Edition 383: September 19^th 2017.

Letter to devastated Christians:

Introduction:

Don’t neglect to read the last chapter!

Sigh, O sign of failure!

Firstly: I’m a pre-tribber. I believe in the rapture, and wish it was yesterday. But this is not it!

As regular readers know, I’ve rejected the interpretation of the Revelation 12 sign doing the rounds. At first, a few years ago, I did consider it on the condition that other Bible signs would be in place. This was all before praying over it and looking into it. I then quickly put it on the shelf, and then rejected it in total.

I came under a fair bit of attack from various Rev 12-sign manipulators and intimidators.

The Revelation 12 sign has been so popularised that the Washington Post, Boston Globe, CBN and others in the secular media have been reporting on it.

The sign interpretation:

The Revelation 12:1-5 sign and its interpretation is the belief that the “male-Child” of verse five, is the church, which will be “born again” in rapture. (harpazo). They claim that the church was not born at Pentecost only conceived. They claim that the sign is confirmed in verses describing signs in Joel 2:30, and elsewhere. Additional “confirmation” they say is found in Isaiah 66:8, referring to a “nation born in a day”. They claim that the male Child must be a reference to the church because Revelation 12 speaks of the church (at Thyatira) “ruling with a rod of iron”.

Then a giant leap is made to the software programme “Stellarium” (and others) which show a constellation alignment in the stars resembling the biblical sign, but now in astronomical terms. This event occurs on September 23^rd 2017, which is presented as the rapture date, which is the same as Rosh Hashanah. They claim that the Stellarium alignment is a once in 7000 year event, making it extremely rare.

●The male Child can only be our Lord and not the church when considering all the surrounding context and other signs for the Jews in other verses. ●The word "harpazo"is used 14 times in the Bible. There is even a satanic harpazo. It can be used of our Lord as well. ●If the church was not born at Pentecost it messes up the relationship of the church age to the Feasts of the Lord. ●Joel 2:30 cannot be used at all because it says what sign it is speaking of, which is the sun, moon and stars going dark at the Second Advent. (Verse31) Besides, Joel is distinctly speaking of tribulation events and has nothing to do with the church age. The use of the term “before” the coming of the Lord does not mean before as in the church age. If you look it up you will see the word can also be translated “because of”!! ●Isaiah 66:7-9 is not speaking of the new-birth of the church. It is referring to the birth of Israel. It even says “Rejoice Jerusalem.”  ●The “iron rod” rule refers to our Lord, although a secondary application may include the church in the Millennium.●7000 years in astronomical terms is a drop in the ocean. It is meaningless. The entire convergence is meaningless prophetically. ●The 23^rd September is not Rosh Hashanah, which is the 21^st – 22^nd.

All of the above issues may seem small, but because they have been so dogmatically presented worldwide to prove the rapture date, people are going to be shipwrecked. It is a huge issue!

Because of this new, private interpretation, other doctrines have to be changed in accordance with the domino-effect.  Changes are required in the meaning of the new-birth, the way the birth of the church at Pentecost fits the Feast of Pentecost. The meaning of the prophecy of Israel’s birth in one day is now null and void.

There are numerous other doctrinal knock-on problems.

No explanations are given by the signers for all the missing prophetic pieces like plans for a seven-year peace covenant / treaty.

All of this is presented as “100%” proof that the rapture will happen on the 23^rd. The entirety of the sign and its interpretation is presented dogmatically as the truth, with the church having been wrong on many of these things all along.

The entire issue is a giant collective error.

Hundreds of new ministries have sprung up on social media promoting the sign. Having many agree with you does not make it truth. It only increases the guilt of all involved, as it damages the body of Messiah.

Collective deception is dangerous because of the contaminated confirmation-bias that runs within it.

Dealing with error:

Bear in mind that the anointing of God is never on error but only on truth. The end result of error is trouble!

Doctrinal error never produces trust. It destroys trust or at least make it very difficult for many to trust the truth once it has been blended with error and exposed as such.

People loose reverence and respect for the prophetic word, for the Bible, the watchmen and ultimately for God.

Doctrinal error is a playground of pride, ending in poisonous, relationship-destroying bitterness. Manipulation and intimidation are fruits of error and the authoritarianism of the devil himself.

The wise will see these traps from a distance, and steer clear.

We are to be guardians of the truth not apostles of error!

Too many are motivated by the need for, and love of self-importance and self-affirmation. The collective approval of man is always dangerous.

In these dangerous days you need to take heed you are not deceived. If you don’t, you will be deceived. Our Lord said so, so be vigilant. Almost every passage in the Bible relating to these end times is accompanied with warnings against deception and error. You can’t say you haven’t been warned!

Even miraculous signs and wonders do not mean that they are true. The only way to avoid deception is to know the Bible well, and the Spirit of truth – its author.

The Bible says of our Lord: “I am the truth.” Then it says, “Your word is truth,” and then, “the Spirit is truth.”

If you want to walk right with God in all truth, you need to walk closely with our Lord, His word and His Spirit, shed abroad in your hearts. You need the spiritual gifts as well, specifically of revelation and discernment. You need the whole package deal.

The Spirit of truth and spirit of error:

Both will eventually manifest with their fruits. You can already see the pride, anger and bitterness with many of the signers against us who reject the error.

The great danger of the spirit of error is that it progresses, deepens and worsens. It is a big deal simply because it kills the truth. You can’t really kill truth, but you can kill or obscure it in someone else’s eyes.

A person who has been infiltrated by the spirit of error in certain areas quickly becomes un-teachable, because you can’t reason with a spirit of error.

All error has damaging effects. Big errors can wreck people’s lives!

Make no mistake, you Revelation 12 signers, you are responsible for the damage you do, even if that was not your intention.

Many people are legitimately ignorant of the Bible because they are new believers. Many have a low IQ or are illiterate and easy prey for the spirit of error.

But there are heavy warnings for those who lead the vulnerable astray!

Isaiah 9:16 “The leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed.”

Malachi 2:8 “You have departed from the way; you have caused many to stumble...”

The spirit of error will be back and many of the same people will be its new disciples – Blind disciples of YouTube, deceived and deceiving!

YouTube is a powerful platform for the dissemination of deception worldwide, quickly, intentionally or not.

Many lives may be spiritually lost or at least damaged because of this. Many will be thrown into confusion and despair.

When people use manipulation like “God told me” they are calling in God to back them up. They are giving themselves great self-importance and self-affirmation. But they will soon see that it is god and the spirit of error whom they’ve called in when their entire castle falls down.

The evangelists and defenders of the Revelation 12 sign have become an exclusive club, condemning others who don’t agree with them. They have elevated themselves, of course without admitting it.

If you join them, I tell you now, you are wrong.

They have become the mockers and scoffers of those who search the scriptures! Of course they say that we don’t search the scriptures because we don’t see what they do.

Bible prophecy is 100% accurate 100% of the time! Yes it is, but the Rev 12 sign version is about to be revealed. Will it be a product of the spirit of error? – Yes, it will!

When teachers come up with new revelation, they need to be especially on guard. It gives them a sense of importance and God-imputed spiritual authority, which has a powerful appeal to pride. That is just when the Spirit of truth leaves them and the spirit of error comes in with illegitimate authority.

I do not believe that the originators of the Revelation 12 sign and a few others have intended to deceive anyone. Their motives are right. But we are dealing with spirits!

The big bottom line in all of this is: Did it come to pass?

Candidates for deception:

Here is a list of the types of people who are candidates for continuing deception:

●Those who elevate an individual - If he said it, that settles it. ●Those who receive private, or personal interpretation of the Bible. ●Those who continue to be deceived over and over again. ●Those with personal ambition. ●Those who are unteachable. ●Those who are ignorant of scripture. ●Those with no fear of the Lord. ●Those who reject the fullness of Spirit.

