Relentless Affection

 like the term, severe mercy is a deep place in our relationship with God.  

It amazes me that I was able to enjoy a beautiful performance of Handel's Messiah last night and God led Handel to put the words of Job front and center in the lyrics of the Messiah. 

"I know my Redeemer lives!"

All we have, as the God of Israel is bringing us to the end of our strength, is the reassurance of His "now" presence with us and the Hope of His future kingdom.

We literally have nothing else, and that is mercy.

2024 ends with me, same place I have been all my life, a "victim of relentless affection."

Chemotherapy

 Chemotherapy is a lie, put forward by the lying, greedy companies that make money off of Cancer.

Chemotherapy attacks the virus and the virus learns from the attack.  It is willing to suffer the temporary loss, in order to ultimately overcome and win.

The virus is a living organism it adjusts to the chemotherapy and replicates in new forms that are now able to resist the chemotherapy.

This whole process takes about 5 years, and then the virus returns bigger and more resistant than ever, and the patient is told, lets try that chemo again and sure enough this time it is totally useless.

So the big companies cover this up by declaring that if your cancer improves and doesn't make a massive comeback in 5 years that you have beaten it.  

Let's ask them to take that out to 10 years and see what the statistics look like.

I hate the lies.

North By Northwest and the Movie Carry-On

Nothing is what it seems like.  False flags, Fake news, a false event, cover-ups, conspiracies.  When I found out Private Jets do not have any of their cargo or passengers checked by customs, I was shocked. Capitalism and Democracy (actually a Republic, but who cares) have the exact same problem as Communism, it is Animal Farm all over again, equal but more important than you.  The problem is human nature.  He did not trust man, because He knew what was in man.

This evil age only has about 9 more years and then the end will come, and we will enter a world ruled by Yeshua from David's throne in Jerusalem.  

Marantha!  Which in my translation is, "Bring it on!"  Looking forward to it!

But Practically What Good Does it Do to Study the End Times?

 Excellent question.

Right now the Middle East is on Fire!  Rapid changes are taking place and people are coming to power who 1 month ago were not wearing a crown of any kind.

The Jewish people are in the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The Jewish people are armed with weapons of war and technology that are superior to their enemies.

It is very possible there will be a working "plan for peace" in place reasonably soon.

So, not only is it an excellent question, this is an excellent time to be asking that question.

A person who knows their time is limited lives their life differently.

A person who knows they have a purpose that is going to echo down through eternity lives their lives differently.

A person who is aware they could be "soldiers" in a battle against an evil far worse than the Nazi evil, will live their lives differently.

A person who realizes they have been bought with a price, by the Messiah of Israel, for the sake of the name of the God of Israel will prepare to love the Jews who will be hated and hunted by every corner of society and culture, the seeds are already being sown but Tucker and Candace.

A person who knows the Judge of all the earth is going to return at the end of the great tribulation and He is going to sit on a throne and judge all the nations of the earth will live their life differently.

How Will WE Protect Jews From All the New Technology That Could Be Used to Hunt Them Down?

 This very good question was posed to me this week.

I know this.

My old friend, now living with Yeshua, Joe Zisko, smuggled Bibles into Romania when it was a communist country and it was illegal to do so.  He was not a brave man, he was not a big man, he was not a strong man, but he was a follower of Yeshua, who trusted the God of Israel no matter what. Many times at check points and in customs, the Bibles he was smuggling went right under the nose of people who should have confiscated them and put Joe in jail.

Because of this part of my answer is, it will be supernatural.

The second part of my answer is Electronic technology may be very disrupted during the great tribulation and so, it just won't be available to law enforcement like it currently is. This is a quote from an article posted on the internet just today. 

"The Electronic Frontier Foundation reported in June that drones are being used as "first responder programs" across the United States, and departments are begging for more.

"With their birds-eye view, drones can observe individuals in previously private and constitutionally protected spaces, like their backyards, roofs, and even through home windows," the EFF said. "And they can capture crowds of people, like protestors and other peaceful gatherers exercising their First Amendment rights. Drones can be equipped with cameras, thermal imaging, microphones, license plate readers, face recognition, mapping technology, cell-site simulators, weapons, and other payloads. Proliferation of these devices enables state surveillance even for routine operations and in response to innocuous calls —situations unrelated to the original concerns of terrorism or violent crime originally used to justify their adoption."

