Summary of Bible references on the Rapture
- Thread starter ZNP
- Start date
-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
How to deal with a bully -- part 1
17 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
The valley of Elah is 24 km from Bethlehem where David lived. (That is a little more than 12 miles for Americans). Now imagine you lived 12 miles from the war taking place between your country and the Imperial rulers like we saw during the Revolutionary war in the US. You will be paying very careful attention to what is going on.
3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
This "giant" was the whole focus. He would have been all over the front page of the news. Six cubits is over nine feet tall when most men were less than six feet tall. It becomes clear from this story that winning this battle would completely focus on defeating this giant. Please note, he is wearing a helmet. This is important because most stories depict David holding up Goliaths head by the hair, but you wouldn't have been able to do that unless you first took off the helmet and I will point out that this makes no sense from the story. This is not trivial, learning how David lifted up Goliath's head reveals so much on how to defeat bullies.
6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
This would have been terrifying to anyone who was to fight Goliath. The way you fight is you have a "shield bearer" who would hold up a shield to protect you while you hurled your spear. Goliath's spear is so massive it would have obliterated the shield bearer. The spear head alone weighed about 11 to 12 pounds. It is like a cannon ball.
Rule #1
8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
When you deal with a bully you must do so on their terms. If you use some sneaky trick like a snake in the grass you may defeat the bully, but you will simply be viewed as the new bully. When you meet him on his terms and defeat him before all then you humiliate him to the uttermost, and you will not be seen as a bully but a champion.
Rule #2
11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
If no one was afraid there would also be no glory. We have a saying, if you want to be the champion you must defeat the champion.
Rule #3
12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
Again, let's consider this situation from David's point of view. He lives 12 miles away from the battlefield, that is like being on the other side of the city from it. His three oldest brothers are in the army and he travels back and forth from his father to the battlefield. Prior to this battle he was in Saul's house playing music. So he and his father are very much focused on what is going on there and no doubt he is well aware of Goliath. The third rule is you need to scout out the opponent. I was on a Pee Wee football team that was undefeated for two years straight. One of our key secrets is we scouted out our opponents, we had two guys who would go and videotape their games. The coach would then plan our strategy based on what they did. He would introduce us to their defense and make sure we understood our blocking assignments. He would show us their most important plays and draw up a defense to defend them. Our advantage was we fully knew our opponent before the game started. David knew exactly what he would face in Goliath and Goliath had no idea what he would face with David. That was an advantage for David, the element of surprise.
Rule #4
16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
This went on for forty days. I believe and I think I can provide evidence, that David was at home with his father Jesse training during those forty days to defeat Goliath. They had a brilliant battle plan which to my view could not have come from David but must have come from a much more seasoned person, Jesse. This is what everyone misses, you need a Jesse to come up with the strategy and game plan to defeat Goliath. He then will train David until they feel they are ready to execute the plan.
This is really hard on Goliath, everyday he goes out and wonders if there will ever be a fight. Wondering if anyone will ever show up to fight you is a tremendous weapon in psychological warfare. A great example of this is the chess match between Fischer and Spassky. Bobby Fischer forfeited the first two games of the match arguing about the cameras. It is very hard to prepare for a battle if you are wondering if there will even be a battle.
Fischer won two of the next three games, with a draw in game four. So after five games the match was tied and he went ahead in game six. That is the ultimate disrespect, he spotted Spassky the first two games and immediately showed it didn't matter. David also used this psychological attack as well showing great disrespect to Goliath.
This is the rule, you need to train, you need to design a game plan that employs surprise, and psychological warfare as well as physical warfare.
17 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
The valley of Elah is 24 km from Bethlehem where David lived. (That is a little more than 12 miles for Americans). Now imagine you lived 12 miles from the war taking place between your country and the Imperial rulers like we saw during the Revolutionary war in the US. You will be paying very careful attention to what is going on.
3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
This "giant" was the whole focus. He would have been all over the front page of the news. Six cubits is over nine feet tall when most men were less than six feet tall. It becomes clear from this story that winning this battle would completely focus on defeating this giant. Please note, he is wearing a helmet. This is important because most stories depict David holding up Goliaths head by the hair, but you wouldn't have been able to do that unless you first took off the helmet and I will point out that this makes no sense from the story. This is not trivial, learning how David lifted up Goliath's head reveals so much on how to defeat bullies.
6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
This would have been terrifying to anyone who was to fight Goliath. The way you fight is you have a "shield bearer" who would hold up a shield to protect you while you hurled your spear. Goliath's spear is so massive it would have obliterated the shield bearer. The spear head alone weighed about 11 to 12 pounds. It is like a cannon ball.
Rule #1
8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
When you deal with a bully you must do so on their terms. If you use some sneaky trick like a snake in the grass you may defeat the bully, but you will simply be viewed as the new bully. When you meet him on his terms and defeat him before all then you humiliate him to the uttermost, and you will not be seen as a bully but a champion.
