Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

Exodus 14:26-31 Stretch out your hand over the sea

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward[c] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

This will be the judgement and destruction. At this moment the might of Egypt is destroyed. The rest of the world will no longer look on them as the superpower. China and Russia may not object to what is happening in the US, but no way they give that kind of power to these companies in their country. Taiwan, Australia, Israel and Germany may be alarmed and concerned for their own sovereignty. They won’t do something stupid, but you can be sure they are in the process of delivering themselves from being beholden to these companies. Once the other platforms are up and running like they are with Gab, Dissenter, DuckDuckGo, Rumble, etc. then they will move and dump platforms like Facebook, Google, and Twitter.

29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

When Mike Lindell was attacked I bought his pillows. They were everything he claimed. So I bought his sheets and again, they were everything he said. So I bought his towels and again, I was not disappointed. There are seventy five million other Americans doing the same and it is a great way to learn to be self sufficient. This Egyptian army became arrogant, fat and lazy being supported by a bunch of Christian “slaves”. But now the Christians are learning to build their own economy. My interest is the schools. With the laws that Biden is passing and trying to pass the Christians in this country have been warned and need to leave the public school system. I would recommend small “homeschools” run out of churches. Maybe 30 kids or less per congregation. This way they don’t have to have a “girls” bathroom and a “boys” bathroom. Instead they just have a couple of bathrooms that you use one person at a time. That will avoid lawsuits. With the internet you can easily have the curriculum for a school system from K-12. With one or two retired teachers helping you could easily make this very affordable for the parents and it would strengthen the church community.

Proverbs 15:1-8 How to turn away wrath and speak truth

1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

I was given a video to show Trump supporters. It was the harshest, most vile thing. In the video this white man is lecturing the people the way you might speak to a naughty dog. He calls them members of a cult, hypnotized and insults Jesus Christ. He tells them the most sophisticated mass media tools ever assembled have eviscerated their power of discernment. Clearly trying to intimidate people by stringing a bunch of big words together that basically mean “you have been deceived”. He tells them they need to be deprogrammed and that they have succumbed to “Salem witch trial levels of mental lapse”. Says they are white supremacists who wave confederate flags. He says there is no such thing as ANTIFA and then in the next breadth says that ANTIFA only exists to counteract fascists Trump supporters threatening civil war. He says they are disassociated from reality and are filled with false accusations and revenge fantasies and of course that they are delusional. Finally he concludes saying that the 1st amendment does not require platforms to broadcast your message nor does it protect threats of violence.

I could not imagine any Trump supporter actually listening to this garbage. I did because my sister begged me to and she agreed that if I did she also would watch a 9 minute video that I would send her. After watching this I was reminded of a video I saw by two sisters called “Diamond and Silk”. The video was only 7 minutes long. Instead of vile insults they begin with the definition of sedition and treason because of the current impeachment. They then show a clip of the offensive portion of Trump’s speech where he calls for peaceful protest to make their voices heard which is then followed by a montage of perhaps 20 short clips of Pelosi, Maxine Waters, News anchors, actors, actresses all saying things that clearly incited violence, incited sedition, and called for the assassination of the President. In an enjoyable, entertaining, and gentle way they destroyed the accusations that this other guy made and turned it on their own heads concluding their tape with “impeach yourselves”.

2 The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.

The video my sister sent me was of a fool gushing folly. He is what is known as a “useful idiot”. Very likely had no idea that he was a fool (so no malice or intent to deceive, he was the one who was deceived). But what impressed me was that the video by Diamond and Silk was not simply providing knowledge, it was “adorned”. It was entertaining to watch. It was short, only seven minutes. When it was over you realize you were given “receipts”, “evidence” that was undeniable of the duplicity of these ones calling for the impeachment.

3 The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

We talk about an “echo chamber”. Group think is where everyone in the group agrees with each other, dissent is not allowed, and the message keeps getting reinforced resulting in brain washing and cult like behavior. Do not justify that behavior with some reference to God, the eyes of the Lord are everywhere, He keeps watch on both the wicked and the good. I listen to CNN and Steve Bannon, MSNBC and Dan Bongino, Don Lemon and the Daily Wire. NTD, Newsmax, Fox, etc. No one who was doing that could possibly come up with that vile hate filled video my sister sent. That came from the echo chamber of group think.

4 The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

Dinesh D‘Souza is a soothing tongue. The Hodge twins are a soothing tongue. The man on my sister’s video was a perverse tongue.

5 A fool spurns a parent’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

The weird thing is that once you peeled off the insults and vile rhetoric of the guy in my sister’s video, most everything he said I agreed with. Salem Witch trials, Fascism in the 1930s, and cults are all excellent examples of what we are seeing right now. He said that the claim of voter fraud has been debunked, that was not true, but there have been 61 trials that were dismissed, not on the merits but because the judge figured out some justification for not listening to the trial. The thing is a “hot potato” no one wants to touch it. Cults are not based on falsehood, it is generally a counterfeit bill that is 95% accurate. The fundamental truth in what he said is that “the most sophisticated mass media tools ever assembled have eviscerated their power of discernment”. The problem is that he is consuming that mind control whereas the conservatives have been booted off those platforms. You might think, wait, how can Facebook or Youtube brain wash me, I am the one who decides what to see. Really? I did many searches on various platforms and search engines. I would put in an obscure item on the internet like one of my blogs. On some search engines it would show up as one of the top three items. On Google I couldn’t find it even though I went ten pages deep. They have very sophisticated algorithms designed to hook you and draw you in. Initially they look at what you watch and find similar videos to try and draw you into their platform and hook you. Then they begin to feed you videos they want you to see, perhaps only a tenth of their recommendations but little by little they direct the videos to you that they want you to see and that has nothing to do with your preference. Then they will also shadow ban videos they don’t want you to watch. So unless you request that specific channel you will never see those. Not only so but they can tell from GPS information where you live and work. They use that information to send you videos that they approve of that your neighbors and colleagues like. They are intentionally creating an echo chamber, they are facilitating group think.

6 The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings ruin.

I used to listen to CNN driving to and from work. However, I got disgusted because I wasn’t learning anything. I wasn’t learning what the Mueller investigation found out, I wasn’t learning why they were impeaching Trump, they never followed up on the results of these investigations and trials. It seemed they only had one message “orange man bad”. Then when I went to other sites like the Epoch Times it was excellent journalism. Well researched, thoughtful, full of evidence, interviews and explanations. But what about the “income of the wicked brings ruin”. Facebook spent $400 million dollars to influence the election officials to tilt the election towards the Democrats. That is illegal. It is going to bring ruin to them. They use their money to collude (illegal). They are going to trigger antitrust charges against themselves.

7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not upright.

Dennis Praeger of Praeger University explains why Leftists promote censorship. For years they have pushed their agenda on college campuses and one two hour lecture from a Candace Owens can completely undo years and years of their influence. When they saw what these talks could do they had no choice but to censor them and try and prevent them from coming on campus. That is the problem with having fools try and brain wash you, they can’t respond to the facts and logic. They are not upright.

8 The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

Zuckerberg paying $400 million to swing the election by essentially bribing the officials is “the sacrifice of the wicked”. The Lord detests that. However, rallies of people praying and appealing for righteousness and justice, that pleases Him.

Proverbs 15:9-24 How good is a timely word
9 The Lord detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

What is the way of the wicked? We saw it on the video. They tell the observers to go home, that is all the ballots they have for now. They turn off the lights and sit quietly for 30 minutes. Then they pull out boxes of ballots and begin running them through the machine. They will run these same ballots through as many as ten times. Over the next two hours they count 130,000 votes. When people question this they tell them to shut up. When they ask for the log they can’t get it. When they ask to see the ballots they refuse. When they take this to court the judge refuses to listen. When they have hearings before the state legislators they are threatened, doxed, and receive death threats. That is what the Lord hates. What does He love? People who stand up for the truth and for righteousness despite the threats and insults.

10 Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die.

The path that leads to life is to obey the Lord’s commands. Some of the commands were to obey and submit to the authorities. When people entered the capitol building they left that path and so they got stern discipline. There was even one woman who died as a result.

