Today I've listened to a couple of Bible Studies taped by William Grotheer on Revelation 13 and 14. It's so much to try and comprehend and yet I think it's very important that we do try and understand. These prophecies concern US. We who are alive in the end times before Jesus' second coming! This is us! All the signs point to it and yet I can hear the moaning and groaning about every generation believing that way and how you don't want to be among the duped, silly fools who believe in such things. I have to ask you, what harm is there in believing? None. But...what harm is there in NOT believing? Plenty. Do you want to be numbered among Satan's or Christ's? There is only one or the other no other options, no other plans to look over and choose. There is A or B no C,D,E,F or G and there is NO way to create any more plans, none.
It is so important that we remember this, that we live this, that we understand, that people understand.
Back in the days of Jesus the Jewish people were expecting a Messiah to come and yet they rejected Jesus, the Messiah... they had Him crucified, why?
We've all probably watched movies or shows, or even read books with characters blindly writing to each other developing a relationship that seems strong and yet then they meet each other and BAM! they aren't what each other expected. What? You've experienced this yourself in a blind date? Don't the people setting others up on their blind dates tell the person they're setting up what their blind date is like? As a rule they do. Blind dates are stigmatized because they're notorious for setting up an undesirable person with another person who doesn't consider themselves to be unworthy enough to be with the undesirable one. The ugly cousin from out of town. The fat friend who needs a pity date. We know the stories and yet sometimes we are told what? We are told that the person isn't undesirable but very beautiful, very smart and everything you might want in a date. Expectations are formed.
We get caught up in expectations don't we? We perceive how we want something or someone to be and we hold our hopes high that the expectation will be met. We set up pictures in our minds eye of how things will turn out.
The longed for Messiah, the Jewish people had their expectations of the Messiah, and they still do because they rejected Christ as their Messiah. The visions they had weren't met in Jesus so it was easy to reject Him. Yet history proves He was the Messiah they rejected. Their own Torah (their own Testament) said that Christ would be rejected. Yet they were blinded to it all because they only believed what they WANTED to believe no more, no less.
We fall into dangerous territory when we are dealing with the future and the hopes we have. People all over have drawn up different scenarios for how the end times will all take place.
Let me ask you something-
Are you waiting for something special before you'll believe anything about the Lord's Second Coming is true? Are you waiting for a billboard to go up about town giving you the day and hour? Are you waiting for some horrible monster in human form to come about and start taking over things so that everything is obvious? Are you waiting for a mark to be forced upon you so you can deny it and then give your life fully to Christ? Are you waiting for signs of Jesus' return to become more prominent to you? If you're waiting you're in for a shocking, eternal death producing surprise.
'Romans 13:11 11And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.'
2 Corinthians 7:10 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Titus 2:11 11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Hebrews 2:3 3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Hebrews 9:28 28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
1 Peter 1:5 5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:9-10 9Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
Salvation will be ours! It is promised to us. Jesus died to give us this promise through Him. We are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation. We can't escape if we neglect so great a salvation. The grace of God bringeth salvation. Our salvation is nearer than we believed. The end of our faith is salvation.
We can't wait for signs of Christ's second coming before we give our lives, our love, our hearts to Christ, we can't! If we are waiting for anything at all we have to give up the expectation of things to come. We have to take hold of what we know, what we have here and now and by the Holy Spirit grasp hold of all that Jesus has to offer us, now. We have to live for Jesus NOW, not later, not when we see signs. The signs are to guide us and the signs should be watched for but not with concrete expectations of changing our lives when we see a supposed sign. Our lives have to be changed right NOW, and not changed by us, but by Christ. We have to give Christ our lives only then will we be changed by Him, for Him.
The Jewish people rejected Christ as they held fast to their preconceived ideas of what their Messiah should be like. Are we clinging to various things we think must come to pass before Christ comes? Do we have our notions all set up and are our eyes peeled looking for the signs to fit those notions? How rigid are we being?
Maybe we can't know for a fact that a sign has taken place. Maybe there isn't a website we can go to that tells us beyond a shadow of a doubt that the prophecies of these last days are starting to fall into place. Maybe we have to trust in God to perform that which He's told us He will perform and trust that if we can see what we believe to be a sign that the ONE thing it does more than anything else is draws us closer to Christ, not anything else. If we are using signs to take steps in our lives to prepare then we're going to be lost, irrevocably lost. The end is coming and how should you be prepared for it? What does it mean?
What would you think it meant if you were to get that factual sign? What would you do then? Would you have to alter a way of life? Would you run off to hide somewhere away from where you perceive conflict will be had? Would you stock up on food? Would you build a shelter? Would you suddenly start delving into the Bible? Would your life be one constant prayer? Would you find it easier to fall to your knees?
Guess what? God doesn't give us that sort of scenario. Even with ALL His prophecies He doesn't give us the scenario that so many want to have. He doesn't say I'm going to tap you on the shoulder so get ready. He doesn't hold up a cue card giving us our lines. He doesn't send warnings more than His word itself is our warning.
From the time of the exodus when He took His people out of bondage and brought them to a place to make a covenant with them, from that moment on He's expected His people to know what kind of God He is, and what He expects of us. He didn't hide Himself. He didn't neglect to inform us of who He is and what His ideas are. He's made it plain, very plain. We have a book that is thousands of years old and in that book there is the message of Him. He's giving us a conscience, we are born with that conscience. God has allowed us access to Him. No, we don't get front row seats, because we'd perish if we were given them simply because of how unworthy we are of them. We are given seats in the back row but we are ALL invited to this concert called life and knowing God. Some can choose not to take a seat and head out the door, but that is their choice. We should all be desirous of this concert and head right on in to the auditorium which we access through prayer and worship, through study of God's word. He wants us to know Him. He sent His only Son to die for us so that we could get to know Him and His unfathomable mercy and grace, His unimaginable, incomprehensible, amazing love that goes far beyond our sordid concept of the word. We fight to stay married to our husband or wife, and we call that love. We have children we put conditions upon and we call that love. We own pets and we call that love. We've no real understanding of love until we look to Jesus only then do we begin to glimpse that amazing love.
