One of blackest verses in all of Bible

"If you want to see one of the blackest verses in all of the Word of God, it’s in the first verse of II Chronicles 18: [1] Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.

“You know what he did? He went over to the side of a Baal-worshipping king who didn’t care anything about God’s Word or people and was married to Jezebel, the priestess of Baal," explains Richard Jordan.

“From that point on, Jehoshaphat went in the tank. The lesson is you don’t want to compromise what God’s Word says; you'll wind up in a mess.

"Just in the previous chapter (II Chronicles 17), Jehoshaphat King of Judah was commended for his zeal in suppressing idolatrous worship: [6] And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.

[7] Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Ben-hail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.
[9] And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.

“They had their Bibles and once they got through Bible school, they went out and started teaching. So you see what we do isn't strange at all.

"The Book was the key. You go on down in that passage and you see there was tremendous victory for them. Nobody made any war. Everybody sent them presents, peace and prosperity.

“As verses 10-11 say, [10] And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
[11] Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats.

*****

"Paul writes in I Corinthians 3 [1] And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

[2] I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

“Carnality is minding the things of the flesh; human viewpoint. It’s having this mindset where you’re not functioning on the basis of the sound doctrine, the grace doctrine, the truths Paul’s given you in his epistles.

“Spirituality is a growing process that is a product of a relationship. It’s not the process of the application of a formula, where you jump from one level to another. 

“When you cease the going on and upward in the growth structure—that constant, never-ending growth—when you stop that, that’s when you’re in Ephesians 4:17: [17] This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind. You’ve stopped the growing process.

*****

“There was a young man in the original class of Grace School of the Bible who, for the sermon preparation delivery course, would bring a stack of books under his arm for every class.

"He had a real thick homiletics book that was, in fact, a famous book and one I had a copy of. He was dissecting everything in that book, parsing every sentence, getting all that stuff down and he’d have the hardest time of anybody in the class trying to learn to put a message together.

“He came to me one day and said, ‘I’m just not getting this,’ and I said, ‘I know.’ He asked what he should do and I told him, ‘Throw all those books in the garbage.’

“What I did was I took them and put them on my shelf and said, ‘I’m going to put a bag on top of them and when this class is over with, I’ll give them back to you, but until then you can’t have them anymore.’

“We were having practice preaching at that time and I would assign the class a passage, giving them two weeks to come up with a message. It had to be homiletically developed and all that business.

“I said, ‘You take that passage and study it, and when that passage burns in your soul . . .  there’s a truth in that passage and when the light from that passage burns in your heart, you’ll be ready.’

“Do you know, that young guy turned into quite a preacher. When you’ve got that thing burning in your heart like Jeremiah, you try and shut your mouth and, folks, steam comes out your ears because you can’t help it. In your ministry, that’s the issue.

*****

“When you get to the judgment seat of Christ, you know what’s going to be the issue? THAT'S going to be the issue. What SORT it is. And when your work abides it’s because God is working for Himself THROUGH you, and it’s what God is doing for Himself through you as you ‘access by faith the grace wherein you stand.’

“It’s His life, living in you out through you, as you walk by faith in the doctrine, taking your stand in the truth and making that the reality in your life, even when everything else looks like it’s different . . . when that’s what’s going on in your life and it’s God working, Paul says in I Corinthians 3:14, ‘[14] If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

“That’s why we jump up and down, scream and holler and run all over the world talking about 'rightly dividing the word.' It's that important. Why? Because without it you’ll never understand who God’s made you in Christ; who you are as a member of the Body of Christ. You’re always going to think you’re somebody you’re not.

“The religious system, the satanic policy of evil, is designed against the Body of Christ to deceive you into thinking you’re somebody you’re not; that you’re Israel or whoever. What right division says is, ‘Here’s who you are and here’s what God's doing.’ ”

(new article tomorrow)

Great Reset using 'faceless tyranny'

With President Biden currently at the Vatican meeting with the Pope, here is an Open Letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, written by Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, published October 30, 2020, in languages from around the world.

The letter, edited for length:

"The fate of the whole world is being threatened by a global conspiracy against God and humanity. I write to you as an Archbishop, as a Successor of the Apostles, as the former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America. I am writing to you in the midst of the silence of both civil and religious authorities. May you accept these words of mine as the 'voice of one crying out in the desert' (Jn 1:23).

"As I said when I wrote my letter to you in June, this historical moment sees the forces of Evil aligned in a battle without quarter against the forces of Good; forces of Evil that appear powerful and organized as they oppose the children of Light, who are disoriented and disorganized, abandoned by their temporal and spiritual leaders.

"Daily we sense the attacks multiplying of those who want to destroy the very basis of society . . . The fundamental rights of citizens and believers are denied in the name of a health emergency that is revealing itself more and more fully as instrumental to the establishment of an inhuman faceless tyranny.

