IN WHOM IS YOUR HOPE PLACED?

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Acts 5.40-41, “when they (Sadducees) had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.”

After being beaten, Peter and the other apostles were rejoicing.

The same spirit in the Apostles is in us. So, we have the power to stay faithful and rejoice, if we acknowledge His presence and ask Him.

1 Peter 4.12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.”

Our hope is in the knowledge that Christ has already won the victory over Satan and that He made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to be all we need to be overcomers during the coming tribulation and trials. Also, we know that His glory will be revealed at His second coming and that Biblical prophecy reveals we are in the “last days” prior to the final seven years before Jesus’ return, spoken of first in Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy.

First coming in the clouds to raise the dead Saints and rapture the Saints on the earth
Second coming to earth, after God’s wrath has been poured out on an unrepentant earth with the trumpet and bowl judgements. Jesus returns with the Saints to redeem Israel and rule and reign for 1000 years

OUR UNCHANGING GOD

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This is what I believe, but it is certainly not what many theologians believe. The God of the Bible, the God of Jesus Christ, the God of Christianity, is a God who voluntarily opens himself up to being affected by what happens in the world because his nature is love. In that process, however, God’s essential nature and character never change. God’s specific (consequent) will and ways change in relation to the world (us), but God’s overall character and purpose never change. This is “ethical immutability.”

Dr Bruce Ware (www.biblicaltraining.org) gives an excellent definition of divine immutability:

“To say that God is immutable I believe, biblically, means that God cannot change in his attributes, his essence, or his very being, that is, who God is as God. And secondly he cannot change in his ethical commitments that are an extension of his own moral nature. I call the first aspect of immutability “Ontological Immutability” because it is the very being of God. ”Ontos” is the word for being. The very being of God, his nature, his essence cannot change. God is holy; he cannot be unholy. God is love; he cannot be not loving. God is just; he cannot be unjust. God is omnipotent; he cannot lack power. Of all of the attributes that are true of God, he cannot be other than who he is as God, his very nature.”

Problems in Scripture: “What about passages in Scripture that talk about God changing his mind or repenting, as it is sometimes translated? There are 28 affirmations and 7 denials of God’s repentance in the Old Testament. Twenty-eight times it says God repented or changed his mind, and seven times it says God’s can’t or doesn’t change his mind or doesn’t repent. To get to the nub of this in a way that I think helps is to look at 1 Samuel 15:11,35. In verses 11 and 35 we read that God repented or he relented of the fact that he made Saul king.

1 Samuel 15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night.“

1 Sam 15:35 “Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, for Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.“

Here you have two uses of ”nacham”, this Hebrew word for relent or regret or change of mind. He changed his mind in regard to Saul being king. There is a third use of the word in this chapter in verse 29.

1 Sam 15:29 “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man that he should change his mind.“

In what sense can we say with verse 11 and 35 God repented or relented or regretted that he made Saul king and then with verse 29 the Glory of Israel “cannot change his mind.” Is it possible that verse 29 establishes an absolute rule that God cannot literally change his mind or relent from what he has said in the way that we do as human beings. My point will be this, when we read verses 11 and 35 we dare not think that God relents of something in a way that we do, namely that he learns something new and goes, “What a mess; if I had only known that Saul would be such a jerk I wouldn’t have done this, what a mistake; I wish I hadn’t made him king.” We dare not think that God relents in the way we do. How do we relent? We learn something that we didn’t know before; we see something that we didn’t see before. We think differently of it because of that. We dare not think that is how God repents. Because the Glory of Israel cannot lie, will not lie or change his mind for he is not a man that he should change his mind. Here is my argument on verse 29. The Glory of Israel will not lie or change his mind. Almost the same phrase is used in Numbers 23:19 in Balaam’s second oracle. This is God speaking through Balaam. An almost identical same language is used I that. So you have two places in the Bible where we are told God cannot lie or change his mind.

