THE WORDS OF JESUS

Creative, Causative, Prophetic, Instructional – Part 66

“Unless you are born again”

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again ^(b) he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

The Words of Jesus, John 3:8.

“Unless a person is born again” can mean to be born again or to be born from above. The Greek word is purposely ambiguous, as this means both to be ‘born again’ and ‘from above’. (It is also interesting to note that Jesus is using the aorist tense of the word ‘be born’, which indicates a continuous action with no regard to past, present or future – i.e., unless one ‘continues to be born again’…)

 Apparently, Nicodemus misunderstood what Jesus meant. He took these words as being both literal and pragmatic because he next asked, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born (born again and to be born from above, i.e.,) of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ^(c) Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You ^{(d )} must be born again.’ The wind ^(c) blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

I have read this, in the past, and simply passed over the significance on these words – they are just too mystifying. Of course, Nicodemus apparently had the same problem, although he was able to ask for clarification and the meaning.

I have read commentaries on these verses, (five through eight), and almost without exception, Bible teachers and theologians delve into either the pragmatism of these words, the illusory or the metaphorical. There is nothing in Jesus’ Words that would indicate they are anything but literal. Jesus is explaining a deep oracle of God, a deep truth, that is not easily understood by the natural mind and must be experienced to its fulfillment to gain any understanding at all.

These words not only compare the ‘flesh’, i.e., the physical to the spiritual, but tell us that BOTH are necessary realities in order to ‘enter the kingdom of God (which is also, a real place). Jesus begins this teaching and explanation with, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water AND the Spirit” – both!

Your reason for having been created by God and your raison d’être is not complete unless you have undergone both, being born in the flesh and having been born of the Spirit.

It is a harsh reality that if you die in this incomplete state, you will perish, having been rendered by your own choice, in a manner of speaking, as ‘no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet’.

If, on the other hand, you are truly born of water and of the Spirit, you will enter the Kingdom of heaven, both now at this time and in the age to come, eternal life. And at that time, whatever you ask of the Father in Jesus’ Name, He may give to you (see John 15:16) – and nothing will be impossible for you (see Matthew 17:20).

Don’t be arrogant or foolish. Complete your reason for being, and live!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PS – These things do not come immediately, but only with steadfast prayer and submission to God. Even then, the way is not smooth, but is filled with trials, testing and tribulations, so that you may be made complete and your faith —which is more precious than gold, which perishes, when it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

PREVIOUS:  THE WORDS OF JESUS – What Are You To Do With Them?, “What are you seeking?”, Part 65

NEXT:  THE WORDS OF JESUS – What Are You To Do With Them?, “How can a man be born again?”, Part 67

THIS WORLD IS PASSING AWAY

We must recognize that this world is passing away and we are instructed by God through His Word that we are ‘not (to) love this world or the things in this world. (For), if anyone loves this world, the love of the Father is not in (them). For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And this world is passing away along with its desires—but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (see 1 John 2:15-17).

HOWEVER, WE ARE BUT SOJOURNERS

1 Peter 1:1-2, makes a startling revelation in an introduction to this letter,: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood.” (The English Standard Version).

The Amplified Bible Version puts it this way, “Peter, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Jesus Christ, To those [elect—both Jewish and Gentile believers] who live as exiles, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia [Minor], and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace [that special sense of spiritual well-being] be yours in increasing abundance [as you walk closely with God].

A direct translation from the Greek language defines “exile” as, a sojourner “parepidémos”; sojourning, in a strange place; residing in a strange country; a stranger, a sojourner.

Strong’s concordance reference #3927 “parepídēmos” – a sojourner (foreigner) – literally, someone “passing through” but still with personal relationship with the people in that locale (note the prefix, para, “close beside”). This temporary (but active) relationship is made necessary by circumstances. (These are defined only by the context.)

Also, Jesus tells us, in John 17:14-16, “I have given them (the people whom You have given Me out of the world) your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

WE ARE BUT “PURPOSELY PASSING THROUGH”

We, as Christians, may have become accustomed to and fond of this world into which we were born. We may even be in love with this world, but we are not of this world. We must recognize that we are but exiles and sojourners in a foreign land. Simply passing through, (although nothing about it may seem simple at the time).

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered (as worthless).

“Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!” (2 Peter 2:3-10-12)

It would seem that the “unbelieving world” knows this better than the “Believers in God”. They (the unbelievers) are working feverishly to avert the coming destruction of this world and the end of the age. Just look at the global effort to conserve and preserve our world from ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’ and to make ‘sustainable development” a reality.

But the truth is “The Earth is Groaning”.

• Red Alerts – Arctic Lands Grow Greener.
• Scientist Find Record Warm Water in Antarctica, Cause of Glacier Melt.
• Sea Level Rise could Reshape the United States, Trigger Migration.
• Climate researchers can now detect the fingerprint of global warming in daily weather observations at the global scale.
• Groundwater depletion in America’s West.
• Climate warming disrupts tree seed production.
• Climate warming speeding up earth’s ocean currents.
• A worldwide push toward One World Government (Globalism).
• Worldwide anarchy, wars and rumors of war.
• Climate changes of historic proportions.
• Strange new and threatening diseases.
• Global Pandemics.
• Droughts, famines and increasing frequency of earthquakes.

“The Arctic is figuratively and literally on fire — it’s warming much faster than we thought it would in response to rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and this warming is leading to a rapid meltdown and increase in wildfires,” University of Michigan environmental school dean Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist, said in an email.”

“The record warming in Siberia is a warning sign of major proportions,” Overpeck wrote.

“Persistently warm weather, especially if coupled with wildfires, causes permafrost to thaw faster, which in turn exacerbates global warming by releasing large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that’s 28 times stronger than carbon dioxide, said Katey Walter Anthony, a University of Alaska Fairbanks expert on methane release from frozen Arctic soil.”

“Methane escaping from permafrost thaw sites enters the atmosphere and circulates around the globe,” she said. “Methane that originates in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic. It has global ramifications.”

“That seems to weaken and sometimes even stall the jet stream, meaning weather systems such as those bringing extreme heat or rain can stay parked over places for days on end, Cohen said.”

FEAR-MONGERING or FACT?

