The times they are a-changin at Vatican

"Today, millions of Americans awoke to social media feeds awash with images of and commentary about a landmark event," began a Nov. 4 article in GQ Magazine.

An accompanying photograph was of the pope, wearing all-white, standing next to an older, graying man wearing all-black (save for his shirt's white collar showing), including a black hoodie with the hood up, black leather gloves and a black umbrella.

"As the nation began to digest the results of a historic election that seemed to herald the arrival of a new America, two of our very best Americans met for a private audience on the other side of the Atlantic," the article went on.

"But even if the two men hail from similar geography, the sight of them together under the bright fluorescent lights of an anonymous Vatican office looked like the product of a well-crafted AI prompt, if not an outright fever dream. The images were so unexpected, so uncanny, I would’ve been convinced they were fake had they not been published by an official press organ of the Vatican."

*****

It was none other than Bob Dylan with the pope, who gave Dylan a rosary.

Anybody who's ever watched a YouTube video about celebrities admitting they sold their soul to the devil in exchange for fame (and creative genius) has likely seen the clip from the old 60 Minutes interview Ed Bradley did with his favorite artist Dylan, who at the time was nominated for a Nobel prize in literature.

Bradley: "You're still out here doing these songs, you know, you're still on tour."  

Dylan: "I do but I don't take it for granted."

Bradley: "Why do you still do it? Why are you still out here?"

Dylan: "Well, it goes back to the destiny thing and I made a bargain with it, you know, a long time ago and I'm holding up my end."

Bradley: "What was your bargain?"

Dylan: "To get where I am now."

Bradley: "Should I ask who you made the bargain with?"

Dylan: "You know, with the Chief Commander."

Bradley: "On this earth?"

Dylan: "This earth and in the world we can't see."

*****

(note: I'm working on new article that I will have tomorrow now)

Isaiah 14 is a prophecy about the Antichrist. It’s not talking about Lucifer in the beginning; it’s talking about the Antichrist at the end.

What you have here is Israel, as Satan is thrown down into hell (verse 9 says, ‘Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming’), literally casting a proverb into the mouth of the Adversary, explains Richard Jordan.

Verse 4 says, "That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!"

They’re literally going to mock him as he goes off into the bottomless pit. What they’re going to say to him is in verse 13: "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north."

It’s, "Here’s what you said back in the beginning. Look at what it’s got you!"

So verses 13-15 are going to give you the original plan Satan had. The goal of it is to be like the most high God, but notice the steps he’s going to use all have to do with high places--taking God’s place in the heavens, and in the government there, and having control; the religion.

When he says, "I will ascend into the heavens," he’s going to ascend up to the top position and assume rulership.

“I will exalt my throne." Notice he has a throne. In the original order of things, Lucifer had authority, but it wasn’t enough.

He says, ‘I’m going to exalt my throne ABOVE the stars of God. I’m going to become the ruler over the angelic creation. All of it! I’m going to be the one who has the opportunity to dictate its directions, and talk about and explain what it’s going to do.

“I will also sit upon the sides of the north." "I’m not only going to be the head ruler, I’m going to be the one people come to and give account."

The mount of the congregation on the sides of the north is a location in the universe.

You remember in Job 1 when the angels came to appear before God and Satan came with him?

Have you ever wondered how Satan got to come up into heaven and talk to God? The dirty rascal. Well, he didn’t go to the third heaven. That’s not where he met. He met on a place the Bible calls "the mount of the congregation."

It’s a planet in the universe where the angels would congregate and give account for their activity. It was an accounting thing. That’s what they were doing in Job.

That’s why he asked the devil, "Where do you come from?" He said, "From going to and fro in the earth. I control the earth. I’m down there running what I control down there!"

That mount of the congregation on the sides of the north is the . . . when you talk about the sides of something, you go back in Samuel, and Saul is pursuing David, and David hides in a cave--he’s in the sides of the cave. What that’s talking about is the farthest back recesses of the cave.

When he talks about "the sides of the north," he’s talking about the upper region of the north up here.

The universe has an identifiable shape to it. It has locations to it. There is a north (not magnetic north in the earth) but a north relative to the universe and that north is where God’s throne is.

New Jerusalem is north. It would do you well to always know which way north is. There is a place up there in the sides of the north where God calls His angels together and Satan says, "I want the whole universe to be accountable to me. I want them to be answerable to me."

Then Satan says, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds." God’s throne is surrounded by clouds. In Samuel, when Hannah and David talk about it, He dwells in the darkness. That’s because when Paul says He dwells "in the light which no man can approach," God holds back that glory with a veil.