"A global plan called the Great Reset is underway. Its architect is a global élite that wants to subdue all of humanity, imposing coercive measures with which to drastically limit individual freedoms and those of entire populations. In several nations this plan has already been approved and financed; in others it is still in an early stage.

"Behind the world leaders who are the accomplices and executors of this infernal project, there are unscrupulous characters who finance the World Economic Forum and Event 201, promoting their agenda.

"The purpose of the Great Reset is the imposition of a health dictatorship aiming at the imposition of liberticidal measures, hidden behind tempting promises of ensuring a universal income and cancelling individual debt.

"The price of these concessions from the International Monetary Fund will be the renunciation of private property and adherence to a program of vaccination against Covid-19 and Covid-21 promoted by Bill Gates with the collaboration of the main pharmaceutical groups.

"Beyond the enormous economic interests that motivate the promoters of the Great Reset, the imposition of the vaccination will be accompanied by the requirement of a health passport and a digital ID, with the consequent contact tracing of the population of the entire world.

"Those who do not accept these measures will be confined in detention camps or placed under house arrest, and all their assets will be confiscated.

"Mr. President, I imagine that you are already aware that in some countries the Great Reset will be activated between the end of this year and the first trimester of 2021. For this purpose, further lockdowns are planned, which will be officially justified by a supposed second and third wave of the pandemic.

"You are well aware of the means that have been deployed to sow panic and legitimize draconian limitations on individual liberties, artfully provoking a world-wide economic crisis.

"In the intentions of its architects, this crisis will serve to make the recourse of nations to the Great Reset irreversible, thereby giving the final blow to a world whose existence and very memory they want to completely cancel. 

"In Sacred Scripture, Saint Paul speaks to us of 'the one who opposes' the manifestation of the mystery of iniquity, the kathèkon (2 Thess 2:6-7). In the religious sphere, this obstacle to evil is the Church, and in particular the papacy; in the political sphere, it is those who impede the establishment of the New World Order.

"As is now clear, the one who occupies the Chair of Peter has betrayed his role from the very beginning in order to defend and promote the globalist ideology, supporting the agenda of the deep church, who chose him from its ranks.

"Around you are gathered with faith and courage those who consider you the final garrison against the world dictatorship. The alternative is to vote for a person who is manipulated by the deep state, gravely compromised by scandals and corruption, who will do to the United States what Jorge Mario Bergoglio is doing to the Church, Prime Minister Conte to Italy, President Macron to France, Prime Minster Sanchez to Spain, and so on.

"The blackmailable nature of Joe Biden – just like that of the prelates of the Vatican’s 'magic circle' – will expose him to be used unscrupulously, allowing illegitimate powers to interfere in both domestic politics as well as international balances. It is obvious that those who manipulate him already have someone worse than him ready, with whom they will replace him as soon as the opportunity arises . . . 

"The Adversary does not know how to love, and it does not understand that it is not enough to assure a universal income or to cancel mortgages in order to subjugate the masses and convince them to be branded like cattle. 

"This Great Reset is destined to fail because those who planned it do not understand that there are still people ready to take to the streets to defend their rights, to protect their loved ones, to give a future to their children and grandchildren. The leveling inhumanity of the globalist project will shatter miserably in the face of the firm and courageous opposition of the children of Light.

"The enemy has Satan on its side, He who only knows how to hate. But on our side, we have the Lord Almighty, the God of armies arrayed for battle, and the Most Holy Virgin, who will crush the head of the ancient Serpent. 'If God is for us, who can be against us?' (Rom 8:31)."

(new article tomorrow)

Always connection with spiritual realm

In I Kings 22, behind the scenes of the war Ahab's to engage in, is a spiritual conflict being worked out on a spiritual level not seen by the eye: [18] And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?

[19] And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
[20] And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
[21] And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
[22] And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
[23] Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

"You can go to II Kings 6 and see the same thing with Elijah and his servant. You see this all through the Bible. If you go to Daniel 10, you'll see why the conflict is there.

"You see, the reason the prince of Persia in the heavens withstood Gabriel was that his master, Satan, was hostile toward Israel and didn't want Daniel and Israel to understand the revelation God had for them.

"He didn't want them to know God's plan so he sought to withstand Gabriel to keep him from delivering the diplomatic pouch with the information. The point is, again, there is a connection between the spiritual world and the affairs of this earth.

"Gentile nations have representation in the angelic realm. Daniel 12:1: [1] And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

"The nation Israel has representation in the angelic world. In fact, the head, the commander-in-chief of all the armies of heaven is called THEIR angel. Michael's job in the prophetic program is to guard the nation Israel and protect it; to keep it secured so they can accomplish God's purpose.