Hopefully we can all see and agree that our First Amendment rights are being slowly but surely destroyed.  The amount of spying on U.S. citizens by our own government should be alarming, but we are too busy being entertained by movies and football to even notice what a police state we have become especially since 9/11.

Pay attention, you are being lied to and manipulated.

The mysterious death of Suchir Balaji, the 26-year-old former OpenAI researcher turned whistleblower, adds yet another bizarre chapter to an already surreal stretch of events unfolding across the United States.

Found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26, Balaji’s death is officially being labeled an “apparent suicide” by the San Francisco Police Department. But given his high-profile allegations against OpenAI and his role as a key witness in ongoing legal battles, many are questioning whether this was truly a suicide—or something more sinister.

Open your eyes.

“The Biden-Harris administration placed political aims above the welfare of unaccompanied migrant children who crossed, or were trafficked across, the southern border––releasing unaccompanied children with inadequate vetting and follow-up to avoid the bad optics of crowded facilities.
 
“ORR releases children to sponsors in the United States. Thorough vetting of these sponsors is absolutely critical and morally compelled if that is the path you are going to undertake to bring these children across. Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris administration’s push to quickly release migrants resulted in countless cases of migrant children being released to sponsors with major red flags, placing children at risk of exploitation.”

Lastly, I was honored to know this man.  He was a strong believer in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel. He was almost finished working on a book to expose the deep state and name names. He was engaged to be married.  He had a lot to live for. He was found, sitting in a lawn chair with the gun used in his execution (officially suicide) sitting in his lap. This is a blatant lie. There is simply no way Phil Haney killed himself, I will never ever believe that. 

"A year ago, the Haney case attracted national media attention from media outlets such as Fox News and conservative figures, such as radio talk show host Glenn Beck put out statements on the case, questioning Haney’s death. Friends noted that he was in very good spirits, was looking forward to getting married, and making plans.

“The last time I met with Philip, he literally said, if I end up dead, know it won’t be from a suicide,” said a close friend on the condition of anonymity. “Weeks later, my friend is dead. I think that speaks volumes.”"

"If You Cheat on Her I Will Kill You"

 God's words directly to my heart, before marrying my wife Laura.

But God would never say that, some would say.

Genesis 20:1-3  "Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”

Genesis 12:17-20  "17 However, the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with terrible plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Then Pharaoh called for Abram. “What have you done to me?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me that she’s your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister’ and allow me to take her for my wife? Here’s your wife! Take her and go!” 20 Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram. They sent Abram away with his wife and everything that he had."

Genesis 26:6-11 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7 His wife Rebekah was very beautiful, and the men of that place asked Isaac about her. Isaac said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to tell them she was his wife. He thought they might kill him so they could have her.

8 Isaac lived there a long time. One day as Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out his window, he saw Isaac holding his wife Rebekah tenderly. 9 Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “This woman is your wife. Why did you say she was your sister?”

Isaac said to him, “I was afraid you would kill me so you could have her.”

10 Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? One of our men might have had sexual relations with your wife. Then we would have been guilty of a great sin.”

11 So Abimelech warned everyone, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.” 

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Fear

 Heard this recently, 

"Fear ONE, Fear none.

Fear some, Fear all."

I like it.  If God is the only one you fear, you will be afraid of nothing in this evil age.

If you fear any many in this evil age, you have given over control and will fear all.  

Judah and Tamar

 "The Chosen People" podcast pointed out the very first apology in the Bible. 

Judah was confronted with the proof that it was he who impregnated his daughter-in-law who had tricked him by dressing as a temple prostitute, and he...apologized.

This was an all important step for one who was to be the father of the tribe that would steward the lineage of the Messiah.

It is still amazing that it was not the tribe of Joseph.

Instead, it was the tribe of a man who thought he was going into a prostitute of a temple of a false god, while away on a business trip.  It was the tribe of a man who sold his brother to slave traders because he was jealous and annoyed with him.  It was the tribe of a man who lied to his father and caused him great grief.

