Who Do You Trust?

Saturday, August 31, 2013, 3:44 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Abide in Him” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Jeremiah 17:1-17 (NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2017&version=NIV

The Price He Paid

Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to earth, took on human flesh, suffered like we suffer, was tempted like we are tempted, yet without sin, and then he was crucified on a cross for our sins. When he died, our sins died with him. When he was buried, our sins were buried with him. When he rose from the dead, he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin. He went through all of this so that we could be saved from our bondage to sin, set free from eternal damnation, and so we could be free to walk daily in his love, truth and righteousness.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. ~ Eph. 2:8-9

Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself (his self-life), take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow (obey) him. He said if we hold on to these old lives of sin, we will lose them for eternity, but if we willingly die to our old ways of living for sinful pleasure, we will save our lives for eternity (See Lu. 9:23-25). Paul said the way we come to know Christ is by forsaking (putting off) our former lives of living in sin, by being transformed in heart and mind (of the Spirit of God) and by putting on our new lives “created to be like Christ in true righteousness and holiness” (See Eph. 4:17-24; Cf. Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6; 1 John, et al). James said that faith without works is dead. In other words, we are saved by grace, and it is not of our own works that we are saved, but we must respond to God’s grace with true abiding faith (includes repentance and obedience) if we want to receive this salvation and the hope of eternal life with God.

Yet, scripture is clear that coming to Christ does not mean we will never sin again, so it warns, encourages, counsels, corrects, rebukes and trains us in righteousness, because faith is a walk, and it is daily that we must die to sin and self and put on the armor of God. So, it is with that understanding that we can learn from this passage in Jeremiah what God has to teach us with regard to the danger of allowing sin to become deep-rooted (entrenched) in our lives once again, even after we have come to salvation by his grace through faith.

Trust in Man (17:1-6)

“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,

    inscribed with a flint point,

on the tablets of their hearts

    and on the horns of their altars.

Even their children remember

    their altars and Asherah poles

beside the spreading trees

    and on the high hills…

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

    who draws strength from mere flesh

    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;

    they will not see prosperity when it comes.

They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

    in a salt land where no one lives.

Sadly enough, many who profess faith in Jesus Christ live their lives as though they had not been saved from sin at all. They live just like the world lives, only maybe a little more cleaned up. They follow after the ways of this world with the passion and desire they once had (or should have had from the beginning) for Jesus Christ, their first love. They watch the same TV shows, movies, etc., listen to the same music, play the same games, tell the same raunchy jokes, gossip, cheat, lie, steal, etc., just as this sinful world does. Not all these things are bad, in and of themselves, but they are bad if what we take into our minds daily and what we participate in daily is what is sinful, i.e. that either involves us in sinful thoughts, behavioral practices, or that leads us to be entertained by others’ sinful behavior, thus giving approval to their sin.

What is even sadder is that much of these sinful practices and being entertained by others’ sinful practices has entered into the life of the church and into its times of corporate worship and fellowship. So much of what we call church is just a cleaned-up version of what the world is offering us in the way of entertainment and social gatherings. Sensuality has entered into the times of worship and praise of our God. The gospel is being diluted, too, in order to make people more comfortable, to not offend people with the truth of the gospel, and to make it so the world will want to come back to our services. If the sinful world is comfortable in our gatherings and is never offended with the gospel of Jesus Christ, then something is terribly wrong. As well, humanistic books, written by humans, are replacing God’s word. Marketing schemes for how to build big businesses are also replacing Christ as the head and the true builder of Christ’s church, his body.

Yet, the Lord warns his children much against putting our trust in humans; in mortals who cannot save. Our trust may be in ourselves, i.e. in our own intellect, will and ways, or it may be in other humans, or in man-made creations (philosophies, religion, entertainment, prestige or possessions, etc.), or in created things of God rather than in the creator. These things are all destined to perish, and they cannot prove trustworthy. If we trust in our own strength or we trust in our possessions, jobs, health, and/or other people, etc., they are bound to fail us. When we place our faith in things or people other than God, then it also impacts our relationships with Jesus Christ, i.e. we can become fearful, doubters, adulterers and the like because we allowed other people, ourselves or the things of this world to take the place of God in our hearts, and to lead us astray from our pure devotion to God.

Confidence in Christ (17:7-8, 14-17)

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

    whose confidence is in him.

They will be like a tree planted by the water

    that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

    its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

    and never fails to bear fruit.”

Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;

    save me and I will be saved,

    for you are the one I praise.

They keep saying to me,

    “Where is the word of the Lord?

    Let it now be fulfilled!”

I have not run away from being your shepherd;

    you know I have not desired the day of despair.

    What passes my lips is open before you.

Do not be a terror to me;

    you are my refuge in the day of disaster.

Yet, when we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ (in God) for all things, we are blessed. We will be steadfast in our faith and our commitment to love, honor and obey our Lord. We will be firm in our vow to follow him wherever he leads us, even despite all opposition from the enemy and enemy forces. We will not have to give way to fear. Our surrender to our Lord will be sure and unwavering. Our testimony for Jesus Christ will be enduring. Our service for our Lord in obedience to him will be continuing and persistent. We will find healing for our hurts and comfort for our sorrows. We will find direction for our lives and counsel and encouragement in the way we should go. And, we will know the assurances of God’s promises, that they will be fulfilled. We can have confidence in Christ when the enemy attacks us and he accuses us falsely. We can know the truth and proclaim it even when Satan throws his fiery darts of lies against us. And, we can take refuge in the Lord and know that he will be our all-sufficiency for everything we need for life, love and godliness.

