2051
AND THE FIFTH ANGEL SOUNDED AND I SAW A STAR
FALL FROM HEAVEN UNTO THE EARTH AND TO HIM WAS GIVEN THE KEY OF THE BOTTOMLESS
PIT- Revelation 9:1
Last year- February 15th-
2013 I had a strange event.
As I was up praying early in the
morning- as my habit is I look at the stars.
But this day something happened
that never happened before [read post 2028 from last year]
As I was looking up- just happened
to be looking at a certain spot in the sky- I saw a star [out of thousands].
Then- it got super bright- and
went out.
I saw- for the first time- a
Super Nova.
I have a verse here written on
the fence- I originally painted it back in 2007.
It says ‘at the start I showed
you this sign’
Not an exact quote- but it came
from a previous experience in 2007.
While at the fire house one
morning- up praying [Before I retired- I spent whole nights in prayer].
Some days I went to bed at 8- got
up at 11- 3 hrs. of sleep- and went outside and prayed all night.
Some of the guys were just
heading to bed- and they would say ‘you’re gonna start now?’
I couldn’t sleep for many months
[years?] so I would pray all night.
But that’s when I wrote the
verse- I retired in 2008.
As I was up that year- I went
outside and felt the Lord wanted me to pray- what I call- the Daniel prayer
[from Daniel chapter 10].
Daniel prayed for God to come-
and after a couple of weeks an angel appears to Daniel and says ‘When you first
started praying- I heard- but the prince of Persia [a demonic entity that ruled
over the region- these Principalities- spoken of by the apostle Paul in the
book of Ephesians- give power to corrupt authorities that rule in the earth].
The angel tells Daniel that this
wicked spirit withstood the Holy angel from breaking thru.
But then the angel says ‘I HAVE
COME FOR THY WORDS’.
As I was praying in Kingsville this day- I simply
prayed something to the effect of ‘God- break thru- send an angel- clear out
the wicked prince’.
Right as I prayed it- I saw 2
huge fireballs in the sky.
This was not a vision- they were
simply meteors [shooting stars] that were close to the earth.
Later in the week I told my friend
David [another ex-addict- part of the church I formed in Kingsville].
He told me he was fishing that
night and also saw them.
So- that’s the verse/experience I
painted on the fence.
Then when I saw the Nova last year-
I realized this was the sign from God.
Ok- I want to be careful here- because
I have had many prophetic dreams- visions and experiences over the years- and
it’s difficult to tell them all- without looking- well- nuts.
In the book of Revelation we read
about angels carrying out different tasks.
One has this great censor- he
casts it into the earth- and the prayers of the saints who died ascend up to
God.
I also do a prophetic act like
this.
Over the years I collect the news
articles of local cases of people who committed serious crimes.
Young kids- doing something
stupid- while high.
Yet- the crimes are indeed
serious- so I cut these articles out and pin them up on a prayer wall.
Then- when the wall is finished-
I burn them all in this censor- early in the morning- and in a way ‘I redeem’ their
prayers.
Many of them pray- repent of
their crimes- and spend the rest of their lives repenting.
These prayers have power.
The image of the angel with a
censor- and also a ‘star that fell from heaven- to him was given the key to the
bottomless pit’.
In a sense- it is a picture of us
too- when we engage in heavenly warfare- we can ‘cast’ this censor into the
earth- we can access this ‘bottomless pit’ of broken people- and pray for both
mercy- and Gods justice to come forth.
If you do a study of all the
angels- you can see how they are interacting with the prayers of people.
How some of them are connected
with stars falling from heaven [signs like the nova] casting censors into the
earth [when I collect all the articles- I burn them- and later take up the
ashes and throw them].
In Revelation 9- when the angel
casts the censor into the earth- it releases upon the earth- torment/wrath- on
those who have not the mark of God on their heads.
In a way- it’s a prophetic
judgment on unjust systems- because in the end the purpose of God’s wrath is
not vengeance- not to get even- but to produce righteousness for all in Gods
court.
There are also many images in the
book of Revelation about Gods court being in session.
We- the people of God- play a
role in this.
In a sense- the writer of the
book of Revelation- the apostle John- was also an ‘angel’.
