We are entering a season which requires deep fellowship and trust in Jesus.
He would have us move well beyond mere sin consciousness to ever-increasing sanctification by His Spirit. We must understand our identities as sons and daughters of Yahweh like Stephen and others did in Acts.
May all who see this post and video (re)claim their original created value and identity. There is still SO MUCH MORE to know and experience.
This is easily the most powerful teaching session I have come across on the Gospel and its power to transform even the hardest sinner. Allow God to enlarge and open your mind to the immeasurable power and glory of Jesus and His Gospel. Oh, that we would gain His perspective and get possessed by His Spirit of love!
Jesus has been challenging and asking me to reassess many things over the past year. This process has been really hard. It's extremely difficult to have all your paradigms shattered 2 - 3 times in a matter of 9 months. My experiences during this time have felt like one super-extended wrestling match with God. I have learned more in the last 12 months than the rest of my life combined. It's been exhausting, troubling but incredibly rewarding.
Did you know that every historical revival or awakening has taken place when the 3 - 4 following requirements were present?
Return to sola Scriptura
Re-reading of Scriptures in modern vernacular (as if reading again for the 1st time)
Rediscovery of Jesus (returning to our 1st Love)
Disciples regain their true identity and get possessed by the Spirit of Christ
Here are a few extractions from the Gospels to ponder in regards to what made Jesus' model of discipleship starkly different; not to mention, at odds with the average church program today...
Jesus modeled and trained His disciples to proclaim and share the Good News in the open air. You can count on two hands how many people were reached or delivered in temples/synagogues during Jesus ministry, according to the Gospels. He clearly taught and modeled GOing into the highways and byways, to those places that sinners gather, until the whole world hears.
Jesus' disciples walk according to the Spirit and do not give heed to the flesh because it ought to be dead. Jesus' model of discipleship is a lifestyle, while we have diluted His message and molded it to fit our desire for a more-comfortable, less-demanding ministry. We promote weekly, monthly or annual outreaches instead of equipping the Church to serve Jesus in/out of season.
The content of Jesus' preaching and teaching was far different than our quick-fix evangelism of "ask Jesus into your heart so you can become a forgiven sinner and get to heaven." Who doesn't want to make it to heaven? Jesus preached repentance and the arrival of the Kingdom of God on earth. He taught in such a way that heaven's rule would invade, pervade and replace our self-directed rebellious rule. Our desire for intimacy with God and pleasing Him by faithful obedience to Jesus' directives authenticates the validity of our adoption into His Kingdom.
Jesus commissioned His disciples to heal the sick; to do the very works that He did regularly in their midst. God's will is for adopted sons and daughters to avail themselves to teaching and training on how to walk in such power with true humility and grace. This power is for today. To deny that makes us guilty of the judgment in II Timothy 3:5. I did not make this stuff up. Healing the sick was a core competency included in Jesus' model of discipleship. Further, we are not commanded to pray and hope the sick get healed. We are taught to command sickness and brokenness to flee in His name. It's in my Bible…Therefore, I believe it regardless of my previous experiences or any respected theologian's past or present opinion. I will learn to walk in the Spirit as a son so that the Father can entrust true riches and power to me once I have proven to be faithful in the small things.
Jesus commissioned His disciples to cast out demons. While the world and the majority in the church debate over the actual existence of demons, countless souls wander the earth in fearful bondage to a power they don't understand or acknowledge. The world will again take notice when His disciples differentiate themselves from the fold with their authentic love and concern by getting messy and engaged in the battle to demolish strongholds. It's what Jesus did. We should be learning from Him to do the same works of the Father.
What I have just shared are the exact specifics of what Jesus taught as His model of discipleship according to the Gospels. It's a tragedy that we hide behind religion and shrink away from His unmistakable call to give our lives away to this so we might revive and continue the Acts of the original disciples! To deny this is possible or meant for our time is pure unbelief. I'm not concerned if that sounds harsh because it's the truth, and sometimes we need to be rattled by it to get free!
If we can allow Jesus to convince us of our true, new identity in Him, then we, the Church, can become relevant again. Ask yourself this question with me…Are contemporary disciples of Christ truly relevant in culture today? What have we done with the Commission that Jesus left us?
Did you know that there is a really easy way to know what the world thinks about Christians in the west? A simple Yahoo search can tell us, and I already referenced this in my previous post. I simply typed in "why are christians so…". The rest was auto-filled by the 10 most common adjectives people use to describe christians in their searches. This must change because Jesus was the total antithesis of these things.
While I'm not exactly sure where my journey will go from this point, I do have my eyes and ears wide open listening for the Comforter to direct this wind forward. I long for the day when His people rediscover their clear identity and purpose. I long for the destruction of the sectarian spirit of denominationalism among Christians, which is on par with the High Places Yahweh so disdained in the Old Testament. I long for the day when we will walk in exceptional unity and power to His glorious praise!
The Reformation of 1517 was great in its narrow scope, but there remains so much need for more. There remains a truly urgent need for Restoration. I understand this sounds like a generalization, but my points above can prove it. Our observations of the worldliness in the professing church along with the degradation of our culture serve as additional proofs.
(Disclaimer: The true Israel/Church of Jesus is without spot or wrinkle and only composed of those born again and sealed by His Spirit. He knows all those that truly belong to Him). [Matthew 7:20-22]
I could also reference all of Jesus' parables that flow out of the Sower which speak to true and false profession/conversion. Take the Wheat and Tares, Good and Bad Fish, Doers vs. Hearers, Sheep and the Goats, 5 Wise & 5 Foolish Virgins as examples.