There are many more – you can add your own favourites.

If you ignore Spirit-led Bible teaching, you have no right to hear from God and you won’t, but you will hear the voice of many other spirits sounding like God.

God has told us to judge all things and to judge prophets and prophecy. (1 Corinthians 2:15) Any prophet not willing to be judged must be avoided. The Revelation 12 signers have spewed judgement on all who reject their view and work, and are stone deaf to any judgement on their work.

Counter judgement or firing back obviously means no repentance is required!

Error sticks like glue, but it also protects itself in a dark cloud. If you can get rid of it, it knows you and how vulnerable you are to it, and it comes back. Error is as unyielding as concrete. It is born in a lie. The great Christian error of the Revelation 12 interpretation says:  “You search the scriptures, but if you don’t find what we find, we will attack and condemn you!

The Bible does not say, “Study to show yourself approved to the Revelation 12 signers”.

Watchmen are watchmen of the Lord, not watchmen of YouTube! Watchmen are listeners as well. They listen to the still small voice of God in their hearts.

Repentance is a wonderful thing. It sets free from many prisons. Failure to repent is terrible, but a return to error after repentance is worse and a great entrapment.

Have you ever noticed or wondered why it’s always the same people who get hoodwinked and bamboozled into error? I say again – it’s because they have entertained and made welcome the spirit of error.

There is a powerful bewitching force behind the spirit of error. It seldom comes upon people in one big flash. Like a spell, it entices and progresses and becomes more and more attractive, deepening the blindness of the individual as it goes.

If you are really looking for our Lord, you will find Him in your godly fear, and it will produce in you brokenness, holiness and a leading into truth.

Doctrinal correctness:

The big bottom line is the leading of the Spirit. Knowledge of the scriptures is absolutely vital.

The leading of the Spirit is not the approval of man! The Spirit of God never works through hype and manipulation – never! The hype created around this Revelation 12 sign is a tragedy and a perfect sign that it is not of the Spirit of truth.

Today like never before, people need people they can trust. Not people who go blindly from one deception to the next and most certainly not people who use hype, manipulation and intimidation to gain control.

To be doctrinally correct, you have to have all the pieces of the puzzle together and in their right place. There are still various end-time signs outstanding. You must obey the laws of interpretation and not cherry-pick from one dispensation to another.

Dispensational context is vital to correct interpretation. You can’t take verses from Joel, Isaiah or others in the Old Covenant, dealing with Israel and the Jews and use them for church-age signs.

Your doctrine must not violate other doctrines or contradict other verses, of scripture.

There is a great deal of importance in correct hermeneutics exegesis, application and interpretation. It’s a vital, vast subject and requires much study. But it is glorious and worth it.

In the past many have come up with revolutionary new private interpretations. Many of them have had similar characteristics surrounding them as we have here. They have all been crushed and killed by truth, standing as an eternal pillar.

The verse below is so relative to this situation and our time today:

Jeremiah 23:30-32 “’I am against the prophets’, says the Lord, who steal My words, everyone from his neighbour. I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who use their tongues and say, ‘He says’. ‘Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,’ says the Lord, and tell them, and cause My people to err, by their lies and by their recklessness. I did not send them or command them.’”

My friends, you need to be discerning. You need the revelatory gifts, the gifts of spiritual warfare and protection in these deadly dangerous days, especially now that we are on the verge of it all getting far worse – quickly.

Responsibility:

Now that the Revelation 12 sign has failed (if you’re reading this after the 23^rd), you signers can’t say that you were right. You must say that you were wrong. If you say you were right or “I didn’t set a date,” you are relinquishing and renouncing responsibility. In effect you are handing over that responsibility to God and saying He is wrong.

Accountability is on language, intention and action.  The problem with all the Revelation 12 signers is that there is no caution in their words.

Many are being prepared now to receive false prophecies in greater dimensions and lead God’s people astray. All teachers have a great responsibility upon them. Many have no right to be teachers. They are self-appointed!

Because error in the things of God is a spirit, it is alive and morphs into deception and then into a curse, which is much more powerful and difficult to get rid of. One of its terrible characteristics is that it always comes back and not necessarily in the same form.

Personally, I have no problem with looking at dates and will do so myself in the future again, because God’s word commands us to. But, in this case you can’t have it both ways. It’s simple linguistic logic. You can’t say that the rapture will occur on the 23^rd but you’re not setting a date. That is not logical. It is trying to cover all your bases and relinquish responsibility.

What will be interesting to see on the 24^th September and beyond are all the excuses. I somehow think few will repent. Some will. Some will disappear into the woodwork. The ones who don’t repent are guaranteed to be the ones that will be back with the next deception.

If its “100% for sure” and “God told me,” and now the 23^rd comes and goes uneventfully, the Revelation 12 teachers must now blame God and criticise Him. Obviously it’s God’s fault!

It must be empty excuses, blaming God, or repentance. The latter being the only true way, but that will still leave many shipwrecked believers.

Many of these teachers need to do the right thing and get out of all forms of ministry. Many need to close their YouTube ministries down. In fact, I considered applying for some to be closed, but then I decided against it, due to the last chapter in this edition.

I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Not all who have got into this Revelation 12 sign are false prophets. A false prophet is one who is of another, false spirit and not just someone who you don’t agree with or have a temporary problem with.

Also bear in mind that attacking an error is not always attacking the person.

But also please note the following two verses:

Romans 16:17 “Note those that cause divisions contrary to the doctrine which you have leaned, and avoid them.”

2 Timothy 4:3-5 “...They will heap up teachers for themselves and they will turn their ears away from the truth...But you, be watchful in all things...”

To those who have been devastated, hurt, injured or attacked by the signers:

So, now that the sign has failed, leaving behind a trail of devastation, what are you going to do?

Back in the 80s I read a book by Gene Edwards entitled “Letters to devastated Christians”, from which I derived the title of this edition. His main point was that it is primarily the responsibility of the individual for getting “devastated” in the first place.

That is largely true, but as I have said here, there is also a great responsibility on the teachers. So healing is needed in both quarters.

As you grow in our Lord, especially in these days, you need to grow in the discernment of spirits, knowledge of God, and understanding of all of His word and godly wisdom.

The way out is costly and is the opposite of man’s way of thinking. It is to forgive, release, let go and learn any lessons that are there to be learnt, and move forward.

In spite of devastation, have an attitude of thankfulness, that you are a child of God. Thankfulness always brings a spirit of grace into your life. Be thankful that things were not worse. Be thankful that you will soon walk in glory with our Lord. Humble yourself in God’s sight and He will lift you up and give you sight!

To the hurt, our Lord says: “I will be a father to you.” But you must meet the conditions: “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”.

John 16:1 “These things I have spoken to you, so that you should not be made to stumble.”

There is always safety and security in the revealed word of God.

1 Peter 3:13-14 “Who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed. Do not be afraid of their threats nor be troubled.”

Finally, reconciliation:

Okay, okay, enough said on all of this, but we can’t leave it here. Reconciliation is where to leave it. These things had to be addressed though. Hopefully we won’t have to deal with this again for another 7000 years.

Repentance is a wonderful, healing thing. Because many of the teachers (not all) involved in this are mature Christians, I just know that they would wish to make things right and be right with God and man.

I can only speak for myself. Based on their repentance, and letting things go, I must say to all the signers, that I love you. I want the best for you, as I do for me, so I’m burying the hatchet with no malice. I hold out an olive branch to you and wipe the slate clean.

Dear readers, if you look outside towards the horizon and see smoke rising – that’s a bunch of us smoking a big peace-pipe together.

We will continue to watch and pray. The coming of our Lord draws ever nearer. We will see and know the time.

Isaiah 52:8 “Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, with their voices they shall sing together. They shall see eye to eye when the Lord brings back Zion.”

