INVEST IN THE THINGS OF GOD – HE WILL REWARD YOU

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An old saying has it that, “You can’t take it with you.” Yeshua (Jesus) contradicted that adage by citing the common Jewish belief that resources given to the needy will be repaid and rewarded in the Messianic Era and the World to Come.

“Treasures in heaven” does not refer to literal treasure stored up someplace beyond the sky; instead, it means “treasure with God.” That is to say, “Invest in the things of God, and He will reward you.”

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A person who accrues wealth for himself risks losing that wealth. Life is temporary and uncertain. Thieves might steal. Time destroys. Wealth depreciates. James, the brother of the Master, expounds upon Yeshua’s teaching as follows:

“Come now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasures for the last days” James 5:1-3

How does one store up treasure with God? Yeshua says, “Sell your possessions and give alms. Provide yourselves purses that do not grow old, an unfailing treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” Luke 12:33-34

A man’s heart (that is, his mind, thoughts and intentions) will be focused on the accumulation of his wealth. If he has accumulated wealth on earth, his mind will be focused on earthly matters, but if he has invested in the things of God, his mind will be focused on matters of godliness.

In the Apostolic Era, the famous convert to Judaism, King Izates of Adiabene, sent an enormous sum of money to Jerusalem for famine relief. His brothers and countrymen criticized him for squandering the family inheritance. His reply, recorded in the Talmud, reveals influence from the teaching of Yeshua:

“My fathers stored up below and I am storing above … My fathers stored in a place which can be tampered with, but I have stored in a place which cannot be tampered with … My fathers stored something which produces no fruits, but I have stored something which does produce fruits … My fathers gathered for this world, but I have gathered for the future world” (Talmud Tractate Bava Batra 11a).

Daniel Thomas Lancaster is a writer, teacher and the Director of Education at the Messianic ministry of First Fruits of Zion (www.ffoz.org),

CORRIE TEN BOOM AND THE RAPTURE

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Corrie understood that the Bible does not teach a Pretribulation Rapture and try and explain it to the Christians in the Middle East and Africa who are already suffering intense persecution.

Isis beheading 21 coptic ChristiansCorrie wrote this letter in 1974 well before ISIS and the horror it is bringing upon Christians particularly in Syria and Iraq.

In America, the churches sing, “Let the congregation escape tribulation”, but in China and Africa and the Middle East the tribulation has already arrived. This last year alone more than two hundred thousand Christians were martyred in Africa. Now things like that never get into the newspapers because they cause bad political relations.
But I know. I have been there.  We need to think about that when we sit down in our nice houses with our nice clothes to eat our steak dinners.  Many, many members of the Body of Christ are being tortured to death at this very moment, yet we continue right on as though we are all going to escape the tribulation.
Several years ago, I was in Africa in a nation where a new government had come into power. The first night I was there some of the Christians were commanded to come to the police station to register. When they arrived, they were arrested and that same night they were executed. The next day the same thing happened with other Christians. The third day it was the same. All the Christians in the district were being systematically murdered.

The fourth day I was to speak in a little church. The people came, but they were filled with fear and tension. All during the service they were looking at each other, their eyes asking, “Will this one I am sitting beside be the next one killed?  Will I be the next one?”

The room was hot and stuffy with insects that came through the screen less windows and swirled around the naked bulbs over the bare wooden benches.  I told them a story out of my childhood.

“When I was a little girl, ” I said, “I went to my father and said, ‘Daddy, I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.” “Tell me,” said Father, “When you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?”

“No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train.” “That is right,” my father said, “and so it is with God’s strength. Our Father in Heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need – just in time.”

My African friends were nodding and smiling.  Suddenly a spirit of joy descended upon that church and the people began singing, “In the sweet, by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore.”

Later that week, half the congregation of that church was executed. I heard later that the other half was killed some months ago, but I must tell you something.  I was so happy that the Lord used me to encourage these people, for unlike many of their leaders, I had the word of God. I had been to the Bible and discovered that Jesus said He had not only overcome the world, but to all those who remained faithful to the end, He would give a crown of life.
How can we get ready for the persecution?  First, we need to feed on the word of God, digest it, make it a part of our being.  This will mean disciplined Bible study each day as we not only memorise long passages of scripture, but put the principles to work in our lives.