Here are a couple of good resources I've been feeding on to experience powerful renewal and restoration in my own life. I know these resources will encourage and strengthen others:
There are so many urgent matters waiting to be uncovered in regards to events unfolding in our world. However, let me assure you that there are seriously more urgent matters within and facing the Church right now!
How often have I heard the Church referred to as a sleeping giant?. Why does the Church slumber when issues of righteousness as clear as legalized abortion persist? How about when the world starts to call evil good and good evil (see Isaiah 5:20)?
How could we let such things happen? Do we realize the magnitude of these things along with the urgency of our times?
The great awakening that is coming will take place largely WITHIN what we typically refer to as our church congregations. The same was true in Spurgeon's day, Wesley's day and it is infinitely more true today!
By today’s standards in the American church, Jesus wasn’t cut out to be a pastor, nor would His ministry be highlighted as a model for church planters. Consider these facts:
Jesus had the greatest preaching, teaching and healing ministry in history. Thousands came to hear Him, followed His every move and lined the streets to get a glimpse of Him or simply touch Him. Yet amid His rock-star popularity, He intentionally offended religious leaders, challenged potential mega-donors and weeded out casual followers with tough teachings. Not exactly the textbook strategy you’d find today to grow your church, much less your Facebook likes and Twitter followers.
After Jesus spent three and a half years ministering to thousands, His church consisted of only 120 disciples gathered in the upper room. And even that was a low turnout, considering He had appeared to more than 500 people after His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:6).
But we know the rest of the story: how the 120 quickly became 3,120 and grew daily to where even unbelievers credited Jesus’ followers as those “who have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). The truth is, we know that Jesus’ divine church-growth tactics surpass all others—with the proof being a global church that, 2,000 years later, refuses to die while it works to fulfill His Great Commission.
Why, then, do we in the 21st-century American church focus on all the elements that Jesus didn’t? He focused on training and equipping 12 disciples; we focus on growing our crowds and spheres of influence, regardless of whether those people follow Jesus. He preached an uncompromising message of truth; we sugarcoat the gospel until we’re saccharine-high on deception. He walked among His enemies in love; we ostracize our enemies by blasting them for all their sins.
Indeed, most of the U.S. church is enamored with size over substance and microwave growth over true reproduction. Research shows that while 235 million people call themselves Christians, only 40 percent of those meet regularly with fellow believers and only a fourth (at most) read the Bible on a regular basis. It’s time we discovered the marks of the real church, measured by Jesus’ standards rather than our own trendy metrics. So what are those elements? Here are just a few.
1) Love. Jesus defined a premier characteristic of His church in John 13:35: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” If we can’t even love fellow believers—if we skewer each other over theological differences and cultural preferences—how can we expect the world to want what we have? Transforming the world with God’s love starts right where we are, on the home front, as we learn to love each other as Christ loved us.
2) Prayer. Jesus was constantly communicating with the Father, listening for His thoughts and seeing where He was already moving. Luke’s Gospel shows that little happened in Christ’s life without Him first praying. Why, then, do most church gatherings today focus so little on prayer? In trying to be culturally relevant and seeker-sensitive, we’ve conveyed that this essentiality of our faith—both individually and corporately—is secondary. That can’t be if we want to mimic Jesus.
3) Persecution. We in the West equate religious freedom and the lack of persecution with blessing. Yet when you look for the most powerful churches in the world, where the Spirit moves freely and in fullness, you’ll always find persecution. It’s time we wake up and realize that persecution galvanizes and unifies the body of Christ like few other pressures. Remember, Jesus promised persecution to those who truly follow Him (Matt. 5:11-12; John 15:20). When was the last time you saw this promise fulfilled in your own life or church?
4) Power. Jesus also promised that His followers would do greater works than He did (John 14:12)—a promise sealed by the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us. Wherever the early apostles and church went, the miraculous followed. Though there have been seasons of Holy Spirit revival in our nation, even charismatic churches today are de-emphasizing such things as praying for the sick, demonic deliverance or the prophetic. Making room for the Spirit’s supernatural movement isn’t an option; it’s the mark of those who truly follow Christ.
Awakening from the Hive Mind Control Construct
It may introduce some concepts many are not familiar with, but that should not result in automatic dismissal of the historical and scientifically verifiable facts presented. The truth is strange and incredibly unpopular, but people will be greatly perplexed in the months ahead without it.
What would you say is the most valuable commodity on the planet?
I am convinced it is something of a tie between these 2-3 things:
Time
Information - To be more precise, accurate and de-propagandized information which is very hard to come by in this world today
Water - Although, if you have quality information and intel, you can easily find even underground fresh water sources (it really is a tie between the first couple of things but I included water here because I anticipated this potential objection)
Do what you will with this information below. I am long over trying to convince people of the dangers lying ahead for America. I understand it is more convenient and light hearted to pretend everything is fine while the tip of a massive iceberg looms ahead, but the consequences are always disastrous.
The data and trends beckon your attention. I pray you have the courage to consider points that may be contrary to your basic presuppositions.
This guy shoots cold hard facts in a calm and rational manner. I think we are foolish to completely ignore the warnings.
I sincerely enjoy historical documentaries. Give me a quality documentary over a runaway Hollywood hit any day.
There are some seriously awakening nuggets in this one. I love how the creators put Freemasonry under the microscope, especially what transpired leading up to the 2nd Great Awakening.
What's at the root of the deception in the American church?
Consider these statistics of Christianity in America: Eighty-four percent of the inhabitants of this nation say they believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, according to Barna Group, and 45 percent claim to be born-again Christians. Other studies show it is closer to 33 percent.