I took these pictures out in our wilds. There is the remains of a 2000 year-old Camel-thorn Tree in the desert, a waterfall in the forest, and a girl. I superimposed them all into one just for fun!

Shalom and grow in His Grace!

Edition 382: September 12^th 2017.

The great Jonah sign for today!

Introduction:

 Jonah is the man!

We all know the Jonah story pretty well, but few know of the significance it has for today and the incredible truths contained in this amazing prophetic sign and its surrounding issues. There is a powerful consistency here with all the other signs I have mentioned of late.

 “Jonah and the whale” doubters and sceptics, please read on, this is really for you! There is a powerful and important message here for you and the whole world!

Matthew 16:4 “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

The incredible name - Jonah:

One would think that his name would have a meaning associated with fish. But no, his name means – “Dove” (Strong’s H3124)

It was a dove that descended onto our Lord’s shoulder as He arose from water baptism. (Matthew 3:16) It was a dove that was associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost when the church was born. (John 1:32)

But the Holy Spirit is also represented as fire in numerous passages. Fire cleanses, purifies and is seen in judgement! Fire also creates and gives light and power. It is the fullness of the Holy Spirit that gives revelation insight through the gifts of the Spirit.

Note well that the dove of the Holy Spirit descended after the cross which was the judgement on sin.

The dove is a universal sign of world peace today, but more on that further down.

There is much more in the message of the dove, which is little known. In Old Covenant times the dove was used as a sacrifice for sin by those who couldn’t afford a lamb or get hold of one.

Leviticus 5:7 “If he is not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord, for his trespass which he has committed, two turtle doves, one as a sin offering and one as a burnt offering.”

Luke 2:24 “Yeshua was presented in Jerusalem to offer sacrifice according to the law of the Lord; ‘A pair of turtledoves.’”

What is the sign and the message of Jonah?

Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the fish, which our Lord related to Himself in type. This referred to His death, burial and resurrection in three days and nights.

The sign is Yeshua, the King of the Jews – crucified and risen! The sign is the complete work of the cross. The sign incorporates judgement upon sin at the cross, payment for sin by our Lord and resurrection to a world called the kingdom of God, which is a kingdom of victory and peace.

The sign also relates to water baptism by full immersion, which itself is a type of death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.

Jonah came from a town called Gath-Hepher, which is actually a section of Nazareth today.

The name Gath-Hepher means “wine-press”! In those days a “tribulum” was used in the circular wine-press to crush the grapes. This refers to the coming great tribulation, the “winepress of God”.  (Revelation 14:17-20)

The message of Jonah is that man is accountable for sin and judgement is real.

The very essence of sin is pride. “Pride goes before destruction.” (Proverbs 16:8)

As pride goes before destruction, so peace comes after repentance. Pride obstructs repentance because pride’s side effect is blindness. You can’t see your sin when in a world of pride. But in the light of God all sin and sinners will be seen and shattered!

Revelation 6: 14 “The sky receded as a scroll, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.’”

Note in this incredible tribulation verse above that even world leaders, and all people outside of the cross, and still in their sin cannot look at God! They run to hide from His purity, holiness and light.

We, as believers can look at God in confidence because we look through the cross, which has made us pure as He is pure.

The message of Jonah is contained in his message to Nineveh, which was to repent and have peace, or judgement and hell is coming.

Jonah delivered two big all-important prophecies, which relate to today.

Jonah himself became perhaps the most important prophecy ever. He himself encapsulated the work of the cross in his time in the whale. Likewise, our Lord was in the tomb three days and nights and then arose.

The great sign and message of Jonah is for the Gentiles and very much for the Jews as well. (Mathew 12:39-40)

Matthew 12:41 “...A greater than Jonah is here!”

The sign and message is that of the Dove, the Lamb, and the Lion! Yeshua is the Saviour and the Judge!

The sin of Jonah:

Okay, so we have the sign and the message, but what of the sin of Jonah!

The sin of Jonah is the sin of a great deal of the church today! It is refusal to deliver God’s warning to the world. It is refusal to bring the message of world-peace to the world – exclusively through the cross!

It is refusal to take the gospel to the Jew.

Jonah was commanded by God to deliver a message of repentance to Nineveh, or they would be destroyed. Jonah took off and went the other way. His desire was to see Nineveh destroyed, not repent! So God arranged to spoil his whole day! He had Jonah thrown overboard as he fled and shipped out. He arranged for a passing big fish to swallow him.

God then arranged for the fish to spit him out on the beach. Jonah then went and reluctantly delivered the message.

To his shock and horror, most (not all) of Nineveh repented and judgement was spared.

Today the church of self-gratification, and self – motivation, and all the dead spirit-less churches, are in this same boat.

Tragically for much of the church today, “Judgement begins at the house of God.”

Too many are one with the sin of Jonah. Too many have joined the Ninevites! Churches today won’t deliver the message to the world which is peace through the judgement of the cross, or eternal judgement.

Thankfully, many churches are delivering the message of repentance to the world. They are the real messengers of the cross, being cross-bearers themselves.

For whom is the sign today?

Nineveh was the largest city in the world in its day. It was called “exceedingly great” and stretched 30 miles along the Tigris River. Babylon was also called “exceedingly great.” End-time Babylon represents the nations of the world. The world most certainly thinks it is great and self-sufficient.

The name Nineveh means: “Abiding offspring.” Interestingly, the offspring of the sin of Nineveh was abiding! It returned soon after their repenting, resulting in the total destruction of the city. Today, Mosul, (modern day Nineveh) is still full of the abiding sin of Islam – awaiting destruction.

The city had become filled with evil, sin, witchcraft and wickedness of all sorts.

The sins of Nineveh were primarily of pagan worship, occult practice, sexual immorality, human sacrifice, and enslavement of the people.

Amongst the prevalent pagan practises was the worship of the fish-god Dagon. No wonder the people repented when this man Jonah, smelling of fish walked into their midst!

By the way, the Catholic and Anglican mitre, (fish-shaped hat) was designed that way in honour of the fish god Dagon. (Look it up)

Today the sin of Nineveh is an “abiding offspring” but for the whole world. All the sins of the world can be brought down to one word and that is unrighteousness. All unrighteousness is sin. (1 John 5:17)

The message of Jonah today is for the whole world, the Jews and the whole church!

Jonah’s message to Nineveh was that their sin, evil and wickedness had now gone beyond God’s mercy and like in the days of Noah and Lot, judgement was coming if they did not repent.

Jonah the dove and Noah’s dove:

The name Jonah means “Dove” as we have seen. The name Noah means “Rest.” Both are gloriously related.

Genesis 8:9-10 “The dove found no resting place and returned to the ark because the waters were on the face of the earth. So Noah waited another seven days and again he sent the dove out from the ark.”

By the way, Noah entered the ark seven days before the flood came. Ring any bells?

Jonah got thrown into the sea to become food for a big fish. This was a type of judgment because he disobeyed God’s word to warn the people. Noah was also “thrown” into the sea of judgement but in a big boat of protection because he obeyed God’s word to warn the world of judgement.

In Jonah’s case Nineveh did repent, but not fully and completely, so the sin returned in a worse state and the city was destroyed.

In Noah’s case the world ignored his warning and was destroyed.

Interestingly, Jonah the dove was sent out twice to Nineveh. The first time he ran away. The second time he went as whale vomit.

Noah was floating on top of the judgement of God upon a non-repentant world. Noah sent out a dove twice! The first time it came back empty handed. The second time it came back with a twig of an olive branch symbolising the end of judgement and a new dispensation, a world of peace.

The peace didn’t last because sin came back, and peace flew away.

This is why the dove has become a worldwide symbol of peace, but outside of the cross, it won’t last.

Here is the all-important take-home: Both Jonah and Noah have many consistent messages and themes. For the world today it’s just the same! Nations of the world, your judgment is just around the corner. You can do the wise thing and heed the message – repent now and find resultant peace.

