Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

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Table of Contents of this blog​

Post 1 -- The Lord’s Table -- rehearsal of the marriage feast and the coronation of Jesus, rehearsal of the Festival of Trumpets. What is the message of those who are raptured compared to the message of those who aren’t?


Post 2 -- Christ’s resurrection is the crux of our gospel, Jesus rose at the feast of firsfruits at the beginning of the age and the rapture is the harvest of the saints at the end of the age. The rapture is the testimony that Jesus has destroyed the power of death.


Post 3 -- They are trying to lead you astray. How do you discern if you are off the path that leads to life? There are many antichrists at the end of the age and in every case “they went out from us”. They pretend to be Christians but deny the Lord’s redemption by adding some other requirement other than simply to receive the blood of Christ.


Post 4 -- Marvel not that the world hates you. Our hope is not simply to “be raptured” but rather when the Lord appears we also appear “like Him”. At the end of the age the Lord is manifested again, but this time He is with His army, the redeemed, to destroy sin. To do this we must love in deed and in truth.


Post 5 -- How do we recognize the antichrist.


Post 6 -- Dealing with bullies at the end of the age.


Post 7 -- We are the salt and the light. An example of a person who has lost their saltiness.


Post 8 -- Without God speaking through you your religion is nothing but a pretense and a sham.


Post 9 -- The battle is on, the sleeping giant has risen, only the church can defeat this giant.


Post 10 -- Tell us how to fix the problems we have created.


Post 11 -- Absolute proof. How do we know who to believe, who to follow?


Post 12 -- At the end of the age we will have to deal with the Antichrist, we will have to deal with bullies. As long as we have the Lord Jesus as our captain we can do that. We may be deplorable, but we are not irredeemable. We are not "rejected silver". 1Samuel shows how we can deal with fools and bullies to bring in the kingdom.


Post 13 -- The Antichrist’s theme song, the siren song of tyrants.


Post 14 -- Common mistakes in choosing a king.


Post 15 -- what it takes to rule and reign


Post 16 -- The rapture is all about the glorious return of the king. Those who are raptured are those who have the faith to rule and reign with Jesus. So then be anxious in nothing but in everything by prayer and petition let your request be made known to God because He cares for you. In addition speak forth in praise and worship with songs and psalms being filled with the Spirit.


Post 17 -- You need to take a stand. You don’t become king simply because Samuel says you are king. That works for a few who have great faith in Samuel being a man of God. You become king by defeating the enemies of Israel. That is what everyone can see.


Post 18 -- When is the rapture? The Lord said that you need to be watch because if you are watching you would prevent the thief from breaking into the house and if you don't watch then the Lord's coming would be like a thief. Right now we see a thief trying to rob our house. Doing things that are unconstitutional, passing executive orders and bills that are heinous attack on anyone who is faithful to the Lord and walks according to the fellowship of the apostles. Now is the time for Christians to wake up and take a stand.


Post 19 -- In the book of 1Samuel we see that different people like Hannah and the Israelites need salvation from a bully and that at the same time God also needs something. Hannah needs a son to stop the incessant attacks but God also needs a son who will be His priest. The Israelites need a King to deliver them from their enemies but God needs a man to stand by faith and obey His word. The rapture is when God gets what He needs then we also will be delivered and get what we need.


Post 20 -- What is the derangement syndrome? The rebellion against the Lord is loud and clear. Likewise the hand of God against us is also loud and clear.


Post 21 1Samuel part 2 -- What is the derangement syndrome? The rebellion against the Lord is loud and clear. Likewise the hand of God against us is also loud and clear.


Post 22 -- 1Samuel 13 -- The rapture, like the resurrection, will establish the Lord and His people in the eyes of the nation.


Post 23 -- 1Samuel 14 -- No one is going to listen to your idiotic rules.


Post 24 -- 1Samuel 15 How do you produce a king?


Post 25 -- The warning God spoke to Eli through Samuel which was fulfilled a number of years later was a word meant for Samuel as much as anyone. He was able to see from a young age the cost of not dealing with sin in an absolute way. Likewise, the warnings in this chapter are as much for David as they are for Saul. It is clear later in the book that the whole country was aware of what took place. It had to be very significant to David to know that Saul's key failing was in not being absolute in obeying God's command.


Post 26 -- 2 Corinthians 6 -- The Story of Hanukkah



Post 27 -- 2 Corinthians 7 -- Bringing down the entire house of cards


Post 28 -- 2 Corinthians 8 -- The privilege of participating in God’s move


Post 29 -- 2Corinthians 9 -- I will not be on the wrong side of history


Post 30 -- Comparison and Contrast of the three gospels


Post 31 -- Wake Up!


Post 32 -- The book of Joel -- the Feasts of Trumpets and the day of Atonement


Post 33 -- Joel -- the Feasts of Trumpets and the day of Atonement, part 2


Post 34 -- Joel -- the Feasts of Trumpets and the day of Atonement, part 3


Post 35 -- Jonah and BLM


Post 36 -- Concerning the great sign in heaven seen during the Festival of trumpets in 2017


Post 37 -- Before the antichrist can be revealed the apostasy has to first be revealed


Post 38 -- Luke 1 -- Seeing the end from the beginning


Post 39 -- Luke 1 -- Seeing the end from the beginning, part 2


Post 40 -- The rapture refers to the day of redemption


Post 41 -- The Lord will gird himself and serve those servants


Post 42 -- Those who are raptured will not allow their house to be broken into.


Post 43 -- A view of the apostasy in Luke


Post 44 -- Esther -- Haman a type of the Antichrist


Post 45 -- This is what cancel culture is


Post 46 -- Esther -- With what judgement you judge you shall be judged


Post 47 -- Comparing Revelation 12 with Esther


Post 48 -- First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned


Post 49 -- Revelation 2 and two paths that Christians take


Post 50 -- The church in Smyrna, no one wants to be last


Post 51 -- To hold onto your first love you must be against all


Post 52 -- Thyatira where you learn to rule with an iron rod


Post 53 -- Sardis -- just a facade, a pretend church


Post 54 -- Philadelphia -- They have the key of David!


Post 55 -- Laodicea this is the apostasy.


Post 56 -- 1Samuel 16 -- Jesse’s son


Post 57 -- 1Samuel 17 -- I am the son of Jesse of Bethlehem


Post 58 -- Honoring your father.


Post 59 -- If you shall not watch you will not know what hour I come upon thee


Post 60 -- 2Corinthians 10 -- Weaponizing free speech


Post 61 -- Isaiah 54 -- No weapon forged against you will prevail


Post 62 -- Galatians -- Fixing injustice is the Gospel


Post 63 -- Galatians -- The only like that matters


Post 64 -- Galatians -- The game plan on how to be rescued from this evil age


Post 65 -- Galatians 2:1-4 False believers have a mission to make slaves of you.


Post 66 -- Galatians 2:5-13 Treated like illegitimate step children


Post 67 -- Galatians 2:14-16 Act in line with the truth of the gospel


Post 68 -- Galatians 2:17-19 No Justice No Peace


Post 69 -- Galatians 2:20-21 -- A word that rescues us from this evil age


Post 70 -- 1Samuel 18 The snares, traps and palace intrigue


Post 71 -- Isaiah 5:1-7 -- He looked for good grapes but it yielded only bad fruit


Post 72 -- Isaiah 5:8-16 -- Everyone will be humbled and the Lord exalted


Post 73 -- Isaiah 5:17-20 The Bitterness of a Totalitarian State


Post 74 -- Isaiah 5:21-30 -- Woe to those who spurned the word of the Lord


Post 75 -- Galatians 3:1-5 Who has bewitched you?


Post 76 -- Galatians 3:6-11 What is the hearing of faith?


Post 77 -- Galatians 3:12-14 Circumcision of the heart means you have nothing left to lose.


Post 78 -- Galatians 3:15-29 Your authority is based on being Clothed with Christ


Post 79 -- Isaiah 13:9-11 A solar eclipse is a sign of the coming of the Day of the Lord.


Post 80 -- The parable of the Fig tree

(first four pages of the blog)

 

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Exodus 12 -- The Lord will eat this Passover again with us at the time of the rapture

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.

A new age begins with this age, the age of the nation of Israel. In the same way the Church age also began with the Lord instituting the Lord’s table exactly the same time that the age of Israel ended (they began by celebrating the Passover and ended by instituting the Lord’s table). Also, please note, the children of Israel left Egypt exactly 430 years to the day from when they entered Egypt. The age of slavery in Egypt began and ended on this day, the age of the nation of Israel began and ended on this day. Therefore I suspect it is highly likely that the church age also ends on this day.

