Pretend actors-for-Jesus can quote Scripture, but their desires haven’t changed. They merely feel good that they now have religion, too. Their faith is not a central transforming reality; it’s an add-on to enhance their lives. They believe in a god made in their own image, not the true God of the Bible. They worship a cosmic genie who meets their needs and gives them what they want. They may call themselves servants of Christ. But in fact, they are masters, calling the shots, claiming what they want to claim and believing what they want to believe, and expecting God to come through for them. And when He doesn’t, they either blame Him for not being good or blame themselves and others for not having enough faith to get their way.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’Matthew 7:21-22
How different from the biblical description of us as slaves of Jesus Christ! Yes, the original word is best-translated slaves, not servants, and describes those who are sold out to His ownership and committed to doing whatever He calls them to do, including dying on His behalf should He so desire.
“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as slaves (servants) of God.” 1 Peter 2:16
We are also called children of the King, and there is a time when we will enjoy all the privileges of royalty. But now is not that time! Presently we experience some royal kingdom privileges, including constant and unhindered access to the One who sits on the throne. We can “come boldly before the throne of grace,” as Hebrews says. God’s Holy Spirit dwells within us. He has promised to provide what we need to serve Him (Matthew 6:25-32). But when it comes to enjoying all the material provisions living in the King’s mansion provides, we are not yet there.
We are still on foreign soil—hostile soil—where people are fighting against God’s kingdom. We are not just tourists or palace-dwellers; we are “strangers and exiles on the earth,” who are “seeking a homeland” (Hebrews 11:13-14), and longing for “a better country, that is, a heavenly one”.
“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:16
God has prepared a heavenly Jerusalem which John saw coming down from heaven onto the new earth which the Saints will inhabit after the White Throne judgement.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:1-3
What we need in our churches today are fewer actors and more sold-out followers of Jesus—converted people living lives centered on Jesus, the King of kings.
God is raising up leaders that are truly sold out to His purposes of making disciples. Find and connect with these leaders.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV).
“The Kingdom of God is not going to be advanced by our churches becoming filled with men but by men in our churches becoming filled with God.” —Duncan Campbell
Taken from another great article, Our Mission: Make More Disciples and Fewer Performers JULY 7, 2022 by RANDY ALCORN
Another great article from Jordan Peterson: Doctors & Psychotherapists: Butchers & Liars.
We are sacrificing our children on the altar of a brutal, far-Left ideology. The medical profession is crumbling in response to radical transgender activists says, Jordan Peterson. Gender is now entirely subjectively defined ignoring a person’s biology.
Please pray for the salvation of Jordan Peterson and also his daughter who has committed her life to our Lord. I am sure God has already used her to soften his heart but from some of his comments, he has not repented and surrendered his heart totally to God. Nevertheless, God is using him to speak the truth about the world’s state of depravity.
Jordan is shocked at the speed at which the world is departing from Judeo-Christian values. May he come to realise that what we are seeing unfolding is prophesied in God’s Word as preceding Jesus’ return to put things right.
Late last year pop-star Cardi B. rocked the music world with her ultra-vulgar song “WAP.” For the sake of all that is good and holy, I will not reproduce the song here.
Considering it reached number one on Billboard, we can only assume that the majority of young people have jettisoned all moral restraints, anything goes. There are now millions of people to whom nothing is sacred. Moreover, anything that has been traditionally viewed as heathen, barbaric or malevolent, is now not only open to pursuit and practice but to praise.
Those who have studied with any seriousness the phenomenon Immanuel Kant described as “das radikale Böse” (radical evil), will see in both the song and the meteoric rise of its creator, an embrace of what one philosopher called the theologia diaboli or “theology of the devil” (see F. H. Heinemann, Existentialism and the Modern Predicament, 205-214).
This is an important question as in the Bible, Jesus tells us that God judged the world with a worldwide flood about 4000 years ago now with just eight survivors. Even more important to us living today God tells us that future judgement of the unrepentant is coming when God will pour out His wrath upon the earth.
“You should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this, first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” 2 Peter 3:2-6
Many questions about Noah’s Ark and the Genesis flood are answered in this episode produced by Creation Ministries International. http://www.creation.com.
Mike Signorelli Senior pastor of V1 church in New York City addresses critics who might dismiss the need for Christians to seek deliverance, with some believing Christians are protected from evil and not in need of such spiritual healings.