The word angel- in the Greek- simply
means messenger.
John was on the island of Patmos
and Jesus sent John- to write 7 letters- to the 7 churches in Asia Minor.
One of the first visions John
sees is Jesus with 7 stars in his right hand.
John is given the interpretation
of this vision ‘the 7 stars that you see- are the angels of the 7 churches’.
Many bible commentators see these
stars as men.
Thru out the book- we read about
angels with 7 trumpets- vials- etc.
‘These are the 7 spirits of God
that go into the whole earth’.
Zechariah says ‘UPON 1 STONE
SHALLE BE 7 EYES’ [the things we write- prophetically- will be seen by many].
We continue to read the letters
John penned till this day- the book of Revelation.
So in a sense- John too was
carrying out the ministry of an angel- messenger-
See?
The bible says in the book of Psalms
‘HE MAKES HIS ANGELS SPIRITS- AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAMING FIRE’.
On the day of Pentecost- Acts
chapter 2- when the Holy Spirit came down on the church.
There appeared over the 12
apostles heads ‘tongues of fire’.
Why tongues?
These original followers of Jesus
would proclaim the gospel- they were ‘minsters as flames of fire’.
And their words- and writings [the
New Testament] would continue to carry out the role of messenger- till this
day.
WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL HE JUDGE
THE POOR AND ARGUE WITH EQUITY FOR THE MEEK OF THE EARTH AND HE SHALL SMITE THE
EARTH WITH THE ROD OF HIS MOUTH AND WITH THE BREADTH OF HIS LIPS SHALL HE SLAY
THE WICKED
BEHOLD- I WILL MAKE JERUSALEM A
CUP OF TREMBLING UNTO ALL THE PEOPLE ROUND ABOUT WHEN THEY SHALL BE IN THE
SIEGE AGAINST THEM [the poor- homeless- when those oppress them- when they are
‘in the siege’ those who take advantage of them because they have no resources
or ability to defend themselves]
IN THAT DAY I WILL MAKE THEM A
BURDENSOME STONE FOR ALL PEOPLE- ALL THAT BURDEN THEMSELVES WITH IT SHALL BE
CUT IN PIECES THOUGH ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH BE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST
THEM
I WILL SMITE EVERY HORSE WITH
ASTONISHMENT AND HIS RIDER WITH MADNESS [Horse- Rider? Those who use the actual
tools that the law provides- to carry out personal vendettas- including
governments who come against 3rd world nations- stuff like that]
IN THAT DAY WILL I MAKE THE
GOVERNORS OF JUDAH [the elders who stand up for God’s people- the poor and
homeless] LIKE AN HEARTH OF FIRE AMONG THE WOOD AND LIKE A TORCH OF FIRE IN A
SHEAF AND THEY SHALL DEVOUR ALL THE PEOPLE ROUND ABOUT ON THE RIGHT HAND AND
THE LEFT
IN THAT DAY SHALL THE LORD DEFEND
THE HOMELESS AND HE THAT IS FEEBLE AMONG THEM IN THAT DAY SHALL BE AS DAVID AND
THE HOUSE OF DAVID SHALL BE AS GOD- AS THE ANGEL OF THE LORD BEFORE THEM
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THAT
DAY THAT I WILL SEEK TO DESTROY ALL THE NATIONS THAT COME AGAINST THE POOR
[These references are from the
prophet Zechariah- chapter 12. In today’s time period- the New Covenant- God
carries out these judgments BY HIS WORD- Many radicalized religions get this
wrong- they see violence – sword- etc. No. Jesus judge’s with his Word- to
create righteousness and justice- that’s the context for our day]
Practical stuff- those of you who
have read my blog for a while know that I am not an advocate of many of the modern
spiritual warfare type teachings. I am familiar with them- have read- been
involved with many of these type ministries over the years.
All good Christian people for the
most part.
But I always felt that some of
the techniques created too much focus on demons and satan.
I also very rarely address a
demon- or satan himself in prayer.
I practice the principle we read
in the Apostle Peter [and Jude’s] letters ‘Michael the archangel- when
disputing with satan over the body of Moses- did not bring a railing accusation
against him- but said THE LORD REBUKE THEE’.