Luke 22:14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

What does this mean, “eat it again”, Christ is our Passover, sacrificed for us? Also, “it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God”. The Passover is the deliverance from the slavery of sin. This will not be fully accomplished until the rapture. Also, please note, this account is peculiar to Luke alone, the gospel to those who are raptured first. So then let’s look at this logically, this feast became the Lord’s table which is a dress rehearsal for the marriage feast. The fulfillment of the marriage feast will occur at the time of the rapture, therefore it stands to reason that the fulfillment of this feast that the Lord is referring to occurs at the time of the rapture. At that time “He will eat it again”. Why? Because His bride matches Him. Our sacrifice becomes a feast for Him to enjoy. Our experiences of Christ become the meal that He enjoys.

3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.

You have to select the lamb, examine the lamb and prepare the lamb. This takes time. So the month begins not with the Passover, but with the preparation for the Passover and that Preparation begins with the instructions from the Lord. You have ten days to follow those instructions.

This is household salvation. This is how God operates, this is how the church operates. We move as one large family. We have babies, we have the elderly, we have our animals, we are all going. Moses didn’t flee Egypt the first chance he had with just the men, he made it clear we are all going from the youngest to the eldest. The atheists mock as the Lord saying He delays His coming, but Moses waited until everyone would be saved.

5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.

When did the soldiers pierce Jesus with the spear? Twilight. This is a rehearsal, they are practicing for the main event.

7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.

The blood is a sign that you live in a house where a lamb has been slain and where you are one with the slain lamb. Since the days of Cain the world has killed the innocent lambs out of greed or jealousy. Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill the babies. The US legalized abortion so that sixty million babies could be killed. There is a reckoning to be had for those actions. Everyone is going to fall into one of two houses, a house where they are one with the slain lamb, or the house that killed the innocent lambs. If you are guilty of innocent blood the last thing you want to do is to advertise that by putting the blood on your doorpost. On the other hand if you are appealing to the Lord for justice for the innocent blood slain you would put it on your door.

8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs,and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.

During this age of grace we have thoroughly consumed the lamb. Before going forward God demands that we thoroughly become one with the slain lamb and the bitter herbs.

11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

We should all be ready at any moment to leave this earth and join the Lord in air. You get dressed to leave prior to eating, it gives you the proper mindset.

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.

Right now it is the night, and the tribulation is just about to start. When it does there will be weeping and wailing heard in Egypt. The rapture is likened to a thief in the night. The Passover has an angel of death in the night who steals the firstborn of Egypt. The ones that the Lord takes during the rapture, they may be despised slaves, but they are the “firstborn” of the Egyptian economy.

13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

This is why it is called the Passover. The avenging angel came by and saw what? That the Jews were righteous? No, they saw the blood of the lamb. That is a testimony that those in this house fear God and obey His commands. That is what we mean by “justification by faith”. You aren’t justified because you were a really good person, or that you have been treated unfairly so this will balance it out. You are justified because you fear God and obey His commands. You are justified by the blood of the lamb, not of sheep and goats, but of His Son, Jesus Christ.

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.

Here is yet another command that you will keep if you fear God. This is something that is easy to misunderstand. First, you can go to the grocery store and buy yeast to leaven your bread, but you don’t have to. Sour dough is bread made with a “natural leaven”. If you simply leave the dough out in the air for a period of time leaven from the air will land on it, and begin to leaven it. It is highly unlikely that the Jews “bought” leaven which they added to their bread. What they all most likely did was to add a sour dough starter to it which does the same thing. In fact if you simply make dough in a wooden bowl that you always use for this purpose it will leaven the bread. So then to get “unleavened bread” not only did they not add the sour dough starter, but you also don’t give the dough a chance to rise. It is made in haste. Personally I like to make bread and I like to use a sour dough starter. I think it makes the bread delicious. But that is not how soldiers eat, they eat crackers. You can fit more food in a smaller space. This is not a meal for a five star restaurant but rather for an army on the move. Also, if I am not going to use my sour dough starter for a week I might as well throw it out. That also is part of the law, remove all leaven from your house, it is a spring cleaning. When you enjoy God’s word you don’t need to be a french chef, take the word, crush it up, add a little water, some salt, and there you go, the bread of life.

 

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Exodus 12:16-30 Don't forget where you came from

16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

You got to love this. This is the Jewish thanksgiving and it lasts a week and you have two big celebrations on the first day and the last. When you look at the Jewish festivals it seems all they do is have sabbaths where you do no work, and sacred assemblies and eat food. But the reality is that in the world people have much more free time than this, they don’t know what to do with themselves so they seem empty. Having all these great celebrations that everyone is involved in, they are fun. The year starts with this great week long thanksgiving remembering when you were like an army leaving Egypt and all the wonders God performed. It ends with the feast of tabernacles where you get to stay in a tent. It is like the yearly feasts were designed by a ten year old. Even if the parents work every other day that is not mentioned you still have some great quality family time every year, not just with your family but your cousins, and all your friends. Likewise think of the rapture, the first day would be a great celebration, then seven days later (7 years according to Daniel's prophecy) you would have the marriage of the Lamb, the second big celebration.

17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”

Obviously no Jewish bakery would be making bread with yeast, so if you had bread with yeast you bought it from the world. One week don’t eat the world’s bread. Beware of the leaven of the pharisees. A Hollywood movie has been leavened, prepared by the finest chefs the world has. By contrast your unleavened bread may taste like dry crackers. But it is special, you made it, and you are remembering when you came out of slavery. You weren’t coming out of a five star restaurant. These are real experiences.

21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.

My understanding is that hyssop refers to our faith as being small and weak. We don’t even get to use a real paint brush. Our bread is crackers, and all we have is some weed to wipe the blood with. But that is real, that is how we started out. Don’t forget where you came from.

23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

Be at peace, this is how the year began, it has only been a year to God, so relax He isn’t all of a sudden going to let the destroyer rough up the church at the end of the age.

24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commandedMoses and Aaron.

This is why we keep the Lord’s table every month. It is meaningful and it is a rehearsal for the wedding dinner. Think about a terrifying thought for a moment, imagine you had to stand up during the Lord’s table and share your experience of the Lord. It would be like a cracker you made, or it might look like the blood smeared on the lintel with some shrub. Now imagine you need to do that at the real wedding feast of the Lord at the end of this age! That is why we need to practice each week. We are preparing to see the Lord on that day.

29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

Everyone is crying “how long O Lord will you not judge and avenge our blood?” Then when the Lord does answer that prayer they are shocked, how horrible! Yes, Cain killing Abel was horrible, Pharaoh killing the Jewish babies was horrible, America aborting sixty million babies was horrible. There will be a day of judgement and on that day there will be a loud wailing in Egypt.

 

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Exodus 12:31-49 We leave as a conquering Army

31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.”

Remember this, we didn’t leave with our tails between our legs, we didn’t flee like criminals, we marched out as a victorious army led by God. We warned Pharaoh, he refused to listen, he paid the price for that arrogance.

33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!” 34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.

We left as a conquering army that had plundered them. That was our severance pay. That is where the gold and silver for the tabernacle came from. That is where we got the bronze to make the brazen altar. They paid us, but it went to the Lord.

37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.38 Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.39 With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

What a sight that was.

40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt. 42 Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord Of the generations to come.

The Lord is very precise in keeping time, in celebrating the festivals, in every appointed day. There is a reason for that and it is prophetic. To tell everyone exactly what would happen from the very beginning, just another way we can see how awesome our God is.

43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal: “No foreigner may eat it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him,45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.

You have to be a believer. Circumcision is a sign of the covenant. The term “slave” here is not equivalent to what was meant by Southern slavery. You couldn’t purchase anyone until they were old enough to sign the contract themselves. The contract was not for life (unless the slave chose to not go out free), instead the contract was an agreed upon payment in return for a certain amount of labor. What we call “employees” the Bible calls slaves.

46 “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.

Remember, “not a bone of Him was broken”. All of these ordinances point us to how great our God is. Today the house of God is the church. We eat the Lord’s table where two or three are gathered together at the very least. The church life is a corporate life.

48 “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it.

The term foreigner is not racist. It is about a covenant. If you don’t have a covenant with God you have no business eating this feast. Circumcision is the Old Testament sign of the covenant. In the New Testament the sign is that God has circumcised our heart with the cross of Christ. You must embrace the cross and take up your own cross if you wish to partake of this salvation.

49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.” 50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.

And that is the key, fear God, obey his commandments. Do exactly what the Lord commands and the Lord will bring us out when He raptures the church.

 

[ZNP]

Acts 4:1-20 -- Is it right to listen to you?

4 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

One of the first questions you ask yourself after getting saved is why are so many greatly disturbed by the apostle’s teaching?

5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family.7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

The builders are supposed to be the experts and the cornerstone is the most important stone for the entire building. It establishes the lines for the walls so they are straight and so that the building is in the proper place. These experts rejected Jesus as being a stone fit for the wall, and yet He has become the cornerstone. That really makes you question whether or not they know what they are doing. Consider this last election, there are people in the media who are supposed to be “experts”, talking heads concerning national security, diplomacy and economy. Look at how fast everything has come undone with Biden. Look at how quickly they are ready to admit he is not mentally fit to be president. They were supposed to be experts, not choosing Trump will expose them the same way rejecting Jesus exposed the phony religious leaders.