Judah could have stayed on this bad path even longer, he was the patriarch of the family.  He could have denied the staff and ring were his, or made up some deceptive story on the spot to put the focus back on Tamar.

Joseph's Brothers

 Prior to the birth of Joseph to Rachel, the sons of Jacob were divided, some were the children of Leah, some were the children of Rachel's servant, and some were the children of Leah's servant.  They were each striving for their place in the family.  Then something happened that united them all in a way that they had never been.  Joseph was born and almost immediately made to be the center of Jacob's life, his favorite, with no effort being made to hide that fact. 

Jacob's failure to love his other sons leads to a uniting factor in their lives. They are all united in their hatred of  Joseph.  Real, deep-seated hatred. And so Joseph is sold to Ishmaelite traders.  Ishmael can be used to take you to your destiny.  As long as you remember your destiny is to like the crucified Lamb! 

For Profit Health Care is EVIL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMfssjo92G8

Been a nurse sine 1986 and it is just getting worse and worse.

FOCUS

 Part of a letter written to a friend to encourage him to live day to day in this evil age.

 I pray you are able to keep your eyes on the prize.  Yeshua the Messiah of Israel.  His coming Kingdom on the earth.  Pressing through and persevering during this evil age, especially during the time of tribulation that is, in my opinion, only about 6 years a way at the very most.  I give this evil age about 9 years at the very longest.  I know that only leaves you out as a free man for about 4, but those 4 will be the most critical time in history and every believer in Yeshua will be empowered by the grace of God with the gifts of the Spirit to create the most amazing community EVER on the face of the earth. Every gentile believer, that's us, will be given a task, to proclaim, show, love, protect, shelter and give our very lives to keep as many members of the chosen people, the Jewish people, the brethren of the Messiah alive.  It is the only difference between the Holocaust of the Nazi time and the last "great tribulation" that lasts 3 and 1/2 years, the Almighty God of Israel will have a "body" of prepared believers who are totally HIS and totally focused on "bearing the Name of God" which means to LIVE in total dependence on HIM, literally only doing what He says to do, and only saying what He says to say.  Matthew 25 is a passage where GOD is clearly judging the nations (gentiles, us) on how they treated His Brethren (the Jewish people) during the time of great tribulation.  So be encouraged, my brother, live day to day in that prison, because when you are OUT the beauty of the life that you will be living will be the greatest and most important of ALL TIME, "and then the end will come" of this evil age and HIS KINGDOM will come and He will rule forever and ever!!!  love and prayers, chuck

Levi and Simeon Were Not to Blame

   God told Jacob to go to Bethel.  He stopped at Sukkoth in Shechem.

Everything that went wrong with Dinah and the massacre led by Levi and Simeon was Jacob's fault.

Never, ever, stop and set up camp along the way.  Go directly to the place God has called you with as little delay as possible.

Isaac and the Wells

 The enemies of God and the Jewish people, who were just a small family at that time, kept blocking up the wells of Isaac.  Making it impossible for him to take care of his flocks and his family.  Did he fight them, no.  Did he resist them in any way?  Nope

He repeated Abraham's sin in not trusting God to protect him and his wife, but he did not "go down to Egypt", he listened and obeyed.  He did not take up arms or run or anything. 

Isaac just kept digging another well, until the enemies left him alone.

That is amazing.

Sacrifice Isaac as a Whole Burnt Offering

 there is a good reason Abraham did not tell anyone what God said to him

No one would have believed him.

God would never say that, they would say. and they would have been DEAD wrong.

Maccabee's to the Rescue

Roughest time of my life right now.  These verses are helping me. 

12 "Now I urge those who read this book not to be disheartened by these misfortunes, but to consider that these punishments were meant not for the ruin but for the correction of our nation.

13It is, in fact, a sign of great kindness to punish the impious promptly instead of letting them go for long.

14h Thus, in dealing with other nations, the Sovereign Lord patiently waits until they reach the full measure of their sins before punishing them; but with us he has decided to deal differently,

15in order that he may not have to punish us later, when our sins have reached their fullness.