The weather channel has an article saying “A new study has found the Gulf Stream is circulating at its slowest rate in at least 1,600 years, contradicting reports to the contrary. Climate change is to blame for the slowdown, the study concluded. If the circulation stops completely, it would have catastrophic impacts on our weather.”

The article briefly states that “some scientists who weren’t involved in the study agreed with the findings, but others said a lack of data left them skeptical of the study. MIT professor Carl Wunsch said the study’s “assertions of weakening are conceivable, but unsupported by any data” in an interview with the AP.

“A separate study, also released in the journal “Nature“, claims the 150-year slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, (AMOC). is a result of natural changes, not man-made climate change. But, both conclude, the slowdown is occurring, and it could impact our weather in the coming years.”

A 2000-YEAR-OLD WEATHER FORECAST:

“Revelation 7:1, says, “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.”

HERE IS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE WINDS STOPPED BLOWING:

“It would rarely rain in inland locations (wind moves moist air over dry spots and falls as rain). All land not near a body of water would turn into a desert.

“There would be more extreme temperatures (the warm/cold air over the ground would not be replaced by the steady temperature air of the oceans and seas).

“The trade winds would no longer exist, and ocean stream currents would eventually stop. This would to serious climate changes. (The Gulf Stream keeps Europe warm).”

“After a few days the problem arrives. Without wind systems, warm, moist air won’t move around. Water might still evaporate, but it won’t travel, meaning anywhere away from a large body of water will dry up. Lakes might be alright as the evaporating water will fall back into them and the sea will be fine but anywhere else will get very dry, very quickly. Plants, animals and humans will slowly die from dehydration with most water inaccessible as salt water or ice. Even if we survive this, the problems don’t stop. The equator will no longer shed its heat as quickly, so it will become very warm, mountains may remain cool enough to be habitable but nowhere else will. At the same time, the poles, deprived of heat from the equator, will freeze solid.”

Science is recently saying what the Bible has been saying for centuries.

AN URGENT MESSAGE TO THE WORLD

All of this has been recorded ahead of time and is foretold in great and frightening detail.  You simply need the “eyes to see” and “the ears to hear”.

All of these things and this historic time had been recorded, in various books of the Bible, in particular, the Book of Revelation.

THE ENTIRE EARTH IS GROANING

^“For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.  And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.   For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?   But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

Our time for this planet is short, but God says,
“AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME, I LISTENED TO YOU,
AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION, I HELPED YOU.”
Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”—

The wise man or woman will turn to God and live, but the fool says in their heart that there is no God!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

If you have the time, please read further:

Frightfully, most Christians have bought into a ‘wait and see if it’s really true, narrative’ fed to us, some by our own religious institutions.

Listen to what the Apostle Peter tells us about this,

Act 2:14 “But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them:

“Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. Verse 15. “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;

Verse 16. But this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:

Verse 17. ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says,
‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;

Verse 18. EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,
I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT
And they shall prophesy.

Verse 19. ‘AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE
AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW,
BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.

Verse 20. ‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS
AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD,
BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.

Verse 21. ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

Peter is telling us that the “Last Days” started at or around Pentecost, in the year AD 30, as prophesied in Joel 2:28-32.

Here is additonal proof by the words of Jesus and the Apostles Paul, Peter and Timothy, written around A.D. 30, and are found in :

• Hebrews 1:2,
• Hebrews 9:26,
• Acts 2:14-17,
• 2 Timothy 3:1,
• 1 Peter 1:20,
• 1 Peter 4:7,
• 2 Peter 3:3.
• 1 John 2:18. 

Now here is the scenario as told by Jesus from the Revelation:

The 1st Tribulation Seal – International (Global) conquest and political intrigue, ongoing since AD 1

The 2nd Tribulation Seal – Global Wars and Rumors of War, ongoing since AD 1

The 3rd Tribulation Seal – Global Famine, ongoing since AD 1

The 4th Tribulation Seal – Global Death, pandemics, ongoing since AD 1

The 5th Tribulation Seal –Martyrs, persecution, revealing of the Anti-Christ, the great falling away (apostasy), now underway and growing worse

The 6th Tribulation Seal – Cosmic and Astronomical phenomenon, weather disturbances, cosmic cataclysms. This has not occurred yet, but is on the horizon. This happens after the rapture of the Church.

Global Warming?  Something is happening, folks. But, it is not what we are being told and not for the reasons we are being told by the news media. But, something is happening!

So, how can you know the truth, and what can you do about it? Well, since God is the One allowing it and since His Word (The Bible) has foretold this coming event, I would say “Go to God’s Word and find out for yourself”.  In the meantime, GET READY!

(Click here or on the image above for details about “WHAT IT MEANS TO GET READY“. Please read the entire article, but, Page 31 tells the Christian, specifically, what it means to get ready.)

 

 

Is it God’s Intention to Bless you?​

I believe that one of God’s primary desires is to Bless His own. 

​God’s first and greatest Blessing is the Blessing of Salvation by His Grace though faith in Jesus, His Son.  Then, there are His blessings of love and mercy and prosperity toward those who believe.

Some years ago, I became a serious advocate of God’s intentions to Bless His own people.  That is, God intends to Bless those who seek Him diligently.

Some people just don’t like to hear (or think) that God Blesses people beyond the Greatest of Blessing, that is His Blessing of Salvation through faith in Christ, for those who call upon His name.

But, I say it is true.

I have also been reflecting on what some people have said to me, over these years, regarding the “Blessings of God”. 

Some people have told me “Yeah.  God may have done ‘this or that’ for you or for others, but that does not mean He will do ‘this or that’ for everyone.  You are just making me feel bad saying God will do ‘this or that’ when He hasn’t done it for me.”

It also seems obvious that not everyone who says they believe, are being blessed!  It seems many are suffering some form of trial or tribulation. God allows us, and at times causes us to go through trials and tribulations, but He is always with us IN and THROUGH times of trouble. The Bible teaches us that (1), “Many are the tribulations of the righteous, but He rescues us from them all; (Psalms 34:19). (2), “God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45). (3), God uses trials and tribulations to conform us to His image. (1 Peter 1:6-9).

We have to remember that God, through His Son, and the use of His judgements, separates us from sin, so that sin does not separate us from Him.