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

These rulers were able to rule by intimidating those who were uneducated. There are many rules about what clothes you can wear, what the fibers can be made of, how you should behave if you put on new clothes, new clothes should be inspected to make sure they don’t have improper fibers, which arm should put on the shirt first, which shoe you should tie first, what clothes to wear of the Sabbath, on holidays, on intermediate days, while praying. Altogether there are 613 rabbinical commandments. You would need a degree to know all of them and making a mistake in these is a simple way to see that someone is uneducated and therefore unqualified to be a leader. Yet three years with Jesus and they are no longer intimidated by this.

14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

This is what I find so interesting, why did they feel threatened? Why did they feel they must “stop this thing from spreading any further”?

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

That is the answer! Why does anyone listen to these guys? They are the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law. Why does anyone care what they say? The reason is that we believe they are giving us the word of God. Once people have to ask “which is right, to listen to you or to listen to God” the entire edifice they have constructed collapses. This is the fundamental question that Jesus’ ministry forces you to ask. Prior to this Emperors, Kings, Pharaohs, and Caesars all claimed divine right. They claimed they were speaking for God. Once this question began to be asked Kings coordinated with Priests. Kings would claim a holy war and the Priests would back them up. The laws would have a legalized slavery and the Priests would justify this in their preaching. But this question by Peter was echoed by Martin Luther, and throughout this age. We have come to realize that the rulers played us when they told us the crusades were a holy war. We were played when they told us that the Vietnam war was a war to protect the US from communism. We were played when they told us that Iraq was responsible for 9/11 and that they had weapons of mass destruction. This age has been about being with the Lord and learning to stand on our own two feet and to stop being played by everyone claiming divine right to rule. This question that Peter asks is very similar to what God told him on the mount of transfiguration: “this is my beloved Son, hear Him”. Peter took that to heart and so asks these rulers

“Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you or to Him?”

This is what was so revolutionary about Jesus ministry. If Jesus is Lord then the rulers, elders and priests better be one with Jesus, otherwise why should we listen to them?

 

[ZNP]

Acts 4:21-37 -- This age began with a conspiracy against Jesus?

21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. 23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’

We are about to see the nations rage, right now they are plotting in vain. If we can stand on our own two feet then all these leaders become superfluous. In the New Testament leaders are servants, they are very different from the leaders you have in the world. What is happening today, people are questioning why we need to listen to them? If you are a taxpayer you are paying for the police department. If the police department is not protecting and serving you, then why are you paying for them? This is the same question Rosa Parks asked. This is the same question every boycott asks. We pay for the federal government to serve and protect us. If they are sending our kids to go overseas and die in wars so that some oil company or defense contractor can get rich, why are we listening to them? The CDC is supposed to keep us safe from Pandemics. SARS was a potential pandemic in 2004, they should have developed a vaccine for it. We now think that being exposed to SARS in 2004 made some countries much safer from the Covid19 pandemic, this is why Vietnam and Taiwan were not impacted. If the CDC had a vaccine for SARS they could have given this to us this summer and we wouldn’t have this catastrophe with colleges and schools reopening. If they are not doing their job why are we paying them?

27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

They will always brand these as “conspiracy theories” and connect them to crazy conspiracy theories. But Peter tells you right here that this age began with a conspiracy against Jesus. Historians have shown that Hitler conspired to seize power in Germany and then to start WWII, the US conspired to ramp up the Vietnam war with a phony claim of an attack on our Navy. Bush conspired to falsely accuse Saddam of having Weapons of Mass destruction to get that war. JFK was killed by a conspiracy to change US foreign policy. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. We are being set free to stand on our own two feet and to be able to hear the voice of God’s beloved Son.

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

This word will shake the earth. What is happening in Beirut and Belarus and Portland will take place across the entire globe. People are asking “why should we listen to you?” That is earth shaking. And, people are being filled with the Holy Spirit, and they are speaking the word boldly.

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Right now we are in the midst of an economic disaster. China is on the brink of a famine, however, they have cash and will buy up food from around the world. That in turn will cause third world countries to have a very deep famine. The real issue is not that there isn’t enough food, the real issue is that it isn’t shared equally. The richest 1% own 44% of the world’s wealth. That is the real problem. The church can weather this storm by sharing everything they have.

 

[ZNP]

1Timothy 4 -- What is the apostasy?


1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

Let’s discuss what these demons teach. First, they will negate the necessity of faith in Jesus to be saved. As long as you do what you think is good then that is OK. Second they will undermine the faith in one God and Father. Since God is the God of all then “all Gods” are referring to this God. This is a direct contradiction to the word of the Lord that He is the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by Him. They will deny specific commands and laws in the Bible like capital punishment. This is arrogant and opens the door for anyone to treat God’s word in a way that you can pick and choose what you will receive and what you will reject. They will teach people to commit fornication. They will teach ecumenism as a way to short circuit preaching the gospel. On the surface ecumenism sounds good, the oneness of all Christians. But when someone denies the faith once for all delivered to the saints, that is not something you can tolerate. So what they are really teaching when they say “ecumenism” is to tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and teaches my servants to worship idols and commit fornication. That is what these teachings are doing. Also, instead of referring to preaching the gospel as preaching the gospel they call it “proselytizing” and condemn it as unfriendly. This is a big deal, you must not share the gospel with atheists, you must respect the “freedom of religion” of every person. So preaching the gospel is now “disrespectful” of someone’s freedom not to believe. Along these lines they teach you to worship in silence, just like Paul said, they worship dumb idols that make you dumb. They will teach there is no hell, that Islam and Judaism and Christianity all worship the same God. Again, blurring the lines of the gospel in an attempt to deceive the elect. They will undermine the faith by referring to certain passages in the Bible as “magic” and “God is not a magician”. They will confuse and distort what the Lord did on the cross. Jesus bore our judgement for sin on the cross. He didn’t commit sin, but He bore the full judgement for the sin that we have committed. In that way He has paid the full price for our redemption. But they will distort that and say Jesus became a sinner for us, it isn’t our sin, it is His. In this teaching liberating us from sin becomes liberating us to sin. They will undermine marriage and reject God’s condemnation of homosexual acts.

2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.

We see certain sects forbid the priests and nuns to get married. This sounds holy and chaste, but what has happened is that about 25% of priests do have sexual relations with other adults. As a result you have a serious problem. Either you don’t have enough priests or you cover up this behavior. This teaching pushes many priests into committing fornication which in turn compromises their ability to condemn sin. Then you have pedophile priests. If they excommunicate the pedophile priests they might in turn expose the priests who are committing fornication, so the whole house of cards comes down. So instead they simply shuffle the pedophile priests around from parish to parish. This teaching promotes a religion of lies, deceit, hypocrisy and evil.

4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

This becomes a distorted and twisted view of the Bible. God doesn’t forbid priests to marry, the Bible doesn’t, but because the Catholic church does people then think that God does. That in turn makes everyone think that if they are married they are somehow less holy or less consecrated to God. The backlash is what we are seeing now with an all out assault on God and the Bible.

6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

The worldly society is filled with godless myths. Santa Claus, Halloween, horror movies, zombies, vampires are all examples of godless myths. Don’t have anything to do with them.

8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Train yourself like someone going to the gym. We have put our trust in the living God who is the savior of all people. That is why we preach the gospel, that is why we speak of the Lord, that is why we teach people to repent of sin, that is why we obey the Lord’s word. We do His commands because we love Him and know Him. We know that He is the savior of all people and we want all to receive Him by faith and repent of their sins.

11 Command and teach these things.

The deceiving spirits mock the idea of “command these things” they even attempt to discourage you from teaching these things.

12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.


The Lord is coming and until He does come we need to devote ourselves to these things: public reading of scripture, preaching and teaching.


15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.


The more diligent we are the more we will progress. It is like the guy who goes to the gym and works out. When we preach and teach and read scriptures it can save those who hear, but it will also save us. Doing this is a salvation to you first and foremost.

 

[ZNP]

2Timothy 3 -- Unveiling impostors

3 But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come.

It is very interesting to me that there appear to be two completely different narratives playing out on the internet. There are those who are compiling video footage of natural disasters, strange phenomena and economic indicators claiming these are grievous times, and then there are those who are telling us it was just like this in the 70s, nothing to see here.