11 Death and Destruction[a] lie open before the Lord—how much more do human hearts!

People are in too big a rush to prosecute, try, convict and execute all in the same day. This is what they did in Kenosha, in a day burning down the police station. But it turns out that the man who was shot was resisting arrest, had a knife, had attacked cops previously with a knife, had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, was violating a court order at the time of his arrest and had three children in the car which could have become hostages. In the same way Pelosi’s rush to impeach the president was based on his “inciting the riot” only to learn the minute they passed the resolution that there was preplanning for the riot for several days, that equipment for the riot was brought to the capitol building prior to Trump’s speech, and that the people who first breached the perimeter in the riot didn’t even hear Trump’s speech. The Lord knows the hearts, trust the Lord.

12 Mockers resent correction, so they avoid the wise.

If you have the truth, if you are righteous, you would welcome free and open discussion and debate. This is how you learn and become wiser. Those who oppose people coming to campuses to speak are mockers. They avoid the wise.

13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. 14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

The way the election turned out these last three months has been crushing to many. I think the best course of action is to seek knowledge and avoid feeding on folly.

15 All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. 16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.

I would encourage everyone to stay cheerful. How bad can it be? They can cause you to have “little” but they can’t take away your fear of the Lord, they can’t keep you from being cheerful. Therefore you can live in a continual feast. Meanwhile those who are looking to get great wealth from this fraud they will get that wealth with turmoil.

17 Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.

The hatred expressed in that video my sister sent was stunning to me. Why the hatred? Does it make any sense? It caused me to look at the video that Diamond and Silk made differently. The threats and incitement by Pelosi and Maxine Waters, why? Why are they so hateful? These actors depicting the assassination of Trump being shot, stabbed and having his head severed, why the hate?

18 A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel. 19 The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.

You can say there are things that are blocking your way. But if you are out there taking the path every day those excuses become trivial.

20 A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

It is important for us to consider our mother and father. You can consider those that fought and died for the church, fought and died for God’s word to be released, even fought and died so that this country could be a place where you are free to speak the word of God.

21 Folly brings joy to one who has no sense, but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course.

We need a straight course. The Tech giants colluded to throw the election. That is a direct threat to the country. China, Iran and others also colluded. Therefore we need a straight course to deal with these threats.

22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

We need a lot of advisors. It is clear we cannot rely on or depend on these tech giants. They have done everything to undermine and even usurp our country. That means we need replacements for Twitter, Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon.com. Yes, you can make a much bigger list, but if we can take down these five giants you will wipe out the influence they have which was huge, and you will send a stark warning to the rest. Parler is obviously the biggest threat to them which is why they attacked it first, so lets understand why. Parler had 1 million subscribers a year ago, that is tiny, a few weeks ago they have 15 million. So yes, it was growing rapidly, but still quite small compared to the giants. However, Trump had moved a shadow account to Parler, preparing to open it as soon as he left office. Trump has 100 million subscribers across all his platforms. Parler would have jumped to 120 million subscribers and that is not small. Worse yet, Twitter and Facebook’s loss would have been Parler’s gain, that is a double whammy. Investors and advertisers would have been outraged and this was a self inflicted wound. That would cause them to question the competency of the leadership. As a result of trying to wipe out Parler they have sent a chilling message worldwide and you are seeing a much greater exodus from their platform as a result. So then if they can get Parler back up and running before the earnings are released in February you will have an even worse situation than the one that caused them to panic two weeks ago. Courage is contagious. It is very possible that we will see a huge gain in February. Twitter and Facebook could see historic losses, Google, Youtube, Amazon.com could also see the effect of boycotts. These things will snowball. As these companies collapse it releases those who are held in bondage by them. Without their money they have no power, no authority.

23 A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word! 24 The path of life leads upward for the prudent to keep them from going down to the realm of the dead.

The argument being made is that these are private companies, they are not required to allow Parler and others post on them. Of course that is not the issue, the issue is that Parler had a contract and they were given 24 hours to move a billion dollar company off of Amazon.com’s servers while the tech giants were calling all other server farms to prevent them from moving there. Still the point is made, if the company doesn’t have to let you on, then the same is true for me. I have the freedom to go somewhere else. Who is going to suffer more? It doesn’t cost me a dime to move to a different platform, but it will cost them. They get fewer views, fewer posts, less activity, fewer subscribers. Advertisers and Investors will be outraged. If the collapse is big enough it could warrant lawsuits from investors over mismanagement. If their activity that caused the exodus was criminal it could cause investors to demand full accountability (civil and criminal trials).

Proverbs 15:25-33 The Lord tears down the house of the proud

25 The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but he sets the widow’s boundary stones in place.

This is no “pie in the sky” tin foil hat theory. Blockbuster, MySpace are just two examples of how these companies can collapse. So let’s look at this a little closer. I was a stock broker so when I first learned what I am going to tell you it was a big surprise. Twitter went from 25 to 55 in a year. If you are growing at 100% per year how much will $100 be worth in five years? Obviously it will not continue to grow at 100% per year, because in that case $100 would be worth $3,200. So let’s assume that this is much higher than it will be, but how much higher? That is the gamble that investors are placing. They will put up 50% of what they think the stock will be worth in five years. So if we are very conservative and say that $100 will be worth $1,000 then you would be willing to pay $500 for that stock. Doubling your money in five years is a good return, but gambling on those super high returns means you get an even better price, so in reality they will be able to get it at $250. Now suppose earnings come out and instead of growth you see shrinkage! Not just a hiccup, but you lost your primo account, Donald Trump with 100 million subscribers who tweets multiple times a day. He generates hundreds of millions of views, retweets, and comments on a daily basis. He has left. Because they censored him and kicked off the President of the US other people have left too. They are boycotting Twitter. Not only so but the entire world has seen this and been warned. You won’t see an immediate exodus because they need to find a suitable platform, but you can expect a consistent and regular exodus as these platforms ramp up their infrastructure. So let’s go back to the stock price. If I now see that Twitter is no longer growing but actually shrinking, so that in five years $100 worth of stock might only be worth $50 in five years, then I am only going to invest $25 for that stock. That’s right, stock that is valued at $250 today could be valued at $25 next month when earnings come out. Do you really think a company with a market capitalization of $43 billion doesn’t have debt? Anyone would think that $4 billion of debt for a company worth that much would be safe. But the stock price drops 90% and all of sudden they have too much debt and people have to sell to improve the balance sheet. Not only so, but if you lose half of your customers you have way too much infrastructure, what do you do? Lay off people, sell assets? Great optics on the business page. How about pension funds and mutual fund holdings? Are they going to continue to hold onto the stock like holding an anchor on a sinking ship? I am not a moron, I would never suggest this were it not for them kicking off some of their biggest and best accounts. But when you ban accounts the size of Trump, Bannon, Flynn, Sydney Powell, Ron Watkins, Dan Bongino, etc, and you have done this all in such a short period of time the impact on earnings will hit you in a single earnings report, it will be a tsunami. It will be the Lord that tears down the house of the proud.

26 The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight.

Do you know what the wicked did? There is a man named Mike Lindell that makes pillows (I have one, it is truly a great pillow). He makes other bedding stuff and because he donates money to conservative causes they decided to ban him from outlets at shopping malls like Kohls and Bed Bath and Beyond. Already his business was about 70% online. This is forcing him to go 100% online. At a time where retail outlets are going bankrupt at a spectacular rate these companies have offended 50% of Americans and now they are calling for people to boycott Bed Bath and Beyond as well as Kohl’s. He is now getting free advertising on all the conservative media outlets, and these people will support anyone they attack. You doubt it? AOC attacked Goya and they named her the “saleswoman of the year” because their sales doubled as a result of her call for a boycott. I would not be surprised if Mike Lindell is soon the owner of Bed Bath and Beyond. They will go bankrupt and his house will be built on the rock.

27 The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.

This is what Zuckerburg did. He spent $400 million on bribing and influencing the election officials. Facebook and Twitter will both be brought to ruin. Amazon.com is also very vulnerable. Amazon.com has a much tighter margin than these other companies. They can easily be replaced because the service they provide can be provided easily by the people who sell through Amazon.com. They can use FedEx, UPS, and their own website. However, Amazon.com has a lot of infrastructure and overhead. So even a drop of 5-10% in sales will have a big impact on Amazon.com.