Next, we need to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Not just the Jesus of yesterday, the Jesus of History, but the life-changing Jesus of today who is still alive and sitting at the right hand of God.

We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is no optional command of the Bible, it is absolutely necessary. Those earthly disciples could never have stood up under the persecution of the Jews and Romans had they not waited for Pentecost. Each of us needs our own personal Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will never be able to stand in the tribulation without it.

In the coming persecution we must be ready to help each other and encourage each other.  But we must not wait until the tribulation comes before starting.  The fruit of the Spirit should be the dominant force of every Christian’s life.

Many are fearful of the coming tribulation, they want to run. I, too, am a little bit afraid when I think that after all my eighty years, including the horrible Nazi concentration camp, that I might have to go through the tribulation also.  But then I read the Bible and I am glad.

When I am weak, then I shall be strong, the Bible says. Betsy and I were prisoners for the Lord, we were so weak, but we got power because the Holy Spirit was on us.  That mighty inner strengthening of the Holy Spirit helped us through.  No, you will not be strong in yourself when the tribulation comes.  Rather, you will be strong in the power of Him who will not forsake you.  For seventy-six years I have known the Lord Jesus and not once has
He ever left me, or let me down.

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”, for I know that to all who overcome, He shall give the crown of life. Hallelujah!

Are you preparing for Jesus return? In the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 also in Mark and Luke)) Jesus told His disciples what it would be like prior to His second coming, and like Corrie understood, it will be a time of great tribulation when he comes and the angels “will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” We will not experience God’s wrath but we will go through tribulation.

 

GOD APPOINTS OUR LEADERS, INCLUDING DONALD TRUMP

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Rosh Hashanah 2015 to Rosh Hashanah 2016 brought us the 70th year of Jubilee and this unprecedented year of Jubilee brought us God’s choice of Donald Trump as President of the United States and Leader of the Free World.

donald-trump-2Trump at age 70 became elected President of this nation during the Hebraic year 5777. 

On inauguration day he will be 70 years, 7 months and 7 days old.

Because the Electoral College changed some votes it allowed Trump to end up with exactly 77 more electoral votes. 7 is the prime number of God and is why there are 7 spirits of God.

Outgoing president Barack Obama’s legacy-tainting final acts against Israel are an immediate, major proof that the insertion of Trump as President was an act of God. Trump is committed to supporting Israel and was outspoken about his intentions during the election campaign. For America, if Trump upholds his promise to support Israel, it means they will avoid many national catastrophes.

hugo-chavezFormer Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez publicly cursed Israel “from the depths of my intestines” and the next day began to feel intense intestinal pains that became a supremely rare cancer that took him out. In fact, 4 other South American leaders who shared Chavez’s views developed cancer in the same year, yet no one learned the lesson but instead blamed “the CIA” for spraying them with something that caused cancer. Two of those Presidents are now out of office and facing prison.

Israel may be tiny in the natural but it is absolutely huge in the matrix of the spirit world. Every global kingdom assignment begins with a proper reckoning of the preeminent place of Jerusalem and Israel. Every major, false doctrine starts with diminishing natural Israel and natural Jerusalem (“Replacement Theology” etc.). Every Antichrist spirit running among the nations begins with antisemitism at its core. For clarity’s sake, while it is not wrong to want Palestinians to be properly treated, any passion towards Israel giving up land or being furthermore diminished is influenced by an Antichrist spirit, and that’s whether you are a “Christian” or not.

“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, If I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.” Psalm 137:5-6.

For those who would diminish Jerusalem to “Old Testament” importance, remember that this is the very location that Jesus Christ was crucified.  The very idea that God could shed His literal Blood in a literal place and that that literal place could then descend into being only incidentally relevant is beyond comprehension.

There is a reason Jerusalem and its destruction is the desire of every principality. Destruction of Jerusalem destroys the master plan, and it is the master plan of our God that will guarantee Jerusalem’s future. There is also a guarantee that Jerusalem will ultimately be a place that reveals the salvation of God to the whole world—that guarantee is the spilled Blood of Jesus. You cannot understand the significance of the Blood of Jesus if you do not know how to also apply it to the geographical place He willingly shed it.