2 For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

and yet Paul doesn’t talk about disasters or signs in the heavens, he talks about how men will have become shameless. I am going to illustrate this using Trump to illustrate how we know that these are grievous times. Therefore, to avoid the appearance of favoring one candidate over the other I feel I do need to say something about Clinton and Biden first. My point has nothing to do with who to vote for, I see no hope for any government other than Jesus. Instead I see this as evidence that we are in the grievous times of the last days. In the 2016 election we knew that as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had violated laws when she set up her own server for her emails. As Secretary of State those emails were often referencing State secrets. If anyone working for the State department had done this they would have been fired and prosecuted for a felony. So to commit this crime and then ask us to vote for her as though it was a simple mistake, that was an outrageous insult. There is an involved process people go through to get security clearance and they are fully educated on how serious it is to violate it. The idea that she didn’t know that she was violating that was insulting. After Trump was elected they went through years of investigations to see if he had colluded with Russia. During this time it was confirmed that Russia had indeed interfered with the election and had also hacked the DNC’s server. These facts condemn Hillary even more, it is as though they were pointing one finger at Trump and three fingers were pointing at them. She had to know that there were Russian and Chinese hackers working for those countries to hack into multinational corporate servers. As Secretary of State she was privy to the up to date intelligence on these hackers. How is a government employee going to afford to keep their server secure from them when fortune 500 companies can’t keep their servers secure? As for Biden Kamala Harris said during the campaign that she believed the women who alleged sexual misconduct by Biden. If that is true then how is it a few months later she is willing to run on the same ticket with him? The point I am going to make is not how bad Trump is but how grievous the times have become. If you support Trump then you should also be able to realize that if he did not have these personal failings and flaws he would have been reelected. Almost all those who dislike Trump dislike him for these reasons.

Lover of self —

During the pandemic over 150,000 Americans have died, many more have become extremely sick. People have lost their jobs, and may lose their homes. Yet Trump complains about what the pandemic is doing to him, that this was some evil plot to keep him from being reelected. There is some evidence of this. But when he said this there was no proof this was true, so it comes across as completely narcissistic.

Covetous —

"The beauty of me is that I'm very rich." Donald Trump.

Boastful —

"I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created." Donald Trump

haughty

"My Twitter has become so powerful that I can actually make my enemies tell the truth." Donald Trump.

railers

“Ariana Huffington is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man — he made a good decision.” Donald Trump.

disobedient to parents

Trump encouraged Americans to disobey governors orders concerning social distancing, masks, and the shut down of business.

unthankful

On Thanksgiving Trump was asked what he was most thankful for and he said he was most thankful for himself.

unholy

"I've said if Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her." Donald Trump.

without natural affection

"What is it at 35? It's called check-out time." — Trump on relationships with women.

implacable

Obama once made a joke about Trump, since that time he has been implacable concerning Obama.

slanderers

"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best. They're not sending you, they're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they're telling us what we're getting." Donald Trump.

without self-control

"I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” Donald Trump

fierce

"You have to dominate," he said. "If you don't dominate, you're wasting your time." concerning the police response to protesters. Trump has been fierce in his response to protesters while disregarding mayors and governors who wanted to be empathetic.

no lovers of good

"Before a show, I'll go backstage and everyone's getting dressed, and everything else, and you know, no men are anywhere, and I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant and therefore I'm inspecting it...You know, they're standing there with no clothes. And you see these incredible looking women, and so, I sort of get away with things like that." Donald Trump talking about beauty pageants that he runs.

traitors —

Trump has publicly ridiculed the claim by the FBI that Russia interfered with the election, putting his support behind Putin. Again, evidence has been released that strongly supports the claim that the US government is full of traitors.

headstrong

Trump said that Coronavirus would go away. In January he said “we have it totally under control” and in February he said “we pretty much shut it down” and that the number of cases were “going down, not up”. He was asked about that in an interview March 31st with CNN and He continued to argue that this was true.

puffed up

"Our country is in serious trouble. We don't have any victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don't have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let's say China, in a trade deal? I beat China all the time. All the time." Donald Trump.

lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God

"All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me--consciously or unconsciously. That's to be expected." Donald Trump. This is not the case of a single man being evil and corrupt. There are shock jocks on the radio who are equally contemptible. Why are they popular, that is the real question? This is how we know that these are grievous times. 5 holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away. There are people who are very successful at having great ratings on their TV shows or radio shows, or even in getting elected to office. They have certain skills. But there is nothing sanctified or holy about them. Turn away from them.

 

[ZNP]

2Timothy 3:6-17 Furnished completely unto every good work

6 For of these are they that creep into houses, and take captive silly women laden with sins, led away by divers lusts, 7 ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. They will not help you come to the truth.

Your lusts are not truth. Embracing sin does not release you from the guilt of sin. You can learn a thousand things and never come to the knowledge of the truth. Jesus is God incarnate, full of grace and truth. Come to Jesus and you will come to the knowledge of the truth.

8 And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith. Donald Trump and Howard Stern are like Jannes and Jambres, the two magicians that withstood Moses when God sent him to Pharaoh saying “let my people go”. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be. 10 But thou didst follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience, 11 persecutions, sufferings; what things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: and out of them all the Lord delivered me.

Nothing is more repulsive than someone who presents the teachings of the apostles but doesn’t follow their conduct. People feel more betrayed by them. In a sense Trump and Stern are like a reaction to that, they feel they are more honorable because they are fully transparent about being contemptible. On the other hand when we find someone who is a man of purpose, faith, longsuffering, patience, persecutions, and sufferings. Then we want to learn about their conduct and their teaching. The documentary “The Last Dance” did a wonderful job of presenting Michael Jordan as a man of purpose, faith, longsuffering, patience, persecutions and sufferings. As a result many are learning from his conduct. How he trained, what his mindset was. They are now following his teaching.

12 Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

You need to set your mind to live godly. Once you do you will suffer persecution because your life is a testimony against those who would live a sinful life. It is shining a light, exposing their darkness, and it is salt, killing the germs.

13 But evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

The false prophet is an evil man and an impostor. We have had many false prophets like Judas and Balaam. But they will get worse and worse. I like this verse “deceiving and being deceived”. They are so good at deceiving others they wind up deceiving themselves as well. The basic teaching is that men do not get cast into the Lake of Fire until the Great White Throne judgement. And yet, in the book of Revelation it appears that the false prophet is already in the Lake of Fire prior to the Great White Throne judgement. The only way I can explain that is that the false prophet deceived himself. When the believers were brought before the Judgement Seat of Christ to be judged he must have felt that Jesus had made a mistake and that he should be included with them. The Lord accommodated him and at that point sent him to the Lake of Fire. They deceive themselves into thinking they are actually believers.

14 But abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 and that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: 17 that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

 

[ZNP]

John 14 -- Come now, let us leave!​

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

There is a place for each one of us in the Lord’s house. You may feel like a stranger in a strange land in the world, but in God’s kingdom there is a place. You don’t have to live a life that you think will please others. To be forgiven, to be free from sin means that we are free to make known what God has done in our lives and revealed to us. Our experiences of the Lord make a place for us in His kingdom.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

The rapture is an essential part of the gospel. Many have distorted this message to be that we will live with the Lord in Heaven. But what is He saying? He rose from the dead, He ascended into Heaven with a purpose to prepare a place for us to also join Him. We are following in His footsteps, He had an earthly ministry we have an earthly ministry.

4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

He rose from the dead, we will be raptured. Not only the living but the dead in Christ will also rise and be raptured.

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus let His experiences of the Father shine through in His ministry. In the same way if people see your ministry then they should know Jesus and see Jesus.

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority.

Real freedom, real liberty is when your head is covered. When I speak the Lord’s words I am free. If you don’t like it, if it offends you, it isn’t me that is offending you, it is the Lord. Your issue is not with me, it is with God. In one very short life Jesus changed the age, He changed the world. Yet the words He spoke, He didn’t speak on His own authority. He came from God the Father with a message from God the Father and spoke the words of the Father with the authority of the Father.

Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

God promises us that His word will not return void. Aspire to speak God’s words and those words will be powerful and effective.

11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

The strongest, most compelling evidence was the resurrection of the dead. That is why I say the rapture is an essential element of the gospel. Jesus told them beforehand that He would be raised from the dead and they didn’t know what He was talking about. In the same way we tell people about the rapture and they don’t know what we are talking about. But, when it happens then they will know and they can repent and believe.

12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

What should we ask? Not my will but thine be done. We should pray that God’s name would be sanctified, and that the Kingdom would come.

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.

Never has this been more obvious. There isn’t even an attempt to embrace the truth. I don’t want to get political because the only savior I see is Jesus. If you think a man is going to save you whether he is Republican or Democratic you are deceived. But the media doesn’t even pretend to be fair and balanced anymore. Turn on CNN and you will hear how terrible the last thing that Trump did is. Turn on Fox and you will hear how great that very same thing is. There is so much going on these days in the world and yet the “news” from the “major media outlets” are only focused on one message, either “Trump is bad” or “Trump is good”. The world has no clue what truth is.

But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

There is a lot of focus right now on “the end times” and “prophecy” and the rapture and dreams and visions. But everything boils down to one thing, on that day we are in Christ, in God, and Christ is in us as the hope of glory.