16Therefore he never withdraws his mercy from us. Although he disciplines us with misfortunes, he does not abandon his own people.

17Let these words suffice for recalling this truth. Without further ado we must go on with our story."

Abraham the Father of Our Faith

 When Abraham buys a plot of land in Cannan to bury his wife Sarah.  He is cementing his place in Cannan.  It is the only piece of ground he ever owned in what is now Israel.  Other than that, he was in that area, by the grace of strangers and rulers, and under the relentless protection of God even when he made horrible decisions.  This plot of land means that he is not going back to his father's homeland to bury his wife.  Israel is where His descendants will live.  However, when looking for a wife for Isaac, he knows he cannot choose from a seed that has been corrupted, so he sends his faithful servant back to his homeland, to find a daughter of his brother, a sister to Laban, the barren Rachel (because God operates best through barren wounds and other dead things).  You could say Tamar and later Ruth "corrupt" the bloodline, but you would have to argue with God about that, because he is very proud of those two, mentioning by name in the genealogy of the Messiah.

Lastly, after this event, the promise of the land is given to Abraham for the third time and this time, a phrase is added, "They will defeat their enemies and take over the cities where their enemies live."  

Most of the time premillenialists will say all the promises to Abraham are completed, well, uh, NO that's wrong.

EVERY Branch in ME That Does Not Bear Fruit

 He cuts off.   

Scary.

"I prayed a prayer." is not going to cut it, in THAT GREAT DAY!

That day is less than 9 years away. IMO 

In Order to Experience the Miraculous

 "In order to experience the miraculous, you must be willing to look ridiculous."   Quote from an episode of the chosen people podcast.

PS follower of the delusional fool known as John Calvin, YOU MUST BE WILLING!

Cain and Abel

 Art Katz does the best job of teaching the story of Cain and Abel.  It is in three parts, starting here.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prDFqfy1_jM

Cain was older than Abel, we don't know by how much.

Cain worked the ground.  Abel took care of animals.

Adam and Eve were aware that animal sacrifice was what God required, they taught their children that.

Cain was not willing to do that.  Cain was not going to be the one who would crush the head of the Accuser. Adam and Eve knew that based on his actions.  

So they had Abel, breath, vapor either one gives a good sense of the meaning of the name.  Why did they choose that name?  Did God make them prophetically aware that he would not be on this earth for anywhere near the 900 years that ordinary people were living in the pollution free earth?

Cain was aware he was not the chosen one, but that maybe Abel would be.

Sin was crouching at his door in the form of envy and pride and he allowed it to overcome him.  God said the choice was his as to whether or not it would overcome him.  (Sorry Calvin, you and TULIP are wrong again.)

Cain offered his grain the very best of his grain, but no life was taken, no penalty of death was in his "sacrifice."

Abel offered a life, one of his animals was sacrificed.  Blood was shed.  God was pleased.

Cain knew God was pleased, Cain rejected God by bashing in the skull of his brother.

What a short distance it is from envy and pride to murder.

Beware, sin is crouching at the door.

 the choice was his. Sorry Calvin you are dead wrong again. 

"Do I look dead to you?" The Accuser

 Listening to a podcast (the chosen people with Yael Eckstein) and this line was inserted into the interaction between Satan and Eve (with Adam standing silently near-by).  

I firmly believe it was an inspired addition.  

Satan had to have something concrete to point to.  Something Eve could see with her eyes.  Something that could not be denied.  Satan was trying to get her to deny the ONE who had created her, he was trying to get her to disobey under the penalty of death, which no one and nothing had actually experienced yet, but it must have been foreboding, even though it was not something they had experienced thus far in any way. 

"Death" was the punishment for disobedience, but Satan had obviously disobeyed God and here he was, so what was "death", was it really that bad, or was God lying about the punishment.  

and so Eve ate.

Her mind focused on what she could see, and Adam ate in direct rebellion to the direct command of God, and so Adam is held more accountable.

Teacher, Teacher!

 Can you teach me… Psalm 83:13-18 

“Make them like tumbleweed, my God,
    like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest
    or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with your tempest
    and terrify them with your storm.
16 Cover their faces with shame, Lord,
    so that they will seek your name.

