage in, garbage out right? No worldly news. That includes 99.999% of all blogs and "alternative media" as well. The vast vast majority of all of it is utter rubbish.

The second thing the Lord has been speaking to me about is our attitude when we approach Him. As we read our bibles, we see an overwhelming theme of thanks and rejoicing in the first words of any greeting to the churches, and any prayers to the Lord. Everything in the kingdom is to be opened and approached with thanks and rejoicing.

If you are wondering why you are not hearing from the Lord, check your inner dialogue for answers to your problems. Do you find yourself grumbling and complaining alot? That could be a major problem. Read this as a case in point:

Psalm 106:1&2 Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise?

Notice with me, the first words. Praise the Lord right? Praise...What's next? Give thanks. Praise the Lord? Then give thanks? Yep, you are reading it right. What's next? A question. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise? In order to proclaim his mighty acts or declare his praise, we must remember what he has done.

"We have sinned, even as our fathers did;
we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
When our fathers were in Egypt,
they gave no thought to your miracles;
they did not remember your many kindnesses,
and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea." (Psalm 106:6&7)

They did not remember......^^^

"But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his counsel.
In the desert they gave in to their craving;
in the wasteland they put God to the test.
So he gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease upon them." (Psalm 106:15)

They soon forgot what he had done, saying the same thing in a different way, they did not remember..

"Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe his promise.
They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the Lord.
So he swore to them with uplifted hand
that he would make them fall in the desert,
make their descendants fall among the nations
and scatter them throughout the lands." (Psalm 106:24-27)

Same theme here, we read "they grumbled in their tents." When you are grumbling, you certainly are not praising the Lord and giving him thanks. You certainly are not remembering all of the wonderful things he has done for us.

If you are wondering what the Spirit is saying to the churches today, this is it. This is the same thing that has been written about here for more than a year now. We are being called back to the fundamentals of the faith. There was a time when the Lord had this writer warning the church, and the world. The warnings came during better days for this world. Now that the warnings have begun to come to fruition, the world is up to its eyeballs in problems and writers are coming out of the woodwork to "pile on" to the subject. As if a prophet were needed today to understand that this world is in trouble and headed for more. At this point even the pagans understand that.

The Lord has moved on, and as usual the world and the vast majority of the "religious people" in this world are years behind him. The world and its people are talking about the problems today, the Lord has moved on, at least with this writer, from talking about the coming problems to talking about the solutions.

Any solution for the believer starts with communion with the Lord. We are talking about basics here guys, fundamentals. In order to commune with the Lord, you must know how to approach him. If you are a grumbling complainer, then you need a change of attitude ASAP. If you are expecting anything of the Lord, you need to put your thanks and praise hat on.

Has the Lord ever done anything for you that you are thankful for? Good, then you have something to thank him for. Did you eat today? Great, another thing to give thanks for. Do you have a roof over your head today? Another thing to praise him for. The list can get long quick, we just need to check our attitudes and make sure our attitude is full of gratitude.

If you want answers, start by approaching the Lord with thanks and praise. I cited ONE Psalm here, go through all of them on your own and see for yourself if the words written here are true. Notice the pattern that the Spirit gives us throughout the bible. Thanks and praise and remembering what the Lord has done for us, our families, all the brothers and the entire world are a fundamental starting point.

We were created for his glory. Our lips should be overflowing with his praises morning noon and night.

This is what I hear the Spirit speaking to the churches today.

grace and peace.
Posted by Brother D at 6:49 PM

HE CALLS US TO SEE IT THROUGH

2010-08-31T05:26:00.002-05:00

David Wilkerson Today

TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2010

"Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish" (Luke 14:28–30).

Christ knew many of his followers would not have what it took to see them
through. He knew they would turn back and not finish the race. I believe this
is the most tragic condition possible for a believer—to have started out
fully intending to lay hold of Christ, to grow into a mature disciple and
become more like Jesus and then to drift away. Such a person is the one who
laid a foundation and could not finish because he did not first count the cost.

What a joy it is to meet those who are indeed finishing the race! These believers are growing in the wisdom and knowledge of Christ. They are changing daily, from moment to moment. Paul says to them encouragingly, "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass [mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18). It is not heaven these believers seek, but Christ in his glory!

I know that many who read this particular message are in the process of pausing or taking a step backward. It may seem like a small step, but it will cause a swift descent away from his love. If this is true of you, realize the Holy Spirit is calling you all the way back—back to repentance, self-denial and surrender. And at this very moment, time is a big factor. If you ever intend to lay hold of Christ, do it now; see it through!

Personal Examinations

2010-08-28T06:47:00.003-05:00

By Michael Boldea Jr.

One of the most difficult things for us as human beings is to look into a mirror, whether a mirror hanging on a wall, or the mirror of God’s word, examine ourselves, and come to a truthful conclusion, one which is unbiased, impartial, dispassionate and unprejudiced. Since the beginning of human existence man has had a tendency to see himself through the subjective prism of individualism, perpetually highlighting the positives, and minimizing the negatives that are visible to everyone but himself. Objectivity is difficult, dare I say near impossible when it comes to our own person, to our own shortcomings, and to our own faults.

As difficult as a right and true examination of oneself might be, the Word encourages us to examine certain things in our lives, not once in a lifetime, but on a regular basis that we might know the truth of our spiritual maturity, the truth of our walk, the truth of our strength, the truth of what we have chosen to believe, and by knowing these truths, amend, repent, and change the course of our trajectory that we might reach our desired destination.

Anyone who says examining oneself is an easy task, has never approached self examination with the requisite honesty it demands. As imperfect creatures, if we are honest and forthright before an all knowing God, there will always be something in us, something in our actions, something in our conduct, something in our walk, that God will demand we chisel and refine, because this faith, this journey is an ongoing transformation, an ongoing maturity and ascent toward the utter mortification and death of self, and complete surrender to our heavenly Father.

The first and most important examination we must undertake, as pertains to eternity, is to examine ourselves as to whether we are in the faith. The Bible doesn’t tell us to take someone else’s word for it as to whether we are in the faith, it doesn’t tell us to believe our relatives when they tell us we are on the right path, but rather to examine ourselves, personally and intimately looking into the mirror of God’s holy Word to see if we are in the faith.

2 Corinthians 13:5-7 “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – Unless you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified. Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified.”

Although there are many profound topics we can discuss at length in this passage of God’s Word, from proving ourselves, to the possibility of being disqualified as Paul so readily states, the main reason I included this passage is self explanatory enough. We must examine ourselves, we must look into the Word and make certain that we are not following after men, but rather after Christ, that we might do no evil, that we might not stray, but that we would be led by Christ and Christ alone.

The second aspect of our lives we must examine is our own work. We ought to know by now that a bad tree cannot bear good fruit, nor can a good tree bear bad fruit. We must examine our work and see that we are truly serving God, being led of God, and laboring on behalf of the Kingdom of God and not our own self interests or agendas.

Galatians 6:4 “But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”

I realize the notion of personal accountability has fallen out of favor with much of today’s church, and that far too many have embraced the idea that God has to love us no matter what we do, but the Word encourages us to examine our own work, to look at our labors and our sacrifices and make certain that they were made with a pure heart, and pure intentions seeking only to please God.

When it comes to spiritual matters, we are also encouraged in the Word to test all things. Within the context of Paul writing to the church of Thessalonica, and admonishing them not to quench the Spirit, or despise prophecies, he also warns them that they must test all things for the sake of their spiritual wellbeing. Time consuming as some might think it to be, whenever we hear a word of prophecy, we must make certain that it lines up with the Word of God first and foremost.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 “Test all things; hold fast what is good."

Much deception has been wrought upon the house of God because believers are simply too lazy or too indifferent to go into the Word and test the things that they hear. If it sounds good, well then it must be good, and so they receive doctrine and teaching contrary to the Word of God simply because the flesh liked what it heard. For the sake of your spiritual well being, test all things, and once you have tested them, hold fast what is good.

The last thing that we must examine or test is the spirits, to see whether they are of God. In our ongoing quest for newness and supernatural manifestations, we have lost sight of John’s admonition to test the spirits, whether they are of God. It is vitally important to know the source of a power, and not merely accept someone as a messenger of God simply because they posses power.

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

It would seem that when it comes to spiritual things we have the tendency not to learn from our mistakes. There is an easily recognizable cycle wherein every few years a new and ‘gifted’ individual comes on the scene, kicks a few people in the face, blows on a few others, punches a cancer patient in the gut, and he is crowned the new spiritual leader of the age. Shortly afterwards however the mask begins to slip, and rather than bring glory to God, these selfsame individuals who everyone looked to, to bring about a worldwide revival, begin to bring shame upon shame to the name of God by their actions and conduct. Test the spirits, whether they are of God, because the enemy is by no means impotent.

A wise man tests and examines both himself, his works, the things he hears, and the things he sees, having the Word of God as the yardstick by which everything is measured, as the prism by which everything is seen, and the final authority by which everything is judged. We can choose to be wise, or choose to be fools; the choice in the end is ours and ours alone.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

The Dream

2010-08-23T18:53:00.007-05:00

by Michael Boldea Jr.

Shortly before I was scheduled to leave for a weeklong missions trip, a trip that had been planned months in advance with the pastors of many churches bringing their congregations together under one roof to hear the word of God, one of the staff members here in Wisconsin reminded me offhandedly that we would soon be celebrating twenty five years since Hand of Help’s inception.

A quarter of a century is a long time no matter how you slice it, or what angle it is viewed from. To be honest, I was not in what one might call a celebratory frame of mind. In these twenty five years I have laid to their final rest a grandmother, a grandfather, and a mother, I have known betrayal at the hands of men I considered brothers in Christ and friends fueled by something as unoriginal and despicable as greed, I have preached messages few wanted to hear, and have been despised for my stubborn unwillingness to compromise the word of God.

Throughout the entirety of the mission trip, one question kept nagging at me, always somewhere in the back of my mind. Even though the trip turned out to be an encouraging and reenergizing blessing, and I saw hunger in the hearts of the people for the truth of God’s word, feeling the presence of God in a deep and powerful way, I took no pleasure in the thousand plus crowds or their hearty applause. This one question kept echoing in my ears, and as yet I had received no answer. The question was simple: Is there still a need for a prophetic warning ministry once a nation has entered the season of fulfillment?

To me, a warning is a counsel or admonition to desist from a specified undesirable course of action. When someone is warned, that which they are warned against is avoidable. Take for instance the ‘reduce speed, winding road ahead’ signs. One is warned to reduce their speed, due to the fact that tight curves are just ahead, but if they refuse to heed the warning, then they will suffer the consequences of their actions. I believe God has stopped warning for some time now, due to this nation’s unwillingness to heed His warnings. His judgments are no longer avoidable, and the fulfillment of what has been spoken is visible even to those with no prophetic background.

I arrived back home after the weeklong tour, and still the initial thought would not leave. As I began to further ponder this question, I began thinking to myself that maybe this was God’s way of telling me I in fact could go back to my homeland, that I had done my duty, I had fulfilled my mission, I had preached, I had warned, I had shared the dreams and visions, and now I was free to have a normal life, to spend time with my wife, have some children, maybe even buy a dog.

One thing that those who know me have grown to understand is that I am not in ministry to get rich or famous, to build a kingdom on earth or have my own face staring back at me from a bookstore shelf. I am in ministry out of obedience to God, and will not be in it one day longer than God desires me to be. Obedience keeps me; it’s just that simple.

Two days after arriving home I had pretty much talked myself into believing that I had received my release to move back home. Since I was flying back for Christmas, to be with the family, I began thinking ‘why not just stay? Twenty five years is a long time, no one could blame you if you stayed.’

That same night I had a dream. I dreamt I was standing at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a valley that stretched out below me. Although it was night, the valley was not dark due to the dozens of fires that were burning all around the valley. Large white tents peppered the valley floor, and men dressed in white were hurriedly preparing. Some were sharpening swords, others were polishing shields, but the selfsame look of purpose and determination was evident in the countenance of every one.

As I continued watching I was startled when a hand touched my shoulder. I turned and stood face to face with the same man I had seen in my dreams on previous occasions.

“What do you think they are doing down there?" he asked pointing toward the valley and the men.

“It looks like they’re preparing for a war", I said gazing back at the valley.

“And what do you call a soldier that flees the battlefield on the eve of battle?"

“A deserter", I said.

“A deserter" he echoed. “Why would the Father train and equip you for the coming battle only to release you as the battle is about to begin? You think this is the end but it is not. The need for light is multiplied as the darkness grows, not diminished; the need for truth becomes more necessary as deception consumes the innocent, not less relevant. In these dark hours the children of light must shine, in these evil days the truth must be proclaimed with boldness. You can choose to flee, but it is not the Father’s will. You can stay and fight, and thus receive your just reward. The world has tainted many who ought to have stayed pure, and many have defiled themselves who ought to have remained undefiled. They have gorged themselves on Nebuchadnezzar’s delicacies, thereby disqualifying themselves from being used in these days. The hosts of heaven stand ready even now to do battle on behalf of the righteous. Do not fear the coming days for they have been foretold. Walk in the authority that has been given you, and do your duty as a faithful soldier ought to."

As the man finished speaking, I opened my eyes and was surprised to discover I was in my bed.

Some may wonder why I share this dream, because well, it is not very flattering. In fact I got taken to the proverbial woodshed as the saying goes, but lest we forget the Lord chastens those He loves, and I am ever thankful that He loves me, and suffers my frailty.

I do not know how, but I know that God will make a way. The need for truth is evident. Not my truth, but God’s truth, not the truth of any particular denomination, but the truth of God’s Holy Word.

As human beings, men and women made of flesh and bone, we make plans, we have hopes and we envision a certain kind of future, but all our hopes and dreams, all our plans must be surrendered, in perfect harmony with the will of God for only in His will are peace, joy and comfort abundant and ever present.

We are on the precipice of volatile and troubling times, witnessing a rapidly changing world. There is a great upheaval coming in the spiritual, just as in the physical, and God will sift those who call themselves His children first and foremost, separating that which is righteous from that which is defiled. We must stand in the righteousness of God, having His Word as our standard and our foundation that we might not be swayed by the winds, or uprooted by the storms. In order to overcome one must face conflict and not flinch from battle, but an unprepared soldier whose armor is not on, and whose weapons are unknown to him, is easily overtaken by an enemy whose bloodlust knows no bounds. Our faith and obedience will carry us through the darkest of nights, because when faith and obedience are present the light of God shines brighter than the sun, dispelling the darkness.

Romans 16:19-20 “For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

The Shaking Is Growing

2010-08-23T13:49:00.006-05:00

by Andrew Strom

I want to spend most of this article talking about the massive
SPIRITUAL shaking and sea-change that is underway. -And the
OPPORTUNITIES for the true remnant of God in this. But first let
us talk briefly about the "economic" shaking that is underpinning
a lot of what is happening.

There are many signs appearing that another great "slowdown" in
the world economy is underway. As you know, we have predicted
"another wave down" and a "double dip depression". Last week
new US unemployment claims jumped back up to 500,000. The
figures for July 'existing' home sales look to show the worst slump
that has ever been seen. (California and Texas report a -23%
collapse in the space of just one month). The human cost of all
this unemployment and economic mayhem is truly awful to contemplate.

But in the CHURCH I believe a great "shaking" is underway that
will ultimately bring about a great 'purging' and cleansing. You may
have noticed that a number of big-money ministries are suddenly
in trouble. I am hearing reports of others that I regard as "spreading
deception" falling into serious financial difficulty as well. I believe
God is going to use this economic crisis to "clean out" His church.
There is going to be a massive change at the top. The 'Saulish'
leadership is going to be dethroned and the "Davids" will come forth.

We published a vision some time ago of the giant "trees" crashing
to the ground and the little sprouts suddenly springing forth. The
church has been dominated for too long by voices that have abused
and stolen and spread deception amongst the sheep. God is
coming to clean house, and it will not be "gentle". The whip is in
His hand and He is about to drive the money-changers out. His
house is to be a "house of prayer" once more.

Two of my books from the past were spent prophesying of this very
time that we are now entering. The first was in 1996 - "The Coming
Great Reformation - New Insights into the Coming Worldwide
Shaking, Reformation and Street Revival." The most recent was in
2008 - "Survive the Depression - The Shaking Has Begun." (Links
for both of these at the end of this article).

A lot of people say to me, "Give up hope of the church being
cleansed or the false leaders being dethroned. We are in the time
of great Apostasy," they say, "So just give up on any of that."

And I say, "NO! I will not give up on the evil being dethroned from
God's church, and the Body being cleansed, and the true gospel
being restored. Yes - we are in a time of great Apostasy (no-one
knows this more than I). But that does not mean that God has
lost His desire for a church that is "without spot or wrinkle or any
such thing." I still believe we have time for one last great "cleansing"
and one last great Harvest. But it will come during a time of great
"storms" and hardship."

POSITION Yourself

There are several ways that those who believe they have been
called into God's 'remnant' for this hour can "position" themselves
to be part of what God is doing. Of course, PRAYER is the most
vital thing, but also-

(1) Get out of DEBT. Do not "hang on", deep in debt for year after
year, hoping things will improve. They will NOT improve for YEARS.
Use whatever means possible, cut your losses and GET OUT. The
debt alone can prevent you from being where God wants you to be
in this crucial moment.

(2) Don't get into a "bunker" mentality. Don't be tempted to hide
yourself away with food and ammo in some basement somewhere.
For true Christians this crisis is a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY to
show forth Christ to a dying world. Get INVOLVED - helping the
poor, preaching the true gospel. This is not a time for "hiding away".

(3) Stop thinking of this crisis as a "doom and gloom" scenario
and start thinking of it as a time where God is setting things to
rights - purging the church and the nation of years of excesses
and poison. For the Christian who truly loves God and His
kingdom, this is literally the OPPORTUNITY of a LIFETIME to be
involved in this whole process. Only DEBTS or FEAR or an
unwilling heart can rob you of your place in this.

There is no time I would rather be in than right now. There is no
environment I would rather be in. This moment and this crisis are
exactly what God has been preparing us for. We are not to just
"survive" - we are to 'THRIVE' in this time. Many of the big
ministries are not designed to make it through such a crisis. When
finances drop they will fall apart. But many of us have been
specifically designed for this. Don't waste it. A total "changing of
the guard" is underway. A revolution in leadership. Be about the
Lord's work. Remember the long-forgotten promises and dreams
the Lord gave you years ago and prepare to enter into all that He
has promised. AMEN!!

Links to the books I mentioned are below. Also - please comment
on this article at the following website-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

E-BOOK (online) - "The Coming Great Reformation" -
http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/2010/04/10/the-coming-great-reformation-2

BOOK - "Survive the Depression - the Shaking has Begun"-
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979907381/

God bless you all.
Andrew Strom

Steve's note - Andrew Strom and his family were recently detained at the Canadian border and subsequently denied entry into the United States. Andrew, a teacher and prophet from New Zealand, had been scheduled to teach and preach here in the fall.

Where Do You Turn For Encouragement?

2010-08-23T06:13:00.000-05:00

David Wilkerson Today

Where can you find Christians wholly devoted to the Lord who have an easy, trouble-free life? Show me a Spirit-led, God-filled, anointed servant of the Lord, and I'll show you one who is chased, chastened, often baffled, and familiar to deep waters and fiery furnaces.

Those who seek to avoid difficulties seldom get the revelation of God's fullness. They attempt to use faith to exempt themselves from crisis, not realizing they are robbing themselves of the greatest opportunity to find out what is really in them. Then one day when trouble can no longer be avoided, they cave in, having no proven source of inner strength.

Paul wrote, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man" (Ephesians 3:16).

These days the Lord needs Christians who are not tossed about by every wind and wave of doctrine; who are not being made merchandise of; who have discernment and are not being deceived; who need no special teacher with some new revelation; who do not need a human shepherd to guide their every step; who do not have to depend on someone else for their happiness or spiritual strength—but who have been tested and tried and have proven that the very life of God is in them, providing grace and mercy to help in every need. Christ has been revealed not only to them, but in them. They are drawing on the strength of their inner man, according to the riches of His glory.

We can learn valuable lessons from King David's experience at Ziklag. "David encouraged himself in the Lord" (1 Samuel 30:6). It is imperative that we learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord because of the troubled times just ahead.

Brothers, sisters in Christ, I beseech you in the name of the Lord, to open your eyes to the mighty power of God at work in you, and to appropriate the fullness and completeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter what fiery furnace we may be cast into, our supreme Lord will walk us through it.

The Day After Today

2010-08-20T18:18:00.011-05:00

Michael Boldea Jr.

Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

James 4:13-14, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

In my youth I had a friend who had five year plans for everything. He had charted out his career trajectory, he had charted out the time he would need to meet, court, propose to, and marry the love of his life, and since he was on the husky side like myself, he had even drawn up a five year plan to shed the pounds, and see once and for all if he had those six pack abs hiding under the adipose tissue, or if he was, as he expected, a genetic abnormality with no abdominal muscles to speak of.

It had been close to thirteen year since we last spoke, and oddly enough we got back in touch through Facebook of all things. When I asked him how his five year plans had panned out, his answer was short and clipped: ‘Still fat, still single, still earning minimum wage!’

It is no doubt men and women of every color, creed and nationality love to make plans. We are encouraged to plan for our retirement, to plan for the future, to plan for a rainy day, to plan for the unexpected, and in my country (Romania) the more prudent and aged folks even plan for their death, buying coffins in their mid fifties, only to see them start to rot up in the attic since they are well into their seventies by now, still above ground, and still breathing in the smoggy air that was supposed to have felled them decades ago.

Men plan for the strangest things, yet when it comes to planning for eternity we have the tendency of putting it off. There are countless souls today who share the misconception that they can wait just a while longer, right up until one minute to midnight, and then with all the repentance they can muster, fall on their faces and recite the sinner’s prayer. What such souls fail to take into account, the part of the equation that upturns the entire notion of having plenty of time to do what we will, is that we cannot be certain of making it to one minute to midnight. The day after today, tomorrow, or the day after are beyond our certitude. Tomorrow is beyond my control, and it is beyond your control as well. Whether I will live another day, or go into the earth from which I came is a knowledge that only God and God alone possesses, one that He does not share with the rest of us, and as such we cannot put off until tomorrow, what we ought rightly do today.

We plan, and scheme, we have growth charts and visibility graphs, all the while forgetting that life is but a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. It may just be my melancholy mood of late, but I find myself wondering more and more often whether by our ceaseless worrying about tomorrow we don’t somehow slow our pace toward the eternity that beckons to us, and the home that is waiting for us. What I am certain of, is that in the least it divides our focus and our attention, this worrying about tomorrow, and we are no longer exclusively focused on the kingdom of God, we are no longer exclusively seeking His righteousness, but are divided between planning for tomorrow, and planning for eternity.

Are there moments in which I find myself worrying about tomorrow? Of course, I am human, I have a family, I see the writing on the wall, and the storm that is descending, and on top of that I have close to one hundred children, which I am responsible for feeding and keeping warm so yes, there are moments. No matter how grim the future might seem however, I always catch myself before descending into desperation, or hopelessness, because the promises of God are as a warm blanket on a cold winter’s day for me. The promises of God comfort me, they keep me, they satiate me, and allow me to press ever onward.

We ought not to worry about tomorrow, because there is more than enough work to do today. We ought not to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow is in our Father’s hands, and He is already there preparing the way for us. We ought not to worry about tomorrow, because this life is not about our tomorrows, but about that instant, that one moment in the eternal expanse of the universe that our tomorrows cease to be and we take our first tentative step into eternity.

In His goodness God forewarns us of what will come tomorrow and the day after, but whether or not we as individuals will be here to see it is another matter entirely. Life is a vapor, it is a fleeting, fragile thing that we often get so used to that we forget to appreciate it. Just like the stars that light the heavens at night, which we take for granted because they are always there, we take this life for granted because in our insolence we think we will be here for many more tomorrows. What if we could see the stars only once a year, or better yet only once a decade? Would we then appreciate them more? What if we realized the beauty of today, and the gift that is life? Would we perhaps cease to worry so much about tomorrow?

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

Michael Boldea Jr. was born in a small northern Romanian Village. At the age of nine, his entire family was deported from Romania for smuggling Bibles. His grandfather, Dumitru Duduman started an outreach ministry called "Hand of Help" of which Mike is now Chairman.

Mike has traveled internationally with Dumitru for over 11 years acting as Dumitru’s translator. They shared their testimonies, as well as an important message God gave Dumitru for the United States.

Recently Mike has translated the book entitled "Life In Christ" which Dumitru had penned prior to his death. The testimonies of those that were persecuted for their faith must live on to build up the body of Christ. Mike continues to operate in his gift as an Evangelist to exhort the body of Christ to present itself with a garment clean before our Lord.

Michael has a strong Christian heritage coming from a line of 4 generations of Christians. In the village of Hinceste Romania his Great grandfather was one of the first Christians converted there and his grandfather was a pastor and his father pastors the "Messiah" church in Botosani Romania with over 800 members. Their family worked with Richard Wurmbrandt, Harlan Popoff, and brother Andrew taking bibles to the underground Church.

Michael has seen the presence of God in accomplishing the work that his family was called to. In the face of great persecution and opposition thousands of bibles were given to the Christians of Romania even though it was punishable by imprisonment if caught. His grandfather Dumitru Duduman did suffer greatly being imprisoned for his faith. Under extreme torture he never recanted his faith and stands as a witness of faithfulness to this day in Romania.

If you're interested in learning more, the link to Hand of Help Ministries website is posted below. You'll have to cut and paste it in your web browser as I coudn't get the link to work. - Steve

http://www.handofhelp.com/index.php

Where is your focus? - another timely word from "Brother D"

2010-08-20T12:49:00.002-05:00

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4: 4-9

If you have been stopping by this blog for any length of time, you will know that the Lord has repeatedly prodded me to reduce my intake of today's "news." He meant both lamestream media AND alternative news sites. Every so often I get a periodic reminder from Him on this subject and recently I received another reminder.

Why would the Lord impress me with the idea to stop reading all the "conspiracy theory" and "alternative news" sites? It's not because there are no conspiracies, because almost everything in today's world has been corrupted and is a conspiracy against the masses of humanity. The very beginning of the war we find ourselves in involved a conspiracy dealing with Satan wanting to usurp our Lord's power and throne. So again, if the conspiracies are real, why not read about them?

Lot's of reasons...How much time did Jesus spend unmasking all of the satanic conspiracies in his day? NONE, that's right ZERO. How much time did Paul or any of the other apostles spend talking about all the roman gods and how corrupt roman politics were back in his day? Again, almost zilch. If Jesus and the apostles spent virtually zero time watching the world and the satanic conspiracies of their day, then why should we? Are we to walk like Christ did or not?

Our mind is an interesting thing, the conscious mind can only hold one thought at a time, soooo if I spend all my time reading and talking about the flesh, the devil and the world, guess what I'm NOT spending my time reading and talking about? Things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy....

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

If we are not thinking about these things ^^^ and instead we willfully choose to focus on the darkness in this world, don't you think we have some changing to do to be in compliance with what our Lord has instructed us to do?

How concerned do you think the Lord is about Satan's plans for this world? We should be asking people why they don't spend more time reporting on our Lord's plans for today and the future? Which is more important, Satan's plans or our God's plans? Where should our focus be?

Our power comes from prayer and staying focused on all the Words our God has spoken, why should we allow other useless distractions to consume our time? A long time ago I realized that when the normal news was playing, all we were hearing was lies and useless drivel, so I started spending more time reading alternative news media. The alternative news media appears to have more truth reported in it, but the point I believe the Lord has made to me is, which is more important, the truth about how evil and satanic this world is or the truth of our Lord's promises to us? Which gives us more power?

The bottom line here is this, spending my time or your time reading about the latest lies, or even truths about how wicked this world is, is just beating a dead horse. Has the Lord not already told us that Satan is the prince of this world?

I am believing the Lord for 2 miracles right now, can you tell me whether reading one more article about how BP and the Government are complicit in a giant crime against humanity is going to help me believe for my miracles? Can you tell me how reading one more article about the fact that "space aliens" are really demons and hollywood is controlled by illuminati satanists is going to help me encourage another brother who is about to give up on his faith in Jesus? How is it going to improve my walk with Jesus to know one more thing about how the ancient greek gods were actually all a hierarchy of demons planning their return to earth during the tribulation? It all might be fact, but how does any of it encourage me or any of the brothers I communicate with?

There was a time here when a lot of what was written was exposing the apostasy within todays so called christianity. That writing has mostly stopped. Why? Maybe everything that needed to be written has already been written? Seems reasonable enough to me. If Jesus and the apostles spent time on a subject, we should too. If they brushed over or did not address a subject at all, perhaps we should take the same attitude.

Reading todays blogs and "news" is largely a waste of time. I believe the Lord has impressed upon me that its okay to spend small amounts of time each day "checking in" on what's going on in the world, but the bulk of our thinking should be toward our Lord and his kingdom. Show me an argument against that?