For more clarity, it is almost insanity to believe that the Blood of Jesus is powerful enough to give us access into Heaven despite our sins, and not believe it is powerful enough to spiritually secure the city and country where it was shed. Jesus does not return, nor does any great end-time objective take place, without Jerusalem and Israel being central to it. To not know that is to be in deception and to remain almost wilfully so. The Scripture is too clear on that and the Holy Spirit is too insistent on that. We will no longer get a “pass” on blindness to this reality. Jesus will literally return to the same place where He left this planet  a little over 2000 years ago. Also, the first parable Jesus told His disciples as a sign of His second coming was The Parable of the Fig Tree. The miraculous reestablishment of the nation of Israel in 1948 was that sign. When we see that happen, Jesus tells us to WATCH, be ALERT to the tribulation that He describes will occur in these “last days”.

  • “Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming – in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning – lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to ALL: WATCH!” Mark 13:35-37
  • “So then let us not sleep as others do but let us be alert (WATCH) and be sober” 1 Thessalonians 5:6
  • “Be on the alert (WATCH) then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:13

The section on the importance of Israel and Jerusalem to God’s future plans includes sections from a prophecy by Johnny Enlow – 2017 – The Ride of the Reformation Glory Train.

END TIMES ANTICHRIST & FALSE PROPHET

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From Islamic traditions and Muslim scholars, the Mahdi (12th Imam), like the Antichrist is prophesied to be a political and military world leader unparalleled throughout world history. The Mahdi is said to “fight against the forces of evil, lead a world revolution and set up a new world order based on righteousness, justice and virtue”. At this time, according to Islamic tradition, the Mahdi is said to preside over the entire earth as the final Islamic Caliph. Clearly then, we see that the Antichrist and the Mahdi are both described as being political and military leaders the likes of which the world has never before seen. They are both viewed as being supreme religious leaders as well. Muslims believe the appearance of the Mahdi is imminent and many Bible prophesy teachers are watching expectantly for the Antichrist to emerge. Could they be one and the same person.

After examining the Antichrist’s role as a universal religious leader, many Bible prophesy teachers have talked about the coming of the “One World Religion” or the false church which the Antichrist will both create and enforce upon the entire earth.

mullah-in-catholic-cathdralAre we now seeing the beginnings of this “One World Religion”. Here we see Imam Sali Salem recite a verse from the Koran in Rome’s Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, on July 31, 2016. (Image source: La Stampa video screenshot)

A priest in the south of Italy enraged parishioners by dressing the Virgin Mary in a Muslim burqa for his church’s Christmas Nativity scene. These interfaith initiatives are based on the gradual elimination of the Western-Christian heritage in favour of Islam.

The Catholic clergy is probably disoriented by Pope Francis himself; he was the first to allow the reading of Islamic prayers and Koran readings from the Vatican. The Pope has embraced religious relativism when it comes to Islam. He repeated that Islamist violence is the work of “a small group of fundamentalists” who, according to him, have nothing to do with Islam.

For the first time in more than 700 years, Islamic songs resonated in Florence’s Cathedral, the Church Santa Maria del Fiore. Under the famous Dome of Brunelleschi, Islamic melodies accompanied Christian ones. The “interfaith initiative” was promoted a week after the barbaric massacre by Islamist terrorists in Paris at the magazine Charlie Hebdo, and included “Koran is Justice” and other such “hymns”.

Church of England Bishop Harries suggested that Prince Charles’s coronation service should be opened with a Koran reading.

In the US, more than 50 churches, including the Washington National Cathedral, hold Koran readings. Can you imagine Imams allowing the reading of the Christian liturgy in mosques?

Surely, this is clear evidence we are in the “last days” and the prophesied falling away in the church is already happening. We are living in the days of the Great Apostasy spoken of in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

GOOD ADVICE FOR 2017

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While timely Rhema revelation is uplifting, the church must return to confidence in the logos. The infallible written truth of God’s Word – The Holy Bible.