17 May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;
    may they perish in disgrace.
18 Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord—
    that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.”   …….. if you can’t teach this, please stop teaching!!

Psalm 109:15

 15 

“May their sins always remain before the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name from the earth.”

If you have no explanation for this verse, you should probably stop teaching until you do.

Join Forces Create a Better World, Peace in Our Time, Kingdom Now

 Nope, not gonna happen.  Yeshua (Jesus) said so.  Any peace, will be a false peace, a temporary peace, possibly up to 3 1/2 years, but entirely false, nevertheless.  This age ends in a horrific time of war, disease, famine and tribulation “like no other”.

Love Like There is No Tomorrow

 Sacrificial love, motivated and totally empowered by the Holy Spirit is the most powerful force in this world, and the coming Kingdom.   Surrender is the most powerful thing you can do in the upside down Kingdom.

John Calvin and TULIP are Evil

John Calvin was a Protestant who controlled the town of Geneva. If you disagreed with him and his counsel, your property was confiscated and you were kicked out of the town. Heresy (wrong belief as defined by John Calvin) was punishable by death. He was in charge for 4 years and executed 16 people per year in addition to burning “witches”. Calvin allowed for torture to obtain confessions of breaking his laws. TULIP and Calvin are evil. Period!

King James Bible Only What a Crock of Sh_t!

King James of the King James Bible believed in the “divine right of kings.” This means the King is infallible. Disobedience to the king is disobedience to God. Kind of funny that there are entire groups of people who are “King James Bible only” people, apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Just for one example “mansions” is a horrible and incredibly wrong translation of the Greek word “mone” in John 14:2. “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” “Mone” shows up again in the same chapter verse 23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” No translation in the universe translates “mone” as “mansion” in this verse, let’s see why. “And we will come to him, and make our mansion with him.” Guess that is why because it sounds ridiculous, but read verse two again… inside of a house are many “mansions”. Rooms, rooms would be a good translation in verse two, and “abode” is perfectly fine for verse 23. Last thing on KJV Jacob is a Hebrew name that has been brought over into English just fine, it is used hundreds of times, BUT, the KJV translates it to the English “James” any guesses as to why the very scholarly translators of the King JAMES Bible chose to do that?

Unity is Found in the God of Israel and His Messiah

 Unity is not found in Calvinism.

Unity is not found in Arminianism.

Unity is not found in Rome. 

Unity is not found in Constantinople.

Unity is not found in any philosophy that denies Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel.

The Unity that the Messiah prayed for in John 17 is found in believing Jews and gentiles uniting in faith in His Name. Jews are simply receiving their inheritance, gentiles are kept in a place of humility because they are being grafted in and adopted in to this very Jewish story. The Messiah is the uniting factor. The chosen people are the “residence”.

You Could Be Wrong

 This is a key to maintaining humility. Calvin could be wrong. Luther could be wrong. The greatest human minds of all time could be wrong.

simple prayer

 “Help me get out of Your way, do what You want with my life.”  J. Jonas

The Gospel

 

 My attempt at clarifying the gospel message. I know it is long, but feedback would be appreciated. It is still a burden on my heart to write down as clearly as possible what I believe to be truth. 

This world is filled with lies. 

That is no surprise because Jesus told us that for a limited period of time, Satan, who is the father of lies, would be the ruler of this world. How he got into that position is, at least partially, revealed in the Bible.

Before man was created, God created other beings that we usually call angels, but we should be aware they were also called gods. We know they were called gods because one of the commandments is, “You shall have no other gods before me.” So there had to be other gods in order for this command to make any sense at all. These angels/gods had positions of power like in the military, some were generals, some captains, some corporals, etc. God allowed them to be assistants, co-rulers with Him, but of course, under Him overseeing the earth. One of those generals, Lucifer began to believe that he should not have to submit to God. He stirred up other angels/gods and it is said that some of them joined him in this rebellion against God Most High.