No. We aren't going to be given any special promotional email or postcard, or see a promotional sign in the supermarket or the local drugstore. We're not going to see poster boards up on lamp posts, or telephone poles. We're not going to see a person wearing a board, or holding a sign advertising the day of Jesus' return for those who have found and claimed salvation in Him.
In fact... many, many, many people... most people... the majority of people will be going about their day to day lives when He comes. What does that tell us?
You tout the seven last plagues as signs and ask how in the world can people go about their day to day lives when the plagues are falling down upon them?
It will be.
We don't know how it will all work, but we are told it will work- it will happen. Maybe the plagues will fall some here and some there. We don't know exactly, but we know it will happen. People will be living their lives just as they are now. I heard just the other day, '...but we have to live in this world.' Yes, we have to live in this world, but not OF this world. We can live, we can have our jobs, plan for our futures with the hope so mingled into all those plans and actions of Christ's soon return that we aren't living a life separate to what God would have us live. Yes, we have to live in this world, we do and Christ didn't pray that we would be taken out of it prior to His return for us, He prayed that we should be kept from EVIL. John {17:15} 'I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.' Christ KNEW we'd be surrounded by the evil of this world, but He prayed to the Father that we would be kept from the evil while living surrounded by it. Do you doubt you can live in the world and be kept from evil? If so then you doubt the Word of God! You doubt Jesus! Where is your faith?! Where is your hope?!
We have to have hope! We have to have faith in Jesus and all His promises to save us. We can't expect to save ourselves. As long as we look to save ourselves then we will only feel the weight of the world pressing down on us telling us that we will never be saved. Christ is our hope. Yes, we need to afflict our souls in these last days of probation before time is up and our fates are forever decided. We need to afflict our souls. Afflict them. We need to question our lives, our actions, our very intentions! We need to know beyond a doubt that NOTHING we do will ever amount to anything, that we cannot save ourselves! We have to afflict our souls with this knowledge. We have to ask for forgiveness in that affliction, BEG for forgiveness for our sins against our Savior! Cling to Jesus and the hope He gives us that He will forgive us, He will if we ask. Yes, afflict our souls as we seek forgiveness, as we seek to be perfected by Him, this is what we need to do and YES, I shout it again YES!!!! We can afflict our souls while living our everyday lives. We can. We have to! Jesus left us in this world and prayed we'd be kept from evil, He didn't transport us to a place where we'd be able to live sin free. That place is in Heaven with Him after He comes to take us Home with Him! We will be transported then but right now, today, this very hour, this very minute we have to live here and now and yes, do so with Jesus in our hearts, afflicting our souls and clinging to our One and ONLY hope, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever!
Amen.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
God has chosen the poor of this world
James
{2:1} My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the Lord] of glory, with respect of persons.
{2:2} For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; {2:3} And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool
{2:4} Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
{2:5} Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
{2:6} But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
*
How often do we graviate towards those that are clean, and upright, far from anything that reminds of those we call vagabonds, vagrants, bums, homeless street people, scary people. That's what they are to a lot of us- scary people. We fear them more than pity them. Though sometimes even fear turns to digust. Digust, fear, are some even angry at them? We imagine that at least if we aren't like the worst of the worst somehow we are *better* than they are. Being better than someone gives people a thrill of sorts, makes them feel better than they would if they didn't have someone to feel they're better than.
Reading this verse above it tells it like it is doesn't it?
We have respect to those who are dressed nice and have wealth and poise, and we want to please them while we shove those who don't meet those criterea out of the way, we are condescending to them for whatever reason we might come up with- fear, anger, or disgust, comtempt, you name it. Sure there are reasons why- we might assume these people are disease carriers- lice and whatnot, or unhealthy with contagious disease; surely one who looks like they should be sick has more of a chance of being sick. Logically the most well dressed, best looking person in all the world could still be a disease carrier but we don't assume that at all.
This part here- 'Are ye not then partial in yourselves and are become judges of evil thoughts?' That can be taken two ways- someone trying to judge evil thoughts or...having evil thoughts yourself because you judge others unjustly. We have become judges - having evil thoughts about others, putting on airs, being ungodly for sure because Jesus Christ would not act that way and we as his followers shouldn't act that way either. The poor, those who are considered the lowest of the low in our societies are the fartherst from the lowest. It is the world's chosen that underneath all their glitter and false beauty who possess the evil we like to associate solely with the lower society. This isn't to say that those who appear to be vile aren't, but there is a vileness of heart that God knows and we can only imagine.
'Hearken my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world - rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?'
God has CHOSEN the poor of this world-- RICH in FAITH!
Heirs of the kingdom which he hath PROMISED to them that LOVE HIM!
God help us all to realize just how poor we are without Him. It is only with Him that we are rich in faith. Heirs to the kingdom are given the promise, and the heirs are those that truly love him through that faith.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now and forver, may we be heirs to the kingdom and not those who take on airs looking at the worldly things as those concerned only with worldly things do.
Amen
{2:1} My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the Lord] of glory, with respect of persons.
{2:2} For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; {2:3} And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool
{2:4} Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
{2:5} Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
{2:6} But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
*
How often do we graviate towards those that are clean, and upright, far from anything that reminds of those we call vagabonds, vagrants, bums, homeless street people, scary people. That's what they are to a lot of us- scary people. We fear them more than pity them. Though sometimes even fear turns to digust. Digust, fear, are some even angry at them? We imagine that at least if we aren't like the worst of the worst somehow we are *better* than they are. Being better than someone gives people a thrill of sorts, makes them feel better than they would if they didn't have someone to feel they're better than.
Reading this verse above it tells it like it is doesn't it?
We have respect to those who are dressed nice and have wealth and poise, and we want to please them while we shove those who don't meet those criterea out of the way, we are condescending to them for whatever reason we might come up with- fear, anger, or disgust, comtempt, you name it. Sure there are reasons why- we might assume these people are disease carriers- lice and whatnot, or unhealthy with contagious disease; surely one who looks like they should be sick has more of a chance of being sick. Logically the most well dressed, best looking person in all the world could still be a disease carrier but we don't assume that at all.