Yet- some of the stuff I’m
touching on in this post are indeed keys to true spiritual warfare.
We read of many images in the
book of Revelation where the prayers of the saints- even those who have died-
are still effective.
The Catholic Church has always
practiced this- Most Protestants have not.
[I pray the Catholic prayer-
Saint Michael the Archangel- every week]
In Revelation- you are not
‘praying to the dead’ you are collecting the prayers of the people- there is an
image where the Great Winepress of the wrath of God is being trodden.
God’s wrath is for redemptive
purposes- I just read some verses from the Old Testament prophets- they say that
we too tread this winepress.
This means when God sees that injustice
in a certain place has gone on for too long- he then acts.
He works thru the prayers of his
people to ‘open up a gate way’ in heaven so to speak.
The ‘Prince of Persia’ who
withstood the prayer of Daniel was a demonic principality that worked behind
the wickedness that the earthly rule expressed.
True spiritual warfare does engage
these principalities in a way- but not directly- as many of the modern warfare
teachers teach.
As you seek God- he will release
angelic forces [Michael the archangel is a key- in the Daniel chapter I quoted
above- It says ‘NO MAN WILL STAND WITH YOU IN THIS- BUT MICHAEL YOUR PRINCE’
THE NEEDY SHALL NOT BE FORGOTTEN-
THE EXPECTATION OF THE POOR SHALL NOT PERISH FOREVER- THE POOR COMMITETH
HIMSELF UNTO THEE- YOU ARE THEIR HELP
I JESUS HAVE SENT MY ANGEL TO
TESTIFY THESE THINGS IN THE CHURCHES- I AM THE ROOT AND OFFSPRING OF DAVID- THE
BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR
THE 7TH ANGEL SOUNDED
‘THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD HAVE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR GOD AND HIS CHRIST-
AND THE NATIONS WERE ANGRY AND THY WRATH IS COME- AND THE TEMPLE OF GOD WAS
OPENED IN HEAVEN- AND THE ARK OF HIS TESTIMONY WAS SEEN
I HAVE ESTABLISHED A TESTIMONY IN
JACOB
THOU EXECUTEST JUDGMENT AND
RIGHTEOUSNESS IN JACOB
AND THE 3RD ANGEL
SOUNDED AND THERE WAS A GREAT STAR BURNING AS A LAMP
WHAT THOU SEEST WRITE IN A BOOK
AND SEND IT TO THE CHURCHES
BE SILENT ALL FLESH BEFORE THE
LORD- FOR HE IS RAISED UP OUT OF HIS HOLY HABITATION
WHEN HE OPENED THE 7TH
SEAL THERE WAS SILENCE IN HEAVEN FOR HALF AN HOUR AND AN ANGEL CAME AND STOOD
AT THE ALTAR HAVING A GOLDEN CENSOR- THERE WAS GIVEN HIM MUCH INCENSE THAT HE
SHOULD OFFER IT WITH THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS UPON THE ALTAR- AND THE SMOKE OF
THE INCENSE- WITH THE PRAYERS- ASCENDED UP TO GOD
[note- the many verses I’m
quoting about the poor are not simply things I recently looked up- these are
verses I have posted over the years in my prayer room. I’ll post the pics when
I post this]
AND AFTER THESE THINGS I SAW
ANOTHER ANGEL COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, HAVING GREAT POWER- AND THE EARTH WAS
BRIGHT WITH HIS GLORY- AND HE CRIED MIGHTILY WITH A STRONG VOICE, SAYING,
BABYLON THE GREAT IS FALLEN, IS FALLEN- FOR ALL NATIONS HAVE DRUNK OF THE WINE
OF THE WRATH OF HER FORNICATION, AND THE KINGS OF THE EARTH HAVE COMMITTED
FORNICATION WITH HER AND THE MERCHANTS OF THE EARTH ARE MADE RICH THRU THE
ABUNDANCE OF HER DELICACIES- FOR HER SINS HAVE REACHED UNTO HEAVEN AND GOD HATH
REMEMBERED HER SINS- ALAS, ALAS- THAT GEART CITY BABYLON- THAT MIGHTY CITY- FOR
IN ONE HOUR IS THY JUDGMENT COME- Revelation 18
2- Today I will be taking the
guys to our Bishop fellowship.