28 The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.

It is astounding what we have heard gushing out of these evil people. Two things in particular, they are calling for “reeducation camps” for the children of Conservatives and they are calling for black lists. Simple response and I am quite serious about this. We could easily go to the one room classroom at the church that we used to have. Every school in the country has been online and put interactive lessons online. Half of those teachers are Christians. I teach high school Earth Science and Chemistry. I could put my entire year's course online and offer it free nationwide. There are already plenty of online math courses available. You teach english with books, as well as social studies. What do you need? A retired teacher to supervise twenty kids with computers. You might also want to bring in a few teachers for tutoring, but using ZOOM it is easy. Call their bluff! 50% of the kids in the Public school walk out. Their school will be superior in results. The contracts in Public schools don’t allow them to fire teachers. This would be catastrophic to them. It would take ten years of hiring freeze to return to anything close to sustainable. Meanwhile these church schools would have plenty of people wanting to work for them at a discount.

29 The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. 30 Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.

The message is that the Lord has built His house. We have an arm like God, we have a voice like God. It is time to flex our muscles and roar, just like our older brother the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

31 Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise. 32 Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding. 33 Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor.

Wisdom’s instruction is not, I repeat not, to fear Twitter or Facebook or Amazon.com. Wisdom’s instruction is not to fear those who threaten reeducation camps. We fear God, the one who overthrew Pharaoh, the one who conquered death, the one who trained David to take down a giant.



https://rumble.com/vcpf85-twitter-suspends-70k-qanon-accounts-in-massive-purge.html

Ephesians 1:1-10 -- Every Spiritual blessing in the heavenlies

James 1:12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

What I want to focus on is this term “blessed”, what exactly is the blessing? We are entering the biggest trial of the age, how can we find the narrow way that leads to life? In that context we should also consider the second reference to being blessed in the book of James:

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

If you love the Lord you will do what He says. Obeying His word is the evidence that you love Him. This word is spoken to us, every word. Many people expound away words in the Bible, “that applies to someone else”. They are like someone looking in the mirror and don’t even recognize their own face. We need to remember what we look like, realize this word is spoken to us, don’t forget it, but do it. That is the big picture, but let’s get into the nitty gritty.

The book of Ephesians examines what this promised blessing is:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

There are a number of blessings, Paul refers to them as “every spiritual blessing”. In Genesis we are told “in you all the nations of the Earth will be blessed”. We were blessed in Abraham and Abraham received 7 categories of blessings. These are the blessings of the covenant we have with God.

The first Blessing — “Unto a land that I will show thee”.


Genesis gives us the life of eight men of God, concluding with Joseph being raised up from prison to sit on the throne above all powers so that he could save both the Egyptians and the Israelites. Pharoah gave him the name Zaph Naph Paaneah, which means “savior of the world”. Joseph is a type of Christ, the savior of the world. Genesis begins with Adam the first man to walk and talk with God, then Abel, whose death typified the lamb of God, Enoch who walked with God, Noah the one who was with God in saving the animals alive, Abraham being called out, blessed, Isaac born of the promise, Jacob the prince of God, and concludes with Joseph raised up from slavery to be a ruler of the world, a glimpse of what this Christ is and our destination as believers. According to Hebrews 11 these men of faith were looking to a better kingdom. They could see that God would raise up a kingdom on earth, that vision is the first blessing of the faith. You are not going to persevere under the trial unless you have a vision of where we are headed. James says everyone who does persevere is blessed, but Paul tells us the blessing comes first. We have been blessed. First we get a vision of the coming kingdom, second we persevere through the fiery trial that is about to come on the earth. So far the only concern we have had is with an invisible virus, but the prophets are clear, there will be fire. We will be tested by this fire.

4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

God did not choose us because we were holy and blameless, that is a common misconception. He chose us to be holy and blameless. The second misconception is that we have been chosen to be holy and blameless in ourselves. It is “in Him” that we are holy and blameless. The minute you step outside of Him you will be the recipient of lots of blame and you will be seen to be unholy. When you are in Christ you are sanctified, made holy, and you are blameless, the full price of your sins has been paid. The final misconception is that this is in the sight of us, or Satan, or the world. It is “in His sight”. As long as the Lord sees you as Holy and Blameless you do not need to worry about the accuser of the brethren. We overcome because of our testimony and because of the blood of the lamb. The day will come when the synagogue of Satan will come and confess that God is in our midst, but that is the day of the Lord. Till then you can expect to suffer on behalf of the name of Jesus Christ.

In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

The “adoption to sonship” is different from being a child of God. We are born again when we receive Christ by faith. But, we are immature, we need to grow in grace and be matured. But when you are the child of someone who runs a great business you are not ready to take a leadership role. When you mature to the point that your father is comfortable putting you in a management position then at that point you would receive the sonship. Jacob is a good example, Reuben was a child of his but he did not receive the sonship. This is our destiny, we were predestined unto sonship, to rule and reign with Jesus Christ. This takes place at the rapture.

6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Many ask “why”, why me? They are very conscious of their failures, their shortcomings, and feel these things will bring shame to God. What they miss is that God, taking someone who has fallen so low and then transforming them into a prince of God is to the praise of His glorious grace. Jesus asked “who loves Him more” and the answer was to whom more was forgiven. But now I would ask, who will bring more praise to His glorious grace? That is why you have been chosen and predestined it is “to the praise of His glorious grace”.

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

When the times reach their fulfillment the seals are opened and then you can understand the mystery of God’s will. God has been hidden and mysterious during this age, His good pleasure was purposed in Christ, everything will be made known and accomplished through Jesus Christ. He will make us all one, each one of us will have a place in His kingdom.

Ephesians 1:11-12 We obtain an inheritance which makes us a heritage

11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Verse 11 has a double meaning, it can be translated that "we have obtained an inheritance" or it can also be translated "we have been made a heritage", or you can understand it as meaning both of these. Unto the adoption of sons is in the future, to say that we have "obtained an inheritance" is the past. To understand this duality, how we can be made a heritage while at the same time obtaining an inheritance we should consider the book of Ruth. In this book we see that Ruth, just like Ephesians says, is no longer a stranger or sojourner to the covenants of God but is made a fellow citizen. She also is blessed with the believing Abraham -- God makes of her a great nation, He blesses her, He gives her a great name, etc. She obtained an inheritance when she became Boaz's wife. That is a legally binding contract analogous to our "adoption as sons". But the process she went through became part of the word of God. Jesus is the incarnate word, the word made flesh, so Ruth's story became the Lord's heritage. Ruth obtained an inheritance and she was made a heritage.

This first blessing to Abraham is a little confusing until we read Judges, Ruth and Samuel. "I will show you the land".

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Once the word is revealed to him we see the blessing. Samson knew the word about the Nazarite vow, that was the word that Delilah coerced out of him. Ruth and Boaz knew the word about the "widow of an Israelite" trumping the curse on the moabites. Ruth had a dual status and she chose to be the widow of an Israelite, rather than to return to her own people. The first blessing we see in every case (Judges, Ruth and Samuel) is that the word of the Lord is revealed to them. Boaz and Ruth were in the word, in that word it was revealed that God judges us by our heart, in her heart Ruth was the widow of an Israelite, that revelation caused them to obtain an inheritance, and ultimately their story became the word, they were made a heritage. The way I see it God the Father blessed us with every blessing -- that is the covenant we have with God, and if we keep that covenant then the promise is we will receive the "adoption of sons", a legally binding document that entitles us to our inheritance. God the Son has already received this, having been declared the Son of God. If we are "in Him'' we also "obtain" an inheritance and become a heritage for those of the faith. Jesus is the incarnate word, the author and perfecter of the faith. When you are in Him you express Him and your story, like Ruth's becomes part of the heritage of all the saints.