This part here- 'Are ye not then partial in yourselves and are become judges of evil thoughts?' That can be taken two ways- someone trying to judge evil thoughts or...having evil thoughts yourself because you judge others unjustly. We have become judges - having evil thoughts about others, putting on airs, being ungodly for sure because Jesus Christ would not act that way and we as his followers shouldn't act that way either. The poor, those who are considered the lowest of the low in our societies are the fartherst from the lowest. It is the world's chosen that underneath all their glitter and false beauty who possess the evil we like to associate solely with the lower society. This isn't to say that those who appear to be vile aren't, but there is a vileness of heart that God knows and we can only imagine.
'Hearken my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world - rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?'
God has CHOSEN the poor of this world-- RICH in FAITH!
Heirs of the kingdom which he hath PROMISED to them that LOVE HIM!
God help us all to realize just how poor we are without Him. It is only with Him that we are rich in faith. Heirs to the kingdom are given the promise, and the heirs are those that truly love him through that faith.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now and forver, may we be heirs to the kingdom and not those who take on airs looking at the worldly things as those concerned only with worldly things do.
Amen
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Perfection
Gen. {6:9} These [are] the generations of Noah: Noah was a
just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah
walked with God.
Gen. {17:1} And when Abram was ninety years old and nine,
the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the
Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Walk before me and be thou perfect.
If Abram didn't walk before God could he have been perfect?
Was it the walk to stand before God, was it the action of walking, the action Abram took by walking to stand before God, that made him perfect?
Was he perfect in and of himself?
That sort of perfection is impossible isn't it?
God makes us perfect we *can't* make ourselves perfect.
Can something that isn't complete be perfect?
If you have 3 quarters of a circle is it perfect? It is a perfect 3/4 of a circle, but can it be considered a perfect circle? No. Because to be a perfect circle it would need to be completely round not just 3/4's round. If you say something is perfect you are indicating that there is nothing missing from it, right?
If someone does something for you and you tell them they've done a perfect job, you mean they've done all you expected of them, their work is completely satisfactory. You would not say that if in fact their work was not perfect, if it didn't satisfy and meet your requirements.
Stand before God and be perfect- standing anywhere else are you perfect? No.
It was because Abram walked, that he moved himself from one place to another that he became perfect. Had Abram not moved, had Abram not walked to stand before God he could not have found the perfection God desired of Him.
Lev. {22:21} And
whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the
LORD to accomplish [his] vow, or a freewill offering in
beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there
shall be no blemish therein.
Could you bring a sickly sin offering to God? No. You could not bring anything less than what would be considered perfect. What does this say? This tells us that God wants what is best and only what is best. God wants a sacrifice befitting Him. If God wants the sin offering to be perfect it stands to reason for us to be acceptable to Him we too would need to be perfect in Him. It's because we are not perfect that we needed to bring a sin offering in the first place. Is it no wonder our sin offering needed to be perfect without any obvious blemish. God cannot accept anything less than perfection.
Jesus is perfection for us.
But we need Jesus for His perfection to be considered ours.
If we don't have Jesus standing before God as our perfect sacrifice we cannot walk with God.
We can beat ourselves totally senseless striving for perfection in and of ourselves. But what we really need to be doing is striving to be closer and closer to Christ so He can work in us.
James {1:4} But let patience have [her]
perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing.
The word perfect here in the margin is defined as completeness.
Deut. {18:13} Thou shalt be perfect with the
LORD thy God.
The word perfect in the margin here is defined as entirely obedient.
Remember talking about the completeness of perfection? The circle?
Well now we have the obedience of perfection. If someone is less than entirely obedient are they perfect?
If we reward a child for behaving we are rewarding the time frame for which they were expected to behave within, not for just being a little bit perfect. There is NO such thing as a little perfection is there? Perfect indicates a whole, a completeness, and being entirely obedient.
For us to be perfect before God we have to be entirely obedient to Him, we have to possess the willingness to be entriely obedient to God. Seriously do we want to be entirely obedient to God? Do we?
If we don't have at least the willingness to be entirely obedient to God can we walk before Him in His perfection?
No, we don't have to be perfect to come to God, we have to have the willingness to be made perfect by Him.
2 Sam. {22:33} God [is] my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.
He- God- makes our ways perfect. We don't make our own ways perfect.
John {17:23} I in them, and thou in me, that they may be
made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou
hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Jesus in us.
God in Jesus.
We are made perfect in Jesus.
We are loved by Jesus as God loves Jesus.
God loves His son with a perfect love. Jesus loves us with a perfect love.
C.S. Lewis- From Mere Christianity Chapter- Counting the Cost
'I find a good many people have been bothered by what I said in the last
chapter about Our Lord's words, "Be ye perfect." Some people seem to think
this means "Unless you are perfect, I will not help you"; and as we cannot
be perfect, then, if He meant that, our position is hopeless. But I do not
think He did mean that. I think He meant "The only help I will give is help
to become perfect. You may want something less: but I will give you nothing
less." '
It is not- Until you are perfect I will not help you.
But rather- The only help I will give you is help to become perfect.
If we were perfect in and of ourselves we would need no one to made us perfect and the truth is, we need Jesus and His perfection. We stand before God in the shadow of Jesus' perfection, He pleads our case for us. We have to be willing to be obedient to Him and even when we fall far short of that, we have to be will to cling to Him and constantly come to Him begging for forgiveness and seeking to be changed by Him, perfected by Him. He will perfect us in Him and only in Him, and that perfection will never have us able to boast of our perfection.
This makes sense doesn't it? Why would Jesus give us help for anything else?
If there will be trials and tribulations we are to go through it will be for our perfection in ways that are truly beyond our understanding, we just need to have FAITH IN GOD that all our upsets, all our anguish, all our pain and misunderstanding will work together for our good because we love Him and trust Him to get us through this perfecting process, because we yield ourselves to Him knowing that we can never be perfect on our own, never.
Only by faith will anything at all be accomplished in us. 'Without faith it is impossible to please Him.' Heb. 11:6
And no wonder, we have to believe that God WILL perfect us through our faith in Him to do so, not that we will perfect ourselves by faith in ourselves and our ability to obey, even that ability to obey comes from God and if we think it comes from anywhere else we are sadly mistaken.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, now and forever! It is my prayer- 'Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief.'