God’s judgment is an extreme act of mercy.  An act of Devine love, justice and mercy.

For an example, look at Adam and Eve.  They were expelled from the Garden of Eden because of their disobedience, sinful attitude and behavior. 

First, God places the blame squarely where it belongs, on Satan.  Look at what God said in casting Adam and Eve from the Garden:

“The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you…” Genesis 3:14

Because Adam and Eve had gained the “knowledge of good and evil” they would now live forever in their fallen condition.  So, God, by His great mercy said,  “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” — 

“Therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:23-24)

God was showing extreme mercy using extreme methods for extreme circumstances.  God always has a Plan.  God’s plan for humankind was Jesus Christ.  He was our future as our redeemer.  

But, we had to be taught about His great love through various trials.

It is important that we remember that God was not angry with Adam and Eve and God is not angry with you as His child.  God was displeased.  But His anger was, and always will be, toward sin.  This is another of God’s principals which never changes. 

God, through His righteous judgments of “exile and captivity”, separates sin from our lives so sin does not separate us from Him.

(By the way, we as, Christians, must adopt this principal for our lives.  Jesus tells us “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14-15)

Coincidentally, someone I know who is going through a difficult time, posted verses regarding God’s intended Blessings toward Believers from Jeremiah chapter 29:11, ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”.  I imagine he posted them to remind himself of God’s kind and generous intentions toward all Believers, and perhaps to gain strength and to keep hope alive for his future.

This is a TRUTH from God’s Word, but, it can easily be taken out of context.  And when God’s Word is taken out of context it is usually improperly applied and rarely comes to pass.  Hence, we have an example of how people level unjust criticisms of God’s intention to Bless those who seek Him and to grant them His Favor.

Here is the context these verses: 

Most of Israel has been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s armies and the Jewish people have been taken into captivity and sent to Babylon.  This is a picture of extreme trouble and distress which has come upon the Jewish people and nation because of their sin and rebellion toward God.  God’s principals found in Jeremiah 29, never change.  You and I can and do suffer because of our sinful rebellion toward God, just like Israel.  

Remember, however, that there is a remedy for sin and God’s judgment – and His Name is Jesus!  But also remember that there was a just CAUSE for God’s judgments.

Jeremiah 29:1 ¶  Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

​Verse 2. “(This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.)

Verse 3. “The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,

Verse 4. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,

Verse 5. ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.

Verse 6. ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.

Verse 7. ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’

Verse 8. “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream.

Verse 9. ‘For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD.

Verse 10 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

Verse 11. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Verse 12. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Verse 13. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Verse 14. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into .’

We can see what happened to Israel.  But, what is God’s intended meaning of this “EXILE” and “CAPTIVITY”? 

NOTE:  This word, “EXILE”, literally means

• “to uncover oneself,

• to be removed from where you have been,

• to be disclosed and discovered,

• to uncover your nakedness,

• to be revealed, to lay bare”.

 
The CAUSE of the EXILE was the people’s sin.

The RESULT of the EXILE was to expose the people’s sin and rebellion.

The REMEDY of this EXILE can be seen in verses TEN through FOURTEEN:  

Jeremiah 29:10  “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

Verse 11. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Verse 12. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Verse 13. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Verse 14. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

God warns his people, however, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream.

Jeremiah 29:9,  ‘For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD.”

God’s intention is to expose their sins and to make them aware of their condition, so they can repent and be restored.  But many of their preachers and prophets were deceiving them.  They were telling them what they wanted to hear.  They were telling them, in essence, that “God loves you too much to love you any less”, regardless of your sinful behavior and rebellion toward God and His laws.  And, while this may sound right, it is only half-true, which is actually a LIE.

The people were conducting their lives based on subtle lies about God’s Law.  They were being taught by false prophets.  THIS IS THE REASON THE PEOPLE OF GOD FELL DEEPER INTO SIN AND REBELLIION and eventually suffered God’s Judgment for correction.

The current condition of the church in America could be considered to be similar.  The preachers (prophets) are using the same words contained in the Bible but they are only “holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” (2Timothy 3:5)

God warns us, the “New Testament Christians” to beware…

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.” 2 Peter 2:1

“For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:4

Read these verses from  Jeremiah 29:10-14, again: 

“For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’”

Do you want the Blessing of God?  I know I do.

If you are in a difficult situation that is the result of your behavior or for reasons you don’t understand, just accept God’s correction for your “Seventy years”

“Seventy Years” literally and symbolically means

• • • “to take an oath;

    • be a lover of God over being a hater of God. 

    • The number Seven is a number of completion and perfection “ten times over”. 

​

So, the result of your “Seventy Years” of “exile” brings you to ‘swear a perfect and complete oath of love and obedience in your heart’ toward God, ).

Know and have faith that He “will visit you again and He will fulfill His Good Word to you, to bring you back to your place.”

Always have faith; know in your heart that God “know(s) the plans He has for you, and those plans are for your welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope”. That promise never changes.

Then, after your “Seventy Years of exile”, you WILL “call upon Him and go to Him and pray to Him, and He will listen to you when you seek Him with all your heart.  You will find Him and He will restore you”.

Thus says the Lord.

Now, Let’s Go, and Be Blessed.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

The Mystery

A mystery or secret doctrine of which initiation is necessary; in the New Testament. The counsels of God, once hidden but now revealed in the Gospel or some fact thereof; the Christian revelation generally; particular truths or details of the Christian revelation.

The Revelation

An uncovering, an unveiling, revealing, revelation, disclosure. The book of the Revelation begins with John the Revelator addressing the seven churches in Asia.

What follows is an amazing prophetic insight of God’s plan and purpose for His creation from Genesis to the End of the Age.

Revelation 1:1, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, verse 2, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Verse 3. Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Verse 4. “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, verse 5, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— Verse 6, and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Verse 7. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”

Verse 8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

I have color-coded certain words and phrases in these verses to draw attention to the Mystery of the Apocalypse.  Others are color-coded in red to draw attention to their obvious and transcendent truth.

THE WORD OF GOD – THE ONLY WAY TO SAFETY AND SUCCESS

The cosmos and this world and everything in them, which God created from the beginning, were ‘Good’.  God called all of His creation ‘Good’, and all things were ‘good’ because the process and the outcome of creation was perfectly in accordance to God’s Will, His Plan and His Purpose.