Either way, these numbers are high. Seventy-seven percent believe their chances of going to heaven are excellent. Thirty-three percent believe one day everyone will go to heaven. Yet America has the highest percentage of single-parent families in the industrialized world, the highest abortion rate, the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases, the highest rate of teenage birth by far, the highest rate of teenage drug use and the largest prison population per capita than any country in the world.
Consider also the great moral decline of the last generation (50 to 60 years) and these telling statistics in America. The divorce rate has doubled, teen suicide has tripled, reported violent crime has quadrupled, the prison population has quintupled, the percentage of babies born out of wedlock has risen sixfold, couples living together out of wedlock have increased sevenfold, and gay marriage is now a legalized reality in a number of states, with many believing the end is not in sight.
In this past generation, we have experienced an overwhelming increase in lawlessness, permissiveness and selfishness, even among Christians. Moral actions that were unthinkable a few decades ago are now commonplace—Christian leaders indulging in sexual sin and grossly immoral scandals, addicted to pornography and accompanied by an exploding divorce rate have greatly factored in the rapid decrease of morals in the American church. And as the church goes, so goes the world. In fact, the results of a survey among young American adults showed that the percentage who follow biblically based values for living has now dropped from 65 percent to a mere 4 percent since World War II.
There has never been a society in the history of mankind whose moral values have deteriorated so dramatically, in such a short period of time, as those of Americans in the last 50 years. And so far it shows no sign of stopping. These statistics are eye-opening, and they serve to warn us that something is terribly wrong with our brand of Christianity. They reveal how poorly the church has communicated the true gospel to mainstream America, and thus the reason for so much deception in our culture.
When the rich man died and went to Hades (Luke 16:19-31), he was surprised to find himself there. In the Jewish culture, they equated wealth with godliness, so this man thought God favored him. The common thought, especially among the Jews, was if you were blessed financially, then you were a good person and therefore favored by God and on your way to heaven. This also explains the disciples' astonishment when Jesus told them how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 19:23-25).
Similarly, there was a church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) who, due to their wealth, thought they too had attained God's favor. Jesus expressed great disapproval over their spiritual condition as well, which they were totally unaware of. They were deceived.
Are you in touch with your true spiritual condition? Or are you allowing the pop culture around you to dictate your standards? Are you conforming to the world's standards or to the Bible? Are you deceived? How can a nation of people among whom a large percentage claims to be born-again Christians experience the kind of degradation the above statistics reveal? Such deception is the state of America today, and the above statistics reveal the fruit of it.
The problem has been that the real gospel has not been preached nor lived. Both the profession and the practice of many so-called Christians in this nation have not matched up. Our substandard message has produced substandard believers. Our departure from the preaching of the cross, repentance, holiness, and the real empowering grace of God has increased the level of deception in the church. How else can we explain the disparity of the above statistics in the church and the nation?
But what is really at the root of this deception? This is what we need to carefully discern. In one word, it is humanism—the glorification of self. Humanism has crept into much of the modern-day church and is diluting the power of the real gospel.
Bert M. Farias, founder of Holy Fire Ministries, is the author of The Real Gospel and co-host of the New England Holy Ghost Forum. He is a missionary evangelist carrying a spirit of revival to the church and the nations. Follow him at Bert Farias on Facebook or @Bertfarias1 on Twitter.
Please, avoid the tragedy of false conversion! So many are primed and ready to openly receive the strong delusion Yahweh promised to those who failed to love the truth. There will be a great falling away before a one-world religion is established. We have His promise on that. Imagine how great the coming brutality and deception must be to establish a one-world religion out of the plurality of today's religions and the fierceness with which each religion's proponents will defend their sacred belief systems!
Value the Truth and get informed! Remember, Jesus warned that it was possible for even the very elect to be deceived.
21Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'23"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' (Matthew 7: 21 - 23)
For the entirety of this post, I want the reader to feel free to liberally interchange ISIS and Ebola with one another.
(As of 12/1/14, the latest hegelian flavor of the week or month is race baiting and division. Be sure to look past the contrived headlines, partial reporting of the truth and fear-mongering to find the deeper agendas at work. Cities and nations divided along racial lines make for easy spoils when the BIG event goes down).
Please do yourself a favor and research the phrase hegelian dialectic. Spend 30-60 minutes to find out what this phrase really means and refers to in today's culture. In the dark and treacherous days in which we live, we must be able to differentiate and discern between propaganda and the truth, and if you are still tuning into the corporate mainstream media (any outlets…I don't care if it's CNN, BBC, Fox or any other), I guarantee you are getting scary doses of propaganda, confusion, with a hefty side of fear-mongering.
This theme is more significant and pertinent now than it ever has been in our world's history, and the issue of Ebola (or ISIS) is a perfect case study. These issues popped up in the previous 3-5 months seemingly out of nowhere. What has resulted? Well, we have our war with Syria now. No boots on the ground though! How long before WW3 stops simmering under the surface and explodes onto the global scene?
The timeless formula for the hegelian dialectic follows:
Problem: Introduce a pandemic into the world's population to help further dismantle our crumbling western world. A man-made, bio-terror weapon like Ebola would be perfect. Compound the issue with contradictory and false claims about the virus and how it actually spreads. Leave your national borders unsecured, continue international flights to and from highly infected areas and fail to provide hospitals with adequate training and resources to fight a possible pandemic. All this makes perfect sense. Obey and trust your elite globalist government officials. They have everything under control and are working with your best interests at heart!