Amen
just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah
walked with God.
Gen. {17:1} And when Abram was ninety years old and nine,
the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the
Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Walk before me and be thou perfect.
If Abram didn't walk before God could he have been perfect?
Was it the walk to stand before God, was it the action of walking, the action Abram took by walking to stand before God, that made him perfect?
Was he perfect in and of himself?
That sort of perfection is impossible isn't it?
God makes us perfect we *can't* make ourselves perfect.
Can something that isn't complete be perfect?
If you have 3 quarters of a circle is it perfect? It is a perfect 3/4 of a circle, but can it be considered a perfect circle? No. Because to be a perfect circle it would need to be completely round not just 3/4's round. If you say something is perfect you are indicating that there is nothing missing from it, right?
If someone does something for you and you tell them they've done a perfect job, you mean they've done all you expected of them, their work is completely satisfactory. You would not say that if in fact their work was not perfect, if it didn't satisfy and meet your requirements.
Stand before God and be perfect- standing anywhere else are you perfect? No.
It was because Abram walked, that he moved himself from one place to another that he became perfect. Had Abram not moved, had Abram not walked to stand before God he could not have found the perfection God desired of Him.
Lev. {22:21} And
whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the
LORD to accomplish [his] vow, or a freewill offering in
beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there
shall be no blemish therein.
Could you bring a sickly sin offering to God? No. You could not bring anything less than what would be considered perfect. What does this say? This tells us that God wants what is best and only what is best. God wants a sacrifice befitting Him. If God wants the sin offering to be perfect it stands to reason for us to be acceptable to Him we too would need to be perfect in Him. It's because we are not perfect that we needed to bring a sin offering in the first place. Is it no wonder our sin offering needed to be perfect without any obvious blemish. God cannot accept anything less than perfection.
Jesus is perfection for us.
But we need Jesus for His perfection to be considered ours.
If we don't have Jesus standing before God as our perfect sacrifice we cannot walk with God.
We can beat ourselves totally senseless striving for perfection in and of ourselves. But what we really need to be doing is striving to be closer and closer to Christ so He can work in us.
James {1:4} But let patience have [her]
perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing.
The word perfect here in the margin is defined as completeness.
Deut. {18:13} Thou shalt be perfect with the
LORD thy God.
The word perfect in the margin here is defined as entirely obedient.
Remember talking about the completeness of perfection? The circle?
Well now we have the obedience of perfection. If someone is less than entirely obedient are they perfect?
If we reward a child for behaving we are rewarding the time frame for which they were expected to behave within, not for just being a little bit perfect. There is NO such thing as a little perfection is there? Perfect indicates a whole, a completeness, and being entirely obedient.
For us to be perfect before God we have to be entirely obedient to Him, we have to possess the willingness to be entriely obedient to God. Seriously do we want to be entirely obedient to God? Do we?
If we don't have at least the willingness to be entirely obedient to God can we walk before Him in His perfection?
No, we don't have to be perfect to come to God, we have to have the willingness to be made perfect by Him.
2 Sam. {22:33} God [is] my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.
He- God- makes our ways perfect. We don't make our own ways perfect.
John {17:23} I in them, and thou in me, that they may be
made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou
hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Jesus in us.
God in Jesus.
We are made perfect in Jesus.
We are loved by Jesus as God loves Jesus.
God loves His son with a perfect love. Jesus loves us with a perfect love.
C.S. Lewis- From Mere Christianity Chapter- Counting the Cost
'I find a good many people have been bothered by what I said in the last
chapter about Our Lord's words, "Be ye perfect." Some people seem to think
this means "Unless you are perfect, I will not help you"; and as we cannot
be perfect, then, if He meant that, our position is hopeless. But I do not
think He did mean that. I think He meant "The only help I will give is help
to become perfect. You may want something less: but I will give you nothing
less." '
It is not- Until you are perfect I will not help you.
But rather- The only help I will give you is help to become perfect.
If we were perfect in and of ourselves we would need no one to made us perfect and the truth is, we need Jesus and His perfection. We stand before God in the shadow of Jesus' perfection, He pleads our case for us. We have to be willing to be obedient to Him and even when we fall far short of that, we have to be will to cling to Him and constantly come to Him begging for forgiveness and seeking to be changed by Him, perfected by Him. He will perfect us in Him and only in Him, and that perfection will never have us able to boast of our perfection.
This makes sense doesn't it? Why would Jesus give us help for anything else?
If there will be trials and tribulations we are to go through it will be for our perfection in ways that are truly beyond our understanding, we just need to have FAITH IN GOD that all our upsets, all our anguish, all our pain and misunderstanding will work together for our good because we love Him and trust Him to get us through this perfecting process, because we yield ourselves to Him knowing that we can never be perfect on our own, never.
Only by faith will anything at all be accomplished in us. 'Without faith it is impossible to please Him.' Heb. 11:6
And no wonder, we have to believe that God WILL perfect us through our faith in Him to do so, not that we will perfect ourselves by faith in ourselves and our ability to obey, even that ability to obey comes from God and if we think it comes from anywhere else we are sadly mistaken.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, now and forever! It is my prayer- 'Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief.'
Amen
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
If we aren't happy being Christ's now, we can't be happy for eternity
Rev. {22:14} Blessed [are] they that do his
commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.
We talk of being born with rights and yet are we? Seriously. You might shout yes we are, but how many have been born with no rights, right here, right now. You think we don't have slavery but we do in my ways. There are societies and plenty of them that have ranking systems. It'd almost be safe to say all societies have them. You have your elite those that are given better service than others and believe- truly believe that they deserve special treatment. Then we have the lower class who are told they deserve less and for the most part they believe it because they serve the elite in many ways, they stand in awe of the elite and as they stand in awe they contribute to the grand illusion that they are less in some ways than those they worship, those they set on the pedestals. Sure, in America at least- we have our icons- our movie stars, singers, famous politicians and yes they might have talents but do talents take what makes a human being and set them above other human beings integrily? Do they?
