Timely Advice

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it: for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. “Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’   Revelation 3:7-13  NKJV

Those who have studied the book of Revelation are more than likely aware of the fact that the description and order of the churches listed mimic the evolution of the Church through its history from inception to now.  That said, because it is a complete picture of the Church, it follows that there are examples of each one in existence at any given time, so it is important for believers to not only examine themselves, but also choose which church to be most associated with.  The logical choice, in my opinion, is the church at Philadelphia revealed in this passage.

Although what Jesus has to say in this description is instructive and complimentary, I and many others are struck by the fact that it is a church, about which, Jesus had absolutely nothing bad to say.  That in itself sets it apart from the others and certainly makes me desire to be associated with it.  I also believe, based on where it is listed, that the message to it and about it seems almost perfect to apply to the times we are now experiencing as we approach the rapture of Christ’s Church.  Today I want to simply share with you the encouraging words this letter gives to me.

“I know your works”.  How many times lately have you wondered if God really understands what we are going through right now?  Of course, we know He does but that’s not to say we as humans don’t sometimes doubt.  Yet here we see the first thing Jesus tells us is that He is watching and knows how we are responding to the situation we find ourselves in.  I personally find that extremely encouraging, given how this year has unfolded so far and how it follows that the “birth pangs” are only going to get worse.  Jesus not only knows what we are going through, He is watching.

“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial”.  Do I hear a “halleluiah”?  The promise to all true believers, members of the body of Christ, is that we will be taken from this world before that period of time called the tribulation begins.  If the past seven months have showed us anything, it seems painfully obvious just how the events of the seven year tribulation are starting to make sense, not to mention the fact that we can see the anger, violence, and lawlessness beginning to happen right before our very eyes.

“Behold, I am coming quickly!”  What exactly does an exclamation point mean to you?  If you are familiar with this passage, have you ever noticed there is an exclamation point and not a period following Jesus’ statement?  By definition, an exclamation point is used to convey emotion and loudness of the previous statement.  Here Jesus tells the church, when you find yourselves in the situation we all believe we are in right now, be encouraged and hang on because He is coming to take us home to be with Him “quickly!”  Although we could debate when the birth pangs actually began, there is no doubt in my mind that the “delivery” is approaching “quickly”.

“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more.”  The word for overcome used here means literally to have victory or to conquer a foe, which in turn, strongly implies a struggle or conflict.  The Church, all true believers, have been in a struggle the past few months with literally no end in sight.  The forces of darkness can at times appear to be winning, and unfortunately discouragement, frustration, and disappointment can all affect the strongest of us.  Yet God in His wisdom has foreseen all that is occurring and is yet occur, and His message to us is that for those who endure and overcome will be rewarded in ways we can’t even imagine. 

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  Are you listening?  I and many others are firmly convinced that this letter was written especially for us, especially for this time.  How often have you questioned yourself these past few months about how you should react as a believer given the circumstances we have all been subjected to?  The answer to that is given in this passage from Jesus Himself, who foreknew exactly what we are going through.  The pains will only get worse until the time of the delivery arrives; true believers delivered to eternity with our Father in heaven, and unbelievers into a time of trouble the likes of which this world has never seen. 

Every night on the news we can see glimpses of just how terrible that time is going to be; as we watch the powers of darkness begin to show their true colors.  The words in this letter from Jesus tell us all we need to know, and the advice He gives us is worth its weight in gold.  He knows what we are going through because He is watching.  We are to persevere with the knowledge that He is coming quickly, understanding that the reward for doing so will exceed our wildest dreams.  These are promises from our Lord Jesus Christ.  “He who has an ear, let him hear”!

Keep watching.

Jewish Groom, Gentile Bride

Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel. “However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ”Then they said, “In fact, there is a yearly feast of the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards, “and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin. “Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.’ ”And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them.      Judges 21:16-23  NKJV

I think most believers would agree that our hope, the event for which we are all watching and waiting is the rapture of the Church. I'm sure most of us too, are familiar with the Church being referred to as the “bride” of Christ. Many of you are also probably aware of how the events surrounding the rapture follow precisely the pattern of a Jewish wedding. Since Jesus is Jewish, it is expected that His wedding to His bride, the Church, will follow the pattern and traditions associated with Jewish weddings. But there is one question I personally have always had with this idea and it is this; does it matter at all to this picture that we the Church are not, strictly speaking, Jewish?

Years ago when I first met Chuck Missler and began to study his teachings, one thing he said which has always stuck with me was “pattern is prologue”.  While there are many examples of this throughout scripture, it is probably never more obvious than when applied to the relationship between Christ and His Church.  Many of Jesus’ parables referenced the Jewish wedding ceremony and Paul refers to the Church as the bride of Christ.  Taking all these things into account, I had to wonder if there was a point to be made about a wedding between Jesus, a Jew, and the Church, a gentile?