Heart Examination (17:9-10, 13)

The heart is deceitful above all things

    and beyond cure.

    Who can understand it?

“I the Lord search the heart

    and examine the mind,

to reward each person according to their conduct,

    according to what their deeds deserve.”

Lord, you are the hope of Israel;

    all who forsake you will be put to shame.

Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust

    because they have forsaken the Lord,

    the spring of living water.

So, we should examine our hearts before the Lord Jesus to see where we are at fault in any of this or where we are on the right path. Knowing that our own hearts can deceive us into thinking we are ok, when we are not, we should ask the Holy Spirit of God to reveal to us what is in our hearts, and to point out these areas where we have allowed sin to be entrenched in our lives once again. And, we should respond to the voice of the Holy Spirit within us in total surrender and complete obedience to his word and to Christ’s commands. And, we should once again, or perhaps for the first time ever, begin to walk daily in Christ’s truth, love and righteousness, forsaking all other “gods.”

Abide in Him / An Original Work / July 31, 2013

Based off Ps. 27:14; Is. 40:31; Jn. 14-15

If you wait for the Lord,

Put your hope now in Him,

He will give you His strength

And endurance within.

He will renew your strength,

So you will not lose heart.

You will soar on wings like eagles,

Never depart.

“If you abide in Me,

And My words live in you,

You will walk with Me daily

And follow what’s true.

I will live now in you;

Give you peace now within,

If you obey My teachings

And turn from your sin.”

“If you listen to Me,

And do all that I say,

I will give you My comfort;

Be with you always.

I will heal all your pain;

Life with Me now you’ll gain,

If in fellowship with Me

You always remain.”

http://originalworks.info/abide-in-him/

God's Special Possession

Friday, August 30, 2013, 6:43 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Do You Love Me?” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Jeremiah 13:1-11 (NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2013&version=NIV

This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.

Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.

Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.’

The Linen Belt

We read in Revelation 19:8 that “Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people,” which the bride of Christ was given to wear. In the Old Testament times, the curtains of the tabernacle were made of linen. When Jesus died and was buried, his body was wrapped in linen. And, Revelation 15 says the angels from heaven were dressed in clean, shining linen. Linen is thus a figure of what is pure and what is righteous and holy.

Also the priests were dressed in linen, so linen here also symbolizes the priestly ministry of God’s holy people. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are called to be, and we are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. We are chosen by God to be a holy nation, God’s special possession, that we may declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light… and that we may serve our God. And we will reign with him (see 1 Pet. 2; Rev. 1, 5, & 20). What this means is that we are God’s special people, his servants and witnesses, and his divine agents to bring the gospel and the love of Jesus Christ to the world around us.

Jeremiah was representing God in this symbolic act in order to represent a spiritual truth. Yet, this spiritual truth goes beyond just that time in history, but it applies yet to our lives today. Just as Jeremiah bought this linen belt, Jesus Christ, through his death and resurrection, purchased (redeemed; ransomed) us back for God, thus crediting us with Christ’s righteousness and purity, represented by the linen belt. Thus, because of God’s grace to us in purchasing us, and through our faith in Jesus Christ and in his death for our sins, God binds us to himself to be his special people for his renown, praise and honor, just like Jeremiah put this belt around his waist.

Not Touch Water

When God had instructed Jeremiah to wear the belt, he also told him to not let it touch water. If we wear an article of clothing but we never wash (cleanse) it, it will become dirty. This was to represent the uncleanness of God’s chosen people.

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, because of God’s grace to us in providing us with salvation (his righteousness), we come into an intimate relationship with God/Jesus Christ (the binding of God’s people to himself). Yet, even though Christ’s righteousness is credited to our account through our faith in him, still we are instructed that we must daily die to sin and self (See Lu. 9:23-25), and that we must walk (live daily) in the Spirit, and in his righteousness (See Gal. 5:16; Eph. 5:2; 1 Jn. 1:7; 2 Jn. 1:4-6; Rev. 3:4).

This passage in Rev. 3:4 says that those of us who have not “soiled” our clothes will walk with Jesus Christ, dressed in white (purity and righteousness), “for they are worthy.” In other words, being purified from all sin takes place daily in our lives (See 1 Jn. 1:7). This is called the process of sanctification. On the other hand, this soiling of our spiritual garments takes place both when we do not have this daily cleansing, and also when we remove ourselves from the protection of God in our lives and we, instead, decide to mingle and mix with the sinful pleasures of this world. I believe both are represented by Jeremiah’s next symbolic act.

Ruined and Useless

Then God directed Jeremiah to take the belt and to hide it in the crevice in the rocks, so Jeremiah did as the Lord instructed. Many days later the Lord told him to go dig up the belt and to take it from the place where he had hidden it, so Jeremiah did that. Yet, now the belt was completely ruined and useless. When we fail to walk in the Spirit, to allow God to work this process of sanctification in our hearts daily, and when we, instead, remove ourselves from Christ’s spiritual protection provided for us in this intimate relationship with God, and we, instead, go out and mingle and mix with the sinful pleasures of this world, then we become corrupted by the world around us and we are no longer of any use to God for his eternal kingdom – i.e. for the praise, glory and honor of his name and his reputation.

Yet, there is another meaning to take away from this symbolic act of hiding the linen belt in the rocks. This has to do with God’s judgments on his people because they had behaved wickedly, refused to listen to God’s words, followed the stubbornness of their own hearts, and they followed after other gods to serve and worship them. And, this happens to followers of Jesus Christ, too, who don’t take care to walk in the Spirit and to daily die to sin and self, and who, instead, remove themselves from God’s protective care, and who willingly go the ways of the world to follow after their sinful practices and desires.