Do we have rights? Yes, and each of us individual have the right to choose to follow God or not.
This verse says, blessed are they that do his commandments.... (Why?) That they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city. (The Holy City Heavenly Jeruslem, the tree of life gives us eternal life.)
We have this amazing right but it's conditioned upon following God's will, because His commandments are His will.
We all want the right to eternal life and it can be ours.
I read a passage from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and it struck me so that I want to include it here-
'If individuals live only seventy years, then a state, or a nation, or a civilisation, which may last for a thousand years, is more important than an individual. But if Christianity is true, then the individual is not only more important but incomparably more important, for he is everlasting and the life of a state or civilisation, compared with his, is only a moment.' C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity
How amazing a thought is that? And true. We live our lives now as if they do have an ending, how many of us live our lives as if they are going to be lived forever. You might argue that our eternal life will be MUCH different than this life but think about it. WE the part that makes us who we are will live forever. If we are promised life eternal and are stripped of all we are what good is that? None. If we are unrecognizable to ourselves there is little point, right? So we need to remember that it is best to follow God's will because eternal life in Christ is the only way. If we aren't happy being Christ's now, we can't be happy for eternity in Christ later.
It's a lot to think about, a lot to contemplate and we need to do that thinking right now, not later, later may be too late.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, may we be His with all our hearts and minds now and forever...
Amen.
commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.
We talk of being born with rights and yet are we? Seriously. You might shout yes we are, but how many have been born with no rights, right here, right now. You think we don't have slavery but we do in my ways. There are societies and plenty of them that have ranking systems. It'd almost be safe to say all societies have them. You have your elite those that are given better service than others and believe- truly believe that they deserve special treatment. Then we have the lower class who are told they deserve less and for the most part they believe it because they serve the elite in many ways, they stand in awe of the elite and as they stand in awe they contribute to the grand illusion that they are less in some ways than those they worship, those they set on the pedestals. Sure, in America at least- we have our icons- our movie stars, singers, famous politicians and yes they might have talents but do talents take what makes a human being and set them above other human beings integrily? Do they?
Do we have rights? Yes, and each of us individual have the right to choose to follow God or not.
This verse says, blessed are they that do his commandments.... (Why?) That they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city. (The Holy City Heavenly Jeruslem, the tree of life gives us eternal life.)
We have this amazing right but it's conditioned upon following God's will, because His commandments are His will.
We all want the right to eternal life and it can be ours.
I read a passage from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and it struck me so that I want to include it here-
'If individuals live only seventy years, then a state, or a nation, or a civilisation, which may last for a thousand years, is more important than an individual. But if Christianity is true, then the individual is not only more important but incomparably more important, for he is everlasting and the life of a state or civilisation, compared with his, is only a moment.' C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity
How amazing a thought is that? And true. We live our lives now as if they do have an ending, how many of us live our lives as if they are going to be lived forever. You might argue that our eternal life will be MUCH different than this life but think about it. WE the part that makes us who we are will live forever. If we are promised life eternal and are stripped of all we are what good is that? None. If we are unrecognizable to ourselves there is little point, right? So we need to remember that it is best to follow God's will because eternal life in Christ is the only way. If we aren't happy being Christ's now, we can't be happy for eternity in Christ later.
It's a lot to think about, a lot to contemplate and we need to do that thinking right now, not later, later may be too late.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, may we be His with all our hearts and minds now and forever...
Amen.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
A prophecy- 'I will come again.'
John
{14:1} Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
{14:2} In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
{14:3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.
A prophecy- 'I will come again.'
John
{3:14} And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up
{3:15} That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
{3:16} For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
A prophecy- 'Everlasting life.'
A prophecy- 'Eternal life.'
Mark
{10:28} Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
{10:29} And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or
mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s
{10:30} But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
{10:31} But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last first.
A prophecy- 'Many that are first shall be last, and last first.'
A prophecy- 'And in the world to come eternal life.'
Predictions!
John
{6:54} Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
{6:55} For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
{6:56} He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
{6:57} As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
{6:58} This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
A prophecy- 'I will raise him up at the last day.'
A prophecy- 'He that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.'
*******
A prophecy predicts the future and eternal life is a life being lived forever. Do any of us have that reality? We are taught we only live for so long and that's that and everything else is supposition. The truth is we can have eternal life, our lives will be lived forever - we have an endless future.
It is predicted that once Jesus comes again that our eternal lives will begin without sin. We that are living will be raised up and changed, the dead in Christ- those who have died and are sleeping in the earth will be raised up and changed.
The prediction of the future is important. Some people spend a lot of money trying to get their future predicted. Some people are only concerned with this life here and now.
Prophecies in the Bible are renowned. History has verified that Biblical prophecy is undeniable. If we believe in one small bit of the proven prophecies it only holds to reason, it is only logical, that the rest will be true.
Eternal life is in our futures if we believe in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made to save us, if we are born again spiritually. If we remember Jesus died and lives for us, if we holdfast to that fact we will have a future, an eternal life with Him.
The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. We must have the testimony of Jesus, and keep God's commandments, the two of them mingled together into perfection offered to us who are far from perfect. Through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Savior, may our lives be lived in Him now and forever.
Amen.
{14:1} Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
{14:2} In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
{14:3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.
A prophecy- 'I will come again.'
John
{3:14} And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up
{3:15} That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
{3:16} For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
A prophecy- 'Everlasting life.'
A prophecy- 'Eternal life.'
Mark
{10:28} Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
{10:29} And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or
mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s
{10:30} But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
{10:31} But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last first.
A prophecy- 'Many that are first shall be last, and last first.'
A prophecy- 'And in the world to come eternal life.'
Predictions!
John
{6:54} Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
{6:55} For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
{6:56} He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
{6:57} As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
{6:58} This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
A prophecy- 'I will raise him up at the last day.'
A prophecy- 'He that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.'
*******
A prophecy predicts the future and eternal life is a life being lived forever. Do any of us have that reality? We are taught we only live for so long and that's that and everything else is supposition. The truth is we can have eternal life, our lives will be lived forever - we have an endless future.