To me, this is similar to Sardonyx, one of the precious stones in the New Jerusalem. Sardonyx is a layer of onyx between two layers of sard. It looks like a sandwich, and often it is one white layer sandwiched between two black layers. When I first saw this stone I was shocked, that is a precious stone? “How can this stone stand next to an emerald?” (Emerald is the third stone, sardonyx is the fourth). Emerald is considered the most precious of the precious stones, and then here is this stone that by comparison is a joke. You could have an emerald in the crown jewels, but a sardonyx? Joseph, the prince of Egypt was an emerald, how can God have Ruth stand next to Joseph? She is doubly cursed being both a moabitess and a widow after her husband died. But that is what this verse in Ephesians says, “in Him” we can both obtain an inheritance and be made into a heritage. What they do with sardonyx is they will carve into it and make cameos and intaglios (Cameo is where the image sticks out whereas intaglio is engraved in the stone). I saw one of these. The artist had carved through the top layer and used it to make a border which framed the picture, then in the middle white layer he had carved a King sitting on his throne with the people of his house, but then a little deeper in the bottom black layer, in the shadows he carved some sinister looking characters). It was a masterpiece. When we are “in Him” our experiences of Christ can become a priceless work of art, a heritage to all the saints. This is what happened with Ruth. Joseph said the things that happened to him were of God so that many people could be saved alive. The things that happened to Ruth were also of God so that we could be encouraged that we also could stand in His kingdom side by side with these great men of faith. The Lord can make us stand!

12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

This is good pleasure of His will in Christ. He takes those cursed by sin and makes them into His heritage so that we could be to the praise of His glory. When you see one of these precious pieces of art carved in sardonyx it is to the praise of the glory of the one who carved it. But I like this expression “we, who were the first to hope in Christ”. When I was a kid I was on a PeeWee football team for two years. We won a national championship our first year, going undefeated and then playing a bowl game in Florida. The next year we had 70 kids trying out for the team, we could only have 40. So what the coach did was schedule a scrimmage with a team that was older and bigger than us in the Bronx. For the first hour he would rotate all these new kids into the game. The field was made of little pebbles and broken glass. They didn’t want to go through the battle, they simply wanted to “be on a championship team” without the blood and guts. They were getting crushed. The coach made sure all the new kids played most of the time rotating them in and out. Then in the second hour he took our first string over to the corner to play their first string. We dominated them. What happened was that these 30 or so kids who had turned out to be on a “championship” team all quit. The coach didn’t have to cut them, they cut themselves. There is a joy in being among those who were the first to put their hope in Him.

Ephesians 1:13-19 I pray you would see we have an all star team

13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Then, we still need the sealing of the Spirit. Just like God told Gideon, He couldn't allow 30,000 Israelites to defeat 130,000 Midianites or else they would think they did it. So He winnowed it down to 300 so there was no doubt that it was God.

2 And Jehovah said to Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give Midian into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

We saw this time and again, the Lord stepped in so that there was no doubt who had signed, or who had sealed this covenant. That is the purpose for a seal, so that you know it was God who signed it. What this means to me. I want to know the covenant I have with God in every detail. Some people want a car, some a house, some a business. I want to know the covenant. I know the New Covenant is different from the Old, but I also know the two are related. So I want to know both covenants, how they relate, how the one came out of the other, where they differ. When I pray I want a word from the Lord, a word that reveals His will because that is a word I can stand on when I pray that the Lord’s will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. The covenant that God has made is His will. I want to get into the “mystery of God’s will”. When I read the NT there are many questions, many mysteries, many things that I fear I may miss out on but don’t want to. Ephesians has helped me tremendously to know God’s will, to know all the blessings that we have been blessed with by God, and to know how to pray. Read this, pray that we would be to the praise of God’s glory. That is His will. When you believed you were “marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit”. When we “believe” we receive the Holy Spirit, a word, an experience that marks us with God’s seal. From that point on you know you belong to God, and every word you receive after that only strengthens and confirms this covenant you have with God. In chapter 1 Paul says “wherefore, I also” as an introduction to his prayer. This indicates that in addition to God blessing us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies, he also is in a position, as one who understands the covenant that He has been blessed to bless others, to bless us. Ephesians 1 ends with this prayer —

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

If you love the Lord you will do what He says. Paul had a vision that the church is the Body of Christ. So, if you love the Lord Jesus you love all God’s people, they are His body. If we have faith in the Lord we have entered into the covenant with Him and receive the blessings of that covenant. Don’t you love Paul? The world has forgotten us, we are of no account, when they are looking at the coming catastrophe no one is thinking “quick let’s ask the church to help”. You need a vision to give thanks for the church and remember the saints. This is God’s hidden masterpiece, His army that will go before Him. The Day of the Lord is compared to Noah’s flood, and Noah’s ark is compared to the church which the Lord has built up in this last two thousand years. The church is a vessel that will make it through this judgement. Why? Because of our faith in the Lord and because of our love for all the saints.

17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Never is this more necessary than right now. Joseph had a revelation of God, how else is he able to see why he went through what he did? I grew up in a very wealthy town, at the time it was ranked as one of the wealthiest towns in the US. Do you know what happens to the very wealthy? They don’t know how to do anything. Other people do their yard work, other people fix their houses, and their cars. Think about the children of Israel coming through the desert for 40 years. These rich people wouldn’t last two weeks in the desert. They would never take their babies or elderly out there. When they see the Israelites cross the Red Sea and all the Egyptians dead their thought is not how mighty God is but “they are out of the frying pan and into the fire”. They know they could never last so they assume God’s people couldn’t either. This judgement is going to turn the rest of the world into the desert that God’s people have grown up in. The rich have faith in their money, what happens when that collapses? The rich have love for themselves, they don’t even understand what it means to have love for all the saints. If we have a revelation of God in the spirit of wisdom and revelation we’ll see that He has prepared us for such a time as this.

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

It is very easy to look at the opponent and get scared. To me it is like we are in the arena about to go head to head with a terrifying army, like having to play against an NBA team. They are bigger, faster, and the more I look at them the smaller I feel. What Paul is praying for is that you would see that on your team we have Air Jordan, the one who rose from the grave, and we have the King. There is a glorious inheritance that has been deposited in all those in the church, the kingdom, Jesus is in our midst. His great power is real, it may look like Magic, you think it is a Dream, but it is real, it is the Truth. The wings of a Bird so that we could soar like an eagle is part of our inheritance. Yes, Jacob was a Worm and so were we, but transforming us into one new man is to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:19b-23 Don't you want to know that power that raised Christ from the dead

That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

If we are honest we know deep down we are excited to see that same power manifested for the world. Jesus is the Lord of life, He defeated death. We are destined to rule and reign with Him, this is the path that we have to take. If you want to be His bride it is a matter of faith, hope and love. This vision of a land that we are being shown, this is the rapture.

22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Our hope includes the crown of life which the Lord has promised. These giants are our food. The Lord is giving them into our hands. God is not stupid. He doesn’t walk around showing off His wealth, “hey look at what I have”. This glorious inheritance is hidden within His people. This will be revealed at the end of the age. We will see a glorious bride, without spot or wrinkle, who has prepared herself. Finally, we need a vision of the incomparably great power for us who believe. This power is in the present age as well as the one to come. All things are under His feet. Jesus is the head of the church, we simply obey Him. It is called the “Day of the Lord”, He owns it, He is not intimidated by it, as for me I will listen to Him. This is the first blessing, to see Jesus, the Head over all things to the church.

The Second blessing — “and I will make of thee a great nation” (Ephesians 2:1-2)

Exodus presents the Israelites in bondage in Egypt. When God promised Abraham to make of thee a great nation the fulfillment of this promise involved them becoming slaves in Egypt. That is who God used to make this great nation. The slaves are the ones who do all the work, they are the ones who make the country run. Whatever is about to come on us is no worse than where we came from. Only this time it will be easier because the Lord has led us through this valley before. Ephesians 2 says we were formerly dead in sins in the world. Exodus shows how the Israelites were delivered from Egypt to be God’s people. Ephesians 2 talks about how we were made to sit together with Christ in the heavenlies, not of ourselves but it is the gift of God. In Exodus we see the Passover feast, summing up God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, in which they are made to sit together with Jesus (the empty seat).

2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Where to begin? Disobedience? The spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient? The ruler of this age? The ways of the world? Should we confess our transgressions and sins? Or should we just say we were dead.

Ps 6:5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?


Where you were, did anyone proclaim the Lord’s name? Did they praise Him?


Ps 9:17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.


Were you surrounded by wicked who had forgotten God?