Now we come to the place in history where Adam and Eve are in the garden and God grants them authority to rule over the earth and all the creatures in it. His one rule for Adam and Eve is, don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In other words, stay in relationship with Me, trust Me to lead you and guide you through life, don’t try to be your own boss and figure all this out on your own. Before too long Satan takes an opportunity to tempt them into believing that God is not telling them the truth. He tells them that if they disobey God and eat from the tree they will be “like God” and they will not die. Adam and Eve fall for the lie and the authority that they had to rule over the earth now transfers to Satan because their sin was believing that God was lying and trusting Satan. That is how Satan became the ruler of this world. In choosing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they were choosing Lucifer (light-bearer) to rule over their lives, so all humanity inherits the nature/tendency to follow Lucifer to the death. That is the best explanation I can give as to how Satan became the ruler of this world. It is key to make note of the fact that this was a “legal transaction” Adam and Eve disobeyed God and suffered the punishment of death and Satan took over their job because they gave him authority when they chose to believe, and therefore, worship him. But even right there at that event God announced that the “seed of the woman” one of the descendants of Adam and Eve would crush the head of Satan and put mankind back into right relationship with God.

Mankind multiplies on the earth but they see that they eventually die so once again some of the other fallen angels/gods lie to them and basically say - give us your daughters and we will impregnate them and those beings will live forever. The ones that are born that way are the result of human women and angels combining are called Nephilim, usually the main characteristic we associate with them is they were giants.

Something that is truth but is hard for us to admit or recognize is that unless God moves in our lives we will choose to stay in a place of rebellion against Him over and over.

This leads to the story of Noah. Everyone on earth was turning from God to evil, but this one family had not been as affected by the mixing of men and angels and God gave Noah grace to obey Him. One family and some of the land animals are rescued from a world-wide flood while every human and human-angel mixture is killed. One son of Noah, Ham had a son Canaan who carred some of the Nephilim gene, so the giants continue to appear, but in a far more limited way..

Years later humans are right back in the same mess they are working together attempting to become gods. The project they are working together on is a tower into the heights of heaven where the gods dwell. They are wanting to establish total independence from God Most High. God had made clear they were to scatter and fill the earth and they were doing the exact opposite, gathering in a city and working on one project together. At this point God says something pretty amazing, He says, that when humans are united and with one purpose “nothing they plan to do will be impossible.” It should be evident at this point in human history that most “progress” does not ultimately go to the betterment of human kind, most progress goes to weapons of war and perfecting the ability to destroy each other. Therefore the greatest mercy God could show would be to block this unity. This leads to the final part of the story of the tower of Babel.

God confuses the united language of the people so they can no longer work together. He divides the language into 70 languages (72 in the Septuagint) and puts the gods in charge of them, and they scatter off into the world to be ruled over by the individual god that is in charge of them and that god leads them to a territory that will become the home base of that god.

Then God does something unexpected and beyond human wisdom. God chooses one man and his barren wife and says, “I will make a nation out of Abram and Sarai.” That nation “Israel” becomes His portion. Through His relationship with Israel He will be contrasting how He treats His people with how the gods of the nations treat their people. So the contrast is set up, there are only two people groups in God’s reality, the nations (gentiles) and Israel.

Satan still remembered that God has said one day the “seed of the woman” would crush his head, he knows that seed will come out of this nation. Satan makes it his business to destroy this nation before the Messiah can come.

God chose to be known as the God of Israel, He would call this small group of people, His glory, His portion, the people of His own possession. This choosing by God Most High puts a target on the back of Israel and we can see over and over again throughout history Satan and the “gods” who rule over the gentile nations targetting the Jewish people and the land of Israel, specifically Jerusalem, which is where God says His King will sit on His throne.

We learn about God by reading the history of how He interacted with the Jewish people. Famous stories like Moses and the Exodus, David and Goliath, Daniel in the lion’s den and many others are simply stories of the people of Israel and their God. The book of Psalms which is just another word for songs is a good book to read. In it the songs that the Jewish people sang both about God and to God are kept for us to keep looking at today. One category of the songs is songs of lamentation, songs that are very honest and raw crying out to God. Why is there so much injustice? Is typically the cry we hear. God does not mind hard questions. Psalm 23 is famous it starts out, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” That is cool because it reveals that God is like a shepherd watching over our lives in an ultimate way. All of these interactions between God and the Hebrews both individually and corporately will speak to us about God’s character and nature.  The Holy Spirit will reveal what we need to learn, resting and trusting the Holy Spirit is choosing the tree of life OVER the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  These records were kept for our instruction and we deeply hinder our walk with God when we dismiss any part, or worse yet all of the Hebrew Bible, mistakenly called the Old Testament. 

