THE INTERESTING INFORMATION CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
CONFIRMING BIBLICAL TRUTH
5/24/2023
SECTION 1 – INTERESTTING INFORMATION WEEKLY ARTILCLES
SECTION 2 – SUMMARIES/BOOK REVIEWS/SPECIAL ARTICLES/CHRISTIAN LINKS
Blue Letter Bible: http://www.blueletterbible.org/
INTERESTING INFORMATION MINISTRY
5/24/2023
The following material is provided for information purposes only. Any conclusions or opinions formed should be based on the principles as outlined in Acts 17:11. The material is intended for use as a witnessing tool and to keep you informed so you will not be unaware (Luke 21:34) of what is happening according to Scripture’s
DE
Ezekiel 34:2 “Shepherd, feed the flock”
VIDEO - DEMONS TORMENTED THIS 'I LOVE LUCY' STAR UNTIL A VISION OF JESUS TRANSFORMED HIS LIFE
CHRISTIAN MUSIC VIDEO
WHEN WE PRAY
Tauren Wells
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – “BIBLE: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”
INTERESTING ARTICLES SUMMARY
· Coming Soon: The Church’s “godly governance”
· Ancient Hebrew curse reveals thru name of God
· Shocking shift among “Born-again” Christians on Jesus sinless nature
· Biden proposes even more restrictions on prayer in school!
· Prophetic Red Heifers bring excitement for renewed Biblical Commandment
· UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE
INTERESTING ARTICLES
COMING SOON: THE CHURCH'S 'GODLY GOVERNANCE'
WND – May 20, 2023 -- The Bible – especially the Old Testament – seems like such a long time ago. Even the New Testament, the time when Jesus walked this earth in the flesh, is ancient to many of us. History is no longer studied as much as it is rewritten.
Anno Domini, the Day of our Lord. Even the designation of time amongst researchers became controversial, giving rise to the Common Era designation.
Jesus, however, did exactly what he came to this world to do. He did not come to unite the world. He came to unite us, a struggling and broken humanity, with God. His success or failure to do so will not be measured by the letters before or after historical events, but by the events soon to take place on earth that will affect each one of us … forever.
Anno Domini, the year of our Lord, regarding His soon return will be the most controversial time of history on planet Earth. The globalists, billionaires and one-worlders seek at any cost to prevent it, but they are powerless to alter it by one iota. Various churches and denominations argue about what events they think must come first, or follow afterwards, but their timestamps only make them seem wise in their own eyes. God roams equally well through both time and distance. He lives outside of them; they have no effect upon Him.
When Jesus walked through the closed door to the Upper Room where his Disciples were meeting following His Resurrection, He didn't quote Scripture or argue theology with the men seated there. He showed them His hands. Wouldn't it be an amazing world right now if we did the same for the broken, hurting people of this world? The ones who have believed the world's lies?
While we go about our days arguing or wondering about end times timing, our Father God is wondering who is going to bring in the end times harvest of souls – the ones His Son already paid for on the Cross. You know, those people who have only the vaguest idea of the only two alternatives available to any of us here on this earth, after we enter the supernatural realm of spiritual eternity at our physical death.
The Old Testament is particularly good at showing us God's size and scale of operations. This current era will be as well, although many of us will not understand this until most of it is over. The church that hell will not prevail against has not yet had its chance to show the world what godly governance is. Soon, it will.
This is likely to be a small sliver of time across history, but it will be a glimpse into what the earth can be under godly governance. This has been neglected by the "Well, you know everything is going to get worse and worse, and then the end will come" chorus, but they, too, will have their time in the limelight. The church, however, having fulfilled its purpose, will not participate in what evil people will do to the earth and humanity during their reign of error. Apparently, this tribulation period will be so bad that Jesus, himself, will return to deal with fallen humanity's ideas of perfection.
The one-world billionaires' big tech fantasies are probably a drop in the bucket of tears we see now, as they pursue their dreams of being masters of the universe, and ruling over everyone and everything in God's creation. It is a mistake they will have all of eternity to contemplate. It will, however, conclusively demonstrate the folly of godless humanity creating a perfect world, made in their own image. That is likely why God ends up creating a new heaven and earth after their reign is ended. Big tech, big pharma and big egos are not humanity's friends.
ANCIENT HEBREW CURSE REVEALS TRUE NAME OF GOD
Scott Stripling, one archaeologist's trash has become his treasure.
Charisma News – May 12, 2023 -- Through a process called wet sifting—a methodological revolution bringing to light small or hidden artifacts that were previously missed at many archaeological digs—Stripling and his team have made an incredible discovery on Mount Ebal in the mountains of Samaria that could very well be one of the most significant finds in biblical history.
Stripling, the Director of Excavations for the Associates for Biblical Research, and his team traveled to Mount Ebal, about 50 miles north of Jerusalem, for a dig at the altar described in Joshua 8:30: "Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal, as Moses commanded the children of Israel."
It was a site that Stripling said Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal had excavated in the 1980s and had "done a very good job on it." Stripling said he wanted to "check his dump pile there" to see if Zertal had missed anything of significance.
Through wet sifting, what Stripling and his team found in Zertal's "dump pile" was a lead folding tablet with writing on the inside estimated to be 3,400 years old. Stripling says it's the oldest Hebrew writing that has ever been found, in a proto-alphabetic script.
"That predates biblical Hebrew, or paleo-Hebrew, which is what we think of from the First Temple period, the earliest writings we had previously," Stripling says.
The entire context of Stripling's team's findings can be found here.
The inscription on the tablet included the name of Yahweh, the Hebrew name for God used in the Bible, twice.
Stripling said the tablet was about the "size of a business card folded in half.
"Think about the book of Job, for example, which is the oldest book in the Bible," Stripling says. "And listen to what Job said in Job 19:23-24: 'Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever!'"
Stripling said hundreds of these types
of tablets have been found in Israel, what they call death pixels or curse
tablets. But all of them to this point, Stripling says, had writing with very
"petty or stupid" curses on them." But this one, he says, was a
"very serious thing."
"In this case, this is a judicial type of curse and it's self-imprecatory (to invoke or call down evil or curses upon a person), which is exactly what they did at the end of Deuteronomy. They pronounced blessings from Mount Gerazim and self-imprecatory curses from Mount Ebal. And what did we find on Mount Ebal, on the altar, by the way, the one that Joshua built, but a table with a curse inscription on it."
"All my life I've wanted to be known as a blessing, but as it turns out, what we found was a curse," Stripling says. "And the curse is actually a blessing in disguise. Essentially, there are 48 very small letters and the curse reads like this: 'Cursed, cursed, cursed, cursed are you by the God, Yahweh. Cursed you will surely die. Cursed you are by Yahweh, cursed, cursed, cursed.' It has a literary structure to it what we call a chiasm. Some of the Psalms are written this way.
"It is a self-imprecatory curse the Israelites [used], just like Deuteronomy says: 'We're bringing upon themselves and it may happen to us if we don't keep the terms of God's Covenant.'"
Stripling says that most scholars and places of higher learning have denied the literacy of Moses and Joshua, but this tablet proves otherwise.
"[Scholars assumed] The Bible couldn't have been written until 1000 years later because there was no alphabet with which they could write," Stripling says. "Well, now we know there was. They have said the Israelites were illiterate. Well, then why is God telling them to write, why was He telling the people to read. Why would people write things down if nobody could read it. And now we have proof of that literacy.
"So, the tablet is written and then laid on the altar. ... An innocent animal is slaughtered and the blood...that covers the curse. So, this starts way back in Genesis—the shedding of innocent blood to cover the guilty. And so, this blood covers the tablet and now the man who will come to the altar, in other words, repent and accept responsibility for his actions. Those curses are not going to come to him. It's only the man who will not repent, who will have those curses upon him.
"And the curse is a big problem because it doesn't say cursed you are by Satan. We could deal with that. This is cursed by Yahweh. That's checkmate, okay? There's no getting out of this curse, except through the blood. So, Leviticus 17:11 says that 'through the shedding of blood, there is forgiveness of sin.'"
Sound familiar? Does Jesus' crucifixion ring a bell?
While Stripling says the discovery was made in 2019, he and his team left Israel and thought the project was over. Everything that was found was put in storage, and Stripling assumed he would return to Israel a few months later to take the research project through the "normal protocols."
But then the COVID pandemic hit, and Stripling and his team were "locked out" of Israel for two years. Once they returned and accessed the tablet again, they took it to a lab in Prague where they had formed a collaborative partnership with a company that had expertise in tomography and scanning through lead.