Ps 7:17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

Can you give thanks to the Lord and sing praises of the name when you are in your sins and transgressions? Can you silence the enemy, the avenger when you are in sins and transgressions? Can you rejoice in your salvation? If you follow the “ways of the world” you will have a warped mind and be despised.

Isaiah 1:23 Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.

The rulers you followed were rebellious, partners with thieves, they loved bribes. The first step in making us into a great nation is to restore our rulers.

Isaiah 1:26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old, your rulers as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.”

It all begins with “a ruler who will shepherd my people”

1Timothy 6:15 God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

The Lord is building the church, He is the one who is making us into a great nation. The enemy is busy at work to stop this:

Also our enemies said,

Nehemiah 4:11 “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”

This spirit is working in those who are disobedient. Remember what happened to Israel, they are an example to us


Nehemiah 9:26 “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies.”

You know someone is disobedient by their actions.

Titus 1:16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

This is our past, that is our background, hopefully we have learned and repented from this.

Ephesians 2:3-5 A Twist on the Prosperity Gospel -- Rich in mercy!

3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

The Old Testament prophets go into great detail about why we, like the rest, were by nature deserving of wrath. In Numbers 16 we see wrath come out from the Lord in response to the rebellion of Korah. When Achan was unfaithful in regard to the devoted thing wrath came out on the whole community.

1Samuel 28:16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today.

Rebellion and disobedience, this is what makes us deserving of wrath. We ended up as slaves in Egypt because of rebellion and disobedience. We have seen plagues and defeat at the hand of the enemy because of disobedience. We suffered shame and lost our crown because of disobedience.

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

How about that for a twist on the prosperity gospel -- “rich in mercy”. And it isn’t pity, it is because of God’s love for us. What does it mean to be “saved by grace”? It means that even when you were dead in transgressions you were made alive with Christ. Instead of following the spirit that operates in the disobedient and administering wrath to those who deserved wrath, we were made alive with Christ to be rich in mercy and do unto others as we would have had them do unto us. What commandments has the Lord given us that we need to obey?

Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

That is what we need to obey, the Lord’s command.

1Jn 3:23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

But what if they deserve our wrath? Do you want to be treated with mercy? The Lord commanded you do to unto others as you would have them do to you, if you want to be treated with mercy you have been commanded to treat others with mercy.

Ephesians 2:6-11 God's Poem, His masterpiece

6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

“With Christ” and “with Him”. When you obey the Lord’s command you are “with Him”.

Isaiah 52:13 See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
Are you with Him on the cross? Then you will be raised and lifted up with Him and we’ll be seated together with Him in exalted heavenly realms. The second blessing is that God is going to make of us a great nation. We are well aware of how corrupt and warped are the rulers in this age. Well the first step is to get a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel, who won’t run when the wolves come, and if you are with Him you will be raised up with Him and seated with Him.

7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

In the prosperity gospel the riches are evidence that you have been blessed. But what about the incomparable riches expressed in His kindness to us? Everyone wants to be treated with mercy, so to do unto others as you would have them do unto you is to treat them with mercy. But mercy that is a result of pity is not kind, mercy that is because of love and is expressed in kindness, that is incomparable riches.

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith

To do unto others as you would have them do unto you, instead of giving them the wrath that they deserve, that is to be saved by grace, and it requires faith. You can’t do it without faith in the Lord.

—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

It is like being a brand new, transformed person. Again, some people teach that a brand new, shiny car is a “gift from God”. Oprah can give you a car, but only God could give you a heart of flesh with His laws inscribed on them.

9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We are “God’s handiwork”, the greek word is Poiema and it means God’s masterpiece, God’s poem. We were created to do good works, never more so than right now, and these works have been prepared for us in advance. That is the path that God has prepared for the church? Ephesians 2 we are told that we who were once far off were made nigh in the blood of Christ just as the story of Exodus reveals that they were made nigh in the blood of the lamb. Both Exodus and Ephesians 2 conclude with the building of the Holy Temple of the Lord, a habitation of God in Spirit, being filled with the Glory of God. We have been created for this.

11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—

There is a contrast here between God’s handiwork and the works done by human hands. Circumcision is a sign of the OT covenant.

Genesis 17:11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.

But it is done by human hands. The NT covenant is the circumcision of our heart which is done by God.

Jeremiah 9:26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”

When you are merciful, out of love and expressed in kindness it is a sign of this covenant. It is a sign that God has given you a new heart.

Ephesians 2:12-13 Do you remember being without hope and without God in the world?

Romans 2: 28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

I am reminded of something that happened in High School. I was taking a final exam and the teacher gave us ten questions to study. He said that the final exam would be three of these essay questions. So I thought, this will be easy, I’ll study the night before. Around 7 I open up this list. I look at the first question it is so broad it covered an entire chapter in the textbook and we never even covered it in class. I realized it would take me hours to prepare for that one question. The same thing with the next. Now I was angry, “we never went over this in class”! Then I thought which questions did we go over? I found three, and these three covered the three major units we had done that semester. I decided I would study those three. I figured he had to ask at least one of them and there was a good chance he would ask two of them. So I knew I’d need to get them 100%. I wrote out long detailed answer to each question, studied them, and then closed my books and practiced rewriting those answers with a clock to make sure I could do it in the hour we had. In the exam it turns out he asked the three questions I had studied. From the first minute to the last I was writing continuously. I felt like baseball and I had fully connected with the ball and it was going, going, gone. A few days later he posted the results of the exam. I was one of the top three students in the class, but my score on the final was the lowest, I think he gave me 25%. That was when I realized he was offended by something I had said a month earlier. I had thought it was trivial but obviously he was very offended by it. So then I didn’t know what to do, I knew if I challenged him on this he would have to show the exam booklet to the headmaster and then he would get fired. I was in England, had come for a year, and didn’t want my legacy to have gotten this teacher fired. I was also already accepted to college and this grade on this test wasn’t going to change that. I couldn’t decide, so I decided to do a test. I was in the royal air force, the British equivalent of the ROTC and this teacher was in charge of us. We needed to return our uniforms to I walked up to him in the cafeteria and told him I was concerned because I was missing a button on my jacket. He was trembling, he wouldn’t even look up at me but just mumbled that was OK. I realized then that he had given me the low grade without even reading my exam, figuring on an essay question he could always find something wrong or something missing. But he must have then read it and now was terrified. I decided to have mercy on him and never said anything. Twenty five years later my brother goes to a reunion and he is there seeking out my brother to tell him how much he appreciated me. My brother wanted to know why, what had I done. But until now I had never told anyone about this. I was very happy to know that he was still there teaching and that his entire career hadn’t been ruined because of me.


12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.


What do you remember?


Lamentations 3:19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.


We pray that God would remember his great mercy and love and that He would not remember our sins. What we need to remember is that God is our rock, He is our redeemer. We need to remember His power. We need to remember how fleeting our life was, vanity of vanities. Without God we are dust.


13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.


We were baptized into Christ, in Christ we are dead to sin but alive to God.


Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,


No one is able to separate us from the Love of God if we are in Christ. In Christ we form one body.


Romans 15:17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.

Ephesians 2:14-20 God's purpose to create one new man out of two

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,


Wow! When you read the Old Testament you get the impression that it is us versus them. Jews versus Gentiles, circumcision versus uncircumcised. But God’s purpose was to create in himself, in Christ, one new man out of the two. He did this by becoming our peace offering. Look at the Lord’s crucifixion carefully. We understand that He was the lamb of God, and that His death was a peace offering to God. But who made that offering? The Jews demanded it and the Gentiles made it. Now there were a lot of things that separated the Gentiles from God’s covenant, a dividing wall of hostility. That put God in a very tough spot, do you reject the Son’s sacrifice? God had no choice, if He accepts the Lord’s sacrifice He has to set aside the law with its command and regulations that prevented us from being with God. So that barrier had to be destroyed. But, only if you are in Christ.


16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.


That’s right, both of them. Both Jews and Gentiles needed to be reconciled. The cross of Christ was God’s judgement on man’s flesh and only one man made it through that judgement, Jesus Christ. If you are in Him you make it through, if not you don’t. The Day of the Lord will reveal who exactly is in Him.


17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.