"That verse in Psalms where it says He'll give His angels charge over thee, that's what that's talking about. That's not talking about you riding down the freeway somewhere.

"Individuals in the Bible have had guardian angels. Acts 12: [14] And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. [15] And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.

"It's not him but it's his guardian angel. Thinking about the tribulation period and God's care for that nation, Matthew 18:10 says, [10] Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

"Isaiah 14 is a prophetic passage speaking about the destruction of the Antichrist at the end of the tribulation period, where the nation Israel mocks him as he's cast off into hell. They mock him about his original plan: 'Hee, hee, you planned that; look at you now, buddy!'

"Verse 12: [12] How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

"Lucifer was the one, who like the Statue of Liberty, stood at the port of heaven and held forth the torch of the glory of God, and literally his resposibility was lead to all of creation in worship of Almighty God. That's why he was created as the most beautiful and wisest creature in all of the spirit world.

"The stage of the resolution of the angelic conflict is on the earth. But the conflict starts in the heavens. So Satan's down here weakening the nations, trying to run the nations and cause them to do his will."

(new article tomorrow)

Closed: Every major seminary/preaching school

The famous passage in I Peter 1 goes,

[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
[4] To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
[5] Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

“That issue about being ‘reserved in heaven’ is the issue in Revelation 22. It’s reserved in heaven, but he’s not saying that the inheritance is in heaven. It’s reserved there and going to be revealed to the nation Israel and brought to them at the Second Advent of Christ. It will be brought down to them on earth and revealed to them in ‘the last days,’ ” explains Richard Jordan.

“The verses DON’T indicate that the inheritance is going to be where they’re going to die here and go there to get the inheritance. It’s an inheritance Christ has for them in heaven and is going to bring back to them and they’re going to enjoy on the earth.

“On the Second Advent, Daniel 7: [13] I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
[14] And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

“Notice that Jesus Christ the Son of man is in heaven. He goes to God the Father, the Ancient of days, and receives from God a kingdom.

“He’s going to bring it back down to earth. Watch it happen. Luke 19: 11] And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
[12] He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
[13] And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
[14] But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
[15] And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

“Notice they thought that the kingdom of God was going to immediately appear, so He’s going to give them a parable to talk about the order of events and the timing of the coming of the kingdom.

“This passage tells you something. If Christendom would believe these verses right here, you would completely and totally destroy the amillennial system of Bible study and the post-millennial study of Bible study, which means you would close up every major denominational seminary and preacher training school in the world.

“In fact, you would close up almost every seminary in the world that is associated with denominations, because almost all of them are amillennialists and post-millennialists.

“The verse says that they thought the kingdom was going to immediately appear so He’s going to give them a parable to tell them it ISN’T going to immediately appear.

"Now what does everybody tell you came on the day of Pentecost? The amillennialist tells you the kingdom came. That when the Holy Spirit came, that was the kingdom of God coming in the person of the Holy Spirit.

“They’ll tell you that when Jesus says, ‘There’s some of you standing here that won’t taste death until you see the kingdom of God come,’ that’s Pentecost. The Holy Spirit coming, the kingdom comes.

“That’s the standard idea. You listen to people in evangelical Christendom today talking about the ongoing of thy kingdom.

"I was raised in a church where every time they took up a collection the standard thing they said while praying was, ‘Lord, use this offering for the ongoing of the kingdom.’

“They all believed we’re in the kingdom and they believed the kingdom was the spiritual rule of God in the hearts of men that began at Pentecost.

"If you believe this passage you know that isn’t what happened at Pentecost. So that would save you some time and some problems.”

(new article tomorrow) 

Raca means 'empty-headed'

Here's an outtake from Sunday morning's sermon:

"When I got saved I read the Beautitudes. Jesus says in Matthew 5, [29] And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

"Wait a minute, I like my right eye; it's the strong one

"Verse 30: [30] And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

"Wait a minute. I'm ambidexterous but I use my right hand most of the time.

"Did you ever wonder about things Jesus said? I mean there's some strange things in the Beatitudes. That's a pretty strange one right there; in fact, that's kind of scary.

"Here's a good on in verse 22: [22] But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: 

"I don't have to kill you; I just have to be mad at you and I'm in danger of hellfire. Then He says, 'Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.'

"You got any idea what Raca means? It's an Aramaic word that means 'empty-headed.' You ever call anybody an airhead? That's it.

"In other words, if you're going to insult somebody, angry at them and you say, 'You airhead!' . . . Then He says if you say, 'Thou fool,' you're in danger of hellfire. You ever say that to anybody?

"What Jesus is saying there is the issue isn't killing somebody; the issue is it comes from the anger and hatred in your heart, and that's what you've got to deal with.