Around the 4th meeting
we’ve held in Bishop so far this year.
Eli- one of the original members
of the church I started in 1987 in Kingsville hosts this meeting.
I baptized him and a few others
during those years.
Emit- who now lives in Corpus-
who got baptized the same day [I forgot I baptized these boys- Emit called the
other day and we reminisced a bit- he reminded me].
Hopefully Emit is going today- he
too was an original member.
They were the younger crowd- even
though I too was young at the time- yet I worked with their dad’s/older
brothers- who were all addicts or in prison.
Over time their families got
involved with our church and that’s how these boys [spiritual sons] became a
part.
Eli’s brother- who had a pretty bad
criminal history- is laying in the cemetery right where we’re going today.
I preached his funeral back in
the late 80’s.
He had a bad history- as a youth
shot 2 cops from the back seat of the patrol car- somehow he got their gun and
fired thru the seat.
He didn’t kill them- but went to
a juvenile jail and got out when he turned 18-19.
One day I heard he was being
chased by the cops- he did say ‘I will never let them take me alive’.
Sure enough- he died that day
under suspicious circumstances- at the hands of the cops [Kingsville Texas-
back in the late 80’s- his full name was Rolando Ramirez- we called him BeBe].
As I have been reading thru the
prophets recently- I saw how many of the prophets were given tasks that at
first they really didn’t want.
When God called Jeremiah- he felt
inadequate- God told him ‘BEHOLD- I HAVE PUT MY WORDS IN THY MOUTH. SEE- I HAVE
THIS DAY SET THEE OVER THE NATIONS AND OVER THE KINGDOMS, TO ROOT OUT, AND TO
PULL DOWN, AND TO DESTROY, AND TO THROW DOWN, AND TO BUILD AND TO PLANT. [hint-
God’s judgment is not vindictive- it’s for the purpose of change- repentance.
Often times over the years I saw a cycle- it became ‘easy’ for some of my
homless friends to go to jail- get out- go back. I was always surprised to hear
some of them- who really felt like they were arrested out of being targeted-
either because the arresting officer was in a bad mood- or for some other
reason. They too became used to it. At times it seemed like the arresting
officer too got used to it- he might simply see them as ‘o well- he’ll get over
it’ type thing. But in general- both sides- did not realize the seriousness of
it. In society- if you restrain a person without cause- you get charged with
kidnapping- in some of these cases the guy’s did indeed feel like that’s what
happened- they simply got used to it [not in every case- but in some that I
have been writing on.] I began to see- that some don’t realize you really cant
being doing this- even if the homeless guy does not know his rights- or simply
lets it happen].
Historically prophets deal with
injustice in the nations.
The people of God- the Church-
have a calling that goes beyond simply ‘getting saved’ and ‘being blessed’.
The prophet Amos was called of
God to rebuke ‘capitalism’- huh?
Yeah- Gods people were wealthy-
and despised the poor.
In chapter one of Amos we read
‘THUS SAITH THE LORD- FOR 3 SINS AND FOR 4 I WILL NOT TURN AWAY THE PUNISHMENT-
BECAUSE HE DID PURSUE HIS BROTEHR WITH THE SWORD, AND DID CAST OFF ALL PITY,
AND HIS ANGER DID TEAR PERPETUALLY, AND HE KEPT HIS WRATH FOREVER, I WILL SEND
A FIRE UPON THEM’
The people of God despised the
poor and downtrodden of the land- God sent Amos to bring justice.
I was talking to a friend
yesterday- very knowledgeable in the bible and Christian theology.
I talked about Amos a bit- then
told him ‘did you know that Mohamed the Prophet defended the poor’.
He did not know this.
Now- as a Christian- I do not see
Mohamed as one of the Christian line of prophets.
But I simply brought this up to
show him that the founding of Islam in the 7th century- initially- was in a
sense a prophetic mission that did bring justice to the poor.