Rule #2
11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
If no one was afraid there would also be no glory. We have a saying, if you want to be the champion you must defeat the champion.
Rule #3
12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
Again, let's consider this situation from David's point of view. He lives 12 miles away from the battlefield, that is like being on the other side of the city from it. His three oldest brothers are in the army and he travels back and forth from his father to the battlefield. Prior to this battle he was in Saul's house playing music. So he and his father are very much focused on what is going on there and no doubt he is well aware of Goliath. The third rule is you need to scout out the opponent. I was on a Pee Wee football team that was undefeated for two years straight. One of our key secrets is we scouted out our opponents, we had two guys who would go and videotape their games. The coach would then plan our strategy based on what they did. He would introduce us to their defense and make sure we understood our blocking assignments. He would show us their most important plays and draw up a defense to defend them. Our advantage was we fully knew our opponent before the game started. David knew exactly what he would face in Goliath and Goliath had no idea what he would face with David. That was an advantage for David, the element of surprise.
Rule #4
16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
This went on for forty days. I believe and I think I can provide evidence, that David was at home with his father Jesse training during those forty days to defeat Goliath. They had a brilliant battle plan which to my view could not have come from David but must have come from a much more seasoned person, Jesse. This is what everyone misses, you need a Jesse to come up with the strategy and game plan to defeat Goliath. He then will train David until they feel they are ready to execute the plan.
This is really hard on Goliath, everyday he goes out and wonders if there will ever be a fight. Wondering if anyone will ever show up to fight you is a tremendous weapon in psychological warfare. A great example of this is the chess match between Fischer and Spassky. Bobby Fischer forfeited the first two games of the match arguing about the cameras. It is very hard to prepare for a battle if you are wondering if there will even be a battle.
Fischer won two of the next three games, with a draw in game four. So after five games the match was tied and he went ahead in game six. That is the ultimate disrespect, he spotted Spassky the first two games and immediately showed it didn't matter. David also used this psychological attack as well showing great disrespect to Goliath.
This is the rule, you need to train, you need to design a game plan that employs surprise, and psychological warfare as well as physical warfare.
How to deal with a bully -- part 2
Rule #5
17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp of thy brethren;
18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
Training is over so Jesse gives David an excuse to go to the battlefield. Jesse is in charge of the timing, that is important. He makes sure David arrives in time to hear Goliath's challenge to the army. This is one example of why I think Jesse is the one with the plan. If a kid is going to go and challenge Goliath he will think everyone will cheer him and welcome him. Jesse understands that David's older brothers will not view this favorably. He also knows that the best time for David to get to see Saul will be after Goliath has challenged the army and no one has responded. These are things that an adult, an elder, and a father will understand but David wouldn't.
Rule #6
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
I believe David knew about Goliath, he told Jesse about Goliath and they trained on how to defeat Goliath for forty days. That does not mean that David knew about the reward that Saul had offered to the man who kills Goliath. The third rule is you must scout out your opponent, well rule #6 is you must be very attentive to everything that is going on during the battle.
Rule #7
27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
Do not ignore what people say even if you don't agree with it. Who in this situation knows David better than Eliab? In a previous chapter Samuel came to Bethlehem, ate with David's family and anointed David as the new King. What Eliab calls "pride" would be seen by others as courage, or faith. Eliab knows that David is planning to take on Goliath. David doesn't deny any of this, instead he points out "is there not a cause". He is saying, hey this isn't my ego, this is a need for the nation. The rule to learn here is out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. You can see into the heart of people based on the words they speak.
Rule #8
31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.
32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
You don't step straight into the championship fight without having trained. David makes it clear, he has won a few very big fights. He killed a lion and a bear. Those are formidable opponents. When my kids came to the US from China I knew they would stick out in Queens and Brooklyn. So I had them study Karate for three years and become black belts. As a result they never had any trouble with bullies in high school. You don't need to worry that the bully is bigger than you, the focus should simply be on being trained. Teddy Roosevelt said it was very important to learn how to fight because so few bullies actually know how to fight.
Rule #9
38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
When David says he has not yet proved them he is saying he hasn't trained with them. This tells you he has trained with the gear he does go into this battle with. It also tells you that he is comparing Goliath to a lion and a bear and has fashioned his strategy based on what has worked in the past. Now who trained David to take on a lion and a bear? Do you think Jesse just put a little kid out in the field to fend off lions and bears without any training? Prior to this battle David was brought into the house of Saul to play music because he was one of the most talented musicians in the country. Who trained him to play the instrument? Playing a musical instrument requires training just like fighting requires training. From this verse we can see that this is David's attitude. He isn't going to play a piece of music unless he has practiced it, and he won't go into battle with armor that he hasn't trained with.