It may sound odd to say, but the scriptures about creation, particularly the creation of Adam and Eve, found in the Book of Genesis, seem to contain several contradictions.

THE FIRST ‘CONTRADICTION’

Revelation 1:1, says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place…”  These words were written sometime around A.D. 90. Over 1,900 years have passed since this prophecy was written, and according to the God-breathed and Holy Spirit inspired Word of God. The first ‘contradiction’, if that is possible, is if these were ‘to soon take place’, why haven’t they? But that is the wrong question to ask.

The right question to ask is, “Is this is more rock-solid evidence that the breaking of the first tribulation seals began at the birth of Christ and ‘the things which must soon take place’ began to appear around the time John the Apostle wrote his Apocalypse?”

This prophetic statement, “the things which must soon take plac” fits perfectly with the words of Jesus and the Apostles Paul, Peter and Timothy, written around A.D. 30. They illustrate, by the use of the TENSE of the words, the timing of certain events (I.e., when they began). Please read and study this carefully. These statements are found in :

• Hebrews 1:2,
  • • “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.“
    • “Last (days): from Strong’s concordance #2078: ésxatos (from esxaton, “end, last”) – properly, last, final (the furthest, extreme-end). #2078/esxatos , (“future things”), the root of “eschatology” is “the study of last things.” This includes future Bible prophecy, the end-times, and life after death (“the after-life”).

• Hebrews 9:26,
  • • “for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
      
    • “End of the ages”: from Strong’s concordance #4930, syntéleia (from 4862 /sýn, “close together with” and 5055 /teléō, “complete, consummate”) – culmination (completion), i.e. when the parts come together into a whole (“consummation“) – “an end involving many parts” (B. F. Westcott). See 4931 (synteléō). that ushers in a new time-era/age (Mt 13:39,40,49,24:3, 28:20).

• Acts 2:14-17,

  • • But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

      “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
      that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh”

    • “Last (days): from Strong’s concordance #2078: ésxatos (from esxaton, “end, last”) – properly, last, final (the furthest, extreme-end). #2078/esxatos , (“future things”), the root of “eschatology” is “the study of last things.” This includes future Bible prophecy, the end-times, and life after death (“the after-life”).

• 2 Timothy 3:1,

• • • “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.”
    • “Last (days): from Strong’s concordance #2078: ésxatos (from esxaton, “end, last”) – properly, last, final (the furthest, extreme-end). #2078/esxatos , (“future things”), the root of “eschatology” is “the study of last things.” This includes future Bible prophecy, the end-times, and life after death (“the after-life”).

• 1 Peter 1:20,

• • • “He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.”
      
    • “Last (days): from Strong’s concordance #2078: ésxatos (from esxaton, “end, last”) – properly, last, final (the furthest, extreme-end). #2078/esxatos , (“future things”), the root of “eschatology” is “the study of last things.” This includes future Bible prophecy, the end-times, and life after death (“the after-life”).

• 1 Peter 4:7,
  • • “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.”
      

    • End (of all things): from Strong’s concordance #5056: télos (a neuter noun) – properly, consummation (the end-goal, purpose), such as closure with all its results. [This root (tel-) means “reaching the end (aim).” It is well-illustrated with the old pirate’s telescope, unfolding (extending out) one stage at a time to function at full-strength (capacity effectiveness).]

• 2 Peter 3:3.
  • • “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.”

• • • “Last (days): from Strong’s concordance #2078: ésxatos (from esxaton, “end, last”) – properly, last, final (the furthest, extreme-end). #2078/esxatos , (“future things”), the root of “eschatology” is “the study of last things.” This includes future Bible prophecy, the end-times, and life after death (“the after-life”).

• 1 John 2:18. 
  • • “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.”
      
    • “Last (hour): from Strong’s concordance #2078: ésxatos (from esxaton, “end, last”) – properly, last, final (the furthest, extreme-end). #2078/esxatos , (“future things”), the root of “eschatology” is “the study of last things.” This includes future Bible prophecy, the end-times, and life after death (“the after-life”).

All of the cited verses were spoken and written sometime as early as A.D. 30 as late as A.D. 69. This illustrates and informs us that these are the times of the “beginning of sorrows”, a.k.a,  the early days of tribulation (small ‘t’) – Seals ONE through FIVE are distinct from the SIXTH and SEVENTH Tribulation Seals which are the beginning of the final 7 years of Great Tribulation, and include the 7 Trumpet Judgements and the 7 Bowl Judgements – also known as “Daniel’s 70th Week”, “The Great Tribulation”, “The Days of Wrath” or “The Day of The Lord”.

Here is the Tribulation Timeline, in summary:

The opening of Tribulation Seal ONE began between A.D. 30 and A.D. 69, and perhaps as early as 2 B.C.   Seals ONE through FIVE have been broken, progressively, up until this day.

So, in this case there is no contradiction. It is a clear and positive explanation of the timing of ‘the beginning of the End of all Things’ – The tribulation had begun.  We are now standing at the precipice of the breaking of the 6th Tribulation Seal – which is the beginning of the final 7 years!

THE SECOND ‘CONTRADICTION’ – BACK TO THE BEGINNING

So, what does Genesis and the creation of man and woman have to do with the tribulation, the Revelation and the End of all Things? It shows that God planned all things to occur just has they have occurred from the very beginning. He planned it all.

Man and woman were created ‘in His image’ but as crazy as it sounds, the Hebrew language reveals, they were created with a flaw. They were created with a ‘as a mere image or a shadowed reflection of the Perfect God; an illusion with a dubious character’; but they were created with the potential of perfection.

This is shown as Adam and Eve sinned and doomed all humankind to live under the curse of sin. But, this was God’s plan all along, so He provided a solution, a Savior, His Son, Jesus. And the plan of Perfecting began.

Genesis 1:1, says, “In the beginning God, (Elohim), created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Verse 3. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Verse 4. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. Verse 5. God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” And, God saw that it was good. (etcetera).

THE MAJOR EVENT

Then, in Genesis 1:26, “God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness.”

This is a major event. The seminal event in all creation. God is making a creature He calls ‘mankind’ in His, (Their), own image and according to Their likeness.