Satan says, "I’m going to go sit up there where He sits! I’m going to be the one that the universe worships! I’m going to be the one whose plan the universe is executing!"

'I could fly higher than an eagle'

(new article this evening)

In Exodus 19:3, God says to Moses, [4] Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.

[5] Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

When you exalt yourself like an eagle, who is exalted that way? asks Richard Jordan. You see, the Edomites in Obadiah are using the very terminology in their mind that describes how God protected, then blessed and used the nation Israel.

Isaiah 40:30 says, [30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
[31] But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

These folks look at themselves as being on a mission from God, strengthened by divine protection and enablement.

You see, there’s a religious component to their thinking. Obadiah 1:4 says, "Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD."

Who set himself among the stars? Lucifer did. They see themselves as being the leader of a divine campaign under the protection of God, being empowered by Him and being on a mission for God.

That was "the pride of thine heart" that deceived them. It’s this thinking process whereby they’ve been deceived into thinking their God dwells with them and endorses their tactics of attacking Israel.

Folks, there aren’t any atheists; you understand that. All this stuff you read about is a part of the power of darkness. Psalm 119:130 says, "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple."

What happens when you turn off the light? You create darkness. Paul writes in Romans 1: "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
[22] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
[23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.’

That process is exactly what’s going on here. So that perpetual hatred had a spiritual component behind it.

The verse says, "Thou hath exalted thyself as the eagle." One of the things about being exalted as an eagle is an eagle is a bird of prey that dwells on high.

It’s like they’re a bird of prey nestled in these inaccessible heights that only THEY can achieve to. "Among the stars." They see themselves connected with the host of heaven.

Obadiah verses 5-7 describe what’s going to happen to them: 

[5] If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
[6] How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
[7] All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.

In other words, He’s warning Esau, "If men judged you, they’d leave you something." I mean, you can hide something. God says, "But that ain’t gonna happen with me! I’m coming and I’m going to get everything!"

Verse 7 says that all the men of the confederacy deceived them. Their prideful arrogance and vengefulness made them easily manipulated by the confederacy and the people who deceive them prevail against them.

They sit at tables with them, telling them, "You’re good guys and so forth," and the Edomites can’t see they're being taken because they’ve got no wisdom; they don’t have the wisdom to see through the deceit.

They’ve completely rejected the wisdom they would have had from the Abrahamic Covenant that said Israel is going to exist in the land as God’s people. They think, "Well, we can destroy Israel and take possession of the land.’ That’s really been the whole issue all along."

*****

Here's a passage from another sermon by Jordan:

God Almighty loves freedom. It’s a basic function of His character and His nature. Now if you take a list of theology books about the essence of His deity, you’ll see attributes such as “omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence and eternal life and love and grace and immutability and righteousness.” But you won’t see freedom. It should be there, not just as an attribute, but as a function.

God loves freedom. He loves to just go be Himself— unrestricted, unrestrained, un-held back. Just go be His giving self. The heart of God is a heart of giving. It’s a life of living for others.

God the Father lives for God the Son. Ephesians 1 says He wants His Son to be exalted as the head of all things in the heavens and in the earth.

God the Holy Spirit lives to see Jesus Christ glorified. God the Son lives to glorify the Father. You know what they’re doing—they’re living for each other. 

The Divine principle of life is freely living for others. And when you see great Christian activity, you see that giving spirit of God living in His people.

William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army and a great warrior for Christ, was asked on his death bed to send a Christmas message to his troops around the world, and he wrote one word on a telegram: “Others.”

God loves freedom to just go and give. He loves freedom so much that when He made man, He gave man freedom. He was willing to put at risk His eternal purpose and plan, and pleasure and design, in order to vest you and me with liberty and freedom.

What grace does is it exalts freedom and liberty to the highest point possible. We’re not led to be under a performance system that requires some performance from you in order for God, or anyone else, to accept you.

Under a system of grace, there’s  an understanding that you don’t live for yourself, and for your own pleasures and desires, but you’re living for another and for His glory. That’s real freedom.

Now, freedom scares people. That’s why it’s so easy to put people under legalism, because if I tell you what to do, who’s responsible?

Folks, the way your life pleases God is not by putting yourself under a performance system, and saying, “Boy, if I go out and win 10 people to Jesus today, God’s going to be happy with me.” Or, “If I give $50,000 to missions this year, God’s going to be happy with me.” That isn’t it.

The way your life is going to make God happy is for you to find out what His pleasure is—what His plan is and what He’s doing, then have that be what you’re doing.

You know how it’s had? Not by a performance system, but by being filled with some wisdom and knowledge. By understanding who we are and understanding the competency that gives us in Christ.