Looking for Answers pic

When timely prophetic words are given, we should value them highly. However, don’t seek after them. Don’t crave for them. God knows when you need them. What we can’t do without, even for a day, is the Word of God, the Bible. We need for the Holy Spirit to reveal new truths in fresh new ways. Keep a Holy Spirit journal to record these new revelations.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever” (Is. 40:8)
“Forever, O Lord, Your word is established in heaven” (Ps. 119:89)
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35)
I exhort you to open the Word of God daily. The wealth it contains will transform your new year much more powerfully than a low level prophetic word ever will.

Consider some of the following verses and begin your quest to encounter God through his Word. Take note of the promises and also of the conditions associated with them. May the fear of the Lord delight you. May your new year be marked by fresh revelation and trust in God’s mighty Word.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:1).

“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways” (Deut. 28:7).

“Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and pay your vows to the Most High, and call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me” (Ps. 50:14-15).

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. Now a slave does not remain in the house forever, but a son remains forever. Therefore if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed'” (John 8:34-36).

“Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

I have listed just a few verses.  Now go ahead and receive the remaining promises in the Bible that are waiting for you in the New Year. There are thousands.

JESUS WARNS US IN ADVANCE – In the Last Days, Sin will escalate and so will God’s judgement.

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Throughout history, even unusual distress has come in cycles, meaning there was always a reprieve. But we are now entering a season in which distress will continually increase. Things will never go back to how they were in the “good ol’ days” of safety and security, whenever that was. The places in the world that refuse Jesus’ leadership will continue to get darker and more chaotic.

Sin will continue to escalate to higher levels. The demonic influence in the earth will increase.

Isis beheading 21 coptic Christians

In the first two-thirds of Luke 21, Jesus paints a vivid picture of the day of the Lord as He goes through the various signs of the times (wars, famines, earthquakes and so on). But in verse 25, He makes a strong prophetic declaration intended to alert us. Amid describing the tumultuous cosmic signs and tsunamis that will come in this season, He also declares, “On the earth [there will be] distress of nations.” This will be a time of distress that is unique in its intensity—the measure of unrest will be unprecedented and unparalleled. It will include financial crises, terrorism, racial clashes, violent weather, persecution and many other things. But what makes this time unique is that the distress will continually increase until the Lord returns.

Because the Lord is an excellent Pastor, He has told His people ahead of time what they should know and do. Throughout His Word—including here in Luke 21, where His instructions are explicit—He gives enough information to awaken our hearts spiritually and prepare us mentally so that we will not be surprised or overwhelmed. Jesus knows the human condition, mindset and capacity more than anyone. He knows that we are prone to overreact when we initially experience distress.  And so, He tells us in this passage, “Be alert! Don’t ignore what’s happening. If you do, when the distress of this day comes—when it hits you all at once—then you will be overcome with fear. You don’t want this to surprise you; there is no need for it to surprise you, for I am with you and can give you understanding. You can interpret the signs little by little as things unfold. My people will be able to understand more and experience more grace even as they observe things intensify more and more over several decades.”

But the important thing He is saying is this: “Stay close to Me.”

Indeed, in each season of increasing distress, we must realign ourselves with the Lord so that the intensity of the distress does not overwhelm us. As we come closer to Him and rely on Him for strength and wisdom, we will grow in understanding of what He is doing and in our dependence on Him. This is not just the safe way to respond; it is the only way God’s people will be able to succeed spiritually in the days ahead.

Mike Bickle is the director of the International House of Prayer Missions Base of Kansas City

HANUKKAH FORESHADOWS THE END TIMES ANTICHRIST

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The template for the coming appearance of the Antichrist is depicted in the events that led up to the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. It is the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22-23) which celebrates the re-dedication of the temple after Antiochus (antichrist) Epiphanes (god manifest) had desecrated the temple with a statue of Zeus (167BC) and by slaughtering pigs there.

At the Feast of Dedication, they light the Menorah (a symbol of Divine light spreading throughout the world). This is exactly what we need to be (a symbol of Divine light), as the world back then got darker, and they called what was good, evil and what was evil, good, so it is in our day. Thankfully, we also see in the events celebrated at Hanukkah, how to overcome evil in these last days. We must be like Mattathias (a Jewish priest who headed up the Maccabees) who refused to worship the Greek gods. Despite not having weapons, nor being trained in warfare, God miraculously gave them victory three times against Antiochus despite overwhelming odds on each occasion. Likewise, if we stand up for God in these “last days” we can expect God to be with us supporting us, as He did the Maccabees.