21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

This chapter began with “do not let your hearts be troubled”. Calm down, pick up the word of God, take one of His words, let it dwell in you so that you become its keeper. You don’t need to try and keep the entire Bible, start with that one little word that the Lord has already spoken to your heart. George Mueller got one little word about seeking the kingdom first and all the other things would be added to him. Based on that one little word he started an orphanage and trusted the Lord to always supply and the Lord always did. His entire ministry was based on that word.

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

Why is it that the Lord reveals Himself to some and not to others? It depends on their heart. You can know their heart because if they obey the Lord’s teachings it reveals they love Him, if they do not obey His words it reveals they don’t. These words aren’t His, they are the Father’s. So if you keep these words you love the Lord and the Father.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Isn’t that funny? He is sending us a lawyer to teach us everything He said. Not a prosecutor, but an advocate, someone who will help guide us while we endure the accusations of Satan. This is the best way to learn about the power of the cross, the Lord’s redemption, and how He has freed us from the power of sin.

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.

Once again this is why it is important for us to share our testimony before it happens, share our faith, let the world know about the resurrected savior and our hope of glory.

30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming.

Have we seen that the prince of this world is coming? People talk about 2020 being the “year like no other”. Yes there have been a lot of natural disasters, fires, protests, and pandemic. But what really makes this year stand out to me is the total inability of the world to know the truth or speak the truth. Why? Because they refuse to obey the Lord’s commands and to speak the truth requires that they confess they were wrong and repent, and turn again to God. Why can’t they do that? Because they don’t love Him.

He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

The world is going to learn a lesson. We needed an advocate to teach us about Satan, the accuser of the brethren, and to guide us into all the truth. The world needs a great tribulation to learn that the Lord Jesus loved the Father and that they need to do exactly what He commanded us to do.

“Come now; let us leave.

 

[ZNP]

John 15:1-14 -- Jesus Christ, the biggest revolutionary of this age

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

This is what each of us needs to find, “the true vine”. For example, on Youtube I look for true channels that tell me the truth. Recently my brother told me I should subscribe to the NY Times because they were the standard bearers for journalism. But when I investigated a little I was very uneasy with the large number of cases of plagiarism, and being used as a propaganda mouthpiece. But what really was the final straw was their use of Miles Taylor as an anonymous source while portraying him as a high level administrative official in Trump’s administration. When I read their stories I thought for sure he must be Pence, or Pompeo, or the Chief of Staff. No, it was “Miles Taylor” someone no one had ever heard of and that was because he was a nobody. Once I realize that they willfully distribute false and misleading information to pursue their own agenda, I cut them off. Jesus was the true vine, not all the "main stream" media of the time, not the Scribes, not the religious officials, not the Roman officials, Jesus.

2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

I like how Youtube is set up this way. You can subscribe to those channels that you see as bearing fruit, you can unsubscribe to those that bear no fruit, and you can get alerts every time one of these channels does put out a story.

3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

Yes, these words clean us of our ignorance, biases, opinions that are not well founded in facts, etc. It is essential for a democracy to operate, for us to exercise dominion, that we have a word that cleans us.

4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

So this word “remain in Me” is huge. All the phony baloney media are trying to do is to get you to step outside of Jesus Christ. When you are screaming curse words and hate you have stepped outside of Jesus Christ. There is a spiritual battle going on, the front lines of this battle is on the internet. If the internet is disseminating the truth, if the true vine is growing on this platform, then Satan’s kingdom will fall. I have discovered that many of the channels I subscribe to are “shadow banned”. What does that mean? Well, let’s say you are interested in stories about a particular topic. There is an algorithm in Youtube that is supposed to recognize that and then recommend other channels that you might like based on your viewing history. To be “shadow banned” means their algorithm will not recommend that channel regardless of how likely it is that you would like it. If this doesn’t work to shut those channels down then they will censor their posts or their channel. If you are subscribed to a channel you will still see them when they are “shadow banned”. Most of these channels will have their own website so even if they do get censored as the NY Post did, you can still go to their website. But this is the battle today because without a free press with the truth on some channels we cannot possibly have a democracy. To remain in Christ is similar to being inside of a tank in the middle of the battle.

6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

Those that don’t remain in the Lord are like those who are rioting and looting. They are going to be picked up, convicted and thrown in prison. You did not remain in Christ. Jesus Christ is the biggest revolutionary of this age. If you want to make a stand for justice, you need to follow Jesus.

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Prayer is crucial. I recently saw a news article from a publisher that I did not trust. They said that armed Trump supporters had surrounded one of these vote counting locations in Arizona. So I searched and found a video of the event and saw hundreds, maybe thousands of Trump supporters kneeling in prayer outside of the station, praying that every legal vote be counted. Shortly after that prayer it came out that there is a glitch in the software that Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania uses that “accidentally” switched 6,000 ballots for Trump to Biden. That is a strange glitch, and it is great that they have discovered it, even though it was after they “called Michigan for Biden”. Still there is plenty of time to figure out what is wrong and fix it and check the results of all the other states as well. If you want the election to reflect the will of the people, then ask and it will be done for you. Even months after the inauguration we have many trials over the election going to court. Its not over until the Lord says it is over.

8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

There were a lot of comments on that video commending those people for praying peacefully and glorifying God.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

If you remain in Christ you have no choice but to remain in His love. You want the election to reflect the will of the people regardless of who they voted for. There is no hate speech against Democrats, or Republicans, or anyone for their political beliefs. Jesus died for all of us to be saved, not just one small clique.

10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

How do we remain in Christ? We keep the Lord’s commandments, those keep us in His love, and that in turn keeps us in Him. Speak the truth in love. The word of God is truth.

11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Our joy will be complete when we are all one, when we have a glorious testimony of Christ in us, and when we bring in the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

Once again, in the middle of the battle it is very hard to do that. According to many media outlets anyone who votes for Trump must be a racist. There are those who are totally deranged because 50% of the country apparently voted for him. On the flip side the corruption that has been revealed in the Biden family is appalling. So what are we to do? Let’s remember the Lord Jesus and the love He expressed when He lay down His life for us. It was a monkey trial, He was scourged and then crucified. In the end He said “forgive them for they know not what they do”. We do know we are being lied to, we do know that the corruption in the government is deep, but even so it is a very dark path we are on and it seems at the very least 50% of us are deceived. So those of you who are sure you know the truth forgive the other ones for “they know not what they do”.

 

[ZNP]

John 15:15-27 You also must testify

15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

There is an interesting prophecy I read yesterday in Hosea 13. Although this is my interpretation it seemed to me he was saying that Biden’s apparent victory in this election would be like the dew on the grass which disappears when the hot sun rises. It would be like smoke disappearing out of a window. That is confusing because just like Daniel 8 said Trump is an impudent man with a brazen face. So then wouldn’t God be against him? Perhaps God will use him to bring a judgement on the mighty (Hosea 13) where all the wicked have become so common.

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

My prayer is that the church will stand strong against the stratagems of the evil one, we will be strengthened with might into Jesus Christ who has been made head over all things.

17 This is my command: Love each other. 18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

This makes sense but it also means they are really big liars. The world refers to those who deny Jesus Christ, deny His kingdom, deny His word, and yet the reason they hate us is because the Lord has chosen us out of the world. The world is always pitching a sales pitch about how great the world is, but in reality they know it is a hellish rat race and hate us because we have been chosen out of it. Now imagine what happens after the rapture? That will certainly enrage them! According to Paul once the Holy Spirit steps aside then the man of lawlessness is truly revealed. Once again there is a spiritual battle going on between these Christians who will be raptured that are filled with the Holy Spirit and those who are filled with the spirit of the antichrist. The rapture will reveal this spiritual warfare for all to see.

20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

There are those who are voting for Biden hoping it will end the persecution. This is like Neville Chamberlain’s policy of appeasing Hitler. You do not appease a bully. In my experience I channel my inner “badger”. If a full grown bear comes across a badger that badger will fight for all he’s got. It seems crazy that this tiny animal thinks he has a chance, but look at it from his point of view. Maybe I will die, but I can take out the bear’s nose or his eyes. Is it worth it to a bear to lose an eye over a small snack?

21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

Jesus Christ is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. If you are in Christ and expressing Christ you will express this Lion, even if you are the size of a small house cat.

22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

This is why we must stand strong and speak. Jesus is speaking through you to them.

23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.

If you are in Christ and they hate you, then they hate the Father also and you know exactly where they are coming from, the spirit of the antichrist.

24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

According to the account in the gospels the priests knew that an angel rolled away the stone and Jesus resurrected from the dead. They knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Yet they paid the soldiers money to spread a lie. We are seeing the same thing today. The FBI knew that Biden was guilty of a number of sins but kept quiet. They knew they had evidence that would exonerate Trump during the impeachment but they kept quiet. We are seeing a lot of lies and at the same time those who are holding down the truth in unrighteousness. This is the evidence of their guilt and sin that will convict them at the Great White Throne judgement.

25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

There is a purpose to what is going on. What we are seeing today with this “polarization” is to make it very clear who gets raptured to heaven and who gets tossed in the fire.

26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.