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 3Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matt 6:33-34

These things are written to you today because they have been impressed upon me. Everything you have read here, I believe, is a message for me as much or more than it is for anyone else reading it.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may his face shine upon you and may he grant you peace.

Posted by Brother D at 3:42 AM

WHEN THE STOCK MARKET CRASHES

2010-08-19T13:16:00.001-05:00

By Paul Proctor

January 23, 2008

NewsWithViews.com

When the stock market crashes - and I mean really crashes, we won't care about Britney Spears anymore. We won't care about Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Amy Winehouse, Jessica Simpson, or anyone else in Hollywood struggling through their fame and misfortune.

When the stock market crashes, we won't care anymore about the Oscars - what the nominees will be wearing on the red carpet - the writer's strike - who crossed the picket lines - those pesky paparazzi or any of our once-favorite TV shows with or without scripts - no, not even American Idol.

When the stock market crashes, we won't care anymore about Al Gore's inconvenient truth - greenhouse gases - carbon footprints - the ozone layer - the plight of the polar bear - Bill Gates' retirement - the Clinton/Obama feud - Dr. Phil's celebrity interventions - who's on Oprah or Martin Luther King's dream.

When the stock market crashes, we won't care anymore about finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - finding bin Laden - spreading democracy - the oil shortage - the November elections - the EIB network - how many days Bush has left in office or whether a white man, a black man or a woman will replace him.

When the stock market crashes, we won't care anymore about the NFL playoffs - the Super Bowl - Tom Brady's bum foot, the New England Patriot's perfect season - whether Eli Manning will get a Super Bowl ring like his brother - who Tony Romo is presently dating in Dallas or whether the Tennessee Titans will keep Pacman Jones when his suspension is up.

When the stock market crashes, we won't care anymore about the power of positive thinking - the prayer of Jabez - a purpose driven life - global peace plans - the Aids epidemic - third world debt - seeker-sensitivity or which prosperity preacher is currently under investigation.

When the stock market crashes, we won't care anymore about our new year's resolutions - our expanding waistlines - clothes that don't fit - bad hair days - low-carb diets - reading nutritional labels - or keeping up with the Joneses.

When the stock market crashes, we won't care anymore about rush hour traffic - $3 a gallon gas - new car prices - where to go on vacation - where to find good sushi - asking the boss for a raise - pushing him for a promotion or just quitting altogether to find another job.

When the stock market crashes, I wonder what will be important to us? In light of recent events, it's certainly a possibility - many would say, a probability.

Could it be that, under such circumstances, we might rediscover some old-fashioned values - the faith, morals, principles, ethics and ideals of days gone by - the forgotten priorities and biblical standards of our grandparents and great grandparents who lived through the Great Depression?

When the stock market crashes - will it be a tragedy or a blessing - a loss or a gain?

I suppose it depends on where your treasure is, doesn't it?

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - Matthew 6:21

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Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late 1990's to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a distinctly biblical perspective. As a freelance writer and regular columnist for NewsWithViews.com, he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight on cultural trends and current events. His articles appear regularly on a variety of news and opinion sites across the internet and in print.

E-Mail: watchman@usa.com

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THAT WHICH IS SPIRITUAL CANNOT BE DUPLICATED

2010-08-18T07:40:00.001-05:00

by David Wilkerson

Here on the streets of New York City, you can buy a Rolex watch for fifteen dollars. As every New Yorker knows, these watches aren't truly Rolexes. They are simply "knock-offs"—cheap copies of the original.

There seems to be a duplicate for just about everything today. But there is one thing that cannot be duplicated and that is true spirituality. Nothing that is truly spiritual can be copied. The Lord recognizes the work of his own hands—and he won't accept a man-made duplication of any of his divine workings. Why? Because it's impossible for man to duplicate what is truly spiritual. That is the work of the Holy Spirit alone. He's constantly at work doing something new in his people. And there is no possible way for us to reproduce that work.

This is the big mistake of modern religion. We think if we merely impart knowledge of the Scriptures and biblical principles to people, they'll become spiritual. But the fact remains—no person or institution has the power to produce spirituality in someone. Only the Holy Ghost does that.

Very little of the work God's Spirit does in us can be seen. This is why truly spiritual people rarely look for outward evidence of his work. Paul says, "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen" (2 Corinthians 4:18).

In the context of this passage, Paul is speaking of sufferings and afflictions. He saying, "No one knows all the things we face, except the Holy Spirit. And this is where true spirituality is manifested—in the crucible of suffering."

Those who submit to the leading of God's Spirit—who face their afflictions confident that the Lord is producing something in them—emerge from their crucible with strong faith. And they testify that the Spirit taught them more during their suffering than when all was well in their lives.

In all my years of walking with the Lord, I've rarely seen an increase in my spirituality during good times. Rather, any such increase usually took place as I endured hard places, agonies, testings—all of which the Holy Ghost allowed.

At one point in his walk of faith, Paul said, "The Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me that bonds and afflictions await me" (see Acts 20:21–22). Indeed, throughout Paul's entire life, his afflictions never let up. They just kept coming.

"Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17). According to Paul, our afflictions and difficulties produce eternal values in us. He's saying, "The suffering we go through on this earth will probably last our whole lifetime. But that's only momentary compared to eternity. And right now, as we endure afflictions, God is producing in us a revelation of his glory that will last forever."

A God of Infinite Possibilities

2010-08-17T13:17:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to write you a quick note today about what the Lord has impressed upon me this morning.

1. How utterly worthless and empty 99.99% of all the "news" and blogs are in this world.

2. We need to get our "news" from the Lord

Why get our information inputs from the Lord? Because He is a God of infinite possibilities. While the lamestream media is focused on which "star" had what for breakfast this morning, and the alternative media is busy pumping you full of fear and what Satan has planned for the world, our God is telling us things that He has told us from the very beginning.

What is impossible for our God? Do we believe that He can and will do what He said He would do?

Even at this late hour in world history, I am hearing from the Lord that He is willing and able to do abundantly exceedingly over and above anything we can ask or imagine for us who believe. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE for those who believe. That is a "thus sayeth the Lord" statement, not because it is written here, but because it is written in His Word.

I am not finished yet. I am not ready to sit back idly and watch the world go to hell waiting for the Lord's return. Something inside of me is leaping as I write this. I am believing the Lord for at least 2 miracles right now. I am believing Him for mighty moves of His strong arm on my behalf. He has done it before, He will do it again. The things I am believing for are already done, I know this. Inside it has already been settled. Yet, my eyes see nothing yet. Inside I just know that what I have asked for has already been granted.

Why is this being written to you today? It's not about me, it's about a faithful God. This is a message to you, that the battle is not over yet. We may have years to go before the Lord comes back, or maybe He will come back for us this year during the Feast of Trumpets, or maybe He comes back tonight, who knows? The point is, we need to be ready, but while we wait patiently, why do we not tax the Lord with our prayers and desires? Try to load Him down, good luck with that :-) Pray with all kinds of prayers and requests. Plant your prayer seeds and water with thanks, over and over and over again, who knows what the Lord will grant you if you would only ask and keep asking...

Remember the story of the unjust judge, be persistent. Reason with the Lord. Our God rewards faith, that's a fact that is well established both in the Word and in my life, its a fact. We need to be patient to wait for the answers. The things we don't have yet, we don't need yet or we are not ready for yet.

I thought this would be a one paragraph posting :-)

Done for now, keep the faith, be persistent, grace and peace.

Posted by Brother D at 8:09 AM

The War Mode

2010-08-16T08:19:00.000-05:00

by Francis Frangipane

I was seventeen years old, a senior in high school, and was slouching into my desk when an angry student almost twice my size entered the room. In a storm of spit and fire, he burst toward where I was sitting, grabbed me by my neck and began rearranging my facial features with his fist.

Someone had written a derogatory remark about him on the inside of his notebook and signed my name to it. Obviously, there was more going on in the Big Guy's life than anyone realized. Whatever other frustrations had been accumulating in his heart, his immediate goal was to release his fury on the latest offender, whom he considered to be me.

I should also mention that at the time I was five foot nine and weighed about 135 pounds. I was not a confrontational guy and had, in fact, developed several clever ways of avoiding conflict while still appearing relatively cool among my friends. However, it does not matter what one's philosophy is concerning physical violence when one is actually in a fight, especially with an angry giant. Big Guy was looking for blood. I quickly realized that if this attack was going to end, it would be because I put my whole heart into fighting back.

Once I accepted that I had no choice but to fight, something amazing happened inside me. Instead of my fear getting worse, it actually left. The energy that had been expended through fear was suddenly mobilized for my defense. At that moment, unexpectedly, I discovered another dimension of my soul: the war mode.

Frankly, I did not even know I had a war mode, but when Big Guy reached down to pick me up for "round two," my fight instincts clicked into action. It had been easy for him to throw me around when I was not resisting, but now I sprang upward with a punch that landed squarely on his nose. He fell back a step. I hit him again two or three times and then jumped on him while he was off balance, knocking him to the floor. I admit it is possible, on reflection, that he stumbled over a chair and my punch had nothing to do with his fall, but it did not matter. When his back hit the floor, there was a 135-pound Sicilian on top of him.

By now, students were pulling me off of him. Blood was pouring from his nose, and his friends were calling me a bully. When the teacher entered the room, it plainly looked as though I was the aggressor and Big Guy the victim, cowering beneath my relentless assault.

I nearly failed to graduate because of the incident, but I did not care. Something inside me had changed. I had found the war mode. I still did not look for a fight, but I was not afraid of one either.

Passivity Is Not Peace

Why am I telling you this story? First of all, it is not because I think physical violence is the answer to our problems. Unless we are in the military or law enforcement, physical violence is not God’s answer to what troubles us. I related this incident to emphasize that there is a "war mode" that exists in each one of us. You may be facing a foe bigger than you – maybe it’s sin or demonic attacks, or perhaps your kids are drifting away from God, or your community or church is declining spiritually – but a point comes when living under oppression is no longer acceptable to you!It is at the moment that you say "enough!" that God begins to activate the war mode inside of you.

This mode of thinking is not a virtue in itself. Yet, just as we surrender our hearts, minds and bodies to God, so we can surrender this aspect of the soul, and find God’s grace anointing us to fight the fight of faith.

The fact is, we are at war on a global scale. We are fighting the influence of immoral and perverse leaders in our culture; and on an international level, facing Islamic terrorism and manipulation. Who will protect the future for our children? You see, it is up to us to defend our communities, to reinforce moral values and bring redemptive change to our world.

Again, we are not talking about physical or carnal warfare – Paul said the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty! (See 2 Cor. 10:4.) We need to take up the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17). Fighting for righteousness is not an advanced stage of spiritual development; it actually is basic. Everyone needs to learn how to pray, to take spiritual authority, and to speak the Word of God with faith. We cannot be intimidated by our enemies' threats as we stand against the advances of darkness.

You see, too many have settled for a false peace, which is the result of compromise and fear. God wants us to have true peace, which comes from faith in Christ and victory over evil.

Today many are weary with world events. Part of this weariness is because our hearts are divided. We need to get over our reluctance in facing our enemies. Stop worrying about making the devil mad and get mad yourself – be angry, but do not sin! There is a legitimate "time for war" (Eccles. 3:8) and we are in it.

The sooner we switch into war mode, the faster we will tap into the moral resolve needed to defeat personal oppression and secure victory. As we are changed, so we can begin to influence the world around us. So rebuke passivity and take authority over self-pity. God will give grace to prevail.

Consider also Isaiah’s revelation about the Lord. The prophet wrote:

"The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies" (Isa. 42:13).

The Lord is a warrior and He desires you to become a warrior as well. Shake off the weariness and get back into the Word of God. If you were knocked down, get up. It’s time to reactivate your war mode.

Master, I submit to Your anointing for warfare. I renounce being a coward or embracing a false peace based on compromise. I submit to the fighter in You, who can sanctify the fighter in me. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Cloak

2010-08-13T07:17:00.002-05:00

By Michael Boldea Jr.

"When you come, bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments." (2 Timothy 4:13)

I’ve been thinking about a cloak recently. There was nothing inherently special about it, it was just another piece of clothing that was worn during the times of Jesus, and which is still being worn today in certain parts of the world, but it was a cloak which in the twilight of his life Paul asked Timothy to bring to him because winter was approaching and the weather was turning. Paul had left this cloak with a man Carpus at Troas, and now he needed it for warmth.

The more I ponder this cloak, and the implications thereof, the more disgust is stirred up in me toward many of today’s so called evangelists, teachers, self proclaimed prophets, and apostles.

We are taught by many in today’s avarice driven society that coming to Jesus is like winning the lottery. You raise a hand, you say a prayer, then you buy yourself the biggest wheelbarrow you can find, and just start hauling sacks and sacks of new, crisp, never circulated hundred dollar bills for as long as your legs will carry you. If you need to take a break, why there’s always some island somewhere with palatial suites, twenty four hour room service, and a beautiful ocean view where you as an ‘apostle prophet evangelist teacher’ can rest for a couple weeks, every couple weeks (hauling wheelbarrows of money is tiresome business after all) because like American Express used to say, ‘membership has its privileges.’

‘Enough? No such thing! Joy in the Lord? That was before the greenback was introduced into civil society. Come on now, we all know the apostles were filthy rich, we all all know Jesus enjoyed the best of everything in life.’

Trust me I’ve heard every cliché in the book and then some. From the ever popular ‘we are the head and not the tail’, to ‘riches here are just a down payment for all the riches we’ll have in heaven’, and these are just a couple of the ‘nice ones’ the ones that don’t guilt you into sending a guy with two jet planes and a fleet of luxury cars your last few cents because ‘you’re robbing God’ if you don’t.

No matter how they try to minimize it however, no matter how much they would like to do away with the Word of God which contradicts their inventive, greedy and heretical doctrines, it still stands, and within its pages we see glimpses of the lives of the Apostles, glimpses of the life of Christ that suggests these men were not by any stretch of the imagination rich, well off, or rolling in shekels.

I know, I know, brother Jesse said Jesus was rich because He had a custom made, seamless robe, and the soldiers even cast lots for it. By the time Jesus was nailed to the cross, having walked the Via Dolorosa, having been whipped bloody, and having had a crown of thorns placed upon His head, that robe was in no shape to ever be worn again. The soldiers cast lots for sport, out of boredom, having to wait there until those nailed to the crosses eventually expired in agony. What fools we become when we let greed get the better of us!

In 2 Timothy chapter 4, we see that an aging Paul writes to Timothy to bring him a cloak he had left behind on one of his journeys. We see the great Apostle of Christ abandoned by all but Luke, we see him cold, and in prison, and even from his cell, he is doing his best to encourage the church. It was only after he made certain that the preaching of the gospel would have continuity through Timothy that he asked him to bring his cloak.

‘Well it was his fault, he didn’t believe in the prosperity gospel!’

To be honest, Paul, formerly known as Saul, was groomed for the prosperity gospel. His upbringing, his education, ensured that he would be a Pharisee, and since the religious system ruled the land in those times, one could easily compare a Pharisee in Paul’s day to a Senator today. The man had already been accepted into the Sanhedrin having graduated from the most prestigious theological school of the time. The Pharisees were the power brokers of the time, they were the bankers of the time, they were the most influential citizens of Israel, and as such they were among some of the richest men in the land. It wasn’t simply a title Paul gave up when he met Christ on the road to Damascus, it wasn’t simply a name that he surrendered, it was the entire system of corruption, greed and avarice that had become the religious system of that time.

Lest we forget, Paul was also a Roman citizen, and in those days a Roman citizen could travel as he pleased, wherever he pleased, he was single, well educated, on his way to a great career and much wealth, yet one moment changed his life, and here he was, in the twilight of his existence asking a young Timothy to please bring him the cloak he had left behind in Troas.

‘Perhaps the cloak had sentimental value brother Mike; maybe that’s why he wanted it.’

Seeing as this is the selfsame man who said, ‘indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ’, I highly doubt sentimentality played any role in Paul’s desire to have his cloak returned to him. The man was cold, and it was getting colder, and because of this he remembered he once had a cloak that he had left behind on one of his journeys, and if he had it he could use it to cover his shivering body in a damp prison cell.

We have so skewed the perception of servant hood in this present generation, we have so butchered and remade it to our own liking that we have come to believe that a servant is entitled to being served.

What pains me most of all when I look back on the final days of Paul the Apostle of Christ, is that shortly after requesting that Timothy bring him his cloak, the man died alone, all the brothers in Rome having abandoned him. What happened to all those individuals he named in Romans 16? What became of Priscilla and Aquilla, or Amplias his beloved in the Lord? What became of Urbanus and Herodion? Where were they in Paul’s time of need?

2 Timothy 4:16, “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.”

So what is my point in all this? My point is simple, even elementary, but one that much of today’s church seems to have forgotten. Serving God is not about fame, serving God is not about popularity, serving God is not about fortune, it is not about accolades, nor is it about being embraced by as many believers as possible. Serving God is about setting our gaze upon Christ and pursuing Him exclusively even when everyone abandons us, even when we end up cold and alone in a prison cell writing out final letter.

The question ought not to be ‘what do I get if I follow after Jesus?’ but rather ‘am I willing to give up everything that I may follow after Him!’

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

A Word of Encouragement

2010-08-11T07:05:00.002-05:00

The Lord is good. He is so very VERY very good. That is my testimony. I have relied on the God that you can read about in the bible for over 40 years now, and he has never failed me once, not ever.

I defy anyone to tell me that our God is not real. I defy anyone to tell me that our God does not provide. I defy anyone who says our God does not keep his promises. I defy anyone who says our God is silent.

Our God, the Lord Creator of all things is speaking constantly. He is oh so living and active. Do you want something to be thankful for today? Be thankful that the restrainer is still restraining today. In the book of Thesselonians we are told that a restrainer is restraining until he is taken out of the way. No matter how bad you think things are in the world today, you can be thankful that things are not bad yet. Bad is coming, but you not I have seen it yet. The restainer has kept and will continue to keep "bad" at arms length until he is taken out of the way. Be thankful for a day of restraint.

We can also be thankful that we live in the days of the son of man, days of GRACE. The Lord's hands are still outstretched in merciful outreach to everyone and anyone who will listen, repent and turn to him. There are days coming when this will not be the case:

Prov 1:22-27 “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, 25 since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster;I will mock when calamity overtakes you— when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you."

There are days coming when calamity will overtake people like a storm, and disaster will overtake them like a whirlwhind. Why? Because they ignored all the Lord's advice, and would not accept his rebuke. So what will happen? The Lord God Almighty will LAUGH at their disaster...not my words, his words.

Well that's not very nice is it? Not the kind of candy coated God you've heard about all your life from Nicolaitan preachers is it?

This is not a message of condemnation. This is a message to tell you that as of right now, there is still time to get right with the God of Gods, the Lord of Lords, through Jesus Christ.

I could care less what this world says. This entire planet is anti-christ, SO WHAT? They lose in the end. There is a God, if you have an honest heart, if you open that heart and search for him you will find him. You MUST turn away from your pet sins and "your way" of doing things.

I am always amazed at people who will submit to just about any earthly authority but the moment the Creator of Eternity is brought into the conversation they ask "who is he to tell me what to do?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Uh....how about..."he's God" for an answer?

In a Godless anti-christ world there is one crying out in the wilderness. The message is "there is a God and he can be trusted." If you want to find Him then go get a bible and start reading it. Men cannot be trusted. Almost everyone and every institution has been compromised. Do not trust me, I'm not asking for your trust. I am asking you to go look in a certain direction and decide for yourself what you find. In the end, there will be you and God Almighty...face to face. My suggestion to you today is to make that meeting today while his grace may be found. If your first meeting with this God is on the day he is judging you, well, I suspect that will not be a good day for you.

This writer is the very least of the brothers who are "in Christ" and I testify before you today that our God, the Lord Jesus is GOOD and he can be trusted. My life is living proof of it.

Grace and peace
Posted by Brother D at 8:51 PM

The Most Encouraging Fact

2010-08-06T10:42:00.000-05:00

A guy named Henry David Thoreau wrote this quote:

I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate himself by conscious endeavor
~Henry David Thoreau

But you know what? I think he was severly mistaken. The most encouraging fact I know of is that we serve a God who answers prayer....

This fact, that our God answers prayer has been rising up within me lately. An obvious reason for this could be that prayers are being answered. Not that this writer is anything. Our God is the focus here. He made promises and He is faithful to keep them...

Matt 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

Our Lord makes some very bold statements. He says everyone who asks receives...You may say, "but I've asked for plenty of things and have received nothing." To which I would ask, how do you know that you have not received? Perhaps you have received and didn't like the answer....yes, no and wait are all answers.

I want to encourage you to return to prayer today. Ask, seek, knock. I have this welling up inside of me to tell you to pray. Our God absolutely positively hears and answers prayers.

I don't want to get too deep into the discussion of why some prayers do not seem to be answered, but putting things in the extreme should help illustrate. Do you think a person like Adolph Hitler could pray to our God asking for help and get it? If not, why not? Do you think that Paul the apostle could pray to our God and get answers? If so, why? The answers to these questions should shed some light on why some people get results from their prayer life and some do not. Most of us are neither Paul, nor Hitler, we fall somewhere in between. In our case, we should be striving for perfection. Why? Our God looks directly at the hearts of men and we want nothing in our hearts or spirits that could hinder our prayers.

1 Thess 5:17 pray without ceasing,

^^^This is what I hear the Spirit of the Lord saying today. There is no more encouraging fact I can think of right now, than the fact that our God hears and answers prayers. The God who created everything, who is not disturbed in the least by the economic meltdown or joblessness or the new world order, or what signs and signals satan is sending, that God is hearing and answering our prayers today.

When our God opens a door for us, who can shut it?

Rev 3:7 What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

Job 12:14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

What do you want? What do you need? Have you asked for it in prayer? Do you believe that you will receive it? Other than the illustrations of Hitler and Paul there is this matter of belief. Mark 11:24 tells us that we must believe that we receive what we ask for in prayer.

Ask, and keep asking
Seek and keep seeking
Knock and keep knocking

Because our God is a God who answers prayer. If it seems like I am beating this to death as I write this, I cannot help it. This message is within me like a baby waiting to be birthed and I still feel like I'm in labor with it. The Lord is trying to make a big point with me and with you.

Churchianity preaches a message of "seed time and harvest" and they do it well except for the little (HUGE) problem that they butcher the part of what the seed is. They tell you to write a check and send it in to their 'ministries' as a seed. What I believe the Lord has impressed upon me is that our prayer is a kind of seed. Prayer is the seed and the thanks we give over the answer we have not seen yet is the water. We are to plant then water, plant then water, over and over and over again.

1 Cor 15:37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

You do not plant the body that will be..but just a seed. The seed contains the DNA or the map of everything that the seed will grow up to be, but our God gives each seed its body.

After seed has been planted and watered, in season, there is a harvest. Some things take longer to "grow" from prayer seed to harvest than other things. Everything has a season, which is to say, you have to wait for it.

Pray without ceasing. Remember the lesson of the unjust judge:

Luke 18:6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Ask, seek, knock.

I am standing before you with my own words today, to be a voice and a witness to our God's faithfulness. Our God does what He says He would do. He said that He would answer prayer, but He told us to believe, and keep praying. His words were "pray without ceasing." We are to pray with all kinds of prayers and requests:

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Some believers who are reading these words right now need a miracle. I am believing the Lord for a miracle. I have been here before and I have seen the Lord deliver for me. He has delivered miracles, and even though my eyes have not yet seen the slightest physical evidence for it, I know for a fact that the answer to my miracle is already enroute. Its done, I just haven't seen it yet. I'm not making up some kind of feeling, its inside. Just like a mother knows she is pregnant with a baby, I know that I am pregnant with a miracle as well. This wont be the first time, and I pray it will not be the last. As a brother I want to encourage you to ask and keep asking for your miracle. Realize that there is nothing our pathetic minds can dream up that our God cannot deliver on in spades. What is it we are asking for that our God cannot deliver on? He parted the Red Sea, he raised the dead to life, he cursed and things died, he blessed and lepers were healed, what is it he cannot do?

Reasoning with the Lord

I want you to remember to reason with the Lord. Read your bibles, people in the past reasoned with our God and got their way...

Isaiah 38:2Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3“Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. 6And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

If you are asking and believing the Lord for something and doubt tries to creep in, ask WHY NOT LORD? IF there is nothing in His Word that would be a big "no" and the Spirit has not spoken to your spirit to give you a "no" then you need to KEEP BELIEVING for what you asked for. Istead of asking "why" something should be given to you, ask "why not?" The Lord responds to such things, at least He has with me.

Reason with the Lord, ask seek knock, pray without ceasing, believe that you have received what you have asked for, don't give up, remember the story of the unjust judge.

The most encouraging fact for us who believe is that we have a God who hears and answers prayers. Start praying. If you have already started then keep doing it and do not stop praying until your dieing breath has been taken from you. Even then, our last breath should be a prayer and a blessing on the Lord of our life. I'm done....grace and peace

Posted by Brother D at 12:15 AM

Distractions....Distractions

2010-07-23T12:34:00.000-05:00

DISTRACTIONS, DISTRACTIONS...
-Andrew Strom.

I made a number of people mad with my piece a few days ago,
"Can Patriotism Be Idolatry?" I have always found that this is by
far the "riskiest" topic that I can ever bring up. One guy even asked
if I "hate America". I replied that I truly love America and love it's
people. In fact, it is one of my topmost favorite nations in the world.
My brother lives there. My nephews live there. I love America! But
that was certainly not the issue in my article.

Another man hinted that I must be a "left-winger". Actually, I am
truly and deeply Conservative - and have been for years.

The major point we were really raising in that article has to do with
"Distractions". I can't bear to see my fellow brothers and sisters
literally exhausting themselves with campaign after campaign of
political activism - when the real problems in America are
"SPIRITUAL". And only 'spiritual' solutions can solve them.

JESUS is the answer to what ails America. Politics will never do it.
I am not against "voting" at all. By all mean vote! But what I am
talking about here is the "distraction" of spending so much time
on Politics when that can never truly solve the problems we face.

Just think of the enormous time and energy and devotion that so
many people put into "electing the right guy". Do we put that
much passion into the Gospel and Prayer? I think not. A lot of
us have deluded ourselves that Politics can solve these "spiritual"
issues. They can't. Only Jesus can.

A lot of the time, Fox News and Talk Radio simply exist to "rile
up" the Conservative people with "trash talk", etc. The whole point
is to get the Christians and conservatives so riled that they will
"do something". What will they do? Will they start Prayer movements
and True Gospel movements? No - they will start "political"
movements. They will march down to the Town Hall and shout and
scream at people. Their opponents will start calling them "hateful"
because of the way they look and act. Is this what Jesus wants?
Does he want the Christians all caught up in political movements
that use the "arm of the flesh" to solve their problems? The Bible
says we "wrestle not against flesh and blood". Why then are we
trying to do just that? Because we are being "distracted" - that's why.

Distracted from our true mission on this earth. Distracted and
sidetracked into thinking Politics is the answer. Distracted into
spending hours watching Fox and the Internet for new things to
get mad at the Liberals about. We don't pray like we should. We
don't preach the glorious gospel like we should. We simply rant
and rave and get mad at all those Liberals - and waste hours and
hours trying to work out how we can "beat" them. Its all flesh,
flesh - all the time.

Don't tell me this is not happening on a large scale with a lot of
Christian people. We all know it is. That's where Fox News and
Talk Radio get all their "ratings" from. They know if they can get
you "mad" enough, you will keep coming back for more.

We need to repent. We need to repent of our nasty, ugly, trash-
talking behavior - which is so unchristlike. We need to repent of
partaking in this stuff at all. We need to repent of relying on the
"arm of the flesh" instead of Jesus. We need to repent that we
will raise up Political movements first before even trying "spiritual"
remedies to save the nation.

The Christians are too busy fighting in the flesh to PRAY as they
ought. Too busy fighting with bitter and angry words to preach
the true gospel. This is a huge part of why these problems are
not being solved. We are not going to GOD at all. We are relying
on "ourselves" - and what we can do. And until we repent and
start looking to Jesus - to solve the things that only He can
solve - I believe things will continue to get worse and worse.

The Christians are "distracted" - trusting entirely the wrong things.

Brothers, sisters, we need to PRAY.

And Now These Three Remain

2010-06-28T12:26:00.000-05:00

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I've been peppering the Lord with questions over the past weeks. I've been asking Him, what are your thoughts on the BP oil spill? What should we/I be doing? Where is your Spirit today, what is the Spirit saying to us today? Etc, etc.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord responds. In the bible people would ask Jesus questions, and He would seemingly answer in a way that was "out in left field." The Lord does not think the way we think....

Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

Apparently our answers to prayer come the same way today as they did in Daniels day, by angelic messenger:

Daniel 10:12Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”

I say this because I ask, and ask the Lord lots of questions, and He responds, and responds, over a period of days. Very rarely do I get an instant response. Remember this the next time you don't think the Lord speaks to you. Our God is constantly speaking in various ways, and at various times. Be patient...

Now, to the point. I ask the Lord about the BP oil spill and what He's saying today, I ask "how do you see what's going on in the Gulf Lord?" How does He respond?

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

So.., what does this ^^ have to do with the oil spill and the world coming unraveled at the seams? If you are watching as we are commanded to do..

Mark 13:37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'"

You will see people putting guns to their face and pulling the trigger (in the news of course), you will see that people are jumping in front of trains and off buildings. Why, would someone do these things?

Lack of faith, hope and love....

As the world comes unraveled, things will apparently go from bad to worse.

Luke 21:26 People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth....

The economy has been and continues to be in the tank. We've got natural and unnatural disasters everywhere we look. People's sense of being "in control" is quickly slipping away, which brings us squarely to the point that I believe the Lord was making to me in response to prayer.

The world is spinning out of control and our witness to the world is these three things that remain...faith, hope, and love. We can point out that the book of Revelation is being fulfilled before their very eyes, and people will shrug it off. It's unbelievable but its true. "Christians" the world over are being taught by their hired hand spiritual gurus "pastors" that the book of Revelation cannot be taken literally, therefore nobody can be sure at any time that the Lord's Word is being fulfilled to the letter.

People may be able to shrug off literal fulfillment of every Word written in the bible, but what they will not be able to shrug off is that when all of humanity is staring hell on earth in the face, there will be some....FEW....who will stare the hopelessness, faithlessness, and lack of love down. These few will be full of faith, hope and love in a world that is in a flat spin, out of control. They will ask "how can this person be so full of life and joy in the midst of the world being destroyed?" They will ask "where does their peace come from?"

It will not be some guy handing out tracts on a street corner, or someone going door to door,or some guy standing above you, looking down at you while pontificating in a one way conversation (pastors, sermons, church "services")that witnesses to this lost and dying world. People want peace, not the absence of war type, but the inner tranquility and power type. Every single thing a person does in this life is in some way or another a way to make themself happy. Ask why a person does something, and keep asking "why do you do that?" and follow up with "and why do you do that?" And eventually at the end you'll get to "...I just want to be happy."

The Word of the Lord does not speak to us of being "happy" but it speaks alot on peace, and joy, and hope, and faith. What does a person look like that is overflowing with peace, joy, hope and faith? The wicked despise such people because such people have a treasure that cannot be bought with filthy mammon. Such people have a treasure that is stored and secured in a kingdom that is not of this world.

The Lord spoke clearly to me, these things remain, faith, hope and love. As the world spins out of control, we who are salt and light must continue to preserve (salt) and cast light or "illuminate" (as in the true God's light, not the luciferian lie). What the Lord tells us to do is not overwhelming, it is not complex, it is not hard to understand. We grasp the things we are to do like little children, not like the so called "scholars" of this age who are coming to nothing. We must focus on the few things that are necessary, and discard the many things that are unnecessary. Hold on to your faith, hope and love. Be a light that is set up on a hill for all to see:

Luke 8:16 No man, when the light is lighted, puts a cover over it, or puts it under a bed,but he puts it on its table, so that those who come in may see the light.

You don't have to beat people over the head with your bible today to get their attention. They will probably not say anything to you, but your hope and love will (in some cases) be the tools that open a person to asking about your faith. Don't try to figure it all out, just be open to the Lord and keep your thinking simple, like a child. Ask the Lord every day, "where is your Spirit today and what is your Spirit doing and saying today?"

Why should we care about where the Spirit is operating today, and what He is doing and saying?

Romans 8:14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

In order for the Spirit to lead, you have to follow. A people should inquire of their God. We who are the people of God should be praying continously with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Bottom line? What we have to do today, and in the days ahead is simple....These things remain, faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love. Keep your walk simple, few things are required. Focus on the vital few and discard the trivial many. Bless the name of the Lord, praise Him and rejoice.

These are the things I hear the Spirit saying today.

Keep the faith, grace and peace
Posted by Brother D at 7:41 PM

I Just Want My Life Back

2010-06-25T13:03:00.001-05:00

The CEO of BP was recently quoted as saying something like he wants the oil spill to be over with so he can "have his life back," or something to that effect.

The Lord dropped a bunch of things into my heart rapid fire this morning as I was driving home, and a good way to start off is with that quote.

People have been saying for years now, as the world has steadily deteriorated "I just want my life back." It's been housing, the stock market, jobs, floods, earthquakes, war, now this oil mess. This is what the Lord shed light on with me:

A different perspective on:
Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

What I believe the Lord impressed upon me about this "eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage" text is that I always took it as days of business as usual, and that's it. What I see now is that in spite of the world deteriorating all around them, people don't want to hear about prophesy,the end times or the true God. People could care less, what they want is....drum roll please............"their life back.." You know, back when they were not constantly confronted with these "end times problems." People are trying so hard to just focus on "eating and drinking, planting and building, buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage." They are trying so hard to act like everything is okay and things will get back to "normal" if they just wait it all out.

Sadly, the bible does not predict people "getting their life back." It predicts "losing your life to save it." Again, 180 degrees out of sync with the thinking of this world. There's a way to deal with the end times and its not anxiety or fear or worry. There's a way to stare everything that is coming on this world straight in the face and retain our joy and peace, but its not by thinking or acting or believing like the world does.

We are told here:

Luke 21:34“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

There is an escape from all coming, that's a stated biblical fact. We are to pray for escape, thats another stated biblical fact. Those who choose not to pray for escape from all, have an obedience issue with God that if left uncorrected, could cost them DEARLY in the days ahead.

Luke 21 appears to be ripe with meaning for us today, for those who have the eyes to see. Rewind back from Luke 21:36 a few paragraphs to this:

Luke 21:25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Signs in the sun?

How about this for a headline out of this week's news:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627640.800-whats-wrong-with-the-sun.html?full=true

What's wrong with the sun?

and a quote from the article:

"This is solar behaviour we haven't seen in living memory," says David Hathaway, a physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Haven't seen this kind of activity from the sun in living memory huh? NASA scientist said this....interesting. The bible tells us there will be signs in the sun moon and stars, but they will all be easily dismissable by those who have explanations for everything! Just like the way the oil disaster is unfolding before our eyes, everything is so explanable. We can see bibilical prophesy happen word for word right down to the nitty gritty details and people will still roll their eyes and try desperately to get back to "getting their life back."

Even when the events prophesied thousands of years ago are kicking people in the teeth over and over and over again. When objective and verifiable evidence is flashing across newscreens daily screaming at people, they'll roll their eyes and get back to "getting their life back."

Part of the problem with people admitting that the Word of God is coming true before their eyes is that they will then have to come to terms with the God who wrote and is the Word. That is something that people have had a problem with for a long long time. People like their religion, they like their social clubs, they even enjoy playing church, but when it comes to standing face to face with the consuming fire, the Holy One who will expose all their pet sins, well, that can wait for another day.....as we see here:

Isaiah 30:8

Go now, write it on a tablet for them,

inscribe it on a scroll,

that for the days to come

it may be an everlasting witness.

9These are rebellious people, deceitful children,

children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.

10They say to the seers,“See no more visions!”

and to the prophets,“Give us no more visions of what is right!

Tell us pleasant things,prophesy illusions.

11Leave this way,get off this path,

and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!”

All appearances are that these people who are doggedly determined to wait things out to "get their life back," are in for a long wait. The things I've read about whats happening in the Gulf of Mexico scream out that whatever is happening, it is going to be on a biblical scale. There are scenarios that experts who will never be mentioned by the media say could be apocalyptic.

We recently looked at Revelation 8:8 "The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed."

Here's our checklist so far:

and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea->complete (oil rig before sinking).

A third of the sea turned into blood-> in progress, the oil in the water looks like what? Blood...

9a third of the living creatures in the sea died-> in progress, give it time..

, and a third of the ships were destroyed.-> This was the one I thought, I just can't imagine how this whole oil leak thing could destroy a third of the ships? Lo and behold, each day new articles are shedding light on what's going on in the gulf. I seem to remember BP didn't want to bring their own ships in right after the rig blew and I wondered why? Possibly the same reason all the fisherman are getting sick? Still, that would just be dead sailors, what about the ships? Now we read about possible radioactive oil coming out of the depths? We read about methane blowouts from the well that could cause a 600 mph wall of water death across the ocean? Are we getting any traction here on possible loss of ships? Yep, its possible.

As we continue in Rev 8, what do we find?

10The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11the name of the star is Wormwood.a A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

Bitter waters huh? A great star? What does the bible call angels? STARS

We don't have to leave the book of Revelation for this proof:

Rev 1:19“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

And Wormwood? Remember Chernobyl? Nuclear? Radioactive oil? Food for thought.

The last thing the Lord impressed on me was this, again from Luke 21:

Luke 21:25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

One of the things the Holy Spirit does is bring to our mind remembrance of what has been written.

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father ... But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach
you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Back to Luke 21:25....“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. As we see the maritime drama playing out in our news daily, it should bring into focus for us what has been written. We can expect more drama from the sea, the Holy Word says its coming. It's going to be really hard for all the people who "just want their life back" to do so when men are "fainting from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world.."

The talking heads of TV will try to explain it all away for you. They have an endless supply of meaningless drivel to spoon feed you every day while the bible unfolds, word for precious word before the eyes of mankind.

My disclaimer in all of this is I am not predicting anything. I have eyes, and a God given mind, and I too have the Spirit of God living within me, as was promised to all true believers. I have a bible in one hand and eyes that are going back and forth from the Word of God to the events around me. What I am seeing is hitting "center mass" as we liked to say in the military with what the Word says would happen. All this, predicted thousands of years ago. Someone please compute the Vegas odds on that....

The Word of God is true, and it is vindicating itself before the eyes of man each and every day now. Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus.

grace and peace
Posted by Brother D at 3:31 AM

Some Reflections from Ephesians

2010-05-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

by Art Katz

Modern Jewry misconstrues the gospel to be an invitation to forsake their intrinsic identity and culture as a distinct people in order to become “Christianized” into an assimilation in the mainstream culture. For the most part, Jews cherish their traditions, and sense in them, however diminished, a vitality and spirituality often more than that which ironically purports to “save” them.

Tragically, Jews have not historically had placed before them the grandeur of the gospel of the Kingdom (i.e., the actual theocratic rule of God over the nations from Zion, and the consequent redemption of all creation) that alone transcends race, time and culture. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, in its breadth and majesty, describes the supremacy of that which in the divine intent eclipses all—namely, the eternal calling and purpose of Israel’s God! As it was for Abraham, so also every subsequent son of Abraham, the greater vision requires the greater sacrifice—the bringing up to the mount our dearest cultural and ethnic “Isaacs” in exchange for what God in Himself has provided!

As the epistle I believe demonstrates, true Christianity is not the “successor” (let alone replacement) of Israel’s faith; it is its continuation and completion (Eph. 2:11-19). We need to remember that the age concludes with Israel’s Messiah returning to them! The mourners in Zech. 12:11 are the Jewish inhabitants of the land of Israel at the national conversion prophesied in both Old and New Testaments (Hos. 3:5, Rom. 11:25-27). What a challenge, in the unity of this faith, to bring back the lost sheep of the house of Israel to conclude the age by a demonstration of the reality and glory that flows out of the root from which they have been broken off and to which Gentiles, who were “far off”, have been grafted in. Remember that believing Gentiles have been brought into Israel’s covenants and promises! Modern-day Jews have been the victim of an inadequate and truncated gospel, promulgated by a church that is itself suffering an impoverished gospel, and which can be remedied, in part, by a critical identification with Israel and its destiny as being to a large degree its own!

…we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father…and one Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 8:4b-6b).
Though it may seem elementary or self-evident to state it, to be a Christian means to be in conscious covenant relationship with Israel’s God. An abstract “belief in God” is far removed from faith in the God of the Bible; He is not to be relegated to man’s concept of Him. He identifies Himself as the “God of Jacob.” It is only in this God-specified concreteness that He can function as God for the Gentiles. To reject that particularity is in fact to reject God as God and forfeit the benefit of that relationship.

How many Gentile believers have in fact made this conscious identification? To what degree does God yet wait for the breaking of stubborn human pride that supposes to have God on its own terms and conditions and will not condescend to recognize or submit to God as God of the Jews? Even condescension “in principle” but not “in heart” may as effectually bar the recalcitrant Gentile believer from the experiential depths and joy in believing!

This is the first hurdle in the scandal of specificity that makes the faith the faith. Have we made it? I am fond of saying that outside the crucifixion of Jesus, there is nothing more that reveals God as God than in His dealings and judgments of Israel. How can we understand or know Jesus as the Christ when the word means Messiah? His whole foreshadowing, definition and function is described in Old Testament prophecy and anticipation as the deliverer of Israel! His exaltation as the King of Israel is upon the throne of David in Jerusalem’s holy hill of Zion (Ps.2:6, 68:16, Isa. 2:2-3)!

For “you who formerly were far off—having no hope and without God in the world have been brought near by the blood of Christ [Messiah]” (Eph. 2:12-13). As the context clearly shows, hope is rooted in having part in Israel’s covenants of promises, indeed into “the commonwealth of Israel” itself. However much one can point to the injustices of men and of society, to what degree does present hopelessness, despair and dejection have its roots in spiritual rather than earthly conditions? How sustaining can any hope be that is not this hope obtained by the Messiah’s blood? Having this hope and the heavenly priorities and reality that has now come, why concern yourself about the earthly conditions you find yourself in? This is salvation in which heavenly blessings have come to earth by the God “who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ [Israel’s Messiah]” (Eph. 1:3).

RECENT VIRGINIA CHURCH SERVICE-STIMULUS SERMON

2010-03-26T11:58:00.002-05:00

...from the Pastor of a predominantly black church in Virginia. This guy is obviously a leader. Perhaps we should each decide who our real leader is.....it is amazing to see that very little has changed in 4,000 years.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good morning, brothers and sisters; it's always a delight to see the pews crowded on Sunday morning, and so eager to get into God's Word. Turn with me in your Bibles, if you will to the 47th chapter of Genesis, we'll begin our reading at verse 13, and go through verse 27.

Brother Ray, would you stand and read that great passage for us? ....(reading)...

Thank you for that fine reading, Brother Ray... So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt , and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again.

So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock -their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain, and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year.

But the famine wasn't over, was it? So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh.." So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.

What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?

That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes.. That the only reason government wants to be our provider is to also become our master?

Yes.

But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt , in the land of Goshen .. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly." God provided for His people, just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to government, no, it says they gained possessions! But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one.

We see the same thing happening today - the government today wants to "share the wealth "once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind. And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago - as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders.

What Mr. Obama's government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh's government did then, and it will end the same. And a lot of people like to call Mr.Obama a "Messiah," don't they? Is he a Messiah? A savior? Didn't the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh"?

Well, I tell you this - I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh. Bow with me in prayer, if you will...

Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do, where it says "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.."

And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters. Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh's government.

In God We Trust...not Pharaoh.

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

2010-03-13T12:28:00.005-05:00

....is the title of a popular science fiction movie, in which an alien dictates to the inhabitants of the earth that they must cease their ways of war or face destruction from an invulnerable, powerful robot.

However, there is another “day” coming in which the earth will stand still. It is the "Day of the Lord". This will be the time in which God will judge the nations in righteousness by one man, Jesus Christ. Those who allow themselves to be judged in this life will be granted the right to reign in that day with Him. To put it plainly, there will be a small body of people, resurrected from every age, who will walk the earth for one thousand years, in immortal bodies, while the majority of mankind will still be mortal and under probation. These “overcomers” from every age will be appointed rulers - kings and priests - over the nations by Jesus Christ.

They will be granted the right to rule in that day because they submitted to the working of the Holy Spirit in this day. Having already undergone their period of judgment and probation, having submitted themselves to the judgments and chastenings of Yahweh while in bodies of flesh and blood, and having been perfected through sufferings, they will be manifested to the world. They are the true church of Christ, not the visible church of brick and mortar that is currently seen with the naked eye, but the invisible church, living stones mortared together by the Holy Spirit.

Something that is very much on the minds of God’s people in this day is the judgment of God. On every hand, we see natural catastrophes happening all over the earth — floods, fires, earthquakes, and such. And when one considers the level of wickedness and violence in the earth, he has to admit that the world needs to be judged.

Some Christians (including myself) have majored in speaking and writing about these disasters and warning the people — making sure that they are well informed about "the wrath of God" that is being poured out. Fear seems to be a strong motivating factor for keeping one’s eyes on these things. I speak from experience, for I also used to know fear "for the things that were coming upon the earth." But, since God has opened up my understanding concerning His way with mankind, I am at peace and rejoice in the goodness of God my Savior.

In “From Tent to Temple” by George Warnock, he stated that James, in Acts 15, was speaking by revelation to the assembly at Jerusalem. The Spirit revealed to him God’s purpose for the gospel age.

What was God’s purpose for this age?

"Men! Brethren! Hear me! Simeon unfolds how God first visits the nations, to obtain out of them a people for His name." And to back up this startling statement, He continues: "And with this agree the words of the prophets, according as it is written." Acts 15:15.

It is generally taught in Christianity that all the world must hear the gospel in this age before Jesus "can come again." That certainly has not happened. But now that we are standing at the end of the church age, we can affirm that James’ statement was a true word because only a remnant has been called out of the nations in this age, and that was God’s stated intention all the time.

But does this scripture conclude that those who were not of this remnant would be damned forever? No. It concludes: ". . . those left of mankind should be seeking out the Lord, and all the nations, on them over whom My name is invoked. . ." And to let us know that this truly is a revelation of God’s plan for this age, the prophecy concludes, ". . . saith Yahweh that does these things, known from age-past times" Acts 15:17 - Rotherham. (God was telling us it was in His plan of the ages.)

Anyone who is a part of that remnant can understand clearly why God should have chosen first to call out of the nations, a people for His name (to know His nature). He is going to use them to bring in the nations. And, we can never understand the nature of His judgments until we know His plan. Obadiah, the prophet who wrote only one short chapter, was given to see God’s plan for His remnant. He wrote, "And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall the Lord’s."

If we look at the symbols here, we can hear the message. There are two "mountains", or "authorities" in opposition to each other. One is Zion, that spiritual place of "being born from above." The other is Esau, that well-known type of the carnal, fleshly man. God is here saying that the authority of the Spirit is going to judge the authority of the carnal man and the result will be that the Lord will rule as king in the man He has made. Then shall the kingdom be the Lord’s.

How do these "saviors" judge the fleshly man, Esau? To answer this, we need to know what the word "judgment" means. In the New Testament, the word used is "Krisis", which we have changed to "Crisis". In English, it means "a critical period of time, a decisive moment, turning point, deciding time." In Greek, it means "a separating, choosing, deciding, determining, judging, trial, judgment."

Judgment time is a period of great rejoicing is in striking contrast to the orthodox view of a time of horror and dread. It would almost seem we were reading from a different Bible. No — it is the same Bible, but it is "the good tidings of great joy" that the angels said "shall be unto all people." These good tidings have been obscured by the traditions of men and clouded over by carnal reasonings. As a result, denominational Christianity teaches that only a remnant will be saved and the remainder of mankind will suffer the tortures of an everlasting hell.

We can see the nature of judgment by looking at how the "saviors on Mount Zion" are judged. They are told to judge the authority of that carnal, fleshly man, Esau. And that doesn’t mean judging someone outside of themselves — it means the Spirit of Christ within them judging the carnal nature that Christ nailed to the cross. The epistles are full of divine instruction as to how this shall be done.

Believers are told to: "yield" themselves to God; to "present" their bodies living sacrifices; to "humble" themselves; to "crucify" the flesh; to reckon themselves "dead"; to judge themselves that they may not be condemned (judged) with the world."

This gospel age is the period of the judgment upon "the house of God." The judgment of man began with Christ, the first finished man and Head of the Body. He passed through His trial successfully and "brought forth judgment unto victory."

Can you see and grasp that a certain group of people is having its trial during the Church Age? "The church of the firstborn", "the house of God" is having its judgment, trial or probation BEFORE the rest of mankind. It escapes the future general judgment because it has its judgment or PROBATION here and now!

Brethren, consider your own life in the light of "judgment" - meaning "a deciding time". Can you not recall many times when you were in a ‘crisis’ and had to make a decision to choose the way of the Spirit and to put down the way of the flesh? If you have been tested and tried by the Lord and have had many "deciding times when you had to judge the mount of Esau, you know that a remnant has been called-out and is being judged in this gospel age. They have learned to fall on Christ as their only hope. They are passing through their perfecting process of probation, educating and developing until they reach the image of God and have their "part in the first resurrection."

Unto these, the scriptures say: "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned (judged) with the world." (I Corinthians 11: 31-32)

The Day of Judgment

If it is true that judgment begins "at the house of God" during the gospel age, when shall the great Day of Judgment come when every man shall appear before the Judgment Seat of God? It has been commonly taught that this judgment will cover a short time period and then the judgment of every man will be set. The scriptures do not teach this. Rather, they set forth a long day of judgment for "the rest of mankind." Peter says it is "a thousand-year period (2 Peter 3:7&8). John tells us "And I saw thrones and they sat upon them and judgment was given unto them. . . . and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" Rev. 20:4. Judgment was given unto those of the remnant who had been through their "probation time" — their "deciding time — their testing and chastening time until they qualified to rule and reign with Christ. (I Cor. 6:2; Rev. 3:21).

The church system has generally taught its followers that all that is required of them is to "repeat the sinner’s prayer" and "do your best" to live for Jesus. And when you are “raptured”, you will automatically be changed to be like Jesus and will be given power to rule and reign with Him. And, if you don’t come in this way, in this life, you will have no choice but to be cast into an everlasting hell.

Could we let the Bible teach us the truth of the matter? Could we set aside the traditions of men long enough to hear "the glad tidings of great joy that shall be unto all people?

Here is a recap some of the truths I am setting forth:

l. It was not in God’s plan that the world as a whole should have their probation, or deciding time, in this life. Probation is the period of man’s education, instruction, development and perfecting.
2. "It is appointed unto man once to die and after this probation" Heb. 9:27. ("Probation" is a correct translation of the original word "Krisis" — "trial, the deciding time, or probation).
3. The "called-out remnant" alone would be judged during this church age.
4. The world would be judged during the thousand-year period called the Day of the Lord, by those “saviors” who have judged themselves and now rule righteously with the Lord.
5. The truth is: by God’s express appointment the great mass of mankind do not have any probation at all until after death.

Orthodox teachings say that there is no probation for any after death! When you have breathed your last breath, it’s all over for you. If you haven’t said "the sinner’s prayer" before you stopped breathing, (even though you may never have heard of Jesus, or been drawn by His Spirit) you will automatically be consigned to hell — plain and simple. This "theology" is NOT GOOD NEWS! Further, the scriptures teach no such thing! Why should we expect "all people" to be happy upon hearing such news? Rather, they would feel that such a God can surely not be a God of Love and mercy, so why should anyone want to love and serve Him?

There are two points to consider in this false teaching. First, in the King James Version "hell" is always spoken of as being "eternal" or "everlasting". Secondly, it is always portrayed as being in the nature of torture and punishment.

Mistranslations and false teachings have caused people to have a distorted image of God. I know a number of believers who strive with the Lord all the time and have no peace because they believe God to be this wrathful Being. In the Judgment Seat scene in Mat. 23, this is what the original Greek words say unto those of the "goat" nature: ". . . Depart ye from Me, accursed ones! Into the age-abiding fire which hath been prepared for the adversary and his messengers." And, He concludes the matter, in vs. 46, by saying: "And these shall go away into age-abiding correction, but the righteous into age-abiding life" (Rotherham). The Concordant Literal N.T. brings out the same truth: "And these shall be coming away into chastening aeonian, yet the just into life aeonian (age-lasting)."

Do we have any concrete example in the Bible to prove that hell is: a) not eternal b) it is for correction rather than for punishment. Read I Peter 3:18-20. I doubt you have ever heard a sermon on these verses. Even the KJV plainly says that Jesus "went and preached unto the spirits in prison" who had been disobedient in the days of Noah. "Preaching" is telling the good news of the gospel, so those who had been confined for a long age were now visited by the Lord and He told them the good news that He had "suffered for sins. . . that he might bring us to God." I’m confident that Jesus did not give them this good news in vain. He must have received those who rejoiced in His good news (the gospel!) Their judgment had not been an "everlasting punishment." It was both "corrective" and "age-lasting"!

The wondrous truth of the matter is that this long day of judgment that is at hand is the time of the probation of man — of all who have not previously had such trial. Everything is coming into place: the church age of the in-part is over; man’s day (the sixth day) is over and the Kingdom Age, the Day of the Lord is dawning upon the horizon of time. Now shall mankind know the One who "turneth man to destruction, and saith, return ye children of men."

Fall on the Stone

There is a mighty teaching rain that is even now falling upon His remnant sons. This teaching rain is rolling away the stone that has been upon the tomb of Truth. It is shaking from His Own all the lifeless teachings of Babylon which have kept His people in bondage and ignorance. For example, many are there who swear that the King James Bible is the most inspired version of all the Bibles and we can trust its words implicitly.

Little do they know that it was copied largely from the BISHOPS BIBLE which was compiled from the Tyndale, the Coverdale and the Cranmer translations. The translators were to consult the Greek and Hebrew texts but their scholarship in these two languages was sadly lacking. They compiled their bible in 1603 and it was not until 1628 that some ancient manuscripts of the Greek New Testament arrived in England. It is no wonder that in the 1760’s thirty thousand new marginal references were added to these editions.

My purpose in mentioning this is not take away your confidence in the Bible, but simply to alert you to the fact that only the original writings were inspired. In the age in which we live the original meanings of the Greek and Hebrew words are made available to the most lowly believer. We may now search out and compare the meanings of words and receive further enlightenment by the Spirit of the Lord. The Lord is using this means to correct many false teachings that have been propagated by Babylon.

I have said all that to introduce the true meaning of a word that holds within it the seed of a great truth. That word is found in Mat. 21:43: "Whosoever shall fall on this stone (Christ) shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall it shall grind him to powder." We who have "fallen on Christ" know we must submit to being broken, crucified, mortified, and perfected through suffering. But we count the prize to be worth all this and more! "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us" Rom. 8:18.

But what of those who will not fall on the stone? Tradition and mistranslation lead us to believe they "shall be ground to powder", a disastrous fate. However, the latter part of Mat. 21:44 is a gross mistranslation. The original word does NOT mean "to grind to powder." The word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, so we must find its meaning from its usage in the Old Testament. It means: "to part the grain from the chaff, to winnow." The Concordant Literal N.T. says: ". . . on whomsoever it should be falling, it will be scattering him like chaff."

This word is also used in Jer. 4:11 with the meaning to "fan" or "winnow" which is to "cleanse" from wickedness.

This passage should correctly read: ". . upon whomsoever it shall fall, it will WINNOW them."

Though the process be severe, yet they will benefit in the end. They will be separated from "the chaff" of sin and self, and will be made pure, cleansed from their wickedness.

Those who will not humble themselves shall be humbled. Those who will not "reckon themselves dead", and "die daily", shall be killed. BUT! "The Lord kills and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and brings up" I Sam. 2:6. "He turns man to destruction, and says, return ye children of men" Psa. 90:3. They will say: "Come and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up" Hosea 6:1.

And at last, each man shall know: "For thou, O God, hast proved us; thou hast tried us as silver is tried. Thou brought us into the net; thou laid affliction upon our loins; thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; but thou brought us OUT into a wealthy place" Psa. 66:10-12. The same God who brought them INTO trouble for their discipline and improvement, brought them out again into a wealthy place!

Some men are "saved by grace" and others are "saved so as by fire". Whether the Lord deals with us in mercy or in wrath, the end (the purpose in view) is always the same: ". . . that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy" James 5:11. Though many are not willing to fall on the Stone, yet they shall not be utterly ruined, but rather they shall be WINNOWED — CLEANSED — PURIFIED.

The Purpose of Judgment

God’s judgments are always the expression of His Love, and for the good of mankind. I have found this to be true on a personal basis and am convinced that it is true for every man. The deepest trials have always brought forth the greatest benefit to my spiritual life so I have had to acknowledge His Love in every judgment that was brought to bear upon me.

Once the people of God begin to know the nature of the Lord they shall realize that His righteousness is not fully declared until makes His creatures righteous with His own righteousness! He finds no joy or satisfaction in punishing to satisfy His anger or wrath. This is more like the actions of the heathen gods (devils) that the people worshipped. Their anger always had to be appeased by offerings. But I do not know my Savior like this!