In answer to the disciples questions about His second coming (Olivet Discourse), Jesus states that when they see the abomination of desolation in the temple referred to in Daniel 9:26-27, it will be a sign that His second coming is near. This event is definitely in the future, but I believe the birth pangs that Jesus also referred to, as signs of His second coming, are underway. When you have time listen to Jonathan Cahn explain these events in detail.

HOW RELEVANT IS THIS WORD FOR THESE LAST DAYS?

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Jesus revealed to the disciples in Matthew 24 what we can expect to experience in the last days before His second coming. Moreover, God is revealing to those who are seekers after the truth in His Word, the many prophecies in both the OT and NT that are unfolding in our time and hence, also, what is to come before His second coming.

James Goll has identified  a number of KEY paradigm shifts: breakdown of the denominational barriers and structures. Part of that is a multitude of prayer networks that are emerging, that cross those denominational barriers. I am involved in one that has just started up in the Southern Region of Sydney – South Eastern Sydney Prayer Network – contact Ps Ron Brookman 0425 225 386 or myself on 0414412740 to get on the mailing list.

James Goll originally wrote this twelve years ago but has just up dated it. I have not reproduced the entire article but what I believe is relevant for today.  Sadly, as prophesied, we are also going to see a great falling away in the denominational churches as persecution intensifies.

“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 24 11-13

Only those who are totally sold out for Jesus, and who recognise we are in the “end times’, and are prepared to face whatever persecution comes there way, in the knowledge that to die in Christ is GAIN, will be saved.

Paradigm Shifts for the 21st Century

James W Goll

by James W. Goll

As we have crossed the threshold of a new era in the Lord, there will be a lot of shifting taking place in the church and the world. It is the time of completing unfinished business, a time of cleansing, and a time to get prepared for a “spiritual church-quake” to transpire in the life of what some prophetic voices call the “Third Day Church”.  With this view in mind, let me present some bullets on Paradigm Shifts for the 21st Century.