If you don’t your days are numbered and your judgement has been spelt out by God who cannot lie.

Noah warned the world for 120 years. Jonah gave Nineveh a 40-day warning.

Opposing Israel:

There are dozens of accounts in the Bible of God destroying those who stand in the way of Israel coming to salvation. One of the great sins of Nineveh in Jonah’s time was hatred for and resistance to the children of Israel.

Nineveh stood in the way of Israel. It had been a long-time enemy of Israel. (Nahum 2:13) Much of the violence of Nineveh was against the children of Israel. The message of Jonah to the church today is repent fast of your abomination-doctrines of replacement theology. The message to the world with its anti –Semitism, is repent now and fast.

Upon repentance, judgement will be stayed and peace will come. Do you think the world will repent of anti-Semitism and the church of replacement theology? No sir they won’t, but yes sir, many will.

As with Nineveh many repented, but it didn’t last and eventually the judgement of destruction came.

We see the same principle in many other Bible stories:

Moses led the children of Israel through the Dead Sea to the Promised Land. But God killed Israel’s enemies in pursuit.

It’s not a good idea to get in God’s way in relation to His people!

Bear in mind that it was the Nineveh invasion that split Israel in two and caused the northern tribes to flee into exile.

This has direct implications and relevance for the world today.

Dividing the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem is not very clever, as the world and much of the church is about to find out!

Do you know that it was our man Jonah who was responsible for the entire land of Israel being restored in his day? Again that has implications for today. The message of repentance to the world must include, not dividing the land of Israel.

2 Kings 14:25-26 “He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of Arabath, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher.”

The sign for the Jews:

The message of Jonah was for an enemy of Israel – Nineveh. The sign of Jonah is also for the Jews. It is: Yeshua is Lord. He is the Messiah, the pierced and crucified one, born of a virgin in Bethlehem, the Dove of God! (The words in bold here are in the Old Covenant, as well as the New!)

Hosea 11:10-11 “They shall walk after the Lord. He will roar like a lion. When He roars, then His sons shall come trembling from the west; they shall come trembling like a dove from Egypt, like a dove from the land of Assyria (where Nineveh is) and they shall dwell in their own homes.”

The sign of Jonah parallels the sign of Noah, the sign of Isaiah 7:14 (the virgin) and the sign of Revelation 12. They are all consistent in that they speak of the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua, and Him being recognised by the Jews.

Our Lord says to the Jews: “You will be like the wings of a dove, covered with silver and her feathers with fine gold.” (Psalm 68:13)

Have you ever seen a silver and gold dove? It is what Israel will soon become!

Repentance for today:

Acts 17:30-31 “These times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness...by the Man who was raised from dead.”

The message is that judgement and hell is real and that the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord is very real. The message is that there is salvation in no other, but you need to wake up to these things now.

The message is do not stand in the way of salvation coming to the Jews in any way. The message is do not divide the land of Israel or the city.

The message for today is huge judgements and destructions are coming like the world has never seen before. If the nations would repent they would be spared and have peace.

We know from numerous other prophecies that the world will not repent! We know that the world will try to kill the truth, kill our Lord, and kill His messengers and His people, the church and the Jews.

Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace says the Lord for the wicked.”

The message is; repent and have peace or judgement is your lot!

The message is for right now, starting with Rosh Hashanah in a few weeks time. That’s when the final clock starts ticking.

Here’s a nice verse for those who think our Lord is only a gentle little inoffensive Lamb:

Luke 19:27 “Bring those enemies of mine, who did not want me to rule over them, and slay them before me.”

The message of Jonah is to bring revival to Gentile nations – Israel’s enemies and turn them into Israel friends.

The message of Jonah is for the Jews. Open your eyes, your time is now.

My friends, it is repentance that brings peace, but it is also repentance that brings revival.

A major prophetic turning point:

Do not take this lightly.

Right now we are at a major turning point. The world is going to see forerunners to the tribulation period increase dramatically, like never before.

Understand that I am in no way suggesting that we are in the tribulation period. We are not. We are in a time of increasing labour pains before the tribulation. The tribulation period is the labour pains and the birth is the new world – the Millennium.

Many of God’s servants are sleeping during the approaching storm and having their ear tickled with nice happy, have your best life now, motivational teachings from blind wolves in pulpits.

Hebrews 12:25-27 “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks, for if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on the earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but the heaven. This ‘once more’ indicates the removal of things that are made, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.’”

Haggai 2:6-7 “Once more I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory, says the Lord of Hosts.”

Once grace and mercy has been rejected, the judgements of God come, first in preliminary form, then in intermediate form and then in final totally devastating form.

We are now in the final days of the age of grace and long-suffering of the Lord. Then comes a huge dispensational change, the rapture and the tribulation period, which itself will go from preliminary to intermediate to its final devastating form.

God’s kingdom cannot be shaken, but will soon expand to include all of the kingdoms of this world after repentance. This will be the Millennium - a world of peace where the Dove, the Lamb and Lion will rule supreme.

Finally:

Psalm 55:6 “Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away and be at rest.”

Where is your treasure?

Do you have diamonds in the sky, pearls of great price, gold and silver, all laid up for you in the world soon to arise?

Is your name written in the sky by the one true Skywriter?

I took these pictures on the Chobe River Botswana. Putting them together represents peace or judgement as seen in the flood.

If you would like to see more pictures of the Chobe River, click HERE

Shalom and grow in His Grace!

Edition 381: September 5^th 2017.

War of the Worlds!

Introduction:

►At the time of writing hurricane Irma is now a cat 5 and is heading towards Florida, USA. The name “Irma” means “world” or “universal!” Do you see the title of this edition? Coincidence?

 Is your heart full of the world? If so, be careful, a war of the worlds is about to break out and just may give you a bit more than a heart attack!

Worlds at war defined:

The earth is not the world. The earth was created by God. The world was created by Adam. The world is Adam’s proud product. In a sense Adam (mankind) and his world rides the earth like cowboy riders of the storm... all the way to doom!

The original word used in the Bible for “world” is “kosmos.” It has three applications: ●The material world. ●The inhabitants of the world (unsaved). ●The affairs of the world-system.

1 Corinthians 2:12 and 1 Corinthians 3:19 speak of the “spirit of the world” and the “wisdom of the world.” Other verses speak of the “nature of the world”, the “corruption in the world”, its “defilements, lusts and pride”.

There is a clear and planned, organised system behind the world, with its own mind, morality and value-system. This world system is “evil.” It is “hostile to God.” It “hates Yeshua.”  It “knows not God.” It “cannot receive the Spirit of God.” Friendship with it makes you an “enemy of God.” It is “dark.”

The world consists of all that is sinful, evil and wrong. But it also consists of politics, education, science, medicine, technology, literature, art, law, commerce and industry, entertainment and much more that is of human good, or apparently neutral.

Ephesians 6:12 “...We wrestle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age (world)...”

Mankind is inextricably linked by birth to the blood of Adam, which is in a sense, the blood of the world. There is only one way out of the world, which is not by rocket ship. It is by death!

All who are born of Adam and still outside of the cross, trend away from God! This is because of the power of Adam and his god, Satan, in their blood.

1 John 5:19 “The whole world lies under the power of the evil one.”

The world hates the word and is making war with all that is of God. This has been a long-enduring war, but is intensifying now. Note in the verse above the term, “The power of the evil one.” It is this driving satanic power that is now worsening fast.

Everything of the world is under judgment. Not just its sin.  

John 12:31 “Now is the judgement of the world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”

The world has no future except to be destroyed and re-constituted by our Lord, and for our Lord, in the Millennium.

We are not called to make the world a better place, although our very presence does shed light in the world. We are called out of the world. We are called to holiness which means “separation!”