On his collaborative team, Stripling says two scientists, two experienced tomographers from Prague, were able to independently verify the tablet. Stripling said that the tablet they found was "several hundred years older than the earliest version that we have. And it includes the name of God."
For more of this fascinating interview with Dr. Scott Stripling, please click here.
SHOCKING SHIFT AMONG BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIANS ON JESUS’ SINLESS NATURE
Faithwire – April 27, 2023 -- The portion of born-again Christians who believe Jesus was sinless during His time on earth has declined significantly, according to a new survey.
The American Worldview Inventory 2023 found just 44% of born-again Christians believe Jesus didn’t commit any sins during His life on earth, down from 58% in 2020, The Christian Post reported.
The survey, conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, also yielded a number of other troubling results.
But the rejection of the sinless nature of Christ — a metric that experienced a 14-point shift — is a finding that directly violates Scripture.
The Bible proclaims in 1 Peter 2:22 (NIV), “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” And 1 John 3:5 (NIV) adds, “You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.” There are also other Scriptures affirming similar sentiments, including 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Portions of the American Worldview Inventory assessed Americans’ changes in religious devotion overall, though statistics focused on born-again Christians are perhaps among the most alarming.
Two of the biggest negative transformations surround assessments of God’s calling and a deep commitment to one’s personal faith.
“The percentage of born-again adults who believe that they have a unique, God-given calling or purpose for their life has been cut nearly in half, from 88% to 46%,” read a statement announcing the results. “The second major reorientation was a 35-point swing regarding born-again individuals claiming that they are deeply committed to practicing their faith.”
It continued, “The proportion dropped from a very robust 85% in 2020 to merely half of the group (50%) in 2023.”
Another disturbing trend was the decrease among born-again Christians in the belief human life is sacred. Sixty percent of Christians answered affirmatively in 2020, with that proportion decreasing 12 points to 48% in 2023.
There was even a six-point decrease in the belief “God is the basis of all truth,” down to 63% in 2023 from 69% in 2020.
Continue reading t: https://www.faithwire.com/2023/04/24/shocking-shift-among-born-again-christians-on-jesus-sinless-nature-pastors-would-be-wise-to-rebuild-the-spiritual-foundation/
BIDEN PROPOSES EVEN MORE RESTRICTIONS ON PRAYER IN SCHOOL!
Also would prevent groups from picking leaders that hold like beliefs
WND – May 20’ 2023 -- A new plan from the Biden administration to update guidance regarding prayer in public schools means a crackdown on that activity, suggests a new report from Decision Magazine.
In fact, a lawyer for the ADF, which has fought multiple court cases regarding student speech in schools, warned the new Biden plan appears to be "suggesting that schools have to purge religious messages from any student speech if the school in any way controls the student’s speech."
He pointed out that Biden also plans to eliminate "two sections that protected the rights of students and teachers," including a provision allowing students to pray during lunch hours.
"This could lead to more violations of students’ rights to pray during free time, just like what happened to ADF client Chase Windebank in Windebank v. Academy School Dist. #20," he explained.
The report explained the ADF is one of two legal groups to have expressed concern about the Biden administration's "new guidance," called "Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer and Religious Express in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools."
It was released by the Biden administration just days ago.
The Department of Education claims the new Biden rules are to give "information on the current state of the law concerning constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression in public schools."
"We respect that the Biden administration acknowledges the important religious liberty rights of public school employees as the Supreme Court declared in its Kennedy decision last year," explained Keisha Russell, counsel at the First Liberty Institute.
The problem is, however, that the new rules appear to be based on the now-defunct Lemon precedent in the Supreme Court, which has abandoned those standards.
They allowed the government to make decisions on religious issues "as long as that involvement served a secular purpose, did not inhibit or advance religion, and did not result in an excessive entanglement of church and state," the report said.
Decision reported Chaufen warned the Biden rules could lead to confusion, pointing out the plan removes a section "that ensured that student groups could choose group leaders that agree with the groups' mission."
IMPORTANT NOTE: Although millions of American parents send their precious children off to public school every day, imagining their kids’ days will be filled with reading, writing, arithmetic, science, history, sports and music, they’re not only in for a shock – but for total BETRAYAL. Today’s “public” (government) schools have become far-left ideological, political and religious indoctrination centers aimed at reprogramming and transforming America’s children.
Kids are being taught to HATE their own country and to see themselves and their parents as racists – or victims of racists. They are sexualized and corrupted, and many are groomed into the dark LGBT world, with almost 6,000 schools prohibiting parents from even hearing about their child’s transgender “transition.” In between all the far-left indoctrination and sexual corruption, teachers take time to scare children to death about the near-term end of life on earth due to “catastrophic climate change.” Another lie. But it’s all classic Marxism/communism, with even the “3 R’s” – reading, writing and arithmetic – now being corrupted with “woke,” “1984”-style madness.
PROPHETIC RED HEIFERS BRING EXCITEMENT FOR RENEWED BIBLICAL COMMANDMENT
The Christian Post - Christian attention and support are beginning to increase as the time draws near on the prophetic red heifers second birthday.
Recently, The Voice of Healing Church in Houston, Texas, joined with Boneh, Israel, and The Israel Guys, a Christian non-profit based in Israel, and broadcast their unified support of reinstating the biblical commandment of the red heifer sacrifice.
The event was led by VOH's Pastor Michael Petro and Boneh Israel was represented by Rabbi Itzchak (Tzachi) Mamo, Mo Bareli and Byron Stinson.
Byron Stinson is the Texas businessman responsible for getting the red heifers to Israel, as well as purchasing land on the Mount of Olives for the sacrifice.
"The one thing we kept hearing, over and over, was that everyone felt so much love at the event," Pastor Petro told Israel365 News. "Christians and Jews, we were all working towards the same vision with the same hopes which is remarkable since this event could never have taken place ten years ago. The Lord is pulling us together for a common purpose."
Petro shared that he has been fascinated with the sacrifices that took place in the Bible, and the relevance they hold for Christians as well as Jews.
"Paul connects the red heifer to the Messiah," Pastor Petro said. "He describes Jesus as going outside of the camp and this is a reference to the red heifer which was sacrificed outside of the camp. God kept his promise and brought the Jews back to Israel so now, whether you are on the Jewish side or the Christian side, we are clearly in a period of getting ready. The heifers are an essential part of that. The coming together of Jews and Christians is part of that as well."
The red heifers that have drawn the attention of the world, landed at Ben-Gurion airport on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022.
As Charisma News reported, "For the Orthodox Jewish community, this is viewed as one step closer to practicing the Mosaic law as dictated in Numbers 19:2, 'This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: "Tell the children of Israel that they will bring you a healthy red heifer, which has no blemish, and on which a yoke has never gone."'"
The ashes of a red heifer are needed in order to purify the priests who would serve in the temple, according to Numbers 19. Because the entire animal is burned and the ashes stored and used sparingly—sprinkled into water from the Gihon spring—only nine such sacrifices had been performed throughout history.
These heifers meet the criteria, as the American ranchers who sent them to Israel from Texas did not even tag the ears of the cattle. This ensured their pristine condition was maintained for rabbinical inspection.
"The theme of the event was redemption and how the red heifers play a major role in that," Mo told Israel365 News. "It amazed me that when it came to redemption and the Third Temple, we all had so much in common. The people we met were connected to Torah and felt strongly that they wanted to be a part of the prophetic things happening in Israel right now. Of course, Christians and Jews have significant differences but it was very easy to focus on the important things we have in common.
"The heifers will, God willing, be ready by Pesach next year," Mo continues. "All of the elements necessary, the land and the kohanim, are being made ready in the meantime."
While there are still many hurdles yet to overcome, even as Israel deals with unprecedented civil unrest and persecution from the international community, for Jews and Christians, the question is not if these things will come to pass, but when will they come to pass. God has ordained these events to occur, now the faithful must continue in prayer and supplication that the will of God be done.
UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE
When we live out the biblical principles we know, God reveals deeper truths.
1 Corinthians 2:12-16; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Sometimes the Bible seems difficult to understand. After all, it is a compilation of documents from different times and places, written in various styles. But you don’t need to attend seminary in order to read Scripture. Believers have the ultimate Teacher within them—the Holy Spirit, who not only helps us comprehend God’s Word but also enables us to obey it.
Obedience is a key part of truly understanding Scripture. When we apply what we read, the Bible comes alive and we begin to hear the voice of God more and more. Experience is an effective teacher, and living out God’s Word helps us move beyond simple recall to maturity in Christ.