  • An Apostolic Relational Mandate is being released emphasizing “networking” versus vertical authority structures. This fresh emphasis on cross-pollination will replace much of the inbred church associations, which are strife ridden by the spirit of competition and control.
  • While in worship I was given the following phases: “When the Apostolic is Made Personal (AMP) there will be Mighty Authority in the Prophetic (MAP) in that day. The Lord will amplify His voice in those relational renewal centres and the Holy Spirit will put them on His map.”
  • Confrontation shall come with the “political spirit”. Even as the “prophetic movement” exposed and confronted the “religious spirit” in the church, so an “apostolic movement of grace and truth” will expose and lay an axe at the historical root of the “political spirit” in the church.
  • The restoration of David’s Tabernacle as prophesied in Amos 9:12 and Acts 15:16-18 shall escalate resulting in authentic 24-hour houses of prayer and praise, worship and intercession sprinkled across the nations. New creative songs and sounds shall emerge as it was with the radical ministry of William and Katherine Booth’s Salvation Army bands. Praise, once again, will not be confined to the “four walls of the church” but will spill out into the open-air arena.
  • In the church world, there will be a continued theological shift away from the false theory of cessationism (spiritual gifts passed away with the closing of the cannon of scriptures and/or the second generation apostles of the early church.) In other words, cessationism is going to cease!
  • A new Signs and Wonders Movement is growing. Healing Rooms and Centres will be instituted in many cities devoted to praying for the sick and casting out evil spirits (Luke 10). Parades of people healed of various diseases will once again occur as in the days of life of John G. Lake in the 1920’s.
  • A renewed Quietest Movement will emerge as believers in Christ find the “secret place” of the Most High to truly be their dwelling place (Ps. 91). A fresh revelation of intimacy with God, communion with their lover/husbandman and master will come forth. A generation in the spirit of Mary of Bethany will arise and gladly “waste their life” on the Lord!
  • A fresh Holiness Movement will spring up in the church worldwide. Its emphasis shall be one of the Father’s mercies mixed with an authentic spirit of conviction of sin (John 16) causing many to repent and their stained garments to be experientially cleansed by the power and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • The body of Christ will awaken to her call and responsibility to reach and lift up the poor and oppressed as stated in Isaiah 58:7-12. Finances will be released to care for the widow and the orphan as declared in James 1:27. Chains of orphanages will come forth as the church awakens from her self-centered life styles and hilarious, joyful giving is restored.
  • We will see tremendous transfers of wealth into the Kingdom of God through the ministry of “market place apostles and prophets”. Those with anointing for business, administration and creativity shall be blessed – not resisted – by the church. The wall between clergy/laity and secular market place/spiritual ministry shall come down.
  • An extravagant Youth Movement is coming to the global body of Christ that will “rock the nations”.  Public events will be led by youth to pray and fast for revival, which will spread rapidly around the nations. This will be a “trans-generational anointing” where the hearts of the fathers are turned to the children and the hearts of the children to the Father (Mal. 4:5-6).
  • A wave of “Identificational Repentance” will overwhelm a remnant of the Gentile church causing her to repent of her historical wrongs against the Jewish people. In response to this, a revelation of the “Sabbath rest” shall be released from the throne of grace that will be non-legalistic and result in healing for many.
  • It is the devil’s strategy to precipitate another type of holocaust – but God will raise up trumpeters like Mordecai who shall prepare the corporate Esther (the church) for such a time as this. Radical prayer will open a hedge of protection for the Jewish people as the shields of the earth belong to the Lord.
  • A “Convergence of the Ages” shall come upon us. The anointings of Pentecostal fire, the healing and deliverance crusades, the Latter Rain presence, the Evangelical burden for the lost, the Charismatic Gifts, the Jesus People zeal, the Third Wave credibility, the revelation of the Prophetic movement and the relational networking of the Apostolic Reformation shall all merge together into a tidal wave that will be greater than the impact of “reformation of 500 years ago.” This will ultimately create what could be called The Great Revolution in the Church“.
  • Radical deeds of identificational repentance, acts of mercy to the poor and the oppressed, presence and power encounters to the sick and the demonized, warrior praise and intercession arising over cities will mount as a Revolution comes upon the global body of Christ and creates a great societal awakening! If history books are written of the years that lie ahead, they might be termed “The Days of His Glorious Presence“.

(Note: James wrote this 12 years ago and it was published in his book The Coming Prophetic Revolution. He has looked at these declarations again, edited them slightly and thought it would be good to post them for you once again.)

source: James W. Goll

SUPERNATURAL CONVERSION OF MUSLIMS

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How often, do we mistakenly believe the church in the west has to send missionaries to the unreached people groups of the world, otherwise they will never hear the gospel and get saved.

Those of you who have read Heavenly Man by Brother Yun, realise that after Mao came to power in China, Christian Missionaries from the west were deported or killed. The Chinese church went underground, now with its total dependence on God. Has God built His church through forty years of persecution under Mao? Yes! emphatically Yes! He has, and much like the early church, they experience all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including the miraculous.

Well the same is true in the middle east, Muslims are coming to Jesus without coming into contact with missionaries from the west. God is not waiting on Western workers to reach the peoples of the world!

God always takes the initiative. He is always seeking ways to reveal Himself in the darkest corners of the earth.

live-as-christian-die-as-christian

Nik Ripken in his book, The Insanity of Obedience – Walking with Jesus in tough places, reveals that more than 90% of Muslim background believers had come to faith without the help of an outsider or a believer from another culture.

Hence if Muslims are coming to Jesus (and they are), and if these conversions are not currently aided by Western workers (and they are not) then exactly how are these conversions happening? This question is of course crucial.

It was discovered that for Muslim Background Believers (MBB’s), there are three major components in their journey to faith in Jesus.

DREAMS & VISIONS

First most experienced dreams and visions which set them on a spiritual pilgrimage. In talking to hundreds of MBB’s, they heard repeatedly of a period of time lasting three to five years when dreams and visions were present and life-shaping in their pilgrimage to Jesus. It was very common for them to hear a voice without a body speaking to them and they knew it was Jesus or on occasions thought it was the angel Gabriel (Gabriel is significant, because it is believed that he gave the Qur’an to Mohammed). It was common to see a bright white light. A strong desire to get and read a Bible was common (Qur’an refers to Jesus as the “Word of God”).

