I’m afraid we modern believers are more like Lot than Abraham. We don’t understand the details of our national membership from a biblical standpoint. Exactly like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day we take for granted that we can have all the benefits of being in Father Abraham’s nation because the patriarch / father of a nation has the authority to choose who will be included in his nation, regardless of their genetic ancestry.

Check that again. Have we overlooked the essential element that – the father of a nation has the authority to choose who will be included in his nation.

Period.

Bestowing of sonship and inheritance by the Father to person(s) of his choosing is what Abra(ha)m was talking about as he prepared to make his trusted servant his heir.

Continue reading “194) Inheritance Determined By The Father”

When the Roman Emperors bastardized Christianity into paganism, the LORD transferred leadership of the Kingdom of God to the Hebrew Ishmael, son of Abraham, who had already inherited a share of dominion.

“And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee / in thy presence serving in thy kingdom as a prince of the King of the world! And God said…I have heard / agreed to thee…I will make him [among your many nations] a GREAT nation. (Genesis 17:18-20)

In 610 Muhammed – following in Moses’ footsteps – leads his pagan Arab people to return to the original monotheism of the prophets Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus / Isa with submission / Islam to the will of God. This return to faith in Creator God’s authority over righteous daily submission in contrast to paganism, including Christianity with its transactional nature, the false doctrine of the Trinity, and the use of idols in its churches spread like wildfire through most of the Roman Empire in the next 100 years. There is no way this hugely significant world-changing religious and political condition is not included in Daniel’s prophesy of the last world empire.

“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles / Europeans trust.” (Matthew 12:14-21, Isaiah 42:1-10)

And Ishmael’s land grant is from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria (Genesis 25:16-17), the trade route between the two wealthiest nations, becoming the trade route between East and West of the entire world from that time until our own modern era.

” LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:” (Genesis 15:18) 

If you can’t believe that there can be righteous Muslims it may be because you attribute righteousness and wickedness to entire nations, when it is patently clear that there are wicked Jews like Netanyahu carrying out genocide and ethnic cleansing on Palestinians exactly as the Christian Nazis did to Jews in Europe, and Religious Right Christians supporting President Trumps’ unconstitutional and cruel treatment of non-white immigrants to the US, pervasive lying, covering up of his sex crimes, and warmongering.

Righteousness is a personal relationship with God proven through carrying out his covenantal way of living. It is not cultural dogma demonstrated one day a week in a social setting.

Ishmael proved his identity as a son / heir of God when he

• received him / accepted what he offered, didn’t demand a relationship on his terms,
• and therefore was given [legal] power / rights, authority, jurisdiction, inheritance rights to become [after proven by his actions] one of the sons of Abraham’s God,
• even to them that believe on his name / attribute of YHVH:” (John 1:12)

• “And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
• And Ishmael his son / heir was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
  • Old enough to understand what he was sacrificing, and big enough to refuse to give up the greatest concentration of sexual pleasure sensors.
• In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.” (Genesis 17:24-26)
  • In a joining ceremony like wedding or adoption, Ishmael CHOSE to accept Abraham’s GOD’S offer to become his son / heir.

Muslims are still the largest single religious group to circumcise boys. In the Sunnah (the Prophet Muhammad‘s recorded words and actions), Muhammad stated that circumcision was a “law for [Islamic] men.”

As he has done throughout history, YHVH’s Savior shares the kingdom, the power, and the glory with his brothers, the sons of God who stand in battle with him against the Adversary.

“Abel…Enoch…Noah…Abraham…Isaac…Jacob…Joseph…Moses…the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith

• subdued kingdoms,
• wrought righteousness, 
• obtained promises,
• stopped the mouths of lions. 
• Quenched the violence of fire,
• escaped the edge of the sword, 
• out of weakness were made strong,
• waxed valiant in fight,
• turned to flight the armies of the aliens…
• and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 
• And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings,
• yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 
• They were stoned,
• they were sawn asunder,
• were tempted,
• were slain with the sword:
• they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented…
• wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise…that they without US should not be made perfect…“(Hebrews 11)

Revelation 2:18-29

“And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. 