Some people think God won’t judge his church for this, but scripture says he will. The letters to the seven churches alone teach us that the church can fall away from her pure relationship with Jesus Christ, and she can and has gone after “other lovers,” thinking they will satisfy her. And, so God calls his rebellious and/or wayward church to repent (turn from) her evil and wicked ways and to return to following him in obedience, or else he will visit her in divine judgment (correction and discipline). As always, God’s purpose in judgment on his people is to get them to return to him in repentance and obedience so that he can restore them to a right relationship with him, i.e. to the pure and clean linen belt bound closely and intimately to her Savior and Lord. He will do this so that we can be for his renown, praise and honor.

The Appeal

So, where are we in relation to all this today? Have we soiled our clothes and gone off to follow after the ways of this world? Or, have we remained faithful to our Lord by remaining in his love and in this daily walk of faith? Jesus said if we love him, we will obey him. Do we love him? Then, we need to do what he says.

Do You Love Me? / An Original Work / July 24, 2013

Do you love Me now?

Will you seek My face?

I have given you

My love and My grace.

Will you walk with Me

Ev’rywhere I lead?

Will you find in Me

All of what you need?

Won’t you meet with Me

Down upon your knees?

Will you obey Me,

And do what I please?

Will you hear My voice

Speaking now to you?

I am couns’ling you

To abide in truth.

I have died for you;

Taken all your sins –

Crucified with Me,

You have been forgiv’n.

I have set you free

From your slavery,

So that you can now

Live in victory.

http://originalworks.info/do-you-love-me/

Terms of the Covenant

Thursday, August 29, 2013, 6:17 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Should I Not Preach Jesus” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Jeremiah 11 (NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2011&version=NIV

Listen and Tell

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen, Lord.”

The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’”

Before Jesus Christ left this earth to go back to the Father, he left a commandment in place for all of his followers to keep. He said we are to go throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded us, and he will be with us always (See Matt. 28:18-20). Amen! This means that we are to listen to his words, and we are to obey them ourselves first, and then we are to share the gospel of salvation with all people throughout the world. Yet, sharing the gospel goes beyond just telling the story of how Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins so we could be set free from the penalty of sin and bondage to sin, and how we could be free to walk in his truth, love and righteousness the rest of our days. The gospel of salvation is about repentance (turning away from sinful lifestyles), obedience (doing what his word teaches us), and it is about walking daily in the Spirit of God (becoming his followers).

God made a covenant with the people of Israel in times of old. The terms of that covenant were that they obey him and do everything he commanded them, and he would be their God, and they would be his people, and they would possess the Promised Land as their inheritance. If they did not obey, and they followed the stubbornness of their own hearts, instead, God would bring upon them all the curses of the covenant he had commanded them to follow, but they did not keep.

We are no longer under that covenant, yet the New Covenant relationship with God still demands the same, though not all teach that. Jesus said that if we love him, we will obey him and his teaching, and we will keep his commandments. He and his Father will then come to us and make their home with us. John said if we do not obey the Son, we will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on us. Peter and the apostles said that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Jesus Christ. Paul said that if we do not obey the truth, but we obey unrighteousness, we can expect wrath and indignation. John said we know we have come to know Christ if we keep his commands. He said that if we say we know him, but we do not do what he commands, we are liars. He also said that those who know the Lord, who listen to his voice, and who follow him in obedience have eternal life, and they shall never perish. Amen! He said, though, that if we claim to have fellowship with Jesus Christ and yet we continue in lifestyles of willful sin, we are liars.

Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself (his self-life), take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow (obey) him. He said if we hold on to our old ways of walking in the flesh we will lose them for eternity, but if we willingly die to our sinful selves for his sake, then we will gain eternal life with him in glory. And, Paul said the way we come to know Christ is by putting off our old lives of sin, by being transformed in heart and mind (of the Spirit of God), and by putting on our new lives, “created to be like Christ in true righteousness and holiness.” Jesus told the churches in Revelation, where he had spoken to them about their sins and disobedience, that if they did not repent and obey him, he would bring judgment upon them. So, you see, God still demands repentance and obedience as the terms of his covenant of love with his people today, and if we refuse, then we can expect either his divine correction and discipline on his rebellious ones, or his wrath on those who are only faking their Christianity.

A Conspiracy

Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

A conspiracy is a plot, scheme, plan, and treachery – deceit, treason, and betrayal. The plot is truly against the Lord God, against his Holy Word, and against his messengers. The plot is to destroy the messages of repentance and obedience as necessary components of the terms of our covenant relationship with Jesus Christ, and for our salvation, so that the people can continue living on in their sinful ways without guilt or remorse, and with a false hope of eternity with God in glory. And, this plot (scheme) has spread across evangelical Christianity here in America like cultic wildfire. These false teachers of the fake gospel teach that we don’t have to obey Christ and his commandments, and we don’t have to repent of our sins in order to be saved. Yet that is not what scripture teaches, and it is not what Jesus and the apostles taught. Yet, so many people are buying into this fake gospel because it feels good, it doesn’t offend people, and it charms and entertains our sins, instead.

Yet, truly God’s words are true. He will judge the unrepentant and the disobedient just as he promised he would do. God still takes sin seriously. And, he still wants to be our only god, and for us to forsake all other lovers. He is a jealous God, and he is a loving God who desires nothing more than to gather us as chicks under his wings, yet so many are not willing. He is still a just God, too, and he will punish, he will judge, and he will send down his wrath upon the disobedient. Worship of “Baal” today makes allowances for such things as sexual immorality, murder of innocents, gay lifestyles and the like. Yet, the gods the people have made for themselves will not be able to help them when judgment comes.