God, knowing what Saul had done, observing the history as it unfolds, watches Saul’s disobedience, watches his presumption of instead of sacrificing everything as God told him to, he saves the best to sacrifice to the Lord. But God told him to kill them not bring them back and he didn’t. This is the presumption of his false piety and God detests it. God observes this, and in his relationship with Saul, as God deals with this disobedient rebellious king of Israel, he wishes that the king of Israel were not this way. But don’t think for a moment this means that God didn’t expect it or didn’t anticipate it, that God learned something new because of it. He regretted that the king of Israel would do this. What did he do in its place? He takes the Spirit from Saul, gives the Spirit to David, and puts a new king who will be the prototype king; the Messiah will come as the son of David. I take that these statements of God’s change, like in verses 11 and 35, if you look at them strictly speaking, are anthropomorphic; that is, they cannot be true literally of God. What they are stating is some truth using this vehicle of what looks to us like God changing his mind. Just like in the book of Jonah when Nineveh repented it says God relented, and he forgave them. In the book of Jonah, do you really think that God didn’t anticipate the repentance of the Ninevites? If God didn’t anticipate this he missed an awfully good cue for Jonah who did anticipate it, and that is why he fled to Tarshish. Did you get the point of that in the story? Jonah knew they would repent; Jonah, the dumb prophet, knew this. Did you think that God anticipated this was going to happen? Absolutely. It is not like God went, “My goodness look at what happened; I’m going to change my plan.” No. This is all part of plan A; there isn’t a plan B. So when it says God repented and forgave them, what does it mean? Not that he learned something new, but he changed in relationship to them from what he had said earlier. What does that look like to us? He changed his mind. That is what it appears like, so he is using human ways of understanding to express something that is not literally true of God in that fashion.”

PHILADELPHIA IS THE KEY – WATCH THIS IMPORTANT PROPHECY

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If this prophecy is true it will be proof God is in control of all events on His earth. I do not know the prophet but he certainly sounds authentic and he has a lot at stake if it is not true. As I have mentioned before, in the spirit I believe God will use this election for His purposes we only have to wait and see how that plays out. If it happens as in this prophecy it should cause a revival in His church. Church, it is time to repent and pray as we see the events play out in the coming weeks.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS CHRISTIANS FOR OUR CITIES AND NATIONS

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Christians are under attack as never before. Now, those who believe in the biblical definition of marriage and just two genders created by God are being labelled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and, schools.

Intercessors can change the atmosphere in their cities through prayer, worship, and a corporate spiritual authority far greater than any demonic threat or attack.  The posture of our hearts and the words from our mouths determine the atmosphere in a place.  The power of our praises and our prayers can shift atmospheres in a room, a building, a neighbourhood, and even an entire city.

We are still to see what God’s response will be to the prayers of the thousands of saints that gathered to pray in Washington just prior to the election.

Thousands pray in Washington September 25th and 26th 2020

 In the early Church, unity was so strong that Scriptures speak of a “great grace” that was released in the city.  This grace opened the door to miracles, signs, and wonders, and salvations on a daily basis (see Acts 4:32-34).  Earlier in this same chapter, it speaks of their daily fellowship and breaking of bread.  Because of these things, God’s grace empowered them to do far beyond what they could have done in the natural.

This should be our desire as we come together as watchmen in prayer over our cities and nation.  We can pray in such agreement with heaven that the atmosphere over the city begins to be permeated with the grace and favour of the Lord.  Our spiritual adversary will continually find ways to spread fear, chaos, turmoil, and hopelessness over the land.  It is our responsibility to displace those demonic spirits by keeping our corporate prayer altars ablaze. 

We must use our authority in Christ to displace rulers in high places and declare the work of the cross and the power of Christ’s resurrection.  Let’s agree together to speak life instead of death, order instead of chaos, and faith instead of fear.

THE GOAT (TURKEY) OF DANIEL 8 – A REVIVED OTTOMAN EMPIRE?

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Turkish magazine calls for revival of CALIPHATE amid Hagia Sophia conversion. At the center of the accusation is the latest issue of the magazine, published on Monday, which features a cover stating: “Get together for caliphate. If not now, when? If not you, who?“ An interview with Dilipak, a veteran Turkish conservative journalist, is one of the lead stories in the edition.

Ozer, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, said critics of the story were misinterpreting it. “Our journal demands that the countries of Islam come together, just as Europe has come together and established a union, just as others have made similar ones. Our call has nothing to do with any country,” he said.

The Caliphate cover story and the furor that followed comes on the back of Turkey’s decision to convert the Hagia Sophia, one of its national treasures, back into a functioning mosque. Originally constructed as a Christian church, it was converted into an Islam house of worship after Constantinople fell to the Ottomans. Ataturk transformed the building into a museum in 1935.

Turkish magazine calls for revival of CALIPHATE amid Hagia Sophia conversion, gets slammed for peddling 'unhealthy debate'
Turkish magazine Gerçek Hayat cover. calls for revival of CALIPHATE Twitter/@aDilipak

Biblical end times prophecy is centred on the Middle East with Israel at the centre. As mentioned in many previous posts, Turkey the Goat of Daniel 8, also plays a lead role as a revived Ottoman Empire which is eventually broken up into four nations out of which the Little Horn (Antichrist) arises. Biblical prophecy is the most significant proof that the Bible is God inspired and inerrant. Just as the Bible prophesied Jesus first coming in detail it also prophesies His second coming in even greater detail. Be encouraged.