You see, that wisdom makes us confident to handle these things. If you’ve got convictions, you don’t have to make a lot of decisions. A lot of the decisions are made for you by your convictions.

Discovering disturbing side to Trump

The other day at the retail food operation I work at, a former co-worker (a Christian woman in her early 70s now) spotted me in an aisle. She came by to say "hi," and in the process of catching up with her for a few minutes, I saw she had in her handheld basket a special magazine publication devoted to Michael Jackson.

I said, "Oh, you like Michael Jackson?" She responded, "Oh, yeah," like he was a lifetime fave of hers. I thought, "I guess she doesn't let all the terrible things that have come out about him get in the way of her adoration."

As I said in last night's post, there were four solid years (2003-2007) that I thought about Trump often, in my own special way, and had nothing but a positive and even somewhat affectionate view of him.

I remember the first thing that made me question him was noticing how, running for president years later, he'd frequently "throw up" the "666" sign during campaign rallies, debates, etc. At the time I didn't even know that when someone forms a circle with their thumb and first finger, having them touch each other, and then stretches out their remaining three fingers, that "spells" 666.

Revelation 13: [16] And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

[17] And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
[18] Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

The journalist in me suddenly wanted to know more about who Trump really was. Then I came across a segment on the internet showing the inside decor of his opulent $100 million 66th floor penthouse--the same penthouse that was always partially in my mind whenever I went to Trump Tower to enjoy his Starbucks, etc.

His gold-drenched highly ornate "pad" had a very large painting of Apollo, the sun god. Here's an outtake from an expose online written by Jeremy James:

"On 10 November,2015, just after Trump had secured the Republican nomination, the Daily Mail Online carried an article about his exclusive penthouse on Fifth Avenue in New York. It is located on the top three floors of Trump Tower, which is almost 666ft tall.

"We are asked to believe that the entrance to his penthouse is on the 66th floor, but this is achieved only through some numeric juggling. The building has only 58 floors, not 68. Nonetheless Trump’s penthouse is officially on the '66th floor' because, given the size of the ground floor atrium, Trump saw fit to number the first residential floor as the 30th.

"By this peculiar device, ten floors were ‘magically’ added, possibly in deference to the occult principle, 'As above, so below'. The penthouse itself has two items which show that Trump identifies himself with, or takes particular inspiration from, the sun god Apollo.

"The first is a large reproduction of a painting by, or copied from, Guido Reni (1574 1642) called Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn, Bringing Forth a New Day. The original was painted in 1614. The work is clearly the centerpiece in the room, situated between two Masonic-type pillars. It gives pride of place to Apollo, son of Zeus.

"This centerpiece is blatantly emblematic of the New World Order, representing the dawning of a new age as the sun god, the false messiah, appears on the scene. Apollo rides his four-horse chariot across the sky in the same way that Ra, accompanied by Osiris, sails his solar barque across the heavens."

*****

The biggest turn off for me on candidate Trump (circa 2015) was when I saw a professionally taken portrait photograph of him (repeatedly verified as authentic over the years) with his hand around the bare waist of his 14-year-old daughter, Ivanka, who is wearing a mini-skirt and skimpy camisole for her top. She has her body pressed into his open legs (Trump is seated) and they are holding hands as she looks adoringly into his face.

As I've written about before, my dad had an unhealthy attraction to me when I was 14-16 and it was like he was infatuated with me at certain times and wanted to get his body near mine. 

I was very naive to his "advances," but something told me he wasn't acting the way a father should be and I did my best to avoid him.

My dad took a lot of pills that altered his state, something I didn't learn until my early 30s from my mother, who had since divorced him. 

Making Trump Tower my go-to

I've had a lifetime of loneliness that I never wanted for one second and it never seems to get any much easier to deal with. I'm actually shocked that I'm still alive!

Right now I am low, to be totally honest. I know some of it has to do with the election and our impending crisis as a country, along with the "Fall back" time change and the fact it's getting colder and winter is now dead straight ahead, but it also has to do with a chronic lack of fellowship with ANY Believers outside of my mom and my brother (who I only see once every couple of weeks). There's no one else save for texting and sporadic phone conversations (I thank God for my saved friends who I wouldn't be here without).

I keep praying for someone to come into my daily life and help me and it never happens. Of course, it doesn't help at all that I have to work every single Sunday.

My employers call it "primetime," and corporate demands "all hands on deck" because they've determined this is THE day now for people to shop for food.

So to go back to to NYC, which gives me such sentimental emotions because there was a time there in that great city, which I still love thoroughly despite all its shortcomings, when I was genuinely happy, or at least it felt like I was happy.