The people had broken covenant with God, and yet many or some of them gave an impression publicly that they were true followers of God. Jesus called this hypocrisy. They pretended one thing outwardly, while secretly they were given over to sensual lusts and sinful pleasures. They tried to hide their rebellion, forsaking, abandoning or falling away from God and from obedience to him and to Christ’s commandments. They did this by acts of religious sacrifice, yet God is not pleased when we perform ritualistic religious exercises while we are secretly still living in unrepentant sin. He is not deceived by our performances! He knows what goes on behind closed doors and in the shadows of our lives. We can’t fool him, though we may be able to fool people, for a time, until God exposes our secret sins and rebellions against him.

Do Not Prophesy!

Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;

    let us cut him off from the land of the living,

    that his name be remembered no more.”

But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously

    and test the heart and mind,

let me see your vengeance on them,

    for to you I have committed my cause.

Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth who are threatening to kill you, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will die by our hands”— therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”

Because there is this powerful delusion going on right now in the church, and Satan has fooled so many professing Christians with his lies and deceptions and his conspiracy to remove the critical elements of truth from the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is also an all-out effort of Satan to also destroy the messengers of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Throughout the world those who hold to the testimony of Jesus and who obey their Lord are being severely persecuted and even killed for their refusal to back down from the true gospel. Even in America the true gospel has come under much attack, and so has its messengers, yet we must remain true to God’s word, to the teachings of Christ and the apostles, and we must preach the true Jesus and the true gospel, because only the truth has the power to save lives!

Should I Not Preach Jesus

An Original Work / July 4, 2013

Based off 1 Corinthians 9:16-10:13

Woe to me should I not preach Jesus.

I’m compelled to preach the full gospel.

I make myself a slave to ev’ryone

To win their hearts to Christ.

All this I do for my Lord Jesus,

And for the sake of His Name;

Do it for the sake of His gospel,

So that I, its blessings gain.

Scripture notates the sins of others;

Written down for us as examples

To keep us from setting our hearts

On evil as did those of old.

Do not worship other gods of man;

Do not give your hearts to them;

Not partake in immorality.

Do not test your Lord and King.

So, be careful if you think you are

Standing firm in your faith in Jesus.

God has given his word to warn us,

So through faith we will not fall.

No temptation has o’ertaken you

Except what is commonplace.

God is faithful to not let you be

Tempted past what you can bear.

He gives the way of escape.

http://originalworks.info/should-i-not-preach-jesus/

A Message for the Churches

Wednesday, August 28, 2013, 7:11 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with this song:

Do Not Fear / An Original Work / June 2, 2013

Based off John 14

Do not let your hearts fear.

Trust in God. Trust in Christ.

“In My house you will find

Many rooms I have

Prepared for you,

And I will come back

And take you to heav’n.”

“I will take you to be with Me;

You’ll be where I am.”

“I am the way and

The truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father,

Except he comes through Me,

So put your faith in Me,

And do all of what I command.”

“Whoever has My commands

And obeys them loves Me.”

“I did not leave you as orphans.

I sent you the Counselor;

The Holy Spirit to live in you.

He teaches you all things,

And He reminds you of Me.”

“My peace I give to you,

So do not fear, trust in Me.”

http://originalworks.info/do-not-fear/

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 22 (NLT): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2022&version=NLT

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

New Heaven and Earth

After God judges the earth and Christ returns for his bride, there will be a thousand year reign of Christ and his saints on the earth, during which time Satan will be bound. This time will be followed by Satan being released from his captivity, at which time he will go out to deceive the nations. He will gather them together for battle, yet God will come to the rescue, and the devil will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, never to rise again. Then will be the Great White Throne Judgment at which time the dead will be judged according to what they have done with Jesus, and with his gospel of salvation. People whose names are not recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be also thrown into the lake of fire.

Then we will have a new heaven and a new earth. God’s home will then be among his people, like he was with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Amen! Oh, how I look forward to that day! There will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain. Awesome!! Those things will be gone forever!! God will make everything new.

There will be no earthly temple there, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. We won’t need the sun or the moon, for the glory of God and the Lamb will light up the city. And, we who are there with them, will walk in their light. As well, there will be no day or night. And, we will all worship the Lord God and give him glory day and night. Nothing evil will ever be allowed here. Amen! Hallelujah!! I can hardly wait! Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be there.

The curse that came as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve will be gone, and everything apparently will be restored to what it was like in the Garden of Eden. And, we will see Jesus face to face. Can you imagine what that will be like? I think it will be wonderful! All who are victorious over Satan will inherit all these things.

An Appeal

John was writing about the future, but he was also making an appeal, by the Spirit of God, to the people in the present world. If we are hungry and thirsty after God and his righteousness, he will give us freely from the springs of living water. In other words, salvation is being offered to all people because of Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins. Yet, we have to choose to receive his gift by faith. Scripture teaches that this faith is lived out by the things that we do, and that the primary qualities of that faith appear to be repentance – forsaking our lives of sin, obedience – following Jesus Christ wherever he leads us and doing what he says to do, and love – loving others in the manner in which Jesus Christ first loved us in laying down his life for us so we could be free of slavery to sin, free of eternal damnation, and free to walk in his love, truth and righteousness.