Conversely, when we don’t act on biblical truths, we will not receive the awareness that comes from experience. Besides, if we haven’t obeyed what God has previously revealed to us, why would He share His deeper truths? The book of Psalms says, “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him” (Psalm 25:14); it goes on to say that those who fear Him obey His commandments and are promised “a good understanding” (Psalm 111:10).
As you read the Bible, look for God’s instructions. Then, with the Holy Spirit’s help, commit to follow them. You’ll soon discover how applying divine truth leads to understanding and wisdom.
In Touch Ministry
PRIOR ISSUE
INTERESTING INFORMATION MINISTRY
5/17/2023
VIDEO – ANCIENT HEBREW CURSE REVEALS THE TRUE NAME OF GOD! THIS IS AMAZING!!
CHRISTIAN MUSIC VIDEO
WE BELIEVE
Newsboys
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – “No matter how far you’ve run from God, He’s only a prayer away” – Our Daily Bread
INTERESTING ARTICLES SUMMARY
· What does Salvation Mean?
· Most Christians do not have a Biblical Worldview
· God’s order will come
· Why Christian Prayers for Israel matter
· CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER
INTERESTING ARTICLES
WHAT DOES SALVATION MEAN?
The Christian Post – May 8, 2023 -- Almost no word so well captures the heart of the message of Scripture as does the word salvation. It appears more than 170 times in our English translations of the Old and New Testament. The related word, saved, appears approximately one hundred times throughout the pages of Scripture. But what is salvation? What does it mean for someone to be saved?\
The Scriptures provide us with several distinct answers to this question. The Bible reveals that God saves believers from their sin, the power of Satan, death, and the judgment to come. Taken together, these four aspects of the work of redemption help us understand the full-orbed biblical teaching about the salvation that God provides through the person and work of Christ.
In his birth announcement concerning the coming Christ, the angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary that the Redeemer would be called “Jesus” because He would “save his people from their sin” (Matt. 1:21). Since sin is man’s great problem, we needed One who would save us from its guilt and power. Jesus is such a Savior. Since He is God (John 1:1–4; Rom. 9:5), He can conquer our greatest enemies: sin, death, and Satan. Since He is man (John 1:14; Rom. 1:1–4), He can represent all those for whom He died. On the cross, Jesus became the atoning sacrifice for the sin of His people. All the sins of the elect were imputed to Christ on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus died to deliver men and women from the guilt of their sin. Additionally, Christ died to break the power of sin in the lives of His people (Rom. 6:1–11). Because of the death of Christ, God has forgiven His people all their trespasses (Col. 2:13; Eph. 1:7).
God’s Word also reveals that Jesus died to save His people from the evil one. Since Satan was the one who led our first parents in rebellion against God, he needed to be conquered by the Redeemer. There is a close connection to our sinful bondage and the power of the evil one. The Apostle John explained that Christ came to destroy the works of Satan. He wrote: “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). In order to deal with the sin of His people, the Son of God had to simultaneously “disarm principalities and powers.” This means that believers have been saved from the power of Satan as well as from the ultimate efficacy of his accusations. Once Christ has redeemed someone from the dominion of Satan, He sets them free from his recurrent accusations (Rom. 8:1, 33).
Scripture teaches that the “wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Far from being something natural and normal, death is the result of Adam’s trespass in the garden. God warned Adam that in the day that he would eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil “in dying he would die” (Gen. 2:17). The Hebrew denotes the concurrent and sequential aspects of death. When he sinned, Adam brought the just consequence of spiritual, physical, and eternal death on himself and all his posterity. Because death is the terrible consequence of sin, Scripture calls it “the last enemy to be destroyed” (1 Cor. 15:26). By His death and resurrection, Christ defeated death. The Lord foretold this aspect of salvation when He said:
I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death.
O Death, where are your plagues?
O Sheol, where is your sting? (Hos.
13:14)
The writer of Hebrews tells us that Christ “tasted death” for all those for whom He died (Heb. 2:9). Believers have already been saved from the second (i.e., eternal) death (Rev. 20:14) in the here and now (John 5:24), and they also await the full revelation of their salvation from death. The believer’s ultimate hope is the resurrection of their bodies unto eternal life on the last day (Rom. 6:5; 8:11; Phil. 3:10–11, 20–21).
Believers are not only saved from sin, the evil one, and death; they are also saved from the wrath of God and the judgment to come. Theologians have sometimes explained this aspect of salvation in the following way: “We are saved by God, from God, and for God.” This is typified in the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. With the last plague, God gave His people a gospel type in the Passover lamb (Ex. 12; 1 Cor. 5:7). The covenant people were to put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes so that they would not fall under the wrath of God. They, no less than the Egyptians, deserved the wrath and judgment of God. God provided a substitutionary lamb that would serve as a type of Jesus — the Passover lamb who delivers believers from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10). Jesus became the object of God’s wrath in the place of His sinful people. In His death, Christ propitiates the wrath of God so that it does not fall on those He came to save.
Finally, Scripture speaks of the salvation of believers in three tenses. Christians have been saved, they are being saved, and they will be saved. In redemption accomplished, Christ truly and really saved His people when He died and rose again. In the application of redemption, believers are being saved as Christ intercedes for them, sustaining them through their pilgrimage and enabling them to persevere in the faith. At the consummation, believers will experience the full application of the salvation wrought by Christ in the resurrection.
MOST CHRISTIANS DON'T HAVE A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW
The Christian Post – May 8, 2023 -- According to the Cultural Research Center (CRC) at Arizona Christian University, over 69% of Americans identify as Christians. However, only 4% of Americans have a biblical worldview. A biblical worldview is a means of experiencing, interpreting and responding to reality in light of biblical perspectives so that each choice made may be consistent with God's principles and commands.
In other words, do you sift decision making in all areas of your life through the Word of God? The answer is no, for most Americans.
I am disappointed as well — as we have all seen the negative impact social media, arts and entertainment, public schools and the government have had on our lives. Unfortunately, the culture is shaping people more than the church. Where there is no biblical worldview, there is no repentance, contrition, brokenness or redemption.
Just recently, we have seen glimmers of hope — with students joining together in praise and worship to the Lord on college campuses across the country. And, the movie, Jesus Revolution is shining light on a spiritual awakening in the 1970s that could inspire this generation and beyond. Perhaps these moments will help us examine our hearts — and move us to action. However, it’s going to take work — in the Church, at home and in our communities. Here’s where we should start:
- Christ followers should study God’s word daily, asking the Lord for His wisdom.
- The Church must disciple, providing wisdom from the Word of God about today’s critical issues — such as the sanctity of life, marriage and family, justice and treating others with love and respect.
- The Church has to continue the heavy lifting of going out into the world to preach the Gospel.
- The family that studies the Bible together can better weather the storms of life.
- Our identity must be in Christ, not race, gender or the culture. We must cling to God’s righteousness.
We can’t take any of these actions seriously without first examining our hearts. And that begins with each of us, willing to repent before the Lord and acknowledge our shortcomings.
The United States of America is primed for revival and yet, we must first repent. God wants to do this work but we must place ourselves at the foot of the cross.
As it says in Isaiah 57:15, our hearts much be contrite and filled with humility. We need to cry out to Lord and surrender to Him. To do this work, church leaders must disciple and train its congregants to have a biblical worldview — and live a life that is fully surrendered to God with the Bible as their foundation. However, pastors and leaders must first possess a biblical worldview — and a posture of reverence for God’s word, no matter what man says. The direction given must be biblical. If we cry out to Him, with a hunger and willingness to be broken, God will do a mighty work in us.
The results of this study should jar us but not surprise us — as we can look around and see the rotten fruit from our collective disobedience. It is my hope this insight will move us all to swift action — to examine our hearts, our families and our churches — and come up with a plan of action to help us adopt a biblical worldview — and, get us ready for revival, individually and corporately.
GOD'S ORDER WILL COME
Charisma News – Apr. 14, 2023 -- After hosting "Jesus in Passover" with Rabbi Jason Sobel on TBN, I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit. As I focused on this Passover and Easter season, I saw strong winds as if there was a hurricane or a Category 5 tornado hitting the Earth.
It wasn't God's judgment, but it was the theme that God can do something in an instant or "suddenly" and make something happen in a day that would normally take years to happen.
"Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting" (Acts 2:2).
This passage depicts the moment when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost. God moved suddenly and powerfully, transforming their lives and empowering them to spread the gospel. This divine intervention shows us that God can move in unexpected ways, bringing about profound changes in our lives in an instant.