Separation to God is always active. It is separation away from the world and its god and his power. We are called out of the world, even by name! The root word for church is ekklesia. “Ek” means to “come clean out away from!” Does that describe you?

We are required to be other-worldly and detached. That does not mean that we have nothing to do with the things of the world. It means there must be an invisible break, a barrier and a separation between it and us.

We are in Messiah. That means we are not in the world, just as He is not. We are in the world now physically, but not “of it” in any way. (John 17:16)

Once we have “tasted of the powers of the age to come” we will be free from the consuming power of the world. (Hebrews 6:5)

John 15:19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world; I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

1 John 4:5 “They are of the world and therefore speak of the world, and the world hears them.”

James 4:4 “Whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Have you burned your bridges to the world, or are you going back? Does the world hate you? Does the world think of you as its friend?

Winning the war by dying:

The world’s light is really darkness! We, as Christians are its only true light which shines relative to our separation from the world. The closer we get to the world, the less we shine and see, because darkness envelops us, and God blinds us more and more.

1 John 5:4 “Whatever (whoever) is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” (“Whatever,” in this verse also includes the things which we sanctify.)

Galatians 6:14 “I have been crucified to the world and the world has been crucified to me.”

The world really hates us as true Christians because it can’t get at us. To really get to us it must go through the great barrier of separation – the cross. We are on the far side of the cross! In a sense, we are untouchable by the devil and his world!

If you are applying the cross to your life, you will be crucified (dead) to the world. But there is a wonderful duality here. The world will also think of you – “You’re dead meat to me. I can’t use you for anything”.

This is when the world loses its grip on you and you overcome it.

The world wars against us as believers. We have been given “weapons of warfare” and “defences” against the devil’s weapons and the power of God. (2 Corinthians 10:4) We must use these gifts of the Spirit, or remain defeated.

Most of us were raised by the world. We now need to kill the world for ourselves and let it see us dead to it! We kill the world as we die on the cross, which is now the barrier between it and us! – What wonder!

Imagine winning a war by dying on a cross, being raised to new life and then taking up our own cross, defeating the world as we go forward in it!

We die to the world to be free of the world. We die to self to be free of Adam’s cursed call to “eat” the fruit of the world. We are to die to the world, which raised us, which is what now raises us above it!

When you are dead or at least indifferent to the world and its ways and attractions, you are on the right track. Even at this late stage in the prophetic future of the world, you can and must get on that track and begin your own momentous journey away from the world towards glory.

The world goes to war with us, but it is blind to the great barrier – the cross before it. The world is blind to the great impassable gulf between it and us and it will fall into that fiery ditch! (Luke 16:26)

When you stand separated and apart from the world and its ways, you are seen by them as a rebel, or an enemy. The unsaved will think you are odd and strange, but some will see something mysterious and extremely attractive in you.

These ones are your witnessing targets.

Unfortunately too many Christians fear the world’s displeasure and are afraid to let go of it. It will also not let go of you!

Galatians 1:10 “...Do I still seek to please men? If I still sought to please men, I would not be a servant of Messiah.”

John 12:43 “They loved the praise of men rather than the praise of God.”

Beware; the world is good at re-converting Christians who have thrown aside the power of the cross!

The fruits of the world and the word:

So why then does the world hate righteousness, holiness and its adherents? It’s so that the fruit of their god, Satan, which is sin and evil can flourish. You see, sin grows and produces its fruit only in one type of ground. That is “ground” devoid of the cross of Calvary!

The fruits of worldliness, no matter how good, are a poisoned apple!

Both the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God produce fruit. One is rotten fruit, exceedingly destructive and hell-bound, the other is pure, holy and eternally enduring.

The fruits of the Spirit are well known to us, but these break down into many more, which are all being eroded and destroyed now.

The world celebrates the destruction of restraint in society and the advance of sin and evil. They deplore the advance of holiness, finesse, sophistication, morality, integrity, ethics, godly character, and virtue.

Modern unsaved man can never know himself. He cannot know what sin is because the “light” of darkness being emitted from the world keeps him blind and ignorant. Only in God’s light do you get sight of sin and the power to defeat it.

The sinful fruit of the world is a product of its root. The decay can’t be stopped. Judgement is the only answer for the root and fruit of the world!

Isaiah 13:11 “I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”

Isaiah 24:4-6 “The earth mourns and fades away; the world languishes and fades away. The haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth. The inhabitants of the earth are burned and few are left.”

The futile, impossible war:

You can’t go back and undo the results of WW11. You can’t undo the Holocaust, or D-Day, or V-Day (The victory of the allies.) You can’t undo the defeat of the Nazi’s.

In fact you can’t undo anything in history. Or can you?

You can’t undo the victory of the cross of Calvary. You can’t go back and undo the resurrection and the ascension. You can’t undo the once-off payment of the cross for sin. You can’t undo the power of the cross now available to Christians.

If you could, you would have to go back not 2000 years, but to a time before the creation of the world. (Revelation 13:8, 1 Peter 1:20)

You see, in God’s entire scheme of things, the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the earth! That’s when the victory was achieved!

Likewise, we were chosen before the foundation of the world.

So for Satan to win or defeat the living God and His ways and word, he would have to go back to the foundation of all things and change the outcome back there. Satan and his host can’t do that. The victory is signed, sealed and delivered. It is untouchable.

Amazingly, this glorious victory cancels out our history of sin! Have you ever wished that you didn’t do something that was a real abomination? Now, in and through the cross you can wind the clock back and undo all sin. You can “redeem the time”  (Ephesians 5:16) But the world can’t do that.

Sorry world, you can’t be saved. Your doom has already occurred in God’s scheme of things. You are done. It’s over and it’s finished. Victory has already been declared! D-Day (the cross) has already produced V-Day – the greatest eternal victory.

World, you can war against us all you like, the worst you can do is kill the flesh, which in itself would be delivering instant eternal victory to all who have the imprints of the cross on their lives now.

But listen world; what you can do is go to war with yourselves. You can fight and kill as many of your own as you like. That will only increase your guilt! As I look into God’s prophetic book, I see that is just what you will do!

Talk about a futile war! Fighting a war that you lost a quintillion years ago, is not very clever! And then fighting a war against yourselves is the ultimate civil war!

What futility to go into a war, blind and with military advisers, demonic commanders that are liars, thieves and murderers!

World peace:

The world’s war is for peace. It is to get rid of opposition to itself! It thinks that will bring peace!

The world’s time is running out fast – very fast. It may run out in months, or in 2018!

The war will intensify simply because of Revelation 12:12 “Satan knows he has little time left.”

***World peace has one major obstacle to it and that is world peace. World peace Adam’s way is cursed and doomed. God’s way for peace will come about – His way – in the Millennium.

They say and sing: “We can change the world and make it a better place.” No you can’t. It has already been made a better place. It has already been made new, holy and righteous. It is already a world of peace, formed on the destruction of this present world kingdom.

God’s kingdom is already here and is in our hearts by the new-birth.

The people of the world can’t see that they are subjects of their king of pride, in his defeated and doomed kingdom.

Job 41:34 “He (Satan) is king over all the children of pride.”

Please understand that the fruit of pride is always spiritual blindness!

It’s just the final manifestation of God’s kingdom that awaits us, and the final manifestation of the world’s eternal judgement. But it is already a done deal. It’s absolutely impossible for the final victory of God’s kingdom not to come about.

World peace the world’s way is cursed peace! This is also why the unsaved of the world can never really find true inner peace. You may find some sort of peace, but it’s empty and essentially cursed by the blood of Adam.

Even if you get to be very successful in life, at the end of your cursed-road, you run into God and then your eyes are opened to your pride-filled, self-led journey and your final end – hell.

When you find ultimate success in the world, you eat it, hug it, live it, embrace it and draw it close. But it’s all cursed, which eventually manifests itself at the Great White Throne judgement.