Reaction: Mainstream news reports: EBOLA…EBOLA…EBOLA!!! Population becomes gripped by fear and panic starts to set in as the coverage piles up about the deadly virus spreading. Mid-term elections then approach, and poof, EBOLA disappear!!!
Solution: Let's get people to run to their nearest medical outpost for their life-saving vaccine. And run they will, like it's a release for the Apple 7th generation smartphone. Beware of compulsory vaccination for this or any other bioengineered disease.
(As of 2/1/15, the latest headlines dominating the mainstream media (from what I've heard), relate to the highly contentious debate over vaccines, specifically making them compulsory. It does not take a ton of vision to see where all of this is going.
Consider this: The same system that vehemently pushes (and legalized) a woman's right to choose on aborting (aka murdering) babies wants to usurp our right to choose whether we inject our kids with man-made cocktails including known neurotoxins? Oh, the irony and hypocrisy of it all...The world is nuts!)
Get informed about where events are leading us and remember…Ignorance in the information age is a choice.
The following documentary is a good place to start. I can guarantee you will experience cognitive dissonance if you are able to view the entire thing. Only realize, it relies solely on credible source documentation throughout. Trust me, it sucks to find out that the world you thought you lived in was more or less a total illusion, but getting to the truth is worth it. What could be more valuable?
I have been immersed in a very important study recently - The overcoming of strongholds and taking our thoughts captive. These strongholds include shame, fearandcontrol which lead to false beliefs/identities and could very well result in a forfeiture of your divine inheritance in this life.
The Lord has said, "My people perish for a lack of knowledge or understanding" (Hosea 4:6). In its proper context, that verse is pregnant with so much meaning, and I feel its significance and urgency for today more than ever.
If you are like me, or the other 80 - 90% of Americans that wrestle mightily with these strongholds, I urge you to look into what it will take to confront and fully overcome shame, fear and control. Life is too short to remain fettered in any way to things that Jesus gave us Himself to be free from now.
The following PDF is a great starter resource to take an inventory of your life in order to determine to what degree we have allowed shame, fear and control to steal, kill and destroy our destinies in the Lord.
2014 is the year to cast off every form of bondage known to man. For those in Christ, our minds and bodies are destined for renewal (Roman 12). Submit yourself to this goal and experience the exhilaration of an unchained life in Jesus.
Spiritual warfare is so real, whether you believe it or are actively engaged in it or not! I have so much to say on this topic, but I will let a dear mentor, Derek Prince, who although he has long been departed (went to be with the Lord in 2003), yet he still speaks…
If anyone has any questions or stories about spiritual warfare or anything else for that matter, please feel free to share those in the comments section here. I would love to hear from you! I only ask that your comments come from a place of sincerity.
I am in the midst of deep research into these matters, and the Lord is teaching me many things. I readily admit that I don't have all the answers, but I'm willing to study like a Berean to get to the truth.
Pay attention to 7 year cycles. These are a signature and calling card of Yahweh. The Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy outline such cycles in great detail.
Consider the most recent cycles witnessed in America:
2001: 9/11 and the sharpest stock market collapse since the Great Depression (see Hebrew calendar for Elul 29)…check out September 17th on Gregorian calendar
2008: Housing Market collapse and Great Recession (see Hebrew calendar for Elul 29)…check out September 29th
2015: ??? (see Hebrew calendar for Elul 29)…anticipate something on September 11th (9/11 is a Friday while September 13th is the actual date on the Hebrew calendar for Elul 29)
The world is already burning and America continues to ignore its dire need for deep repentance. The bias of normalcy prevailing in America will not endure (even historical trends and cycles in our nation support this) as we are in no way exempt from divine judgment for our national sins. Sadly, most people will not heed any warnings until grave danger arrives at their doorstep. I suppose I should not be at all surprised though as men do this to their peril all the time in regards to eternity and the security of their own souls. It is only compounded by the fact that so few blessed with an influential platform passionately preach the whole counsel (i.e. repentance, justice, holiness, wrath in conjunction with love, grace and mercy) of God.
When will the apathy end? I believe we might find out as we approach September of next year.
Here is an excellent article (with some intriguing commentary). It is brief and a great introduction to this highly controversial and contentious issue of biblical prophecy.
My #1 documentary for sorting fact from fiction on matters of world history over the last 2k years and where current events are taking us is embedded below. My understanding of the world I live in, much like the narrator of this project, experienced a total systems crash after grasping even some of this information.
Future entries will largely cover how I am now working to put my awakening to our true reality towards positive, useful ends. More than anything, I am now compelled to share the truth and warn others that severe judgment is coming. Though it may be virtually impossible to stem the tide of its coming, there remains great HOPE. Among all the most difficult, harsh judgments decreed by the prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Jesus), you will find this unifying theme: A majestic flow of mercy and hope for Yahweh's elect remnant, His blood-bought adopted sons and daughters. While we may be able to deceive ourselves, the Lord knows those who are truly His (Matthew 7: 21-23). Let us judge ourselves by Jesus' standards. Do we love and desire God more than anything? Do we hate what God hates and love what God loves? Do we hunger for righteousness and thirst for loved ones and even strangers to know His salvation? Are our will, affections and interests radically aligned to His Kingdom coming on the earth? These are some tests to determine if our faith is merely cultural and built on false hope or if it is true and able to stand the coming testing of our souls.
The truth contained in this documentary is so revelatory, it should be required viewing for any truth seeker. It will require an open mind and courage to watch the entire video, because I guarantee that some of your most cherished beliefs about the world you live in will be challenged to their core.