Rule #10
40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
In the Art of War by Sun Tzu, a Chinese military strategist, we are told to never despise your opponent. To come out looking like a harmless shepherd boy with a staff (what Goliath calls a stave) is definitely part of Jesse's plan. He wants Goliath surprised, confused, and to completely despise David. In a minute you will see how brilliant this plan is, but let this picture sink in, a youth of fair countenance with a shepherds staff, appearing to totally disrespect Goliath.
Rule #5
17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp of thy brethren;
18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
Training is over so Jesse gives David an excuse to go to the battlefield. Jesse is in charge of the timing, that is important. He makes sure David arrives in time to hear Goliath's challenge to the army. This is one example of why I think Jesse is the one with the plan. If a kid is going to go and challenge Goliath he will think everyone will cheer him and welcome him. Jesse understands that David's older brothers will not view this favorably. He also knows that the best time for David to get to see Saul will be after Goliath has challenged the army and no one has responded. These are things that an adult, an elder, and a father will understand but David wouldn't.
Rule #6
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
I believe David knew about Goliath, he told Jesse about Goliath and they trained on how to defeat Goliath for forty days. That does not mean that David knew about the reward that Saul had offered to the man who kills Goliath. The third rule is you must scout out your opponent, well rule #6 is you must be very attentive to everything that is going on during the battle.
Rule #7
27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
Do not ignore what people say even if you don't agree with it. Who in this situation knows David better than Eliab? In a previous chapter Samuel came to Bethlehem, ate with David's family and anointed David as the new King. What Eliab calls "pride" would be seen by others as courage, or faith. Eliab knows that David is planning to take on Goliath. David doesn't deny any of this, instead he points out "is there not a cause". He is saying, hey this isn't my ego, this is a need for the nation. The rule to learn here is out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. You can see into the heart of people based on the words they speak.
Rule #8
31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.
32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
You don't step straight into the championship fight without having trained. David makes it clear, he has won a few very big fights. He killed a lion and a bear. Those are formidable opponents. When my kids came to the US from China I knew they would stick out in Queens and Brooklyn. So I had them study Karate for three years and become black belts. As a result they never had any trouble with bullies in high school. You don't need to worry that the bully is bigger than you, the focus should simply be on being trained. Teddy Roosevelt said it was very important to learn how to fight because so few bullies actually know how to fight.
Rule #9
38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
When David says he has not yet proved them he is saying he hasn't trained with them. This tells you he has trained with the gear he does go into this battle with. It also tells you that he is comparing Goliath to a lion and a bear and has fashioned his strategy based on what has worked in the past. Now who trained David to take on a lion and a bear? Do you think Jesse just put a little kid out in the field to fend off lions and bears without any training? Prior to this battle David was brought into the house of Saul to play music because he was one of the most talented musicians in the country. Who trained him to play the instrument? Playing a musical instrument requires training just like fighting requires training. From this verse we can see that this is David's attitude. He isn't going to play a piece of music unless he has practiced it, and he won't go into battle with armor that he hasn't trained with.
Rule #10
40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
In the Art of War by Sun Tzu, a Chinese military strategist, we are told to never despise your opponent. To come out looking like a harmless shepherd boy with a staff (what Goliath calls a stave) is definitely part of Jesse's plan. He wants Goliath surprised, confused, and to completely despise David. In a minute you will see how brilliant this plan is, but let this picture sink in, a youth of fair countenance with a shepherds staff, appearing to totally disrespect Goliath.
How to deal with a bully -- part 3
Rule #11
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands.
Without a vision the people perish. The battle is of the Lord and David is very clear on this. He is also clear that this is not just about killing Goliath but also to have a strong testimony that there is a God in Israel and to encourage and strengthen the assembly to put their trust in God. No one trains to fight a battle they feel is hopeless. It is crucial to begin with faith in God, putting all your trust in Him, and therefore I can train with that hope before me.
Rule #12
48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
Goliaths strengths become his weaknesses. Goliath was huge. He was much more powerful than David or anyone else in the army. But David turned that strength to a disadvantage. With all that heavy armor and a shield bearer having to move in front and set up in front Goliath was slow and a big target. I expect that David has trained at home against a target to simulate this attack. He could have set up a bullseye where Goliath's forehead would be and put up something to imitate the shield in front of him. He probably knew what the range of Goliath was with the spear. So he knew how far away to practice his shot from. He performs this the same way you would perform a piece of music.
Rule #13
51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
Shock and awe. Something happens here that you never see happen in any other battle recorded in the Bible. David cut's of Goliaths head, holds it up for the entire army to see, and you will see that several hours later after the battle is over he is still holding this head. One minute ago he was a harmless youth of good countenance, now he is a bloody monster, terrifying to behold and completely confusing to the enemy. This is another reason why I feel he had to have been trained by Jesse. A kid is just thinking about killing Goliath, a guy with a lot more experience is thinking about what happens next? You are all alone in the middle of a field halfway between the two armies. If the Philistines rush you then you will be killed. How do you signal to your army that Goliath is really, truly dead and how do you at the same time scare the Philistines into running away? A big ugly giant like Goliath is scary. But what is really terrifying worthy of the scariest horror films is when the pleasant looking kid who appears harmless is instantly transformed into a terrifying bloody monster. Jesse understood this is not just about killing Goliath but even more about winning the war.