This is huge. Do you want to have powerful and prevailing prayer that James describes? You need access to the Father. Do you know Jesus as the one with the key of David? That means you have access to the Father. The martyrs who we see when the 5th seal is opened, they have access to the Father. What is the point of circumcision if it isn’t a sign that you have access to the father? All religion is simply a pretense unless you have access to the Father.


19 So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,


Our access is in two broad categories, as citizens who are praying for the kingdom of God and as family members who are praying for the house of God.


20 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.


The term built reminds us of all the altars that were built. The foundation of the apostles and prophets, their revelation, worship and sacrifice to the Lord. This is what we are built on. I remember once I took a test and as I went through the questions I didn’t know a single answer. It was as though the test was on a completely different subject. I got angry, I said to myself I studied for this test so I am going to put down what I studied. So I looked at the questions as opportunities for me to write what I studied. I wound up getting the highest grade in the class on that test. Remember what you are built on. We are standing upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. The chief cornerstone was the stone that the builders rejected. The church is composed of stones the builders rejected. Not only will God’s incomparable riches be on display but His enemies will be put to an open shame as well, having rejected these stones. God is going to make of us a great nation and He will be glorified in us. The foundation of the apostles and prophets is the revelation of Jesus Christ. A great nation is a nation that God inhabits. It is the nation where God’s glory dwells. It is a nation that is filled with justice and righteousness.

I live next to three cemeteries in Queens. So let's see, will these cemeteries maintain their stellar reputation that when people get buried there they stay buried, or will we see that those who were once dead in offenses and sins will be made alive in Christ? According to Paul in Ephesians, the challenge has been accepted.

The third blessing — and I will bless thee (Ephesians 3)

Ephesians 3 begins with the dispensation of grace that was given by God to Paul for us. Leviticus begins with the sacrifices and offerings that were ordained by God for the Priests to keep for us. Ephesians 3 talks about what has been made known to the apostles and prophets, and how he has been made a minister. Leviticus gives the instructions from Moses to the levitical priests and also to Aaron. Ephesians 3 says that the revelation that Jesus' sacrifice is for the Gentiles as well as the Jews was not made known in previous generations. There is no hint in Leviticus that the Gentiles will be included. We do not learn that Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world until we get to the New Testament.

3 For this cause

God is going to take people who were dead in trespasses and sins and make them into a great nation. That is what “this cause” in chapter 2 refers to. What does that mean? If you want to know where God dwells it is with them. You want access to God, you need to go there. The nation will be known as “God with us”. This is the cause, take people who were formerly disobedient, following the ruler of this age, and make them into a kingdom built on righteousness filled with the glory of God.

I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentiles,—

The Bible gives us the account of three very notable prisoners of God. Joseph was put in prison on behalf of the Egyptians so that he could save many people alive. He saw that it was God who was operating all things. Jesus was the prisoner of God to become our peace offering with God. And now Paul says the same thing, that the things happening to him are on behalf of the Gentiles are due to Christ Jesus. If we consider the book of Leviticus, the burnt offering, the bull, is a “prisoner of Christ Jesus” and his sacrifice is on behalf of the Gentiles.

Leviticus 1:3 4 You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you.

Paul is offering Jesus Christ as His burnt offering and he is laying his hands on that offering, he is identifying himself with Christ’s offering.

2 if so be that ye have heard of the dispensation of that grace of God which was given me to you-ward; 3 how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words,

In chapter 1 we learned that the mystery of God’s will was to put all things under Christ and to make Him the head over all things. This is the cause that he is referring to. “For this cause” to bring all things under the headship of Christ there is a “dispensation”. Paul willingly becoming a burnt offering, identifying himself with Jesus Christ, and submitting himself to the Lord to also take up his cross and follow Him. This is the mystery that he has written about briefly. God is going to bless us. He is going to do that through the sacrifice of his servants, the apostles. We cannot accomplish the things He has purposed without being blessed. These blessings are dispensed to us by Paul, the apostles, and those who are one with the lord. And now we discover that there is a dispensation of the mystery. Many people would complain if they were imprisoned wrongfully. But Joseph, Jesus and Paul saw that their imprisonment was not the work of the ruler of this age, he is merely the pawn. He wasn’t the “prisoner of Satan” he was the prisoner of Christ Jesus. Today you see many complaining about this corona virus lockdown, as though they were being made prisoners of an unrighteous age. What is happening is a mystery to them because they don’t have the revelation that God is causing all things to be under the headship of Jesus Christ. How does Paul being made a prisoner of Rome contribute to the dispensation of this mystery? Paul was given the time to focus on making known the revelation of this mystery that was made known to him. The dispensation of this mystery is through the word. This word is like a radio signal being beamed all over the earth. All you need is a properly tuned spirit to receive this signal. This word will infect you like the coronavirus, it will spread from one person to another, the church has been set up for 2,000 years to spread this word like a virus. But now, like Paul, we are in lockdown so that we too could focus on making known the mystery of this revelation. And, instead of radio signals we have the internet and social media.

4 whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; 5 which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to wit, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

That is the purpose of this lockdown. That the revelation of the Body of Christ, the fellow heirs, the fellow members of the Body, and the fellow partakers of the promise could be revealed. In other generations this has not been made known to the sons of men as it is now being revealed. In Leviticus it had not been known that God would include the Gentiles. Peter and Paul revealed this. But in their day Paul’s letters were copied by hand, not like today with the internet. So this generation is also not like previous ones. This word will go everywhere, no one will be able to escape, there will be hot spots flaring up here and there of people being saved and turning to the Lord. When the Lord returns He doesn’t want to come back to one or two apostles, He wants to return to 144,000 blowing the trumpet and hailing His return.

7 whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.

When you minister focus on these two things. The gift of the grace of God and the working of His power. The Lord’s power is already working worldwide, you simply need to do your part. When I was in college I had an experience, we were going on a field trip for my geology class. On the last day I was driving back in the school van, one of these very large vans with more than 12 people in the van. I was in the very back seat and the person driving the van was an old roommate of mine when I was a freshman. The night before he had been telling dirty stories around the campfire. So I asked him if I could tell him a story. He said to go ahead, so of course, everyone in the van could hear this. I talked about Adam and Eve and God coming to look for them after they had sinned and calling for them “Adam where are you?” As I was telling this story it got very uncomfortable in the van, he got angry and pulled into the other lane to pass the car in front of us. He crossed the double yellow lines and we were going up hill. Inside the Lord was telling me “tell them to repent, tell them they could die today, tomorrow is not guaranteed to them!” But I was like “not so Lord, I speak the high gospel”. This went back and forth for a second or two, we pulled even with the car we were passing when just over the top of the hill a car could be seen coming toward us. The entire van was in a panic, people in front of me were pointing but couldn’t say anything, I was bowing my head repenting to the Lord. Meanwhile he hit the brake, but so did the other car and we stayed even with them, so then he slammed on the accelerator but so did the other car and we continued to stay dead even with them. We were going over 60 and the car that was fast approaching was too. He then signaled to the left and pulled into the shoulder. Just share the gift of grace and trust that the Lord’s power is working.

Ephesians 3:8-19 To make all men see the mystery which for the ages has been hid

8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 9 and to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God who created all things;

Once again two things to focus on, the unsearchable riches of Christ. We are not worried about impending economic collapse, that is merely the background that makes Christ appear all the brighter. Many people will worry that they haven’t been given a word. But you have been given grace, that is what you should share, the grace that was given to you. But in addition we are focused on making all men see the thing which has been hidden in God, the dispensation of the mystery. Think of this dispensation and the resolution. All things refers to God’s people, but it also refers to the disobedient and rebellious, to the enemies of God. The gospel of grace is good news because there is some really bad news for those who are one with the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience.

I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’ Jeremiah 6:17

We are blowing the trumpet. There is good news, Jesus Christ is unsearchably rich. There is also bad news, the day of judgement is fast approaching.

10 to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Do not worry if you are less than the least. Think about how God is using you. I like what Larry Bird once said when asked about his opponents. “I wouldn’t know half these guys' names if they weren’t written on the back of their shirts”. No one is better at trash talking than Jesus. How do I know? Because he uses those who are less than the least to put the principalities and powers in their place.

11 according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him. 13 Wherefore I ask that ye may not faint at my tribulations for you, which are your glory.