I have to strongly recommend subscribing to Leonard Ulrich's youtube channel. He has to be the most humble, unassuming and talented researcher I have encountered online. The ease and competence with which he handles things that virtually every mainline denomination won't touch with a ten foot pole is inspiring.
Final thought: Whether we like to admit it or not, America was birthed out of rebellion and a principality of rebellion still rules and grips our national identity. So many Americans are bewitched by this prideful, anti-christ spirit of rebellion which picked up great steam and has gone off the rails since 1963 (which just so happens to be the year the Bible, and more specifically the Mosaic Law, was banished from our cultural institutions).
Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people. (Ezekiel 12:2) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornnessis as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. (1 Samuel 15:23)
Without a doubt, it appears that Yahweh is trying to warn His people, and those far from Him, that treacherous times have arrived for our nation.
Will we have the patience, wisdom and humility to listen (so as to gain understanding) to what He is saying through Messianic prophets, signs in the heavens and in the earth below? I sure hope so because I am convinced that the next 1-2 years will bring forth the greatest tumult America has ever known in her short history. The faithful remnant will either grow to critical mass in awakening and revival born out of deep repentance or judgment will sweep over the land with astonishing speed and severity. Even if genuine repentance were to come to America, our nation appears to have taken on the identity of the daughter of (Mystery) Babylon prophesied in the Scriptures. It may be too late to recover from the evil we have promulgated in the world (legalized abortion since '73, bullying other nations to legalize on-demand abortion, unjust wars of aggression, unjust proxy wars, gross sexual immorality, promoting our immorality to the ends of the earth, financial treachery in the form of $20 trillion national debt, and the list goes on and on).
What is the Shemitah?
Deuteronomy 15 “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release. 3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance— 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you. 10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
Deuteronomy 28 describes both the blessings for obeying the shemitah as well as the curses for perverting justice.
Messianic Rabbi Cahn gives multiple evidences and story lines to demonstrate the power and reach of these fixed shemitah blessings/curses. This truly is a mystery, and one that will certainly stretch your mind and view of God's personal fingerprints throughout (recent) history. The 2nd link leads to a video which outlines the 4 Blood Moons, but beyond that and few people realize this, there are 4-6 additional super signs in the heavens to ponder in the next 2-4 years.
The Truth is always out there to be discovered, but you will soon find that God has done some extraordinary things to bury and conceal it from the proud and haughty (click this link for outstanding supplementary article). His prerequisites to finding Truth (in all its forms, including the most glorious Personification of the Word made flesh) must first be acknowledged and obeyed in humility before the journey can even really begin.
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter. (Proverbs 25:2)
Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:3)
Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but He shall reveal his secrets unto his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)
And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. (Luke 8:10)
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (Matthew 13:11)
Jesus answered him, I spoke openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, where the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. (John 18:20)
Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed. (Revelation 16:15)
Mysteries of the (end) times and seasons are meant to be known, but only by them that have qualified themselves (in Jesus) to understand the deep things of God. The Father delights to reveal His plans to His children who diligently seek Him. To avoid the judgment of seeing yet never perceiving and hearing but never understanding, you must love the Lord and desire the truth He reveals more than anything else. For without faith is it impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
The question is: What group are you in? Those permitted to know the signs of the times and the secrets of the kingdom or the uninformed outsider who was not watching and allowed the thief to break in?
There is quickly approaching a time that a casual follower of Jesus can no longer afford to remain in the dark and unconcerned about the season we are entering. Intense persecution of all who profess Jesus' name may not be here yet, but be warned that it is coming very soon. Our culture has utterly embraced depravity. It now calls evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). Whenever this happens in a society, you have His promise marked through history that time is short and the Remnant must come out and be holy. Let us not be destroyed due to lack of knowledge or understanding. Rather, be sober, vigilant and watching for Yahweh has and will provide a way of escape for those who trust Him.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is a drama of stories about Satan working to oppose and obstruct the purposes of God. As fresh revelation was passed down orally or penned by the prophets, Satan and his fallen angelic armies went about constructing their war plans for earth and its inhabitants, who they swore to only subjugate and dominate; never serve.
Follow with me as I outline only a few story lines where we can find Satan working to kill, destroy and corrupt the human line.
Genesis 3: Satan succeeds in breaking man's perfectrelationship with Yahweh; God promises and delivers redemption and restoration to all who exercise repentance and faith in Jesus.
Genesis 6: Satan sends some of his soldiers to corrupt the human genome. These fallen angels left their proper estate (2nd heaven), clothed themselves with flesh (changed shape and substance) and had sexual relations with women and animals to hybridize the human race (as well as creation in general) so the Messiah's blood linewould become completely contaminated, and He would not be able to manifest as the Son of Man on earth "to crush the serpent's head." God responds with the Flood of Noah. Satan was allowed to get close to his goal, but Yahweh is able to make all things (even the impossible) new!
Genesis 11: Satan raises up his newest version of the serpent's seed (see Genesis 3:15) post-flood in Nimrod. They succeed in causing the whole world to rebel against Yahweh at the Tower of Babel. Humanity is enslaved to do Satan's will until God intervenes to judge the world with the confusion of languages (so they would discontinue their work on their tower, a star gate into heaven) and enforced dispersion over the whole face of the earth. Out of the 70 nations and tongues created that day, Yahweh would choose only one group to be His peculiar and special people--the Hebrews. The other gentile nations were forfeited (for a prolonged season) and placed under fallen dominions and authorities to follow and be dominated by worthless "gods" which was part of the dispersion judgment of these peoples who rebelled with Nimrod. In essence, Yahweh's decision to invest and use one nation out of 70 was Him saying, Lucifer, let me totally stack the deck in your favor; you will still be crushed.