My story with Trump is a simple one. After I quit my job to write about the Bible (I've written about this many times and I will do it again soon so you understand where I'm coming from), I found I could be real productive at different Starbucks around Manhattan.

What it gave me, with the scenery of other patrons as well as the street life outside, was the feel that I was back in a newsroom, surrounded by hustle and bustle and business being conducted and people on phones as well as people like me--enjoying a cup of coffee at a chair, or stool, alone while reading/writing something that seemed important.

Over the years I was in various NYC Starbucks, and I pretty much hit all the ones in Manhattan at one point or another because it gave me an excuse to get on the subway and see other neighborhoods as well as experience the different types of people and vibes inside each Starbucks, I saw more than a few famous people.

One time crossing the sidewalk near 52nd and 7th was Harvey Keitel. Another time, at 56th near 6th, I found myself seated only a few tables from Jackie Mason. What gave him away was his distinctive voice with the NY-Jewish accent.

Another time at the Times Square Starbucks (no longer there to my shock and dismay when I returned to NYC the other week) across from the Ed Sullivan Theater in the days David Letterman's late show was on the marquis, I saw Chelsea Clinton actually sitting on the floor working on her laptop. This was a busier-than-usual day when no chairs were available.

I became such an aficionado of Manhattan's Starbucks that more than one friend recommended I stop worrying about writing a book about the Bible and write a book critiquing NYC's Starbucks.

That's how many stories/insights I had from what I observed being in the various locations, either from what happened inside or what I saw going on out on the streets from the big-pane windows.

So what was, hands down, my favorite Starbucks? The one (it has since been converted to a cafe called "Italian Kitchen") that was up that famous escalator inside Trump Tower and had the most gorgeous view of 5th Avenue.

I went to it at least once a week for all the years that I was in NYC after quitting my job. Thanks to Trump's wide-open access to everything, I kind of made it my own!!

For starters, when I had to use the restroom, I had to go down the famous escalator and then head to another escalator that went down another level to Trump's cafeteria and then go past his bookstore/gift shop and down the hallway. This is the only one they had for visitors.

Of course, the little bookstore had Trump's face plastered all over the windows and inside were blown-up posters of his latest book, etc. His mug was EVERYWHERE.

This was before he ran for president, of course, and I had nothing against him at the time. I thought he was a pretty charitable, easygoing guy for letting people like me have free reign over his Tower.

The thing is, when you're in somebody's "house" (and he did live in the penthouse of the place) you tend to think about them. Hence, I thought of Trump all the time I was enjoying his Starbucks and using his restrooms (which were all pink with very nice sink fixtures, sometimes manned by attendants who gave you a drying towel but never solicited tips), not to mention looking at the daily specials on display at his cafeteria.

(will be sure to write conclusion to this tomorrow and just know that I haven't been a fan of Trump since after his first campaign for president)

'Such a stupendous thing to grasp'

(new article this evening)

I have a study below, but first I wanted to share a classic old hymn from 1880, entitled "A Shelter in the Time of Storm."

The author, Vernon J. Charlesworth (1838-1915), was a British pastor who later became administrator of the Stockwell Orphanage built by the great English orator Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), known as the "Prince of Preachers." 

Ira D. Sankey composed the tune, writing in one account, "I found this hymn in a small paper published in London, called The Postman. It was said to be a favorite song of the fishermen on the north coast of England, and they were often heard singing it as they approached their harbors in the time of storm." 

Here are the lyrics:

1      The Lord's our Rock; in Him we hide,

A Shelter in the time of storm;

Secure whatever ill betide,

A Shelter in the time of storm.

O Jesus is a Rock in a weary land,

A weary land, a weary land;

O Jesus is a Rock in a weary land -

A Shelter in the time of storm.

 

2     A Shade by day, Defense by night,

A Shelter in the time of storm;

No fears alarm, no foes affright,

 

3      The raging storms may round us beat,

A Shelter in the time of storm;

We'll never leave our safe retreat,

 

4      O Rock Divine, O Refuge dear,

A Shelter in the time of storm;

Be Thou our Helper ever near,

When you read the Book of John, you have to do like in Luke—notice the little things.

John 5: [5] And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
[6] When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
[7] The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
[8] Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

When it says in verse 6, "Jesus saw him," and it will be the same way with the blind man, He sees that individual, not everybody else and yet there’s this great multitude: [3] In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

Out of all that crowd, God’s grace focused on this guy. Their faith in God’s Word to them brings God’s grace into their life. How is it that He’s going to give them power to become? There’s the how, explains Richard Jordan.