Many people think success is just over the horizon, so they struggle all their lives up the steep hill. When they get to the top, they find their rainbow-pot, but it’s full of poisoned apples – all cursed.

Here’s the better choice when you go up that steep hill: “I found Your word and I ate it.” (Jeremiah 15:16) As you devour God’s word your eyes open and wisdom floods in, like magnificent fruits.

You see, Satan loves you, sin loves you. The curse of Adam loves you, because you have fed it. Sin now feeds you, and loves you, and you love it because it’s so attractive. It makes you feel good, but then it burns you bad and then sends you to hell!

Then you see that Satan didn’t love you. He just pretended to love you so that he could entrap you and keep you away from the true God.

The people of the world blame God, His word and His people for standing in their way of world - peace.

***The sin-nature always blames the holy-nature for obstructing it.

The language of the world’s agenda is group speak, crowd psychology, and confirmation bias. They all draw from the cursed waters of the sin nature and speak the same thing.

To be at peace, the unsaved must remove the cross and any thoughts of coming judgement. They do not know the word of the Lord: “For judgement I have come.” (John 9:39)

If you get rid of judgement you have anarchy, and a world where anything goes. The problem is that “anything” has a name. It is Satan, and his fruit is always everything sinful and evil.

To produce a new world of peace, you have to reduce virtues and values to the lowest common denominator. Satan is the god of “low!”

The final move of Satan in setting up his new-world (with the aid of the mass-media) will be to remove the cross, kill God’s word and then kill God’s people and then kill God. Talk about a big OOPS! The truth will always be the exact opposite of the “god of low.” We follow the One True God, who sits on High!

Finally:

You are of immense value to our Lord and His kingdom. Stand securely in these dangerous days. Embrace the cross of Messiah and take up your own cross daily. Draw near to our great God. Seek to know Him more deeply every day.

To truly love our Lord means to love people enough to show them their doom in this world, and how to get out without ever smelling the smoke of hell.

I took these two pictures in the Limpopo region of giant baobab trees. I removed the colour from the background image and added texture. The framed picture is the original.

Shalom and grow in His Grace!

Edition 380: August 29^th 2017.

A great, sign and signal!

Introduction:

 Please don’t underestimate the importance of this edition. In the coming days and months it will become even more important.

The lion of the tribe of Judah will very soon growl, calling all his sons and daughters back from the west (Hosea 11:10) – for a great surprise!

At this time this great Lion will emerge from behind the veil of spiritual blindness hanging over the Jewish people. The tribulation period will begin suddenly, as the true church disappears in rapture!

A great sign will appear for the unsaved Jews and Gentiles of the world.

How it is to play out:

God has called Israel for a purpose. This includes His call for Israel to be His witness, in holiness and righteousness. That’s why Israel will always be a stumbling block to the world, which wants a new-world order in sin, evil and wickedness!

Romans 11:26-27 “So all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Israel). For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

Acts 13:47 “I have set you (Jews) to be a light to the Gentiles that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.”

We must understand that the church is God’s primary agent of evangelism to the lost during this church age. As the church age ends in a rapture-flash – God’s new agents of evangelism to the lost, both Jews and Gentiles will begin to appear quickly. These will be the Jews and Gentiles of the tribulation, called “tribulation saints.”

Some teach erroneously that all the Jews will only be saved on the last day of the tribulation at the Second Coming. There will be a huge mass saved then, but Jews and Gentiles will be saved throughout the tribulation period, starting right at day one.

The term “Day of the Lord” is not just a reference to the last day of the tribulation. In some verses it is a reference to the entire church age, in others it is the entire seven-year tribulation. You need to go by context, otherwise you will get it all messed up.

In fact there is one verse in which the entire tribulation period is referred to as the “hour of trial that will come upon the whole world.” (Revelation 3:10)

When and how do the Jewish masses get saved?

Romans 10:19-21 “I will provoke you (Jews) to jealousy by those who are not a nation (church raptured). I will anger you by a foolish nation (church raptured)...I was found by those who did not seek Me: I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me, but to Israel He says: All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

I have inserted the word “rapture” in brackets above. It is very likely that the Jews will be made jealous and angry at the same time by the rapture. They will protest that they are the chosen ones and have now been left behind!

But it’s not over for the Jews!

Zechariah 3:9 “...I will remove the iniquity of that land (Israel) in one day.”

Isaiah 66:8-10 “...Shall the earth be made to give birth in a day? Or shall a nation be born at once? As soon as Zion (Israel) travailed (tribulation) she gave birth to her children. ‘Shall I bring to the time of birth and not cause delivery’? Says the Lord. Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb.’ says your God. Rejoice Jerusalem, and be glad with her...”

The above two verses traditionally, are seen as relating to the re-birth of Israel as a nation in 1948. But there is also a double reference here, in that they speak of the spiritual salvation coming to the Jews as a result of their jealousy and anger at God taking the church and leaving them behind.

Of course not all Jews are saved in one day, but if we have a pre-tribulation rapture, which I believe, it will have dramatic and enormous consequences on the unsaved Jews. Talk about their day of reckoning! They will be shocked beyond measure.

Isaiah 66:13 “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you (Israel); and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 66:14-16 “When you (Jews) see this, your hearts shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like grass; The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants and His indignation to His enemies...By fire and the sword, the Lord will judge all flesh; and the slain of the Lord will be many.”

The “flourishing bones” verse above is a parallel with the great “dry bones” prophecy of Ezekiel 37 speaking of the coming salvation of the Jews.

What is “When you see this” referring to in the verse above? It is referring to the Jews seeing their Messiah and getting saved.” This could indicate that the Jews will also see the rapture and be dramatically impacted. Their anger will turn to rejoicing as they suddenly see who their Messiah is.

This can only occur in the tribulation period, as the Jews are saved.

The rapture of the church ends one dispensation, and starts the next immediately, and plunges the world into the worst tribulation it has ever seen. And that very rapture itself will be one of the great veil-lifting signs for the Jews, turning their initial anger into recognition of, and great love for their Messiah.

The Greatest Sign of all:

***1 Corinthians 1:22 “Jews request a sign and Greeks (Gentiles) seek after wisdom.”

The Jews cry out for a sign. Nothing has changed, they still do. Our Lord said to the unbelieving Jews that only the sign of the prophet Jonah would be given to them. But what a sign! That is the entire message of the cross encapsulated! It is the death burial and resurrection of our Lord.

One day soon, the Jews will see the sign! They will see their own Jewish Messiah – their brother, Lord, Saviour and God.

So, here we see that signs are primarily for Israel (not exclusively). But we can still read the messages on their sign-boards and gleam plenty.

The greatest sign of all time will be the salvation of the Jews, the veil-lifting of spiritual blindness upon the Jews throughout the tribulation period, culminating in a dash for salvation at the end of the tribulation.

The Jews will see their Messiah, now the Lion of the tribe of Judah, but this will be a Lion of love, forgiveness and mercy to them. He will be a Lion with a Lamb-nature.

This great sign of lifting spiritual blindness will be accompanied with a falling veil of spiritual blindness on many of those who refuse to see! Much of the church will be blinded because of this. (Romans 11) They too will see the Lion, but with the lion-nature!

***Isaiah 8:17-18 “I will wait on the Lord, who hides His face from the house of Jacob (Jews); and I will hope in Him. Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.”

***Isaiah 7:14 “The Lord Himself will give you (house of David) a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emanuel.”

***Isaiah 66:19 “I will set a sign among them (Jews)...they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles.”

Isaiah 43:8-13 “Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together and be assembled...You (Jews) who are My witnesses (sign) says the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe in Me...There was no foreign god among you; therefore you are My witnesses...”

►The word, “witnesses” above is: Strong’s H 5707, “Ed.” Meanings: witness, sign, testimony, a recorder. This word is similar in meaning to the word “scribe”, which in modern terms would be a reporter or journalist. It also means a sign or banner.