Exodus 5: Satan uses Pharaoh and Egypt to oppress the growing Hebrew people with great cruelty. Male israelite babies have been sacrificed in the Nile due to a diabolical depopulation agenda perpetrated against Israel. Yahweh raises up His chosen leader, Moses. 10 great plagues of warning/judgment ultimately lead to Pharaoh agreeing to send Israel away into the wilderness. However, Satan's chosen representative on earth, against all good reason, decides to pursue Israel to wipe them out in the wilderness. Instead, God's judgment is sealed against them with the crushing power of the Red Sea drowning Pharaoh's forces.
Numbers 13: During the 400 years that Israel spent growing as a nation under the yoke of slavery (only about 200 years actually spent in cruel forced labor) in Egypt, Satan's schemes focus in on the peoples (Canaanites - which makes for a fascinating story all its own) living in the land Yahweh promised Abraham. A minefield of mighty Nephilim reproduce there to await the arrival of Moses, Joshua and Caleb. The 10 spies along with Joshua and Caleb come back to give the Hebrew nation their report of the land. 2 reports are given. The 10 spies tell their nation what they saw, and by the time everyone digests their "evil" report, Joshua and Caleb have no chance to convince them to obey God's command to go in and wipe these Nephilim tribes out at once. The people were too busy quaking in fear and crapping their pants, and this came on the heels of just seeing Yahweh deliver them out of Egypt supernaturally with immeasurable power and majesty. God then forces His people to wander the wilderness for 40 years as a judgment for their cowardly lack of obedience. Once all the cowardly, disobedient men have fallen in the wilderness, Yahweh gives Joshua the green light to go in, totally destroy the Nephilim tribes and take possession of Israel's promised land. God put a demoralizing and paralyzing fear of His people into the hearts of these wicked hybrid tribes. Yahweh's hosts and servants assisted Israel with confusing and annihilating almost all of these satanic serpent seed.
Now, it is difficult to miss the undeniable thread of Satan's moves and Yahweh's counter moves throughout the entire story. The whole Bible and all of history attest to the reality of this Cosmic War. It has been raging in the heavens and spilling over onto earth since Lucifer rebelled and took a third of the angels with him.
Let's fast forward to our recent past and consider the Nazi movement of the 1930s and '40s. Can we find a satanic agenda in what Hitler was trying to accomplish on earth in those days? Was Hitler working as a willing and devoted representative of Satan in our recent past? Who was his primary target? Although the Jews were not dwelling in their homeland, Hitler waged a demonic holy war to hunt and exterminate them (along with stealing all their wealth to pile up funds for further conquest) everywhere his war machine tread. History is replete with anti-christ figures waging war with Israel to wipe them all out. It's a miracle of miracles that the Jewish people have been largely gathered back into their homeland in the last century. How did they survive? How did their culture and language survive such an extensive multi-millenia diaspora?
Israel is again in deep trouble today. The Arab Spring nations threaten to wipe them off the map openly in the press. These incessant and real threats are hints, that at its core, Islam is not the peaceful religion our media would have us to believe it is. The will of Allah seems directly and diametrically opposed to that of Yahweh when it comes to the peace and security of His chosen people, Israel. (Special Note: Divine Judgment as outlined in Blessings/Curses of Deuteronomy 28 and Jesus' words upon entering Jerusalem during Passion Week notwithstanding). The truth is that sometimes Yahweh does use gentile nations to chasten and punish a people bent on rebelling against Him even against all their better judgment and vivid imagery of Deuteronomy 28. He allowed it with the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians in recorded history.
Are conflicts in the Middle East today poised to fulfill more remaining Bible prophecy? Time will tell I suppose. And honestly, I don't think we will have to wait long to find out.
Disclaimer: Much of the details listed above in points # 2 & 3 that you cannot find in the Bible were taken directly from 1 Enoch and the Book of Jasher (both apocryphal texts highly valued by the ancient Hebrews and Jews of Jesus' day). Jasher is validated by at least 3 explicit references in Old Testament documents. The highly mysterious and misunderstood New Testament book of Jude is largely a tribute and re-telling of 1 Enoch. Jude even quotes a verse from 1 Enoch verbatim at one point. 2 Peter 2:4 also gives 1 Enoch a clear shout-out to the fact that Jews in Jesus' day venerated the text profusely (to help understand the evils of the antediluvian world). Portions of both were also found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls in Qumran.
References to things such as the 2nd heaven (or even 3rd heaven) can be verified and validated directly from Scripture. Many people believe that Satan's headquarters are in hell. That is not true. He and his fallen army are the princes and powers of the air. They dwell in the 2nd heaven. References to angels being able to shape shift, manipulate matter and interact with humans in our physical dimension are replete throughout Scripture.
Here are my 3 favorite extra-biblical books for further study on spiritual warfare all of which are written by Derek Prince (each speaks at length about the 1st, 2nd & 3rd heavens with Bible references).
For anyone that has not seen it, I suggest checking out:
"The Awakening" Monument in our National Harbor
What is this "awakening" depicting? Who is this giant bearded god rising up out of the ground, and why is this bizarre imagery in our national harbor?
Could this be Nimrod/Gilgamesh? I took the red pill a while back, and every day I uncover more in my research that leads me to believe that our reality is now the Twilight Zone. Does anyone else find these images incredibly odd or disturbing?