It is predicted that once Jesus comes again that our eternal lives will begin without sin. We that are living will be raised up and changed, the dead in Christ- those who have died and are sleeping in the earth will be raised up and changed.
The prediction of the future is important. Some people spend a lot of money trying to get their future predicted. Some people are only concerned with this life here and now.
Prophecies in the Bible are renowned. History has verified that Biblical prophecy is undeniable. If we believe in one small bit of the proven prophecies it only holds to reason, it is only logical, that the rest will be true.
Eternal life is in our futures if we believe in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made to save us, if we are born again spiritually. If we remember Jesus died and lives for us, if we holdfast to that fact we will have a future, an eternal life with Him.
The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. We must have the testimony of Jesus, and keep God's commandments, the two of them mingled together into perfection offered to us who are far from perfect. Through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Savior, may our lives be lived in Him now and forever.
Amen.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Testimony of Jesus
The Testimony of Jesus
*
2 Tim {1:7} For God hath not given us the spirit
of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
{1:8} Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our
Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the
afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
*
Rev. {1:1} The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave
unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must
shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his
angel unto his servant John: {1:2} Who bare record of the
word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all
things that he saw.
*
Rev.{1:9} I John, who also am your brother, and companion in
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,
was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God,
and for the testimony of Jesus Christ
*
Rev.{6:9} And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under
the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of
God, and for the testimony which they held
*
Rev. {11:7} And when they shall
have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of
the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall
overcome them, and kill them.
*
Rev.{12:11} And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the
word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto
the death.
*
Rev.{12:17} And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and
went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep
the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ.
*
Rev.{15:5} And after that I looked, and, behold,
the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was
opened:
*
Rev. {19:10} And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said
unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of
thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God:
for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
*
{2:1} And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with
excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the
testimony of God. {2:2} For I determined not to know any
thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
{2:3} And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in
much trembling. {2:4} And my speech and my preaching
[was] not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power: {2:5} That your
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God. {2:6} Howbeit we speak wisdom among
them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor
of the princes of this world, that come to nought: {2:7} But
we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the
hidden [wisdom,] which God ordained before the world
unto our glory: {2:8} Which none of the princes of this
world knew: for had they known [it,] they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory. {2:9} But as it is written, Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love him. {2:10} But God hath revealed [them] unto us
by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the
deep things of God. {2:11} For what man knoweth the
things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God. {2:12} Now we have received, not the spirit of the
world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know
the things that are freely given to us of God. {2:13} Which
things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom
teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing
spiritual things with spiritual. {2:14} But the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them,] because
they are spiritually discerned. {2:15} But he that is spiritual
judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
{2:16} For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he
may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
*******
The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. From the moment Jesus started preaching what was it He was preaching exactly? The gospel. What is the gospel? The good news. What is the good news? The good news is that we sinners have a was to be forgiven. Us wayward children of God now have a way to become reconciled with God. Our sins can be forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. How is this the Spirit of prophecy which we are told is the testimony of Jesus? Prophecy is a prediction of a future event. The future event predicted by Christ Himself was total reconciliation with God encompassing us living and dead being made new in Him and being caught up to heaven with Him when He returns to take us with Him. Not once did He tell the disciples they were on their own, that there was no hope of a future with Him, that they had this life on earth now and that was that. Jesus preached hope! Jesus preached salvation! Jesus preached to us of a new world, a new life and the prophectic aspect of receiving the fulness of that hope in time. Jesus' testimony is most certainly prophectic. We accept Jesus Christ and a lot of times people fall back away from Him giving up hope in what? In the prophectic prediction of Jesus' that He will come again. It's like a reliable human being, someone you've always been able to count on in the past, telling you they'll be there to pick you up between a certain time, say 12 noon and 12 midnight. So you wait, and you wait and you wait until finally you grow tired of waiting and you focus on the fact they said 12 noon. Sure they also said 12 midnight, but surely they meant somewhere closer to 12 noon not the later time. So it comes to 6 pm, halfway through the time and you're pacing, and pacing. You begin to lose hope even though you KNOW that they could still be considered on time if they arrive at midnight. Finally it's 9 pm and you don't want to wait any longer. Taking that analogy to Jesus we need to substitute years and years and years for hours but it holds true. The fact remains Jesus predicted He would return and He WILL return. The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy simply because He preached prophetically of salvation and life everlasting.
We must have the testimony of Jesus if we are to overcome this world by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. We must have the Spirit of prophecy in us, the willingness to believe and holdfast until Christ comes to redeem us unto Him as He promises.
May we all holdfast to that which is holy, good, and true. May we cling tightly to God and have the Testimony of Jesus.
By His amazing mercy and unending grace now and forever.
Amen.
*
2 Tim {1:7} For God hath not given us the spirit
of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
{1:8} Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our
Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the
afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
*
Rev. {1:1} The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave
unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must
shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his
angel unto his servant John: {1:2} Who bare record of the
word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all
things that he saw.
*
Rev.{1:9} I John, who also am your brother, and companion in
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,
was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God,
and for the testimony of Jesus Christ
*
Rev.{6:9} And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under
the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of
God, and for the testimony which they held
*
Rev. {11:7} And when they shall
have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of
the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall
overcome them, and kill them.
*
Rev.{12:11} And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the
word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto
the death.
*
Rev.{12:17} And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and
went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep
the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ.