As we see the things that have been purposed fulfilled it should make us more bold and give us more confidence through our faith in Him. I have talked to some who are terrified at the things that are about to happen. I’m not. Why? Two thousand years ago Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets told us this was going to happen. They have been preparing us for this day for the last two thousand years. That is the dispensation of the mystery. Now it is clear that the rulers of this age are still clueless about what is happening and can’t even predict 3 months in advance. I look at what is going on, I look at the prophecies, and it strengthens my faith in the Lord, it gives me more confidence in His ability to lead us through the coming tribulations. He is the only one who is being honest with us. There will be tribulations, but they are for our glory. I tell all my students that the tests are “an opportunity for them to shine”. Students will tell me afterwards “I did my best” and I always tell them “that is all we are asking, no one is asking you to do more than your best”. Stop worrying that you aren’t good enough, you were called for a purpose. Just trust the Lord that He knows what He is doing.

14 For this cause

We started this chapter with the cause that He would take those dead in sin and build them into a great nation. To do that it requires that we not faint at the tribulations, but with boldness and confidence we access God through faith. For this cause, that instead of fainting we act in faith, Paul is praying.

I bow my knees unto the Father,

All these people who are terrified, what are they bowing their knees to? To their job? Take your eyes off of the enemy and focus them on the Father.

16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory,

God doesn’t just want to conclude the age in victory, He wants to do it according to the riches of His glory. This is why He wouldn’t let Gideon keep all the men, He wanted the number to be so small that the victory would be that much more glorious. Think about the Exodus, that was done according to the riches of His glory. He didn’t simply defeat Pharoah, but He did it in a way that was glorious for His people.

that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man;

Don’t you want to experience the outstanding resurrection? You need to also experience the fellowship of His sufferings. Your outward man may be very weak, but your inward man is where the glorious, conquering king wants to dwell.

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

Remember this love is our foundation, our roots. We have been commanded to love one another.

18 may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God.

This chapter tells us about the blessings of the covenant. The third blessing is that we would be blessed. We will be blessed according to the riches of His glory. The blessing includes being strengthened with power through His Spirit. Jesus will dwell in us, change your name to Immanuel, God with you. In the midst of the storm, in the midst of tribulation we will stand fast in love. And this tribulation will help us to discover the height and depth, the breadth and length of all that Jesus Christ is. We will be filled to the fullness of God, when people see us they will see God, when people need to seek out God or pray to God they will seek out us, they will ask us to pray for them. Leviticus also ends with a blessing:

26:3 “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands,

we have a covenant, we have to keep the covenant, but it comes with this blessing

Blessing in Leviticus

4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. 6 “‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.

So why are you afraid? Fear God, obey Him, and trust Him.

I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.

The sword passed through our country twice, war of 1812 and Civil war. 1812 was a minor issue, but it dated all the way back to Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. They both had a dispute over the power of the central government, and setting up a central bank. History has shown that Hamilton was correct, we needed the bank he instituted. But Jefferson did not humble himself, as a result when president he approached our navy with a frugalness of someone afraid to borrow money. That weakness allowed us to be bullied by both the British and the French. It was irresponsible to promote trade via the Atlantic without having a deep water navy to protect the ships. This is a minor issue, but burning down the Whitehouse was a reasonable rebuke for his arrogance. The Civil war on the other hand was horrible due to the horrible sin of slavery. Many argue that slavery is in the Bible. Fair enough, let’s compare Biblical slavery with the slavery in the South. First, in the Bible you could only have a slave if the person was an adult and signed a contract with you for their debt. You agree to pay a certain amount for a certain amount of years that I would serve you. In the South you were born into slavery. There was no end. There was no contract. Second, in the Bible you can’t “sell me into slavery”. I have to enter into that contract. In the South they had brokers who sold people into slavery. People were not treated with respect, signing a contract, having the purchase price pay off some debt they had. Also, if you got injured while working as a slave the contract was over. Biblical slavery has no resemblance to slavery in the South, it is much closer to an NFL contract. To make things worse the South then justified their slavery with racism, a component that is not found in the Bible.

7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

The closest the US has ever come to this is MacArthur’s victories during WWII. However, our victory in the Revolutionary war would be a close second, it was a David versus Goliath victory with the British being the superpower of the day and the US being a despised colony. The world is a complicated place. Is the US a Christian country? Everytime I visit other countries my impression is yes, the US is a Christian country. Many people in this country do keep covenant with God, but prior to this pandemic they were becoming harder and harder to see.

9 “‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. 11 I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you.

This to me is the issue. Yes we have been blessed, we have been fruitful, our numbers have increased. At the same time more and more we are seeing things that are done that God abhors.

12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

He promised that we would have peace in our land, no one would make us afraid. We’ll have enemies but we’ll pursue them. He’ll put His dwelling among us, He will walk among us, and we would be able to walk with our heads held high. Israel was brought out of Egypt, out of slavery, and most Americans can trace their lineage to those fleeing oppression and slavery. We are the newest country on the block and yet we can walk with our heads held high among the Chinese, Russians and Europeans.

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen.

This is the third blessing, that we would be filled unto all the fullness of God. Leviticus also concludes with a blessing on the nation of Israel. The trial we are about to go through will be the proof. It will prove the church has been filled unto all the fullness of God, lacking nothing. So the fact that God is faithful to judge the disobedient should also strengthen your faith that He will bless those that keep His covenant. This promise is sure. This blessing requires that we follow His decrees and obey His commands. James tells us that if we carefully investigate the perfect law of liberty then we will be blessed in our deed. Paul tells us that this blessing requires that the Lord dwell in our hearts by faith. It is all about us doing unto others as we would have them do unto us, and since we want to be treated with mercy it boils down to us treating others with mercy. “And I will bless thee” begins with us having mercy on others. Treating others the way we would have them treat us (not the way they have treated us but the way we would have them treat us). Our history tells us this is true. Israel’s history tells us this is true. Again and again the Lord has done things to help us trust Him, have faith in Him and obey Him.

The fourth blessing — and make thy name great (Ephesians 4:1-10)

4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Numbers begins with the Israelites preparing for their journey and entry into the promised land. Ephesians 4 begins with how to walk worthily of the calling. Who is qualified to urge us? A prisoner of the Lord, a man who has been found worthy to suffer on behalf of the name of Jesus Christ. Consider these cases of people being killed by the police in a way that appears unjust. This has sparked outrage. However, regardless of how angry we might be we still need to walk worthily of the calling, and who are you going to listen to concerning this? It is hard to ignore the prisoner for the Lord. On the other hand consider these protests about election fraud. They may feel frustrated that the courts and representatives have shut their ears and will not listen to them, but still you must walk worthily.

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Some wonder what their gift is, but the key is right here. “With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love;” If you need to exercise lowliness, or long suffering, or bearing with another in love — then that indicates your gift. For example, many years ago I was volunteering with a Christian publishing ministry. We printed gospel pamphlets. One night I was asked to transfer chemicals used to clean the ink off the rollers from a large 25 gallon jug to a much smaller container. These chemicals are toxic and flammable so they wanted it done without spilling, but as hard as I tried I couldn’t do it, I was making a mess. Then another brother from the brothers house came in, Hector. He asked what he needed to do and I told him to fill this up from that jug, saying “it is easy”. The brother in charge heard me and said “how can you say that?” I told him “to him, it is easy”. Sure enough, Hector was able to transfer the chemicals without spilling a drop. I am not a “gifted brother” in this respect, so there was no need for me to be “humble” or “long suffering” or to “bear with him”. However, if Hector were to teach me how to do it then he would need to exercise that level of forbearance. If you did not have any gifts then you would not understand what Paul is saying about “lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love”. Likewise we need every gift for the Body. The best way to remain lowly is to focus on others' gifts. If you focus on your own gift you will become puffed up rather than lowly, and that will have a negative impact on the oneness of the Body.

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it[a] says:

Numbers gives instructions for making the Nazarite vows. Ephesians talks about the work of the ministry and how we all can attain it. The nazarite vow means that anyone can be a priest, in Ephesians 4 we see that every one of us can do the work of the ministry. This is a key message today. Yes, lawyers like Giuliani and Sydney Powell are necessary, journalists like Dan Bongino and Steve Bannon are required, a variety of experts who have volunteered their labor to investigate the fraud are necessary, but every single protestor is also necessary and needs to conduct themselves worthily of the ministry.