God can’t just put a stop to all evil without killing all humans, but He knows that this world is only a tiny part of reality.

In fact, the Bible calls this period of time from the fall of Adam until the day of the Lord “this evil age”. Wars, death, constant conflict, accusations from Satan, temptations from Satan, self-centered behavior driving the consumerism and colonialism and greed of this world system. In the garden of Eden before the fall, there was a simple agricultural system with no advertisers to make you feel like you lacked anything. No sickness, no death, no wars to advance the kingdom or agenda of power hungry men. The Kingdom to Come is a return to Eden. No more wars and Yeshua reigning from Jerusalem. His kingdom that is coming when Satan is cast down is the reality that will last forever. The focus of Yeshua the Messiah in this evil age is on creating an environment or set of circumstances that put us in a place of admitting we need His forgiveness and His life. As we are brought closer and closer to the close of this evil age, it is going to be part of our training plan that takes us deeper into God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel. In the headlines and in the Old Testament.

When His Spirit brings us to that place the most beautiful fact that we find out is that all the work has been done!

The true God knows our weakness. He knows we cannot work our way to Him, so He did the work on the cross and simply asks us to trust in what He did. His love did what He saw we could not do. As a bonus since Jesus did not sin but did submit to death - He releases us from that legal hold and can promise us a place in His soon coming Kingdom.

Turning to God, repenting of our sin and trusting Jesus puts us into becoming a grafted in part of Israel and God’s Kingdom. In order for His Kingdom to come all other kingdoms and the merchandising system have to be brought down to destruction. That is what we see happening now. No political or economic solution is going to work because God is behind the tearing down of the structures of this evil age that lead to violence, greed and death. Imagine if all the effort put toward war and greed were put to caring for each other? That will never happen in this evil age, but God has placed that longing in our hearts and He will bring it to pass in the Kingdom to come.

We the followers of the Messiah who was crucified in this evil age have a calling that is revealed in the post-tribulation view of the end times. God’s people are present to the end witnessing (a word that in the original language implies martyrdom) to the truth of the coming Kingdom of God and the necessary destruction of every kingdom in this evil age.

We could picture it as if the house you were living in had pipes that were all about to bust and wiring that was going to burn up and mold and etc. The best thing to do would be to tear the whole thing down and start over. When we see the nations and the economy getting torn down it is the best thing because it is all corrupt and needs replaced by a truly righteous King and Kingdom.

When God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt He took them through a desert where they had to rely on Him for food and water and shade and warmth. In this situation of total dependence on Him, they found Him to be faithful and true. As the end of this age approaches government and financial systems will collapse and our reliance on them will be bad. We need to begin learning the lesson that He can provide all we need.

Bad news can lead to good news. We are sinners and God’s punishment awaits us, but Jesus took that punishment and if we put our trust in what He did on the cross, God’s mercy and love await us.

Bad news can lead to good news. Every nation and economy is doomed but their collapse will make way for the Kingdom of Peace.

God’s Spirit reveals these things and we believe and agree with Him. That puts us in alignment with Truth and brings us Life. Agreeing with the bad news leads us to hope in the good news.

True believers learn the hard lesson over time that their efforts, their trying and striving, their “I will’s…” are useless against the onslaught of temptations in this evil age. The way of a follower of the Messiah is to die to self - admit you can’t love like He loved and voluntarily get out of the way. From a place of rest you trust and allow His love to flow through you unhindered.

Hypocrisy among those who claim to be followers of Yeshua is a subject that must be addressed Anyone can go online and get a fire-fighters uniform and walk around in it and even show up at a fire, but you can tell the real fire fighters. They are the ones running the hoses and running into the building if the chief says to. Real followers of Yeshua have His life in them and that life does the things He did when He was on the earth. Humble servant-hearted people who welcome sinners while challenging everyone who thinks they are righteous in themselves. Yeshua proclaimed a coming Kingdom knowing full well that anything gained in this evil age would one day be shaken, destroyed and burned up. True followers simply get out of the way - die to self - and allow His Life to flow through them. If the person is not bearing fruit they are not a follower of God and only God can ultimately judge “fruit”.