I don’t recall exactly when I first began studying the Jewish feast days, but I do know it was quite some time ago.  Yet it wasn’t until 2010 that I first became aware of the holiday in Israel called Tu B’ Av, and wrote my first article about it. Quite often it is referred to as an unknown holiday because most have never even heard of it; much less understand the traditional beliefs associated with it.  It isn't even listed on my Jewish calendar along with all of their other holidays, which makes me wonder why it is so "forgotten"? If you look it up on the internet, you will find that most sites call it a "minor" holiday in Jewish culture, but for reasons I want to share with you, I think it's entirely possible this might be the most important holiday for the Church that you've never heard of.

First of all, Tu B'Av was declared a celebration by the first generation after the forty year wilderness wandering from Egypt during the Exodus. If you recall, God commanded that an entire generation must die because of their sin before a new generation could enter the Promised Land. After forty years, seeing the full moon told the new generation that the appointed time had passed, and they were able to enter the land that God had led them to. Remember the Jewish calendar is lunar, so the months are calculated by observing the phases of the moon, and the full moon always occurs on the night of the 14th (don't forget the new day starts at sunset). So this new generation declared this day a new day of celebration.

Secondly, the Jewish Talmud, which is a collection of ancient Rabbinic writings, teaches that on this day, Tu B' Av, the tribes of Israel were allowed to intermarry. The rest of the year, it was required that you marry only within your tribe, but on this one day every year, women were free to marry whomever they wished from any tribe. For this reason, and because it also marks the end of the wheat harvest in Israel, many believe this is the day that Ruth married Boaz. If you remember the story, Ruth was not a Jew, but a Gentile. Yet as a distant relation, she and Boaz, who was Jewish, were allowed to marry. Their marriage occurred at the end of the harvest, and since on this day, marriages to others were allowed, it’s entirely possible that this was the day of their wedding.

Third, as a result of a civil war between the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of Israel, only 600 males survived the conflict. The leaders of Israel decided they would allow these men to take wives from "the daughters from Shiloh". It seems there was a celebration at the beginning of the grape harvest at Shiloh where the daughters would go into the vineyards and dance. The surviving men were told they were to hide in the vineyards and catch themselves a wife from the girls who came out to dance. In later years this day became known as a traditional day of love and courtship, where girls would exchange white clothing so that prospective husbands would not know who was rich or who was poor.

Fourth, Tu B' Av is the last holiday of the year in Israel. Since the New Year begins on Rosh Ha Shanah, which is just a month and a half away, this is the last holiday, as well as the last harvest of their calendar year. Being the last of the holidays, it is a time of celebration both in looking back, and looking forward to the New Year that is approaching. This day is also considered to be the time where planting of crops or trees was to end for the year. During the time of the Second Temple, Tu B' Av was proclaimed as the beginning of the grape harvest which continues until Yom Kippur.

Fifth, prophetically speaking, Tu B' Av could well picture the future marriage of Christ with His church.

"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 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.               John 14:2-3 NKJV

In the Jewish culture, after the engagement the groom goes to prepare the home in which he and his wife will reside, and it is up to his father to decide when the home is ready and the son is allowed to return for his bride.  Another interesting fact is that the full moon is considered to be an auspicious time for a wedding and Tu b Av does indeed occur on a full moon.  Also, Tuesdays are believed to be the most favorable day of the week for a wedding, and coincidently Tu b Av this year is on a Tuesday.

So in review, we find there is a holiday in Israel that many are unfamiliar with which is a traditional day celebrating love. It is a day many choose as their wedding day, and historically is the only day that Jews were allowed to marry outside their own tribes. It comes at the conclusion of the wheat harvest at the end of summer, and along with being the last celebration of the year, because of the allowance to intermarry it also perfectly pictures the future marriage of Christ with His Church.

Many look at this day as a perfect time for the rapture of the Church to occur, and in all honesty, I would have to agree. But as we all know, God has His own timetable and as far as we know, He hasn't made it crystal clear. Yet with all the clues we do have, and all that has been happening lately in the world, many are convinced that this truly could be the day. Who knows, but since Tu B' Av starts the evening of the fourteenth of Av at sunset, which this year occurs on Tuesday, August 4, I would be lying if I said I wasn't going to be watching the skies more than usual. The day is approaching when we will be taken to be with our Lord forever. I'm praying it will be soon.

If you are reading this today and have never made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you to do it right now. Simply admit to God that you need His forgiveness because you are a sinner,  be willing to turn away from your sins, believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and invite Him to come in and control  your life through the Holy Spirit by praying a simple prayer like this;

Father, I know I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want to receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to live and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:   John 1:12 NKJV

If you have prayed this prayer you are part of the body of Christ, a member of His Church, and like the rest of us are now waiting for the call to join Him in Heaven for the wedding soon to come.

Keep watching.

Satan’s Sleight of Hand

I've been away this week so I decided today to share this commentary from Terry James which I found extremely interesting.  I hope you do as well. 