When you read these miracles, all of them are designed together to tell you: [11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
[12] But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

What the Holy Spirit’s doing as He writes the Book of John is He’s going back to this original plan that the godhead has. In verse 3, He talks about that original plan for creation and the One who is the expression of that plan.

What in the world would it mean to call the Lord Jesus Christ the Word? What do you do with words? You express yourself; you reveal what’s in your mind, your heart. The Lord Jesus Christ is the one who’s going to reveal what’s in the mind and heart of God.

If you want to know God you’re going to have to look at Jesus Christ. To understand who God is and to grasp His person, you can’t look at creation because it doesn’t tell you about the person of God; it will tell you about the power of God.

Jesus tells Philip in John 14:9: [9] Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
[10] Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

There’s that wonderful passage in II Corinthians 4:6: [6] For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The whole issue of Jesus Christ being the Word is not just to tell you God’s righteous. You can get that by reading other things in the Scripture.

Jesus Christ is not just simply revealing God as God with all of His attributes. His purpose in revealing God is to reveal to you what’s in God’s heart, because that’s how you really get to know someone.

You don’t just want to know about them; you want to know them. The way you know them is to understand what they’re thinking. How do they think about things? How do they react to things? What are their plans? What are their purposes? Where are they going? Are they able to get there?

Well, Jesus Christ as the Word, that implies that the godhead’s got a plan and Jesus Christ is the agency of the godhead through whom that plan is going to be communicated.

That is such a stupendous thing to grasp. It’s not to diminish at all, in fact, it’s to glorify the fact that Jesus Christ is the revealer of God, and without Him you couldn’t know God.

What you’re learning about God isn’t just that He’s high and mighty and lifted up, righteous and holy. I mean, He revealed that to Moses about Himself.

The purpose in all that revelation is to bring you into an appreciation of what God’s plan in His creation is and what’s that plan? The ultimate goal of God is to glorify Himself in Jesus Christ.

John 1:18: [18] No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

When you declare something, you set it forth. You ever heard the southern expression, ‘Well, I do declare.’ You tell it out.

Hebrews 1: [3] Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

In John 1 and 2, He’s going to tell you that Jesus Christ is the spoken out image of God. You want to know God and God’s mind? It’s in Christ. He’s completely, fully qualified to tell you that because He is God.

It says in John 1:3: [3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

You’re going to learn that that verse isn’t just talking about the birds and the bees and the stars and the nebula and the plants and stuff. It’s talking about a government and creatures put in that government to run this universe, because God’s got a plan and it’s going to focus in His Son.

John begins his book by pointing out to you that the Son is the focus where all of God’s glory is going to be revealed. We’re going to behold Him in human flesh so we can ‘behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.’

Revelation 1:8: [8] I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Verse 11: [11] Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Alpha is the first letter in a Greek alphabet; Omega is the last letter. What Jesus is saying there is, ‘I’m God’s alphabet and I’m going to spell out and display . . . Words are made out of letters and I’m the one going to lay out for you the mind of God and what God’s got to say.’

By the way, when He says, "I am Alpha and Omega," He’s saying, "The last thing God’s going to say to you is going to come from me." That why in Hebrews 1 He says "in these last days." The conclusion of revelation is going to come from Jesus Christ.

Acts 14:12: [12] And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.

That term "chief speaker" is the word for "word" over there. If you took that translation of the word and applied it to John 1, what you would have is that Jesus Christ is the chief speaker of the godhead. They nominated God the Son for that job.

That’s exactly the idea there. In Colossians, it says He’s the image of the invisible God. He was like Adam in the earth back there. Adam was God’s spokesman in the earth. Jesus Christ is the one member of the godhead who’s going to speak on behalf of the godhead.

John 1 is not the first time the second person of the godhead has been referred to by that terminology. Psalm 33:6: [6] By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
[7] He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
[8] Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
[9] For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Notice again how it’s connected with creation, just as it is in John 1. John 1:1: [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] The same was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
[4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Notice it didn’t say the Word was with the Father. That’s because there are more than two members of the godhead. If He’s with Him, that means He’s distinct from the other members. There’s a difference between being in God and with God.

Genesis says Enoch walked with God. They’re distinct from one another. "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" They’re walking together.

Not only is God eternal and self-existent, He is, in His person, distinct from other members of the godhead.

Me on bed pan duty at NYC's Bellevue ER!

(note: I was planning on writing about my "relationship" with Trump before he ever became president but I will save that for tomorrow--this post just popped in my head)

On today's Drudge Report they showed today's front cover of the Daily Star tabloid newspaper in London. The top headline: "Trump Faces Final Curtain."