*
Rev.{15:5} And after that I looked, and, behold,
the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was
opened:
*
Rev. {19:10} And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said
unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of
thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God:
for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
*
{2:1} And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with
excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the
testimony of God. {2:2} For I determined not to know any
thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
{2:3} And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in
much trembling. {2:4} And my speech and my preaching
[was] not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power: {2:5} That your
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God. {2:6} Howbeit we speak wisdom among
them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor
of the princes of this world, that come to nought: {2:7} But
we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the
hidden [wisdom,] which God ordained before the world
unto our glory: {2:8} Which none of the princes of this
world knew: for had they known [it,] they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory. {2:9} But as it is written, Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love him. {2:10} But God hath revealed [them] unto us
by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the
deep things of God. {2:11} For what man knoweth the
things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God. {2:12} Now we have received, not the spirit of the
world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know
the things that are freely given to us of God. {2:13} Which
things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom
teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing
spiritual things with spiritual. {2:14} But the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them,] because
they are spiritually discerned. {2:15} But he that is spiritual
judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
{2:16} For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he
may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
*******
The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. From the moment Jesus started preaching what was it He was preaching exactly? The gospel. What is the gospel? The good news. What is the good news? The good news is that we sinners have a was to be forgiven. Us wayward children of God now have a way to become reconciled with God. Our sins can be forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. How is this the Spirit of prophecy which we are told is the testimony of Jesus? Prophecy is a prediction of a future event. The future event predicted by Christ Himself was total reconciliation with God encompassing us living and dead being made new in Him and being caught up to heaven with Him when He returns to take us with Him. Not once did He tell the disciples they were on their own, that there was no hope of a future with Him, that they had this life on earth now and that was that. Jesus preached hope! Jesus preached salvation! Jesus preached to us of a new world, a new life and the prophectic aspect of receiving the fulness of that hope in time. Jesus' testimony is most certainly prophectic. We accept Jesus Christ and a lot of times people fall back away from Him giving up hope in what? In the prophectic prediction of Jesus' that He will come again. It's like a reliable human being, someone you've always been able to count on in the past, telling you they'll be there to pick you up between a certain time, say 12 noon and 12 midnight. So you wait, and you wait and you wait until finally you grow tired of waiting and you focus on the fact they said 12 noon. Sure they also said 12 midnight, but surely they meant somewhere closer to 12 noon not the later time. So it comes to 6 pm, halfway through the time and you're pacing, and pacing. You begin to lose hope even though you KNOW that they could still be considered on time if they arrive at midnight. Finally it's 9 pm and you don't want to wait any longer. Taking that analogy to Jesus we need to substitute years and years and years for hours but it holds true. The fact remains Jesus predicted He would return and He WILL return. The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy simply because He preached prophetically of salvation and life everlasting.
We must have the testimony of Jesus if we are to overcome this world by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. We must have the Spirit of prophecy in us, the willingness to believe and holdfast until Christ comes to redeem us unto Him as He promises.
May we all holdfast to that which is holy, good, and true. May we cling tightly to God and have the Testimony of Jesus.
By His amazing mercy and unending grace now and forever.
Amen.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Rev. 12 - Overcome by the Blood of the Lamb
Rev.
{12:1} And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars
*Woman-
Rev. {17:18} And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
*John {3:28} Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. {3:29} He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom. Christ has the bride- and Christ's bride are His people, Christ's bride is His church.
*Gal. {4:26} But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
The great wonder in heaven. God's people victorious.
Light we equate with goodness, darkness we equate with evil. To be clothed with light is to be clothed with goodness. To have the moon under her feet is to have the darkness (because the moon has NO light of her own) under her. Victorious over the darkness. A crown of victory, twleve stars- perfected, the perfect crown.
1. Twelve PATRIARCHS - from Seth to Noah and his family, and twelve from Shem to Jacob.
2. 12 Tribes of Isreal
3. 12 Judges
4. In the Temple the number 12 is a predominant number.
5. The twelve Apostles.
6. The twelve foundations in the heavenly Jerusalem.
7. The twelve gates.
8. The twelve pearls.
9. The twelve angels.
The Measurement of New Jerusalem will be 12,000 furlongs square, while the wall will be 144 (12 x 12) cubits, Revelation 21:16,17.
You can see that the number 12 is important, having 12 stars in the crown is perfect victory the woman possesses as God's people.
*******
{12:2} And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
From God's people a child was ready to be born. A special child and God's people were in need of this child. As with any child about to be birthed there is travail, there is pain in delivery and it was the same for this special child. The woman- God's people were suffering under the yoke of their existence. As God's people captive by the Egyptians lived in a time of suffering and travail, God's people under the oppressive rule of the Romans suffered.
*******
{12:3} And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
One wonder was the woman of God- God's victorous people. Another wonder was a great fiery dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his head. A great beast existed at the same time as God's people, victorous because they are God's an no one else's. The great beast comprised of many heads, many horns with crowns on those heads- this beast's rule extends outward and encompasses many. While having only 7 heads it has 10 horns, the crowns are not upon the horns but the heads. We see similar beasts in the book of Daniel.
We have two opposites here representing Good and Evil. God and Satan.
*******
{12:4} And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
This second wonder the great fiery dragon drew a third part of the stars of heaven with him and cast them to earth. Who cast them? The tail of the dragon took the stars- and stars represent angels. Job {38:7} When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The dragon took 1/3 part of the stars, the angels with him to earth. And the dragon- Satan stood before the woman, the church, God's people right before Christ was born, ready to devour the child, ready to defeat Christ.
*******
{12:5} And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and [to] his throne.
{12:6} And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.
The child was born! Christ was born! Christ who would rule all nations with a rod of iron. The child was caught up to God and to his throne. The church- God's people fled into the wilderness they were preserved for a long, long time. And it's true. God's people have suffered a lot and have prevailed even as they were almost wiped out over and over again. The wilderness where things can hide, it's not a city, not the mainstream, not where the great poplace exists.
*******
{12:7} And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels
{12:8} And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
{12:9} And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
{12:10} And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his
Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
When was Satan cast down? When was the war in heaven? When did the dragon and angels fight?
It says NOW is come salvation, when was salvation come? When Jesus came to the world to save us, right? So the war in heaven took place AFTER Jesus was come into the world to give us salvation. The war took place and then the dragon was cast out and those 1/3rd of the angels were cast out with him.
It makes sense that they would have been cast out to earth AFTER the earth was well formed and man established upon it. Some say that Satan was cast out to earth before man was put on earth and they'd be wrong. What sort of God would throw the lambs to the lion like that? Remember in Job -- {1:6} Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. {1:7} And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. {1:8} And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? {1:9} Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? {1:10} Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. {1:11} But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. {1:12} And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath [is] in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
Satan was going to heaven to stand before God then, he hadn't been cast out to earth. Jesus had not yet come to earth to bring salvation to man. Satan was telling God that he was walking the earth as if it were his and God said what about Job. And Satan accused God of favoring Job and if he no longer favored him then he wouldn't be his. So...God removed the protection from all but Job's life so Satan could try to tear Job away from loving God. The whole earth wasn't Satan's, it wasn't his and God loves those who love Him and there were those that loved him and didn't follow Satan and his evil ways. While Satan could work on earth he wasn't cast out to earth until salvation was assured for man.