AN ODD THING

In the midst of His creation work, an odd thing occurs.  This is an event, an occurrence in the creation of mankind, which is completely overlooked by the vast majority, if not all, Bible teachers. This is a bit technical, but please pay particular attention, as this is a game-changer.

Genesis 1, Verse 27. “So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

It may seem tedious to look at the wording of this verse, as it was written in the original Hebrew language, but it is vitally important for our understanding of God’s Design, plan and purpose:

Verse 27. “So created God, man in His own image, in the image of God, He created him, male and female, He created them.”

man =adam, from ‘adam’; man, mankind. ruddy, i.e. A human being (an individual or the species, mankind.

 In Him own image = tselem = an image; a mere, empty, image, semblance; image, vain show, from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e., an illusion, a resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol, an image, a vain shew, of dubious character.

 In the image = tselem = an image; a mere, empty, image, semblance; image, vain show, from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e., an illusion, a resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol, an image, a vain shew, of dubious character.

 Male = zakar = A male

 Female = naqab = female, from the sexual form.

 Genesis 1, Verse 27 , in other words, says, “So, God, signifying that this is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, created, shaped through a formative process to make man, that is, mankind, ruddy, i.e., a human being, an individual of the species of mankind, in His own image, in the image; a mere, empty, image, semblance; image, vain show, from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e., an illusion, a resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol, an image, a vain shew, of dubious character, of God, yet having potential of being very great, mighty, and consisting as a plural in the ordinary sense, He created him, shaped, created, through a formative process; male and female He created them.”

RECAP:

1. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, created, shaped and formed mankind.
2. God created mankind ‘in His Own image’, which initially was a mere faint image of Himself; a vain representation, a shadow of the Original; an icon, a phantom pattern, an illusion, a mere resemblance; a being of dubious nature.
3. God has deliberately made man and woman with a flaw, and destined them to fail.
4. God would, through a formative process which would take a millennium, provide a way for man and woman to be redeemed and recreated into His perfect image through a Savior, His Son, Jesus.

 Once again, there is no contradiction. God created man and woman with a flaw – He created you and me with a flaw – and destined us to fail WITH A PURPOSE. He also provided a Savior to redeem you from failure. Through all time, God is perfecting His creation, man and woman, into the very image of Jesus the Christ,

The Purpose of God’s Eternal Plan is “Perfection”.  He is maturing and perfecting you into His image, ultimately to live in Perfect harmony with Him and with one another, in a New and Perfect heaven and earth.

“Because by a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14

Each and every chapter, verse and word in the Bible, when viewed within this context of God’s Eternal Plan of Perfection, begins to make perfect sense.

Read it. Know it. Believe it. Live it.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PS:  This description of the Apocalypse comes from a careful and painstaking, decades-long study. I did not come to these conclusions easily; it was done through much prayer, study, labor and criticism.

Why does it matter “when” the tribulation starts or “when” Christians are to be raptured into heavens?

It matters because being ready for His Return is proof of True Christianity and only a True Believer in Christ will be guaranteed to join Christ at the sound of His Great Trumpet call and escape the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.

It matters because being ready requires believing and doing what He has instructed us to do in preparation for His return.

It matters because He has warned that “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

It matters because many Christians are sitting idly waiting for an event that has already begun and they are not DOING what He told them to do and therefore are in grave danger.

It matters because some of our family, friends and neighbors are completely unaware or just don’t believe that Christ will return and God’s final judgments will sentence them to outer darkness.

Because, as Christians, our faith, our convictions and our behavior
Are speaking louder than our words.

Now I am certain – no, make that ‘I am galvanized’ in my certainty, and I believe you may come to the same conclusions given the same dedication to uncovering the truth.

THE WORDS OF JESUS

Creative, Causative, Prophetic, Instructional – Part 65

“What are you seeking?”

“The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them,

“What are you seeking?”

“And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them,

 “Come and you will see.”

The Words of Jesus, John 1:35-39

The most provocative and probing question to be considered, and the greatest of invitations. Follow this narrative between Jesus and these disciples, and you may better find your way, as well as learning how to witness the Living Christ more effectively.

Jesus sees two men following Him and asks, “What are you seeking?” He does not launch into an explanation of who He is or ‘hand out a witness track’ (tongues-in-cheek here). Asking what they are seeking does two things: (1). It informs the person asking. (2). It commits the one answering the question.

Remembering that the words of Jesus are creative, causative, prophetic and instructional, (and yes, they are all of these things, all at the same time), Jesus’ question is creating and causing a prophetic sequence which becomes instructional in the lives of these two men.

When you do the same, in the name and according to the will of God, the same thing will occur!

Oddly enough, these men do not answer with question about the mission or nature of Jesus. They just want to know where He is staying. Could it be that they want to observe and learn from Him by staying in His presence?  Jesus replies, simply, “Come and you will see”.

“What are you seeking (in life)” is the most asked and the greatest of all questions. It is the premier question to ask someone before leading them to Jesus. And, the concluding remarks, “Come and you will see“ are all that need be said. “Come and you will see”.

And, shouldn’t it be the same, even for us as disciples of Jesus? Shouldn’t we still consider that Jesus is asking us what we are seeking?”.  In other words, why exactly are you following Him?

And, shouldn’t we be asking, “where are you staying, Jesus?”, with the intention of staying on with Him?

In reality, He is still saying, to us who would follow Him, “Come and you will see”.

Selah – think on this.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PREVIOUS:  THE WORDS OF JESUS – What Are You To Do With Them?, “But, Some Doubted”, Part 64

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ALWAYS LEARNING AND NEVER ABLE TO ARRIVE AT A KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH

The U.S. Education System is rife with Pagan teachings, ideologies and practices and has been effectively indoctrinating our children – your children – over the last seventy-five years. So effective has been the indoctrination that, according to the Arizona Christian University (and George Barna research), the percentage of Americans holding a Biblical worldview has dropped to an abysmal four percent. Correspondingly, we have seen a rise in wars and rumors of war, new diseases, plagues, famines and earthquakes, persecutions of Christians and a love lost for one another.

In proportion to the decline in people possessing a Biblical worldview, there is a sharp rise to 82% of American who hold a worldview other than a Biblical worldview. (Refer to the Christian Research Center).