“I Am Coming Soon”

Three times in here Jesus said he was coming soon. He is coming, not only to receive his bride to himself, but he is coming to judge the people of the earth. First, his wrath will be poured out on all who do not bear his mark on their foreheads, but who are worshipers of the beast. This will take place during the time known as the tribulation. Yet, he will also judge all peoples, and depending upon what we did with Jesus and with his gospel of salvation will depend upon whether we spend eternity in glory or eternity in eternal torment and punishment. We are blessed if we obey his words. His true servants are ones who obey his words and who worship only God (and do not bow to false gods).

We get a glimpse here of those who will spend eternity with him versus those who will not. By contrast, he also showed who were those approved by God, and who were those who were not. Those who, by continual practice, are corrupt, murderers, immoral, sorcerers, idol worshipers and liars will face eternity in the lake of burning sulfur. On the other hand, those who are righteous (because of Christ’s righteousness credited to their accounts), who live righteously, and who are holy (because God is holy), will inherit eternal life. They are the ones who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, i.e. they have submitted to the cross of Christ in allowing their sins to be crucified with Christ, and by receiving his righteousness and purity into their lives, by the Spirit – in thought, word and deed.

Jesus will judge us by our deeds, because our works are the evidence that genuine faith exists, i.e. they prove whether we have really had our sins crucified with Jesus Christ, or whether we have not (Cf. the Book of James).

For the Churches

Jesus sent his angel to John to give this message (the entire book of Revelation) for the churches. What Jesus says is true, and we can count on it. One day all hell is literally going to break loose on this earth. In some places on the planet, they have already had a strong dose of this. In America, we have had little by comparison. Yet the reality of what John wrote about here in this book is that these things must come to pass. The persecution of God’s people, his bride, will be unbelievable to some of us who have never had to face such opposition for our faith in Jesus Christ. Many in other nations throughout the world, I believe, are being martyred today because of their testimony for Jesus Christ and for his gospel. I believe we, in America, will soon come to know this, as well. And, God’s wrath will be poured out on all who do not have the mark of the Lord on their foreheads. This time of tribulation will not be like anything this world has ever known before.

Yet, we are not to be afraid of what is coming, but we are to rest in our Lord, believing that he is in control, and that his purposes and his will for our lives will be accomplished through all that he allows for this time. As well, we must remember that God is just in all he does!

Just Are You / An Original Work / August 26, 2013

Based off Revelation 15-16

Great and marvelous

Are Your deeds, O God.

Just and true Your ways,

King of all the earth.

Who will not fear You;

Glorify Your name?

You are righteousness.

Praise Your Name!

Just are You, O Lord,

Our Eternal ONE,

For You judge the earth

In Your righteousness.

They have shed the blood

Of Your righteous ones.

You give their reward.

They’re to blame!

Kings of all the earth

Gather, one accord;

Make haste to engage

In a mighty war.

They oppose the Lord

And His holy saints.

They serve wickedness,

To their shame!

Jesus comes again,

To some unforeseen.

Blessed are those who wait

For Him at the gate.

They’ll not be ashamed.

“Glad” be their refrain.

When He comes again,

He’ll remain!

http://originalworks.info/just-are-you/

Full of Abominations!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013, 12:59 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Just Are You” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 17 (ESV).

The Great Prostitute

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

For many years now the Lord Jesus has been giving me an image of this “Great Prostitute” as the United States Government, or more specifically as the White House, i.e. the president and his cabinet, yet our whole federal government, in reality. She wields much power over many nations militarily and financially for she is instrumental to and leads the way in bringing about the New World Order (alias the beast), which is presently conquering all nations and governments of the world, and very soon we will all be underneath a one-world government. The kings of the earth have committed “sexual immorality” with her, i.e. they have been involved with her in her illegal and immoral actions against many peoples throughout the globe, but in particularly in the persecution and slaughtering of Christ’s true servants and witnesses. The US government is merely a branch of the One World Order (the beast), fulfilling her role/position/assignment in the conquering of nations, including the takedown of America.

The golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality are many, yet the Lord is showing me just a few of them this morning, I believe, and some that are very monumental with regard to these last days and the days lying ahead. For one, I believe the Lord Jesus is showing me that our government has been very careless and foolish with regard to the taxpayers’ money, and I believe we are on the brink of financial disaster – a planned disaster by a corrupted government. One account of this would be to take a tally of the Obama family’s vacations, apparently 16 of them in 3 years, and some of them costing millions upon millions of US dollars. The number of items on which our government wastes money is astounding! They are purposefully bankrupting America and the US treasury, and they are handing over our nation and our government to the beast. I believe much of this money is ready money available for the hire, i.e. we use much of it to murder people around the globe, all in the name of democracy and humanity.

Very specifically, the Lord Jesus has been showing me for several years that the US government has been directly involved in the murdering of the Lord’s servants and witnesses throughout the globe. Currently this is taking place in Syria, and before that (or still) is Egypt, and the list goes on. And, it is all covered up by the government-controlled media, with make-believe stories of what they want to project is the truth of what is going on in all these other nations, and with all these uprisings and coups that are happening one after another after another in rapid succession. Our government, i.e. more specifically the Obama administration gives the image that the president of Syria is responsible for a chemical attack on his country, which killed many people, and that now the US must go in as the “saviors” to rescue these poor people. Supposedly, they are presently mulling over what their response should be to what they consider immoral activity on the part of the Syrian government.