A common objection to the things we are setting forth here is that "God is a holy God and cannot even look upon sin! He must cast the wicked away from Himself. He hates sin!" These are all true statements but they have not been taken to their logical conclusion. It is because He is a holy God that He cannot rest until all that is opposed to His nature in His creation is subdued and changed. It is no victory for God to cast the wicked into a raging inferno for the sake of punishment alone. That is contrary to God’s nature. But fires for chastening and proving — yes! We know that He does this, for we have experienced it in our own lives.

He has shown me that righteousness is not complete if it only judges and condemns (for the devil also can condemn). The highest righteousness, while it judges sin, can never rest until it also makes the sinner righteous!

See Isa. 30:18-21, especially vs. 20: "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction,yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers. . for the Lord is a God of judgment." We see here that the Just Judge uses adversity and affliction as teachers to teach us His ways. And when these teachers have done their work, we acknowledge the loving Hand that sent them, and we long to be LIKE HIM! These are some of His ways with mankind.

God’s Way With Man

Jesus declared that "the Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son" Jn. 5:22.

Have you ever wondered why this should be? It is simply because He is the Son of man. Judgment, trial and probation has to do with man. Jesus was tempted (tried) in all points like as we, and brought forth judgment unto victory. He is fitted to have the work of man’s probation committed to His Hand.

What a comfort it is to know that when "all shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ" that the Judge "can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities." And He "can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way, for that He Himself also (was) compassed with infirmities."

John 5:28-29 is very enlightening concerning judgment. "Do not marvel at this: because there comes an hour in which all they in the tombs shall hearken unto His voice, And shall come forth, they who the good things have done, unto a resurrection of life; but they who the corrupt things have practised, unto a resurrection of judgment." (Rotherham) The Concordant Literal N.T. also renders this word "judgment" rather than "damnation" as used in the KJV.

Let me remind you that the word "judgment", or "Krisis" is used in the New Testament to denote the deciding time, trial or probation of man. This passage confirms that "it is appointed unto man once to die and after this probation."

The Word teaches that those who do evil here — who have no light or knowledge — come forth from their graves at Christ’s voice —

— NOT to be consigned to an endless hell or to be eternally destroyed.
— BUT to have their trial or time of probation before the judgment seat of Christ where they will, like the Head and the Firstborn, learn obedience through the things that they suffer.

A thousand-year time period has been set for this purpose, for "God hath appointed a day (the Day of Judgment) in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man (Jesus) whom he hath ordained. Whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised Him from the dead" Acts 17:31.

This surely indicates that the period of the world’s judgment is one of BLESSING. Nothing less than Christ’s resurrection is presented as an assurance that the world shall one day be judged in righteousness. This is a PROMISE — an assurance of GOOD. The Lord’s coming with (or in) his saints "to execute judgment" will convince the ungodly of their error and bring them to a better mind (Jude 1:14&15). We are told that when the season of God’s judgment is come, the everlasting gospel shall be preached to every nation (Rev. 14:6&7). And "when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:9). "Men will come to Him, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame" (Isaiah 45:24).

Judgment day is not a time of dread and gloom, but a time of gladness and joy for all mankind. The assurance of such a day is given to man as a promise of good, and the pledge thereof is the resurrection of Jesus! I’d say that must be GOOD NEWS for the world! Jer. 29:11 Amplified, "For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace, and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.”

Portions of this teaching are taken from “Judgment: Damnation or Probation” by Bill and Elaine Cook.

THE MOST EXTREME MAN or WOMAN in the CHURCH

2010-03-04T06:29:00.004-05:00

by ANNA WOOD
http://annawood.wordpress.com/

The most extreme man in the church today is the man is the one who
stands on God’s Word alone.

He is the “voice crying in the wilderness” of modern churchanity.

It is he who dares to ask not, ”Is this okay? Can we “get away with
it”?”, but “Is this honoring to God Almighty?”

Here is one who refuses to engage in frivolity while the world slides to hell.

Here is the man who isn’t afraid to stand before men and be laughed
at; he is afraid only of standing before God and being condemned.

He stands for truth in a time of compromise.

He constantly searches out the Word of God and demands a “thus saith
the Lord” in a time of me-centered, watered-down, cotton candy
teachings.

He believes that there is one way, God’s Way, and he is willing to
give up home, income, reputation…indeed, he is willing to give up all
that he has, all that he is…in order that it may be taught.

Here is the one who knows “doing for God” must grow out of “being with
God” and not the other way around.

Here is the preacher who isn’t afraid to “step on toes” or make
someone uncomfortable when the need arises.

He is one who will preach boldly against sin in all of its manifestations.

He is a man who constantly invites his Lord to “search me…try me…see
if there is any wicked way in me”.

He is one who knows Jesus wasn’t just “meek and mild” but also the
Lion of Judah Who was zealous for God’s house and he tirelessly seeks
to follow his Master’s example.

He is the husband, the father, who leads his family to go against the
world–no matter how unpopular, how uncomfortable the position–rather
than ride the flow that leads to hell.

Here is the young man who seeks out a woman of true loveliness, one
who loves God and shows much growth in godliness, rather than one
whose beauty is only skin deep.

The most extreme man in the church is the one who unfailingly takes
God at His Word and then, believing, acts on it.

He teaches truth even when persecuted for it.

He sees the times and, understanding the dangers ahead, beseeches God
on behalf of the people who are failing Him.

Here is one who will lose sleep to “stand in the gap” for his family,
the church, the nation.

He is not afraid of censure, of unpopularity,of ridicule but only of
displeasing his Lord.

He is one who has obviously ”been with Jesus”.

He knows intimately the throne of grace and lives at the foot of it.

He knows the Cross of Christ for he makes his home in its shadow.

He loves God and thus loves the unlovely–even those who would cause
him harm for his “extreme” positions.

Here is one to whom praying is as natural as breathing.

He is known in hell and hated for his prayers aren’t prayers for
personal comfort but for God’s will to be done–and then, when the
prayers are momentarily complete, he gets up and makes himself
available to be the instrument through which God’s will can be
accomplished.

One who knows sleepless nights spent crying out to God that He may be
known and honored among men.

A man who has absolute faith in God that His Lord is able to do all
that He has promised.

Here is a man to whom the thought has never occurred to not “accept”
Jesus as His Lord.

One whom, knowing his own sinfulness, is humbled by the grace-filled
opportunity to serve His Lord in any and every fashion that God
bestows upon him.

A man to whom God Himself is more important than any other gift that
God could bestow

WARNING to THE "APOSTLES"

2010-02-25T13:43:00.001-05:00

WARNING to THE "APOSTLES"
-Andrew Strom.
2/25/2010

An Open Letter to Peter Wagner, Dutch Sheets & Other "Apostles".

I recently received a report of a new "Apostolic Network" headed
up by Dutch Sheets which held a gathering in Florida last week to
"carve up" territories for it's 'apostles', etc. I need to put in writing
what I believe the Lord would say to these men.

But first I need to remind us all of something. On June 23rd, 2008,
a group of "apostles and prophets" under Peter Wagner's headship
stood on a stage in Lakeland at the Todd Bentley revival - to lay
on hands and commission him, etc. But it was far more than that.
Peter Wagner called it an "apostolic alignment." He made the
following statement before all the TV cameras and all the people:

"I take the apostolic authority that God has given me and I decree
to Todd Bentley:
-Your power will increase.
-Your authority will increase.
-Your favor will increase.
-Your influence will increase.
-Your revelation will increase.
I also decree that:
-A new supernatural strength will flow through this ministry.
-A new life force will penetrate this move of God..."

Onlookers might have thought that Wagner was 'prophesying' the
above statements. But actually what he felt he was doing was
"decreeing" these things over Todd - since he was the 'head
apostle'. In a letter the following day, Wagner called this a
"groundbreaking event" and stated that, "We are now in a place
in what I see as the Second Apostolic Age..." (In other words,
a "new era" of real apostles).

So how did that work out for you, Peter? Well, literally within
weeks we found out that many of the "miracles" at Lakeland had
no foundation, and then Todd Bentley's wife separated from him
apparently over an affair he was having - and the entire 'revival' fell
to pieces in the worst way possible. That's how it worked out.

All the big Charismatic leaders that had stood on that stage hardly
knew what to do with themselves - they were so embarrassed.
And none more so than Peter Wagner - after making an "Apostolic
decree" like that. -Probably the most colossal disaster of his life.

So who pulled the rug out from under your "apostolic alignment",
Peter? I need to tell you that there are two responsible parties.
One is 'yourself' - clearly. And the second is GOD - because He
is now pitted against you and your so-called "apostles". He is the
one who did this to you.

You and your friends have presumed to an office and a place over
the Body that is simply not yours, and God is in the process of
taking you 'apostles' down - and all your "networks" with you.

Dutch Sheets - can I ask you please, what gives you the right to
carve up the Body of Christ in North America and parcel it out like
McDonalds franchises to all your buddies so they can be 'apostles'
over their own "territory"? Do you have any idea what you are
playing with? Don't you know that if your buddies are not real New
Testament Apostles then all they are doing is painting huge
targets on themselves and begging for the judgment of God?
How dare you treat the Body of Christ like a piece of Real Estate
that you can carve up for your own aggrandizement?

Because of men like you, God is about to judge the leadership
of the church. Do they call themselves an "apostle"? Well, God
is going to put them to the test. If they are not the real thing, they
make themselves His 'enemy' because they are blocking His
real Reformation. Every self-proclaimed "apostle and prophet" is
about to be put to the test. Oh, you call your group an "Apostolic
Council of Elders" or something similar? Expect God to come
calling, and if you are not the real thing, expect Him to take you
down. The Lord God is coming to take back His church with great
violence. And you guys are standing directly in His way.

I've heard that one of these big "apostles" in Canada once told his
network that their "apostle-ness" would be judged by the 'noses
and nickels' that they represented. (In other words, their "numbers"
and their reaping of money). Hmmmm. If I didn't know better, I
would call those the words of a hireling and a wolf.

As Lee Grady wrote about this 'Apostle-Mania':
"In some circles apostles demanded total allegiance from the
leaders who were "under" them. Some required a policy of "tithing
up," creating a monstrous organizational structure similar to a
spiritual Amway. So-called apostles with huge "downlines" made
exorbitant amounts of money. One leader even offered pastors the
opportunity to become "spiritual sons" by contributing $1,000 a
month to his ministry."

And yet here is what the TRUE apostle Paul wrote: "I think that
God has set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to
death... we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are
buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace... we are made as the
filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things..." (1 Cor 4:9-13).

Now THAT is true apostleship. Tell me, Mr. Modern Apostle, do
you match up to the New Testament apostles? If not, what on
earth do you think God is going to do to you if you claim that title falsely?

I believe that many true Apostles, when they do arise, will simply
REFUSE to carry such titles in any way. They will "minimize"
themselves, not exalt themselves. That is the heart of a true leader of God.

In closing, let me again warn those who have titled themselves
"apostle" or 'prophet' in the modern church. God is coming to
"clean house" and if you are not the real deal, expect Him to start
with you. It is as simple as that. You need to repent urgently of
your utter presumption. You have been warned.

Send feedback to- prophetic@revivalschool.com

God bless you all.

Andrew Strom.

THE SONS OF ZADOK

2010-02-20T09:06:00.002-05:00

The overcomers who are raised in the first resurrection are called "priests of God and of Christ." There are two priesthoods in the Bible: Levi (Aaron) and Melchizedek. The Levitical priesthood was chosen to administer the terms of the Old Covenant; the Melchizedek priesthood was chosen to administer the terms of the New Covenant.

The contrast between the two is great. Levi was violent and cruel (Gen. 49:5-7) and, along with Simeon, came under the curse of Jacob. That curse would eventually catch up with them when this priesthood offered up their final Sacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ. Yes, they were called to do this, but even so, they came under judgment for their heart attitude in which they did it. At that point, Levi was replaced by Melchizedek, even as the Old Covenant was replaced by the New.

Thus, the sons of God are priests after the order of Melchizedek, not priests after the order of Levi. Melchizedek was the King of Salem (i.e., "King of Peace"), as opposed to Levi, who was king of violence and cruelty.

Melchizedek's calling was not tied to his genealogy (Heb. 7:6). By contrast, Levitical priests had to be a descended from Aaron, of the tribe of Levi. David and Jesus were both of the tribe of Judah, rather than Levi. Thus, they were Melchizedek priests (Psalm 110:4; Heb. 7:17) ministering to God. And the overcomers, too, who may have no genealogical connection to Levi, are called out of every people, tongue and nation.

One of the key characteristics of priests is the fact that they have no inheritance in the land, as we read in Num. 18:20, "Then the Lord said to Aaron, You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor own any portion among them; I AM YOUR PORTION AND YOUR INHERIT-ANCE among the sons of Israel."

To inherit God is to inherit the glorified body as a son of God. As a son, these are priests who have the duty toward God to minister to Him and to the people.

Intercession between God and men was the duty of priesthood under God. Levi failed to live up to its administrative duty and was replaced by Melchizedek. This simply means that the Order of Melchizedek has now taken over the duties that were first given to Levi. The duties no longer include blood sacrifices, because they have a "better" Sacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. They have a new temple in a New Jerusalem and a new Mount Sion, as the book of Hebrews tells us. Yet the provision of Num. 18:20 still stands. GOD IS THEIR INHERITANCE, in contrast to the rest of the believers who will be given real estate when the meek inherit the earth.

This change from Levi to Melchizedek is foreshadowed in the story of Eli and how his lineage was replaced by Zadok in the days of Solomon. Although Zadok was still a Levitical priest, his name means "righteousness," and is part of the Melchizedek (Zadok) name, "King of Righteousness" (Heb. 7:2). Because this replacement was done during the Old Testament times, God used an Aaronic priest, Zadok, as a type of the Melchizedek Order.

In that the replacement was done in the days of Solomon, the "Prince of Peace," it speaks of the real change in the days of Jesus, the true Prince of Peace. The story of this change in priesthood begins in 1 Samuel 2:27-36. Because Eli's sons were corrupt, stealing the offerings and having sex with the women, God sent a prophet to Eli and told him in verses 30 and 35, "I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever; but NOW the Lord declares, "Be it far from Me--for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed. . . But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always."

Eli was replaced by Eleazar (1 Sam. 7:1), who was replaced by Abiathar. Solomon replaced Abiathar. Of course, ultimately, this was a prophecy of Jesus Christ and the Melchizedek Order that replaced the old Order of Levi. But Zadok was the type of Christ as High Priest. 1 Kings 2:27, 28 says, "So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh . . . And the king appointed Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar."

Ezekiel comments upon this replacement in Ezekiel 44, relating it prophetically to two types of priesthoods in the Age of Tabernacles to come. In 44:10-14 the prophet speaks of the Order of Eli, representing the corrupted priesthood: "But the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray. . . shall bear the punishment for their iniquity, 11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house and ministering in the house . . . And they shall NOT come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me. . ."

It is strange that God would continue to allow a corrupted priesthood to have any job at all in the temple. It is presumed, however, that such corrupted ministers have repented by the time this is fulfilled. But the downside is that they are disqualified from ministering to God directly. In the context of temple worship, they will not be able to approach God in the Sanctuary (in heaven) itself, but will be limited to ministering in the outer court (earthly realm). In other words, they are Christian believers and even ministers, but they were unable to progress past the Passover or Pentecostal experiences. They did not allow the law to be written on their hearts, which was the purpose of Pentecost. They fell short of the promises, because they had no vision of the feast of Tabernacles or what it meant to enter the Promised Land--the glorified body. By way of contrast, we read in verses 15-19, "But the Levitical priests, the SONS OF ZADOK, who kept the charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall offer the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God. They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep My charge."

Bible teachers often take these passages too literally, thinking that God is going to set up another temple in Jerusalem on the temple mount, complete with Jewish Levites and animal sacrifices. They say that the Age of Grace is soon completed, and then we are all going back under animal sacrifices once again. To me, that is utter blasphemy. It is as if they never read the book of Hebrews. The blood of bulls and goats can never remove sin. "But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction" (Heb. 10:39).

Ezekiel's prophecy is set forth in Old Testament terms, like all the types and shadows do. But we are to interpret them in a New Testament context. This new priesthood is not really Zadok's line per se, because Zadok himself was still of Levi, and so ultimately, he could not remove himself from Jacob's curse.

Neither are we to suppose that Jesus' blood will be set aside in favor of renewed animal sacrifices. Nor will the New Jerusalem be replaced by the Old Jerusalem, nor will the living temple (Eph. 2:21) be replaced by a dead temple rebuilt in Jerusalem. The Old Covenant has been replaced by the New Covenant. The New Covenant will not be replaced by the Old in the future.

Although Ezekiel 44 uses the story of Eli and Zadok as the backdrop for the prophecy, it is really about a New Testament priesthood in the Age of Tabernacles that is soon to come. In the past 2,000 years there has been a Christian priesthood under Pentecost--the leavened feast--that became as corrupt as the priesthood of Eli. Many of them, though they steal offerings and have sex with the women parishioners, do have a genuine belief in Jesus Christ. In the age of the Prince of Peace, they will be allowed to minister in the outer court (that is, the physical body). But they will not be allowed to minister to God in His Sanctuary in heaven. In other words, they will not receive that glorified body that can go back and forth between heaven and earth--the kind of body that Jesus had after His resurrection.

Ezekiel describes this body in 44:17-19, putting it in Old Testament terms, but prophesying of New Testament things: "And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with LINEN GARMENTS; and WOOL shall not be upon them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house."

Linen is made from plants; wool is an animal product. Rev. 19:8 says, "fine linen is the righteousness [i.e., ZADOK] of the saints." Linen represents the spiritual body, even as wool represents the fleshly, physical body.

And so, when these "priests of God and of Christ" are given glorified bodies, like Jesus had, they will be able to go back and forth between heaven and earth, ministering to God in Sanctuary in their "linens" and then returning to earth dressed in "wool" to minister to the people in the outer court.

"And when they go out into the outer court [earthly realm of the people]. . . they shall put off their [linen, spiritual body] garments in which they have been ministering, and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other [wool, fleshly body] garments. . ."

This is why, after Jesus' resurrection, He always appeared to His disciples in a body of "flesh and bones" (Luke 24:39). In fact, he spent considerable time in Luke 24 convincing the disciples that He was NOT A SPIRIT. He even ate with them to prove it. Why? In order to manifest to us the glorified body. It is the inheritance of the sons of God as well. They have to be able to "change clothes," because Ezekiel 44:19 makes it unlawful to minister to the people in their linen clothes—that is, as spirits. For this reason Jesus did not appear to people as a spirit but took on a body at those times.

Even so, this glorified body clearly is not confined to the limitations of the flesh as we know it in this mortal body.

In Paul's day, skeptics asked in 1 Cor. 15:35, "with what kind of body do they come?" While we do not know the full answer to this, the simple answer is this: "They will come with the kind of body that Jesus had after His resurrection."

This is what it means for the sons of God to be priests after the Order of Melchizedek, as described in Ezekiel 44.

From: Stephen Jones – Creation’s Jubilee

A SWORD FOR THE LORD AND FOR GIDEON

2010-02-18T19:13:00.002-05:00

“He (Gideon) divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty earthen vessels into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the earthen vessels.” (Judges 7:16)

“So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the earthen vessels that were in their hands. When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the earthen vessels, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” (Judges 7:19-20)

As His body, we have His light within us. In 2 Cor. 4:7, Paul refers to it as a "treasure in earthen vessels." In this story of Gideon, their weapons of war included an earthen pitcher with a torch inside of it. At the appointed time the army blew the trumpets and then shattered the earthen vessels to show forth the light. This was prophetic, first of the Feast of Trumpets (signaling the resurrection of the dead), followed by the breaking of the earthen vessels, the body of flesh, the veil hiding the glory. This is a picture of the Feast of Tabernacles, where the veil is torn and the glorious, unveiled light of God shines out of darkness into the world. This will be the manifestation of the sons of God, which all creation will rejoice to see (Romans 8:19-22).

This will also mark the real beginning of the fulfillment of the word in Habakkuk 2:14, "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."

At the present time, the glory of God is veiled in us, because it is not yet the appointed time to break the earthen vessels. In this Pentecostal Age the Spirit of God speaks to the world from within His people, behind the veil of flesh. In the age to come, a greater light will shine forth, because God's people will be unveiled in a greater way. Then will begin a time of world evangelism that will be unprecedented in the history of the earth. The Bible says that all nations will come to worship Him at that time.

In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul brings to a climax His commentary on the Feast of Tabernacles. He starts the chapter by contrasting our present "tent" of this mortal flesh with the immortal "tent" which is from above. He is referring to the practice in the time of that feast, where the people left their houses made of dead wood and stone in order to live for seven days in a tent made of living branches.

"For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven;inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." (2 Corinthians 5:1-4)

We "groan" in this present, earthly, mortal house (or tent), because of its infirmities and its limitations. But we have another living tent that is immortal. Paul does not say that we are now clothed with that tent, but that it is reserved for us in the age to come. Paul clearly tells us that the appointed time has not yet come for us to claim this tent. Neither Paul nor any other Christian received this tent when they were justified by faith or even when they received the Spirit in Pentecost. It is ours today, but we are not yet clothed with that new body. It is a future hope, and we will be clothed in that tent only at God's appointed time at the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Meanwhile, Paul says that under our Pentecostal anointing, we have been given the earnest of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:5). The word "earnest" means "that which is given in downpayment in pledge that the full amount will be paid subsequently." In other words, the Spirit of God has been given to us in Pentecost as a pledge of the full inheritance, which we will later receive at the Feast of Tabernacles.

At the end of Paul's commentary on the Feast of Tabernacles, he concludes with a statement regarding the ministry to the world, which is the purpose of the baptism of the Spirit. In the Passover Age, Israel was called out of Egypt as the Church of its day to be an example to the nations, showing forth the light of God to all. They ultimately failed, because they preferred to worship the idols of other nations, and yet we do have examples of successes at various times. For example, in the early part of Solomon's reign, the queen of Sheba came to learn the ways of God, and she was a prophetic pattern of the nations that will yet come to learn the law of God, as prophesied in Isaiah 2:1-4 and Micah 4:1-3.

In this Pentecostal Age, God has called forth a body of believers out of Israel and united them with other believers who adhered to the New Covenant. This became, in a sense, a new definition of the Church that no longer included nonbelievers, as had been the case in the Old Testament Israel Church. This new body, too, was called out of the oppression and blindness of the old religion of Judaism and was supposed to shine forth the light of Christ and the Word to the rest of the world. This body had more success than the Old Testament Church, but in the end it has failed to finish the job. Even with the revival of Pentecostal movements in the twentieth century, the Church has not succeeded in establishing righteousness among the nations.

In the Tabernacles Age to come, God will again call forth a body of believers out of the Pentecostal Church and anoint them to preach the Word to all the world. These overcomers will not fail. Their ministry will succeed beyond all expectations. They will bring righteousness to the earth by the power of the Spirit, overthrowing all oppression and dispelling all darkness wherever it may be found.

At the beginning of each of these ages, God has visited mankind and given a measure of His Spirit. God's purpose in giving His Spirit has always been to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. But the Scriptures tell us that there is a glorious age to come in which all the nations of the earth will want to come and learn the ways and laws of God (Isaiah 2:1-4). This will not simply happen by itself. It will happen when the overcomers are empowered fully by the Spirit of God under the Feast of Tabernacles. This is prophesied and foreshadowed by the story of Jonah, who preached the Word to Nineveh, and the entire city repented.

Psalm 67:1 and 2 tells us, "God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us-- Selah. That Thy way may be known on the earth, Thy salvation among all nations."

When God's face shines upon us (that is, from the inside out), then God's way will be known throughout the earth. This is the purpose of the manifestation of the "face" of God in us, the Peniel experience. The same psalm continues,"Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for Thou wilt judge the peoples with uprightness, and guide the nations on the earth. Selah. Let the peoples praise Thee, O God; let all the peoples praise Thee. The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us. God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him."

The psalmist says that the nations will rejoice, because He will judge the people (i.e., the nations) with true justice, replacing the present oppressive governments of the earth. The purpose of God's blessing upon us--that is, His face--is so that the whole earth may fear Him, rather than false gods. Again, Psalm 72 tells us, "May he also rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. Let the nomads of the desert bow before him; and his enemies lick the dust. Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. And let all kings bow down before him, all nations serve him." (Psalm 72:8-11)

Verses 17-19 continue,"May His name endure forever; may His name increase as long as the sun shines; and let men bless themselves by Him; let all nations call him blessed. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; and may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen."

The concept that the whole earth will some day be filled with the glory of God is expressed five times in the Bible. The first example is found in Numbers 14 when Israel refused to enter Canaan at the Feast of Tabernacles. When Caleb and Joshua urged the people to enter Canaan, the people would have stoned them, except that suddenly "the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel" (14:10). God then threatened to disinherit Israel, but Moses interceded for them, saying that the Canaanites would say that God was incapable of bringing Israel into the land He had promised them. In other words, man's inability to follow God would be stronger than God's ability to bring them to the place of obedience.

This is a classic issue even in the Church today. Is God really sovereign? Does He really have the power to bring His glory into the earth through an obedient people? The task seems hopeless, if dependent upon the will of man; but an absolute certainty, if it is dependent upon God and God alone.

Although that generation lost the opportunity to receive God's fullness, God swore by an oath on His own name that He Himself would see to it that His glory would some day fill the earth. Numbers 14:21 says, "but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD." This is God's intent, His purpose, His plan, and none can turn it aside or hinder it from coming in its appointed time.

God is bringing His glory to the earth in three stages, bound by three veils that are removed one at a time. The removal of these veils lead us into the three ages of Passover, Pentecost, and finally, Tabernacles, where His glory will be fully manifested in the overcomers. This will be the first body of people, a relatively small body of believers, who will be the first of the firstfruits unto God. The Church will come in next at the end of the Tabernacles Age. And in the years following, God will deal with the rest of the world until His glory has filled the whole earth.

Isaiah 6:3 says, "And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory."

In this prophetic vision at the time of Isaiah's call to the ministry, the prophet saw the goal of all prophetic utterance, the final end of God's work and purpose for creation. He saw the earth not burned up and in ruin, but on fire with the glory of God through the baptism of fire and the Holy Spirit. In Isaiah 11:9 the prophet affirms this. Then in Habakkuk 2:14 the prophet says, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."

To what extent do the waters cover the sea? One hundred percent. The prophet says that His glory will fill the earth in the same way. That is, there will be left no place on earth where the knowledge of His glory is not found. The earth has a glorious future, not because man's will is so powerful, but because God is sovereign.

Even so, God is also love, and for this reason He does not use force to get people to love Him in return. He is courting the nations, and this takes time. A big show of force (such as occurred at Sinai when the mountain was on fire and the earth quakes with His voice) merely causes men to fear Him. Fear is a starting point, perhaps, for we read in Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." But agape love (divine love) casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). Fear is not the GOAL of history, but merely its beginning. It is not God's intent that all men serve Him out of duty, but rather that they love Him and serve Him out of a heartfelt desire to do so. God's love is irresistible, after all, once a person has any real knowledge of that love. This is why God created time. It takes time for courtship to take place. Time was created out of love.

“But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?” (2 Corinthians 3: 7-8)

“For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves….” (2 Corinthians 4: 6-7)

(Portions of this teaching are attributed to The Laws of the Second Coming, by Dr. Stephen Jones).

SAMSON and the RIDDLE OF THE DEAD LION

2010-02-15T18:34:00.002-05:00

Samson killed a lion with his bare hands by the power of God (Judges 14:5&6), and later some bees made a hive in the lion's dead carcass. Samson took honey from the hive, ate some and gave some to his parents. Afterwards, he went to Timnah during the seven-days of the feast, because he intended to marry a Philistine woman who lived there. At the beginning of the feast, he proposed a riddle to the Philistines. If they could solve it, he would give each of his thirty friends a new garment. But if they couldn’t solve the riddle, they each had to give Samson a new garment.

“Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet” (Judges 14:14)

The seven day feast in the story was the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread and is a reference to Passover, which is the first day of Unleavened Bread. The Philistines couldn’t decipher the meaning of the riddle, because they hadn’t seen the dead lion, from whose dead body came honey. They couldn’t understand its meaning - that the secret of the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey was to see and believe in the dead Lion of Judah, "who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification" (Rom. 4:25). Jesus came and died at Passover, and out of Him comes the honey of salvation.

The promise of transfiguration is also contained in the riddle. If the Philistines could solve the riddle of salvation through Jesus Christ, they would receive new garments. The new garments are the "garments of salvation" (Isaiah 61:10). Paul referred to these garments as a "tabernacle" with which we desire to be clothed, so that we might obtain immortality (2 Cor. 5:1-4). All of this is foreshadowed in Jesus' transfiguration.

“Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.” (Matthew 17:1-2; Mark 9:2-3)

Samson's riddle is the secret of justification by faith, and it teaches us how to interpret Jacob's blessing upon Judah in Genesis 49:8-12. Judah was to bring forth the King-Messiah, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who would die and be raised from the dead. Out of Him would come the honey of justification and salvation in God’s kingdom. That was Judah 's calling, and Jesus was indeed born of the tribe of Judah. So Judah fulfilled its calling in the first coming of Christ. But we shouldn’t expect Judah to bring forth the message of Sonship, because that was reserved for Joseph. We can’t expect Judah to fulfill the calling of the birthright, for that was given to Ephraim, the son of Joseph.

The Sons of Ephraim

2010-02-14T17:21:00.001-05:00

“The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows, yet they turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God and refused to walk in His law. They forgot His deeds and His miracles that He had shown them.” (Psalm 78: 9-10)

When Joseph received the birthright (1 Chronicles 5:1&2) from Jacob he inherited the right to his new name - Israel. However, Jacob actually passed his name and the birthright to Joseph’s younger son, Ephraim (Genesis 48:14-20). When the kingdom was divided after the death of Solomon, Judah became the southern kingdom, and Israel the northern kingdom. Because the ten northern tribes included the tribes of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), who were the custodians of the name ISRAEL, the ten-tribed northern nation were the ones who were legally allowed to use this birthright name. So from that point on they were called “The House of Israel”, while the southern two tribes of Benjamin and Judah could only be called “The House of Judah”. Joseph (Ephraim) had the Birthright and name, while Judah still had the Scepter, the promise of rulership (Genesis 49:10).

Israel went into an Assyrian captivity and never returned to the old land. Judah went into captivity in Babylon. So the “Birthright” went to Assyria and the “Scepter” went to Babylon. After 70 years Judah was allowed to return to their land. Because of that, the prophecies of the Messiah being born in Bethlehem of Judea could be fulfilled (Micah 5:2).

The first time Jesus came of the tribe of Judah and of the seed of David in order to secure His claim to the scepter and throne. For this reason He is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). But a second coming is required in order to secure the Birthright of Joseph and bring many sons to glory. For that reason, Rev. 19:13 says, "And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood." That connects Him to Joseph, whose robe was dipped in blood (Gen. 37:31).

By coming twice, once through Judah and the second time through Joseph, Jesus will fulfill all the prophecies concerning the House of Judah and the House of Israel, and the two “sticks” (Ezekiel 37: 19) will be re-united.

The Scepter and The Birthright

2010-02-09T17:53:00.002-05:00

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, not the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples." (Genesis 49:10). "Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph." (I Chronicles 5:2)

When Jacob (Israel) was near death, he blessed his sons (see Genesis chapter 49). In that blessing, he separated the kingly line from the birthright and gave Judah the right to rule.

"Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down to you. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes." (Genesis 49:8-11)

A few verses later, Jacob blessed Joseph with great fruitfulness in Genesis 49:22-26:

"Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; its branches run over a wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, and shot at him and harassed him; but his bow remained firm, and his arms were agile, from the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel, from the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers."

In that blessing, Jacob was actually giving Joseph the birthright. This is plainly stated in 1 Chronicles 5:1 and 2.

"Now the sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel for he was the first-born, but because he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright. Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph."

Joseph was given the birthright, which embodied the right to the Kingdom of God itself. But Judah was given the scepter, which meant that the kingly line culminating with Jesus Christ would have to come from him. Jacob then prophesied over Judah the death work and rulership which was to be fulfilled in Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. And so Jesus came the first time to fulfill the prophecies dealing solely with the House of Judah. He was born in Bethlehem of Judea, the City of David. The Davidic line was of Judah, the line called to bring forth the Messiah. Jesus came as the Son of David to secure His right to the throne, so that He would be eligible to rule over the House of Israel. But the lion had to die to receive the rulership. In Genesis 49:10-11, Judah is pictured as a lion in a crouching position and covered with blood. This is a prophetic picture of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Messiah by birth, who earned His throne through His death and resurrection.

When the Kingdom was divided after the death of Solomon, the northern tribes of Joseph (Israel) separated from Judah, causing a division between the two mandates of Rulership and Birthright. Both nations eventually went into captivity - Israel to Assyria and Judah to Babylon. So the Birthright went to Assyria, while the Scepter went to Babylon. From this point on, it is necessary to trace TWO separate story lines in order to obtain the complete picture of the Divine Plan and understand how God intends to "repair the breach" (Ezekiel 37:15-28) and re-unify these two Mandates under one Head, the seed of David, Jesus Christ.

A major part of the plan is tied to this fact - that Jesus would have to come TWICE. The first time He came of the tribe of Judah and of the seed of David in order to secure His claim to the throne. But a second coming is required in order to secure the Birthright of Joseph. For this reason, Rev. 19:13 says, "And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood." This ties Him to Joseph, whose robe was dipped in blood (Gen. 37:31).

Coming twice, once through Judah and the second time through Joseph, is the manner in which the two mandates of the original Birthright will be reunited.

And the "overcomers" are the manifested sons of God of Romans 8:19 who will be chosen to rule with Him.

Every Knee Will Bow

2010-01-12T10:44:00.000-05:00

From Chapter 4, The Restoration of All Things
by Dr. Stephen. E. Jones
Link to entire online book below.

There is a popular Christian praise and worship song that is sung all over the world called "Come, Now is the Time to Worship." A lot of hymnbook theology is trite and often downright untrue or misleading, but this particular song is true. Yet most Christians do not even realize what they are singing. Within the song is this:

One day every tongue will confess You are God.
One day every knee will bow.
Still the greatest treasure remains for those
Who gladly choose You now!

It is based upon two passages: Phil. 2:10, 11 and 1 Tim. 4:10. The first reads,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Paul was, in turn, quoting from Isaiah 45:23-25, which says,

23 I have sworn by Myself [God's vow], the Word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. 24 They will say of Me, “Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.” Men will come to Him, and all who were angry at Him shall be put to shame. 25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be justified, and will glory.

Here God swears that every knee will bow and every tongue swear allegiance to Him. This, of course, will occur at the Great White Throne Judgment, when there will be no more unbelievers. The prophet then speaks to the people in his day, saying in verse 25, "in the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be justified."

These are the same Israelites who were such unbelievers that God sent the whole nation into exile into Assyria and divorced the nation (Jer. 3:8). Isaiah lived to see that day and probably wrote this passage some time after this great divorce. Surely he knew that most of those Israelites were not justified by faith during their life here on earth. Yet he says that in that day all Israel will be JUSTIFIED, which we know comes only BY FAITH.

Yet many would have us believe that in spite of their justification, these sinners will be lost forever in the judgment to come. There is no statement in the Bible saying that one can only be saved in this present life. The Church has often quoted Heb. 9:27, "and inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment," explaining that this means this life is the only opportunity for justification. But read the verse for yourself. It does not say that.

It is true that men die once, and then comes the judgment when they are raised at the Great White Throne. But Paul says that every tongue will "confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." In 1 Cor. 12:3 Paul says, "no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." So let no one say that their confession was apart from the moving of the Holy Spirit. Paul says again in Rom. 10:9,

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

It is to the glory of God—established by a divine vow—that every tongue will confess that He is Lord in that day. If they make that confession, it is a profession of faith made by the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, it is inconceivable that anyone would or could refuse to believe when confronted by the full power and majesty of God Himself. There have been many revivals on earth where men fell to the ground confessing their sins in the street while passing by the building where the Spirit of God was moving in a powerful way. How much more at the Great White Throne Judgment?

When I was young, I often heard the statement that "there is no second chance." Well, in a way that is correct, for God leaves nothing to chance. But even the law itself gives people a second opportunity for justification. The feast of Passover is a celebration of the Cross and the Lamb of God who died for the sin of the world. We keep Passover today, not by putting blood on our houses, but by applying the blood of the true Lamb to our heart and mind (our "house"). This is how we are "justified by faith."

But in Numbers 9:9-11 God revealed to Moses that if a man could not keep the Passover in the first month, he was to keep it in the second month. This prophesies of the second opportunity for justification.

10 If any one of you or of your generations becomes unclean because of a dead person or is on a distant journey, he may, however, observe the Passover to the Lord. 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, they shall observe it.

The application to us is this: a person touching death ("a dead person") refers ultimately to our mortal bodies, the "body of death" (Rom. 7:24). Believers are those who have passed from death to life (1 John 3:14) and are clean through the Word which was spoken to them (John 15:3). Unbelievers are still unclean by reason of touching a dead body. Yet even these will have a second opportunity later, according to the law of Moses, which is the expression of a merciful God.

Secondly, if a person is on a long journey (from God), like the prodigal son in Luke 15, he too will have a second opportunity to keep the Passover. These provisions are made for the benefit of the majority of mankind, who are yet dead in their sins and whose hearts are far from God.

When God makes a vow, we ought to take special notice of it. His vow in Isaiah 45 is not based upon any conditions. It is simply a statement of what God will do by His own will. It is similar in nature to His vow in Num. 14:21, where He vowed, " As I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord."

Such a vow is not based upon the will of man or the will of the flesh, but only the will of God (John 1:13). This does not mean that He forces anyone to be justified; rather, He will make everyone willing and desirous of being justified. Some will be justified in their life time; most will be justified at the Great White Throne. Those who accepted Him earlier will be rewarded accordingly. Those who only accept Him later will be " saved yet so as by fire " (1 Cor. 3:15).

This brings us to the second verse on which the song is based (quoted earlier). 1 Tim. 4:10 says,

10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

He did NOT say that God is the Savior of all men—whoops! I mean all believers. He did NOT say that God is the Savior of all men, SPECIFICALLY believers. The word is "especially" (NASB). Strong's Concordance says that the word (#3122) means "most (in the greatest degree) or particularly."

Paul uses this term again in Phil. 4:22, saying, "All the s aints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household." In other words, there is a special greeting from those of Caesar's household, but all the saints send greetings.

In the same way, He is the Savior of all men, especially believers. There is a special salvation for believers, but He will save all men.

As the song goes, "The greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose You now!" Overcomers will be raised at the first resurrection to rule with Him. Believers will be rewarded and unbelievers judged at the White Throne. But all will ultimately be saved.

http://www.gods-kingdom-ministries.org/coldfusion/booklet.cfm?PID=122

The Restoration of All Things

2010-01-12T08:51:00.004-05:00

by Dr. Stephen E. Jones

from Chapter 5 - Creation's Jubilee. Link to entire book below.

We have seen earlier from Rev. 20:4-6 that the first resurrection includes only a portion of the believers. Some call them the overcomers; we call them the firstfruits. We also saw from John 5:28,29 and Acts 24:15 that a second resurrection would come, in which both just and unjust men would be raised. This second resurrection is referred to in Revelation 20:11-15.

After the second resurrection, all unbelievers will be “cast into the lake of fire.” We have already shown that they will NOT be subjected to literal torture. But we need to focus our attention on the more positive question of what their condition will be.

The State of Resurrected Flesh

In 1 Corinthians 15:35 Paul expresses some very typical Epicurean banter which Paul had to answer:

35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"

The Bible only points to Jesus as the Example of how the dead are raised. We read in Romans 8:11 that the Spirit of God raised Him from the dead. The Bible, however, does NOT reveal how this is accomplished.

As to the type of body the dead will manifest at the resurrection, the example is again seen in Jesus’ resurrected body. In Luke 24:36-39 Jesus appeared to his disciples after His resurrection. We read here:

36 And while they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst.

37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

From this we see that Jesus was not a spirit, at least not in the usual sense. We read in other places that after His resurrection Jesus also ate with His disciples (Luke 24:30; John 21:13). Spirits cannot eat food, nor do they have marks upon their bodies as Jesus did.

On the other hand, Jesus did not have ordinary flesh either, for He was able to walk through walls (John 20:26) and to vanish into thin air (Luke 24:31). In Luke 24:39 (quoted above) Jesus said He had “flesh and bones,” but no mention is made of having blood. Why? Because the soul is in the blood (Lev. 17:11, translated properly). Men are buried in a soulish state, but raised in a spiritual state, as we read in 1 Cor. 15:44.

44 It is sown a natural [psuchikos, “soulish”] body, it is raised a spiritual [pneumatikos, “spiritual”] body. If there is a natural [soulish] body, there is also a spiritual body.

The soulish body has flesh and blood; the spiritual body has flesh and bones. There are some who believe that in this present life we have a physical body, but in the next life we will be spirits, no longer having bodies. Jesus’ example shows that this view is incorrect. While the resurrected body is not limited by the flesh as we are today, it is yet physical and tangible in some way.

Perhaps the best explanation of the resurrected body is found in Ezekiel 44. The sons of Zadok, we are told, will have a reward different from the ordinary Levitical priesthood. In New Testament terms, the sons of Zadok represent the Melchizedek Order, those who inherit the first resurrection. These are differentiated from the Levites, who represent the rest of the Church. God tells Ezekiel that the “Levites” in that day will be allowed to minister to the people in the “outer court” (the flesh), but only the “sons of Zadok” will be allowed to minister to God as well as to men.

We are told that the “sons of Zadok” will wear their linen garments when ministering to God; but then they must change into woolen garments when ministering to the people (Ez. 44:19). Linen here represents the spiritual state; while wool, which comes from animals, represents the physical state. In other words, the sons of Zadok, those who inherit the first resurrection, will be able to move from the spiritual dimension into the physical at will, even as Jesus did. The rest of the Church will not be allowed this privilege until they are transformed at the second resurrection a thousand years later.

Jesus was the product of a heavenly Father and an earthly mother. Before His incarnation, he had authority in heaven. He was born of a woman as the Son of man in order to receive authority in the earthly, physical realm as well. When His work was completed, He could say in Matt. 28:18, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

The goal of resurrection and transformation into His Image is to become like Jesus. We too have a heavenly Father and an earthly mother. Jesus is our Pattern Son, and we follow in His footsteps. As men are raised from the dead in the three resurrections, they will be given authority in both the heavenly (spiritual) dimension and the earthly (physical) dimension. Both are important in the plan of God, at least until such time as the Restoration of All Things is completed.

The Nations in the Final Age

In both the age to come and the Final Age after it, there will be many unbelievers who will learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9). It is the purpose of God’s judgments to teach men the divine law and to enforce their practice. This enforcement of restitution to all victims of injustice also finally results in the restoration of all things. When the lawful order is fully restored, then all judgment ceases and God’s forgiveness covers the whole earth and its inhabitants.

God’s method of teaching is by putting the principles into practice during that Age and by righting all wrongs of the past ages which men “got away with” at the time. By these means all the nations of people outside the new Jerusalem will begin to learn His laws, even as prophesied in Isaiah 2:2-4.

"2 Now it will come about that in the last days, the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. 3 And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways, and that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war."

This prophecy is repeated in Micah 4:1-5. This is the nature of Jesus’ JUDGMENT called “the lake of fire.” It is when the nations are purified. It is when the nations of all past ages, many of whom never heard the name of Jesus, will be able to learn of Him. As a result, they will accept Him as King and as their Savior sooner or later. When they do, “they may enter by the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14) and thus have access to the tree of life.

And so, the unbelievers raised at the last judgment will not have “spiritual flesh” as will the believers. They are raised to judgment, not to immortal life (John 5:29). They will not be immortal, nor will they be incorruptible, as will the believers (1 Cor. 15:53). They will still be “flesh and blood” which “cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50). When they turn to Christ in repentance for their sins, they will be much like Christians today, although the world will be vastly different politically.

Some will gladly recognize Jesus as the King of kings, submitting to the refiner’s fire; others will only do so by constraint of law. Some will be refined in short order; others will need a very long time to pay all the restitution for their crimes against God and men.

Perhaps their life spans will be divinely set in order to accommodate these differences in time needed for each to restore the lawful order. We are not told in Scripture. But at the end of it all, when all enemies have been put under His feet, then death itself shall be destroyed, and God will be “ all in all.” That is, the fullness of the Holy Spirit will be in all men, NOT some in all, or all in some, but all in all (1 Cor. 15:28).

Jesus said that the wicked would be cast into “outer darkness” (Matt. 8:12). This is the part of the earth that is outside the new Jerusalem, which is the kingdom of Light. It is NOT a literal darkness, for the sun and moon will continue to shine on them even as today. In Revelation 21:23 and 22:5 we are told that “the city” alone has no need for the sun and moon, since Jesus was there as its Light. But is does NOT say that the sun and moon will stop shining upon the rest of the earth. And so this “outer darkness” is comparable to the spiritual darkness in the world today (Matt. 4:16).

There are many “nations” living outside the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:24-27) who will begin to walk in the light (that is, follow its laws in obedience to its King). These “nations” are the unsaved peoples of the earth from all past ages. They are not allowed to LIVE in the city, for this is reserved only for the citizens of the Kingdom, who have been given bodies of “spiritual flesh.” Yet there will be people of these other nations who WILL have access to the city, for we read in Rev. 21:26:

26 And they [the nations] shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it [the new Jerusalem];

John also says in chapter 22:

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.

The citizens are already IN the city. The implication here is that the rest of the people—those in the “outer darkness,” or “the lake of fire”—may “enter” the city from the outside, if they qualify.

In the book of Zechariah, the prophet also tells us that these other nations of people will be able to come into the city. In fact, they will be REQUIRED by divine decree to come to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Some will obey and some will not. If they do not, God will keep the “rain” from falling upon those nations. We read of this in Zechariah 14:16-19. We begin with verse 9:

9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. . . .16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

We will deal with the feast of Booths, or Tabernacles, more fully in our next chapter. For now we simply point out that there will be nations outside the Kingdom such as “Egypt,” who will be required to observe the feast. If they refuse, the “rain” of the Holy Spirit will not be poured out upon them.

When the people of these nations that are outside the new Jerusalem see the blessings of God poured out upon others, they will want to learn and obey the divine law. They will learn righteousness. And at the end of that final Age, all of creation will be restored to God. All authority and powers and kingdoms will be in obedience to Him, for He will put all enemies under His feet. Only then will that last enemy (death) be destroyed. Jesus will present the full Kingdom, all of creation, to His Father, and God will be all in all.

All Shall Be Made Alive

This message of the restoration of all things was taught by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:22-28.

22 For as in Adam all die, so also in [the] Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each in his own order [tagma, “squadron”]: Christ the first fruits [or, “anointed firstfruits”], after that those who are [the] Christ's at His coming [parousia, “presence”], 24 then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all.

Most of this passage is self-explanatory. Yet I should draw the reader’s attention to a few critical details.

Verse 22: It is evident that all mankind died in Adam—with no exceptions. In the same manner also shall all be made alive in Christ—with no exceptions. The “all” in both cases parallel each other and are equal in scope. However, they will NOT all be raised and saved at the same time.

Verse 23: Each class shall be raised in its own order (tagma, “squadron”), for there is more than one resurrection ahead. Keep in mind that Paul is here dealing with the various resurrections of mankind. He has already dealt with Jesus’ resurrection in verses 1-21. That is the foundation of the resurrections that follow.

The first “squadron” to be raised, according to most translations, is “Christ the firstfruits.” This rendering hardly makes sense, since Christ is not a “squadron,” but a single Person. This could have been “anointed firstfruits” (see above). The word “Christ” in the Greek is the word for “anointed.” When speaking of Jesus, it is preceded by the definite article the, making it “THE Anointed (One),” or “THE Christ.”

For example, in verse 22 (above) the original Greek has the definite article before “Christ,” because Paul is referring to Jesus, “the Christ” in whom all shall be made alive. At the end of verse 23 the same is true when Paul says, “afterward those that are (the) Christ’s at His coming.” Between these two examples, however, we find a case where the definite article is NOT used: “Christ the firstfruits.” It is therefore likely that “Christ” is NOT referring to “the Christ” (Jesus), but rather to a more general squadron of anointed ones.

And so, verse 22 is better understood to mean, “anointed firstfruits.” This is the first squadron of believers; those who are to inherit the first resurrection. Paul carefully chose this phrase to describe the firstfruits of the barley harvest, which was to be anointed with oil, as we read in Leviticus 23:13.

13 'Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the LORD for a soothing aroma, with its libation, a fourth of a hin of wine.

This was in direct contrast with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, the figure of the second resurrection of the Church in general. Those firstfruits were to be baked with leaven, rather than anointed with oil, as we read in Leviticus 23:17.

17 You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the LORD.

We will discuss the firstfruits in more detail in our next chapter on the three harvest festivals.

The second squadron of resurrected ones are “those who are Christ’s at His coming,” or presence. Christ’s “presence” here is when He comes as Judge at the Great White Throne. This is most clearly portrayed in Daniel 7, where the prophet saw “the Ancient of Days” coming to sit upon the throne of judgment (Daniel 7:9 and 22). We have already shown that this is the second resurrection and includes both believers and unbelievers.

Verse 24: “Then comes the end” refers to the end of all things, i.e., after the Ages of Ages. This is the third and final time where a squadron of people will enter into God’s rest. It is not quite accurate to call this occasion a resurrection, because it appears that the sinners being judged during that final age will be kept alive to serve out their sentence. We read about this in Revelation 20 where “death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.” If death itself, and hades with it, are cast into the lake of fire, it appears that the first death will be abolished at the Great White Throne Judgment to make way for the second death, or the lake of fire.

The second death is a second TYPE of death. It is defined simply as the lake of fire, which, as we have seen, is the judgment of the law. This second death is the final enemy that must be abolished at the Creation’s Jubilee of the earth at the end of the final age. Paul says clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:26 that “the last enemy that will be abolished is death.”

Only then, Paul says, will all earthly authorities have been made subject to His authority. Only then will all enemies have been subdued. Once all enemies are fully under His feet, then will come the abolition of death itself. This can only be accomplished by giving life in Creation’s Jubilee.

Even as the first squadron represents the barley harvest, and the second the wheat harvest, so also this third squadron represents the grape harvest. In order for God to obtain the wine, He must tread out the grapes, that is, He must “put all enemies under His feet.” Paul again has chosen His words carefully with the harvest theme in mind.

It is Jesus’ responsibility—indeed, His calling—to rule His Kingdom on earth during the final Ages of the Ages, until the purpose of His reign has been fulfilled. Jesus will NOT reign forever as the Son. He will reign only as long as it takes to subject the whole earth under His feet. It will take BOTH of the coming ages to do this. His purpose is to conquer the whole earth by the power of His Love, for He said in John 12:32,

32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." 33 But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.

In other words, Jesus said, “If I am crucified, I will draw ALL MEN to Myself.” Was Jesus “lifted up” on the cross? Of course He was. Then He will indeed draw ALL MEN unto Himself. He died for the salvation of the whole world, not just a few, and His blood has never lost its power.

When all men have accepted Christ as Savior and King, even as believers in past ages have done, then He will present a perfected and completed Kingdom to His Father.

Verses 27, 28: Paul here quotes from Psalm 8:6, as he does so often to prove the point. All things (ta panta, “the All”) will be put in subjection to Christ, with the single exception of the Father Himself, who will not, of course, be put under the headship of the Son. And when the all is indeed subjected to the Son, then Christ will present the entire perfected creation to the Father as a present and be subject to the Father also. This is truly a glorious destiny for the earth. This is the Creation’s Jubilee.

The Witness of Hebrews

Hebrews 2:6-9 continues this same teaching:

6 But one [David] has testified somewhere [Psalm 8], saying, "What is man, that Thou rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him? 7 "Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, And hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands; 8Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. "For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now [at present] we do not yet see all things subjected to him. 9 But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

Here the author defines “all” as “everyone.” Not all are in subjection to Christ at the present time, but the day is coming when all men everywhere WILL be subject to Him. Meanwhile, the Scripture says, we see that Jesus tasted death for EVERYONE. “He left nothing that is NOT subject to Him.

Paul refers to Psalm 8 again in Philippians 3:20 and 21.

20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Many Christians today have never really thought about whether Jesus really has this power or not. They assume that He is essentially powerless to save any but the firstfruits, a tiny portion of the harvest, because Jesus will not go against the will of man. But Jesus Himself said in John 12:32 that if He would die upon the cross, He would “draw” all men to Himself. The word “draw” is the Greek word, helkuo, which means “to drag.” As used in the New Testament, it always indicates that the one doing the dragging is imposing his will upon the ones being dragged.

John 6:44 says no man can come to the Father except the Father DRAG him. John 12:32 says that Jesus will DRAG all men to Himself. John 21:6 speaks of dragging the net to bring the fish to shore. James 2:6 speaks of the civil magistrates, who, in persecuting the Christians, would DRAG them to court.

It is apparent, then, that the day will come when God’s will is going to be imposed upon all men. He will drag all them to Himself by means of judgment, that is, the lake of fire. He has both the power and the will to do this.

In Philippians 2:10,11, Paul says:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

John saw the fulfillment of this in a vision recorded in Revelation 5:13.

13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."

John well knew that the purpose of Christ’s rulership in His Kingdom was to draw all men to Himself. He wrote in 1 John 2:2,

2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Of this verse, Clement of Alexandria gives us a commentary on its meaning and scope in his Commentary on 1 John:

“And not only for our sins, that is, for those of the faithful, is the Lord the Propitiator does he say, but also for the whole world. He, indeed, saves all; but some He saves converting them by punishments; others, however, who follow voluntarily He saves with dignity of honour; so that every knee should bow to Him, of things in heaven, of things on earth, and things under the earth—that is, angels and men.”

What a marvelous thing that Jesus would die not only for our sins (that is, for us as Christians), but also for the sins of the entire world! Surely the blood has not lost its power since then. Paul told Timothy (1 Tim. 4:10,11) to preach this as well.

10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

11 Prescribe and teach these things.

Believers are especially singled out, because their salvation comes first. Theirs will be a greater honor, because they will inherit Life in the Kingdom. But yet, God is the Savior of ALL MEN. No doubt Timothy and others like him did indeed teach this in Asia Minor, for the early Church leaders in the next centuries were faithful to teach these things, as their writings prove.

And today we are likewise exhorted to teach these things. Why? Because it is important to understand that God is truly righteous in His judgments. The usual teaching of endless torment makes God unjust. By what standard? By God’s standard, as revealed in His law. That is the only righteous standard in the earth. And for this reason we must know of the restoration of all things.

What Paul told the Colossians

Paul’s doctrine was clearly spelled out in Colossians 1:16-20.

16 For by Him all things [ta panta, “the all”] were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things [ta panta, “the all”] have been created by Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things [ta panta, “the all”] to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

In other words, God created “the all” and then has reconciled “the all” to Himself by means of the cross. People often object to the idea that “the all” actually means what it says. “You have to take it in context,” they insist. Well, alright, let us take “the all” in context here. The context defines “the all” as that which God created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, including thrones and dominions. Please tell me what part of creation Paul left out? It takes serious blindness to refuse to believe the plain words of the Apostle Paul.

See how many ways the Restoration of All Things is taught in the Scriptures. First, there is the law of Jubilee, which cancels all debt (sin) at the end of the time of judgment. Secondly, there is God's vow in Num. 14:21 to fill the whole earth with His glory. Thirdly, Jesus says that if He were “lifted up” (crucified), He would draw [literally, “drag”] ALL MEN unto Himself. Fourth, Paul quotes Isaiah in Phil. 2:10, 11 that “every knee” will bow and “every tongue” will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Fifth, Paul quotes Psalm 8 in many places to show that “the all” will be subjected to Christ in the end.

The only reason people find Paul's teaching offensive is because they really do not want all sinners to be saved. They give their money to the Church for the purpose of “saving souls” that they have never met, but they do not want certain ones to be saved, because they feel that they “deserve” to be punished forever.

It comes down to three primary objections. The first is to say some people are such huge sinners that their debt to the law exceeds the value of the blood of Christ. It says that Christ's blood was insufficient to pay for the sin of the whole world.

The second objection says that Christ paid for the sin of the whole world, but that most of it was undeliverable, due to the will of man. This was the scenario presented by Moses in Numbers 14. God's answer was that the whole earth will be filled with His glory, and not just Israel as a nation.

The third objection says that God does not love the world enough to actually purchase all of creation by His blood. This is the idea of limited atonement. It says that God elected only a few to be saved, and decided by His own sovereign will to cast away all others. But Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world.”

Those who do not want to see all mankind saved are those who do not yet have the mind of Christ. Those who harbor grudges in their hearts against those who have abused them or wronged them in the past are those who do not know the love of Christ.

But those who have come to know the God of the Bible and to know the love of Christ which passes understanding are the ones that God is training to reign with Him both now and in the Age to come.

The Theology of Paul in Romans 5

The book of Romans is really Paul’s course in theology. In his fifth chapter he shows the comparison between Adam and Christ in the process of justifying all men.

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because [eph ho, “on which”] all sinned—.

This tells us that through Adam, sin entered the world, along with its penalty, death. Adam’s sin was then imputed to all of us, not only to His descendants, but indeed to all of creation, which groans in travail because of it (Rom. 8:22).

Adam’s sin was imputed to us. That simply means, we were blamed for his sin, though it was an act done outside of ourselves. And thus, we all had to pay the penalty for Adam’s sin, which is death. This is why we are all mortal. We are not mortal because WE sinned; we are mortal because Adam sinned, and his sin was imputed to us.