Listening to the many conservative voices as I do each week, my thought is most often “they get it—almost.” Sometimes they come closer to getting it than at other times. Some come closer to getting it than others.

Rush Limbaugh, for example, comes closer to “getting it” than most anyone else. But even he falls short of what is truly going on with regard to what is assaulting this nation and world.

And, just like salvation itself, if you miss it by an inch, you miss it by the proverbial mile, because at the root of the problems involved in both the case of salvation and the assault taking place is the same critical element. It is a profound cause that acts as a blinding agent to all else that flows from that root cause.

It is this element that gives Lucifer the deluding, deceiving ability to produce the sleight of hand that blinds most to what’s really going on.

Rush, for example, recognizes correctly that at least half of America has, apparently, gone insane. He talks for hours each day about how the educators have for decades now molded the minds of America’s youth through the public school system from K through grad school. They have rewritten—retaught—history by inculcating the “skulls full of mush,” as he puts it, with the lie that America was founded by evil, white slaveholders. And, he says in part, this inculcation, in cahoots with other deception, is why we have arrived at the point where there are more white people among the protesters and rioters than black people. He says, and the facts are there to prove it, that the current protests in the major cities where they are taking place are led in many cases by young, white, women who come from ”privileged”  backgrounds.

These, he says, are full of guilt from their deluding inculcation. They are as enraged over perceived wrongs by the founding fathers and Civil War history as the African-Americans for whom they protest and riot, thus the bowing of the knees before even the anarchists.

We’re witnessing a cultural revolution not unlike the one of China a couple of decades ago, Rush declares. The turmoil and foment are all part of the long-sought determination by the Marxist educators and others to grab the biggest prize in the geopolitical grab bag of goodies.

If they can get America to agree that largesse stored in its vaults and printing presses should be given to those seeking reparations for slavery and to be used for other giveaways, they can create the welfare class that depends totally upon their governance. A permanent underclass will make globalism the wave of the future, once America falls to the utopian ideal long claimed to be wrapped up in communistic intent.

The following article somewhat presents this almost-got-it, sleight-of-hand expression of thought.

The coronavirus was a heck of a cover for the Federal Reserve’s failings, and the riots laid even more cover for what’s to come. While the masses focus on what’s happening on the surface, the real criminals laugh at our ignorance from their metaphorical ivory towers.

As we fight amongst ourselves and try to figure out which violence is more acceptable, looting or police brutality, the ruling class is tightening the chains of our enslavement. With the help of the mainstream media, we are distracted from the core of the problem while dividing ourselves as the masters command…

You cannot trust CNN. You cannot trust lamestream, fakestream media. We know that they have an agenda. We know that they cherry-pick facts. And we know they lay down heavy deception. They are there to distract, deceive, and divide the masses. And what’s really going on in this country, remember, make no mistake; the Federal Reserve is laying cover for their operation to get rid of the dollar and move us all into a one-world digital reserve currency. And once we get rid of physical currency, guys, that is the granddaddy of them all as far as a surveillance state. Because they will be able to detect every single purchase by every single person every moment of the day. (Tyler Durden, “It All Comes Back To The Fed: The NWO Is Being Shoved Down Our Throats,” Zero Hedge)

The above story goes on to recommend precious metals as a hedge against what is coming in terms of economic disaster. It is a man-made answer, they believe, to a man-made catastrophe to come.

And that’s where Satan’s sleight-of-hand delusion comes into play. Like in the game of thimblerig (now called the shell game) in which a pea is placed under a thimble and three thimbles are shuffled, and the gambler guesses which the pea is under to make his wager, the devil distracts our eyes and minds to other areas in our surroundings. He thus makes even the most astute observers among us miss what he is really doing.

He is, in fact, setting the stage for bringing in his man of sin, the Antichrist.

Tom Horn and I have written a book we call Antichrist and The Final Solution. It details, through Bible prophecy overlaid by history and current events, exactly where all of this sleight-of-hand is moving this world of rebelliousness. More about this book in the coming weeks. It is a fascinating look into our strange time upon this fallen planet.

This isn’t meant to be a commercial, but in researching, studying and writing on the sleight-of-hand going on, it becomes clear that those who are still of sound mind and not of the reprobate mind of Romans 1:28 just don’t see the true, root cause that will soon bring America and the world totally into the devil’s orbit.

These don’t see the problem as rooted in sin. They don’t comprehend that it is the spiritual battle laid out by Paul the apostle in Ephesians 6: 12.

These believe that what is needed is more legislation to take away liberal ideology from within society and culture that will do the trick—that will change the minds of the voters in order to restore America, and the world at large, to sanity.

But it is the spiritual hearts of mankind that must be changed. The battle is rooted in spiritual wickedness, not merely in ideological, polemical disputations.

The resolution to Satan’s evil isn’t legislation, but a Person – the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only solution that can save the individual, the nation, or the world.

https://terryjamesprophecyline.com/2020/06/22/satans-sleight-of-hand/?wref=tp

Keep watching.