God is faithful and true.

We are not.

Israel is not.

                              But God is so the story isn’t over 

                                                UNTIL 

the chosen people are in the promised

land with the promise fulfilled.

Lastly, I have felt for years that a public apology/repentance needs to be made for the atrocities committed anytime the “church” became united with monetary, political or worst of all military power. The crusades, the pogroms, the spanish inquisition and the terrible 30-year war that cost millions of lives are all examples of gentile pride rising up and throwing off the God-designed limitations of being graciously, mercifully grafted into the commonwealth of Israel. Evil, greedy men rise up and unite themselves with the powers of the air to build their own kingdom in this evil age. It is all straight from Satan whether the Pope, Luther, Calvin or Augustine was the one saying it. It was never okay and like Daniel in Chapter 9 I publicly repent before God and man for the sins of the ”church”. Church is a man-made word and when it comes out from under the humbling covering of the commonwealth of Israel, it is a man-made institution bent on acquiring money and power and determined to separate itself into denominations that each claim exclusive little “truths” that make them the one-and-only “right” way. Denominations are a stench in the nostrils of God. I publicly repent of the abomination of denominations.

How then will we live? Individual believers will be drawn to fellowship/community with other believers. These communities will demonstrate corporate humility. They will proclaim the destruction of this evil age and all who reject the Messiah of Israel. They will proclaim the God of Israel and the necessary joining of believers  to the commonwealth of Israel. They will be known by their self-sacrificial love for one another!  

There is no other body/concept in the Bible for the uniting of the people of God.

Maranatha!

Luke Chapter 1

It is the only gospel written specifically to a gentile, probably to inform them and prepare them to be fair at Paul's trials and sentencing. Historians say Mary was one of Luke's sources since he was not around for any of Yeshua's ministry. Pointing out that both Zechariah and Elizabeth are part of the priestly tribe of Levi, through Aaron, is beautiful. The priest has one job, to intercede between God and man and to reconcile man to God. Both of them lived "righteously and blamelessly" long before Yeshua went to the cross. How is that possible? The Law had many provisions for failure and covering (atonement), so it is not that they lived perfectly, but that they accessed the provision for "when" they failed. Gabriel is really excited to bring this message to Zechariah, Behold, look here, this is amazing, the long-awaited Messiah is coming and your boy gets to be the "Elijah-like" messenger that goes before HIM. Isn't that GREAT, WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC... and so when Zechariah responds with doubt...he is disciplined immediately. He was an old man a priest who had served in the presence of God from the time he was 30 years old. More was given to him, more was expected!

Mary is told "He will reign over the house of Jacob." At no time in no way, no matter what scholar or Bible teacher says otherwise there is no other way to interpret this than that, Yeshua will sit on David's throne and rule over the chosen people in the chosen land, PERIOD.

Mary, Miriam, in Hebrew, so young, so confused, but only asking "how" could it be. She is given grace and mercy and a more detailed answer from Gabriel. God's dealing with us is based on His knowledge of us, to them to whom more is given, more is expected.

How did Elizabeth know that Mary was the mother of the Lord? No telegraph, no internet, just the baby leaping in her womb. (I don't have a lot of experience with a 6-month-old baby leaping in the womb, but it must have been incredible!!)

The Magnificat - the name given to Mary's speech is filled with scriptural references and is beyond my ability to expound upon in less than 5 pages!

John the Baptist's birth is actually more famous at the time than the birth of Yeshua. Everyone around the area knew about it, he was in the community when he was born and all these signs and miracles accompanied his birth. The "Elijah-like" forerunner of the Messiah had come, unbelievably exciting.

Zechariah's speech is loaded with Messianic hope and expectation. John a part of the priestly family who would have automatically been a priest and expected to serve his time in Jerusalem, was instead "in the wilderness" until the time came for his ministry to be started. Good stuff, as Richard Show is famous for saying!