"How about verse 24: [24] Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

"Where would you go to find an altar? You find an altar in a temple. How would you obey that verse? Well, what you do is you spiritualize it so you can pretend like you're obeying it. 

"Look at verse 39: [39] But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

"You ever had a problem with that one? They want to give you the Fauci Ouchie in one arm, you give the other arm. That'd be a 21st Century application. I've heard people use that verse to say that.

"Verse 42 says, [42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

"If you want obey that one see me after the meeting because I'd like to borrow some money."

(new article tomorrow--sorry for absence)

What took Gabriel so long

Daniel, fasting for three weeks, testifies in Daniel  10:

[5] Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
[6] His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
[7] And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
[8] Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
[9] Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
[10] And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.

“This is very reminiscent of Revelation 1, where John describes having seen the Lord Jesus Christ very much in the same description as verses 5-7 make of this angelic appearance to Daniel,” explains Richard Jordan.

“In Revelation 1, John falls on his face as though he were dead and then he hears this voice and a hand touches him and says, ‘Arise, I’m going to show you some things.’

“What you’re going to read about in Daniel 11-12 with the revelation to Daniel is going to be something John picks up on in the Book of Revelation. That’s why in Daniel 12:4 the angel says to him, [4] But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

“That’s not talking about automobiles and computers. I’ve heard prophecy preachers use that forever. They say, ‘Oh, the Bible predicted cars; people are going to run to and fro.’ Amos 8 says people are going run to and fro looking for light and revelation and knowledge shall be increased.

“What the angel’s saying is, ‘Hey, I’ve given you some basic information but Daniel there’s more information coming, and it can be found in the Book of Revelation.’

"Daniel, when he finishes his book, knows God has more to tell him about this, but here’s a basic outline of what ‘the last days’ are going to be like.

"Daniel 10 reveals about the information from Gabriel: [11] And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
[12] Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

“How many days prior to that did Daniel start asking God to tell him some things? Three weeks. He fasted and all that. Twenty-one days Daniel’s been praying.

“The question to Gabriel is, ‘What took you so long to get here?!’ Wouldn’t that be a good question? If you’re a Muslim, you believe because the Koran teaches that the distance from earth to heaven where God's at is the distance of how far a man can walk in 1,000 days.

“You know where they got such a wild idea as that? Mohammed, almost verbatim, assimilated the mysticism of the paganism in the world in which he lived at that point. Their pagan writings, he just put right in. That’s why Mohammed says it takes a day for Gabriel to come. Why? II Peter 3:8: [8] But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

“When Mohammed lived there was a great scientific center in Egypt called Alexandria. The repository of the wisdom and the science of Greece and so forth was right there and they had people in Alexandria during the 7^th and 8th century who were teaching that the sun was the center of our solar system and the planets revolved around the sun rather than everything around the earth, like most people thought at the time.

“They knew all that stuff about the stars that astrology today is based on and they taught that then, so the idea that the distance between here and heaven was as far as a guy could walk in 1,000 days, they went, ‘Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo.’ And you know what happened? When you disagree with Mohammed he comes in with the scimitar and converts you and eliminates your opposition.

“But why is it that it takes 21 days? Verse 13-15: [13] But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
[14] Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
[15] And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.

“Who’s Michael? He’s an archangel. He’s the commander of the armies of heaven. Michael says, ‘I’m up here with the Father. He hears your prayers.' He says, ‘Gabe, take this message down there to him and tell him what’s going to happen in the last days,’ and Gabriel steps out and begins to go across the universe and the king of Persia stopped him and said, ‘Nah-ah, bud, I don’t want you to get down there.’

“It took Gabriel 21 days to get through the opposition to bring the answer to Daniel. In verse 20 he says, [20] Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
[21] But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

“He says, ‘I’m not just gonna have to fight the prince of Persia; I’m gonna have to fight the prince of Greecia, too!’

“In other words, there’s a battle going on up there in the heavens and he’s going to have to fight another guy to get home.

“Where’s the prince of Persia in verse 13? He’s in the heavens. The prince of Greece isn’t even there yet on the earth because the Persian empire is going to be replaced historically by the Greek Empire.

“Daniel 11:2: [2] And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.

“Historically, there’s going to be manifest on the earth kingdom after kingdom after kingdom, but Daniel’s saying here that those kingdoms on earth have a representation in the government of the heavens! In the angelic realm up there!

“Behind the scenes of world affairs, and the conflicts between the nations of this earth, there’s a spiritual conflict going on that is reflected in the angelic realm. What’s happening as the nations of this earth work their wiles, it’s an outworking of something more than just the animus between one nation and another.”