But Signorelli said it’s important to differentiate between true believers — and those who attend church and haven’t allowed the Gospel to permeate their hearts and minds. (I would estimate as high as 50% of people in denominational churches are not saved. Moreover, the end-times parable of the ten virgins that Jesus told the disciples reveals this truth, all ten virgins were waiting for the bridegroom but only five were saved, Jesus told five of them “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”)
“Not everybody who claims to be a Christian is a Christian; there are people — and I meet them by the hundreds because I travel all around the world preaching and declaring the Gospel — who have never heard the gospel,” he said. “They’ve received Christianity, but they’ve never received Christ and importantly never received the Holy Spirit.”
Signorelli said it’s possible for these individuals to have confessed but to never have repented and to, in turn, struggle with the demonic realm.
Inside a Deliverance
As for what a deliverance (or exorcism) looks like, the only tangible example most of us have is what can be observed in films and movies.
Signorelli shared what deliverance looks like in his ministry, explaining how he starts by ensuring the Holy Spirit is permeating his life.
“I host the Holy Spirit, not just inside of me, but in the atmospheres of my life,” he said. “I believe that one of the greatest obligations I have, not as a pastor, but as a believer, is to host the Holy Spirit — I want to start with that.”
He said this simply involves leading a Christian life by forgiving others and living out the fruit of the spirit. Signorelli believes his focus on emphasizing Christian virtues in his own life helps fuel his ministry.
“I think one of the reasons why I see as many delivered as I do is not because the emphasis is on the devil but because the emphasis is on hosting the Holy Spirit,” he said. “It’s like when you open up the door to your room, and you have the light on in the hallway … the room is immediately overcome by the light in the hallway, and so … I’m constantly opening up the door to the Holy Spirit.”
It is this presence of the Holy Spirit that Signorelli believes “agitates” evil and brings it out of hiding.
The Problem Signorelli Sees With Some of Today’s Pastors
He believes too many preachers focus on their sermons and not on compellingly living biblical truth.
“So many ministers have gotten so good at preaching sermons, but they’ve spent more time honing the craft of preaching than they have hosting the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Beyond that, Signorelli said repentance is critical, pointing to the Old Testament examples of David and Saul. While both sinned and made errors, only Saul was “vexed by demons.”
“We know that David sinned, and we know that Saul had sinned,” Signorelli said. “David was quick to repent … We have the recorded prayers of David closing those doors. I would argue that Saul was unrepentant. He left that door wide open for long durations of time.”
The pastor said he believes a refusal to close doors to sin in Christians’ lives today can prove similarly problematic and lead to a need for deliverance.
“Maybe you have a repeated sin in your life that becomes the equivalency of leaving that door open, and now you’ve moved out of the David category,” he said.
Signorelli said one might discover he or she is struggling with the “flesh” and needs more discipline rather than deliverance. However, some issues can be demonic strongholds or a mixture of the two.
He said he’s seen his ministry explode recently and shared some of the deliverance stories he has witnessed. In one case, a woman felt hopeless after having ringing in her ear for years.
“After she received deliverance, the ringing completely stopped,” he said. “She was weeping. I have it on video. She was just weeping, couldn’t hardly believe [it].”
Signorelli shared other similar stories as well. Listen to the full episode for more.
Christians know God loves us all and does not want any to perish. The following Scripture, 2 Peter 3:9, is given in relation to the coming “Day of the Lord“. The Day of the Lord is when God pours out His wrath on an unbelieving world just as He did in Noah’s day. Both Isaiah and Joel are given this message for us, so we need to take it to heart.
The Day of the Lord
“For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low… And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day... And the idols shall utterly pass away. And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when He rises to terrify the earth.” Isaiah 2:12,17-18
“Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, forthe day of the Lord, is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations... The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes His word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?Joel 2:1-2,10-11
As mentioned, the following Scripture is given in relation to this coming judgement on “The Day of the Lord”.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.“2 Peter 3:9
Pro-abortion protestors outside the White House 9th July 2022
However, we are also told that few are prepared to humble themselves and repent of their rebellion against their Creator God. Just look at the faces of these young women. Do you think that they will come to repentance? They have no understanding of God and His Word.
David understood who controlled His life even before his birth.