(A Biblical worldview is defined as a means of experiencing, interpreting, and responding to reality in light of biblical perspectives. This view provides… (click this link for a full description of this term.  Additionally, there are seven principles that form the cornerstones of a Biblical worldview: Please click here for those principles and cornerstones.)

“When you put the data in perspective, the Biblical worldview is shuffling toward the edge of the cliff”, says George Barna. “As things stand today, Biblical theism is much closer to extinction in America than it is influencing the soul of the nation. The current incidence of adults with a Biblical worldview is the lowest since I began measuring it in the early 1990s.”

So, what does the mean?

1. For today? It would be easy to conjecture that, according to the idea of a coming Great Apostasy, that is foretold in apocalyptic scriptures, that the day of Apostasy has already arrived.

(Apostasy is the rejection of Christianity by someone who formerly was a Christian. The term apostasy comes from the Greek word apostasia, meaning defection, departure, revolt or rebellion. It has been described as “a willful falling away from, or rebellion against, Christianity. Also see GotQuestions.Org.)

The Apostasy is referenced in Matthew 24:9-12, Revelation 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4.  It is important to note that these verses, these warnings, were written to the people in approximately A.D. 30 to A.D. 60, and were meant for all Christians leading up to the ‘End of This Age’, beginning with the breaking of the 6^th Tribulation Seal (a future event). In other words, like the other first four tribulation seals,

The 1st Tribulation Seal  –  Global conquest and political intrigue,
The 2nd Tribulation Seal –  Wars and Rumors of War,
The 3rd Tribulation Seal  –  Famine,
The 4th Tribulation Seal  –  Death,

The 5th Tribulation Seal  –  Martyrs, persecution, Anti-Christ, falling away, had been broken sometime between the birth of Jesus and A.D. 90. These seals have overlapped and have been increasing in intensity.

2. For the future? The 6^th tribulation seal is the next seal to be broken, which marks the beginning of the final 7 years of a great tribulation which has not been since the beginning of time and never will again. This is also known as the beginning of The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord and the End of the Age.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet-call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

3. For now? “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”

4. The conclusion? We are standing at the precipice of the End of this Age and the beginning of the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, when God will pour out His finals judgments on this world.

For those who fall into the 96% of those who do not believe that the Bible is accurate to the point of being totally without any error, please reconsider what you have been taught. Ask God to show you the Truth. Your time is short, and your fate need not be seals. Please don’t be that person who ‘wails in an outer darkness and gnashes his or her teeth‘ and laments, ‘I wish I had listened’.

For the remaining FOUR PERCENT, take heart, “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel: “Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.”

“But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.”

“In the same way, then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.”  Romans 11:1-6

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PS: The Bible is written to every man, woman and child. It is written for you to understand. But, you cannot “hear” the Word of God if you are not His disciple. “It is foolishness (only) to those who are perishing”.

 THE WORDS OF JESUS

Creative, Causative, Prophetic, Instructional – Part 64

“But Some Doubted.”

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  

The Words of Jesus, Matthew 28:16-20

“They worshiped Him, but some doubted”. These words should both confound and amaze. It is confounding to think that any of these men, Peter, James, John, Andrew, Bartholomew or Nathanael, James, the Lesser or Younger, Jude or Thaddeus, Matthew or Levi, Philip, Simon the Zealot and Thomas, after spending so much time with Jesus and after seeing the miracles, including seeing Him resurrected, doubt?

Doubted: Distázō, “two, double” and Stásis, “stance, standing” – properly, going two ways, shifting between positions; choosing “a double-stance” and hence vacillate (waver); (figuratively) uncertain at a crossroad because refusing to choose one way over the other – “wanting to have our cake and eat it too”; to halt between two opinions (views, beliefs).

And, it is amazing, that despite some of the disciples doubting, Jesus still gives them (and us) the great commission and sends them ALL!

If the Jewish high priest, the Pharisees and the Sadducees had been present to hear this greatest of Jesus’ proclamations, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”, they may have shredded their clothing and pulled out every last strand of hair from their heads (as they were in the habit of doing when hearing the words of Jesus).

Jesus has not only been given (and assumed) all authority in heaven and on earth, He informs us that He will be exercising that complete authority over the heavens and the earth through his disciples until the end of the age with these words: “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (The word Jesus uses, “always’, is the Greek word, ‘pas’, which signifies ‘the highest degree, the maximum’ and means ‘before all things, above all things, in respect to all things, in all things and in all ways.’)

Note: It is always Jesus doing His Works through his disciples – which includes you and me!

When Jesus tells us that “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father”, we can now understand that it is Jesus who is doing His works through a yielded, obedient and submitted disciple, and not us, of and by ourselves.

These are the final words in the book of Matthew. But nothing has changed regarding God’s Word. These words are breathed by God and written by a man through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They continue to be creative, causative, prophetic and instructional. IT SHALL COME TO PASS.

There may be times when you or I have doubt. But it is in the obedient ‘going and doing’ that we overcome our doubts and build and strengthen our faith.

Read it. Meditate on it. Pray about it. Receive it. Embrace it. Allow Him To Do it!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

NEXT:  THE WORDS OF JESUS – What Are You To Do With Them?, “What Are You Seeking?”, Part 65

PREVIOUS:  THE WORDS OF JESUS – What Are You To Do With Them?, “But Some Doubted”, Part 63

(Or are you – really thinking?)

There are strains of thought in science, philosophy and in pseudo-science (science fiction) being taught to our younger generations, which advances the idea that human beings “are not just external observers of (the world and) the universe around us, but are part of something spectacular that can teach us a kind of humility and gratefulness that can inform us how to live today”.  This ideology purports to teach us ‘how to live’ in contradiction to the Bible. It says that we are but one more part of the universe. This worldview is that we are no better and no worse than any living organism; and every living thing (bacteria, single cells, plants, animals, etc., even inert matter).

One of these ‘ideologies’ is named ‘biocentrism’ which encompasses all environmental ethics that “extend the status of moral object from human beings to all living things in nature”. Biocentric ethics calls for a rethinking of the relationship between humans and nature. It states that nature does not exist simply to be used or consumed by humans, but that humans are simply one species amongst many, and that because we are part of an ecosystem, any actions which negatively affect the living systems of which we are a part adversely affect us as well, whether or not we maintain a biocentric worldview. ‘Biocentrists’ observe that all species have inherent value, and that humans are not “superior” to other species in a moral or ethical sense.