By the same process, the righteousness of Jesus is an act done outside of ourselves, but which is imputed to us. Thus, we benefit from its effect—life, or immortality. We may illustrate the principle like this:

1. Johnny steals a cookie.

2. The whole class gets blamed for it.

3. The class must pay back with 2 cookies.

The trouble is, no one in the class has any cookies, nor do they know how to make them. But suddenly a smart new kid named Ricky comes to class. What a break! He knows how to make cookies! So . . .

1. Ricky makes cookies and repays the debt.

2. The class gets the credit for it.

3. The class is free to go out and play.

Johnny and Ricky have something in common. By one bad deed Johnny brought guilt upon the whole class, and so they all had to pay the penalty. On the other hand, by one good act Ricky brought justification to the whole class, and so they all benefited.

This is what Adam’s sin did TO us; and this is what Jesus righteous act did FOR us. But what is the SCOPE of this? Was Paul talking about only a few people? Or was he talking about equal numbers of people affected? Romans 5:18 and 19 gives us the summarized answer

18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

It is self-evident that all men (NO EXCEPTIONS) were affected by Adam’s sin. All men were born mortal. In the same way, Jesus’ act of righteousness results in the justification of all those who died in Adam. Paul is talking about the same group of people.

If Adam’s sin affected all men, and Jesus’ righteous act affected only a tiny fraction of men, then Jesus could hardly be compared to Adam. Surely Adam’s power is not greater than Jesus’ power! The early Church did not think so, and it is time this teaching were restored to the body of Christ. It is time we restored this teaching to the Bible-believing Church. It is time we get a plain view of the power and will of God to be the Savior of all men, a God who loses nothing, but gathers up all the fragments of men throughout history, that none be lost (John 6:12).

This is the great Mystery of the Gospel, what Paul calls “the secret of His will” in Ephesians 1:9.

9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. . . . 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,

This is the secret; this is the “intention which He purposed in Him.” It is the plan for the created universe, “The All.” He will be King of kings and will subject all things under His headship. Clement of Alexandria summarized it all 1800 years ago (Stromata VII, 2:5-12) by saying:

“All things are arranged with a view to the salvation of the universe by the Lord of the universe, both generally and particularly. But necessary corrections, through the Goodness of the great overseeing Judge . . . or through the great and final judgment, compel egregious sinners to repent.”

The Ministry of Restoration

The fourth chapter of Malachi tells us that “Elijah” will come to prepare the way before the Messiah. Jesus said that John the Baptist had that calling, which was to “restore all things.” We read in Matthew 17:11-13,

11 And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

What John did was only a small fulfillment of the work that was to be done at Christ’s second appearance. How do we know? Because Malachi prophesied it would be done before “the great and terrible day of the LORD.” That day is yet future, for 2 Peter 3:10 says that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief.”

It is plain that this ministry of restoring all things is to precede the second appearance of Christ, when He comes to rule His Kingdom. Thus, the company of people who are called to help fulfill the prophesied Elijah ministry must know about this restoration. They themselves are called to “restore” in the sense of calling people to repentance. But they are also called to bear witness to the great Restorer who comes afterward and to prepare the people’s hearts for that divine plan of Restoration. Peter summarizes that message in Acts 3:19-21.

19 Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

The purpose of this book is to reveal the secret of His will. This secret is that God will reconcile “The All” of creation, as Paul told the Colossians. It is to be the Savior of “all men,” as Paul told Timothy. It is to justify “all men,” as Paul told the Romans. It is to make “all men” alive and to subject “The All” to Himself, as Paul told the Corinthians. It is that “every knee” will bow and “every tongue” will confess, as Paul told the Philippians. This is the mystery, the secret, which Jesus revealed to Paul in the three years he spent in the desert. It is now time for the world to rediscover it.

http://www.gods-kingdom-ministries.org/books/creations/index.cfm

A Word of Prophecy

2009-12-28T10:06:00.003-05:00

posted by Kenneth Visscher

“Listen intently to my words my people, for the Lord God does speak at this time to encourage you and to lift you up in the measure of grace needed for this hour. Yea, I am the Lord God and I do come to speak to those who would overcome and who would conquer all things in their lives and who would clothe themselves with The Lord Jesus Christ as their completed salvation. Be not fearful, but believing what the Will of the Lord is, for the Lord does come and does work to complete in you this His perfect will.

God at the first in the counsel of wisdom and understanding set forth creation according to that which would need to be identified with its creator. The ultimate design of God was to bring each soul into His image without flaw. God does come to manifest His fullness in those who have overcome and have come into this image yet at the same time to convict all those who have held His Word in unrighteousness. For the Lord God comes, Behold, He does descend to fill His Church with His full presence. This coming shall be according to this, that God is honored in them that believe.

Yea, I did subject this present creation into futility. God did speak upon it a curse that it would be found in a fain attempt to reconcile itself to its creator. This would cause the present condition of the Mystery of Iniquity to operate and to deceive and to cause man’s steps to be turned away from God and to make them dull of hearing and blind of seeing lest man should hear with his ears and see with his eyes and should be converted and I should heal him. I did subject creation to this futility so that I could find those who would obey My word and come into My image by free choice and by perfect obedience through sufferings. Each one who desired Me would suffer the loss of all things relating to this cursed earth so that they would once again be clothed upon with the light of eternal life. This Mystery I did complete in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as He came forth with the full measure of My Spirit in a body of Glorified flesh.

My coming says God shall be in the person of Christ without measure upon those who have borne faithfully their lives unto death upon the cross. For the cross is in my Heart says God, and it is by that cross I will reconcile the rest of creation. Those who have overcome are those who have fully died upon the cross. The cross is a present reality to those who are in the walk of victory. For those who bypass the working of the cross their carnality will make excuses and they will miss this motion of my Holy Spirit to prepare my people for my appearing.

Many have speculated and stated “Lo, Here is Christ” or “There is Christ”. Believe it not, nor follow their teachings, for Christ is at my Right Hand and here He remains exalted by my Power until the times of the restitution of all creation. Christ is not appearing in greater measures in some and not in others of my Body in the earth. He will appear in those who have appropriated that for which Christ appropriated them. He will not appear in the disobedient. His coming shall not include them but will instead shame them into contrition and to seeking to be taught the first principles of the doctrine of Christ. Christ is not on your left and He is not on your right. His coming is not “Lo, here is Christ or Lo, there is Christ’s coming. He is here with me says God as the Great High Priest who has passed into the Heavens to make intercession for His Saints. I hold Him here until the time of the catching up of those who have overcome with Him.

My purpose in speaking unto you My people this day is to reveal My appearing in you. For My coming shall be after this manner. Yea, the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then you who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air, so shall you ever be with the Lord. This is not something which shall be seen by all those who have believed on My name, but for those who have learned to obey me in the midst of their sufferings, who have borne faithfully their cross and have put down death in their midst. My coming shall be IN A PEOPLE. It is also true at the same time that I will appear in the Glorified body of the risen Christ. Two things shall happen. My true Saints will I fill with Glory and they shall behold Jesus AS HE IS. The Lord God does come to confirm to you this and to prepare you for this great manifestation.

It is here upon the earth where I cursed man and creation that this overcoming victory in Christ your Lord must take place. For the earth must be delivered of this curse by the manifestation of My Sons and of My Daughters. This manifestation will end death and will bring about the revelation of God in truth just as He was in Christ when He arose from the tomb and was confirmed to those who saw Him. This time I will confirm My church, and no man will be able to refute this for My church will come in the power of an endless life in Glorified Bodies.

So then I would ask that you obey My word and follow on to know Me in the fullness of Spirit. The daily trials you endure are designed by Me to prepare you for my soon appearing and to separate from you flesh from Spirit. I would ask therefore that you complain not of your testings for complaints and murmurings will disqualify you from the prize. But instead allow your faith to arise as those who are called to triumph in Christ’s life. Appropriate this triumph by faith alone then I will be pleased and will prepare you completely for my coming.

I require this from you My people. Come together often in unity and praise and worship My Name. Lift up My Name and exalt me together in your faith and in unity and I will raise you up. I will cause you to rise above the circumstances of your life and will give you triumph as you learn to walk in Me as worshippers of their God. My Throne and My presence is fixed in the Worship of My people. Worship Me even in the dark places, Worship Me even in the times of trouble and in the times of hardness and rejection. Worship me even if there be but one or two others who would Worship God with you. For I am building a Spiritual house, a City, a refuge from the storm for those who are yet to come to Me to be saved. Be the City of God, be the life of the Tree of Life in this City, and be that river of living waters by which the thirst of fallen creation shall be quenched. For the Lord God does come as YOU in the earth in full manifestation. The time of My coming has been brought to the front of My purposes, Behold, the time of the appearing of Christ in His elect has arrived.

Do not negate my coming. Set not a time in which I should appear according to your natural thinking and understanding. Know that My appearing is not with outward observation but by obedience to the acknowledgement of every good thing in you in Christ. I come, but not by the way and means you think would be correct, but according to My promise to come and receive you unto Myself. My coming in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ will be according to this rule alone. That rule is that Jesus Christ will only bring eternal life to every soul. This will be according to the rule and timing of My Spirit.

I have set some in your midst who will prepare you for My appearing. These will I confirm to you as My anointed Pastors and Teachers and Prophets. These will tell you of My callings and the reason for the hope you have in you, all to prepare you for the filling up of My Spirit without measure at the time of full manifestation. The time has come for me to lift the curse off of this creation and to bring an end to the Mystery of Iniquity and to destroy by the brightness of My coming that perdition which deceives and discards the simplicity of the Gospel. Know that this is My time for this to now take place.

~ Listen not to those who would say that the race is completed. Hearken not to those who would say that the cross in your lives is at an end. The race and the cross will not end until I appear. If I have not appeared, then the race is ongoing and the cross is still teaching you to overcome.

~ Listen not to those who would give you a name and a place. For I will not declare righteousness to My Body until the time I come to catch them up, then I will declare them righteous and will set them in the earth as deliverers of creation.

~ Listen not to those who say that death is now no more. For death still works in my people until I come.

~ Listen not to those who would cause you to be lifted up in the vanity of imaginations and of faith that I have not given. For there is a false faith and there is a true faith.

~ Listen not to those who would state that I am coming to rejoice over all men with great joy for the time of the curse is ended and God freely accepts each one into His dominion. For there is yet to be worked out in many the cleansing of My Word.

God does come to those first who have obeyed His Word and who have not feared to bear the cross to be identified with the Living Christ. These are they who followed the pattern of sonship and who overcame because of the cross.

~ My coming is vitally connected to your obedience to the cross and to your life in this world ending upon it.

~ My coming is based on the faith of the elect in knowing eternal life alone and not allowing the life of the world to give them joy.

~ My coming is based on those who have deemed their lives but dung that they may win Christ as the prize of the High Calling.

~ My coming is set forth in order for those who would be first fruits unto God. It is to them that I first will come.

~ My coming HAS NOT YET HAPPENED but I bid you cheer for it shall be as I overcame and as I was a conqueror, so shall you also follow this same pattern.

~ My coming is vitally linked to those who have not had their faith overthrown by the trials of this world and by the curse that abides upon it.

~ My coming is vitally linked to those who only identify with the Lord in His resurrection and who by faith wait for My promise to appear.

~ My coming shall be after this manner, that I will name those who will reign with Me as I appear and will give unto each of them a Crown of Life which will never fade away.

~ My coming shall clothe those who did obey me with bodies of light and glory.

~ My coming shall not diminish you but build you again into those who only know the nature of Father as their portion in bodies that cannot die or be influenced by the world and the beasts that rage within it.

~ My coming will be to those who exchanged the mark of the beast for the Mark of Father upon their foreheads. It is to those I will appear and will set as My Government in the earth. Even the 144,000 faithful followers of the Lamb of God.

Be not faithless, but believing for I have called you to inherit even this. For I do cause to descend the New Jerusalem by which you shall know of the purity of My salvation. For this City does descend AS MY BODY into the earth and to draw all men into that time when the Nations shall come to know God. You are part of this if you have overcome, it is you, as this City, that descends and that My coming is made sure and the manifestation of My Saints take place. This city will be the reality of My Spirit in this natural earthen creation. It is to the dust of this earth, to humanity that this City will descend. This City transcends all time periods, to all those of the former and the hinder sea, to all mankind who have longed for My life to overtake them and to deliver them from death. It is this city that does come as my Overcomers to give an inheritance and a joy. This City will settle upon the clay structure of this natural creation to blend the natural creation as one with Me in Spirit. That the Lord would no longer curse the earth and that man will have removed from him the defilements of that same curse. Know this, for this honor I do give unto My Saints, those who have overcome, for their lives constitute the dominion and the reign of My Throne in the New Jerusalem even upon this earth.

I am the Lord God, even your Father.

I Am The Lord”

Crushed by the Master's Hand - The Mystery of Godliness

2009-11-03T15:42:00.006-05:00

Kenneth Visscher
October 14, 2009

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1Timothy 3:15-16

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, He comforting us in all our trouble, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in every trouble, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds by Christ. And if we are troubled, it is for your consolation and salvation, being worked out in the endurance of the same sufferings which we also suffer; if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is certain, knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also of the consolation. For, brothers, we would not have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength; so much so that we despaired even of life. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver; in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us, with you also helping together by prayer for us, so that the gracious gift by many persons be the cause of thanksgiving through many for us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone will hurt them, so it is right for him to be killed. These have authority to shut up the heaven, that it may not rain in the days of their prophecy. And they have authority over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. And when they complete their testimony, the beast coming up out of the abyss will make war against them and will overcome them and kill them. Revelation 11:3-7

There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a sin which comes from a ruler's presence; foolishness is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants on horses and princes walking as servants on the earth. Ecclesiastes 10:5-7

Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. Exodus 30:22-29

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. Revelation 14:1-5

(2 Visions)

(1st Vision) “Then being in spirit on the Lord’s Day I was taken into that place which was the Holiest place of all, even the place of mercy upon which was the Throne set. Below the Throne was the paved work as though it were a seat although it looked as though it were fearsome in the form of that which was transparent, even as crystal (Ezekiel 1:22). As I beheld the Throne and looked at the work paved under it understanding was given unto me and in the thoughts of my spirit did wisdom rise. I knew that this was even the place wherein was once the presentation of blood, even the blood of the covenant which Christ did offer for the sins of whole world. Looking up upon the Throne one did sit, even the Ancient of Days, the Lord God Almighty, the Father, He to whom all things will return. Before the Throne was the Candlestick, the Altar which burned with hot coals and incense and a Table filled with bread. Christ Jesus the Lord stood beside the table of bread and with his left hand, bearing the scars of crucifixion, upon the edge of the table He did press and crush the cloves (cassia), the cinnamon, the myrrh and calamus mixed moist with crushed olives, the ingredients of the holy anointing oil. As these were crushed on the edge of the table of bread I saw around Jesus the appearance of 144,000 taken from amongst they that were scattered within the earth. The more Jesus crushed the spices, the more they appeared albeit they only appeared as transparent. So then the 144,000 were gathered unto Jesus as He brought crushing into their lives but they only appeared as though they were ghosts and not with solid bodies and not with any resemblance of flesh and bone, but as though they lived as ghosts gathered around the living Christ in this most holy place even before the Throne set upon the seat of great mercy.”
(End Vision)

(2nd Vision) “Christ then brought a second much harder crushing to the spices which sat upon the edge of the table of bread. As He did, the elements crushed were mingled with the oil from the olives upon this table. So much was the oil crushed under the nail scarred hand that the oil literally ran down the front of the table and covered the table until the whole of the table was covered with the oil fragrant in crushing. It was the hand of the living Christ that did this. As before, the 144,000 Overcomer’s were gathered around Christ. At the beginning they appeared half way, they were only partly in appearance and they only partly were seen as though they were ghosts. But as Christ continued to place pressure upon the spices and upon the edge of the table of bread, so much so did their appearance become clearer to see. The more the spices were crushed, the clearer did the 144,000 become. Finally, once the spices were thoroughly crushed the 144,000 then fully appeared in flesh and bone bodies but bodies that had the power of endless life for these bodies were fully glorified. When the bodies of the 144,000 changed from being transparent as ghosts to being fully physical and glorified there was the blasting sound of a trumpet and the declaration of the Feast of Tabernacles and the full liberty of the Sons and Daughters of God was placed upon this little company who surrounded the living Christ. Upon them each were the Royal Robes of the order of Melchisedek and upon the skirts of the robes were bells and the pattern that denoted holiness in all that was now upon them in their persons. In my spirit I knew that these were those raised in the first resurrection and who were HOLY unto the Lord and who were of the order of Melchisedek who had no beginning of days nor ending of life, these were they that had Overcome and were now standing as priests of God before the eternal Throne, which Throne rested upon the seat of great mercy. To look upon them was to look upon Christ Himself, they were as He is, Holy, perfect and priests forever.”
(End Vision)

The beginning study on the first writing on the Mystery of Godliness. That definition, Godliness, is one that is mistaken more than any other in our day. The definition of godliness is so maligned, just like the visage of Jesus face, so maligned is this understanding of what true godliness is. The reason for this is because godliness is the final result of our faith. The culmination of faith brings one to godliness, and godliness cannot be defined in the world’s language, the world is unable to understand it. Godliness in the core of our definition must only be seen and known by identity with a person. That person is Jesus alone; He is the only true definition of godliness. In our day we have in the world such a distorted view of Jesus that no one is able to clearly define His person. He cannot be known by definition or by those who would put forth a show of godly character, it cannot be duplicated. And to become godly one must take on the person of Jesus fully. You will not be able to find in the world today a true definition of godliness, you can only see it in He who stands as the great high priest at the right hand of God, and nowhere else can godliness be defined.

Now that does not mean that the scripture found in 1 Peter 2:9 is of none effect. We ARE that people, but I daresay that the reality of this, or the finding of this kind of people in the world is mostly impossible. Everywhere you look this kind of people, holy and peculiar showing forth the true light of who Christ is cannot hardly be found at all anywhere! The entire gamut of our modern world has been given over to illusion, not the testament of this sort of generation of holy ones! Some may protest that I say this, but it is truth, that there is now in the earth such a rise of iniquity that everything else has become clouded. The true member of Christ’s ecclesia can only be found separated unto God by the Holy Spirit. They cannot be found in assembly or function or gatherings or groups unless for a specific time and for a specific purpose in the Lord’s mind, but to find them as assembling AS a peculiar people, the Lord simply does not have that kind of assembly anymore. The assembly of the Lord’s people into one focal group showing forth the praises of Christ is almost impossible to find. The world has become steeped in every other kind of show other than the true one. Now don’t take my words wrong. You may be led to gather unto the Lord in a small group, but the manifest presence and knowledge of “godliness” is NOT YET BEEN DEFINED TO US. The doctrine of this hour holds that true godliness and the mystery of it will not be seen or known in the earth UNTIL THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD.

The only true definition of Godliness is seen ONLY in the life of Jesus, justified, certified, confirmed, yet crucified and slain, died, then received up into Glory, HE ALONE HAS THE DEFINITION OF GODLINESS. He is the only example we have. In our day however we have so many false imitations of the true that the entire sickening mess is to be utterly abandoned! Nothing is going to change in this world UNTIL THE LORD MANIFESTS HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS. Then the pattern of Jesus as being GODLY and filled with GODLINESS will be seen in a people. A people with flesh and bone, but a people in eternal deathless glorified bodies, RIGHT HERE ON THIS EARTH. It is all going to happen HERE. The glorification of the Overcomers IS GOING TO HAPPEN AND I SAY IN PROPHECY THAT THIS IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. We are about to hear the Tabernacle declaration where the Lord IN TRUTH WILL TABERNACLE IN GLORIFIED BODIES. The holy anointing oil of His precious spirit will be upon this crew of 144,000 taken from amongst men in the earth, not a literal number, but figurative of those who learned to reign BY SERVING. They learned to reign with the Lord by serving all others! They did not serve “self” but “those who were around them”. They overcame every obstacle all in order to SERVE and these ones who learned this also learned the true right of God’s order of things. That one cannot rule with the Lord in authority until one has served with the Lord in humility. Both must work together as one and be seen as one in the life of those separate unto the Lord in this hour.

Backing up just a little, allow me to give you a defining of those who will be defined! The ones who will be seen as Godly! Right now the ones to whom godliness will be imputed and through whom the mystery of it will be openly revealed are right now overcome in worldly circumstances! They are themselves OVERCOME BY EVERYTHING THEY DO NOT WANT TO POSSESS IN THEIR FAITH. The one called to the first resurrection, called to inherit the blessing of life evermore, the one called to receive the glorified body at the onset of the age of His Kingdom is first overcome by all the circumstances that surround them in the earth. They are subjected to every sort of constraint and restriction that this modern world affords. Taken in by circumstance they are ones who have their own will removed. They are as it were “impaled” upon whatever structure is necessary to remove personal will from them. They are identified with Jesus as being pinned by nails upon the tree of death so that they with their own will cannot move or function or breathe except by pure heavenly mercy. The way of the world has overcome THEM it seems, it does not seem like they have overcome IT. They to look upon are a ghastly group. They have no semblance of any sort of real victory other than being cut off and alone. These are the ones who will form the government of the Kingdom, the right to rule and reign with Christ in this age that is dawning.

The member of the 144000, or the manchild, or the two witnesses, or the one called “Overcomer” by the lips of the risen Lord doesn’t look anything like a victorious one. Instead they are surrounded by impossible situations. They are covered in sorrows. The trial of their faith has nearly left them dead. Scourged, chastened and beaten down again and again these find themselves alone, apart, separate from all others, famished looking, gaunt, away from those who are eating swine’s flesh of religious tradition in an over abundant supply. The Lord skilfully, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, separated again and again, over and over again, the Overcomer from all those who surrounded them. Every part of their life has been brought to constraint, not freedom, and every decision they make seems to make the constraints worse. Nothing of this world works our right for them, no relationships seem to last and all they do seems to be almost futile in tremendous struggle. Now I could say that this describes most people who live in the world, and it is. But there is for those slated for the first resurrection one more vital thing that separates them from all others. And that is the heat of the fire of the Holy Ghost burning up in them all that is contrary to GODLINESS.

How do you know if you are part of the 144,000? The answer is simple. You don’t. How do you know that you will be part of the first resurrection and receive at the beginning of the age of His Kingdom a glorified body? That answer is also simple. You don’t. You simply do not know FOR SURE, but you DO know one thing, THAT THE TRIALS HAVE NOT STOPPED. The trials and testings of life and the inworked power of the cross will continue to work in you all along until Jesus appears. Strange as it may sound, the Lord’s will concerning us is not to make us anything more than a people who bear the same semblance as Jesus. For the 144000 will look like Him. They won’t look like anyone else; they will be perfect mirrored reflections of Christ Jesus. To get there the trials now must continue to be endured, nothing can remain of your life in this world and everything must remain of His life in you in this world. All else must be removed by the heat of trial and testing, separation and scourging, rejection and being hated by those round about. These who have become your enemies you must love with no exception knowing that the rejection of your person which they do, the walking away from you which is their common action, those things are necessary to BARE YOUR HEART BEFORE THE LORD. The Lord allows these to reject and curse you all so that you can have your heart laid open before the Lord who consumes the dross within it with His piercing gaze and holy fire! If ever there was a time to be cognizant of what you are enduring, it is now so that you know it is a matter of heart, your heart and it is a matter of the Lord viewing it all and pouring forth the heat of His fire upon it.

So Christ then watches over His word to perform it. What this means to us is that He instils in us the measure of His word which we cannot mistake for any other thing. But then He takes that same word and He “presses” that word into our beings. He by the heat of trial and testing tests that word over and over and over again. He tests it with pressures, fires, judgments, scourgings and every imaginable circumstance all to catch you up into seeing that same word reduced to one simple faith trust in the Lord alone. Removed from you will be any thought that you can endure or make all that is in your life something you can remain faithful to by your own ability or accord or personal strength of character. The word is set in you, but then tried until all you have left is simple faith and nothing more, that word holds you, but it becomes faint and distanced. It is not as prominent as it once was; all because the Lord wants you to follow the same pattern He followed and be found in Christ with His righteousness and where He alone is GODLY IN YOU. The pressures you have had up till now are all for that purpose. You are left with a single trial, a single experience, a single hope, everything else falls away. This pressing by the hand of Christ upon you bursts forth the fragrance of the Lord like no other thing. We have to come to the place where we do not care if we are of this company or that order or do this thing to inherit some other thing. We have to come to the place where we only want the Lord to be LORD in us completely and that all we are is a complete glory unto Him. THEN we will know if we are part of His true government in the earth, not before!

You cannot compare yourself with someone else who is experiencing the same. The way the Lord works upon each one differs with each one. You may have an easier time walking with the Lord and perhaps not much is removed from you. You may instead have it very hard and suffer the loss of many things, many precious needful things. In either case the Lord is the judge as to whether or not you are being groomed for rulership upon the Throne with Him, it is not for you to know until you have experienced this full crushing of heart. Then you WILL KNOW but it will be to you as one who is being prepared to rule as a SERVANT to this fallen creation. Not one who will rule as a worshipped deity, but one who serves this creation in such a manner as to consume the dearth and remove the death, all in the name of that which is godly.

The Lord’s archangel is sounding the trumpet of Tabernacles. It is ringing out now from the expanses before His Throne out unto the outer edges of the cosmos. The time has come for the Lord to manifest His Sons and Daughters. He will be right on time with this, not one second late nor one second too soon. His timing in manifesting His people as His government and revealing to the world the true definition of godliness will be absolutely perfect. This trumpet is not YET to sound, it IS SOUNDING NOW. We ARE in the time of the sounding of the trumpet which declares the coming of the Lord in the full revelation of GODLINESS in the lives of those who have overcome. Come! Let us rise and meet the Lord even in this feast of eternal reward!

Kenneth B Visscher

Who Shall Ascend?

2009-06-15T07:55:00.002-05:00

- Charles Elliot Newbold

I called upon the name of the Lord, "Who, Lord, shall ascend to the high mountain of our God and King?"

He answered, "He who has a broken and contrite heart. He who humbles himself in My presence. He is the one who shall ascend unto My holy hill." And I called again and I asked, "Lord, how does one humble himself? Man is so full of pride."

And He said, "He who humbles himself is he who recognizes his pride and breaks before Me. I will see him. I will come to him. I will break his heart. He will weep and mourn for he will know that he is a man of unclean lips. I will see him and I will lift him up. But if he lifts himself up, I will let him fall again."

I asked again, "Lord, where do we go from here?"

And He answered, "Where do you want to go? Whatever is in your heart, that is where you will go. If it is in your heart to follow after Me, then we will walk together and abide in deeper and richer things. We will go from glory to glory, from faith to faith. Yes, we will ascend and ascend, every round going higher and higher. This, My son, is a place in Me. I am Mount Zion. I am My holy hill. When I say come unto Me, I am calling you up to My high hill.

"If, on the other hand, it is in your heart to go down to Babylon or back to Egypt, then you shall go there. The rewards of Babylon will be there and the jewels of Egypt will be yours. Only do not trust in them for they cannot save you, and in that hour when I come in all My glory, do not try to ransom your soul with them. They are vile to Me. I shall cast them away from you. I shall strip you naked and leave you in your shame.

"There is glory in Babylon and there are riches in Egypt, but they will go down to the pit. For from the pit have they ascended. They are flesh and appeal to the flesh. Do not touch them. Do not go after them, for surely they shall be yours if you like."

"Lord," I inquired, "this is a great deception isn't it--Babylon and Egypt?"

"There has never been a greater deception than this," He answered.

I shuddered at the thought of this.

"So great is this deception," He explained, "that men go down to Babylon, adorn themselves in religion and piety, and truly believe that they have come unto Me. They are shaken to anger at the suggestion that this, their Babylon, is not of Me, that I am not there.

"And Egypt, what can I say of My son, Egypt? He, too, is beautiful and rich and dwells in houses and owns land and buys and trades and sells in the marketplace. The prosperity abounds and so does the deception. For in their riches they live and move and have their being. But where will their riches get them, and what will it buy them when I come? I will look the poor man in the eye and see from whence came his hunger. I will look the rich man in the eye and ask from whence came his satisfaction, and he will be lifted up in his heart, and he will show Me all the things in his barns and say, 'My Lord, from all that is mine.' I will turn again to the poor man, and I will ask from whence came your poverty, and he will point to the rich man's barn and say, 'My Lord, from all that is his.' From whence comes your satisfaction? The poor man will bow and say, 'Ah, my Lord, from You; from You, my Lord, from You.'"

I said, "Lord, speak plainly to us. What is Babylon and what is Egypt?"

He answered, "Babylon is all that the carnal mind devises. It is the pride and arrogance and the haughtiness of man who exalts his own knowledge above the knowledge of God.