There has been a theme in a lot of Christian churches where pastors have preached on the "Suddenly God came." Especially when there is great harm or problems on the earth, God can instantly do what normally takes much process for the sake of His people.
The Greek word for suddenly is aphno and it means unaware; unexpected, suddenly. We serve the God of "suddenly."
We see this all through the Scriptures and God even defines this nature of 'suddenly' to His people in Isaiah and Malachi:
"I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them, and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass" (Isa. 48:3).
In this verse, we see that God can declare His plans and then bring it to pass "suddenly." He is not confined by the limitations of time or our understanding of the process. He can act and make things happen according to His perfect timing and divine plan.
"'I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the LORD Almighty" (Mal. 3:1, NIV).
In this prophetic word, we see a promise that the Lord will come suddenly to His temple. This speaks to the unexpected arrival of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who came to redeem humanity and restore our relationship with God. His arrival demonstrates that God's divine plan can unfold suddenly, bringing hope and salvation to a world in desperate need.
These Scriptures remind us that God is sovereign and not limited by our understanding of time or process. When He moves suddenly, it is always in perfect alignment with His divine purpose and plan for our lives. Let us take heart and trust in His ability to bring about the breakthroughs we need, knowing that He can and will act "suddenly" on our behalf.
I can feel that God intends to reveal His plans and strategies to believers all over the world in this next season. I saw a 10-year calendar of God executing plans that He has been setting up over the past 50 years but for those of us who have experienced it, it will feel "suddenly".
You might have been praying or believing for changes in your life, your family, your career, your finances, your health but when God comes with answers it is a before and after moment in your faith.
Everything around us feels chaotic right now. The political atmosphere, racial tensions, sexual identity crises, religious intolerance, etc., but we have seen over and over in the Bible of God's ability to bring order out of chaos and deliverance to His people!
In this season, I sensed that God is going to set reminders for us of His faithfulness and commitment to bring breakthrough and deliverance to His people. There will be some "wins" to biblical values, family drama's that feel irreconcilable, health & deliverance issues, Christian legal cases, celebrity salvations and financial investments into Christian led initiatives that will stun everyone, including the Christian community.
As I saw these winds hit the earth, things happened. I saw some high-level political leaders in several Western countries are going to come under conviction of the Holy Spirit over certain laws or issues in their nation and will turn the tide in some of the chaos that has been reigning under their administration.
I saw some of the darkest celebrities who the world is fascinated by but for all the wrong reasons, come into authentic Christianity and use their platform to bring thousands of people to Christ. They will start offering online Christian content on social media, contributing to Christian events and even becoming biblical teachers themselves.
Just like God raised up King David to defeat Goliath when he was only a shepherd boy that no one had heard of, there will be David's raised up who have killed the lion and bear in secret and now it's their time to take down some major 'giants.'
As we look at the Scriptures, we can see countless examples of God coming through for His people in extraordinary ways.
One of the key passages that comes to mind is Exodus 14:13-14, where Moses encouraged the Israelites not to be afraid, as God will fight for them:
"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Continue to read at: https://www.charismanews.com/culture/92032-shawn-bolz-god-s-order-will-come
WHY CHRISTIAN PRAYERS FOR ISRAEL MATTER
Charisma News – May 14, 2023 -- There's an incredible, global phenomenon taking place with millions of Christians fasting and praying for Israel this month. While the act of Christians praying for Israel is not new, this may be the first time that there has been a formal organized effort to garner Christian support for Israel, all at the same time, over a period of three weeks.
Known as the Isaiah 62 Fast, the effort has been spearheaded by Pastor Mike Bickle. It comes at a time that is historic, with Israel celebrating its 75th anniversary of independence, and the 56th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.
Jews celebrate Shavuot, the biblical festival on which Moses brought, and the Jewish people received, the Law, which Christians know and celebrate as Pentecost. It's a redemptive season.
It also comes at a time during which Israel continues to experience violence and terror causing the harm and murder of many citizens and even one tourist from Italy. In the midst of these prayers, Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza have fired more than 500 rockets at Israeli communities, putting millions in their crosshairs, canceling public events and celebrations while creating fear, stress and trauma. (As of this writing it has neither escalated to a ground operation, nor has there been a cease fire, and we pray that the wanton and evil terrorist fire will cease, and God will change their hearts.)
It also comes at a time when Israel has also been engaged in domestic political strife and division, the level of which is something that Israelis have not experienced in many years, if ever.
While the economy remains strong and tourism has largely rebounded since the pandemic, Israel is also experiencing increases of prices on basic staples, housing, energy and other items that stretch the hard-earned shekel of millions.
Outside Israel's borders, its enemies in Iran, who make no secret of its goal to annihilate Israel, are churning away at their centrifuges and arming themselves with long range rockets and other weapons that put all of Israel at risk and pose an existential threat. Islamic terrorists in Lebanon and Syria have an estimated 150,000 long range missiles that can strike all of Israel.
This all comes shortly after Israel was ranked the fourth happiest nation in the world, something that if you read the challenges that we face above, it's hard to comprehend. Israelis are happy because our lives have a purpose and destiny. We don't just exist and live for the next day, but rather exist because of our past, because of God's promises and covenant, with all the promises and responsibilities that entails and mindful of our destiny.
When speaking with Christian friends around the globe, and being interviewed by various Christian media about the significance of the Isaiah 62 Fast, one common theme that recurred in these conversations is a sense that while Christians genuinely love and support Israel and their prayers for Israel are indeed heartfelt and sincere, most Christians have little to no deep connection to Israel or with average Israelis. They may truly love us, but they don't know us.
They don't know about these basic challenges and other facets of life from sending our children to the military, economic issues that make making ends meet sometimes a challenge or the issues that threaten to divide us, and more.
And they don't experience our joy and pride in having built the incredible society that we have over the past 75 years. Sometimes it is a necessary blessing to have Christian friends to remind us of that because we are caught up in the day today realities of just living in the Land and not contemplating significance or bigger picture all the time.
So, when Christians around the world unite in prayer for our country and our people, it is indeed remarkable, miraculous and something for which we are grateful. That is why the Genesis 123 Foundation initiated a complementary initiative to help Christians praying for Israel focus on the prayer points that are needed the most. Dozens of Jews and Christians in Israel have already joined us in important conversations about why that's important, and what to pray for. Each video is being shared on its Facebook page and YouTube channel, and praying that these will be shared widely to focus and motivate the millions praying for Israel daily.
When you watch, follow and share these, you will be inspired by how everyone acknowledges the significance of this global effort. You will also note the wide range of thoughts are about what one should be praying for. Some of the prayer points are intuitive and some of them are innovative, but all of them are important and inspiring.
These include an in-depth view of what praying for the peace of Jerusalem means; for Israel to continue to be a light unto the nations and blessing to the families of the world; for true friendship between Jews and Christians; to pray for what's important to the Jewish people: what makes our hearts sing and what breaks our hearts; to turn the hatred by our enemies into hearts of love; to protect the Land of Israel, its citizens, and the soldiers; that the Jewish people should be more united and cohesive.
Basically, we're looking to flood God's inbox with prayers from those who are devoted to Him, to preserve the wellbeing, safety and biblical destiny of Israel and the Jewish people.
The Genesis 123 Foundation is urging Christians around the world to take a few minutes each day and watch a different video before praying in order to focus and engage your prayers on the things for which Israel needs your prayers the most.
CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER
Our loving heavenly Father delights in meeting the needs of His children.
Yesterday we discussed how our prayers are a kind of worship that brings God glory. But that’s not the only reason we are to pray. Bringing our concerns to God helps us grow in dependence on Him and in gratitude for His faithfulness and provisions. As a loving Father, He delights in giving good gifts that assist us in our walk with Him. And in that way, His thoughts, desires, and strength become ours as well.
Prayer also enables us to participate in God’s work in the world. At any given moment, you can pray for anyone anywhere on earth and have confidence that the Lord of the entire universe will hear you and respond in the most effective way possible. What a wonderful privilege it is to be used by God to expand His church and to help fellow believers.
Another reason the Lord bids us to pray is so that our faith in Him will grow. He promises to answer when we ask, seek, and knock. The result may not be in the form we expected, but our heavenly Father always gives us what is right according to His will. If you set aside time daily to talk to Him, you’ll learn firsthand just how faithful He is to His children.
In Touch Ministry
THE GRACE THAT WE STAND IN IS MORE THAN WE DESERVE
SECTION II - SPECIAL ARTICLES/ BOOK REVIEWS
IN THIS SECTION:
· WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE? (WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS)
· WHAT’S IN A NAME?