Yet, the Lord Jesus is giving me a different picture. He is showing me that the US is really deciding on what their response should be to the Lord’s servants and witnesses there who are appealing to them for mercy and for understanding, and who are possibly trying to defend themselves through trying to reason with the N.W.O./U.S. Gov. against these false accusations being propagated by our government. Our government has no plans for peace with these followers of Christ. They are plotting their demise, and believe me; this is coming to America, too. Our government, along with their international partners (the N.W.O.), is fully engaged in making war with this nation and with Christ’s followers there. Our government is making up excuses, one after another, to go into these countries so they can conquer them, not so they can save them!! As in all of the nations which we (the US) have conquered, the “transitional” government is of the N.W.O., not of the people. There is an international rule of law in place (N.W.O.) and any violation of it is punishable (with dire consequences). In other words, if we don’t bow to the beast, we will pay. And, many will pay with their lives. Cooperate or die! Please, please pray about this. God will show you.

Of One Mind

When I saw her, I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

The beast is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. The Lord Jesus is showing me something about this today that I don’t completely understand, but the picture I am getting is that our treasury department, or perhaps more specifically the secretary of the treasury – the person with the authority to draw checks – is in some way going to move from the bottom to the top. Along with this move is a handing over of our government and our money to the beast (the top), i.e. this will mean the collapse of our present form of government, which I believe Obama and his cabinet, the Department of Homeland Security, and factions within our military (or the military as a whole) have helped to facilitate, but this was in God’s plan from the beginning. Yet, they are not doing this on their own. They have help from other nations who hate the prostitute and are plotting her demise. They are of one mind, i.e. that of the New World Order, alias the beast. They hand over their power and authority to the beast, and they make war on the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them – Amen! – For he is Lord of lords and King of kings, “and those with him are called and chosen and faithful” to the very end, amen!

Jack Lew, United States Secretary of the Treasury, is a part of Obama’s cabinet, which will hand their authority over to the beast. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Lew

Just Are You / An Original Work / August 26, 2013

Based off Revelation 15-16

Great and marvelous

Are Your deeds, O God.

Just and true Your ways,

King of all the earth.

Who will not fear You;

Glorify Your name?

You are righteousness.

Praise Your Name!

Just are You, O Lord,

Our Eternal ONE,

For You judge the earth

In Your righteousness.

They have shed the blood

Of Your righteous ones.

You give their reward.

They’re to blame!

Kings of all the earth

Gather, one accord;

Make haste to engage

In a mighty war.

They oppose the Lord

And His holy saints.

They serve wickedness,

To their shame!

Jesus comes again,

To some unforeseen.

Blessed are those who wait

For Him at the gate.

They’ll not be ashamed.

“Glad” be their refrain.

When He comes again,

He’ll remain!

http://originalworks.info/just-are-you/

http://youtu.be/5LVc0BRxBP4

Just Are You

“And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying…” (Rev. 15:2-3 ESV)

“The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say…” (Rev. 16:4-5 ESV)

“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty…” (Rev. 16:12-14 ESV)

Just Are You / An Original Work / August 26, 2013

Based off Revelation 15-16

Great and marvelous

Are Your deeds, O God.

Just and true Your ways,

King of all the earth.

Who will not fear You;

Glorify Your name?

You are righteousness.

Praise Your Name!

Just are You, O Lord,

Our Eternal ONE,

For You judge the earth

In Your righteousness.

They have shed the blood

Of Your righteous ones.

You give their reward.

They’re to blame!

Kings of all the earth

Gather, one accord;

Make haste to engage

In a mighty war.

They oppose the Lord

And His holy saints.

They serve wickedness,

To their shame!

Jesus comes again,

To some unforeseen.

Blessed are those who wait

For Him at the gate.

They’ll not be ashamed.

“Glad” be their refrain.

When He comes again,

He’ll remain!

http://originalworks.info/just-are-you/

http://youtu.be/5LVc0BRxBP4

Have I Been with You so Long?

Monday, August 26, 2013, 9:04 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with this song:

Grace Greater than Our Sin / Julia H. Johnston / Daniel B. Towner

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,

Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!

Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,

There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled…

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin!

http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Grace_Greater_than_Our_Sin/

Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 14:1-13 (ESV).

Not Defiled

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

We have here a scene of Mount Zion – our heavenly Jerusalem; the bride of Christ; the kingdom of heaven; the gospel of Christ and the life of Jesus Christ from eternity. The Lamb - Jesus Christ - and all those who have the name of Jesus Christ, the Son, and that of the Father written on their foreheads, stood on Mt. Zion, the Holy City – the spiritual city of our God, the body of Christ. I believe they stood as conquerors and victors over their enemy, Satan. A new song was sung, and the only ones who could learn the song were these who had not defiled themselves with other lovers, i.e. they were not idolatrous or spiritually adulterous in their relationships with Jesus Christ, but were willing to suffer for his name.

They are the faithful; the committed; and the obedient servants of our Lord. They are the ones who listen attentively to his words, who learn what he teaches, and who apply his words to their daily lives, though not with absolute sinless perfection. Yet, they have been cleansed in the blood of the Lamb, thus they have given themselves to spiritual and moral purity, and they do not follow after the lies of Satan, nor are they those who make a practice of lying and deception. They certainly have not bought into the lie of the beast and they do not bow to or worship his image. They are followers and seekers and supporters of truth, and they seek God’s truth in their own lives, humbly willing to receive divine correction, to repent of all sin, and to confess any known wrongs to those whom they have wronged. They follow Jesus Christ wherever he leads them, even if it means being hated, rejected, despised and even killed for their faith (see 2 Thess. 2:11-12; Heb. 11:25-26).