***Isaiah 11:12 “He will set up a banner (sign) for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

***Jeremiah 32:21 “You have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm and with great terror.”

Note in this verse above that the Jews were brought out of Egypt, a type of the world today, with signs and terror. This will again occur as the world changes into the dispensation of the seventieth week (tribulation) and the Jews come to the Promised Land of salvation.

In the verses above we see clearly what the great sign is for Israel, which is still to come. The sign is the recognition and acceptance of our Jewish Messiah as their Messiah – the King of the Jews. The sign includes saved Jews taking the gospel to the world.

The signal that kicks it off is the rapture of the church, which initially makes the Jews jealous and angry, but quickly turns around to glory.

The Jews will begin to be saved in large numbers at the start of the tribulation period, then we see this work speed up towards mid-tribulation as the two witnesses (Jews) and the 144,000 saved male Jews go into high evangelism gear.

The 144,000, in the original are called “The servants of the Lord, doing His work.” (More on that another time.)

What then is the Revelation 12 “great sign”?

Revelation 12:1-5 speaks of this great sign appearing in heaven, which is a woman giving birth to a male Child. We all agree that the woman is Israel. The male Child is either the church or our Lord Himself.

If the male Child is our Lord, it is consistent with numerous other passages; some mentioned in this edition, that our Lord Himself, through His Spirit, will be working in the tribulation saints, Jews and Gentiles. He is the agent of evangelism in the tribulation.

Psalm 130:8 “He Himself will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”

The Hebrew word mostly used for a sign means a supernatural sign. In some verses the same word is used for miracles.

I believe that the coming sign in the heavens will be a supernatural sign and not the constellation alignment on September 23^rd. But September 24^th will reveal all!

The heartfelt cry of the Jewish people in the tribulation period:

Isaiah 26:16-18 “Lord, in trouble (tribulation) they (Jews and not the church) have visited You, they poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them. As a woman with child is in pain cries out in her pangs, when she draws near the time of delivery, so have we been in Your sight, O Lord. We have been with child, we have been in pain; we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, nor have the inhabitants of the earth fallen. Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise, awake and sing...”

This is a perfect description of the futility of the Jewish rejection of Messiah, but ending in glory, just like the dramatic story of dry bones coming to life in Ezekiel 37.

This verse above is not referring in any shape or form to the church! It is the cry of the Jews in the tribulation period. You can’t fit the church in here at all, without some serious interpretive gymnastics.

The rest of this incredible discourse above goes on to describe much of the tribulation period and the restoration of Israel at that time.

A powerful verse and sign:

Micah 5:3 “He shall give them up (Israel) until the time that she who is in labour has given birth; then the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel.”

This powerful verse above contains much revelation. It is saying that God will give up on the Jews, as He has done because of their rejection of the Messiah, until the time the Jews are in labour and come to salvation in the tribulation period, and the rest of the Jews in dispersion return to Israel and the Jews now back in the land.

This verse above has nothing to do with the church. The “labour” and “birth” is the tribulation and the coming salvation of the Jews. Here is another similar verse below:

Hosea 5:15 “I will return again to My place till they (Jews) acknowledge their offence. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction (tribulation) they will diligently seek Me.”

In this entire area of signs and sign-seeking, beware that we are in a time of many false or lying signs as well.

2 Thessalonians 2:9 “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders.”

Revelation 13:13-14 “He performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs...”

Personally, I believe that these lying and false signs are primarily from servants of Satan, the unsaved and some in the church without the Spirit. Many times a wrong or incorrect interpretation of something does not mean the person is a false prophet or is unsaved or any such thing.

Please make that distinction.

We all get interpretations wrong or mixed up sometimes.

The sign to watch for:

I’ve mentioned these things so many times, so I’ll just touch on them again.

The big sign to watch for is anything and everything relating to the start of the tribulation period. A pre-tribulation rapture obviously means we go before the tribulation. So watch for the coming tribulation – it will have numerous forerunner signs.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”

One of my mentors, Derek Prince often said, “When you see the term ‘Let no one deceive you’ it is because people are deceived on that very thing.”

A more accepted interpretation (and logical) of the original words in the verse above is: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day – the entire tribulation period, will not come unless the departure (rapture) comes first and the man of sin is revealed.”

This means that the coming of the antichrist is a vital sign to look for. We will see him coming, although not arriving on the stage. We will see preparations for his arrival with the Daniel 9:27 peace covenant and other peace measures also mentioned in Daniel.

He will not just arrive out of the blue! They plan these conferences, like they did with Oslo, a long time beforehand. The peace deal to watch for must be for seven years.

There is no single verse for it, but I believe it must occur on a Feast of Trumpets, so it looks like it must be 2018. It’s too late now for 2017 – although we can hope against hope!

The alignment:

The coming constellation alignment on 23^rd September may have some meaning. It will most likely be added to numerous other warning signs and harbingers. None of them has turned out to be the big deal yet, but all together, the picture is of serious warning. Time is short, whichever way you look at it!

To be fully rejected:

I can’t stress enough the importance of totally rejecting the modern, private interpretation and doctrine proclaiming a gap between the rapture and the tribulation start. There is no verse in the Bible saying or implying that. It has been derived by stretching the interpretation of a verse far too far. Like dominoes, it knocks out other doctrines.

It was designed to promote the doctrine of imminence.

As we get closer, we WILL see it all coming and we will know the time!

I wish I could join those who believe in the Revelation 12 sign as currently being presented, but I can’t and won’t. It’s not a salvation issue but an interpretation difference, so I still see us all as brothers and sisters, who will end up in the same boat – ready or not!

Summary

The greatest sign ever, just like the sign of Jonah, will be the soon-coming salvation of the Jews. “It will be like life from the dead”.  It will be “as though they were never cast off.”

The great sign that will shatter the Jews and much of the world will be the rapture of the church itself. That will make them jealous and angry at the same time. Can you imagine the horror of a traditional, orthodox Rabbi realising that the rapture of the church has taken place and he still sits there! Horror, of horrors!  (Don’t think they don’t know what the rapture is!)

When is the rapture?

Personally, I would love for the rapture to be right now. But, I must be honest to myself and especially to you. The truth will harm no one except those that don’t love it and who make idols out of error.

I would love to be wrong about the rapture not being this year – love to, but I can’t be dictated to by myself and any pre-conceived ideas.

There is now next to no chance it will be this Feast of Trumpets. There are far too many other required signs still missing. Of course there is a very slight chance that everything will fall into place in one month. A huge war might do it.

I have actually said many times that I think 2018 (Trumpets) is the furthest out that we can go. I simply can’t see us going beyond that at all. This year looked like it, but it is fast becoming less and less likely.

I will continue to watch, pray, warn and spit out what doesn’t fit. It is my passion to serve My Lord in these things and you as a result.

If I have to eat these words in this edition and change it because the situation has suddenly changed, I will happily do so in a flash!

Finally:

Exciting times are going to escalate. They are going to accelerate, compound and intensify as the shaking begins.

The great sign will have its own forerunners. We watch with great anticipation. Hurry up please Lord!

Its wildflower season in Namaqualand now! I took this picture in this incredible 1000km long floral wonder that comes to life once a year.

If you would like to see a lot more pictures of this amazing landscape, click HERE

Shalom and grow in His Grace!

Edition 379: August 22^nd 2017.

A symphony of drama!

Introduction:

 This edition is a little different. It is a continuous usage of Bible verses describing great end-time events. This edition is made up of Bible verses themselves. I’ve removed the actual chapter and verse headings and added a few words for continuity, making it easy to read.

When you read through the Bible with the Spirit of God leading you, it’s like sitting before a momentous concerto, an ecstatic rhapsody, a passionate romance, filled with tragedy and glorious victory. It’s a melody, a cantata, an opus and a horrendous, thundering, spine-tingling tear-jerker.