Right now we need to pray that the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father will come and testify.

27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

If you want to be in Christ, in His love, then you must keep His commandments and one of them is that you must testify.

 

[ZNP]

John 16:1-22 -- Take heart, I have overcome the world

1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.

We are seeing this now. The censorship on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. For example, someone posted a notice about setting up peaceful protests concerning the election called “stop the steal” and Facebook took it down claiming it would incite violence. The mainstream media is portraying the concerns of election fraud as the ravings of unstable people, or baseless claims, or paranoid poor losers.

3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.

We were warned. Their claims of “diversity training” and “inclusion” does not include Christians, it does not include people who believe the Bible is the word of God and that Jesus is Lord.

I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me.

When the Lord was here on the Earth He was a bubble. We could be covered and protected by Him. But now that He is going to the Father in Heaven He is now Lord of all with all authority and all power given to Him for the church.

None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

This is how you grow, how you mature. We were like little children watching Jesus and learning from Jesus. But now, we learn by doing. The Spirit will be inside of us, guiding us, and He refers to this Spirit as “the advocate”. The Spiritual battle is a legal battle. We will be accused and tried by Satan with the Spirit as our advocate, this is the very best way to be led in the truth.

8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin,because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

The Spirit is “the Advocate”. He is our defense lawyer. Satan will attack us, accuse us, and He will defend us. They will accuse of sin, but that is because they don’t believe in the Lord. This is what they did concerning Saint Stephen, they accused him of teaching contrary to their religion because they didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah. The resurrection and ascension of Jesus convicted them of unrighteousness. All those who had sentenced Jesus to death stood condemned. We are seeing this play out again. All of these phony reasons for censoring Christians, these are false accusations because they don’t believe that Jesus is Lord. When the rapture takes place and we go to the Father they will be condemned concerning righteousness. At that time the “prince of this world” will stand condemned. All those involved in election fraud, all those involved in the corruption that Hunter Biden’s laptop reveals, or that the money laundering with Swiss banks reveals, or that the investigations into the CCP’s business dealings with US government contacts reveals, or even those involved in the Epstein crimes reveals. They will all stand condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

There is so much to this we need to be guided little by little and step by step. Just with election fraud alone the size and scope is massive. Each polling place is to allow observers, yet they have gone to great pains planning and preparing to violate that law. There is evidence that the computer program designed to count the votes was written so that a certain portion of the votes for Trump would be assigned to Biden. The ballots have to be filled out with pen and cannot read a sharpie and yet there were polling places handing out sharpies so that the ballots would be disallowed. All of this planning indicates they knew that Trump had a huge lead in the polls at exactly the same time all their polls were telling us exactly the opposite, that Biden had a huge lead. Those who were counting the ballots were sent home an hour early at 4 am even though the shift ended at 5 am. While they were gone 130,000 votes for Biden were delivered. There are postal workers who are acting as whistleblowers that their bosses are taking ballots that arrived on Nov 4th and postmarking them with Nov 3rd so that they will not be disallowed.

14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Jesus is Lord, the gospel has gone out throughout the entire world. As a result we have born again believers who are everywhere in this evil age. They work for the post office, they work in polling stations, they work counting votes, they work writing software. The problem with a massive fraud like this is that you cannot keep it secret.

16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

He meant that He was going to be crucified dead and buried. Then after 3 days He would rise from the dead victorious and that Satan would be put to an open shame.

19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

This will not be because of Trump’s power or might. Rather this will be because of thousands of people walking by their conscience who are making a stand. They believe in Jesus so they will stand against sin. They are clothed in righteousness which is why they are raptured to the Lord. They are not afraid of the ruler of this age because he stands condemned.

21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

The rapture is likened to a woman giving birth to the manchild who is then caught up to God.

22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

The age began with Jesus being the firstfruit, the firstborn, and it ends with the harvest, with us following Him.

 

[ZNP]

John 16:23-33 Ask and you will receive

23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

So then let’s ask. Let’s pray that our brothers and sisters who witness sins will stand against it and testify concerning the sins. Let’s pray that our brothers and sisters will stand strong in this day, holding onto the warnings that the Lord has given us. Let’s pray that all these things will be done to the glory of God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son. Let’s pray that we would be faithful to overcome the accuser of the brethren by the blood of Jesus Christ and by the word of our testimony. Let’s pray that God would turn our weeping into laughing, our grief into joy.

25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” 29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

To see that Jesus' words from 2,000 years ago are a light to my path today, yes, that strengthens my faith that He came from God.

31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

That happened at the beginning of the age, but now we have a second chance, I pray that this time we would stand with the Lord.

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

[ZNP]

John 17:1-10 -- How does anyone look at this and not glorify God the Father?

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come.

The Bible says that God declares the end from the beginning. Think how amazing it is that 10 billion years ago the universe came into existence, and at 3915 BC we see the first sign of the woman crowned with the 12 stars, clothed in the son, in travail to give birth to the seed of the woman which will bruise the serpent’s head and then at the end we see the same sign September 23, 2017. The sign has appeared twice, at the beginning and at the end. But at the same time there was a total solar eclipse, signifying God’s judgement on the world, and this eclipse went directly over Washington D.C. So way back when God knew that America would be where it is and Washington D.C. would be the capital. But it is more than that, we had 4 blood moons signifying God’s judgement on Israel on Passover and Sukkot in both 2014 and 2015. It is a sign that the hour has come and Israel will be judged for not recognizing the Messiah when He was crucified on Passover.

Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

We were taught to pray “Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name”. Glorifying Jesus, fulfilling all the prophecies concerning Him, that glorifies God’s name. The fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that He had to spend a season in Egypt, that He would be betrayed, that they would pay 30 pieces of silver, that it would be used to buy the Potter’s field, that He would be falsely accused, hated without a cause, crucified with criminals, buried with the wealthy, that His hands and feet would be pierced, that they would gamble for his clothes, that His bones would not be broken, etc. This glorifies God the Father. Passover is a Holy convocation, that means it was a rehearsal for the Lord’s sacrifice. They examined Him the way the Jews were instructed to examine the lamb, they sacrificed Him at the same time they were to sacrifice the lamb, they laid Him in the tomb, the sinless one, at the same time they were to sit and eat the feast of unleavened bread, and He rose from the dead at the same time they were to wave the sheaf of the firstfruits. How does anyone look at this and not glorify God the Father?

2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

That is the point. Jesus is Lord. He is Lord of all, but the Father has not given Him everyone for eternal life. Paul said that the end would not come until there was an apostasy (falling away from the faith) and until the man of lawlessness was revealed. Jesus is the bright and morning star, you aren’t going to see the bright and morning star until after the long, dark night is over. The apostasy refers to the church. Pergamum had the false prophet, Balaam teaching to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication. We have to have teachers in the church telling people they can disregard the word of God and enticing people to sin. Jezebel was even worse with the “deep things of Satan” and by the time you get to Sardis the church is ready to die. Laodicea is puffed up and proud even though they are blind, naked, and poor. This is the apostasy, it is essential, otherwise you would not get faithful servants like Antipas who they killed, nor would you get the church in Philadelphia composed of saints who had been forced out of the apostasy. Some Christians tolerate and make excuses for the false teachers, the faithful ones can’t do that. There are also those in the world denoted by “the lawless one”. He is an “anti” Christ. His glory is in his shame. Jesus glorified the Father, he glorifies himself. At the crucifixion the world chose the lawless one over the man of righteousness. So that choice will blossom into full fruit by the end of the age.

3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

So then, who is raptured, what is the criteria to have your name written in the Book of Life? Simple, have to know God the Father and Jesus Christ. If the Lord does not know you then the door will be closed in your face.

4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

There is a basis for us to pray “Our Father, in heaven, hallowed by thy name”. These aren’t empty words, there should be works that accompany your faith.

6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

This is how we know, and how God knows that we are the Lord’s. We have a revelation of Him and we obey His word. The apostasy will go into great detail about how you don’t have to obey certain words in the Bible, ‘you don’t have to believe this’ and ‘you don’t have to do that’. Not only do they disregard His commands but they teach others also to do that.

7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.

This is the work that Jesus did, He gave us God the Father’s words. He lived them out, He was the express image of those words just like the rays of the sun express the sun and a wax mold of a key expresses the key. Compare that to the apostasy, the light within them is darkness, great darkness. They haven’t been conformed to Christ, they have been conformed to the world.

They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

Right now all the believers should be joining with the Lord to pray that we would be found faithful at His appearing.

10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

This is the point, His church should express Him, glorify Him. There is no glory coming to the Lord from the apostasy. There is no glory when various “Christian preachers” are caught in sin and scandal. There is no glory to the Lord from the pedophile priests in the Catholic church.

 

[ZNP]

John 17:11-27 A Blast from the Past

11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

Once again, it is essential to not only have those who are faithful followers of the Lord but also those who betray Him like Judas. We did not have the crucifixion of Jesus until the false prophet, Judas, was revealed. We did not have Jesus crucified until the monkey trial of the world was revealed. The trial was lawless and it is essential the man of lawlessness be revealed before the Lord returns.