Give Him Glory

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

“Fear God and give Him glory” – what does this mean to you? The Lord Jesus gave me an illustration of this principle last night and again this morning as applied to his church here in America today. What he showed me is that a good number of professing Christians today, although they have been given the word of God – God’s letter to us that should be written on our hearts – do not honor God and give him glory, because they don’t even acknowledge to him what he has written. Scripture teaches that “every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.” He spoke to them in the letter about this lack of respect and honor, and how they do not trust him with their lives, or how they fail to trust him in matters that are difficult to understand, or how they are not willing to see him at work in their life situations, believing that he truly is in control. Yet, they have still failed to respond.

Jesus wrote this letter a long time ago. For many of us, we have had it in our possession since our physical birth, i.e. we have been exposed to its truths from infanthood. We have been richly blessed, and yet many take that for granted. We have the written word of God (the Bible), but we also have the WORD living within us, i.e. we have the person of Jesus Christ living within us in the person of his Holy Spirit, continually speaking his truths to our hearts and reminding us of all he taught us, if we are genuinely his true servants. He convicts, counsels, guides, directs, empowers, encourages, gives hope and healing, teaches, corrects, rebukes and restores. He also speaks to us through nature, i.e. through his created works and through his earthly and heavenly messengers who go throughout the earth proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, and yet many are slow in responding to all that they have received. They want more time, and yet time is not on their side, perhaps.

These same professing Christians, who do not acknowledge Jesus’ words to them, and who have not yet responded to his messages to them, and who want more time, may speak about him, though, to the people of the world. They may give lip service to Jesus, in other words, but their hearts are far from him, so they betray him with their lips. Although they speak about him, they do not really commune (fellowship) with him with true listening ears to hear what he says; to acknowledge his messages through surrender, obedience and submission to him and to what he teaches us; and to respond to those messages through following Him wherever he leads us. In fact, they listen more to the world than they do to Jesus. They have the appearance of godliness, but they deny its power in their lives. They may even feel as though they have good intentions, but good intentions are not good enough if they are not followed through with genuine faith – repentance and obedience.

This grieves the Spirit of God, who tests our hearts. He longs to gather us in his arms as a mother hen gathers her chicks, and yet many are not willing, because they are not willing to listen (and heed) his voice. They already have their minds made up, and/or they fail to communicate with God in a way that shows they truly want to know him. So, they keep their distance from Jesus. Oh, they are not completely opposed to him, nor are they on fire for him. They are like the lukewarm Christians of Laodicea. They are casual Christians who lack passion, heart, commitment, earnestness and zeal for their Lord and for his service. They may talk to him, but they don’t really listen. So, they don’t really know him.

Jesus said to Philip: “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me?” I believe he is saying that to many in the church here in America today.

Fallen is Babylon

Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

Endurance of the Saints

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

The end of time is drawing near. The Lord’s true disciples, servants, followers and witnesses will be persecuted severely because of their testimony for Jesus Christ and for his gospel of salvation. Many are being presently killed for their stand on “Mount Zion,” yet they are blessed. Many more will be martyred for their faith, or will be hated, rejected, betrayed, beaten, imprisoned or harassed at every turn, or even have false accusations made against them. The battle between the woman and the dragon is still going on. Brother will betray brother to death, scripture says. Yet, the sacrifice we make for the sake of the name of Jesus and for his gospel and for the salvation of souls is not meaningless, and it will not go without fruit for that labor in helping to prepare Christ’s church for his soon return.

Great is The Lord! / An Original Work / June 12, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures – Ps. 57:10; 89:1; 145:3; Jer. 32:19;

La. 3:22-24; Da. 9:4; Lu. 21:27; Ep. 1:19; Tit. 2:13; 1 Jn. 3:1 (NIV ’84)

Great is the Lord!

He has done wondrous things.

Great is His love

Reaching up to the heav’ns.

His faithfulness reaches

Up to the skies.

Of His great love,

I will sing evermore.

Great is the Lord

And most worthy of praise!

Truly His greatness

No one comprehends.

Great are His purposes;

Mighty His deeds.

His eyes are open

To the ways of man.

Great is the Lord!

His compassions ne’er fail.

Great is His faithfulness.

I’ll wait for Him.

He keeps His covenant

Of His great love

With all who love Him

And do what He says.

Great is the Lord!

He is coming in pow’r.

His saints will wait for Him;

Their hope secure.

How great His love

He has lavished on us,

That we should be called

The children of God.

http://originalworks.info/great-is-the-lord/

Flee for Refuge

Sunday, August 25, 2013, 7:44 a.m. – The Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Believe Him.”  Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 12 (NIV 1984):

The Woman and the Dragon

  A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

  And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

  Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

   “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,

   and the authority of his Christ.

For the accuser of our brothers,

   who accuses them before our God day and night,

   has been hurled down.

They overcame him

   by the blood of the Lamb

   and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

   as to shrink from death.

Therefore rejoice, you heavens

   and you who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea,

   because the devil has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury,

   because he knows that his time is short.”

  When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

The Dragon

The dragon is Satan, yet he has kings and kingdoms under his control, which do his bidding. The dragon (Satan, the devil, Lucifer) was once a powerful angel in heaven, but he wanted to be God, so he raised himself up against God, along with his angels, and so God hurled him and his angels down to earth, where he now leads the world astray. The dragon stands in direct opposition to Jesus Christ and to his followers. He is the great accuser of Christ’s disciples, i.e. true believers in Jesus. The dragon, Satan, is filled with fury against God and against God’s children, the saints of Almighty God, and true followers of Jesus Christ, yet he knows his time is short, which is why he is filled with fury.