One of the 5 Pillars of Islam is
the sharing of your goods with your fellow man.
Islam does not ‘tithe’ to the mosque
per se- as Christians primarily practice their idea of giving.
But Muslims see the giving of
their goods to their fellow man as the primary way to give.
Which just happens to be one of
the major teachings of Jesus in the New Testament.
‘John- why say this’.
Because we live in a day where
the world is very divided- I wanted people to see that in the bible the prophets
defended the poor- stuck up for the homeless.
And we want to give credit where credit
is due- while also speaking the truth against radical Islam.
‘Yeah- lest talk terrorism’
Really?
Obviously I detest Radical Islam-
murder is a crime.
Did any of you hear the story of
the guy that went in to a wedding- I believe this was in Pakistan a couple of
weeks ago?
Yeah- the nut blew up the whole
wedding party- kids- women- all innocent Pakistani civilians.
This guy didn’t even strap a bomb
on himself.
No- he used some remote control
device and bombed them.
Yeah- I’m sure you heard about it-
didn’t you?
It was us.
Yes- once again- we used a remote
control plane- called a Drone- and we accidently hit that wedding party.
Now- if we want to condemn acts
of violence- which we should- then we must condemn this too.
The other week I was going to
write about the Stock market [before any of the recent drops] I did feel like
we were heading into trouble this year- but
I had so many the things to deal with at the time that I never got to it.
I was simply going to say that I
felt like we- the U.S. - are simply in denial.
The global economic crisis has
not been resolved- the slowdown in Asia [China] is still happening.
The U.S. cut bond buying from 85
billion a month- to 75 billion [which is still a lot of ‘fake’ money flooding the
market- much of what you see in the DOW is simply a result of this ‘printed’
money circulating in]
I just felt like we were not really
seeing the storm on the horizon.
I didn’t write that post- and sure
enough the next week the Dow took a big hit- because of these very things.
But- it wasn’t a surprise- or
news- this info was out there all along.
The media simply ‘felt’ like not
talking about it.
Another quote from Amos chapter 1
‘THUS SAITH THE LORD- FOR 3 SINS OF THE CHILDREN- AND FOR 4 I WILL NOT TURN
AWAY THE PUNISHMENT- BECAUSE THEY HAVE RIPPED UP THE WOMEN WITH CHILD- THAT
THEY MIGHT ENLARGE THEIR BORDER [for personal gain- ‘I can’t afford a kid at
this time’] BUT I WILL KINDLE A FIRE IN THIER WALL AND IT SHALL DEVOUR THE
PALACES THEREOF- WITH SHOUTING IN THE DAY OF BATTLE, WITH A TEMPEST IN THE DAY
OF THE WHIRLWIND: AND THEIR KING SHALL GO INTO CAPTIVITY, HE AND HIS PRINCES
TOGETHER, SAITH THE LORD’.
Wendy Davis- running for the
Democrat nomination in Texas- to challenge Rick Perry.
She ‘made’ her name by
filibustering a state law that would have put certain restrictions on abortion
clinics in Texas.
She was asked in an interview the
other week about the infamous abortion doctor out of Philadelphia.
A few years ago ‘doctor’ Gosnell
was sent to prison for the crime of infanticide- a crime that Hitler engaged in
during his Holocaust of the Jewish people.
Infanticide is when you take a baby-
and kill it.
Gosnell had a clinic that looked
like a modern day torture chamber.
Cat feces on the floor- bloody instruments-
the whole works.
He was ‘aborting’ the babies-
after they came out of the womb.
He would ‘snip’ their spines-
while alive- and dump the dismembered bodies.
Now- if he ‘snipped’ the spine-
or punctured the skull- or shot salt water [called saline abortion] - or
‘pulled’ the arms and legs off while INSIDE THE WOMB [which are all various ways
abortion is done] then it would have been legal.
Mr.’s Davis was asked about this-
if she could justify these procedures- simply because the full term baby was
still technically ‘unborn’.
She had no answer.
See?
We live in a day where this so
called medical ‘procedure’ is referred to as a ‘woman’s right to her own body’.
The media sees these so called
defenders of a ‘woman’s right’ as true heroes.