Rule #14
52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
These battles are sword fights. David, after killing Goliath, is now at the head of the army leading the charge. He has taken Goliath's sword and he is using Goliath's head in the helmet as a shield. This way whoever he meets in the battle will immediately know this is the guy who killed Goliath. Leaving the helmet on makes it a better shield. But this brings us to a difficult question, how do you hold the head if you aren't holding it by the hair? The best way is to hold it by the neck. However, if you are going to do that you must carefully sever the head where the neck meets the shoulders so that you have plenty of neck to hold onto. Therefore David did not run up in a frenzy and just hack off Goliath's head. He carefully severed the head so that he could use it as a shield. This tells me the battle was planned out, and this kind of strategy is truly amazing. David is an amazing champion, but one reason he was such a great champion is that he was very well trained.
Rule #15
55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
In the previous chapter Saul had paid money to David's father to hire him as a musician in his court. Saul knew who David's father was. What Saul is saying here is "who trained this youth?" Think of Mike Tyson, anyone who watched Tyson fight immediately asked "who trained this youth?" People who are truly familiar with war like Abner, the captain of the host, or Saul, the king, can immediately appreciate great training and a brilliant battle plan.
Rule #16
56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is.
57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
If you ask Mike Tyson who trained him he'll tell you it was Gus D'Amato. If you ask Joe Montana who trained him he'll tell you it was his father. They asked David who trained him and he said it was his father, Jesse.
In my experience David is going to be fully focused on hitting Goliath with the stone. But a coach will be thinking about other things, how do I deal with the response of his jealous brothers, how do I get the king to let David fight, what is our strategy against a bigger and more powerful opponent, and what does he do when he is out there all alone, how do you deal with the Philistine army?
Rule #11
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands.
Without a vision the people perish. The battle is of the Lord and David is very clear on this. He is also clear that this is not just about killing Goliath but also to have a strong testimony that there is a God in Israel and to encourage and strengthen the assembly to put their trust in God. No one trains to fight a battle they feel is hopeless. It is crucial to begin with faith in God, putting all your trust in Him, and therefore I can train with that hope before me.
Rule #12
48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
Goliaths strengths become his weaknesses. Goliath was huge. He was much more powerful than David or anyone else in the army. But David turned that strength to a disadvantage. With all that heavy armor and a shield bearer having to move in front and set up in front Goliath was slow and a big target. I expect that David has trained at home against a target to simulate this attack. He could have set up a bullseye where Goliath's forehead would be and put up something to imitate the shield in front of him. He probably knew what the range of Goliath was with the spear. So he knew how far away to practice his shot from. He performs this the same way you would perform a piece of music.
Rule #13
51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
Shock and awe. Something happens here that you never see happen in any other battle recorded in the Bible. David cut's of Goliaths head, holds it up for the entire army to see, and you will see that several hours later after the battle is over he is still holding this head. One minute ago he was a harmless youth of good countenance, now he is a bloody monster, terrifying to behold and completely confusing to the enemy. This is another reason why I feel he had to have been trained by Jesse. A kid is just thinking about killing Goliath, a guy with a lot more experience is thinking about what happens next? You are all alone in the middle of a field halfway between the two armies. If the Philistines rush you then you will be killed. How do you signal to your army that Goliath is really, truly dead and how do you at the same time scare the Philistines into running away? A big ugly giant like Goliath is scary. But what is really terrifying worthy of the scariest horror films is when the pleasant looking kid who appears harmless is instantly transformed into a terrifying bloody monster. Jesse understood this is not just about killing Goliath but even more about winning the war.
Rule #14
52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
These battles are sword fights. David, after killing Goliath, is now at the head of the army leading the charge. He has taken Goliath's sword and he is using Goliath's head in the helmet as a shield. This way whoever he meets in the battle will immediately know this is the guy who killed Goliath. Leaving the helmet on makes it a better shield. But this brings us to a difficult question, how do you hold the head if you aren't holding it by the hair? The best way is to hold it by the neck. However, if you are going to do that you must carefully sever the head where the neck meets the shoulders so that you have plenty of neck to hold onto. Therefore David did not run up in a frenzy and just hack off Goliath's head. He carefully severed the head so that he could use it as a shield. This tells me the battle was planned out, and this kind of strategy is truly amazing. David is an amazing champion, but one reason he was such a great champion is that he was very well trained.
Rule #15
55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
In the previous chapter Saul had paid money to David's father to hire him as a musician in his court. Saul knew who David's father was. What Saul is saying here is "who trained this youth?" Think of Mike Tyson, anyone who watched Tyson fight immediately asked "who trained this youth?" People who are truly familiar with war like Abner, the captain of the host, or Saul, the king, can immediately appreciate great training and a brilliant battle plan.