13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

It is amazing, why does the world hate Christians? There is no doubt that they do, not just in the US but all over the globe. Why? Because we have His word. The word is light, the word is salt. They can’t do what they want to do until that word is taken out of the way. The world realizes they are restricted, exposed, and hindered by that word. But once it is taken out of the way the brakes will be off of the lawlessness. Then the world will see who it is they have chosen for themselves.

15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

The word changes you, it sanctifies you, it makes you holy so that you could be in the presence of God.

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

This is a prerequisite. How can you believe that the Bible is the word of God if you don’t believe that God sent Jesus. It is impossible for the Bible to be the word of God if God did not send Jesus. So step one is to believe that God sent Him. When I was a kid I thought surely God is the God of the Old Testament, you just can’t deny that. But, Jesus, a man, He is God? That just seemed too unlikely. Getting a revelation that Jesus was truly sent by God was my repentance. Confessing that Jesus is Lord was my salvation.

22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

This is what the world is craving. Can’t all these warring parties just calm down, let’s resolve this peacefully. No, only in the church can we do that. We have believers who have come from every background, every corner of the earth. The church in Philadelphia is a lampstand set on a hill showing what true oneness is.

24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory,the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

He wants you to be raptured. It isn’t about what you do as much as what He does. He is praying for you. People want to know “what must I do to be saved”. Very often in the Christian life the things we do are what keep us from being saved. Believe in Him, trust His word, don’t lean unto your own understanding.

25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Isn’t this amazing? The complete revelation was made known 2,000 years ago and yet He continues to make known to us every day for the last 2,000 years!

 

[Ahwatukee]

John 14 -- Come now, let us leave!​

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

There is a place for each one of us in the Lord’s house. You may feel like a stranger in a strange land in the world, but in God’s kingdom there is a place. You don’t have to live a life that you think will please others. To be forgiven, to be free from sin means that we are free to make known what God has done in our lives and revealed to us. Our experiences of the Lord make a place for us in His kingdom.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

The rapture is an essential part of the gospel. Many have distorted this message to be that we will live with the Lord in Heaven. But what is He saying? He rose from the dead, He ascended into Heaven with a purpose to prepare a place for us to also join Him. We are following in His footsteps, He had an earthly ministry we have an earthly ministry.

4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

He rose from the dead, we will be raptured. Not only the living but the dead in Christ will also rise and be raptured.

You are correct in that, it is true that we are following the Lord. It is important that we pay attention to the context of the scripture. The truth is, that Jesus announced that there were many rooms in His Father's house. And that He was going there (to the Father's house) to prepare places for us. Since we know that Jesus ascended to the right hand of God in heaven, then we know that the Father's house is there, as well as those rooms. The the Lord said that He was going to come back to get us so that where He is, we (all believers) may be where He is, which again is in the Father's house.

I Thessalonians 4:13-17 is a detailed account of John 14:1-3, where the Lord, whose voice will sound like a trumpet will say, "come up here" and the dead will rise first immortal and glorified. Where immediately after that, those still alive will be changed (transformed) immortal and glorified to meet the Lord in the air. At this point the entire church from beginning to end will be gathered in one place, where the Lord will then take the entire group back to the Father's house, that where He is we may be also.

This is the promise and His appearing to gather us is what His word tells us to be watching for and anticipating.

We are indeed going back to the Father's house, where will stand before the Bema seat of Christ to receive or lose rewards. And it is during this time where we the church, as the bride, will attend the wedding of the Lamb receiving our fine linen, white and clean, as described in Revelation 19:6-8. After this, the Lord will descend to the earth and we will follow the Lord out of heaven riding on white horses and wearing that fine linen, white and clean that we will have just received.

After that, we (believers in the church) will rule with the Lord on the earth during the millennial kingdom, as will the 144,000 and the great tribulation saints. It will be the remnant of Israel and those great tribulation saints (Gentiles) who make it alive through the entire tribulation period, who will repopulate the earth during the millennial kingdom.

 

[ZNP]

James 4 -- Come near to God and He will come near to you

4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

The authorities that exist are from God. If the chancellor’s regulation prohibits certain foods to be sold because they cause obesity and diabetes, well that is from God. These women who chose to sell certain foods that were prohibited have made themselves enemies of God.

5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?

Jealously! Brothers and sisters are flirting with the world? How shameful! Have a backbone. The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid. We have a promise

Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.

So stop allowing the enemies of God to push you around. What did God say to Job?

9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

Yes! The Spirit God has caused to dwell in us does have an arm like God, it does have a voice that can thunder like God. The church is that arm, the church is that voice! We are the Body of Christ! God longs that the spirit He has caused to dwell in us would be revealed, pulling down strongholds and everything that exalts itself against the name of God.

6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

There are snipers on all the rooftops looking for pride and arrogance. We need God’s grace and we won’t get it if we are proud, or self righteous.

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Many times when we are under attack we want to rebel. On the other hand if we do not respond we feel we are being subservient to the devil. The key is to “submit yourself to God” first. Whatever happens, take it as coming from the Lord. Submit to it, receive it as from the Lord. Then, if the Lord says to “resist the devil” do so.

8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.

If you are going to resist the devil there is one thing you have to do, nothing else is even remotely as important. Make sure you are standing with God. Think of yourself as the little lion cub and the Lord is the Lion. I hear the drums of war, where is God, let me get as close to Him as I can.

Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Secondly, you may be rescuing a lamb from the wolves. But even if that is true don’t be self righteous. You are a sinner saved by grace.

11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

One knee jerk reaction is to slander those who are giving you trouble. Jesus is Lord, not you. If you act as a judge you are usurping the Lord, the one who can save and destroy. Warfare is about balance, if you are usurping the Lord you are unbalanced.

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

This is a recurring theme in this book. Be a doer, not a spectator, not a hearer only, and definitely not a boaster. This verse demonstrates that the book of James is written to every one of us concerning the business we do. At this point we know what we ought to do. When I first started teaching I didn’t even know what I ought to do. What would be the most valuable use of my time, what is the least. But I also know that it depends on the Lord’s will. Hurricane Sandy was a major blow to what we thought we were going to do that year. 911 was a major blow to what we thought we were going to do that year. There are many things that have to go right even if I do everything that I ought to do. This pandemic has been a major blow to what we thought we would accomplish. So then, “if it is the Lord’s will my students regents exams will speak to this stigma to be taken up and cast into the sea and it will be done for them”.

 

[ZNP]

Proverbs 14:1-15 -- Even among fools righteousness is known

1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

For hundreds of years, ever since the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth rock, we have been building our house with our own hands. That has been the basic premise of the American experiment. But this year we are watching protests with rioting and looting, tearing down the businesses and houses in their city. We are seeing an economic shutdown by mayors and governors which is causing a mass exodus from the large cities. The number of change of addresses from those moving out of NYC has doubled. Seattle, Portland, Chicago, the list of cities who are tearing their house down is growing.

2 Whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly, but those who despise him are devious in their ways.

There is evidence of deviousness. If you want to donate to the Black Lives Movement they use a site that raises money for the Democratic party. The donation is not tax deductible and the money does not go to helping the inner city. In that sense the protests are political rallies for the Democratic party and they have put a “black face” on the riots and looting. If blacks destroy the neighborhoods of blacks then they will continue to be impoverished, their schools will continue to suffer, and they will continue to be manipulated. Generally when you are impoverished voter turnout is very low, yet in this election Detroit and Philadelphia both had extraordinary voter turnout approaching 100% or even more. How can this be? Well, evidence is coming out that the Democratic party has been stuffing ballots for every single registered voter in these cities. So here is their devious plan. I use felons, primarily people of color, to riot and loot in your cities under the umbrella of a “BLM protest”. The mayors allow this to happen preventing the national guard from coming to help restore order. Then in this environment of mayhem, confusion and poverty I have people get mail in ballots for every single registered voter and vote for the Democrat while the real registered voters are focused on trying to feed themselves. If they can oppress you enough so that you don’t vote, they will then vote for you.

3 A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride, but the lips of the wise protect them.

The mainstream media called this election, even though it is not their job to do that. Then they lashed out with pride when people did not respect their call. They have been shown to be fools. The most valuable asset to any news media is that people trust them to speak the truth. If they call the election and everyone ignores them and their words carry no weight then you will see their ratings plummet just as we have seen with Fox news.

4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.

Oxen make a mess. You can focus on that mess as the mainstream media did in focusing on Giuliani’s hair dye dripping down his face, but those oxen are the reason you will have an abundant harvest. The hearing in Gettysburg is evidence of an abundant harvest by these oxen.