8 Wherefore he says, Having ascended up on high, he has led captivity captive, and has given gifts to men.

Here we see the Lord giving gifts to the Body. Every one of us has, once the Lord’s grace acts within us our gift will be manifested. Since the Lord gave you as a gift to the body when you exercise that gift you are glorifying the Lord. So then, how does grace activate your gift?

9 But that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens, that he might fill all things;

Has the Lord delivered you from “the lower parts of the earth”? Did the Lord lead you out? If so, you can now lead others out. We see this in James, and also with Paul, and of course with Peter. After they return from their failure they are able to strengthen their brethren. Paul was persecuting the followers of the way, but the Lord didn’t say that, He said “why do you persecute Me?” Paul got the vision of the Body of Christ. Peter denied the Lord three times, as a result he knew the pain of that and realized it was worse than death. As a result, when the Lord told him to go to the Gentiles doubting nothing he was able to be faithful to that word. James was the de facto leader of a cult of circumcision. In Galatians we see men coming from James and intimidating Peter. In Acts we see James telling Paul to offer up an animal sacrifice as a vow to the Lord, a sacrifice which would be a great insult to the sacrifice Jesus made. But James repented and his epistle demonstrates that he is now able to lead those who have wandered from the truth back to the Lord. This is what is so fascinating with the "deplorable" the people who are protesting the election fraud. They are not intimidated by ANTIFA, insults and threats. Because the Lord has led them out of a place where they were surrounded with that they are gifted in this sense, unlike the "snowflakes" who melt under even the slightest hint of animosity. We need each other, don't be proud that you can stand up to the threats of thugs, and don't look down on the "deplorables" you need them.

Ephesians 4:11-13 What stronger letter of commendation could they have?

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

I think we are all familiar with these gifts. But I would like to consider another gift that the Lord has given us in the context of the great tribulation and the rapture. Most Christians are familiar with the rapture. In the middle of the 70th week the Antichrist breaks the covenant, sets himself up in the temple, the sixth seal is opened, the overcomers are raptured to the heavens and Satan is kicked out. Satan is cast down to Earth and the Great tribulation begins. However, some believers are still left on Earth during the Great tribulation. They will need to be matured, but how? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way that those who had gone through great tribulation themselves could help equip these believers who are still left on Earth?

Revelation 3:8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

The entire church in Philadelphia will be kept from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole earth. There will be many overcomers that are raptured, but these will be taken as an entire congregation. I suspect seeing the entire church raptured will be what causes the “synagogue of Satan” to acknowledge that the Lord has loved them. They did two things that were very important, they kept the Lord’s word and they didn’t deny His name. So, if I am left on earth I will want to get the word from them. What stronger letter of commendation could they have? So then wouldn’t it be great if one of their deeds is to store up this word in a way that it would be available to all God’s people after the rapture? So now let’s return to Ephesians, God gave various gifted ones to equip His people so that they could be mature and attain to the fulness of God. He that descended is also the same that ascended. Peter, Paul and James all descended and ascended with the Lord. I suspect the church in Philadelphia also descended and ascended with the Lord. Since they have gone through tribulation they will be able to help those of us who remain to also go through the tribulation. Therefore, I would suggest He also gave the church in Philadelphia as a testimony so that in the most trying times of the Great Tribulation God’s people would know where to get the word that will build them up. I see many Christians confused by why God, who is Lord of all, would have everyone kicked out of the church. But wouldn’t it be marvelous if this church in Philadelphia is using this time to put the things they hold onto someplace where all God’s people could access them? Suppose at this moment they are putting this word on the internet. Then when they are taken up the rest of us will know exactly where to go to get that word.

That said look at how quickly they can coordinate to delete internet sites. Parler was a site similar to Facebook, they didn't exercise the censorship of conservative messages the way Facebook does so they were growing rapidly. Then Apple announced they would take them off of their APP store even though it was the number one app and google announced they would do the same and Amazon.com said they would remove the servers that store this site. So they were given 24 hours notice that three companies would collude to wipe them out. This is just the beginning. If they can eliminate the President of the US and the biggest and most profitable apps and sites they can do this to anyone. You need the word stored on your own computer. This is harder than it sounds because many of use cloud service. No doubt the agreement you signed allows them to delete material they find offensive and no doubt the Bible will end up on that list. You can store it on your personal computer, but again these computers are accessible remotely by NSA (watch the documentary about Snowden). A Bible in book form would be safer, but when they begin to search homes like they did with Anne Frank they will be hard to hide.

Ephesians 4:14 A deceitful scheme to cause them to commit fornication

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

In Numbers Balak employs Balaam to use craftiness to cause the children of Israel to commit error. It was a deceitful scheme to cause them to commit fornication. We learn about Balaam’s involvement in Revelation 2:14, but in Numbers we see the sin. Ephesians says that our maturation includes being able to discern deceitful schemes. Once you can discern the false prophets you can help your brothers and sisters from being led astray, just as Isaiah said

“those who lead this people mislead them, and those who are led are led astray”.

Let me share my experience with “cunning craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming”. First, I met with a group that taught that the ground of the church was a critical lost teaching. In the Old Testament the Temple could only be built on one location, the mountain where Abraham had sacrificed Isaac, the same mountain where David made a sacrifice to stop the plague. According to the Old Testament the reason for this was to keep the children of Israel one. When there was a rebellion the King Jeroboam built a shrine so that the children of Israel would not go to Jerusalem to keep the feasts (1Kings 12:26-33). They saw that according to the typology of the church being the temple the key to the oneness was the ground on which the church was built. They distinguished the “ground” from the “foundation”. In the New Testament we are told that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the revelation of Jesus Christ. But if you build the right foundation on the wrong ground your entire building will be condemned. You have to be on the right ground, the ground you have paid for and have a deed for. The church is the temple of God, therefore this Old Testament type applies to us today. The Lord prayed for the oneness of the church (Jn 17:20-21). It is Satan’s tactic to destroy the oneness of the church. The reason we are not one is because the saints have been deceived and are building on different foundations. Have you spotted the error? I hope you say no, because so far this is all true. Everyone thinks that a false prophet speaks falsehood, but Balaam was a false prophet and in Numbers everything Balaam speaks is what God said. So far, all of this teaching is spot on. They also talk about the church history of how the churches became divided. There is a very good correlation with how Israel became divided which gives you confidence in looking at the types and shadow to understand our current situation. Then they teach that when you denominate the church you give it a different name and that is equivalent to dividing it. To denominate it is to divide it. Now that is not always true nor is it always false. So they give a fuller explanation. The church is the bride of Christ. If we have a woman and she named herself Mrs. Jones, yet she is married to Mr. Smith, that would be divisive. At this point you should see one cause for concern: the entire teaching is based on types and shadows. That is extremely dangerous. You can make types and shadows to say almost anything. Instead you should begin with a black and white teaching about some truth, say Baptism, and then use the types and shadows (Noah’s flood or crossing the Red Sea) to help give a fuller understanding. This teaching is in reverse. If the ground of the oneness is so important there should be a clear, black and white teaching in the New Testament concerning it. There should be someplace where the apostles tell us that standing on this ground makes us one. If you knew that teaching then you would not be an infant, tossed around with waves of different teachings, according to their cunning craftiness. So far, nothing they have taught is actually wrong. However, what should concern you is that such an important teaching would have such a long, involved build up completely based on types and shadows. They then say they have discovered this ground in the New Testament. They infer it from two verses, one verse Paul says he has appointed elders in every church, another he says he has appointed elders in every city. Put these two verses together and one city = one church. Based on that they come up with the most ridiculous solution. Denominating the church is not the expression of division, it is the cause. All you have to do is to “take the ground” of the city, call yourselves “the church in ______” whatever city you are in. And presto, the church is one. It is magic. The error here is having to infer such an important teaching. This is an important teaching. There is a black and white teaching in the New Testament where we should begin and only then go to these types and shadows. So if you have been following along you should be able to immediately point to the black and white verses where Paul tells us very clearly what the ground is that we stand on when building the church. Ephesians 4:3-6. The “seven ones” are the things that make us one, they are the ground we stand on.