Rule #16
56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is.
57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
If you ask Mike Tyson who trained him he'll tell you it was Gus D'Amato. If you ask Joe Montana who trained him he'll tell you it was his father. They asked David who trained him and he said it was his father, Jesse.
In my experience David is going to be fully focused on hitting Goliath with the stone. But a coach will be thinking about other things, how do I deal with the response of his jealous brothers, how do I get the king to let David fight, what is our strategy against a bigger and more powerful opponent, and what does he do when he is out there all alone, how do you deal with the Philistine army?
Jubilee is over, back to the slaughterhouse
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
When does this take place? We know that an angel goes through the heaven warning that if you take the mark of the beast you can't be saved, so this takes place during the tribulation when we will see angels and demons, but we also know that Christians are only here for the first half of the 7 year period so this must be before the mark is given during the first half of the tribulation.
However, the Antichrist is a counterfeit of Christ. What was the very first thing the Lord did at the start of His ministry?
4 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
After spending 40 days of fasting and being tempted of the devil Jesus came and declared the jubilee, deliverance of captives. Well the first thing the Antichrist is going to do is declare you all must take his mark or die. Jubilee is over, back to the slaughterhouse.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
When does this take place? We know that an angel goes through the heaven warning that if you take the mark of the beast you can't be saved, so this takes place during the tribulation when we will see angels and demons, but we also know that Christians are only here for the first half of the 7 year period so this must be before the mark is given during the first half of the tribulation.
However, the Antichrist is a counterfeit of Christ. What was the very first thing the Lord did at the start of His ministry?
4 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
After spending 40 days of fasting and being tempted of the devil Jesus came and declared the jubilee, deliverance of captives. Well the first thing the Antichrist is going to do is declare you all must take his mark or die. Jubilee is over, back to the slaughterhouse.
Let those who don't believe in the rapture continue in disbelief. Let those who believe in the rapture continue in that faith.
One day at God's appointed time we shall all learn who was right.
In the meanwhile, arguing to change others mind is arrogance, ego, vanity, pride, and deeply foolish.
One day at God's appointed time we shall all learn who was right.
In the meanwhile, arguing to change others mind is arrogance, ego, vanity, pride, and deeply foolish.
-
1
- Show all
Fools for Christ
Romans 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
This is a very interesting point, the people who claim to be wise have actually become fools. They think all their education and Phd's give them the standing to be "wiser" than everyone else.
Matthew 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
This is what we are seeing now. If you disagree with the elites about the vaccine mandate they call you a fool, a deplorable, etc. It is so clear today that all the censorship and insulting language is directed at anyone who would question the authorities. They hold themselves up as wise and yet they have become fools. Meanwhile the Christians and those with common sense are ridiculed as being foolish.
1Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
This is the crux of the matter. If you preach the cross of Christ, if you preach obeying Jesus word, if you preach that Jesus is Lord then it is seen as foolishness by the world. What makes a fool for Christ? You are one who honors the Lord's word to take up your cross and follow Him. There are many who claim to be the Lords but some Christians think it is foolishness to take up the cross. The Lord says if you do not do what He says then don't call Him Lord.
1Corinthians 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Remember this. God enjoys saving us through the foolishness of preaching. All of these proud and arrogant ones who claim to be so wise, God enjoys dealing with them by saving those who humble themselves to be saved by the foolish preachers.
1Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
Think about this. The rapture of the church in Philadelphia, the church with a little strength, the church that was reviled by the synagogue of Satan, that rapture will put to shame all of these ones who are wise in their own thinking. God chose them not because they were strong or because they were wise but because they obeyed the Lord's word, took up their cross and followed Him.
1Corinthians 3:18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise.
At some point all of us must learn this lesson just like Moses.
1Corinthians 4:10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ!
Who are those who are raptured? They are "fools for Christ".
1Corinthians 15:36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
That is the point, you want to be raptured, you want to "come to life" then know it won't happen unless you die to yourself first.
Romans 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
This is a very interesting point, the people who claim to be wise have actually become fools. They think all their education and Phd's give them the standing to be "wiser" than everyone else.
Matthew 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
This is what we are seeing now. If you disagree with the elites about the vaccine mandate they call you a fool, a deplorable, etc. It is so clear today that all the censorship and insulting language is directed at anyone who would question the authorities. They hold themselves up as wise and yet they have become fools. Meanwhile the Christians and those with common sense are ridiculed as being foolish.
1Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
This is the crux of the matter. If you preach the cross of Christ, if you preach obeying Jesus word, if you preach that Jesus is Lord then it is seen as foolishness by the world. What makes a fool for Christ? You are one who honors the Lord's word to take up your cross and follow Him. There are many who claim to be the Lords but some Christians think it is foolishness to take up the cross. The Lord says if you do not do what He says then don't call Him Lord.