President Obama- when in the
Illinois senate was the only senator to vote against making the ‘abortion’ of a
live birth-a crime.
His reasoning was if you
‘restrict’ abortion [even the aborting of a live birth] then it would lead to other
possible restrictions down the road.
So I guess we can’t stop the
killing of little babies because of political expediency?
Now- how long do you think a
society can last with a foundation like this?
Today I’m going to make a
prediction- a Prophecy.
I believe that the cup is to the
full- for us as a nation.
Just seeing the current state of
affairs in the world- a tremendous destabilization of former alliances.
Nations beginning to realize that
the U.S. has no more control.
I believe that we are in for
something bad- It’s only a matter of time before another 911 type attack is going
to happen.
Russia and China and other
Asian/European nations are beginning to act- with disregard to our ‘threats’
[China- expanded their air space and territorial borders- against our warnings.
We sent a war ship in these waters a few weeks ago- saying ‘we will not stand
for this’! China sent 2 ships- and they played chicken with us- they blocked
our ship. At the last minute we ‘blinked’ and turned. Kerry gave a ‘terse’
warning ‘nations need to be careful in international waters- we don’t want an
accident’.
See- we are in trouble as a
people.
Our foundations are eroding.
In time- something is going to
happen- not sure how long.
[Just got back from the Bishop meeting-
it went well. Let me make a note- the reason I mentioned the stock drop- is not
to say ‘see- I knew it was coming’ but I want you to see that in many ways-
especially being I’m writing about what we call ‘prophetic things’- that in
many ways this week’s post is ‘prophetic’. Let me explain.
When a person preaches- like what
I have been doing in our house church meetings- I pray for God to speak a
certain word- I simply speak- quote- I don’t read from the bible. This type of
preaching is ‘prophetic’ meaning by inspiration.
Now- each week- as the week
starts- I try to ‘hear’ God for that week.
So- the stock market thing- about
2 weeks ago I Kind of ‘heard’ do one on a warning about the market.
I have done this before-
sometimes I hit it right on- other times not.
But when I started writing this
week- including some of the above- I realized what I was ‘hearing’ was real
time- sort of like when I speak in the meetings.
I think I’ll finish this week’s
post- tomorrow- in a different way- because I’m trying to follow a pattern of
what where doing in the meetings- as well as what the guys share].
3-
Yesterday in Bishop I talked
about the Tent of Moses. It was the system that God gave to Moses when they
were delivered from Egypt- thru the Red Sea- and wandered for 40 years in the
wilderness.
In short- when God gave Moses the
10 commandments- Moses put them in a box- called the Ark of the Covenant.
This was what the Indiana Jones
movies were based on ‘raiders of the lost Ark’- of course the movies were fake-
but the Ark was speaking about this.
Picture in your mind a sort of
mobile shed- with 2 rooms in it. Around this shed [sanctuary] was a sort of
fence- and when the people of God traveled- they took down- and put up this
system as God directed.
The bible tells us that the 12
tribes of Israel camped around it.
In a way- it’s sort of a picture
of the church.
We- the people of God- are a mobile
[on the move] community- with the Ark [the box- a type of the body of Christ
[his flesh] and within is contained the perfect nature- character of God [the
law].
Jesus in the book of Revelation
is called ‘The Word of God’.
So- today- the people of God have
Jesus as the central ‘building block’ in the midst of the community.
Jesus is called the chief corner
stone as well.
During the time of the Old
Testament this temporary sanctuary eventually became a Temple.
So the Ark was moved into the
temple.
The temple was simply a permanent
structure- yet was modeled after the tent system that God gave to Moses.
The Jewish people had priests and
animal sacrifices and all types of rules that they followed when carrying out
this ritual.
Eventually God rebuked them
because they saw this ritual- their ceremonies and holy days- as the main part
of their worship to God, and they began neglecting the poor and the outcasts of
society.