(new article tomorrow) 

One of really weird chapters in Bible

“When you fail to see the prophetic program is not operating, but has been interrupted, you can’t grasp what’s necessary to be prepared for the days ahead. We’re talking about the war behind the scenes today that even Israel doesn’t know that it’s fighting. It’s the behind-the-scenes war that is the real conflict going on as the nations of the earth function.

“Daniel 10 is a passage that demonstrates that for you and this is one of those really weird chapters in all of the Bible. You look at it and say, ‘Wow, what in the world is all that?!’ The answer is, don’t try to interpret it; try to understand it," says Richard Jordan.

“Daniel is at least 90 years old at this point and God sends an angel to give him some information, which is found in chapters 11 and 12. Those chapters are the climax of the book and they focus on the very last days of ‘the last days’ of God’s program with the nation Israel.

“They focus on a point in prophetic scripture that more attention is given to in the Bible than ANY other period in human history, including the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Daniel 10:14: [14] Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

“What do ‘the last days’ of prophecy focus on and who are they about? Israel. I’m convinced that most of the problems people have about the eschatology of ‘the last days’ are really an ecclesiology problem.

“If you understand the nature of the Body of Christ, and the fact that the Body of Christ is a mystery hid in God, not a part of the prophetic program, then you can understand why were not in ‘the last days.’ It’s a failure to understand, not prophecy, but the mystery program. That distinction affects everything.

“The most amazing passage in prophecy to me is Daniel 9. How he predicts right to the exact day when Jesus Christ will come and present Himself to the nation Israel, coming down off the Mount of Olives on a colt, the foal of an ass, presenting Himself as their king.

“Daniel 9  predicts that. He tells you when it’s going to begin, how many days. Not just years or months, somewhere close, but exactly the number of days it’s going to be until it comes to pass and it’s fulfilled right on the day.

“And the Lord Jesus Christ says in Luke 19, ‘This is the day!’ and tells Israel they’re accountable to know that because their scripture laid it out for them. You’d have to be poisoned in your understanding not to know the Bible’s the Word of God.”

*****

“In Daniel 10, Gabriel comes to answer the prayer of Daniel and explains to him that ‘the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.’

“Michael is the archangel, so when it says ‘Michael, one of the chief princes,’ he’s talking about one of the chief rulers of the angelic world. Well, this prince of Persia is another angel who rules over a territory in the heavens called Persia. But there was there also a territory on the earth called Persia. In fact, there’s where Daniel was.

“You see, there’s a correspondence between these demonic creatures and satanic angels and what goes on on Planet Earth in that day. Because Satan, just like he was in Christ’s day, has gathered his armies of cohorts together to hold the land of Palestine. . . ."

(new post tomorrow)

Holding it loose, reoriented & ready to fly

Isaiah 57: [20] But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. [21] There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

Jude describes unsaved humanity as: [13] Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

“In the Bible, waters represent the satanic policy of evil. In fact, when you study the waters in Scripture, you remember how the Lord Jesus Christ was asleep on the boat and then, all of a sudden from out of the sky, the winds and the sea begin to rage?

“You know what Christ is doing through the whole storm? He’s asleep. The raging seas represent the confusion; the foam, the muck, the mire," explains Alex Kurz.

“Over and over again, we see the Bible likening the human experience, because of the wickedness and the evil, to being like this troubled sea. Turmoil, no direction, no stability. The world is restless, and as Isaiah 57:20 tells us, it cannot rest.

“How do you and I as Believers rest in a restless world? There are two consequences of resting. No. 1, to rest means were free from the stress, from the anxiety. We’re free from the work.

“It has the connotation of being liberated from something that causes an unsettled soul; the unrestful spirit. But there’s another consequence when we’re resting. When we rest, we’re actually healing; we’re experiencing refreshment. We’re experiencing reorientation, being reenergized. We’re being recharged.

“You know what David is praying there in verse 6? [6] And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
[7] Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
[8] I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.

“Sometimes we just want to get away from it, right? Had a bad day, a bad week. Oh, wouldn’t it be great to have wings and just escape? Rise above all of the restlessness around us. Now why does David single out the dove and likens it to being at rest?

Genesis 8:[6] And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
[7] And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
[8] Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

“David does not say I wish I had the wings of a raven or an eagle. He singles out the dove. It’s the symbol of peace, gentleness.

Verse 9: [9] But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

“The first mention of a dove in the Bible, the setting, the context has to do with a dove looking for rest: ‘I have no place to land.’

“The earth is suffering the judgment and wrath of God by way of the flood waters and there’s nowhere to rest. Think about King David: ‘You know what, I want to have wings. I want to have wings like a dove. I want to fly away from the restlessness of life.’ ”

*****

One of the most frequently sung hymns at my church, “Higher Ground,” goes:

“My heart has no desire to stay Where doubts arise and fears dismay; Though some may dwell where these abound, My prayer, my aim, is higher ground."