1Corinthians 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Remember this. God enjoys saving us through the foolishness of preaching. All of these proud and arrogant ones who claim to be so wise, God enjoys dealing with them by saving those who humble themselves to be saved by the foolish preachers.
1Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
Think about this. The rapture of the church in Philadelphia, the church with a little strength, the church that was reviled by the synagogue of Satan, that rapture will put to shame all of these ones who are wise in their own thinking. God chose them not because they were strong or because they were wise but because they obeyed the Lord's word, took up their cross and followed Him.
1Corinthians 3:18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise.
At some point all of us must learn this lesson just like Moses.
1Corinthians 4:10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ!
Who are those who are raptured? They are "fools for Christ".
1Corinthians 15:36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
That is the point, you want to be raptured, you want to "come to life" then know it won't happen unless you die to yourself first.
Contaminated Food, Food Lines & No Food 01/18/2023
https://rumble.com/v263de6-contaminated-food-food-lines-and-no-food-01182023.html
https://rumble.com/v263de6-contaminated-food-food-lines-and-no-food-01182023.html
Mark 9 -- The Transfiguration
1 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
This word is different from Luke. In Luke they see the kingdom of God, while here they see that the kingdom of God has come with power (Luke 9:27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.) It is not the same rapture. There is one at the beginning of the tribulation which catches people by surprise and they don’t know how to explain it, hence “the great deception”. But this one will come openly and Jesus will come with great power. At this point the age of grace is over. Then you will have the eternal gospel for unbelievers and Israel will need to saved. Having seen Jesus come in power they will repent realizing the Messiah was rejected by them, “seeing Him whom they have pierced”. (For those who have missed this it seems that the three gospels -- Matthew, Mark and Luke are speaking to three groups. Luke is to the church which is taken prior to the tribulation, Mark is to the believers left behind during the tribulation and Matthew is to the Jews.).
The Transfiguration
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” 8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
Can we focus on the key point, this is my Son, whom I love, listen to Him. That is the message of the transfiguration, that is the message of the rapture. Christians who are left behind after the first rapture get this message loud and clear. The Jews who are left behind after this rapture get this message loud and clear. Recently I was quite surprised by someone named Stephen Dexter, he just dropped two videos in the last month that do a remarkable job of correlating the end time events. It was remarkable because he did not have anything prior to this and it was very well made. Pastor Sandy also continues to amaze with his exposition of the Hebrew revealing the message of the rapture hidden in the text and of course Dr. Barry Awe presents a tremendous Biblical basis for claiming the rapture will happen this year. I was reflecting on these three who have done a wonderful job of showing the Biblical basis to believe the rapture will take place this year (prior to Nisan 1). This is critical as one prophecy from the OT says that God doesn't do anything without telling His prophets. So it is important to bring out this point. But what interested me is I have taken a very different approach with the rapture barely even touching on the when, for that I simply post their videos. My focus is on what God says here "this is my Son, whom I love, listen to Him!" When I taught Earth Science in NY we had a state exam at the end of the year. Some teachers would have a poster in the room saying "52 days until the Exam" that they would update each day. I didn't do that. Knowing the date and the time of the exam is important, glad someone does that, but I figured if you weren't ready for the test what difference does it make if you are on time? Do you know the Son of God? Do you love Him? Do you listen and obey Him? Those to me are the main questions when preparing for the rapture.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.
That is confusing, I have looked at all the commentaries and no one can figure out what “rising from the dead” could mean
This is the way it seems many Christians talk about the rapture. I wonder, what could it mean?
11 And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” 12 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”
OK, so without a doubt Elijah comes first as one of the two witnesses. Is the other witness Moses? What does it mean “they come first”? If John the Baptist was Elijah who is to come does that mean they could be born and are walking around among us? Or do they descend from heaven (as the saints go up they come down)? There is a lot we don’t know, but what we do know for sure is that Elijah comes first.
1 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
This word is different from Luke. In Luke they see the kingdom of God, while here they see that the kingdom of God has come with power (Luke 9:27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.) It is not the same rapture. There is one at the beginning of the tribulation which catches people by surprise and they don’t know how to explain it, hence “the great deception”. But this one will come openly and Jesus will come with great power. At this point the age of grace is over. Then you will have the eternal gospel for unbelievers and Israel will need to saved. Having seen Jesus come in power they will repent realizing the Messiah was rejected by them, “seeing Him whom they have pierced”. (For those who have missed this it seems that the three gospels -- Matthew, Mark and Luke are speaking to three groups. Luke is to the church which is taken prior to the tribulation, Mark is to the believers left behind during the tribulation and Matthew is to the Jews.).