The woman is Israel. She gave birth to Jesus Christ and to the church, the woman’s offspring. Jesus Christ came to the earth, was born as a baby, took on human flesh, became a man, suffered as we suffer and was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin. He was crucified on a cross as a common criminal, even though he had committed no wrong. They hung him on that cross because they hated him for his life and his testimony. When Jesus died on the cross, he took upon himself all our sins, so that our sins died with him and were buried with him. Then, he arose from the grave, triumphing over death, hell, Satan and sin. He returned to the Father in heaven, and he sent His Holy Spirit to indwell and to empower the lives of his true followers. And, one day Jesus will return to the earth to gather his bride and to rule the world with an iron scepter. His saints will then reign with him on the earth.

The dragon is in constant pursuit of the woman and her offspring, i.e. spiritual Israel. Physical Israel is no longer God’s people because, as a nation, and as a people as whole, they refused to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah, though there are many individual believing Jews today. Those who continue in disbelief are numbered among the Gentiles, i.e. unbelievers. So, the woman, and the offspring, that Satan is now pursuing is spiritual Israel, the church, the only true Israel, according to scripture. Only true believers in Jesus Christ, i.e. those who obey God’s commandments and hold to (embrace; incorporate; accept; adopt; and welcome) the testimony of Jesus, stand as a threat to Satan and his kingdom. They are the ones the dragon is after to try to destroy and whom he is making war against.

For Refuge

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. Heb. 6:18 NLT

The Lord Jesus gave me an illustration this morning of how this passage in Revelation 12, combined with this Hebrews passage, is being lived out in actuality by many of his followers today. We, as the people of God, were once in an intimate relationship with this sinful world, which is “married” to Satan. Yet, many of us “divorced” our relationship with Satan and the world, and instead we “married” Jesus Christ. This means we left our lives of sin and living for self behind, we have been transformed into new creatures in Christ Jesus by the Spirit of God, and we have fled (sin and self) to take hold of our hope in Jesus Christ and to find our refuge, anchor for the soul, comfort, support and salvation in him alone, forsaking all others. And, so Satan is furious, because he wants us back for himself.

Those who have come into relationship with Jesus Christ corporately make up what is called the church, the body of Christ – not to be confused with the institutional church, which gives a home (a place to meet together) to many of Christ’s followers. Yet, we don’t “go” to church. We, the people of God are the church - not the businesses and institutions of men which house the church. It is important that we understand this. A building is just a building. The New Testament church met daily, and from house to house and in the temple courts. So, we are not confined to a place, day or time when we can meet with the family of God. We can meet with God and his family anytime or place. Meeting with Christians inside a building (institution of humankind) is not more sacred than meeting in a marketplace.

Ok, with that said, the illustration the Lord Jesus gave me this morning was of the institutional church which houses the true church, the body of Christ, but which also houses the world. Professing followers of Christ, who once were “married” to Satan, but “divorced” him, and are now “married” to Jesus Christ have invited their former “spouse” (Satan) back into the church, i.e. much of today’s institutional church has invited Satan back into the meetings of the church, i.e. they are on friendly terms with him once again. The vehicle (means) that has brought Satan back into the church is in the form of games, amusement, and entertainment; diversions to get us off track; and what is advantageous and beneficial to the worldly human, i.e. humanistic philosophy, marketing schemes, and doing what makes everyone comfortable, i.e. not offending them with the gospel of Christ. So, going along with all this is a diluted gospel which “makes nice” with the world instead of inviting the world to death of sin and self and to a walk of faith and obedience to Jesus Christ.

So, many who have “fled to take hold of the hope” they have in Jesus Christ have seen (through Spiritual insight) this return of Satan to the institutional church. Knowing that Satan is furious with them, is enraged against them, and will do all he can to stop them from giving testimony to the truth of the gospel, and has done so, they have fled for refuge in Jesus Christ, who is their anchor for the soul. And, they have gone outside the walls of the institutional church, but not outside the true church. And, in many cases, the institutional church (government + church) and the world inside have been all too eager to accommodate them and to even help them to depart, willingly forfeiting those rejected servants’ witness for Christ and for his gospel, and the fellowship they could have had with the parts of the body of Christ these servants of Christ were assigned to do.

Yet, even though we have a great and powerful enemy – Satan – God is over all things and Satan and his kings and kingdoms are only given authority to do what they do because God allows it for a time. So, we have no need to fear Satan or his attempts to destroy us, because greater is He who is within us (true believers in Jesus) than he who is in the world. There is no temptation or trial that we go through but what God’s grace can handle it and He can bring us through safely into His Kingdom. We are able to overcome Satan, the dragon, by the blood of the Lamb, because of what Jesus did for us in conquering Satan and sin, and through our faith in and testimony for Jesus Christ. This kind of faith refuses to love our own lives more than we love Jesus, and is the kind of faith that brings our old sinful natures to the cross of Christ and that leaves our old lives behind and walks humbly before God in obedience to his commands. This faith will die for Jesus Christ rather than deny Him.

Believe Him / An Original Work / July 15, 2013

My heart cries: Lord, won’t You hear me

Seeking You for the answers

To my heartache and questions

I have concerning my life?

Speak, Lord, to me right now.

“Oh, dear one, why don’t you trust Me

With your life’s circumstances?

Give your all on the altar

In submission of your will

To My purpose for you.

“Surrender your life completely

To your Lord and your Savior.

He has all things planned for you

For His glory and honor.

He’ll work all things for good.

“Believe Him. He will fulfill all

Of His promises to you

For your life and your future.

Trust Him. Rest in His love.

He’ll give you peace from above.”

http://youtu.be/oQEWpZSrSVw