"The Apostle Paul had this concept of holding on loosely to earth. When he says, ‘Neither count I my life dear to myself,’ he didn’t say he didn’t love his family, or that he was trying to die tomorrow. He said, ‘I’m holding it loose. The most precious things to me are not what I possess here.’

*****

Here's a post from 2018:

In Mark 4 Jesus and His disciples get into a boat and cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

“Go back and read Psalm 89, Psalm 107, Psalm 67, and you’ll see that only Jehovah, the Creator, can calm the raging sea,” explains Richard Jordan. “Jesus demonstrates Himself to be the Jehovah God of the Old Testament by standing and ordering creation to cease the rages and that lake turned into the face of a mirror; totally calm.

“He says to His disciples, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?’ There’s their problem. ‘Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.’

“Look what they forgot in verse 35: ‘And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.’

“Where’d He tell them they were going when they got into the boat? To the other side. They get out in the middle of a storm-tossed sea and they’re jumping up and down, yelling at Jesus, ‘What are you doing asleep?! Don’t you care?! We’re fixing to drown!’

“Jesus gets up and says, ‘Peace, be still,’ and everything calms down. Then He says, ‘Don’t you dudes remember what I just told you? Have you forgotten that I told you we’re going to the other side?’

“He’s emphasizing the point, ‘If you drowned out here in the storm my word wouldn’t be true, so if you really understood what I told you and believed it, you know what you’d be doing? You’d be down here sleeping with me because I’m just resting ’til we get to the other side, because that’s where the Father told me we’re going.’

*****

“You ever hear that song, ‘Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high! The sky is o'ershadowed with blackness. No shelter or help is nigh.’

“They’re crying, ‘We’re dying, Lord, and you’re asleep! How can you sleep?! Carest thou not that we perish?!’

“What a stupid question, but they’re all caught up in their circumstances. He arises and does what only God can do, rebuking the wind and saying unto the sea, ‘Peace.’

“Only God can do that! Once again He demonstrates Himself to be the Messiah. Psalm 89 
said that’s exactly what Israel’s Messiah would do:

[8] O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
[9] Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

“You ever been that way in your life? The winds and the waves are beating; life’s coming over the transom and all of a sudden your ship is full of all kind of garbage?

“I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a storm in a boat where the stuff’s coming over, but it isn’t just water; it’s all the sludge from the sea that comes up.

“Here’s these disciples with the seaweed and the bushes hanging all over them and they’re looking at Jesus and He’s asleep.

“When Jesus says to them, ‘Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?’ I read that and think, ‘Wait a minute, what in the world is He talking about?

“Well, as Paul writes, ‘Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.’ So you 
look back up through the passage in Mark and ask, ‘What did He say to them that they aren’t believing?’

“Look back at verse 35: What do you think they’re going to do? You know why He’s asleep? They aren’t on the other side yet! You say, ‘They didn’t believe what He said to them.’

“My point to you is, God’s Word doesn’t calm the storms until you believe it! The power that’s in that Book stays in that Book until you believe it!

“And you can be just like the storm-tossed, frightened, confused, bewildered, upset, accusing . . .  Imagine saying to the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘Carest not that we perish?’

“What an accusation! He says, ‘Peace, be still.’ He does what He says He’s going to do. The Word of God is where the power of God resides.”

Here’s the lyrics to the classic hymn based on the account:

Master the tempest is raging. Master, the tempest is raging!

The billows are tossing high!

The sky is o'ershadow with blackness,

No shelter or help is nigh;

Carest Thou not that we perish?

How canst Thou lie asleep,

When each moment so madly is threatening

A grave in the angry deep?

Refrain

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!

Master, with anguish of spirit

I bow in my grief today;

The depths of my sad heart are troubled

Oh, waken and save, I pray!

Torrents of sin and of anguish

Sweep o’er my sinking soul;

And I perish! I perish! dear Master

Oh, hasten, and take control.

Refrain

Master, the terror is over,

The elements sweetly rest;

Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,

And heaven’s within my breast;

Linger, O blessèd Redeemer!

Leave me alone no more;

And with joy I shall make the blest harbor,

And rest on the blissful shore.

(new article tomorrow)

. . . To a land where joys will never end

Psalm 90 begins, [1] LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

[2] Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
[3] Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
[4] For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
[5] Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
[6] In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

"Everlasting to everlasting--what's that? Like a weaver's beam. It's like going to sleep, waking up, a third of my day's gone. It's just ffttoo, gone. It's like a flood coming, sweeping it away. Before I can get up, I'm gone.

"It's like grass growing and then, boom, the heat comes and kills it--in a day! That's a strange thing in that illustration. He doesn't even give the grass time to grow in the field for a month. It just sprouts out and then the heat comes and whoosh. He's talking about the brevity of your life.