With musical notes instead of quote marks, a second headline in much bigger black type read: "And now the end is near." In the graphic, Trump is holding a microphone as if he's crooning like Frank Sinatra, singing in a cartoon bubble, "I did it MAGA way . . ."

This reminded me of when I lived in NYC and there was a homeless-looking eccentric guy who I witnessed on two separate occasions at the top of the stairs for the Lexington and E. 51st subway stop. He had a homemade placard that read in bold black, "THE END IS AT NEAR," and he was preaching into a microphone.

It gave me a big chuckle in my head (why I never forgot it) because I knew what he was going for. People used to say, "The end is AT hand," and he was obviously "incorrectly" mixing that with the common saying, "The end is near."

*****

This time in NYC (Oct. 20-23) I didn't see any stranger-than-normal homeless people or, in what would be a REAL long shot I'm guessing, a true "offbeat" guy on his own trying to give out the gospel and warn people of going to hell.

Now, here's where this gets "out-there", as in I remember it as if it was yesterday.

A year-and-a-half or so after I quit my job in Manhattan (2003), I went through a HORRIFIC and weeks-LONG spell of anxiety where I didn't know what was wrong with me and I thought maybe I had a life-and-death physical problem.

I had no health insurance at the time, but I had heard that if you were a tax-paying citizen of Manhattan without insurance you could go to Bellevue Hospital's emergency room and they would treat you free as long as it was your first visit.

As an aside, I still have the red hard-plastic wallet card they made for me that night with Bellevue's name and my name stamped into it by a machine.

When I was admitted to ER, they gave me a white gown to put on to lay on a designated rolling bed.

I was there for 30 minutes or more, feeling waves of relief knowing I was finally getting "checked out," and suddenly they wheeled in an overweight woman on a bed and placed her right next to me (with no curtain).

I could immediately tell she was homeless and, among other things, she had grossly over-sized black-and-purple ankles and basically stumps for feet!!

The ER people gave her some kind of something and, before leaving, told her it could likely make her bowels move within the next half-hour or so. They placed a standard stainless-steel bed pan next to her.

Unbelievably no one was anywhere within earshot when the bowels gave her the "green light" and, even though she called out "Nurse" more than a few times over the course of at least five minutes, no one came. 

She could not lift herself to save her life. We were communicating at this point about her situation and, knowing the increasing urgency she was under, I jumped off of my bed and started desperately looking for stuff in some cabinets behind us.

"Go-time" arrived quickly, though, and I just remember lifting her up with my bare hands to slide the bedpan underneath her. I remember using a bunch of paper towels I did find in the cabinets to sort of clean her up!

After it was over and I returned to my bed, with no ER people coming around whatsoever, we started to "get to know each other"--she was very appreciative of me helping her.

When I told her I was a Christian, etc., she told me she and her husband liked to give out the gospel in midtown, especially near the Port Authority Bus Terminal. I asked her if her husband preached from the Bible and she said he did.

For months after this Bellevue experience (thankfully they took X-rays of my internal organs and found nothing wrong with me) I looked all the time in midtown at the homeless people sitting on sidewalks and under construction scaffolding, etc., to see if she and her husband could be among them.

Then one day, lo and behold, she was with her husband sitting on the sidewalk underneath a construction awning not far at all from Port Authority (I lived at 48th and 10th).

I said hello to her but she didn't recognize me. I reminded her about Bellevue but I don't think she remembered even though she said she did. She introduced me to her husband.

Neither one of them had any sign or anything around them to indicate they were trying to give out the gospel or "spread the Word." I tried to engage them in conversation but it was short-lived. I gave them a $20 bill and walked away, never seeing them again.

'Out of fellowship'? Lie from pit of hell

(will have new article tonight for certain--I'm determined to keep going with NYC notes, etc.)

The ever-famous Christian song from 1887 by Anthony J. Showalter and Albright Hoffman (used in movies like True Grit, etc.) starts:

What a fellowship, what a joy divine
Leaning on the everlasting arms
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine
Leaning on the everlasting arms
Leaning, leaning
Safe and secure from all alarms

"There’s an old lie of the religious system that says, while you can never break your relationship with God, you can break your fellowship with Him, and that’s just a lie right out of the pit of hell from people who don’t even know the definition of the words in their own language," says Richard Jordan.

“The word fellowship means partnership. Fellows in a ship. It’s when the same thing happens to everybody. You know what happened on the Titanic? It sank. You know where that left everybody? In the water. They all got wet. Now, some of them survived, but a whole bunch of them didn’t and the point I’m making is they were all in the same boat.