“For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.Upon youI have leaned from before my birth; you are He who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.” Psalms 71:5-6
Jesus told us what the world will be like before His return to put things right and we are seeing the prophesied events playing out in our world NOW.
“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:12-14
The rule of the God of this World, Satan is coming to an end. As we see the prophesied lawlessness abound in a world that has turned its back on God we know we are in the time Jesus spoke of as a sign of His second coming to earth first to rescue His Saints and then to pour out His wrath on the unrepentant.
“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”2 Thessalonians 2:9
“”And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:12
“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him… Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 3-4
Are you prepared for the coming tribulation that will precede Jesus second coming? Even more important are you doing what God has called you to do in these last days? The Holy Spirit will guide your steps if you ask Him. Be like Micah, do as God directs you by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” Micah 3:8
A perfect storm of several problems is decimating the world food supply. It’s been called the biggest food crisis since World War Two. The World Food Program estimates that 285 million people face starvation. The head of the World Food Program, former South Carolina Governor David Beasley, says the world food supply already faced a catastrophe before the war in Ukraine. “We’re so short of funds already, and now with Ukraine, we’ve got 50% rations for people in Yemen. I’ve just cut 50% rations for eight million people. Niger, 50% rations, Chad 50% rations. And 50% don’t have anything, those who are in extreme need.”
Famine threatens 1.4 million children U.N. warns
The war in Ukraine is only the latest of many problems to hit the world food supply. Food costs were already high from soaring inflation and fuel costs. Fertilizer prices were 40 percent higher than before the invasion of Ukraine, which, along with high fuel prices, makes it too expensive for some farmers to plant crops this year. Beasley said.
In the U.S., Americans have seen food costs rise 10 percent over last year, the steepest increase in 40 years, which experts say will lead to an increase in malnutrition among America’s poor. In the developing world, however, it’s become a matter of life and death. War in Ukraine Takes One-Third of the World’s Wheat Off the Table. Russia and Ukraine together produce almost one-third of the world’s wheat. But Ukrainian farmers have been sidelined and Russian exports have been sanctioned. Beasley says.
Rev. Eugene Cho, president, and CEO of Bread For the World says the U.S. needs to do more to fight global hunger, asking Congress to approve $3.8 billion in supplemental emergency funding. Cho said, “Let’s just talk about Afghanistan, 98% of the population does not have enough food to eat. One million children under the age of five could die from malnutrition by the end of this year. In Yemen, eight million people are in dire need of food.”
Even Africa’s wealthiest nation faces a food crisis, according to Nigerian Agri-investor Imal Silva, who told us a majority of Nigerians are facing malnutrition. “Those that are most affected are the majority in the lower and middle class of society. Those that were living below a particular level of income would feel the pinch and that’s quite a large majority,” Silva said. Beasley warns that the world’s food crisis could spiral into a political crisis. “You’ve got catastrophe coming to catastrophe,” Beasley said. “So don’t be surprised if you don’t see destabilization in several nations over the next six to nine months.”
When the disciples asked Jesus when He would return to earth to put things right, He gave them many signs and warnings. Famines and pestilences (Covid and its many variants) were among these signs.
“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3
“Then He said to them, Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and pestilences.“Luke 21:10-11
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” Matthew 24:6-8
According to Gallup polls, the so-called American church is in decline. However, -Roger Olson, a scholar with a Ph.D. in religious studies who has studied American religious life (especially Christianity in all its expressions) for many years says that what is really happening is that new expressions of Christianity are popping up that are flying “under the radar” of critics who claim “the American churches” are losing members. People are flocking from many of the old, so-called “mainline” churches and many are attending new collective expressions of Christianity that may or may not be called “churches.” Throughout the South and Midwest thousands of “cowboy churches” are popping up. Most of them do not belong to any denomination or are only very loosely affiliated with, for example, a local Baptist association of churches. There are literally thousands of immigrant churches that are hardly noticed by the bean-counters. For example, the Redeemed Christian Church of God of Nigeria has at least seven hundred congregations in the U.S. I am told that many of these congregations are large and growing not only through immigration but also through evangelism and people leaving other churches to attend these.
Churches that are truly born again, Bible-believing churches are not in decline because they are empowered by the Holy Spirit and are doing what God has called them to do. They have a Biblical worldview and therefore know Jesus is returning to this planet in the not too distant future first to remove His Saints and then to pour out His wrath on an unrepentant lawless world and they are acting accordingly.