· "BOB PIERCE - THIS ONE THING I DO" - A BOOKREVIEW/SUMMARY
· "THE HIDDEN CODES OF THE BIBLE" - A BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY
· "SIGNS OF THE TIME” - A BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE?
By D.E. Davis
For Christians, we are told in Scripture in 2Cr 5:8 that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. For those who turn away from God, we are told that they are eternally separated from God and go to a place called Hell. Rev 14:11 says that the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.
The question that everyone ponders is: What really happens after we die? Do we just lay dormant until the Lord takes us to be with him or until judgement is handed out at the Great White Throne as called out in Rev. 20:11? Are we conscience? Do we feel, touch, think, recognize loved ones, know what is happening around us? All questions that we have ask ourselves, no doubt, at some time in our life.
My own personal review of the Scriptures has led me to believe that after we die, even though our body may be dead and buried, our Spirit is alive and fully conscience. Chuck Missler likens this state of conscienceness to the software that runs the Computer; once the hardware goes, the software remains intact and available for further applications.
There are two illustrations in the Bible that makes it clear as to what happens after death, when we're in the spirit.
The first one is illustrated in the Luke account of Lazarus and the rich man in Chapter 16. After death, Lazarus, a man of God, is escorted into Abraham’s Bosom, a holding compartment in Hell for the Believers prior to the Cross. The non-believing rich man was "buried" and went into a separate compartment in Hell (Hades), apart from Abraham’s Bosom, where he was in Torment according to Scripture. Both were in a Spirit state; yet by the account, they could see each other and speak to each other.
The second account is in Revelation, where John is taken (in the Spirit) to Heaven to see those things that shall come to pass prior to the return of Jesus Christ to the Earth, or Second Coming (not the Rapture).
I had to conclude from the study, based on the following Scripture, that all of the senses we have here on earth will be with us throughout eternity, even unto death.
· THE ABILITY TO LOOK/SEE - Luke 16:23;Rev. 1:12;4:1,4; 5:1,2; 6:1,2,8,9; 7:1,2; 8:2; 9:1,17; 10:1,5; 13:1,2,3;14:1,6; 15:1,2; 16:13; 17:3,6; 18:1; 19:11,17,19; 20:1,4,11,12; 21:1,2,22; 22:8
· THE ABILITY TO HEAR - Rev. 1:10; 4:1; 5:11; 6:1,3,5,6,7; 7:4; 9:13,16; 10:4,8; 12:10; 14:2,13; 16:1,5,7; 18:4; 19:1,6; 21: 3; 22:8
· THE ABILITY TO BEHOLD ( to obtain knowledge of: understand: perceive) - Rev. 5:6,11; 6:5,8,12; 7:9; 8:13; 13:11
· THE ABILITY TO REASON - Luke 16:30
· THE ABILITY TO CRY (even though there will be no more crying in Heaven) - Rev. 5:4,5; Luke 16:24
· THE ABILITY TO SPEAK - Rev. 5:13; 10:9; 21:6,15; Luke 16:24, 29,30,31
· THE ABILITY TO FEEL/TOUCH - Luke 16:23, 24,25
· THE ABILITY TO REMEMBER - Luke 16:25
· THE ABILITY TO WONDER - Rev. 17:6
· THE ABILITY TO WRITE - Rev. 1:11; 10:4; 19:9
· THE ABILITY TO QUESTION - Rev. 7:13
· THE ABILITY TO TAKE (THE BOOK/ROD) - Rev. 10:8,9,10
· THE ABILITY TO FALL (ON KNEES) - Rev. 19:10; 22:8
· THE ABILITY TO STAND - Rev. 13:1
· THE ABILITY TO WORSHIP - Rev. 19:10; 22:8
· THE ABILITY TO PERFORM TASKS - Rev. 11:1
God has promised in 1 Thess 4:16 and 1 Cor. 15:52,53 that one day, we shall be reunited with Him in body and will be transformed and conformed to Him - in the twinkling of an eye. We are also told in Scripture that we shall see Him face to face- see the Lamb that was slain for you and me. We know by His Word, that we will Praise Him, Worship Him and Rule with Him.
One thing in the study that I found extremely fascinating was the difference in treatment between Lazarus and the non-believing rich man. Scripture says that Lazarus was escorted to Heaven by an Angel, but there is no indication in Scripture about how the rich man arrived at Hell. Could it be that God had a specific purpose why He chose not to tell us in Scripture?
Finally, knowing that others may have varying interpretations of these Scriptures, I strongly urge you to review the Scriptures yourselves to determine what you find as the truth according to God’s Word.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
For those who wish you had some other name because you don't like the name you were given, you had better think twice. It is most likely that the name your parents picked out for you was not their choice but God's choice. Let’ s face it, the word of the Lord is true. That's why in Eph. 1:4, God proclaimed that He had chosen us from before the very beginning of the world.
If you follow the Genealogy of Adam in Genesis, Chapter 5 (*) you will receive an insight into what importance God put in names - It's an exciting message:
Genealogy Meaning
Adam Man
Seth Appointed
Enosh Mortal
Kenan Sorrow
Mahalalel The blessed God
Jared Shall come down
Enoch Teaching
Methuselah His Death shall bring
Lamech The Despairing
Noah Rest, Comfort
Now let us look at God’s Plan for Redemption:
"Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest."
Let us now look at the Genealogy of Abraham (*):
Genealogy Meaning
Abraham Predestination
Isaac Called
Jacob Justified
Joseph Glorified
(*) Source: Chuck Missler’s Briefing package: “A Walk Thru the Bible”
WELL YOU SAY! BUT THAT WAS ALL OLD TESTAMENT AND WOULDN'T BE APPLICABLE FOR TODAY - WOULD IT?
Well, let us see.................. As a Christian, did God not choose you by name at the same time he chose Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph - before the very foundation of the world? If God had a purpose for their name, would you expect anything less for your name since He chose you at the same time?
As a Christian, You ought to thank God daily that you, by your given name, was written in the Lamb's book of life before the very foundation of the world and that you will be a partaker in all the promises of Rev 21:27.
Within the last couple of years, researchers have found many startling discoveries through the use of super computers, specifically, hidden codes that God supernaturally placed within the Hebrew text of the Bible. Over 2000 years ago, the names of historical and current leader’s names were placed in the Bible. Such names as Adolph Hitler, Eichmann, Arafat, Peres, Rabin, Rabin's murderer Amir, Ben-Zion Netanyahu, Saddan Hussein, George Bush, Schwarzkoph, Peter Arnet (CNN), Timithy McVeigh, Bill Clinton.
Do you think that God would limit His calling out to just those who had a highly visible historical impact on this world? There is no doubt that He had a purpose in doing this, if nothing else, just to get your attention that He is the Creator; that He alone knows the beginning from the end.
It is my firm belief that as we advance further with our computer technology and peel back the layers of the Hebrew text of the scriptures, we will make many more startling and exciting discoveries. One being that God has written each and every one of our names in His Word.
HERE IS WHAT GOD SAID: Isaiah 66:22 "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain."
BOOK REVIEW by D. E. Davis (September 1997)
BOB PIERCE -"THIS ONE THING I DO"
By Franklin Graham with Jeanette Lockerbie
It is amazing the worlds that open up to an individual, once the Power of the Holy Spirit comes upon him. Just three years ago, where once I was blind to Missions, to all the inspired men and women God has called to service and the multitude of people all over the world who have been saved, new worlds are ever opening to me to see how awesome the power of God is in our Christian lives.
Such was the power and strength of faith Bob Pierce had in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is difficult for me to even attempt to assess where God has put Bob along with other past great men of the faith, but from what I read about his life with Christ, he certainly had his eyes focused on Jesus! I personally feel inadequate and humbled to even put in words, my thoughts about this man. Bob was a man Blessed by God. I feel sad that I never had an opportunity to know him, but look forward to meeting him one day in heaven.
If ever there was a verse of scripture that represented Bob Pierce, it had to be the title of this book as taken from Philippians 3:13,14 ".......this one thing I do,....I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ."
Bob was raised in Los Angeles and at the age of 12, gave his life to Christ and was baptized in the Nazarene Church. "God simply called me to give my heart to Jesus, and I followed Him." He died in 1978 of leukemia but lived his life for Christ in between in between those dates as if Christ was coming tomorrow and he still had to witness to the whole world before dawn broke. Throughout his career, he dedicated his life mainly to Missions and over the years was responsible for founding such World re-noun programs as "World Vision", an organization dedicated to meeting the emergency needs in crisis areas such as Korea after the Korean war. During that time of need, he established a Korean Orphanage, serving over 30 thousand Korean war orphans. Bob was also responsible for starting the World re-noun Korean Orphan's Choir. As an outgrowth of "World Vision" he founded "World Medical Mission" which covered all emergency medical needs in countries all over the world which had no medical facilities. He was also founder of "Samaritan's Purse" and organization dedicated to funding World emergency need, no matter where they were. These organizations are still meeting the needs of those in crisis today.