The plot:

Here is the outline of the overall plot of this huge drama.

God birthed the Jewish nation through Abraham, with eternal covenants, for His purpose of bringing salvation to the world. They rebelled against God and His call. Their rebellion did not nullify the call, but only delayed it.

God ditched the Jews temporarily, and continued His plan with the church. 

But, God’s plan didn’t fail. It will be completed as the Jews return to their Promised Land and their Jewish Messiah – Yeshua.

Satan, working through his agent; the world system, a section of the church, Islam and others, is trying to stop God’s whole plan from fulfilment.

They will all be destroyed in the process. In the soon coming tribulation period after the rapture of the church, the Jews will come to salvation, albeit in terrible times, and bring salvation to much of the world.

The great drama was: Israel elected, rejected and soon to be accepted, with major, eternal ramifications for the whole world.

Let’s begin:

He Himself will seek out His lost sheep. He will gather them from the four corners of the earth, saying “Let My people go.”

Don’t rejoice over me (Israel) my enemy, when I fall. When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. He will bring me forth to the light and I will see His righteousness.

I will plant them in their land and never again shall they be uprooted.

The church will be the pillar and foundation of truth, but some will change the truth of God for a lie, bringing the wrath of God on themselves, as in the days of Noah and Lot.

The church will have fellow workers for the truth, identifying the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. They will rebuke those falling away from sound doctrine.

A sign of the end times and warning: Be not deceived.

Much of the church will be cut-off from the Olive tree as the natural branches (Jews) are grafted back in. Consider the goodness and severity of God! If God did not spare the natural branches (Jews), He may not spare you (church) either. Continue in His goodness otherwise you also will be cut off.

Many will not endure sound doctrine, and will heap up false-teachers around them. Savage wolves will come into the church not sparing the flock, drawing away the disciples to themselves.

The truth will be cast down in the street. People will change it, add to it and remove from it, cursing themselves in the process. Many will perish because they did not receive the love of the truth. They will grow in the love of themselves.

God will send strong delusion to those that will not receive the love of the truth. They will believe the lie.

In the last days scoffers will rise up saying, “where is the hope of His coming”.

The love of some will grow cold, some will be spat out. Some will depart from the faith. Some will run out of oil for their lamps. Many will be offended and betray one another.

There will be many who will be led by the Spirit into all truth. They will know things to come. They will continue looking for the blessed hope, eagerly waiting for Him to appear. They will not be in darkness. They will be discerning of the signs of the times. They will be watchful, casting out those that offend.

Some will be watchmen for the house of Israel. They have come to the kingdom for a time such as this. They will rejoice with Israel. They will not hold their peace – for Zion’s sake and for Jerusalem’s sake, until their righteousness goes forth like brightness and her salvation burns as a lamp.

Salvation of the Jews:

Behold, the days are coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. They (Jews) shall know Me from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.

I will give you (Israel) a new heart and put a new spirit within you.

I will accept you (Jews) as a sweet smelling aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I lifted My hand in an oath to your fathers.

I the Lord have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles.

I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me who they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son.”

See, I have inscribed you (Zion) on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.”

Prophecy to the dry bones (Israel) and say, ‘Behold O My people, I will open your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. I will put My Spirit in you and you shall live.’  

Can a nation be born in a day? Yes, it will be so. “I will also remove the iniquity of that nation in one day.” They who were not My people are now My people.

In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of the obscurity of darkness.

I will bring the blind by a way they did not know, and make darkness light before them.

The desert will bloom in anticipation. The wilderness will become like Eden. The eyes of the blind shall see. The olive tree will re-grow its natural branches, once cut off. The vine and the fig will flourish.

The Jews will look upon One born in Bethlehem, of a virgin. They will see a Son given – God with us, whose name is “Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.  He will be pierced through His hands and feet, resurrected, ascended and soon to come again. They will mourn in sorrow for their own lost brother.

Gentile believers, “comfort My people”, says the Lord, they have paid double for their sins.

The veil has be torn and its shreds are now lifting, letting the light stream in.

It will be a time of veil-lifting, of sight and light and mercy. The veil-lifting will be like life from the dead.

It will be in a time when a pure language (Hebrew) is resurrected out of the ashes, becoming the language of dry-bones now alive and thriving. Beauty will arise out of ashes.

The land of Israel will be too small for all the regathered inhabitants. Israel will be the head of the nations.

Many false prophets:

The Lord has set watchmen on your walls, saying listen to the sounds of the trumpet! But they said we will not listen. The watchmen are blind, ignorant and dumb. If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, the blood of the people is on their hands.

Watchmen what of the coming night?

Wail, shepherds, cry and roll in the ashes you leaders of the flock, for the days of your slaughter are here and you won’t escape. The prophets prophesy falsely. The people say to them, “Do not see and show us correct things. Speak only smooth things to us”.

The church raptured before the tribulation:

Because you have kept My word to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test them.

Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep (die), but we will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. (For the church age).

The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

The tribulation:

Peace will be taken from the earth.

They will make a confederacy against Israel, saying “let us cast them from the earth”.

I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. (Israel will be invincible in war.)

You Israel will be My battle axe to break the nations in pieces.  

Jerusalem will become a burdensome stone for all nations and those who divide it will be cut in pieces. They also divided My land says the Lord. The result is war.

There is a sound of noise from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the Lord, who fully repays His enemies!

Many nations have gathered against you, Israel, who say, “Let her be defiled”, but they do not know the thoughts of the Lord. They will die on the threshing floor.

Thus says the Lord of hosts: He has sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you (Jerusalem) touches the apple of His eye.

Hear, O earth, behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words.

The people cast down the truth and throw out restraint. There is no more knowledge of God in the land and the lands mourn.

It will be a time when Gentiles will grab the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying “Let us go with you for we have heard that God is with you.” The Jews will be “hallowed” before the Gentile nations.

Those who were a curse (Jews) will now be a blessing for the world in tribulation. It will be as though they were never cast off.

This will be a time, like never was nor ever shall be again. It shall be a time that the forefathers looked to with wonder.

The Lord will again show great wonders and the nations will be ashamed.

O Israel, at first you will be regathered to be melted in My fury. Then you will know that I am Lord.

It shall come to pass that in all the land (Israel), that two thirds will be cut off and die.

Then the sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you and fall at your feet.

It will be a time of fury and wrath. A time of mercy and forgiveness for some. Mountains will quake, lives will shake.

Those who were incensed against you (Israel) shall be ashamed and disgraced. Your foes will be fine dust and it shall happen in an instant – suddenly. They will be drunk with their own blood. All flesh shall know who the Lord is. All weapons formed against you, you shall condemn.

As you, the nations, have done to My people, your reprisal shall return upon your own head.

I will feed those who oppress you (Israel) with their own flesh and they will be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know that I the Lord am your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob (Israel).

Seek in the light!

Seek the Lord while He may be found. The night is coming when no one can work!

Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

Our gospel is hidden to them that are lost in whom the god of this world has blinded the eyes of them who believe not.

Out of His mouth goes a sharp two edged sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

He said, “It is done”! I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of life freely to Him who thirsts.

Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.

Finally:

Truth is fallen in the street, but multitudes will be in the valley of decision.

We will not hold our peace – for Zion’s sake. We have come to the kingdom for a time such as this! Light approaches for Israel; darkness descends on a great part of the church. The shining sun shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. Wisdom is stored up for the upright.

Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice!

There will be an abundance of peace and truth in the fear of the Lord.

Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times!

I took these three pictures in Botswana. This is one of our fast disappearing White Rhinos. I played around with textures and merged the pictures into one. (BTW, when I create an image like this, the original is normally about one metre in size.)

Shalom and grow in His Grace!