The Transfiguration
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” 8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
Can we focus on the key point, this is my Son, whom I love, listen to Him. That is the message of the transfiguration, that is the message of the rapture. Christians who are left behind after the first rapture get this message loud and clear. The Jews who are left behind after this rapture get this message loud and clear. Recently I was quite surprised by someone named Stephen Dexter, he just dropped two videos in the last month that do a remarkable job of correlating the end time events. It was remarkable because he did not have anything prior to this and it was very well made. Pastor Sandy also continues to amaze with his exposition of the Hebrew revealing the message of the rapture hidden in the text and of course Dr. Barry Awe presents a tremendous Biblical basis for claiming the rapture will happen this year. I was reflecting on these three who have done a wonderful job of showing the Biblical basis to believe the rapture will take place this year (prior to Nisan 1). This is critical as one prophecy from the OT says that God doesn't do anything without telling His prophets. So it is important to bring out this point. But what interested me is I have taken a very different approach with the rapture barely even touching on the when, for that I simply post their videos. My focus is on what God says here "this is my Son, whom I love, listen to Him!" When I taught Earth Science in NY we had a state exam at the end of the year. Some teachers would have a poster in the room saying "52 days until the Exam" that they would update each day. I didn't do that. Knowing the date and the time of the exam is important, glad someone does that, but I figured if you weren't ready for the test what difference does it make if you are on time? Do you know the Son of God? Do you love Him? Do you listen and obey Him? Those to me are the main questions when preparing for the rapture.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.
That is confusing, I have looked at all the commentaries and no one can figure out what “rising from the dead” could mean
This is the way it seems many Christians talk about the rapture. I wonder, what could it mean?11 And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” 12 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”
OK, so without a doubt Elijah comes first as one of the two witnesses. Is the other witness Moses? What does it mean “they come first”? If John the Baptist was Elijah who is to come does that mean they could be born and are walking around among us? Or do they descend from heaven (as the saints go up they come down)? There is a lot we don’t know, but what we do know for sure is that Elijah comes first.
Mark 9:14-29 Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” 19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
This reminds me of BLM movement. It is dominated by the young, they seem to be the child of the civil rights movement and yet they often will get involved in riots and doing stupid stuff. The movement is acting like it is epileptic with leaders who buy four big houses by scamming those who contribute and by using the non profit as a vehicle for campaign donations for the Democrats rather than for social change. And why are they taking this approach, it is just like what the Lord said “how long do we need to put up with this stuff”. They see someone killed on a youtube video and they are outraged. Six months later you learn more about the story that makes it more nuanced, but the damage has already been done. For example there was this famous story of a “Karen” in Central Park who called the police on a person in the park, presumably because he was a black man. Well as this went to court we learn that this man had threatened to hurt her dog and then pulled out a doggy treat. She understandably felt threatened, she was all alone, and she called the police. How did we learn this? He boasted about this on social media. He boasted about how he set her up and then videotaped her so that no one saw what had just happened to provoke her reaction.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
We are learning that they are teaching this CRT in elementary schools to poison our kids. They even promote kids becoming social justice warriors. Schools were taking the day off to let kids go to BLM protests. However, you check and the parents of these kids who were involved in the civil rights movement and have been working for justice and a free and fair society for their entire lives are the ones who realize they need help.
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
This is what we are seeing today, parents all over the nation are rising up to cast this CRT out of the schools and demand that it never enter again. They call it a "deaf and dumb" spirit. I saw a video of a man reading a book that was in the elementary school library. It was pornographic so they muted him. They refuse to hear and they they refuse to let people speak. It is a deaf and dumb spirit. The lesson is that the schools serve us, not the other way around. Which is why the Lord takes issue with him saying “if you can”. We need to realize we are destined to rule and reign, get rid of that attitude “if you can”. All things are possible to those who believe, we can speak to this mountain of a corrupt government to be taken up and cast into the sea and it will do what we say.
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. 28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
The spirit shrieked! We have seen that on the video too. The response of those responsible is that they shriek. So, it is simple, we need to be praying about the situation today. We are seeing victories everywhere. CNN has lost 90% of its viewers and has seen 5 key people resign or be fired. Facebook just lost 25% of its value in a single day. Twitter has lost 50% of its stock price over the last year. 30 Democrats said they would not be running for reelection. We are also seeing victories in state after state concerning election fraud. Recently a scandal in Virginia was exposed where the schools were not revealing the winners of merit scholarships. This damaged the students financially and with their college applications. It was unconstitutional. The proper response to what we are seeing is not complaining, it is praying.
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” 19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
This reminds me of BLM movement. It is dominated by the young, they seem to be the child of the civil rights movement and yet they often will get involved in riots and doing stupid stuff. The movement is acting like it is epileptic with leaders who buy four big houses by scamming those who contribute and by using the non profit as a vehicle for campaign donations for the Democrats rather than for social change. And why are they taking this approach, it is just like what the Lord said “how long do we need to put up with this stuff”. They see someone killed on a youtube video and they are outraged. Six months later you learn more about the story that makes it more nuanced, but the damage has already been done. For example there was this famous story of a “Karen” in Central Park who called the police on a person in the park, presumably because he was a black man. Well as this went to court we learn that this man had threatened to hurt her dog and then pulled out a doggy treat. She understandably felt threatened, she was all alone, and she called the police. How did we learn this? He boasted about this on social media. He boasted about how he set her up and then videotaped her so that no one saw what had just happened to provoke her reaction.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
We are learning that they are teaching this CRT in elementary schools to poison our kids. They even promote kids becoming social justice warriors. Schools were taking the day off to let kids go to BLM protests. However, you check and the parents of these kids who were involved in the civil rights movement and have been working for justice and a free and fair society for their entire lives are the ones who realize they need help.