If his work through these organizations was not enough, he became a United Nations War Correspondent during World War II; was Co-founder for "Youth for Christ"; and became a Motion Picture producer/Radio program host, author and a lecturer, but first and last, he always considered himself an evangelist! Even though Bob knew that he was "extraordinarily gifted by God, he was never impressed with himself - he considered himself just an earthly vessel, available at all times for the exclusive use of the Lord".
In his own words, he had "many flaws, failings but had abundant faith in God who lives and cares about people."
If I had to pick four areas of the Christian life that I feel truly represented Bob Pierce, they would be 1) Unwavering Faith, 2) Compassion for others, 3) Obedience to God and 4) Commitment to accomplish the Will of God in his life.
From the Beginning, Bob knew his calling was for Missions to the Asian Countries. His first mission led him through Hawaii to Hong Kong and eventually to China. Getting to China was his first big test of faith - he had no money, even for the first leg to Hawaii. Bob held the opinion that God knows ones needs already and if He has called you to a task, He will provide and enable you - just move out! He did just that and went to the L.A. airport that day without any money in his pocket. His faith paid off as God provided the funding for each leg of his trip just at the moment he needed it. This was the norm rather than the exception throughout his career as an evangelist. What ever it was, where ever it was, if God called, Bob would act no matter what the circumstance......he knew that God would always provide.....and He did!
Bob had a compassion for the spiritually and physically suffering of the world. "He was the friend of the little people, the forgotten, the hurting, the maimed, the unheard and the unsung". Bob's theme was "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God". It was Bob's personal belief that "wherever you find men and women who really love Jesus Christ, you find the compassion of Christ spilling out of them to meet human need." Over the years World Vision, Samaritan's Purse and other organizations like them; one in particular, Mission Aviation Fellowship Pilots (MAF), who flew Missionaries around the world in crisis situations, helped so many helpless and needy men, women and children. They knew first hand the healing power of God.
Bob dared it all to be obedient to the Lord's call. Once he had in focus the mission that God wanted him to accomplish, he followed in Faith to bring the unsaved to Christ. It was his opinion that " If you are an ambassador, act like one!"- no matter where you are. Bob would bring to memory how other great men of Faith were obedient even in the face of death. During World War II, a young South Korean Pastor, Mr. Im was mistaken for a North Korean Communist and imprisoned. During his internment, he would go around camp singing "Jesus Loves Me" and other Christian songs. He not only uplifted and inspired other fellow Christian prisoners to come together, he brought many more to Christ. Together he and another prisoner, Chaplain Voelkel, established a Bible Study where over 6,000 prisoners finished a six month Bible Study. Six Hundred (600) of those finishing the Bible Study became pastors and came back to Korea to preach the Gospel. In another instance, he related how a Korean school teacher was put to death in front of his students because of his faith and obedience to the Lord.
To be an ambassador for the Lord "is one of the greatest things that could ever have happened to anyone - to let God put a fish hook into you so deep that there is no way of ever getting off the hook."
"Bob did one thing all of his life, and that was to lead people to the foot of the Cross where they would put their faith in a risen Lord Jesus Christ. He lived every minute completely amazed that God could use him. No matter how much he was able to do in how many places, it was never enough." This was the kind of commitment Bob made to Jesus; "to commit yourself, give yourself away to God irrevocably, forever. Say to Him, go ahead and burn me up. Spend me. Eat me up. Use me for you Glory." And that's exactly what he did.
Being a man of God was not always easy for Bob and he paid a high price. In one measure or another he had to forsake his wife, his family, his Mother and Father, his brothers and sisters and other worldly possessions to follow Jesus. He not only lost his health, he lost his Daughter, Sharon, to death.
Committing your life to Christ in a Godless society is never easy; many times you feel like you may be the only one putting your life, your self image, your social acceptance on the line. As Bob came to realize, ". Someone has to go and pay that humiliating price of literally letting your ego be stomped on- not just pushed in and suppressed, but laid out there for people to stomp on. We need to do this by the grace of God with love and patience: sow the seed on rocky soil, nurture it, and maybe never be applauded."
Committing your life to Christ really comes down to this; What really matters
to you in Life?
On his death bed in the City of Hope, Bob left us this one message - "I don't care what you have attempted. What you have succeeded at, or what has been your work in Christ's name while you are here on earth - only one thing matters when you have reached the last step before you go to stand before Christ:
- Did you tell men and women who Jesus is?
- Did you bring them to some comprehension of His redeeming love?
- Did you make it plain to them that He alone can pay their way to heaven throughout His atoning death on the cross?"
Such was the life of a man of God, Bob Pierce.
HIDDEN CODES OF THE BIBLE
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ACT 17:11 - Exhorts you to daily review the scriptures to see if what is being said is true
References: Grant R. Jeffrey - "The Signature of God"- RECOMMENDED READING
Other reading: "The Hebrew Factor" by Yacov Rambsel
Prepared by D. E. Davis
Daniel 12: 4 - "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
Here is undeniable proof, the third in the series, that every word, every letter and every punctuation in Bible text was put their by the inspiration of God. It gives new meaning to the words "increase knowledge". It's just one of the many signs, and without a doubt, the most exciting revelation that God said he would reveal to man in the "end time". As you will see, God has put his signature throughout the Bible, has revealed History before it ever happened, all through hidden codes that were supernaturally placed into text which was written over 2,000 years ago; which could only be found with today's computer technological advances. The codes are found in what scholars call "Equidistant Letter Sequences" or ESL. That is, each sequential letter in an encoded word or phrase was found the same distance apart numerically; The exact interval designed by God.
Actually, the discovery of hidden codes in scripture dates back to before WWI and it was not until 1988 that the use of computers were able to detect a significant amount of coding in scripture. Since then, the research that Grant Jeffrey and others have done has just exploded and new discoveries are happening every day.
Here is a summary of what has been found and outlined in Grant's book, referenced above. It is my understanding that he is in the process of writing another book to tell what he has found subsequent to "The Signature of God".
Luke 21:15 - " For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay (refute) nor resist."
Proverbs 25:2 - "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter."
THE SIGNATURE OF GOD
What follows is what most of the human race would find hard to believe. It unfathomable to think that the Hebrew Bible, containing 304,805 Hebrew letters, written by 40 individuals could contain hidden messages that if one letter was taken out of the text, one word was removed, the hidden message could not be revealed......yet the message has been sustained for over 2,000 years and has been revealed to man just as Jesus said it would be. Jesus has actually placed His name and other messages about Himself into text which proves he is the creator of all; King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
GOD'S SIGNATURE
God has personally signed scriptures throughout the Old and New Testaments in various ways. For example in the Old Testament, he has encoded his name, Jesus, in the following scripture:
- Gen. 1: 1, - Beginnings with the fifth letter in the first word (B'raisheet) -"In the beginning"- the 5th letter and each 521st letter there after spells out"Yeshua Yakhol" which translates "Jesus is able".
- Isa. 53: 10 - Beginning with the second Hebrew letter "yod" that appears in the phrase "He shall prolong" and counting every 20th letter, you find the phrase "Yeshua - Shmi" when translated means "Yeshua (Jesus) is my name".
- Gen. 3: 20 - Beginning with the last Hebrew letter "heh" and counting every 9 letters, you will find the word "Yoshiah" which means "He will save" - (This is coded backwards)
- Gen. 3: 21 - Beginning with the letter "ayin" in the Hebrew word for "coats of skin" and counting forward every seventh (7) letter, you spell "Yeshua" (Jesus).
- Zech. 12:10 - Beginning with the letter "chet" found in the phrase, "an only son", and counting every 38th letter, it spells the word "Messiah".
- Lev. 21: 10-12 - Beginning with the first Hebrew letter "Heh" and counting every third (3rd) letter, it spelled out the phrase "hain dam Yeshua" which means "Behold! The blood of Yeshua".
- Zech. 11:12 - In the story of Jesus's betrayal - Beginning with the letter "yod" in the phrase that reads "My price" and counting forward every 24th letter you find the word "Yeshua".