They also know what Jesus said about the time before His return. It will be a time of great tribulation for Christians as God deals with the rebellion both in the heavenly and earthly realms. Satan and His demons are finally cast out of heaven and Satan enters the Antichrist and increases persecution first Jews and then of the Saints.
“You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.” Ezekiel 28:15-16
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” Revelation 12:7-10
“Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows that his time is short!”Revelation 12:12
“And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.” Revelation 12:13-14
“Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” Revelation 12:17
God’s reasons for the Millennial Kingdom (www.millennialkingdom.net)
The purpose of the thousand-year reign is to allow for the fulfillment of the promises God made with Jesus, Israel, the Saints, and Creation to vindicate His Holy name. These Scriptures make it abundantly evident that God has unfinished business with Israel and this world, His creation.
“Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.“Ezekiel 36:22-24
“So, when they (disciples) had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” Acts 1:6–7
This verse clearly indicates that Jesus is yet to come to restore the Kingdom to Israel. The Millennium is the prophetic climax of God’s overarching redemptive agenda. His completed promises to Israel, found in the unconditional covenants, will be on full display before a world of believers and unbelievers alike.
Soon after the birth of the Body of Christ at Pentecost (Acts 2), Peter spoke these words to his fellow Jews from Solomon’s Portico
“Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you,Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Acts 3:10-21
“But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:23-25
The Messiah must reign over his kingdom until he has defeated all of his enemies. Once this is accomplished, Jesus will hand over the kingdom to the Father. When the Kingdom of God is handed over to the Father, it will be free of sin and death, identifying it as the Eternal State (Revelation 21:4, 8).
Promises to King Jesus
The Millennium is all about Jesus. He will reign supreme. “Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
In Psalm 110, David records the promises that God (The Father) made to Jesus. God the Father invites Jesus to sit at His right hand until He makes Jesus’ enemies a footstool. Jesus will rule over, judge, and shatter His enemies while His people worship Him freely. This combination of judging enemies and being worshiped by the faithful cannot happen in the eternal heaven, because in heaven there will be no sin or rebellion to judge.
In Daniel 7:11-14, Jesus is given dominion over all the people, nations, and languages before His enemies are permanently destroyed.
JESUS FIRST COMING TO EARTH
JESUS SECOND COMING TO EARTH
Promises to Israel
God’s covenant with Abraham was unilateral (one-sided) it was unconditional and it remains unfulfilled as does the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant.
The Abrahamic Covenant: Numbers 34:1-12 outlines the exact borders Israel is to possess; the nation of Israel has yet to encompass these specific boundaries.
“On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring, I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” Genesis 15:18-20
“Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Exodus 19:5-6
The legitimacy and authenticity of Judaism come from the fact that the entire nation was a part of the revelation. God spoke to the entire nation at Mt. Sinai. And these words that He spoke are yet to be fulfilled
Even before they went into the Promised Land Moses told them their entire checkered history, including their being cast out of the land and dispersed throughout the nations but also the end of the story when God would regather them and their Messiah will rule the nations and they will be a people, “holy to the Lord your God”.
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” Deuteronomy 28:1
“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,” Deuteronomy 28:13
“And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as He has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, and that He will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that He has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as He promised.” Deuteronomy 26:18-19
“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.” Deuteronomy 30:1-3
“And the Lord yourGod will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Deuteronomy 30:5-6
The Davidic Covenant: 2 Samuel 7 is the promise that God made to David that David’s heir would sit on the throne of Israel. Jesus is that heir, but He has yet to take His physical, political birthright.
The New Covenant: It outlines the promise that Israel as a nation will return to God and worship their Messiah. These covenants will be fulfilled during the 1000-year reign.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke… For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jeremiah 31:31-33
“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”Isaiah 59:21
The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation
Moses was told on Mt Sinai to speak these words to the people of Israel just before God spoke directly to the entire nation. Israel has yet to be that nation but it will fulfill this prophecy in the Millennium.
Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Genesis 19:5-6
Paul confirms all of these O.T. prophecies with these two Scriptures.
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way, all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”Romans 11:25-27
“Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Acts 3:19-21
MAP OF ISRAEL TODAY
MAP OF ISRAEL IN MILLENNIUM
Promises to the Saints
Daniel 7:11-14 says that Jesus will be given dominion over all the nations. The whole world will know God.