If you enjoy research, feel free to study what our American troops uncovered in Iraq in the year 2003. We may not have found plutonium-enriched weapons of mass destruction (which was never the true mission anyway), but there have been many reports that the remains of Gilgamesh were discovered and brought back to America for study and the extraction of DNA. I sure bet the transhumanists were foaming at the mouth to get this corpse into their labs for experimentation!
For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. (Matt. 24:28 - KJV)
You have to love that old reliable King James translation. Where virtually every other translation gets it wrong, we can depend on the KJV to honor Jesus' intended meaning behind some of his His most cryptic words. People wonder all the time about where America might be in Bible prophecy. Well, Jesus seems to point out here that American leaders were to have an unhealthy, obsessive really, interest in locating and stealing the corpse of the world's 1st anti-christ figure. In the Bible, this Gilgamesh figure goes by another name, a title actually--Nimrod, meaning "we shall rebel."
I have shared this video in previous posts, but there is some great commentary on the National Harbor monument backing up to the 10:50 mark.
Have you been perplexed by chaos or something sinister seemingly running free in your life or among your family?
Do you feel hard-pressed to keep your thought-life positive and under control?
Have you given up on praying because it seems like your prayers go no further than the ceiling?
If this resembles you in the slightest degree, you need to hear and appropriate this message.
The spirit of anti-christ is alive and well in our nation, world and every sector of culture really. It's absolutely critical that you study the mystery of anti-christ and take up the power Yahweh has provided His people to bind the "strong man"(who has already sustained a fatal blow at the Cross)!
I see way too much suffering and discouragement around me that is met with a type of resigned indifference. Take courage and learn to overcome!
For this to happen, we must seek first His Kingdom and get back to our 1st Love! Seek him diligently with all your heart and you will get your answers along with breakthroughs in the Spirit!
Do you know why I love history? The main reason is that I have been convinced through my research that you can't truly understand what the future holds without knowing what actually happened in the past.
Aren't we all striving for purpose? Don't we all burn with the desire to know where we came from, why things are as they are and how we really got here?
What if I were to tell you that it's possible to cut through all the lore, legends, mythology, confusion and disinformation to arrive at such a sacred destination with great confidence on this side of the grave?
I have unshakable faith that the Bible has these answers. That may not be popular in our modern age of reason, but I refuse to trade the truth in for a lie. The world has gone after the occult with extreme abandon, and sadly, the vast majority of church teachers and leaders are completely silent on all of these matters (though the Word of God in the flesh was not). His apocalyptic (often very cryptic) statements serve as proof, many of which I have covered in previous posts.
I am going to share the Biblical account of Genesis 11, and then I want to follow it up with the supplementary extra-biblical text, Jasher, which provides so much more valuable historical context to help this story really come to life. I promise…If you have never heard the whole story, you will find this to be incredibly fascinating!
Now, before I share anything from the Book of Jasher, allow me to share proof that this text is recognized and accredited by our Bible, actually in 3 different places. Twice it is mentioned in the OT (Joshua 10:13 & 2 Samuel 1:18) and once indirectly in the NT (2 Timothy 3:8).
11 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
The Tower of Babel (Jasher 9)
1 And Haran, the son of Terah, Abram's oldest brother, took a wife in those days. 2 Haran was thirty-nine years old when he took her; and the wife of Haran conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Lot. 3 And she conceived again and bare a daughter, and she called her name Milca; and she again conceived and bare a daughter, and she called her name Sarai. 4 Haran was forty-two years old when he begat Sarai, which was in the tenth year of the life of Abram; and in those days Abram and his mother and nurse went out from the cave, as the king and his subjects had forgotten the affair of Abram. 5 And when Abram came out from the cave, he went to Noah and his son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the instruction of the Lord and his ways, and no man knew where Abram was, and Abram served Noah and Shem his son for a long time. 6 And Abram was in Noah's house thirty-nine years, and Abram knew the Lord from three years old, and he went in the ways of the Lord until the day of his death, as Noah and his son Shem had taught him; and all the sons of the earth in those days greatly transgressed against the Lord, and they rebelled against him and they served other gods, and they forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth; and the inhabitants of the earth made unto themselves, at that time, every man his god; gods of wood and stone which could neither speak, hear, nor deliver, and the sons of men served them and they became their gods. 7 And the king and all his servants, and Terah with all his household were then the first of those that served gods of wood and stone.