- Ruth 1:1 - When counting every fifth (5th) letter from right to left it spells the name of "Yeshua".
THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD FROM ANCIENT TIMES UNTIL TODAY
God has also encoded unbelievable detail about many of the things we read about and which touch our lives daily. For example, he outlines:
PLACES AND THINGS
· Gen. 2: 4-10 - The key word "Eden" was spelled out sixteen (16) times in the span of 379 Hebrew letters. The letters were all equidistant from each other.
· Gen. 2 - In this chapter which deals with the garden of Eden, scientists found encoded in the Hebrew text, Twenty-five (25) names of trees that were in the
Garden of Eden.
· Gen. 1:1 - Starting with the first appearance of the Hebrew letter "Tav", the word "Torah" was found every 50th letter.
· Ex. 1: 1 - Again, starting with the first appearance of the letter "Tav" and counting every 50th letter, the word "Torah" was spelled. Num./Deut. - In the book of Numbers the word "Torah" was found spelled backwards every 50th letter. In the book of Deuteronomy, "Torah" was found again spelled backwards, but this time every forty-ninth (49) letter.
NAMES AND EVENTS
· Holocaust
· Deut. 10: 17-22 - Beginning with the second to last appearance of the Hebrew letter "bet" in this passage, they found every Thirteenth (13) letter, the phrase "b'yam marah Auschwitz" which means "in the bitter sea of Auschwitz." Also encoded in this passage were the names of the other Nazi Concentration camp, "Belsen".
· Deut. 33:21 - Beginning with the letter (resh) that appeared in the Hebrew word "Yisreal," and counting every twenty-second (22) letter from the left to right they found the phrase "re'tzach alm" discribing the Holocaust, which when translated, means "a people cry murder, slaughter."
· Adolph Hitler
· Deut. 10: 17-22 - The word "Hitler" spelled out in Hebrew was found every twenty-second (22) letter.
· Deut. 33:16 - Beginning with the first appearance of the Hebrew letter "mem" and every two hundred and forty-sixth (246) letter from left to right you find that the coded letters spelled out the phrase, "Melek Natzim," which translates as the "king of the Nazis."
· Eichmann
· Deut. 32:52 - Beginning with the appearance of the first letter (aleph) and counting from left to right every six hundred and seventy (670) letters, the name "Aik'man" is spelled, which is the Hebrew form of the name "Eichmann."
· Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
· "Sadat occurred together with the name of the leader of the Moslem Brotherhood assassinating team that killed him.......it contained the year of his assassination, 1981, and the words "president," "gunfire," "shot'" and 'Murder".
· Desert Storm
· Beginning in Gen. 1:7 and continuing through the rest of Genesis, Grant Jeffrey indicated at the Prophesy Conference in Irvine,Ca. on 27 Sept. 1996 that they had recently found information in hidden code in scripture relating to Desert Storm. I believe more details will be available in Grant's next book.
· The French Revolution
· Gen. 39,41 - "Another passage in the Book of Genesis revealed a cluster of encoded words that deals with the French Revolution. The following words are clustered ogether" "Mapecha HaSarfatit" which spells "the French Revolution" in Hebrew, "Louis," the name of the French king, and the word "Beit (house of Bourbon,") his royal dynasty. In the same cluster were the following words: "Hamarseilles" (the name of the French anthem) and the word "Bastillia" (the infamous French prison for political prisoners........"
OTHER HISTORICAL INFORMATION
· Word pairs - "In their initial experiment, .......the scientists arbitrarily chose three hundred (300) Hebrew word-pairs that were logically related in meaning, such as hammer and anvil, or tree and leaf, or man and woman." ".....the researchers were astonished to find that every single word-pair had been located in Genesis in close proximity to each other."
· King David's Ancestors
· Gen. 28 - " Every one of the five Hebrew names of these ancestor of King
David (Pharez, Zerah, Boaz, Obed, Jesse) were found encoded at forty-nine (49) letter intervals, hidden within the text of Genesis 38".
· Famous Jewish Rabbi - "The Jewish people celebrate the memory of their famous sages by commemorating their date of death. Incredibly, the computer program found every single one of the sixty-six names of these famous rabbis embedded in the text of Genesis paired at significantly close proximity with their actual date of birth or their date of death."
IS THE HEBREW BIBLE UNIQUE TO GOD' S INSPIRED EMBEDDED CODES?
Grant points out that "The researchers attempted to reproduce these results by running the computer program on other religious Hebrew texts outside the Bible, including the Samaritan Pentateuch. .......the researchers could not detect word pairs in the Samaritan Pentateuch or any other Hebrew text outside the Bible. In fact, an exhaustive analysis reveals that no other Hebrew text outside the Old testament contains these mysterious codes, not even the Hebrew apocryphal books written during the four hundred years before the birth of Christ"
A WORD OF CAUTION
"No one can search the Torah using these codes to foretell future events. The reason is that it is impossible to extract the encoded information unless you already know what the future facts are." "The prophet Isaiah warned against false prophets and declared that only God can Prophesy future events accurately
(Isa. 46: 9,10).
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"Computer tapes are now available so that anyone with a computer can personally verify the existence of these codes beneath the text of the Scriptures.
As Christians, we can stand firm in the word and shout for joy. God has given us "the words and the wisdom that none of our adversaries will be able to refute or contradict", no matter how much they try!
PRAISE THE LORD!
SIGNS OF THE TIME
References: Grant R. Jeffrey - "The Signature of God"- RECOMMENDED READING
Prepared by D. E. Davis
June 10, 1997
Prelude
How do we know that Jesus is the one true God when there are so many religions, cultures and cults that claim that they serve the one true god? How about Buddha, Allah?
Scripture says that God alone knows the beginning from the end. The way that God establishes His authority is through Biblical Prophesy. There are over 500 prophesies that were prophesied over 2,000 years ago that have all come to pass. There are still some Old Testament that have yet have to be fulfilled (Daniel Ezekiel), but there has never been an event prophesied that has not come to pass in it’s time. 100% accuracy tells us that the God of the Bible is the only true God. No one else in the history of the world, living or dead, can make this claim.
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In Matthew 24:3, just before Jesus' ascension into heaven, the disciples of Jesus ask Him what would be the sign of His second coming. Over the centuries various groups have attempted to guess when Christ would return to the earth to claim His inheritance as promised throughout scripture. As we know, no one has been right yet!. God clearly states in Matthew 24:36 that no man, not even the angels, know the day or the time when Christ will return. Only God the Father knows.
This summary is clearly not another attempt to forecast this event. This summary does, however, attempt to provide an awareness of what is happening around you so that you will not be caught unaware. (Ref. Luke 21:34 and Matthew. 24:42).
ACT 17:11- Exhorts you to daily review the scriptures to see if what is being said is true.
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----------------------THE SIGNS OF THE TIME-------------------
Grant Jeffrey has done a wonderful job of providing critical information about events that are happening in this generation that all Christians need to know; Events that were prophesied over 2,500 years ago. Approximately 90% of the material contained herein was extracted and summarized from Grant's book. I highly recommend reading this book as it contains so much more that you will want to know.
THE REBIRTH OF ISRAEL
The rebirth of Israel was prophesied in several scriptures throughout the Bible. Isaiah 66: 8 predicted that Israel would be born again in "one" day. Ezekiel 4:3-6 and Levitcus 26:18 foretold the exact number of days that it would take Israel to re-establish themselves as a nation in the last days. ( The exact calculation can be found in Grant Jeffrey's book referenced above). On May 14, 1948, the Jews proclaimed their independence of the reborn state of Israel.....The exact day that was predicted over twenty-five (25) centuries ago.......No other ancient nation ever ceased to exist for a period of centuries and then returned to take its place on the stage of world history."
PRESENT ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT
In Psalms 83:2-8, God inspired King David to predict that upon Israel's rebirth as a nation it would be immediately surrounded by their enemies. The modern names of those nations named in scripture include Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria....the nations that have now joined the Palestinians in their attempt to destroy Israel.
In Gen. 12: 3, God has promised to punish those nations that come against Israel. "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
RESTORATION OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE
When Israel was captured by Nebuchadnezzar in approx. 562 B.C., Israel was no longer allowed to speak the Hebrew language, but had to learn the language of the Chaldeans. The Lord predicted, however, through Zephaniah 3:9, that he would restore a pure language to Israel so that they may "serve him with one consent". It was in the early part of this Century that the Hebrew language was revived from the dead language. Today, Hebrew is a living language to over 5 million Israelis.