“Fellowship means a 'bunch of fellows in the same ship.' It means we share in a common lot together; a partnership. Communion is another word. Literally, to be in fellowship with God is to share things with God that belong to Him. If you don’t share God’s life, you know what’s going to happen to you? You don’t have life anymore.

“That business in Christian circles about being ‘in fellowship, out of fellowship, back in fellowship and then back out of fellowship,’ is a misnomer that, I was going to start to say snuck into the Christian life, but it didn’t sneak in; it just walked in with jack boots; a big noisy entrance!

“What it has to do with is an absolute complete misunderstanding of what ‘fellowship’ is in I John. It’s all this incorrect business about keeping a ‘short-accounts system,’ where you confess your sins to keep your fellowship with God going.

“Anybody who tells you, ‘You don’t have to worry about breaking your relationship, but just confess to keep it open,’ is somebody who never read the Book of I John!

"If you’re going to quote I John 1:9, don’t forget to quote I John 2:12, will you, because He says in that verse, ‘Little children, your sins are forgiven.’ There’s a verse written to Believers. I John 1:9 is not written to Believers; it’s written to identify who Believers are.

"I  John 1:9 says, [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

“What was it that John the Baptist called them to do? It was the ‘baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.’ They went to John confessing their sins—did exactly what Leviticus 26 and other passages said they were to do—in order to be restored back out of the corrupt, apostate religious system they had been taken by.

*****

“The great definition of 'eternal life' is in I John 1:3, but that’s also what He’s talking about with having a fellowship that is with the Father and with the Son; it has to do with possession of that life. John 17:3 says, [3] And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

“When He says in the next verse, [4] I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do,’ what work is that that He’s finished?

“It’s two more chapters before He hangs on the Cross and says, ‘It’s finished,’ so it can’t be that work; the work of redemption. It’s something else that He had to do. Do you ever wonder why Jesus ministered on the earth for 3 1/2 years? What was He doing?

“How did He know at the end of 3 1/2 years that it was time to quit and go to Calvary and die; that the hour had come for that to be accomplished? He was doing something during His earthly ministry, and He says the night before He dies, ‘I’ve finished it; the work that you gave me to do, I’ve finished.’

“What’s Christ talking about here in the passage? John 17: 6: [6] I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

“He says in verse 8, [8] For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

“You know what He’s talking about? He’s talking about the training, the work, the giving of the message to the apostles, and through them to the ‘little flock.’ That work is completed. Now, He’s completed His work as the son of David and now He, as the son of Abraham, can go to Calvary.

“In all of that you come to verse 12: [12] While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

“That’s one verse that will help you to understand who the Lord’s talking about; He’s talking about the apostles because one of them was lost. He’s talking about the ‘little flock’ in Israel.

“Verse 13-17: [13] And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
[14] I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
[15] I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
[16] They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
[17] Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

“Now, that’s the issue there. When He says, ‘I’m writing these things that your joy might be full,’ this is what He’s talking about: ‘So you might be a part of those the Father has given me; you might be part of the true fellowship with the Father and me.’ ”

*****

"The only time in the Four Gospels we’re told Jesus Christ rejoiced is in Luke 10:21: [21] In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

“It’s fascinating what He rejoiced in. There’s the ‘wise and prudent’ in Israel, but then there are some people who are like ‘babes,’ who have just simple faith; ‘childlike faith,’ as Matthew calls it.

“Christ says, ‘Be a part of that group of people who rejoice in the real deal. You’ve got a real reason to rejoice, not just in the things you’re able to accomplish, but in the fact that you’re really a part of something.’

“I John 1:3-4 says, [3] That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
[4] And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

“The purpose of the Book of I John is that the people he’s writing to would be able to have fellowship with the ‘little flock.’ Literally, the ‘we’ and the ‘us’ in the passage is the 12 Apostles.

“They’re the ones who declared and did the things in verses 1 and 2: [1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
[2] (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

*****

“God forms that ‘little flock’ through the ministry of those apostles and in the ages to come the 144,000 will be the catalyst comparable to the 12 back in the Book of Acts. The issue is coming to the place where you have fellowship with the Father and with His Son; that you’re a part of the real genuine fellowship in Israel: ‘And these things we write.’

“That expression ‘that your joy may be full’ is very important because it really identifies the purpose of the book and the group of people Christ’s talking to. In Luke 10 is a fascinating passage where the Lord sends out His disciples and they come back to Him.

“Specifically, Luke 10:16-20 says, [16] He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
[17] And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
[18] And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
[19] Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
[20] Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

“In other words, they are a part of His program to dislodge the Adversary from his plan of conquest over God’s kingdom and authority and from Satan’s policy of evil to place himself in God’s position. They’re a part of that restoration and reclamation program to take away from the usurper that which he has and they’re invested with this authority.