"Verse 10: [10] The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

"That's where the song 'I'll Fly Away' came from. It's talking about death. That's why we change the words in that song from, 'When I die,' to 'When I rise,' because we don't fly away at death. We think of that song as talking about the resurrection at the Rapture and that doesn't take place at death; that takes place when the Lord comes.

"Verse 12: [12] So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

"We need to count one by one and live every day like it's the last day. That's in essence the issue here. Make everything out of every day you can.

"Verse 13: [13] Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.

"That's that tribulation cry found in Revelation 6: [9] And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

[10] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

"Go through all the Book of the Psalms, and if you look for that phrase 'how long' and find the text where it's found, you'll be finding a tribulation Jew, a member of the little flock crying out for the Lord for deliverance from the tribulation into the kingdom.

"When he says, 'Return, O Lord,' here's the faithful remnant looking for the Lord to come and deliver them. 

" 'How long is it going to go on? Let it repent thee concerning thy servants.' I love that. In Jeremiah 18 they go to the potter's house and the Lord tells Jerry, 'Look at what's going on with the potter. He makes the vessel in his hand and it's marred and he pushes the clay back down and makes another vessel.'

"It's made, it gets marred and then he mends it. He takes that same lump of clay and reshapes it into another vessel. He says, 'That's the way I treat you; the way I treat Israel. If you obey my voice, I'll bless you. If you don't, well then I'll reshape you into a vessel of destruction. But if you come back, I'll reshape you into a vessel of mercy.' That's the illustration Paul uses in Romans 9.

"So when it says, 'Let it repent thee,' in other words, 'You planned wrath but we're going to believe. So change your mind about the destruction. We're returning.'

"Here's what they're crying for; they're asking the Lord to do what He intended to do. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, 'Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.'

"That's in essence what these guys are praying: 'You've got a plan for the earth; bring it on! We want to be a part of it!'

" 'Satisfy us early with thy mercy.' Don't wait! Come on, we're looking for you to come.' "

Here are lyrics to "I'll Fly Away":

Some bright morning when this life is over
I'll fly away
To that home on God's celestial shore
I'll fly away

I'll fly away, oh glory
I'll fly away, in the morning
When I die, Hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away

When the shadows of this life have gone
I'll fly away
Like a bird from these prison walls I'll fly
I'll fly away

I'll fly away, fly away, oh glory
I'll fly away, in the morning
When I die, Hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away

Oh, how glad and happy when we meet
I'll fly away
No more cold iron shackles on my feet
I'll fly away

I'll fly away, oh glory
I'll fly away, in the morning
When I die, Hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away

I'll fly away, oh glory
I'll fly away, in the morning
When I die, Hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away

Just a few more weary days and then
I'll fly away
To a land where joys will never end
I'll fly away

I'll fly away, fly away, oh glory
I'll fly away, in the morning
When I die, Hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away

(new article tomorrow for certain. Sorry for delay--I have been under the weather but still going to work.)

It won't be easy NOT being 'Green'?

In the 1973 sci-fi movie Soylent Green, 2022 is the year marked for starving unemployed masses to wait in long lines for mystery wafers, suspected to be human in content!

One internet summary: "Soylent Green is a dystopian science-fiction film set in the year 2022 where society has been ravaged by climate disasters, over-pollution, and overpopulation and only the wealthiest people in the world can afford natural food and a decent place to live. "

Here's another synopsis: Soylent Green (derived from soy + lentil) encompasses all the usual problems: crime (due to massive unemployment), riots (the people have reached the limits of their endurance), global warming (referred to as the "greenhouse effect," as it was known in the early '70s), curfews (among the last efforts to maintain an establishment on the verge of collapse), pollution (people are wearing masks), cheap food (natural wholesome food, kind of like today's organic, is very expensive and artificial crackers fill the void), lack of potable water (it's rationed), and the earth's natural resources are all but depleted due to wastefulness, planned obsolescence, etc."

*****

Here is a post from 2018 and I will have a new article tomorrow:

As the universe’s fastest-growing religion, “Going Green” is positioned as a prime vehicle for brainwashing the masses into endorsing the Antichrist’s Babel II.

Romans 15:13 in “The Message” bible paraphrase, published in 2002, contains “the most bizarre statement ever in a mainstream bible,” according to one King James Bible expert, Dr. Terry Watkins.

Paul's verse in The Message reads, “Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!”

This compares to the King James Bible: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Watkins writes, “Who is the ‘God of green hope’? The ‘green hope’ originated with the hellish, human-sacrificing Druids. The publication Talks on Freemasonry states, ‘Green was, with the Druids, a symbol of hope and the virtue of hope with a Freemason illustrates the hope of immortality.’ (Kenneth Tuckwood, Talks on Freemasonry).