In Isaiah chapter 58 the prophet
says ‘THEY SEEK ME DAILY, AND DELIGHT TO KNOW MY WAYS, AS A NATION THAT DID
WHAT WAS RIGHT. BEHOLD YOU FAST FOR STRIFE AND DEBATE AND TO SMITE WITH THE
FIST OF WICKEDNESS. IS NOT THIS THE FAST I HAVE CHOSEN- TO LOOSE THE BANDS OF
WICKEDNESS- TO UNDO THE HEAVY BURDENS- TO LET THE OPPRESSED GO FREE. IS IT NOT
TO DEAL THY BREAD TO THE HUNGRY AND THOU BRING THE POOR THAT ARE CAST OUT TO
THY HOUSE.
In other chapters God says he is
tired of all the sacrifices and religious ritual- he really wanted justice for
the poor and homeless [strangers] among them.
At the time of Jesus- he lived in
the Roman province where the Jewish people had their rebuilt temple.
King Herod was truly a master
builder- some of the great wonders of the day were the tremendous construction projects
that he enacted at the time of Christ.
The father of the Herod that ruled
during Jesus time built the great temple- one day word came to Jesus
‘You know Herod [the authorities]
know what you are doing- they are going to kill you if you don’t stop’.
Jesus was preaching in line with
all the other prophets of God- he was challenging corruption in the system.
Jesus responded ‘GO TELL THAT
FOX- TODAY AND TOMORROW I WILL WORK AND DO MIRACLES- AND THE 3RD DAY
I WILL BE PERFECTED’
He saw the writing on the wall-
he would later face Pilate and Pilate would say ‘DON’T YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE THE
POWER TO KILL YOU’.
Jesus replied ‘YOU HAVE NO POWER
OVER ME- ONLY WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU’.
In the gospels of John Jesus was engaging
with the religious authorities.
He says ‘YOU ARE TRYING TO KILL
ME- A MAN THAT HAS TOLD YOU THE TRUTH- WHICH I HEARD FOM GOD’.
They said ‘your crazy- who’s
trying to kill you’?
Jesus saw the true intent of evil
systems- even though they did not think their hatred of what he was doing would
lead to his death.
Yet he knew the heart of man.
In the end- he got it right.
One day Jesus was with his men- they
were sitting outside of this huge magnificent structure.
They said ‘look at these great buildings’
Jesus said ‘I TELL YOU THE TRUTH- THERE SHALL NOT BE ONE STONE LEFT UPON
ANOTHER WHEN THE KINGDOM COMES’.
The temple represented the
official place of law and worship in the province of Judea- Jerusalem as its
capital.
Jesus ministry challenged
corruption in the system- as well as being an advocate for the poor and outcast
of society.
In this temple they had the same
system of the ark and the rooms that were in Moses tent system.
There were 2 rooms in the temple-
the back room- called the Holy of Holies- had the Ark and was separated from
the first room by a veil.
The veil was a thick blanket type
thing- and it represented the separation between God and men.
God was Holy- man was sinful.
The high priest went into this
back room 1 time a year- the Day of Atonement- and offered the blood of the animal
sacrifice as a sort of symbol of what the death of Christ would accomplish once
and for all.
On the day of the Crucifixion of
Christ the bible says that THE VEIL OF THE TEMPLE WAS RIPPED IN HALF- FROM THE
TOP TO THE BOTTOM.
God was saying that the death of
Christ- carried out by the manipulation of the system by those who hated Jesus
[read carefully how the ones who manipulated Pilate to crucify Christ- these were
the same people- the religious leaders who said earlier ‘who’s trying to kill
you’- yet- as Jesus foretold- their anger towards him did indeed eventually
lead to his death at their hands].
Jesus taught his men earlier
‘whoever hates is brother is already guilty of murder’.
He saw more deeply- then even those
who would carry out the act- that sinful man is capable of anything.
The death of Christ was the final
sacrifice for man- it would put an end to the animal sacrifices.
The book of Hebrews says ‘IT WAS
NOT POSSIBLE THAT THE BLOOD OF BULLS AND GOATS COULD TAKE AWAY SINS’ ‘BY HIS
OWN BLOOD HE ENETERD IN ONCE INTO THE HOLY PLACE [HEAVEN ITSELF] AND HAS
OBTAINED ETERNAL REDEMPTION FOR US’ Hebrews 9.