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
This is what we are seeing today, parents all over the nation are rising up to cast this CRT out of the schools and demand that it never enter again. They call it a "deaf and dumb" spirit. I saw a video of a man reading a book that was in the elementary school library. It was pornographic so they muted him. They refuse to hear and they they refuse to let people speak. It is a deaf and dumb spirit. The lesson is that the schools serve us, not the other way around. Which is why the Lord takes issue with him saying “if you can”. We need to realize we are destined to rule and reign, get rid of that attitude “if you can”. All things are possible to those who believe, we can speak to this mountain of a corrupt government to be taken up and cast into the sea and it will do what we say.
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. 28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
The spirit shrieked! We have seen that on the video too. The response of those responsible is that they shriek. So, it is simple, we need to be praying about the situation today. We are seeing victories everywhere. CNN has lost 90% of its viewers and has seen 5 key people resign or be fired. Facebook just lost 25% of its value in a single day. Twitter has lost 50% of its stock price over the last year. 30 Democrats said they would not be running for reelection. We are also seeing victories in state after state concerning election fraud. Recently a scandal in Virginia was exposed where the schools were not revealing the winners of merit scholarships. This damaged the students financially and with their college applications. It was unconstitutional. The proper response to what we are seeing is not complaining, it is praying.
https://rumble.com/v268g9i-stan-interviews-shawna-mertel-gods-protection-in-trouble-01192023.html
Stan Interviews Shawna Mertel – God’s Protection in Trouble 01/19/2023
Did not expect this message but how timely. Everyone's world is about to be shattered. I am so impressed that the word that is clearly coming from the heart of God is a concern for those who have no idea what is about to happen.
Stan Interviews Shawna Mertel – God’s Protection in Trouble 01/19/2023
Did not expect this message but how timely. Everyone's world is about to be shattered. I am so impressed that the word that is clearly coming from the heart of God is a concern for those who have no idea what is about to happen.
The rider on a white horse has a plan
We have had whistleblowers familiar with these UN/Satanic councils planning the future. The masks were essential and it was essential to make them essential, because they could identify those who were not compliant and would not just go along like mindless drones.
The vaccine was essential because it showed how effective their fear mongering could be, would people line up for a kill shot when it should have been obvious from the data that this was not much worse than the common cold.
The plan is simple, one world government, one world religion all worshipping Satan and the antichrist, and one economy, one currency, and those in charge having absolute total control. In order to implement this they know they will need to take the world's population down a few notches, say get rid of 7.5 billion people.
But then they will have the power, the total, absolute, complete power!
We have had whistleblowers familiar with these UN/Satanic councils planning the future. The masks were essential and it was essential to make them essential, because they could identify those who were not compliant and would not just go along like mindless drones.
The vaccine was essential because it showed how effective their fear mongering could be, would people line up for a kill shot when it should have been obvious from the data that this was not much worse than the common cold.
The plan is simple, one world government, one world religion all worshipping Satan and the antichrist, and one economy, one currency, and those in charge having absolute total control. In order to implement this they know they will need to take the world's population down a few notches, say get rid of 7.5 billion people.
But then they will have the power, the total, absolute, complete power!
The Judge determined "she has suffered enough"
Suffering has a purpose, it has a goal, and it was after she had repented for all of her financial sins including ignorance that she got this judgment.
Apply this to the rapture. If you are left behind is it simply ignorance? You didn't realize? That also is a sin. Also, on the one hand when all these people are raptured they don't need to worry about mortgages, car payments, taxes, etc. But how about those who are left behind? The government will become draconian. The only way they survive is to take everything left behind.
Now consider this story, a prophet tells her that she will write a book and be on prophecy club. Then this happens to her. Now, with the Lord about to come she is on prophecy club. The Lord knows how shattering this experience is going to be to so many and he wants us prepared to go through the storm.
Suffering has a purpose, it has a goal, and it was after she had repented for all of her financial sins including ignorance that she got this judgment.
Apply this to the rapture. If you are left behind is it simply ignorance? You didn't realize? That also is a sin. Also, on the one hand when all these people are raptured they don't need to worry about mortgages, car payments, taxes, etc. But how about those who are left behind? The government will become draconian. The only way they survive is to take everything left behind.
Now consider this story, a prophet tells her that she will write a book and be on prophecy club. Then this happens to her. Now, with the Lord about to come she is on prophecy club. The Lord knows how shattering this experience is going to be to so many and he wants us prepared to go through the storm.