5 An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.

Sydey Powell is a lawyer investigating the Dominion voting machines. In a press conference a week ago she said she would bring forth cases of “epic fraud” that would be “biblical”. The mainstream media poured out attacks that she had not given any evidence. A week later she filed cases in both Georgia and Michigan with 30 claims of fraud and a complaint that is 104 pages long. Many of the charges that she brought would apply to any state using Dominion voting machines which is either 28 or 29 states. The fraud does not merely apply to the Presidential election it will apply to the other races as well. Nor does it only apply to this years election, nor does it only apply to the US. These cases are epic and they are Biblical.

6 The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

Our comedians are “mockers”. They try to provide “wisdom” in their skits and jokes, but recently they have come up empty.

7 Stay away from a fool for you will not find knowledge on their lips.

So far we have seen a few ways to identify the fools. These protestors that are tearing down their own houses, these mayors who are destroying their own cities, and these fools who declared early victories in these elections only to be ignored.

8 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.

Recently the NY Times was exposed to have used a minor employee for the administration as an anonymous source, portraying him as a “high ranking official in the administration”. That was a deception, it is the “folly of fools”. When you see something like this you need to stay away from the NY Times because you won’t find knowledge on their lips.

9 Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright.

NTD, Newsmax, and the Epoch times have said they won’t call the race until the votes are certified by the state. They have been mocked by the mainstream media for this. But they are standing upright and that is where you will find good will.

10 Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy. 11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

You cannot judge the victor by who has the biggest bank account or the nicest house.

12 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

I have taught Forensic science for years and every year that I teach it I tell the students in the first week that if you can figure out a way to commit a crime that would leave no trace for forensic scientists to catch and prosecute you then you will get an automatic 100 for the course. No one has been able to do it. Voter fraud is the most glaring example of something that is easy for Forensic scientists to catch and prosecute. For example, how many states, how many polling places, how many ballots, how many people had to be involved? Now the penalty for all those people can easily be 10 years in prison for a felony that will destroy their lives and their careers. So suppose there are 1,000 people who were witnesses of some form of fraud or another. Ten of those people will come forward to cut a deal or because of conscience. Now if a person comes forward and says that he and two other guys were hired to stuff ballots it is easy for the government to flip those other two and you now have three witnesses against some guy who was the bag man. He will lawyer up and he will exchange his testimony for a reduced sentence. In this way one witness becomes five, and 10 witnesses become 50. They will tell you how the crime was committed and you can seize servers in Germany or voting machines in Pa. You can compare voting records, you can call people who supposedly voted in two states, or didn’t realize they had requested a mail in ballot. You can find dead people who voted, or people who used PO boxes as their home address. Soon the physical evidence and the witness testimony will be irrefutable and everyone involved will be cutting deals. This is how the house of the wicked is destroyed. This is why this path leads to death.

13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief. 14 The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good rewarded for theirs. 15 The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.

One person asked me how “all of sudden” the mainstream media could become untrustworthy liars? In 1976 the CIA wanted the United Press International to buy up a small news outlet in Florida which was a front for the CIA. This way the CIA could have press passes from UPI. My dad nixed the deal and was called into George Bush’s office. My dad told him that if he agreed to this deal Russia could then arrest UPI reporters calling them spies. Bush understood but said it would be very good for my Dad’s career if he would just look the other way. He didn’t and was forced to leave UPI. He went to the NY Times where at the same time they were putting up a big propaganda piece concerning the JFK assassination he again was forced to leave. The NY Times ran a short blurb about it on the front page saying that they had a fundamental disagreement on business practices. The idea that the mainstream media has just “suddenly” become a front for liars and thieves is ridiculous. This has been going on for decades. You need to give thought to who you get your news from. I don’t care if the guy has set up a tent on Youtube or Rumble. Are they upright? Do you find knowledge on their lips? If I see that a new agency deceives, even if it is “the highly respected” NY Times I stay away from them.

 

[ZNP]

Proverbs 14:16-34 Righteousness exalts a nation

16 The wise fear the Lord and shun evil, but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure.

How many hotheads are we seeing on news agencies like CNN? People like Whoopi Goldberg yelling “suck it up”? They think they are secure because they have bought into the lie that they are part of the majority and everything they speak is fine gold. Imagine what happens when it turns out that 80 million voted for Trump, less than 60 million voted for Biden, and once the truth is out half of those people regret voting for Biden. Goldberg will feel like the Titanic after it hit an iceberg.

17 A quick-tempered person does foolish things, and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.

The lawsuits in Pa, Ga, and Mi are all revealing evil schemes and those that devised them. When people discover that Kemp and other officials that were formerly respected devised these schemes they will be universally hated and reviled.

18 The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

There are simple people who had nothing to do with any of this but voted for Biden and thought he won. They are going to inherit folly, a big giant bowl of nothing. Likewise there are those who protested the fraud in these “stop the steal” protests. They may have appeared to be “poor losers” two weeks ago, but instead will be crowned with their insight and knowledge.

19 Evildoers will bow down in the presence of the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

This is what we are seeing now. Where is Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi now? How come Biden, Harris, Clinton and Obama are not having press conferences about these lawsuits?

20 The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.

Why is it that Biden can’t get any highly respected people vying for spots in his administration?

21 It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.

I saw this four years ago. They called 60 million Americans “deplorables” and “racists”. That is a sin. However, these “racist deplorables” were kind to the needy. As a result many minorities came out to support them. Trump gave to historically black colleges and he created opportunity zones. Prominent blacks came forward to give their support despite the nasty attacks they received. Hispanics appreciated his policies of making their neighborhoods safer, the rust belt appreciated his bringing manufacturing back, the pro lifers appreciated his judges, others appreciated his peace treaty with Israel. You help the needy, you get blessed.

22 Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.

Joe Biden told people at a campaign rally that he didn’t need their votes because he had the most extensive voter fraud team ever assembled (his honesty can explain why they tried to keep him locked up in the basement). But Trump planned with community leaders how to fix problems. How do we fix the problem with the border (no one talks about the wall because it is working). How do we fix the loss of jobs, how do we get out of these wars, how do we get a fair trade deal with China. So in return what did he find? Tens of thousands showing up to rallies saying “we love you” and when the election was stolen they stood up to have his back. He found love and faithfulness.

23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

This is what I cannot stand about many politicians. You love what they say, but in the final analysis it was only talk. They never did any of it.

24 The wealth of the wise is their crown, but the folly of fools yields folly.

This is a good description of this last campaign. Trump’s crown was the list of all the accomplishments and things he had done in four years. In every case it exceeded my expectations and in some cases wildly exceeded my expectations. Meanwhile the folly of all the talk from the democrats that had yielded nothing but poverty wound up yielding even more folly. Policies that had resulted in Detroit becoming a wasteland in a single generation were now being expanded into “the Green New Deal”. This “deal” involves trillions of dollars spent on renovating buildings and homes with what? With stuff built in China. The same people who sent the manufacturing to China want to now completely bankrupt the US by sending whatever we have left over to China.

25 A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful.

I am disgusted with the mainstream media. They talk about Flynn as though he is a traitor, but when that falls apart they move onto this “Steele dossier” and the Mueller investigation. When that turns out to be a fraud built on lies, they move on to this impeachment hearing, and on, and on. How many times do they get to lie to us before we throw them out?

26 Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.

This is the focus of these “stop the steal” protests. The US will be a refuge for our children. To the world the US constitution will appear as a secure fortress. We are not afraid of the mainstream media and their tongue lashings, nor are we concerned with the poverty stricken politicians who are nothing but talk and no action. We fear the Lord, we walk according to our conscience.

27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.

This fraud was a snare. If we had stepped into it China could have seized control of this country and destroyed our constitution.

28 A large population is a king’s glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined.

It now looks like Trump may have gotten 80 million votes eclipsing the previous record of 69 million by Obama. However, when that adjustment is made to the tally it will also show that Biden got closer to 50 million.

29 Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

Why all this rush to certify? Why are so many claiming that if Pennsylvania is not certified now democracy hangs in the balance? In 2016 Pennsylvania didn’t certify until December 12th, no one worried about democracy hanging in the balance then.

30 A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

There are people who in two or three generations have lifted themselves up out of poverty to be very successful and to live in peace. In contrast to them we see these people pounding their fists asking for reparations based on the conclusion of the civil war. This is envy and it will rot your bones.

31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

Rioting and looting and calling for “defunding the police” is oppression to the poor. If you are poor and live in the poorest neighborhood you need the police more than anyone.

32 When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.

Sydney Powell’s lawsuits against Dominion and Giuliani’s lawsuit against fraud is a calamity to those involved and will bring the wicked down.

33 Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning and even among fools she lets herself be known.

The funniest thing to me is to watch these fools and their responses “before and after”. Clinton saying before the election “under no circumstances should Joe Biden concede” and then castigating Trump for not conceding. Obama eulogizing Representative John Lewis for continuing to protest while in office and then insulting Trump for protesting the election.

34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people. 35 A king delights in a wise servant, but a shameful servant arouses his fury.

There are shameful servants involved in this fraud. You will see the fury of the king will be aroused against them.