"As for Egypt, this is the flesh and all the lust thereof.

"Can you not see, My son, how the carnal mind has devised his own plan with all its traditions and labeled it church? For generations men thought this was of Me and for Me, but it is not so. This is the harlot, the woman who sits on many waters, who pretends allegiance to Me, but she is widowed. She is not My bride. Her deception is great. She has attained for herself the riches of this world. She has lavished herself with fine buildings and calls them temples and cathedrals and synagogues and churches. She has dressed herself in royal robes which she wove by her own hands. The linen I give is righteousness which has been purchased by My blood. She has accrued great riches with bank accounts and investments and have men bound to her by these things. She has purchased these things by the blood of martyrs.

"Everywhere you look, you can see the harlot. She is everywhere in men's hearts. Men go after her, and she loves it so. She is not married, but has taken unto herself many lovers. She is defiled and those who sleep with her are defiled.

"Mercy and peace are with those who have eyes to see and ears to hear when the trumpets sound and the call goes forth, 'Come out of her, My people, come out!'

"The road to Zion is paved with humility."

"Lord," I cried, "it's so hard to say. Why is it so hard for me to say it plainly? Why is it so hard for you to say it plainly?"

He answered, "Because the deception is so great.

"Christianity is a religion, and religious men are caught in its web. Who can hear Me," said the Lord, "or who can hear My prophets when it is said of Christianity that it, as a religious system, is a false religion? Who can understand when I declare that all religion is false? The greatest deception of all is for men to come to it in My name, thinking they have come to Me. I am not an "it." I am not a religion. I am the living and true God. I require that men come unto Me and renounce all religion, but who can hear?

"Religion has boundaries. I am boundless. It has its laws and rules and regulations. I offer grace and love and peace. Religion binds men; I free them. Religion suppresses men; I call them to ascend into the heavenlies. Religion restrains and controls; I release. Religion requires obedience to it; I require obedience to Me. Yes, obedience is far better than sacrifices. I loathe religion and religious men. They are dangerous and spread the deception to innocent hearts."

"Lord, you have spoken plainly. So where shall they go who come out of Babylon?"

And He answered simply, "To Jesus."

"Ascend, My holy ones, ascend into the heavenlies. Sit at My right hand and at My left. I will show you mysteries. I will show you great and glorious things.

"You are My witnesses--My two witnesses--one on My left and the other on My right. On My left is grace and mercy and peace. And on My right is righteousness, justice, and wrath. I am a two-edged sword. My sword goes forth out of My mouth. It divides the righteous from the unrighteous. It is sharp and quick and sure.

"Behold, I am dividing right from wrong. I am making straight the path. I am exalting valleys. I am moving mountains. The high will be made low, and the low will be made high.

"If he cannot understand this (the man of sin), let him go down into his house, shut his door and weep and mourn, for surely pity shall come upon his house."

"How shall they come out of Babylon?" I asked the Lord.

"They shall come out by coming unto Me. Simply leave. The door is opened. The way is made clear. The prophets have gone before. Do not look back. Do not go back. Simply leave.

"And when they criticize you and call you blasphemous names, let your head be as flint; be silent; be at peace; love them; turn the other cheek, for they so persecuted your fathers before you.

"Do not look back. Do not do anything. Do not say anything. Simply leave. Say in your heart, 'I have left Babylon and have ascended the high hill of my God. I have come to Mount Zion, to Jesus, the author and finisher of My faith.'

"You cannot take Zion down to Babylon. You have to come out of her. You cannot sing Zion's songs in Babylon. They can only be sung in Zion.

"Zion is a place in the Spirit where Jesus is the only thing there is."

"Lord," my questions seemed endless, "this kind of freedom, this independence, this liberty--will it not be a great threat to those who lead in Babylon?"

"Oh yes, My son, they will take great offense at My holy ones. They will say you are deceived. They will slander, accuse, and defame you. They would plot to kill you if they could. For you, My holy ones, have become what they cannot, because they cannot let go of what they have. Yet, it shall all very soon be taken from them anyway."

"Tell me, Lord, in view of all of this, have we really heard the gospel yet? What is the gospel? Speak plainly to us."

"The gospel has been twisted and perverted to fit the molds of traditions and religions--so uniquely so, that men confuse the Christ with their systems and join converts to them rather than to Him.

"But the truth of the gospel is this: that I, the Lord God of Israel, came in human flesh, fulfilled the Law and Prophets, shed My blood of righteousness, arose from the grave, ascended into heaven where I now sit at the right hand of God the Father, where I intercede on behalf of the saints, and through faith am gathering unto Myself My assembly of holy ones. They are gathered into Me. They are My general assembly of the first-born. I have birthed them by My Spirit. I have filled them with My Spirit. I lead them by My Spirit. They are one in faith, hope, spirit, and love. They are everywhere and worship Me in spirit and truth. In obedience they serve Me where they are, out of who they are in Me. And none of this has anything to do with that Thing men call church. They are My body, My temple, My holy ones, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. They are above institutionalism--beyond doctrines, creeds, and rituals. They are not religious. They are sanctified.

"This is the good news: that Jesus Christ is Lord. And whosoever shall call upon His name shall be saved."

"Lord, I know of young pastors, Spirit-filled, who love you and want to go on with you. What shall they do once they see these things?"

"No man having put his hands to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of heaven."

"Again, I plead with you, my Lord, speak plainly."

And He said, "He who sees these things and obeys My word will simply come out. He will leave home and family and friends and come out. It is a hard word, who can hear?

"These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He goes." Rev. 14:4.

"Lord, what shall I do with this word?"

"Shout it from the housetops. Proclaim it to the nations. What has been revealed to you in secret, proclaim it in the open. Be bold! Be forthright! Be strong! Speak it boldly. Shock the nations. Rattle their doors. Shake their foundations. If they cannot stand, they are not of Me. If it can be shut down and closed up, it is not of Me. If it can be tossed by the wind, it is not of Me. If it produces anger and violence and malicious gossip and slanderings and lies from those who hear it, they are not of Me, for such things do not come out of Me.

"Behold, I have laid My foundation. I have built My walls. And now I am dropping My plumb line. My word of truth goes forth. That which does not align with My word will be torn down and cast into the sea. I am sending My prophets again. They go out in the spirit of Elijah, preaching the kingdom of God and calling men everywhere to repent and be immersed into Jesus. They are My "John the Baptists." They go forth to prepare the way of the Lord.

"Shall I return to wed a harlot? Oh, how repulsive that is to Me. Nor shall I take unto Myself those who are joined to her. Search your hearts, My people. Babylon is in the heart. Come out of her and she will come out of you. Zion, likewise, is in the heart. Come unto Me and I will become your only love.

"Arise. Shine. Come unto Me."

"Lord," I prayed, "forgive me for the fear and the intimidation I feel when I think about speaking these things out."

"You shall know the harlot by this as well, that she has such a powerful control over the hearts and minds of men that they are laden with fear to dare come out of her, let alone speak against her. She is the epitome of idolatry and full of idolatry, and all those joined to her are idolaters. Now you must realize, My son, that a thing is an idol when men have put their trust and love in it. And idolaters do not want their idols touched. It is a dangerous thing to touch another man's idol. As you speak these things, you will be pulling down strongholds and shattering idols--and you will be hated by many for My name's sake.

"Now the harlot, the mother of harlots, is the spirit of Satan himself. He has hidden behind her skirt and deceived the nations. He is last of all willing for her to be exposed. He is, indeed, the great dragon and will try to consume My bond-servants, those I am sending forth in My name to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom and to expose the harlot and her counterfeits.

"A fierce war has begun in the heavenlies. All hell is loosed to destroy My bond-servants if they could, but they cannot even so much as touch them because they are dead and hidden in Me. This is why the fear is so compelling. It is real. Nevertheless, My bond-servants will, indeed, follow Me wherever I go at all cost to their own lives."

"Why is it so hard to leave Babylon? Why can't Christian people just walk away from it?"

"The spirits of Babylon are numerous and very compelling. At the head of the system is the mother of harlots, Jezebel. She is disguised as the bride and, thereby, has deceived the best of hearts. Yet, she is an enticing spirit. Her seductive ways appeal to the flesh of men and their desire for power, position, and riches. Working under her are all the Ahabs: the kings and rulers in the churches, spirits operating through prideful men. The Ahabs are the Nicolaitans--the conquerors of the people. They are the clergy system that elevates itself above the people. Working for them are such other demons as pride, haughtiness, control, position, authority, power, possessiveness, domination, ownership, jealousy.

"These spirits rule the churches, the systems, and the people under them. They rule through spirits of fear and intimidation. Cooperating with these are spirits of tradition, dogmatism, sectarianism, doctrine, sentimentalism, denominationalism; the warring spirits are confusion, hatred, division, divisiveness, bitterness, and the like. These have holds on men and are strongholds in the minds of men. But at the root of them all are the despicable spirits of religion.

"For men to come out, they must first understand these things. Then they must repent of them and come unto Me with a pure heart. I will deliver them. I will separate them and cleanse their defiled hearts. I will dress them in readiness and prepare them for My banqueting table. I will feed them the good fodder of My word instead of the indigestible twigs of men's mind. Who can digest the human intellect? Who can swallow its lies and deceits? The answer is everyone. For man is stupid and devoid of knowledge. But he who has My Spirit will hunger and thirst after Me, and I will reveal My nature to him. He will come unto Me, and I will sup with him and he with Me. He is the one who can come out of the harlot.

"He is the one who will come out of the harlot, for I shall lose not one whom the Father has given to Me--none, except the son of perdition.

"The harlot is everywhere. She is in the ministry, seeking to promote herself in power, position, and riches. She is in the ministers--the Ahabs, the Nicolaitans. She plays politics to promote herself. She lies, cheats, defrauds; she will do anything to get ahead. She is full of ambition and selfish desires. She is an abomination to Me, the very opposite of My nature and of the nature of My bride.

"This, My son, is why I say a woman is to be quiet and gentle and submissive, for she bears the joy of the bride in her heart. She loves her lover. The harlot loves herself. The bride gives of herself. The harlot takes unto herself. The bride hides herself in hiddenness. The harlot exposes herself--even in her doorway. She advertises herself and entices men to come into her, be joined to her for the pleasures of the flesh. Self is flesh. Anything for Self is flesh. This is why it is the abomination that makes desolate My holy place. My holy place is the spirit of men. When that spirit is defiled by the flesh, that is an abomination to Me.

"The harlot is the flesh nature of man that has taken its rule in the churches--self-aggrandizement, men seeking to increase themselves in flocks. They count numbers and glory in them. They own their own sheep and call them Mine. They lie, for they are not My sheep. They make disciples unto themselves, of themselves, and for themselves. They fleece their flocks for their own sordid gain. These are not My ministers. They are hirelings and Nicolaitans.

"The harlot is ugly and hides her ugliness in gaudy garments and decorates her face in lavishing colors. She hides behind these things. She is ashamed of her sin. Yet, she will not repent. She cannot repent. She is evil from within."

"What about the harlot, Lord? Who or what is the harlot spirit? How can we know when she is operating?"

"The harlot spirit, My son, is anything for Self. She is the abomination that makes desolate My holy place. My bride, My holy bride is robed in righteousness. She has eyes only for Me. She is given wholly to Me. She is pure and undefiled and seeks nothing for herself. She is the laid-down life. She denies herself of Self, takes up her cross, and follows Me daily. My bride is beautiful and shines in the innocence of her holiness. She is separated unto Me. She is joined to Me. I am her husband and she is My only true love. I have birthed her. I have given her sup. I have adorned her in righteousness, beauty, and holiness. My bride is hard to see in the world because she is quiet, unassuming, gentle, meek--she is hidden in Me.

"But the harlot--she is loud and boisterous. She seeks herself. She wishes to expand her own bosom with the wealth of the nations. She seeks Self in everything, and everything she does is for Self. She has painted her face with all manner of atrocities. She loathes the bride. For she has no husband. She is a harlot. She takes anyone or anything into her bosom if it brings about an increase to her. She is an abomination to Me because she is full of boasting. She is deceitful. She is carnal. She is a harlot. A harlot is untrue. She is the counterfeit.

"Men come to her seeking Self--self-aggrandizement, self-reliance, self-pity, self-strength, self-anything. Self, Self, Self. This, My son, is how you can know if the harlot is at work: Ask yourself, 'Is what I am about to do, or is what I am discerning have to do with Self? Am I seeking Self? Or am I seeking the good of others?' If it is Self, it is the harlot every time. If it is from Me," says the Lord, "it will be for others; it will be the laid-down life of agape.

"She is a deceiver. She holds out all sorts of promises. She promises life and joy and prosperity and peace; and, in return, she charges a price. She cannot offer these things; for, in fact, those who go into her go down into Sheol--they go down into death, into poverty, into despair, into bondage and anguish.

"Ah, she cannot offer these things. Only I can offer life and joy and peace and blessing and happiness. These are found in Me. She says, take unto yourself what is yours. I say, lay it down. She says to live, drink, and be merry. I say, weep and mourn. She says, I will give you pleasure and great delight. But I say, I will give you life everlasting. Ah, she cannot offer you peace. She cannot offer you these things. They are not hers. She entices her lovers into thinking she holds these things, but she does not.

"The harlot is Self--anything for Self. You play the harlot when your heart goes after any substitute for Jesus.

"Remember this, My son, and guard your heart. Empty yourself of Self. Stay humble, broken, empty before Me. I will fill you up. I will be your joy, your satisfaction, your everything.

"Beware of the harlot. She is everywhere--in every window, every door, every street corner. She is in the voice of everyone who speaks. She is boasting, bragging, enticing, flattering, and seductive. Beware! Beware!

"The harlot is in the bosom of every man. She rises up and says I want this or that, or I want to do this or that, or I want to be this or that. At all times and in every way she seeks herself. Can you see her in the church? Can you see her in the ministry? Can you see her on the boards and committees, in places of high leadership? Can you see her in the pew? Can you see her in the choir? Everywhere she lifts her skirt to dance her own dance to the tune she has written in her own invention. And when she has finished, she takes her bows and receives her accolades, her applause, her plaques and trophies; she decks her walls with them. She is the harlot, the counterfeit to My bride who is simply hidden in Me."

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." Mark 8:35.

The trumpet call is sounding: "Come out of her, My people!" "Let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach." Heb. 13:13.

Dare we face our idols, cleanse the temple, and return to the God of our salvation?

A WORLD GONE MAD

2009-03-20T08:23:00.000-05:00

By Paul Proctor
March 18, 2009
NewsWithViews.com

Anyone with an ounce of discernment can tell that our world is losing it. Sin has its consequences; and it’s clear to many now that we are beginning to reap what we have sown.

Oh sure, there have always been liars, thieves, con men, murderers, drunkenness, debauchery, lasciviousness, perversion, profanity, blasphemy, violence and cruelty; but have you ever seen depravity so widely accepted in America? And, what a passion and pride we have for it now!

Brazen sin, as the Bible defines it, has become our cultural standard – the rule rather than the exception. That’s what brought fire and brimstone raining down on Sodom and Gomorrah! And we act as if that tragic story from Genesis 19 was just a fable – that the Lord would never actually bring judgment to the fruited plain.

But, God does not need America – America needs God.

We’re so proud of our depravity that we mass market now. It’s what America is known for around the world. It’s our trademark! And, selling our depravity as entertainment is no longer limited to the seedy side of society, but is now readily available in primetime and on main street in almost every format and venue imaginable, as news, commentary, business, music, sports, politics, religion, retail, drama, documentary, gossip, cartoon, commercial, sitcom, standup, talk show, game show and reality TV.

It’s on your big screen – it’s on your laptop – it’s on your radio – it’s on your CDs, DVDs, MP3s and in 3D. It’s on your cell phone and on your home phone – it’s in your mailbox and in your inbox.

It’s on billboards, banners and in bathrooms – it’s in courtrooms, classrooms and chat rooms. It’s in print ads and in want ads – in pop ups and in previews – on t-shirts and tattoos and clothes you can see through.

It’s in analog, digital, high def and blue ray – it’s in musicals and plays both on and off Broadway. It’s in videos, in bloopers, in trailers and in teasers to tempt everyone from grade-schoolers to geezers.

It’s at the ballgame – it’s at the theater – it’s at the mall – it’s at the park – it’s on parade – it’s in concert in broad daylight and at dark. It’s in hotels and motels, in lodges and in bars – it’s right out your window and staring from cars.

It’s in clubhouses, bathhouses, crack houses and church houses – where cursing and lewdness are met with roundhouses. It’s in studios, spas, salons and in parlors – at clinics and centers that take credit or dollars.

It’s right on the shelves of your local library – It’s in magazines and tabloids where customers tarry at the grocery, the bookstore, the drug store and quick mart – with shocking new photos and headlines of gossip.

It’s at your kid’s school and in back of the bus – and hidden in lockers behind all their stuff. It’s studied at college in classes with teachers proclaiming their theories like humanist preachers.

It’s just business – a living – a career move – an occupational hazard – a hobby – a pastime – a charity event – a good cause – a talent – a gift – a vice – an accident – an excuse – a diversion – a disease – a disorder – a journey – a ministry – a memoir – a book deal – a good deal – a way out of poverty and a means to an end – not to mention a basic human right.

Sin has come a long way since the Garden of Eden, but its wages are still the same even though many would have us believe it’s all relevant in our evolutionary world – a sure sign of madness.

And where is the church in all this?

They’re right in the middle of it looking for market share with a designer Jesus.

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” –1st John 2:16-17

No More Peace

2009-03-11T07:47:00.002-05:00

Posted: 10 Mar 2009 11:10 AM PDT
Joseph Herrin (03-10-09)

Two days ago the news reported on a story of a pastor being shot and killed in front of a horrified congregation at the Maryville First Baptist Church in Illinois. As I have meditated upon this event I have perceived a very hard message from the Lord. Despite the multitude of objections that always arise from people who have lost their fear of God, having been lulled into a stupor by the constant barrage of words flowing from the mouths of prophets and preachers who present an image of a “mush God” who is all love and mercy and tolerance, I am compelled to share the following word.

The coming days will prove the accuracy of this word. Judgment lies at the very doorstep of the church. Yahweh is full of wrath as He observes the fleshly condition of His people, soiled with all of the filth of the world, living dissipated lives as they spend themselves in pursuit of that which is passing away. Judgment is at hand. It will be swift, and it will be horrible. The people of God will see it with their own eyes, and they will cry out in fear, even as the congregation of FBC Maryville responded when their pastor’s happy message was suddenly interrupted by tragedy.

James said, “Let not many of you be teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1). The legions of ministers have not taken this admonition seriously, for there is no fear of God before their eyes. Sunday, the church in Maryville witnessed the “stricter judgment” of God before their eyes, yet where are the true prophets of God that will tell them it is so? Instead, a legion of smooth talkers, and peace and prosperity prophets, will assure the people that this was an assault against God, rather than a judgment from God.

What was witnesses Sunday at FBC Maryville will shortly be observed throughout the churches as Yahweh sends forth slayers and they are instructed to begin their judgment with the elders in the house of God.

Ezekiel 9:4-7
And Yahweh said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst." But to the others He said in my hearing, "Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity, and do not spare. "Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary." So they started with the elders who were before the temple.

The Spirit has been testifying with much emphasis that the horsemen of the apocalypse have been loosed. They are being sent forth to the nations, and judgment must begin with the house of God. Those to whom much has been given, much shall be required.

The church has totally rejected the concept of God as righteous judge, and indignant in His wrath. They are told that such an image is a relic of the Old Testament. The God of the New Testament is all love and kindness, mercy and tolerance. God is kind and there is no severity left in Him, the multitudes are assured by false prophets and self-appointed preachers. Such ones overlook the fact that the story of Ananias and Sapphira is found in the New Testament.

Yahweh struck down this man and his wife in the presence of the believers for they were not walking in truth. They were careless, having no fear of God, but seeing them both fall dead at the feet of Peter, the church learned the peril of treating lightly the holiness and justice of the God they served.

Acts 5:11
And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things.

I am fully persuaded that what occurred at FBC Maryville Sunday was a judgment and a sign. The church has forgotten the fear of God. They play their games, and pretend to be fully devoted to Yahweh even as the pretenders Ananias and Sapphira. They little consider that they are not just lying to one another, but they are lying to the Spirit who is called Holy.

In an hour when the Spirit is testifying that the sins of the church have reached full measure and judgment will no longer be delayed; in a day when Christ is ready to vomit a lukewarm, materialistic people of ease at of His mouth, the ministers are deceiving the people. They are declaring peace when there is no peace. They are turning the people aside from repentance, and God will hold the shepherds and prophets responsible for not warning the people of the wrath that is at hand. The blood of the people will be upon the watchmen who refused to sound the alarm.

The pastor of FBC Maryville was named Fred Winters. Fred is of Germanic origin, coming from “frid” which means “peace.” Fred Winters was in the process of delivering a message titled “Come On, Get Happy!” when he was confronted by a gunman and shot.

I can tell you with a surety that the message coming from the throne of God in this hour is not “Come On, Get Happy!” The Spirit is testifying "Yet even now," declares Yahweh, "Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments” (Joel 2:12).

Those who would be teachers will suffer a stricter judgment, and Yahweh is testifying that the prophets who are proclaiming peace when there is no peace will be judged severely in this hour.

Ezekiel 13:8-10
Therefore, thus says Yahweh God, "Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you," declares Yahweh God. "So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am Yahweh God. It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, 'Peace !' when there is no peace.”

When the disciples of Christ heard of a great calamity that occurred in Israel, they inquired of Yahshua about it. He responded in the following manner:

Luke 13:2-5
"Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

The Spirit is testifying in this hour that the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois was no worse than tens of thousands of other churches across the land in this hour. The vast majority of the people of God have all gone astray. They are all alike trying to serve God and mammon. There are multitudes who are at ease in Zion. The pulpits are filled with smooth proclaimers of a happy message in an hour when God is full of wrath. The judgment will fall to all His people and they will likewise perish unless they repent quickly.

You may ask, “In what way have the people of God and their ministers transgressed the will of God that they have incurred this great judgment?” They have done so by proclaiming a false gospel that leaves men, women and children in bondage to the flesh. They have done so by superficially healing the sickness of fallen man. They say all is covered by the blood of Christ, but they do not lead men to live a victorious life over sin, Satan and the world. They leave men bound up in selfishness, addicted to pleasure and entertainment and tell them that God is well-pleased with them.

Jeremiah 6:11-14
“I am full of the wrath of Yahweh: I am weary with holding it in. "Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the gathering of young men together; For both husband and wife shall be taken, the aged and the very old. And their houses shall be turned over to others, their fields and their wives together; For I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land," declares Yahweh. For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain, and from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely. And they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, 'Peace , peace ,' but there is no peace.”

Consider the character of the churches today, which are mirrored in this one church in Illinois. The pastor was proclaiming a message titled “Come On, Get Happy” in an hour when God is judging the nations, and great calamity is about to be unleashed. The same weekend that Fred Winters was urging his congregation to “Get Happy,” David Wilkerson shared the following:

AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE - EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US.

For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires—such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago.

There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting—including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. In Psalm 11 it is written,

“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (v. 3).

God is judging the raging sins of America and the nations. He is destroying the secular foundations.

The prophet Jeremiah pleaded with wicked Israel, “God is fashioning a calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh, turn back each of you from your evil way, and reform your ways and deeds. But they will say, It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart” (Jeremiah 18:11-12).
[End Excerpt]

Can you think of a greater disparity among preachers and the message being proclaimed? Can you not understand the anger of God as He observes men who are standing in pulpits pretending to be His mouthpiece, and they are lulling the people to sleep in a time when the Spirit is crying forth to the churches to WAKE UP!

Fred Winters had been at this church for 22 years, and he had shepherded them down a path of ease, comfort and complacency. A look at the calendar of events for the church, available at their website reveals the focus of this body of Christians and the leaders that oversee them. The months of March and April reveal the following planned activities to occupy the attention of the saints of God:

High School Lazer Tag Lock-Out

Hey High Schoolers- are you ready to stay up ALL night long?!?! We are going to spend a night full of fun - running, rolling, jumping, climbing, and eating at The Edge in Belleville. Are you up for it?

WIBI Open Act Semi-Final FRIDAY MARCH 13 Featuring FBCM's Very Own Gessica Handegan

We will be hosting the WIBI (91.1 FM) "Opening Act" Semi-Final event on Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m. The event will consist of performances by the 8 remaining contestants in this praise and worship competition similar to "American Idol." The audience will be voting on the four finalists that will be moving on in the competition. Our very own Gessica Handegan is a finalist! The evening will also feature a concert by Christian rock band "Fee." Don't miss this opportunity for good, clean, family fun! Tickets are only $5/person and can be purchased by calling 1-800-707-9191 They're going fast so get yours today!

Timeless Treasures "Spring in Africa" March 20

Please join us Friday, March 20 at 6 p.m. for our "Spring in Africa" event. We'll enjoy a meal catered by Ponderosa, plus you'll have the chance to taste some genuine African cuisine. The Zambian Men's Acappella Choir will be blessing us through their singing. March 15 is the last day to sign up! Sign up at the long counter in the foyer Sunday! Cost for this event is $10/person.

Dad-Daughter Bowling Date Night March 21!

Dads and Daughters- Join us March 21 for our Third Annual Dad & Daughter Date Night! We will begin with dinner at Pizza Man in Troy at 4:15 p.m. and then go bowling at Camelot Bowl (Finishing by 9 p.m.). Cost is $37.50/couple and $18.75 for each additional daughter.

Karate Classes at FBCM

Kenpo Karate Classes for ages 7-17 will begin March 30. This class will meet once a week on Monday evenings (6 - 7:30 p.m.) for 8 weeks, thru May 18. Cost is $80/person. Trainers from Tracy's Kenpo Karate in Troy, IL will be teaching the class. Sign-up now!

Church Golf League

If you would like to play golf at Arlington Golf course on Thursdays (3:30 - 5 p.m. start time) each week April 2 - August 27, including a September tournament...

KIDZCamp 2009 Registration Begins Sunday!

Registration begins Sunday for KIDZCamp! Children in Grades 1-5 are invited to join us June 8-12 at Lake Williamson in Carlinville, IL! The energy, excitement and fun is unlimited, but space is limited so check your calendars now! If you are interested in volunteering for Kidz Camp, please fill out a Camp Volunteer Application (available in the Children's area).

MCS "Paradise Island" Dinner Auction March 14

Maryville Christian School is pleased to present our annual auction fund-raiser, "Paradise Island." Cruise with us on March 14 at 6 p.m. and enjoy delicious food, live entertainment by the Bethel Beach Boys, and fabulous finds at both silent and live auctions! Tickets are $20/person and may be purchased at the "L" counter in the foyer Sundays, until March 8. To make a donation, please contact...

Women's Aerobics FREE Guest Preview Week March 17 & 19!

Any interested women who have not previously attended one of our aerobics classes may participate for FREE both Tuesday, March 17 & Thursday, March 19 (6 - 7:15 p.m., Student Worship Area - Rm. 277). This is your no-obligation chance to check out this fun, affordable step class! We sweat to uplifting Christian music and do toning exercises as well. Equipment is provided- just bring a bottle of water and a hand towel! If you like the class, you can sign up for the Spring Session (April 7 - June 11) for only $1/class!

College Night - Baseball Style!

All college-age people are invited to enjoy baseball-style food and a baseball-themed movie at Pastor Tim & Gwen's house Friday, March 27 from 6-9 p.m.

Pastry Cooking Class - Zambia Missions Fundraiser

Help support our Zambia Mission Team and learn how to make four mouth-watering desserts! This class will take place Saturday, March 28 from 4-6:30 p.m. in Room 175. Sign up at the counter in the Foyer March 8-22 ($30 minimum donation).

It is not hard to discern a theme to the life of this church as it is directed by the shepherds who oversee it. It is food, fun, excitement, music, entertainment, ease, and pleasure for every age group of the church. A floor plan of the church reveals that such things are central to the very life of the members who attend there.

On the first floor there is a Game Room, a Weight Room, a Large Activities Room, a Kitchen and a Café and men’s and women’s locker rooms. The second floor also shows a walking/running track inside the building.

Likewise the grounds layout shows a similar theme:

There are four youth soccer fields and a much larger soccer field. There are eight tennis courts. There is a little league softball baseball field and two softball fields. There is a playground and basketball courts.

Soon a people who are at ease will make the confession of Job:

Job 16:12
"I was at ease, but He shattered me, and He has grasped me by the neck and has shaken me to pieces...”

Yahweh knows that a people who are at ease are not transformed from carnal men and women into spiritual. Transformation comes through struggle, by many trials and suffering. Because the people of God have chosen ease they have retained all the flavor of a sinful world. The church is thoroughly a reflection of the evil generation in which it exists. Because the people have not obeyed the Lord, they have neglected to take up their cross and follow Christ, Yahweh will overturn their vessels and He will cast them into troublesome days.