8 And Terah had twelve gods of large size, made of wood and stone, after the twelve months of the year, and he served each one monthly, and every month Terah would bring his meat offering and drink offering to his gods; thus did Terah all the days. 9 And all that generation were wicked in the sight of the Lord, and they thus made every man his god, but they forsook the Lord who had created them. 10 And there was not a man found in those days in the whole earth, who knew the Lord (for they served each man his own god) except Noah and his household, and all those who were under his counsel knew the Lord in those days. 11 And Abram the son of Terah was waxing great in those days in the house of Noah, and no man knew it, and the Lord was with him. 12 And the Lord gave Abram an understanding heart, and he knew all the works of that generation were vain, and that all their gods were vain and were of no avail. 13 And Abram saw the sun shining upon the earth, and Abram said unto himself, Surely now this sun that shines upon the earth is God, and him will I serve. 14 And Abram served the sun in that day and he prayed to him, and when evening came the sun set as usual, and Abram said within himself, Surely this cannot be God? 15 And Abram still continued to speak within himself, Who is he who made the heavens and the earth? who created upon earth? where is he? 16 And night darkened over him, and he lifted up his eyes toward the west, north, south, and east, and he saw that the sun had vanished from the earth, and the day became dark. 17 And Abram saw the stars and moon before him, and he said, Surely this is the God who created the whole earth as well as man, and behold these his servants are gods around him: and Abram served the moon and prayed to it all that night. 18 And in the morning when it was light and the sun shone upon the earth as usual, Abram saw all the things that the Lord God had made upon earth. 19 And Abram said unto himself Surely these are not gods that made the earth and all mankind, but these are the servants of God, and Abram remained in the house of Noah and there knew the Lord and his ways' and he served the Lord all the days of his life, and all that generation forgot the Lord, and served other gods of wood and stone, and rebelled all their days. (Note: Please read the previous chapters of Jasher to find out more about how Abram was a contemporary and rival of Nimrod)
20 And king Nimrod reigned securely, and all the earth was under his control, and all the earth was of one tongue and words of union. 21 And all the princes of Nimrod and his great men took counsel together; Phut, Mitzraim, Cush and Canaan with their families, and they said to each other, Come let us build ourselves a city and in it a strong tower, and its top reaching heaven, and we will make ourselves famed, so that we may reign upon the whole world, in order that the evil of our enemies may cease from us, that we may reign mightily over them, and that we may not become scattered over the earth on account of their wars. 22 And they all went before the king, and they told the king these words, and the king agreed with them in this affair, and he did so. 23 And all the families assembled consisting of about six hundred thousand men, and they went to seek an extensive piece of ground to build the city and the tower, and they sought in the whole earth and they found none like one valley at the east of the land of Shinar, about two days' walk, and they journeyed there and they dwelt there. 24 And they began to make bricks and burn fires to build the city and the tower that they had imagined to complete. 25And the building of the tower was unto them a transgression and a sin, and they began to build it, and whilst they were building against the Lord God of heaven, they imagined in their hearts to war against him and to ascend into heaven. 26And all these people and all the families divided themselves in three parts; the first said We will ascend into heaven and fight against him; the second said, We will ascend to heaven and place our own gods there and serve them; and the third part said, We will ascend to heaven and smite him with bows and spears; and God knew all their works and all their evil thoughts, and he saw the city and the tower which they were building. 27 And when they were building they built themselves a great city and a very high and strong tower; and on account of its height the mortar and bricks did not reach the builders in their ascent to it, until those who went up had completed a full year, and after that, they reached to the builders and gave them the mortar and the bricks; thus was it done daily. 28 And behold these ascended and others descended the whole day; and if a brick should fall from their hands and get broken, they would all weep over it, and if a man fell and died, none of them would look at him. 29 And the Lord knew their thoughts, and it came to pass when they were building they cast the arrows toward the heavens, and all the arrows fell upon them filled with blood, and when they saw them they said to each other, Surely we have slain all those that are in heaven. 30 For this was from the Lord in order to cause them to err, and in order; to destroy them from off the face of the ground. 31 And they built the tower and the city, and they did this thing daily until many days and years were elapsed. 32And God said to the seventy angels who stood foremost before him, to those who were near to him, saying, Come let us descend and confuse their tongues, that one man shall not understand the language of his neighbor, and they did so unto them. 33 And from that day following, they forgot each man his neighbor's tongue, and they could not understand to speak in one tongue, and when the builder took from the hands of his neighbor lime or stone which he did not order, the builder would cast it away and throw it upon his neighbor, that he would die. 34 And they did so many days, and they killed many of them in this manner. 35And the Lord smote the three divisions that were there, and he punished them according to their works and designs; those who said, We will ascend to heaven and serve our gods, becamelikeapes and elephants; and those who said, We will smite the heaven with arrows, the Lord killed them, one man through the hand of his neighbor; and the third division of those who said, We will ascend to heaven and fight against him, the Lord scattered them throughout the earth. 36 And those who were left amongst them, when they knew and understood the evil which was coming upon them, they forsook the building, and they also became scattered upon the face of the whole earth. 37 And they ceased building the city and the tower; therefore he called that place Babel, for there the Lord confounded the language of the whole earth; behold it was at the east of the land of Shinar. 38 And as to the tower which the sons of men built, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up one third part thereof, and a fire also descended from heaven and burned another third, and the other third is left to this day, and it is of that part which was aloft, and its circumference is three days' walk. 39 And many of the sons of men died in that tower, a people without number.
What do you believe was the ultimate purpose of the Tower of Babel? I gather from what the texts are saying that Nimrod and his counsel envisioned this ziggurat to be an actual inter-dimensional portal, spiritual gateway or star-gate (whatever you want to call it) into heaven itself, and according to the texts, it appears that Nimrod somehow had the knowledge, blueprint and technology to make this possible (based upon Yahweh's response)! How incredible is that?! Where would he have secured such knowledge? Lucifer/Saturn/Zeus? Special Note: Please keep in mind that the reason for so many variations of names can be traced to the language judgment of Babel. 70+ languages were created in an instant, and all these remaining peoples were all talking about the SAME PERSON!!! With that in mind, now maybe the legends of Gilgamesh/Osiris/Apollo/Baal make more sense. It's the same giant, mighty rebellious hunter going by many names!
Does it strike anyone else as strange that CERN in Switzerland is experimenting and pushing to uncover or rediscover this very same knowledge and technology? Why is the Hindu god, Shiva the Destroyer, parked right out front their headquarters? What is a pagan god statue doing resting outside this institution of advanced "science"? The same questions can be asked of all the pagan occult imagery flooding Washington D.C. I presume. These are certainly very intriguing questions to ponder, and I submit, the answers are attainable (but quite ominous).
By the way, I think that verse 35 in Jasher above includes a hint about the origins of some of the Hindu gods as well as why Shiva is sitting on the front lawn of CERN.