“for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:9
In addition to Jesus’ rule over the nations, His resurrected Saints will be given positions of authority to rule with Him.
“You were slain, and by your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10
“When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know thatthe saints will judge the world?” 1 Corinthians 6:1-2
Promises to Creation
Jesus’ sovereignty will extend beyond human political systems and into all of creation. The curse will be partially lifted. Animals will live in peace again in Israel.
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain.” Isaiah 11:6-9
“And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.” Isaiah 33:24
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;” Isaiah 35:5-7
This article by Megan Agnew appeared in The Weekend Australian 09/07/2022. My comments are in italics.
Billie Eilish: ‘I craved judgment… or criticism’ As a child she suffered ‘crippling separation anxiety. Now the most famous 20-year-old on the planet, Billie Eilish is finally getting comfortable in her own skin.
She has 11 billion views on YouTube, 47 million monthly listeners on Spotify, 44 million followers on TikTok and 103 million on Instagram.
Eilish is who she is largely because of the internet. At 13 she recorded Ocean Eyes, a song written by her older brother Finneas, which they posted to the online music platform SoundCloud. It went viral, landing a management deal and recording contract. Four years later Eilish hit the mainstream with the song Bad Guy, which they recorded in Finneas’s bedroom. It went to No.1 in more than 15 countries and became the planet’s best-performing single that year. She was 17.
Her music defies genre; a mixture of pop, rock, electronica, hip-hop and Peggy Lee jazz, with lyrics about Xanax, climate change, Invisalign braces, self-destruction, Uber ratings, and burying her friends. It is music for the generation who grew up on the internet, where irony is king and sincerity is lame. It is not ponytail-swinging pop about being a “hotgirlboss” but melancholic and twisted, tender and honest, music about the darkness of life – and her legions of teenage fans love it.
The lyrics of Ocean Eyes (video below) reveal a lot of the craziness of the world we are now living in. “I’ve been walking through a world gone blind”, “burning cities, napalm skies”, “I’m scared”. Also, what do these words even mean, “Can’t stop thinking of your diamond mind”, “Careful creature made friends with time”?
As with most young people God does not feature in her life at all.He is not given a thought. She has no concept of a Heavenly Father that loves her and seeks to be in a relationship with her.
Megan Agnew spoke about one of Billie Eilish’s concerts: “On stage she does not look very little at all, marching around with the jumped-up bravado of a boy, an electrifying sort of drag, dementedly crawling on her knees among projections of tarantulas, kicking the air in her trademark trainers while the screens behind her play footage of forest fires and droughts. “Stop,” goes one lyric, the crowd of mostly girls yelling in time, “what the hell are you talking about! Ha! / Get my pretty name out of your mouth!”
Eilish is known for her baggy clothes and upside-down version of beauty, dyeing the grown-out roots of her hair neon green. She started out like this because she didn’t want people to judge her body, which she has “hated” since she was a child. She self-harmed “because of my body”, she told Vanity Fair, and her body was a reason for her first depression at about 12. Today her insecurity is compounded by the scrutiny of the internet. On TikTok people speculate whether she is pregnant. When she was photographed in LA going to the shops in a vest top, she went viral for being “brave”.
How is her relationship with her body now? “Gurl!” she says, throwing her head back. “Nowhere good. My relationship with my body has been a truly horrible, terrible thing since I was 11.” This was the age she was diagnosed with Tourette’s, which can be “very exhausting”, she says, brought on in times of stress, manifesting in eye rolls, moving her ears and twitching her head back. “I love that my body is mine and that it’s with me everywhere I go,” she continues. “I kind of think of my body as my friend. My ugly friend! It’s complicated. But what are you gonna do?”
Eilish is cycling through all the insecurities of youth – in front of millions. She didn’t really know who she was “until, like, probably the end of 2019. Then Covid made me go right back down into the spiral of, who am I?” Her tour was postponed and she went home to LA. “I remember thinking, ‘I need to figure out who I am right now’. Then halfway through Covid I felt as if I was starting to have an identity again – Let’s do different things, let’s have different experiences. And then it happened again.” Another identity crisis.
Thank goodness Jesus is coming back soon to restore sanity to a world gone mad.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 