Advocates of ‘biocentrism’ often promote the preservation of biodiversity, animal rights, and environmental protection. The term has also been employed by advocates of “left biocentrism”, which combines deep ecology with an “anti-industrial and anti-capitalist” position (according to David Orton et al.).

The four main pillars of a biocentric outlook are:

1. Humans and all other species are members of Earth’s community.
2. All species are part of a system of interdependence.
3. All living organisms pursue their own “good” in their own ways.
4. Human beings are not inherently superior to other living things.^[8]

This is nothing basically new, it just has a new ‘scientific’ twist. Alleging that ‘there is no God’ and that all living things ‘evolved into us’ or just magically appeared is as old as time itself.

However, the ‘militant scientific atheist left’ is teaching this in our schools and colleges as ‘scientific and philosophical fact’, successfully convincing our young men and women that God is either dead, irrelevant or has no place beyond the mystical realms of fantasy.

This kind of thinking reduces the idea that “we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and in the very image of God, our creator”, to the idea that we are no better and no worse than a flesh eating bacteria, a deadly virus lurking about in a cesspool or the carbon elements being scattered across the cosmos by an asteroid drifting in space.

Contrary to a mindless philosophical approach to life, we have evidence that “God said, “Let us make man^[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

^“So, God created man in his own image,
in the image of God, he created him;
male and female he created them.

 ^“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

So, the war rages on. Good versus evil, lies and deception versus The Truth, God over Satan and his desire to steal, kill and destroy.

It is our job to engage this war and to do our part by teaching and preaching and living the Truth of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus to the best of our abilities every chance we get, especially in our own homes.

(When our sons would come home from college for the summers, I would ask them what they had learned in class that year. I would then begin the process of ‘deprogramming’ them and realigning their thought with God’s Word. And ironically, our sons attended a “Christian” college).

Dear friends, let’s not be deceived. Let’s be Berean, indeed.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

THE WORDS OF JESUS

Creative, Causative, Prophetic, Instructional – Part 63

“You will see the Son of Man.”

“But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”

The Words of Jesus, Matthew 26:63-68.

The challenge by the high-minded high priest, made blindly and carelessly in the name of ‘the living God, is for Jesus to tell him if Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God!

Jesus, as only He can do, cuts straight to the point and says “you have said so”, entrapping the high priest by his own words. Although he may have said the right words, it is only by chance, and he is completely ignorant of the truth in what he has just said.

Jesus, next make this prophetic statement and literally sets His Royal Seal on these remarks by announcing the coming 6^th Seal of the Great Tribulation period, ”But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Jesus is warning this high priest and all people of the coming judgment. He is repeating to the high priest what He has already revealed to His disciples, “The powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Read Matthew 24:29-31 for the entire answer.)

These Jews did not believe Him, although they had the prophecies in their Torah. They accused Jesus of blasphemy, said He deserved death for His words. They spit in his face and struck him. Some slapped him, mocking His Prophecy, and mocking Him as the Christ.

There are those in our day who deny a literal tribulation period and a literal 7 years of a Great Tribulation Judgment (also known as Daniel’s 70^th Week, or The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord). They also deny a literal rapture of the Church, in spite of Jesus plain warnings.

A recent survey shows the majority of evangelical Christian leaders worldwide, believe in the Rapture, the teaching that as the end of the world draws near, Christians will be instantly taken up to heaven, leaving non-believers behind to suffer on earth. Six in 10 evangelical leaders, or 61 percent, say they believe in the Rapture of the Church.

However, only around 40 percent of the people calling themselves Christians believe they will be raptured or ‘snatch away’ from the earth which will then be thrown into a fiery chaos and then taken to the safety of heaven.

Yet here we read the literal words of Jesus, which have revealed this truth, first to His disciples and as a warning to the Jews and their high priest – judgment is coming; but they did not believe. Many others in our day do not believe, and they will be caught unprepared and will suffer greatly.

Do not be lulled into complacency. Do not listen to the naysayers. If you are to err, err on the side of caution. Take Jesus at His Word – and live!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

Further reading on the beginning of the end, The Sixth Tribulation Seal, and The Sixth Tribulation Seal, part 2.

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THE WORDS OF JESUS

Creative, Causative, Prophetic, Instructional – Part 62

“Do what you came to do.”

While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.”

Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”

 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

 The Words of Jesus, Matthew 26:47-56.

This is event reveals several things about Jesus, His disciples and His detractors; things we must know, understand and follow.

#1. Although Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, publicly betrays Him, Jesus still calls him ‘Friend”.

(In relation to retaliation, Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:38, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ Verse 39. But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Verse 40. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. Verse 41. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Verse 42. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

Verse 43. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ Verse 44. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Verse 45, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Verse 46. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? Verse 47. And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Verse 48. You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.)

#2. Jesus rebukes Peter for violently attacking the enemy of Jesus, reminding Peter that violence or murder is not the way of the faithful, and that His mission must be completed, and the scriptures must be fulfilled.

#3. Jesus has willingly submitted to the authorities, even though the charges are contrived, false, unjust, and without merit, so that the scriptures might be fulfilled.

These are powerful examples of Jesus teachings of “the Way, the Truth and the Life”. This is how the enemy is ultimately subdued, defeated and some are converted. These are the methods we are to follow as His disciples.

There is only one way to God the Father and only one way to be saved and to live eternally in the Kingdom of Heaven – only One way.

We can say everything ‘just right’ by memorizing and quoting scriptures. But our actions, our behavior, reveals what we truly believe.

It is one thing to believe IN Jesus – and quite another to BELIEVE Him.

This is ‘the rub’, so to speak. The litmus test. One day He will declare to you, either, “Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master”, or He will say to you, “Why do you call me Lord and do not what I command? Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!”

(Please don’t misunderstand. We, the called of Christ, are not ‘doormats’, but we are His ‘doormen’ – leading others to The Door. There are times when we must forcefully speak the truth, speak out against evil and evildoers. Times when we are called upon to resist the enemy and to pull down strongholds of darkness. And it is incumbent upon us to know the difference.)