THE FERTILITY OF ISRAEL
In Isaiah 27:6; 35:7 and Joel 2:23, the Lord prophesied through these prophets that the deserted, unproductive, barren land of Israel would once again become productive in the last days and that Israel would experience tremendous increases of rain. Ever since Israel has returned to the land, they have flourished in the land and now supply over 90 percent of the citrus fruit consumed in Europe. Rainfall has increased by more than "10 percent every decade for the last century and Israel has planted in excess of two hundred (200) million trees and transformed the complete environment of the Promised Land." According to the United Nations, Israel is now "the most agriculturally efficient land on earth."
THE UNWALLED CITY
Ezekiel 38:11 speaks of the future invasion of Gog and Magog (Russia) saying "And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of un-walled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates". Grant explains that "even army bases and Israel's settlements in the West Bank and Gaza have no walls today.........How could Ezekiel have known twenty-five centuries ago that the development of modern weapons such as bombs, airplanes and missiles, would have made walls and gates irrelevant for defensive purposes in the last days. In the ancient past even small villages as well as cities depended on walls for defense against invading armies."
PLANS FOR REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE
Revelations 11:1, 2 foretells of Israel rebuilding the Temple in the last days. There is much controversy between the Israelis and the Muslim's because the Dome of the Rock (Al-Aqsa Mosque) it is believed, sits on the very spot where the Temple is suppose to be built. In recent years, however, aerial Infra-red photography shows that this may not be the case. Ezekiel 44:14-18, tell about the sacred vessels and linen robes that must be used in the Temple. "The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has already prepared over 75 of the objects, vessels, and linen garments required for future Temple service.......over 500 men from the tribe of Levi have already been trained to fulfill the duties of Temple worship and sacrifice."
Update:
Just recently in the Washington Post on May 28, 1997, it was reported that a 10 month old heifer named "Melody" is the first red heifer to be born in Israel in over 2,000 years. "In ancient times, the ashes of a red heifer were mixed with spring water to purify high priests before they entered the Temple."
THE REBUILDING OF BABYLON
We know that the old city of Babylon (now called Iraq) will be built again in the end times because Isaiah 13:6, 19 foretells of its destruction. In Isaiah 34:8-10 it is prophesied that the rebuilt City of Babylon will burn for ever.
"As unlikely as it seems, the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein has spent over one billion dollars rebuilding the ancient city of Babylon and intends that it will become the center of their future renewed Babylonian Empire. Interestingly, the whole city of Babylon was built over an underground lake of asphalt and oil."
THE ANOINTING OIL
The prophet Daniel prophesied in Dan. 9:24 that the when Jesus returns, that the most Holy of Holies will be anointed with the anointing oil. "One of the five ingredients, afars' mon, was thought lost forever, when the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 and the only two groves of afars'mon trees in existence were burned
to the ground. Incredibly, several years ago, archeologists in Israel found a clay flask buried near the Dead Sea caves filled with the ancient oil of anointing. Scientists confirmed that the oil is two thousand years old and is composed of the precise ingredients described in Exodus 30:25,26."
PESTILENCE/FAMINES/EARTHQUAKES
Matthew 24:7 prophesied that in the last days "For nation shall rise against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilence, and earthquakes, in divers (various) places." Grand Jeffrey writes regarding these matters:
· Pestilence - In 1991, the Central Intelligence Agency produced a report which "concluded that up to 75% of the population of Africa living in the area south of the Sahara Desert may become infected with AIDS over the next 12 years. This will mean the death by AIDS of over three hundred million people in Africa alone. In July 1991, the South African Medical Journal reported that a staggering 47% of black male and female blood donors tested positive for AIDS during 1989."
In Nov. 1996, the Associated Press reported that "Sexually transmitted diseases are diagnosed 12 million times a year in the United States - including a staggering 3 million cases among teen-agers".
· Famine - The United Nations today "claim that over thirty million in Africa are now at risk of dying from the most devastating famine in this century. The UN estimates that one billion people are in danger of starvation while another billion lack proper nutrition. North American food reserves (grain and corn) are at the lowest level in sixty years."
· Major killer earthquakes – “Major Killer earthquakes (7.2 or greater on the Richter scale) occurred only once per decade throughout history until our century. However, since A. D. 1900, the growth in major earthquakes has been relentless. From 1900 to 1949 it averaged three major quakes per decade. From 1949 the increase became awesome with 9 killer quakes in the 1950's; 13 in the 1960's; 56 in the 1970's and an amazing 74 major quakes in the 1980's. Finally, in the 1990's, at the present rate, we will experience 125 major killer quakes in this decade."
WORLD WIDE COMMUNICATION
In Revelation 11:9,10, it is prophesied that during the tribulation period, the antichrist will have the two witnesses that God sent killed and their bodies will lay in the street for three and a half days while the whole world watches.
Did not the whole world watch Desert Storm on CNN television? With all the technological advances in telecommunications, including the recent opening of the World Wide Net to our computer industry, any event happening in any part of the world can now be viewed while it is happening. The prophesy of the two witnesses could literally be fulfilled today. This could not have happened just 10 or 15 years ago.
INCREASED KNOWLEDGE AND TRAVEL
Daniel 12:4 prophesies how much knowledge and travel will increase in the end time. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the Book, even to the time of the end: Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased."
Today, it is estimated that "Human knowledge is growing so quickly that it literally doubles every twenty-four months." With the discovery through the use of modern "Super" computers by Grant Jeffrey and other researchers of the hidden codes that God supernaturally designed into the original Hebrew text of the Torah describing not only the history of the world in advance, but also verifying his Authority through His personal signature throughout his scripture, we realize that God chose this generation to reveal this unique aspect about himself.
It is also amazing that in this century, we have gone from horses to cars, from cars to supersonic spacecraft; not only can we now travel the world in a matter of hours, but in the case of the U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery, we can now travel at speeds in excess of eighteen thousand miles per hour.
REVIVAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Daniel 2:40-44 predicts that the old Roman Empire will be revived in the end times into a ten Nation alliance. We currently see the foundation being laid today through the European Economic Community. "In 1957, six (6) Countries signed the Treaty of Rome laying the foundation for the future United States of Europe.............Since then the Maastricht Treaty consolidated the fifteen (15) Nations of the European Union into the worlds first superstate." All it will take is the re-shuffling and/or the consolidation of Nations to bring this prophesy to a literal fulfillment.
ODDS THAT THESE PROPHECIES WERE FULFILLED BY CHANCE IN THIS GENERATION
"In the Bible there are several types of generations. One generation is defined as the length of life of the average person - seventy or eighty years. However, a generation of governing is usually defined as forty years,...........During the last two thousand years since the days of Christ, there were fifty such forty-year generations. Therefore, the odds are one chance in fifty that any one of these specific prophecies happened by chance in our generation rather than some other generation."
"The odds that more than one event happening in our life time are:
- 2 events =50x50 (2 times) 1 in 2,500
- 4 events = 50x50 (4 times) 1 in 6.25 million
- 6 events = 50x50 (6 times) 1 in 15.6 billion
- 8 events = 50x50 (8 times) 1 in 39 trillion
- 10 events = 50x50 (10 times) 1 in 97,500 trillion
"Another way of looking at this is that the chance that the prophets of the Bible correctly guessed these prophecies is also one in 97,500 trillion............in other words, it is simply impossible that men alone could
have written the Bible without the supernatural assistance and inspiration of God."
Matthew 24:32-35 - "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
Luke 21:28 - "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
ANTI-CHRIST TO BE REVEALED
As of today, no one knows who the Anti-Christ is, but we do know what God has told us about him:
- He will only be revealed after the "He who restrains the "man of lawlessness/Sin" is taken out of the way. (i.e. the Rapture of the Church) -(2 Thess. 2:6)
- He will be revealed before Christ's second coming (2 Thess. 2:3)
- He will rule over the ten Nations that make up the revived/revised Roman Empire (Dan. 7:20)
- He will rule for 7 years -(Dan.9:27)
- God will destroy him at the end of the great Tribulation period when He returns to claim His inheritance. (Rev. 19:20; Dan. 7:26)
Many people try to spiritualize or say the events prophesied in the Bible are just symbolic. Any doubt about how God handles these prophetic events should have been erased on May 14,1948. God is literally fulfilling scriptural prophesy before our very eyes. Can we expect anything less for those few remaining prophesies for which He has promised the world; 1) the removal of the one who restrains the man of lawlessness/Sin (the rapture of the Church), 2) His second coming to take possession of His inheritance, 3) The millennial kingdom and 4) the new heaven and new earth.
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Ezekiel 33:6 - "But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."
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