GOD IS ON THE MOVE

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End of September, Torben and the Last Reformation team drove to Washington D.C. for the prayer march 2020 organized by Franklin Graham. Over 100.000 people were there to pray for the nation. They recognised that America is at a critical time, a tipping point, when its Judaeo Christian heritage (In God We Trust) could be discarded.

Torben said, “We went there with a desire in our hearts to see America get Born again, as the scripture says “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again out of water and the Spirit” We had great expectations from the beginning and we saw how God moved as we were preaching the Gospel and healing the sick. People got set free from pain, sicknesses, anxiety, demons, etc. A demon was cast out of a woman who considered herself a Christian. As we walked through the crowds singing the missionary anthem, many were touched and opened the ways for us to pass. It was truly a special moment.”

This is a video of some of the highlights that took place in those days.

PRAYER AND FASTING

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Terry and Barbi Franklin are seeing the results of prayer and fasting in God’s church. God is doing something new in the USA. Also, I am not sure what it is, but God is about to bring something good out of the recent election. I sense we are in for a surprise as God exposes both deception and corruption. For Christians, it will be obvious that God did it and He will get the glory He deserves.

In the video below Terry and Barbi Franklin tell us about what they see happening in Tennessee. Revival is breaking out among churches in Rogersville Tn. Through a statewide effort, 1,000 churches are participating in a call for prayer and fasting. It has now exploded into revival services controlled by the Holy Spirit across the region.

THIS IS A RIGHT NOW WORD FROM THE LORD FOR THE CHURCH

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I can’t say that I have been a supporter of Todd White and his ministry but I am confident this is an authentic word from God for the church at this time.

It focuses on the holiness of God and it came with the fear of the Lord. It also acknowledges that God wants to use all believers and that the church needs to get rid of all the trappings and traditions that it has gathered over the centuries. It is a Wake-Up call for the church that needs to be heard. Share it widely.

ANTICHRIST – A FASE JEWISH MESSIAH?

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This is a debate on the doctrine of the Antichrist moderated by Derek Gilbert of Skywatch TV

The topic is “Will the Antichrist be a False Jewish Messiah” Chris White takes the affirmative position and Joel Richardson takes the negative. Chris’s website is http: http://www.BibleProphecytalk.com and Joel Richardson’s is http://www.JoelsTrumpet.com.

Most of you, that have followed my journey on this website know that I have favoured the position taken by Joel Richardson on the identity of the Antichrist. He proffers the Mahdi (long-awaited Muslim Messiah) as the likely candidate for the Antichrist. However, as a result of watching this video, I decided to devote time to looking at the arguments Chris makes for Jerusalem being Mystery Babylon and the Antichrist the long awaited Jewish Messiah. I have even purchased his book “Mystery Babylon – When Jerusalem Embraces the Antichrist” I will possibly do a post on it when I have read it. Let me know who you think presented his case most convincingly.

Mystery Babylon - When Jerusalem Embraces The Antichrist by [Chris White]

“And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” – Revelation 17:18

Which city is this that reigns over all the kings of the earth? Rome? New York? Mecca?

There are over 90 characteristics given in the book of Revelation about the city of Mystery Babylon, and none of these three cities meets all of the criteria.

But there is one city that does…or should I say will.

Too often people look for the city of Mystery Babylon in history, or in their present day, as opposed to what the scriptures say we will see in the future.

The Bible tells us exactly which city will be the capital city of the Antichrist in the last days, it tells us the city that will promote the Antichrist’s worship to the rest of the world, and the city in which the Antichrist will institute the greatest persecution of all time.

That city is Jerusalem.

The city of Mystery Babylon will be Jerusalem when it embraces the Antichrist as if he was their long-awaited Messiah. The reason that she is referred to as a “harlot” is the same reason she was referred to as a harlot hundreds of times in scripture because she is committing spiritual adultery.

JESUS IS LORD

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While elections and leaders come and go, what matters most in America and other Western nations is that we repent for turning away from God and rededicate our lives to the way of Jesus, to love God and love our neighbour as ourselves.

Wednesday, November 11th, 2020 is the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims to America and the signing of the Mayflower Compact. Fleeing religious persecution in Europe, this group of Puritans was in search of a new world where they could practice their faith without fear or opposition. Prayer Networks in Australia are encouraging Christians to set aside Wednesday to pray and fast for America—that the nation would return to God, and that God would direct the outcome of the election towards justice.

God is doing a “new” work in the USA and Terry and Barbi Franklin are privileged to be involved. In my next post, I will upload their video where they explain how God through repentance is bringing Christians to prayer and fasting as never before and of course, the results are amazing.

Hope you enjoy Terry and Barbi’s rendition of As One We Stand as much as I did.

Watch this beautiful overview of D.C. as you listen to the beautiful words sung by Barbi and Terry Franklin.