Jesus-and all the prophets risked
their lives for a greater cause.
They rebuked the ‘church’ of
their day for not dealing with these issues.
Spiritual deliverance [salvation]
and political deliverance from oppressive systems go hand in hand.
Recently the Pope has come under
fire because of his comments on capitalism and the great divide we see in
society between the rich and poor.
Make no mistake about it- Frances
is right on- he’s too speaking in the ancient prophetic tradition of the
church.
[When in N.J. last year- I wanted
to see snow. I told the guys ‘I’m praying for snow!’ I asked ‘when do you
usually get it’ some said ‘some years we don’t even see it’. I left in October-
the guys told me ‘if we get some we’ll send you a pic’. To all my N.J. friends-
sorry I prayed for snow!]
4-
Yesterday I spent a little time with
Pop’s, the old man who I have written about this last year.
Charlie- a friend of mine- who
has been an alcoholic for many years- stays with Pop’s.
Pop’s takes care of him- sees him
as a son. Charlie has been on a respirator for a week- in the ICU- not sure if
he’s going to make it.
I took Pop’s to see Charlie-
prayed for Charlie- laid hands on him- did ask for God to heal him- and once
again like last week [with another friend who’s also on his death bed- I just
did the same thing last week- by the way- Chris looks like he’s going to pull
out- again].
I have been pretty busy- but I
put aside a few hours for Pop’s- went to our halfway house for about an hour-
and also spent the morning at the mission.
Jeremy- a new landlord for the
building that we use for the halfway house [we rent a fourplex- just the
upstairs. This building is in the drug section of town- so we have had different
landlords the past 3 years- they flip this property a lot].
I met Jeremy when I got back from
New Jersey- told him I’m working with David- my partner- in the halfway house.
To my surprise- Jeremy was a
firefighter in the Dallas area.
Got into investing- he left the
job- at 18 years in- and pulled his retirement out to go into properties.
To be honest- when he first told
me this- I thought it was a bad move.
2 more years- he could have retired
and the city matches your retirement dollar for dollar [some cities do more].
I retired with about 250,000
because I stayed for 25 years and got the match.
But Jeremy seems to be doing ok.
Just this year I’m getting back into
real estate.
My family/daughters have been
talking about it for a year or so now.
Sort of a family realty thing.
I told Becky I used to do it-
they were young and did not remember.
Bought a nice house from a HUD
re-po. Rented it- then owner financed it- and eventually the buyers got a loan from
the bank and paid it out.
So this year we are going to start
that again.
I am trying to establish our
house churches at the time- and staying more active with the real estate thing.
The Corpus Christi market has the
highest occupancy rating in the whole U.S.
Jeremy told me this the other
day- the next day I read it on the front page of the caller times.
So the time is right.
Actually I’m trying to encourage
the guys at our halfway house to get out a bit- move on- beyond too much focus
on your addiction.
I spent about an hour with the
guys- inside the building.
Then hung out a bit with Jeremy
and his crew- one of them is Steve- a former halfway house resident- he was our
house manager for a while.
Steve has moved on- has his own
apartment in the building- and is sort of the property manager for the
fourplex.
To be honest- thats better than
spending to much time in the halfway house.
Too much focus on your past
addiction- whether it be alcohol or drugs- spending whole days just working the
steps- doing meetings- it’s counterproductive at times.
I have been teaching on the difference
between law and grace in our meetings.
The law [Old Covenant] focused a person
on the ‘do’s- do not’s’- it never worked according to the Apostle Paul in Romans
chapter 7.
Paul said ‘the law- which is
good- revived the sin in him- and by this- sin became more powerful’.
The point the apostle was making
is if you focus too much on ‘I will not sin- drink- etc.’ finding your identity
in this.
Then instead of freeing yourself
from it- it eventually masters you.
There’s a danger in magnifying
the addiction too much.
I’m 13 months sober- I don’t think
of it that much at all- really don’t see it as some big thing [of course I am
very grateful to God].
Like I taught last year- the key
is simply moving on with your life.
Ok- that’s it for this week.
God bless.
Note- Do me a favor, those who
read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read
them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [FaceBook] -
I have posted lots.
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