“At this point, the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus Christ and His Spirit working through them, and that’s why there’s this tremendous conflict between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light at that time. They have that power and they’re rejoicing in all that.

*****

“When Jesus says in John 15:11, ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full,’ that’s a comment He’s making to the 12 Apostles.

"There are only 11 of them at the time (Judas has exited already), but this is in the Upper Room the night before He dies and He’s there with that inner group of people--the ‘little flock’ at its core--emphasizing, ‘I’m telling you these things so that your joy might be full.’

“He continues to talk to them in John 16:23-24: [23] And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
[24] Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

“Come to John 17 in the Lord’s prayer. Again, the Lord’s Prayer is not the 'Our Father' prayer of Matthew 6. It’s not the 'Disciples Prayer.' It’s the prayer that the Lord Jesus Christ prays the night before He dies as recorded in John 16. Here’s the REAL Lord’s Prayer.

“John 17:13 says, [13] And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.’ When He says ‘now come I to thee,’ that’s Christ coming to the Father. The ‘they’ there is going to be the 12 Apostles, in particular, and who they minister to, in general. Go back to verse 1: [1] These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

“Seven times in this passage Christ identifies some people the Father has given to Him. We looked at Isaiah 8 where Isaiah prophetically quotes the Messiah as saying, ‘[18] Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.’

*****

“You can go back into the Old Testament and see this issue about the true fellowship with the Father and with the Son, how it was established, how it was corrupted and how it’s going to be restored. As you do that, you need to get these things kind of rolling around in your mind.

“That expression of Isaiah’s about ‘the children whom the Lord hath given me’; in John 13 He says to the apostles there, ‘Little children,’ identifying them. They’re the children, in the sense that they’re the leaders of this ‘little flock.’ The verse says, ‘Fear not, little flock, it’s your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’

“As John 17:3 says, [3] And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

“That’s what Christ says in I John 1.  Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son. They share something in common with the Father and with the Son; they share an identity together, they share LIFE together."

"The burning passion that sin ignites is never to be satisfied, but Jesus Christ takes all of that--my guilt, my failure--so that I might be made the righteousness of God. That's the great exchange.

"I get His righteousness, His acceptance before God and I'm in the Beloved. I be loved and I be loved because He made me so, and on my worst day or on my best day, when I'm not lovable in myself, or when I thought I was and 'let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall,' I have a real acceptance," explains Richard Jordan.

"To be guilty is one thing, but not to settle the issue . . . Psychology can't do that. They pull it out, you know, and wear it as a medal around your chest: 'I confess my sin.' It doesn't resolve guilt; it's still there, but Jesus paid it all. He took care of it and gave me His righteousness.

"You get a sense of being trapped by your sins; enslaved by them, hemmed in. But in Ephesians 1:7 he says, [7] In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

"That word 'redemption' means to pay the price and set it free. It's really freedom. You're liberated from the control of sin. It means you don't have to sin anymore. You don't have to have that irritable spirit, that nasty disposition, that lustful eye, you know, envious, jealous. You don't have to do that; you're free in Christ from all of those entanglements. Christ died to set you free. He died to MAKE your free.

"There's a great song Down South we used to sing: 'He set me free, He set me free, He broke the bonds of prison for me.' But somebody pointed out to me one time that the Bible doesn't say that. It says He MADE me free. He made me a free person. He didn't just take me and set me free; He completely transformed me into someone who's free.

Romans 6: [17] But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. [18] Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

"That's what redemption is. Look, be strong in THESE things! Don't try to go out and be strong in, 'I gave money to the church, I passed out tracts.' Don't try to be strong in what you do because it always comes up short--'cut off my legs and call me Shorty.'

"What He did always answers it. He says in verse 7 we have 'forgiveness according to the riches of his grace.' Say what you will, sin haunts us. We need peace. The anger, the hurt that comes from sin. The hurt that comes from hurting others and be hurt by it.

"To know what it is to be forgiven allows you to forgive. You'll never be able to forgive until you understand how it is to be forgiven. The entanglements of sin. He says, 'I give you freedom.' The word 'forgive' means to send it away. But where do you send it? The only place you can send it where it's dealt with completely is the Cross.

"You send it into the vacuum of your memory but you know what happens? It belches back up at inconvenient times and it haunts you and you wind up hearing its footsteps. He says, 'I can show you a way to peace,' because that's what we want.

"You don't have to be angry anymore, at war with the world, or your neighbor, or your family, or yourself. He paid the penalty. The war's over and we have peace with God and when you have peace with God you can have peace with everyone else through our Lord Jesus Christ."