Jeremiah 48:11-12
“Moab has been at ease since his youth; He has also been undisturbed on his lees, neither has he been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile. Therefore he retains his flavor, and his aroma has not changed. Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares Yahweh, "when I shall send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.”

For 22 years Fred Winters has led this people until they have become a mature expression of careless ease, bewitched by a message that has proclaimed that God is well pleased with them. They have not been warned of the great anger of Yahweh. They have not been called to repent, to weep and mourn and put on sackcloth. Instead they have been led to pursue endless entertainment and to go from one food festival to another. 22 years is a time found throughout the Scriptures that is associated with God cutting off wicked rulers over his people who have failed to shepherd them in the way they should go.

Jeroboam led the northern tribes of Israel into idolatry. Therefore God judged him. After 22 years God cut him off.

I Kings 14:19-20
Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers.

Later we read of Ahab, the most wicked of all kings, who caused Israel to sin grievously. He too was cut-off after 22 years.

I Kings 16:29-30
Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of Yahweh more than all who were before him.

The number 22 is associated over and over with wicked rulers of the people of God, and the judgment that fell upon them. Is not Yahweh incensed that the leaders of His people are once more leading them into idolatry? Is He not justified in judging severely those who turn His people away from repentance and harden them in their spiritual blindness?

Yahweh has sent a multitude of warnings to His people over a period of many years, but their shepherds have lulled them to sleep. The people of God have been distracted with a multitude of activities that are no more than entertainments, feeding the flesh, and keeping the children of God perpetually spiritually immature. They have spent their money on the amusements offered by the church when they should have been caring for the widow and the orphan, the homeless and the stranger.

When the people of God should have been directed to subdue their fleshly passions and desires, and to drive out every enemy in the land of their flesh, they have instead been told that God is satisfied with them to remain encumbered in their slavery to the selfish Adamic nature. When they could have been warned and avoided the judgment to come, the ministers have hidden from their sight the path to peace with God.

Luke 19:41-43
And when He approached, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.”

Romans 14:17-18
For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Judgment must begin with the house of God. Sunday a sign was given that this judgment will be severe. If you have been sitting under the preaching of a false messenger of peace; if you have been joined to one of the thousands of houses of ease and prosperity that strive to keep the people entertained, then flee from that place. The Spirit of God has been calling out for many years to Yahweh’s people:

Revelation 18:4-5
“Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.”

The horsemen have been loosed. The judgment will not delay much longer. Now is the time to heed. These are very serious days, and it is a holy God with whom we must deal.

II Corinthians 5:10-11
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men...

Let us put off ease and begin to walk in the fear of the Lord.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 5546
Macon, GA 31208

Awake, O Sleeper!

2009-03-02T15:25:00.005-05:00

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Introduction

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

After receiving the revelations of this past week, a great soberness, and a sadness came over me. When the Lord revealed that the 111th Congress would be the last one in which America as a nation would be divided and her liberty and prosperity lost, the imminence of those things the Father has been declaring for many years really struck home.

My response was an innate desire to be close to ones whom I loved. I think the reaction is akin to people who are facing some great trial or threat. They seek to gather together with other loved ones. I ended up calling my daughter and speaking to her. Then I called a dear sister in Christ and spoke to her for some time on the phone. She too had experienced the same sense of sadness and soberness upon reading the post titled America’s Swan Song.

I shared with this sister in Christ that I had a desire to write something to share with family members, friends and Christians who do not normally read my writings, or have much interest or understanding of the many things God has been declaring which are of a prophetic nature. I wanted something to send to them as a warning of how very soon these things must take place, and how life will be altered here in America forevermore.

The following writing is what I have produced to be shared with others. I am making it available to all who would also like to have something to share with those they love and care about. It is my hope and prayer that many might begin to awaken from their slumber as they consider the things written.

I also want to recommend to you (VERY HIGHLY) an audio message of an interview between Vincent Xavier and Benjamin Baruch. The audio message is available on the New Wine Radio Ministry website. You can access the New Wine Radio Archives here:

http://newwineministry.net/radio/video_archives.html

Click on the Archives tab and then look for the radio program dated 02/07/09 with the names Benjamin Baruch and Sam C. King. The entire audio program runs for 4 hours, but I have only listened to the first portion where Vincent Xavier is speaking to Benjamin Baruch.

A sister in Christ, Therese Kimber, told me about the program. She had listened to it and had been greatly affected by the content of what was discussed. It too will leave one with a great soberness in considering those things to come to this nation.

I would recommend the saints making time to sit down alone, or with other believers, and listening to this message. The only thing I would add to what is said, is that I am fully persuaded that all believers should be directed by the Spirit of Christ in all that they do to prepare for the coming days. Any actions that arise from the soul of man will surely prove vain. As sons of God we must be led of the Spirit in all that we do (Romans 8:14).

It is stated in the interview that the days upon us are akin to the days of Noah, and Noah made preparation for the judgment to come. I would amend this comment by declaring that Noah did PRECISELY what God instructed him to do. No more, and no less. So too must we be led of the Spirit and avoid any actions that are presumptuous.

The time is late. America is in its last hours, and great difficulties will be faced by all in the approaching days. Yet God will have a provision for His people. He will bear them up on eagles’ wings. He will care for them as a Father spares his own son.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,

Joseph Herrin

Romans 13:11-12
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand.

I Thessalonians 5:3-6
While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

Awake O Sleeper!

Please read and consider carefully the words written here. They are of the gravest importance. If you are not hearing what the Lord is speaking in this hour, the destruction which is coming swiftly will overtake you like a thief.

Let me be very plain in declaring what the Spirit of Jesus Christ is speaking. America as a nation is about to come to a terrible end. It will happen NOW, during the time that the 111th Congress is in power. The 111th Congress is now in session. America will be divided. The economy will completely fail. Great famine will sweep across the land. Civil unrest of unprecedented proportions will occur, and MILLIONS of men, women and children in this nation will perish.

In this writing I will share with you some recent signs that have been given to warn God’s people of these things. I will then share why these things are occurring, what you should do in response, and how to prepare for what is at hand.

For many years now God has been providing a multitude of witnesses of the coming destruction of America as a nation and of the chaos that will impact all the nations of the earth. The church has been sleeping. They have been focused upon a prosperity gospel, and have sought a life of ease, comfort and many pleasures and entertainments. Because their focus has been self-centered, they have not discerned the voice of the Father who has been proclaiming that the hour is very late.

Miss USA 2007 and 2008

In 2007, during the evening gown portion of the Miss Universe pageant, Rachel Smith fell down while walking onto the stage. She was in front of an international audience and among dozens of women who each represented a different nation of the world. The next year, 2008, Crystle Stewart also walked out onto the stage during the evening gown portion of the competition, and she too fell to the ground.

Two years in a row Miss USA fell to the ground. Her fall serves as a parable from God of that which is coming swiftly to the nation. When God repeats a sign, He does so to indicate that His judgment in the matter is certain. He will not repent of His decision, and it will happen swiftly. In the Old Testament we read of God determining to bring a great famine upon Egypt and all the surrounding nations that would last for seven years. At that time also, God gave warnings of what would befall the people. Pharaoh dreamed two dreams in the same night, and Joseph, the son of Jacob, told Pharaoh the meaning of the repetition.

Genesis 41:32
Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about.

God has been giving warnings for a long time. He has been calling His people to put aside their lust for the things of the world and to serve Him with an undivided heart. He has also been bringing many judgments upon the nation to warn her that the abominations practiced in the land cannot continue any longer. Yet neither the people of God, or the nation have wanted to repent. Therefore, judgment will now befall the nation. It will be complete, leaving America unrecognizable as the once proud land that has been her portion.

Revelation 2:21-22
“And I gave her time to repent; and she does not want to repent of her immorality. Behold, I will cast her upon a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation...”

As the hour for the final destruction of America has drawn closer, the testimonies of what God will do have increased. Last year (September 2008), a terrible train wreck occurred in California.

Metrolink 111 Train Crash

A commuter train carrying many passengers ran at full speed into a UNION Pacific freight train that was on the same tracks. The train had departed from UNION station in Los Angeles. The passenger train’s engineer was distracted as he texted some young people when he should have been focused upon his job. He did not even apply the brakes, and as a result there was a devastating collision and many people died.

The Preamble to the Constitution begins with the following words:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The Union that the forefathers of America had envisioned, this great experiment of Thomas Jefferson and others, has ended in gross sin and widespread corruption, both in government and society. Those driving the train of this nation have ignored all the stop lights, all the signs of warning, and have continued on a course of destruction without even slowing their forward speed.

All the while, those aboard have gone on without suspecting that life is about to end as they have known it. Many will perish, their lives snuffed out suddenly in calamitous events. Many more will suffer great injury. It will be a mere remnant who walk away having suffered no harm.

People of God, the Spirit is testifying that great and terrible days are just ahead. It will be a difficult period for any person to experience. Tales of grief and sorrow will become the portion of those whose conversations had focused upon their next purchase, their next entertainment, their next meal. Very suddenly the lives of all those aboard Metrolink 111 changed, and so too will things change in the days ahead. The signs of collapse, or disintegration, are all around, yet most are unseeing, most are oblivious to the destruction just around the bend.

Yes, the train was Metrolink 111, and the Spirit of Christ is now testifying that these things which He has warned about for so long will occur during the time that the 111th Congress is in session. The judgment will not delay any longer.

Just this month (February 2009), another witness has been given of that which is to come. A Continental Connections flight crashed as it approached Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The flight had originated out of Newark LIBERTY International Airport. The founding fathers of America wrote in the Preamble to the constitution that there purpose was to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

This liberty that America has known is to end very soon. A nation of free people will see all their constitutional protections removed. Martial law will be enacted as the land collapses into chaos due to the total collapse of her economy. At the same time there will be other calamities that strike the nation. The land will be divided, and it will never be the same again.

The plane that crashed in Buffalo, New York was a Continental Connections flight. The name of the airline is prophetic. That which connects the states of this nation is about to be severed. The continental connection is about to lie in flaming ruins.

America as a nation formed its first government in what is referred to as the Continental Congress. The word Congress is derived from the Latin congressus, from congredi, “to come together.” Therefore, Continental Congress and Continental Connection share the same meaning.

America will, during the term of the 111th Congress, experience a constitutional crisis that is precipitated by the total collapse of the economy. The UNION will be destroyed. The Continental Connection will be destroyed. We are seeing the seeds of the coming destruction in the news every day. Millions of Americans are losing their jobs. Millions more have lost their homes. Trillions of dollars have been lost from the Stock Markets. Trillions of more losses have been incurred by the banking system.

There is a systemic collapse occurring as we speak. The media and politicians continue to suggest that the ship will be righted. The economy will rebound. A new time of prosperity is ahead. Yet God has declared that the time of warnings is over. The judgment has been determined and it will not turn back. America as a nation will end during these days. A nation that began in liberty, and promised the blessings of continued liberty to its posterity, will meet its end.

God has been signifying these things for many years. The whole world watched the events of 9-11-2001. This was one of the final warnings of God, seeking to get His people and the nation to repent of the evil course they were on. The World Trade Towers were located at the corner of Church Street and Liberty Street in New York City.

Liberty Street on 9-11

On the date of 9-11 the two towers which stood as a symbol of America’s economic might were totally destroyed. They had stood strong and tall, rising 110 stories above the ground. Even so, America’s economy has been the envy of much of the world for many years. Yet, after 110 comes 111. During this time of the 111th Congress we will see fulfilled what was signified in type that awful day. The people of this nation will stand with mouths agape, struck dumb with fear and agony as they observe what is coming.

What I am declaring is not sensationalism, or hyperbole. Few imagined the horror to strike New York City on that day. It was a beautiful September morning. Life was pleasant and an unsuspecting people went about their normal routines. Yet the lives of multitudes were to be changed in a moment. The two Miss USAs fell. The two towers fell. So too will America fall during the time of the 111th Cogress.

What will happen to the people of God in America as these cataclysmic events unfold? The righteous will be saved. God has also testified to this both by Scripture and by signs. Yet not all who name the name of Christ are considered righteous.

Malachi 3:16-18
Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. "And they will be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Are you among those who FEAR God? Does your life reveal a reverential regard for God’s holiness? Have you separated yourself from the evil pursuits of a fallen and depraved world? Are you living for His pleasure and His purposes, or are you pursuing the same material possessions, and life of comfort as your lost neighbors? Do you sign and groan over all the abominations committed in the land, or are you indifferent to these things, or worse yet, a participant in them?

Ezekiel 9:4-6
And the LORD said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst." But to the others He said in my hearing, "Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity, and do not spare. Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary."

When God orders the slayer to begin at His sanctuary, He is testifying that judgment must begin with the house of God. What is indicated is that not all those in the house of God will be spared. Judgment will begin there, and many will perish who are among God’s own household. Do not be deceived! We will reap what we sow. It is the righteous who will be spared on that day.

The Continental Connections flight where fifty people perished stands as a parable of the disintegration of the United States. Many people will perish during the fall of the nation. Yet just a short time before this there was another plane crash where all aboard were saved as a US Airways flight crash landed in the Hudson River. This too was sent as a message from God. The nation will perish, but a people will be saved through days of great distress.

US Airways Flight 3407 at Battery Park

The US Airways flight speaks of the impending collapse of the United States. Yet some will emerge alive from this time. Who will be the ones who survive? It will be the righteous. This was clearly signified in the events of that day.

The captain of the US Airways flight, Chesley Sullenberger, and his co-pilot, had 153 people to safeguard. This number included 150 passengers and 3 flight attendants. 153 is the number of the righteous.

The number 153 is mentioned in John’s gospel in an event that occurred after the resurrection of Christ. Jesus appeared on the shore after the disciples had been fishing all night having caught nothing. He instructed them to cast their net on the right side of the boat and, when they did, they encompassed a great number of fish.

John 21:11
Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.

The fish represent men who are pulled from the sea of humanity. Even so, in the airplane crash, the 153 people in the back of the plane were all brought safely to shore, pulled from the waters of the Hudson River. (The name Hudson means “soul,” and those pulled from the Hudson signify those souls who will be saved.)

There is much that is symbolized in the details of this event. The plane was a US Airways, and it represents the nation whose name it bears. The plane was headed to Charlotte, NC which is a large banking center and it had a number of employees of Bank of AMERICA and Wells Fargo among its passengers. What is symbolized here is the imminent crash of the American economy. The banking system will collapse, and many people will be cast into peril as a result.

The airplane was towed to Battery Park where it ended up resting on the shore. This is symbolic of the state of America in coming days. America will be battered. The battering will continue for some time, yet God will bring the righteous safely through what is to come.

The Lord instructed His disciples to cast their net on the RIGHT side of the boat. The right side represents the side of RIGHTeousness. In the passage of Scripture speaking of the judgment of mankind, the sheep are directed to the right, while the goats are directed to the left and judgment.

What is also signified in these two plane crashes is that judgment must begin with the household of God. The church has much guilt in this hour. The church has followed the world into every excess of pleasure and sin. God holds the church more responsible for her transgression than the world, for the church has received greater light. There will be much weeping and sorrow among the household of God, and a great many will perish.

I Peter 4:17-18
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?

The first plane crash is a picture of the judgment which must begin with the household of God. It was with difficulty that they were saved, but God manifested great grace. Peter then continues with the thought, “What will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God? What will become of the godless man and the sinner?”

There are people IN the church as well as out of the church who do not obey the gospel. There are both righteous and wicked servants in the household of God. Do not be deceived! God will not be mocked. A mere confession of Christ with the mouth is not enough. If you are sowing to the flesh, living a life of carnal pleasure and sin, you must reap what you sow.

If you are pursuing a life of righteousness, then you can depend upon God to see you through the coming days. Consider the following words of Scripture and the image that follows.

Revelation 12:14
And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.

Satan will be the instrument God uses to judge America. Yet God will provide a place of safety for His people in that hour that they might flee from Satan who comes to kill, steal and destroy. This protection and provision of God is depicted as the two wings of a great eagle.

Consider now the following image from the plane crash on the Hudson River.

Standing on the wings of US Airways Flight 3407

Those who escaped alive from the crash of the US Airways plane were held aloft on the two wings. America’s national symbol is the Eagle and as this was a US Airways plane, what is depicted is being carried on the two wings of a great eagle.

There have been a myriad of signs, prophecies and warnings given in recent days. Barack Obama took his inaugural oath with his hand upon the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used.

Barack Obama’s Oath w/Lincoln Bible

There are many parallels between Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln.

Both men were legislators from the state of Illinois.

Both men were elected to the presidency the first time they ran for the highest office in the land.

Both men are closely related to civil rights issues as Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and Obama is looked upon as the fulfillment of all that which began with this proclamation and was enunciated in the words of Martin Luther King.

Lincoln was the 16th President which is 4 times 4. Obama is the 44th President.

Lincoln took office in an hour when the nation was facing a great crisis, and so too has Barack Obama.

Yet the greatest parallels are yet to appear. Lincoln served as President during a time when the Continental Connection was severed. The Union experienced a great crisis, leading to the greatest loss of life of any period of American history. What will be observed during Obama’s presidency will be the same, but much worse. The Union will disintegrate. The Continental Connection will be severed. Martial law will be declared. Brother will be separated against brother, and there will be a staggering loss of life and a disruption of all that has been known during years of prosperity and peace.

These are but a small portion of the signs God has been providing to give His people understanding of those things to come. It has ever been God’s practice to speak through means of parables. In this way only those who have been granted the ability to perceive spiritual truth will understand.

Mark 4:11-12
"To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get everything in parables, in order that while seeing, they may see and not perceive; and while hearing, they may hear and not understand lest they return and be forgiven."

Many in America and in the church are now past the point of repentance. Their hearts have been hardened, and they would surely scoff at those things being declared here, even as they have continually ignored the warnings of God. God has afflicted this nation with many stripes in recent years. There have been record numbers of hurricanes, and tremendous devastation wrought by storms of historic proportions. The wicked city of New Orleans was dealt with very severely, and yet she has refused to repent.

There have been record numbers of tornadoes, and floods and droughts all occurring together in separate areas of the country. California, which leads the nation in much evil has been consumed with fires.

Los Angeles Fire - October 2008

What then should you do, seeing that great judgment is at hand? God tells us in His word.

Zephaniah 2:3
Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.

Are you one who carries out God’s ordinances, seeking to obey Him in all things which He reveals to you to be His will? If this is not a description of your life, then repent quickly and put away all sin from your life.

Have you entered into debt to gain the material things your soul lusted after? Repent, and ask God what He would have you do to be delivered. Jesus said that no man can serve God and mammon, but the majority of Christians in America have sought to do so.

Is your life characterized by selfish pursuits, with little thought given to what God would have you do with your life? Repent, and take up your cross and follow Christ wherever He would lead you.

Have you cared for the poor, fed the hungry, and given lodging to the stranger and homeless? There is no better way to insure God’s provision for you and your family in a day of great need than to have given generously to others when you saw their distress.

Isaiah 58:6-9
Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, “Here I am.”

James 2:13
For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

Humble yourself before God and set your sight to pursue righteousness. Flee from all temptation. If this means casting out the television and disconnecting cable service, then do so quickly. Perhaps God will yet have mercy when He observes the fear you have of His righteous judgment.

If you are tempted through the Internet as many men and women are who struggle with lustful thoughts, then put it away from you. This is no time to play with sin. If you are listening to ungodly music, throw it away. Do not be found on the day of judgment with that which mocks the holiness of God in your possession. If you have been reading impure books and magazines, cast them out and do not return to them.

Perhaps you believe you have been living a moral life, but the things I am sharing with you in this writing concerning the judgment to befall the nation are new to you. You need to ask why. Why have you not been hearing the voice of God speaking words of warning concerning that which is coming?

Has your life been self-focused? Have you failed to daily enter into God’s presence and to seek to hear His voice? Those who come through the coming days victoriously will only do so as they are sensitive to hear the voice of God and are quick to obey all that He declares. Perhaps you have not been hearing Him because you have not been walking as close to Him as you ought.

The day of calamity will not be the optimum time to learn to walk by the Spirit. Now is the time to be practicing such a life.

Romans 8:14
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

John 10:27
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me...”

God has been giving abundant testimony of the things to come for all to see. If you have not been discerning these things then there is surely a reason for it. It is time to awake, o sleeper! Do not let the day of the Lord come upon you as a thief.

If you have discerned the voice of the Spirit of Christ speaking to you through these words, and you desire to read more pertaining to what God has been speaking of the days we are now entering, I would recommend to you the writing posted on the Internet titled A Chronology of Events. In it you will find a multitude of links to words, by this same author, declaring the things God has been showing forth by signs for the past ten years.

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/chronology-of-events.html

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,

Joseph Herrin

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 5546
Macon, GA 31208

The Curse of Political Correctness

2009-02-24T06:46:00.001-05:00

Mark Watson
February 23, 2009

When a person embarks on the mental gymnastics of political correctness, he or she destroys independent thought. Political correctness was a tool used by men like Stalin and Hitler with great skill. In Germany, it was pop culture to denigrate Jews and tell filthy jokes about them. A person had better tell them or at least laugh at them if they wanted to keep their job. Political correctness was a tool of the state that reinforced proper thinking into the culture. It is not much different today, the mechanics are less crude and more developed and this makes it a little more difficult to identify.

Political correctness is brainwashing. It is preconditioned mass reflex programmed into people by those with the power to reach into every home via TV, radio, print media and entertainment. Political correctness is no friend to anyone. While it has been used in the past ostensibly for good, its ultimate aim is the reinforcement of elite control over the psyche of the masses. In short, it is a tool of tyrants. It is important here to distinguish the fact that tyrants today do not look like tyrants. They are carefully and skillfully put before the people as respectable people and are often elected into office. The depend on the skillful use of Propaganda (which includes PC) to win over the hearts and minds of the people.

When one looks at our system here in America and sees the foolishness of our leaders an image comes to mind. I see a massive sea liner heading out over the arctic, full of people who are drunken, high and have a 'footloose and fancy free' attitude. I see the captain and his crew deciding how it would be great idea to take some jack hammers down below and start hammering away at the Hull. For hours that is what they do, in their drunken and arrogant stupidity. Anyone who tries to warn them that this will only bring in ice cold water to the ship and sink it is called an 'extremist' a 'political pariah' an economic 'Neanderthal'. 'This is a new age', they are told, the 'SS Politically Correct is unsinkable' says the captain as he takes another swig of burbon.

The drunkards on deck are too busy partying to care about what is going on. So they take the warnings of a couple of the crew as some kind of joke. Fortunately there are a couple on the crew who have quietly made preparations for a few others and are about to abandon ship in a life raft. The SS Politically Correct, with its crew and drunken, foolish passengers are about to become a page in history.

For years America has borrowed itself to oblivion. The American people would not have it any other way. This was a willfull, knowledgeable choice folks made with they went into the ballot box. They saw the deficits and voted for a continuance of them. How in the world do you borrow 12 Trillion dollars and not consider that a campaign issue? How do you borrow that much money have our Fed start printing money to borrow more and call voters who put folks like that into office again and again rational?

You cannot do it and remain honest but you can if you want to be politically correct.

This is no small issue because so much of America's missteps can be traced to its fiscal policy and economic model. Its rapacious death machine, its giving money for forced abortions overseas (yes FORCED) the torture and the overconsumption of the worlds resources, these all stem from her wicked economic model. Here is an example where PC fits in and brainwashing is present. The issue of abortion overseas is framed as though it is a 'choice issue', you know, make abortion available to women who want them. This way the brainwashed (that is what they are) have the issue framed in such a way as to support a woman's right to 'choose'. But in many instances, it has little to do with a woman's right to choose. The money is used for eugenics, compulsory abortions.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9766870

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1615936,00.html

This is why American politicians have little respect for the opinions and (purported) cogitations of American voters. They are so easily manipulated and fooled by the most childish of propaganda. A ten year old overseas has more political savvy than most adult Americans. Why? Political correctness has a great deal to do with it. These are psychological strongholds in the minds of adults who have little or no political understanding or sophistication. They have the political IQ of someone who is mentally disabled. Such a statement is not PC, but it is the truth. Today, one cannot be both. One must be able to speak the truth and be willing to offend. That is what Christ did. That is what the Apostles did. Political correctness is a disease that has spread like locusts in the 20th and 21st century.

This is why we are sitting on 12 trillion in debt, pension funds are collapsing, unemployment benefits are drying up in state after state, people are being thrown out of work, and yet the nation can still find about a trillion dollars to fight more wars based on fallacious arguments and faulty intelligence. It is why our schools are dilapidated, people are still in torture facilities, the innocent go to jail and those who are accused of stealing billions are not even arrested.

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/market-movers/2009/02/19/stanford-found-not-arrested

I will tell you why.

Brainwashing. Americans are thoroughly brainwashed and I am sorry to say that most have not the moral courage to see it and admit it and inform themselves in a way that will save their nation and perhaps their very lives. Information is the most powerful tool in this age. It is hard to get, but in the Internet age, far from impossible. But people are still digesting that information with the psychological strongholds of PC thinking; filtering out the critical and latching on to the trivial. They still have no clue.

The Bible calls this skill discernment and knowing the times we are in as well as what the scriptures teach about them are critical if one is to see life eternal. Christians in America are just as deceived as those who make no Christian profession. They are not walking after Christ but after the ways of the world. The big houses, the money, the fancy cars, big titles, the big bank accounts, they are in love with this world and its ways. Their minds are captive to the prince of this world, who does reward his servants with worldly goods in this life. The people who call themselves Christians have yet to renew their minds. They have yet to come to terms with what God requires for entry into the kingdom. First and foremost is to renew ones mind.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Rom 12:1-2)

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. (1Jn 2:15-21)
Why are a great many Christians going to go through enormous trouble in the days ahead? I will tell you. There is rebellion in the camp and in the minds of most Christians, even those who think they are 'in' have their minds captive to the spirit of this age. They are not walking in Christ but are being deceived by an extremely adept deceit machine that has run America into the ground and much of the Church into either rank apostasy or open hypocrisy. Folks who think they have some kind of 'anointing' are actually being run be deceiving spirits. Women who are teaching in Church when the scriptures strictly forbid this practice, as well as open unrepentant sinners in the Church hierarchy. These are open acts of rebellion. Why can't the Church accept the commandments of God? I will tell you, the commandments are not Politically Correct. In some instances, they are Anti-Politically correct. And I am there to testify before God and man, there are two types of people in this world, those that do God's commandments and those that don't and only one group is getting into the Kingdom.
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. (1Jn 2:3)

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

(1Jn 3:22) Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Rev 22:14)
America's demise can be laid to this political correctness and the uncritical thinking (or moral cowardice) that goes with it. Because a person who succumbs to PC thinking can be described in such a fashion: Those that don't know and act badly and those that know and act badly anyway.

These are the Christians that went out and voted for the Clinton's, Bush's and Obama's of the world. They think they know what is going on and that 'they are doing God's will'. Why would you give God a bad name and make a statement like that? Do you not know that this is close to blasphemy to ascribe to God an act that is not his? What God would tell you to vote for someone and a political party (either one) that that does the things this nation has been doing for nearly 5 decades? How many babies murdered (about 40 million) and their body parts sold off?

How many People in Iraq killed, tortured and made into refugees(about a million killed, untold tortured and 4 million refugees)?

How many Christians in Iraq now at the mercy of Islamic extremists and our military won't help them? How much money looted out of the treasury? Trillions.

I could write several pages of bullet statements like that and still most 'Christians' won't connect their actions and decayed spiritual condition with what this nation has done, is doing and will do.

Did God tell you to put money in the hands of forced abortionists? Did God tell you to support the torture of children? Perhaps your God did, but it was not the God of the Bible. Did you know that the Bible describes the end times as being extremely deceitful? Did you know that this nation is clearly mentioned in the Bible as being at the center of that deception? If not why not, if you claim to be walking with Christ?

This end times deception is claiming soul after soul and the spiritual blindness in the Church is the most serious issue facing it. Keep this fact firmly in your mind, the end time system as described in the Bible is a political, economic and spiritual entity that deceives the whole earth.

If I am being hard on Christians it is for a reason. I strongly urge you to come correct and repent of your evils, learn about our times now while the tools are available to you. Do it now because the next year or so is going to be pivotal for America and God is weighing his people in this nation now to see who is going to have to go through the worst of this coupled with his chastisement and those whom he will protect. I can testify that a hard-headed stiff-necked refusal to understand the times and the spiritual entity behind the folks that 99% of you voted for will land you in a heap of trouble and you may not survive it - physically or spiritually.

I am writing a piece now that will open your eyes to some things as to what is just ahead, indeed already starting. So heed God's watchman on the wall who have been warning you for years about things other 'watchmen' were scoffing about. I know my God, he knows me and If I do not sound like a lot of the religions sites on the net it is for a very good reason. If you want to know why, go back and re-read what I just wrote, one more time.