It is interesting, to many Muslims, dreams and visions are not considered to be miraculous events; they are in fact quite common. What is miraculous, is how God breaks into those dreams and visions and overtime leads the seeker to begin a spiritual pilgrimage. The dreams and visions are not salvific. The dreams allow God to get the recipients attention and eventually lead them to Jesus.

Strangely, when these dreams and visions begin, a Muslim will typically turn to the mosque for answers and explanations. This is of course, the natural place a Muslim would seek answers. Typically, a first question to a spiritual leader in the mosque was “What do these dreams mean? Interestingly, spiritual leaders in the mosque invariably affirmed that the dreams and visions are from God, and they will often tell the seeker that the instructions in the dreams need to be followed. Strangely also, is that when God begins to break into their consciousness through these means, Muslims begin to visit and pray in the mosque like never before. The males may grow a long beard, change the way they dress, become a conservative practitioner of I slam.

The next steps are radical and usually involve the seeker asking questions of their Muslim spiritual leader that he cannot answer to their satisfaction. Questions such as, “How can I know God loves me?” and “How can I be sure I go to paradise when I die?” The answer from the Muslim leader to both questions will be, “Well, you can’t know that.” Often the seeker will be harshly commanded to stop asking such questions and to simply submit to Islam and obey the Qur’an. At some point, unanswerable questions like these will lead to frustration. And often, within three to six months, the seeker will leave the mosque and look for answers elsewhere. In most cases the seeker will never return to the mosque.

ENCOUNTERS WITH THE BIBLE

Always as part of the MBB’s spiritual quest, there were dramatic encounters with the Bible. Often these encounters were miraculous. Bibles are simply not available. In some cases, Muslims simply began to dream about the Bible (God’s Word), but still have no idea where to find one. In Central Asia, one seeker, who had been attempting to find a Bible for months, went to an all male market and there, a stranger simply appeared in the busy marketplace and handed him a Bible. The stranger simply said, ” the Holy Spirit told me to give this to you”. He then disappeared into the crowd. In another case, a seeker having been told in a dream to get a Bible, wandered through a bookstore filled with green Qur’ans. There at the back of the shop was a single blue covered book which he was drawn to, it turned out to be a Bible, which of course he purchased. Another female Muslim seeker shared her dream about a Bible with her family and discovered that her father was also a seeker who shared his bible with her. Nik and his team heard many stories like these and because of the miraculous way these seekers obtained their Bibles they treated them as prize possessions and read the voraciously. Most had read their Bibles through multiple times even up to twenty one times before coming to faith in Christ. What this meant is that most MBB’s have a profound knowledge of Scripture before making their faith decision. Nik concluded that “Where there is no Bible, there is no salvation” .

The centrality of Scripture to this salvation process is so important. The dreams and visions even required that kind of encounter with the Bible. And that kind of encounter is indispensable to the conversion process. This of course poses a big problem for the seeker who cannot read and there are many Muslim women who are illiterate. Fortunately, there are Christian radio stations able to get there signal into Muslim countries and report some success but no doubt God is also using MMB’s to witness to them.

ENCOUNTERS WITH IN-CULTURE OR NEAR CULTURE BELIEVERS

After dreams and visions, miraculous encounters with the Bible then third, there are encounters with in-culture and near-culture believers. These encounters often take the form of “divine appointments” where someone simply appears on the scene to provide guidance, counsel and instruction.

In Scripture, these kinds of encounters happen frequently. Philip’s meeting with the Ethiopian eunuch, Ananias role with Saul to become Paul and many others. How did the Ethiopian eunuch have the Isaiah scroll? Likewise, how do Muslim seekers get a Bible, but miraculously.

Nik also discovered that Western missionaries can be a negative, as they can fear persecution and avoid it at all costs. Also, dreams and visions are not the norm for most missionaries so would they be able to discern what God is doing. Moreover providing a Bible is no problem which would deprive the MMB of God’s miraculous provision. If an outsider provides everything for the seeker what is left for the Holy Spirit to provide?