The day is drawing near. Remain vigilant, active and faithful. Pray for one another until that day arrives.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

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Christianity – The Last Battlefront – audio link

What has occurred – What is occurring – What is to come

What your response is to be

(Please note: The links on this page are used in lieu of footnotes, citations and references; they contain vital detailed information regarding the teachings and the commentaries. Please read each linked page and video as you are able.)

Is the war on Christianity coming to a close? Her enemies are dancing in the streets over their latest apparent victories: The invasion, neutering and perversion of the Church. And, please believe me when I say, “as goes the Church, so goes the nation”.

This should not a surprise. The Bible foretells the corruption of the Church which is to occur in the Last Days. To wit:

2 Thessalonians2:1- 4, “Now we request you, brethren,

(#1) with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you,

(#2) not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.,

(#3) Let no one in any way deceive you, for,

(#4) it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and,

(#5) the man of lawlessness is revealed,

(#6) the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that,

(#7) he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

WHAT IS THE APOSTASY?: In Christianity, Apostasy is the rejection of Christianity by someone who formerly was a Christian. The term apostasy comes from the Greek word apostasia  means defection, departure, revolt or rebellion. It has been described as “a willful falling away from, or rebellion against, Christianity.

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul, in, 2 Timothy 3:1, warns, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. Verse 2. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, verse 3, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, verse 4, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, verse 5, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” This was written Around AD 60.

The Apostle Peter, in 2 Peter 3:3, warns, “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, verse 4, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?” This was written Around AD 60.

The Apostle John, in 1 John 2:18, tells us, “Children, it is the last hour [the end of this age]; and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists (false teachers) have appeared, which confirms our belief that it is the last hour.” This was written around AD 90.

(Confirmation of the onset of The Last Days, according to specific and numerous testimonies by Jesus and His disciples.)

The pagan, hostile and unbelieving world has been warring against the Church and working on her steady decline, moving her toward apostasy since her earliest days.

Restating what the media and government is already telling us about the moral, civil, mental and spiritual decay in America seems redundant. But here are a few glaring issues: Parents are discouraged from disciplining their children and spanking is practically forbidden as ‘corporal punishment’; Children are allowed to sue parents for disciplining; there is an assertion by the ‘liberal pagan left’ that men can have babies; many believe it is permissible to kill a baby at birth for the convenience of the parents; homosexual marriage is legal; ‘transgenderism’ is practiced and enforced – the belief that a person is ‘born into the wrong biological body’.

The behavioral outcomes are they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control), idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and other things like these.

All the aforementioned perversions and evil deeds are in direct contravention to what is taught in the Bible and have affected, influenced and in misleading millions who call themselves Christians.

Depending on who you are hearing, the Church seems to be growing and gaining strength. But on close inspection, you will discover that the Actual Church, the Bride of Christ, is but a remnant of her early days:

“I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? “

“May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

“God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel: “Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.”

“But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.”

“In the same way, then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.”  Romans 11:1-6

 

The Bride of Christ is being prepared for the coming Groom – Jesus. This too is foretold.

Now, hear the word of God: “You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.v9 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” (Peter 2:5).

Listen carefully and you will hear the trumpet-call.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

A Holy Remnant Is Born

THE WORDS OF JESUS

Creative, Causative, Prophetic, Instructional – Part 61

“Watch and pray that you many not enter into temptation”

“And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again, he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

The Words of Jesus, Matthew 26:40-46.

Watch and Pray With Him So You and I May Not Enter Into Temptation.

A face-value reading of these verses in the proper context to include the previous three verses, is self-explanatory.

Jesus is entering what some might call a ‘crisis moment’ and is praying to God His Father. He asks Peter, James and John to watch and pray with Him, so they may not enter into temptation. They are tired and keep falling asleep. But there is much more at work here.

It is urgent for our understanding, our safety and the completion of our mission as Jesus’ disciples to see the motivations driving His command to watch and pray with Him so you (and I) may not enter into temptation.

The ‘long picture’ is that beyond His prayer to the Father, Jesus in entering into an act, into a period, that will change everything humanity has known. He will change how we have understood the Torah and Judaism, He will change the purpose and our understanding of our existence; He will clarify our understanding of God’s intention and purpose for creation, where all the world and cosmos are headed and how we can be redeemed from our sick and fallen nature, made safe, whole and healed from our sins and depravity, ultimately being made into the very image of Jesus, given the right and privilege, as joint-heirs with Christ to exist eternally with God in His new heaven and new earth.

IMPORTANT:  We must remember that every word from Jesus is THE WORD OF GOD. Jesus never uttered a misspoken word or haphazard words. Each and every word and intention express the very will of God.

Therefore, when Jesus instructs His disciples to watch and pray, He is speaking eternal, prophetic, causative and creative words. I do not believe this can be overstated.

His words, His instructions to watch and pray, initially, are in the present tense; watch and pray, now.

After finding His disciples asleep, He repeats His words, but this time in the Greek aorist tense, which without regard for past, present or future time – it is continuous. Again, remember that these are prophetic, causative and creative words for all His disciples for all times to hear and act upon.

(I am aware that there are those Bible teachers who would argue that some things in the Bible were exclusively written to and solely for the audience at hand at that moment. This type of thinking and teaching is short-sighted, simple-minded and harmful. The Bible is NOT a religious story book or an historical document intended to recount events that were not eternally relevant – it is the Word of God, breathed into the hearts and minds of God’s chosen authors, written down for us and for all the ages.)

We are to continue to watch and pray that we do not enter into temptation as God’s plan of redemption works Itself out, throughout the rest of time until He returns and completes His Work.

Repeating Jesus’ words of instruction: We can sleep and take our rest later on. We must see that the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is continuing to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. We must rise, and be going; His betrayer is still coming and is now at hand.”

(To be clear, Jesus died only once, for all. But this act is being repeated through the lives of people throughout the rest of the allotted time of existence, until His final return. We, too, must ‘deny ourselves’ and ‘crucify our flesh with its passions and desires’ and follow Jesus in this example)

Let’s be encouraged and be emboldened, remembering, We will overcome “by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony; and we love not our lives unto the death”. (see Revelation 12:11.)

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

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