*******
{12:11} And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
{12:12} Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
{12:13} And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man [child. ]
{12:14} And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
{12:15} And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
{12:16} And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
{12:17} And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
We overcome by the blood of the Lamb. We overcome by the word of the testimony of Jesus. We overcome because we love not our lives to death.
Satan would have us, Satan would devour us, Satan makes war with us who claim to be the Lord's, His church, His people. We keep the commandments of God and the have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Make no mistake, Satan would have each of us and he will stop at nothing to get us, to get ANY who are truly God's. Having the Love of Jesus in us makes us targets of Satan's and our only hope is to hold fast to Jesus, hold fast and never let go. By His grace and mercy will will overcome, only by his grace and mercy and not loving our own lives unto death- being willing to die for Jesus, for His love. May we be His now and forever.
Amen.
{12:1} And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars
*Woman-
Rev. {17:18} And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
*John {3:28} Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. {3:29} He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom. Christ has the bride- and Christ's bride are His people, Christ's bride is His church.
*Gal. {4:26} But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
The great wonder in heaven. God's people victorious.
Light we equate with goodness, darkness we equate with evil. To be clothed with light is to be clothed with goodness. To have the moon under her feet is to have the darkness (because the moon has NO light of her own) under her. Victorious over the darkness. A crown of victory, twleve stars- perfected, the perfect crown.
1. Twelve PATRIARCHS - from Seth to Noah and his family, and twelve from Shem to Jacob.
2. 12 Tribes of Isreal
3. 12 Judges
4. In the Temple the number 12 is a predominant number.
5. The twelve Apostles.
6. The twelve foundations in the heavenly Jerusalem.
7. The twelve gates.
8. The twelve pearls.
9. The twelve angels.
The Measurement of New Jerusalem will be 12,000 furlongs square, while the wall will be 144 (12 x 12) cubits, Revelation 21:16,17.
You can see that the number 12 is important, having 12 stars in the crown is perfect victory the woman possesses as God's people.
*******
{12:2} And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
From God's people a child was ready to be born. A special child and God's people were in need of this child. As with any child about to be birthed there is travail, there is pain in delivery and it was the same for this special child. The woman- God's people were suffering under the yoke of their existence. As God's people captive by the Egyptians lived in a time of suffering and travail, God's people under the oppressive rule of the Romans suffered.
*******
{12:3} And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
One wonder was the woman of God- God's victorous people. Another wonder was a great fiery dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his head. A great beast existed at the same time as God's people, victorous because they are God's an no one else's. The great beast comprised of many heads, many horns with crowns on those heads- this beast's rule extends outward and encompasses many. While having only 7 heads it has 10 horns, the crowns are not upon the horns but the heads. We see similar beasts in the book of Daniel.
We have two opposites here representing Good and Evil. God and Satan.
*******
{12:4} And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
This second wonder the great fiery dragon drew a third part of the stars of heaven with him and cast them to earth. Who cast them? The tail of the dragon took the stars- and stars represent angels. Job {38:7} When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The dragon took 1/3 part of the stars, the angels with him to earth. And the dragon- Satan stood before the woman, the church, God's people right before Christ was born, ready to devour the child, ready to defeat Christ.
*******
{12:5} And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and [to] his throne.
{12:6} And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.
The child was born! Christ was born! Christ who would rule all nations with a rod of iron. The child was caught up to God and to his throne. The church- God's people fled into the wilderness they were preserved for a long, long time. And it's true. God's people have suffered a lot and have prevailed even as they were almost wiped out over and over again. The wilderness where things can hide, it's not a city, not the mainstream, not where the great poplace exists.
*******
{12:7} And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels
{12:8} And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
{12:9} And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
{12:10} And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his
Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
When was Satan cast down? When was the war in heaven? When did the dragon and angels fight?
It says NOW is come salvation, when was salvation come? When Jesus came to the world to save us, right? So the war in heaven took place AFTER Jesus was come into the world to give us salvation. The war took place and then the dragon was cast out and those 1/3rd of the angels were cast out with him.
It makes sense that they would have been cast out to earth AFTER the earth was well formed and man established upon it. Some say that Satan was cast out to earth before man was put on earth and they'd be wrong. What sort of God would throw the lambs to the lion like that? Remember in Job -- {1:6} Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. {1:7} And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. {1:8} And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? {1:9} Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? {1:10} Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. {1:11} But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. {1:12} And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath [is] in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
Satan was going to heaven to stand before God then, he hadn't been cast out to earth. Jesus had not yet come to earth to bring salvation to man. Satan was telling God that he was walking the earth as if it were his and God said what about Job. And Satan accused God of favoring Job and if he no longer favored him then he wouldn't be his. So...God removed the protection from all but Job's life so Satan could try to tear Job away from loving God. The whole earth wasn't Satan's, it wasn't his and God loves those who love Him and there were those that loved him and didn't follow Satan and his evil ways. While Satan could work on earth he wasn't cast out to earth until salvation was assured for man.
*******
{12:11} And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
{12:12} Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
{12:13} And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man [child. ]
{12:14} And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
{12:15} And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
{12:16} And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
{12:17} And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
We overcome by the blood of the Lamb. We overcome by the word of the testimony of Jesus. We overcome because we love not our lives to death.
Satan would have us, Satan would devour us, Satan makes war with us who claim to be the Lord's, His church, His people. We keep the commandments of God and the have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Make no mistake, Satan would have each of us and he will stop at nothing to get us, to get ANY who are truly God's. Having the Love of Jesus in us makes us targets of Satan's and our only hope is to hold fast to Jesus, hold fast and never let go. By His grace and mercy will will overcome, only by his grace and mercy and not loving our own lives unto death- being willing to die for Jesus, for His love. May we be His now and forever.
Amen.
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