It is obvious that God is perfectly able to draw people to Himself and our task is not to co-opt this process but to prayerfully discern what He is doing and join Him as insrructed. Much like Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch, God brings him into the story miraculously at exactly the right time and takes him out again just as suddenly and miraculously.

This is obviously not the only way God works but clearly we see that He needs to be directing the work. Our role is supportive, in league with Him. One role in particular, that Nik saw God use MMB’s to initiate, was to start churches particularly of the Book of Acts variety.

Bring on the persecution Lord, if it means we get to experience YOU more, to know You love us, and are providing what we really need to build our relationship with You. Give us a hunger for Your Word like these MMB’s we have read about.

It is great to know, You are constantly reaching out to the lost. Help us Lord to get in step with You.

 

 

 

FALSE CHRIST’S & FALSE PROPHETS IN THE “LAST DAYS”.

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Jesus said in the “last days”: “For false christ’s and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24).

Is this what we are seeing now? The following three accounts of African Christian leaders are almost unbelievable.

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Johannesburg (CNN) Images of a South African Pastor spraying insecticide into the faces of his congregants are circulating on social media.

1. Lethebo Rabalago, of the Mount Zion General Assembly (MZGA), in Limpopo, has openly posted photographs on his Facebook page of him spraying congregants with Doom Super Multi Insect Killer to cure various ailments.
A post from Saturday was captioned as if quoting a congregant, saying: “I came here with a pain on my back and stomach. Now, after the prophet sprayed me with Doom I am healed. My nose was blocked since last week, but after the prophet sprayed me with Doom I feel coming out of my nose. I thank God for healing me.”
When reached by phone, Rabalago declined to answer CNN’s questions about his use of bug spray and hung up. MZGA could not be reached for comment, but in an interview with South African TV channel eNCA, Rabalago said that God had told him to use Doom, and that he had healed countless people using it.
2. A Harare prophet commonly known as Pastor Paul Sanyangore has become more controversial after performing a rare act that left many wondering if he had actually done the unthinkable..WALKING ON WATER.
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Those who took a good look of the swimming pool during the act said Sanyangore has created a very clever illusion of walking on water.

He used an almost colourless water submerged  plastic platform with clear frames invisible from lower visual angles and distances of more than 10 metres.

The plastic platform used in this ‘miracle’ is impossible to detect from the angle these photos were taken from.

This explains why such acts and so called ‘prophetic miracles’ are never done in open rivers and lakes as they present a serious logistical problem and they can not support the walking platforms.

3. Controversial Ghanaian pastor and founder of International God’s Way Church, Bishop Daniel Obinim, has declared he will be a god soon.

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Obinim explained how he got ‘spiritual gifts’ from God and how he may soon be promoted from being an angel to becoming god.

Recall that the pastor, who caused a stir on the social media for flogging a pregnant teenage member of his church, recently made news headlines after he was arrested over suspicions of fraud.

Speaking with Joy FM, Obinim said “I saw Jesus Christ in my dreams, who said: ‘Collect this angelic gift.’

“So, if I’m faithful to Jesus Christ, maybe the next spiritual gift He will confer on me will be a replica of what happened in Exodus Chapter 7 in the Bible where God told Moses: ‘Now I’ve made you god, so whatever you say is final.

“But now God has not made me God. Maybe the next time God will say: ‘Obinim, now I’ve made you a god, you can even conjure up money.”

Speaking further, the controversial pastor said, “I have more than 20 houses given to me by Jesus Christ. I had about eight Range Rover cars which I gifted to my pastors. I had five Infinity SUV’s and three Chrysler’s which I also gifted to my pastors because my car is ‘AUTOBIOGRAPHY’, meaning the car’s brain power is superior to that of a human being.

“If you cross that car, it stops automatically, and its door is not slammed, it shuts by itself. It is also bulletproof,” Obinim bragged.

Almost laughable, and hardly great signs and wonders. Sadly, these men are taking others to hell with them. Many of the prosperity doctrine preachers in the U.S.A, have led these men astray, and will be held accountable at the White Throne “end time” judgement.