“The ‘green hope’ mantra is a popular rallying cry in the New Age Mother-Earth environmental movement. In the New Age Movement, ‘green’ signifies ‘Oneness with the Earth,’ hence the title of William Anderson’s book, ‘Green Man: The Archetype of Our Oneness with the Earth.’ ”

Watkins references page 159 of the “Dictionary of Symbolism,” considered the most comprehensive one-volume work on the language of symbols ever published, in which author Hans Biedermann notes:  “. . . the devil appears as ‘the green one’. . .”

Test: 'Are you in it or aren't you?'

“You know what’s going to happen in the tribulation when the Antichrist shows up? The ‘false prophet’ is going to be able to make an inanimate object speak. He’s going to give life to the image of the beast. He’s going to be able to perform supernatural events.

“Pharaoh in Ezekiel 29 is called a dragon, as Satan is in Revelation 12. He has plagues that are cast out on him, just as the Antichrist has in Revelation 11, 15 and 16.

“After Pharaoh, the next type of the Antichrist is in Numbers 22. It’s a dude named Balak. In Numbers 22 is the unholy trio: Balak, Balaam and Baal. Balak’s the false king, Balaam’s the false prophet and Baal is the false god. In type, it’s the Antichrist, the false prophet and Satan.

“Cain was the first type of the Antichrist. The archetypal figure of Cain can be found in an astonishing variety of myths and legends from divers places and periods. Notable ones include: Kronos/Saturn, Hermes/Mercury, Zeus, Vulcan, Oceanus, Osiris, Oannes, Dagon, Moloch, Baal, Odin, Wotan, South American gods . . .

“Instead of Eden, Cain is going to reconstruct the world and society his way," explains Richard Jordan. "You see, God said, ‘You’re going to be a vagabond and a fugitive.’ A vagabond is a guy who has no real dwelling place.

"Cain said, ‘I’ll see about that,’ and in direct rebellion against Almighty God, in a humanly devised scheme to thwart God’s judgment on him, and realize on his own--his own desire for security--what did he do? He built a city.

“He took the population, which was obviously large enough to fill up a city, and gathered them together as a monument to his rebellion against God.

*****

“The Book of I John was written for instruction to a future group of people alive during the tribulation that they might be assured of being in the ‘little flock’ of Believers who stands against the Antichrist and apostate Israel.

“Christians use I John 5:13 sometime in witnessing situations to talk about how you can know for sure you have eternal life, but the doctrine in I John is not about soul-winning and assurance in this dispensation of grace. It’s about the conditional salvation the nation Israel will have and how they can know for sure whether or not they’re in the ‘true fellowship,’ and possess eternal life.

*****

“I John 2:1 says, [1] My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

“Now, this verse is missed completely by Christians today. He isn’t just writing this verse to a bunch of Believers so they can just be like, ‘Woo-hoo,’ and happy all the time. He’s talking about knowing whether you’re the true Israel of God!

“Twenty-one times in this Book of I John he says, ‘If we say.’ ‘If you say this, if you say that.’ There’s a series of tests to test the genuineness of what somebody is saying.

“Look at I John 1:6-8: [6] If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

[7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
[8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

“There are liars out there but they’re professing to be the genuine article, see? They’re liars and you need to know how to tell them apart. There’s some people saying, ‘We have no sin.’

“Now, I know how we use that verse. We usually say you’re nuts if you say you don’t have any sin. Verse 10: [10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

“He says over there in I John 3:9, for example, [9] Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

“Whoa, could you identify somebody by that? Verse 3:10 says, [10] In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. 

*****

“There’s some people born of God and don’t sin, and then there’s some people in I John 1:8 professing to be that bunch but are liars.

“By the time we get there, you’ll see that here’s some people who have a special status in the ‘little flock’ with regard to the New Covenant, where literally He puts His law into their hearts and causes them to keep His commandments. This is a book that’s specially focused on some people who are tested: ‘Are you in it or aren’t you in it?’

“What John is addressing in I John is there’s these counterfeiting wolves in sheep’s clothing kind of an attack that is part of the Antichrist. In fact, that title, the ANTI-Christ, means he’s going to come and present himself to be the true Christ and he’s going to have a deceptive counterfeiting program that works with him.

“If they aren’t spiritually alert and equipped with this doctrinal understanding on how to see through the one who is professing to be like the Most High God . . . 

"Satan is the great counterfeiter. He doesn’t simply come in and deny God’s truth; he counterfeits it and they’re literally going to see in the person of the Antichrist a counterfeit first coming of Christ, a counterfeit death, a counterfeit resurrection and counterfeit Second Advent and kingdom.”

(new article tomorrow)