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 

[Jan] Crouch was, perhaps, one of the most influential televangelists of the modern era.On television, she played the role of wife and mother, wearing elaborate outfits and outsized wigs and falsies; nodding along to her husband’s sermons, swaying to that idiosyncratic sound of Christian contemporary music and, of course, testifying about the good will of God.

“Momma Jan” was part of a multi-billion dollar empire. With her husband Paul Crouch, Jan founded Trinity Broadcast Network (now called TBN) in 1973, the 24-hour network dedicated to a particular kind of Christian programming. Crouch and her husband, long-time hosts of Praise the Lord, were the very memorable faces of “prosperity gospel,” a controversial brand of Evangelical Christianity that has a laser focus on “give and you will receive.” TBN, and the Crouches, raked in millions of dollars as they solicited donations from their sleek television sets while enacting a kind of contemporary worship…

Continue reading “190) The Corrupt Church Rev 2:18-29”

“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” (Revelation 3:1)

Around 612 BCE, the Assyrian Empire was conquered by the Neo-Babylon Empire. This opened up new horizons for the wealthy kingdom of Lydia in Anatolia, with its capitol at Sardis, which turned its attention from defending the eastern front to overrunning its western rivals, the Greek Ionian cities along the coast.

Lydian rulers, however, admired the Greeks and treated the Ionian cities leniently… Croesus, the last Lydian king, even paid for the construction of the temple of Artemis, which became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Thus, the Ionian coast city-states and the Lydians remained on peaceful terms with very tight cultural and commercial relations. Sardis was a centre for the traffic of goods and ideas between Mesopotamia and the Greek Ionian settlements, a crossroad of trade, and an ideal meeting point for the exchange of ideas, beliefs, customs, knowledge, and new insights. This rich exchange was one of the factors that, around 600 BCE, allowed the Ionian cities to turn into the intellectual leaders of the Greek world.

Continue reading “191) The Corpse Church Rev 3:1-6”

“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God.“ (I Corinthians 15:24)

We must connect “the end” with “the beginning” of this era, when one of the two humans who had been granted dominion instead chose the Serpent as master triggering the battle between the god of death and the human ruler appointed by the Creator and Sustainer of life.

“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household?…that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing…” (Luke 12:42-43)

We understand that the kingdom of heaven and earth could not be established until the perfected Only Begotten Son of God took his place.

“he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten [declared my heir is] thee…in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death…Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;” (Hebrews 5:5-9)

Can we not understand that the instructions he authored are NOT

• for spiritually immature children or adults to ask him to “come into my heart” to guarantee they go to heaven regardless of their behavior and lack of belief as adults,
• or to recite a creed,
• or even to maintain a righteous way of life?

In God’s kingdom, we are meant to transform into the likeness of our Savior by following the same process he underwent – submitting our will to the will of the Father. And it’s not any more comfortable than a drug addict trying to kick an opioid or methamphetamine habit!

It is no different from any child developing social skills and self-control through mastering self-will through ever higher levels of practice, practice, practice. As one of my son’s high school teachers explained, “You decide if you want to work at a fast-food restaurant or in a profession by how you apply yourself now.”

Continue reading “SECTION XXXVIII: The End Cometh When Leaders Are Ready To Take Charge As A Military Order”

“He that hath an ear, let him hear / respond to what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Revelation 2:1-7

If we’re going to understand the prophetic value of these letters we need to know their historical reality.

Continue reading “187) The Calculating Church Rev 2:1-7”

Smyrna

“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.” 

During the Roman period, Smyrna was apparently a city of great beauty and impressive architecture that circled Mount Pagus like a “crown”... (cf. Revelation 2:10 “crown of life”). Walking through the city, one would a see…temples to Zeus (including a large altar), Cybele (the Mother Goddess, near the harbor), Aphrodite, Dionysius, and the Emperors (probably Tiberius in 26 AD and Domitian before 96 AD), the harbor, a library, and a massive agora…In the 2nd century AD, Smyrna built another imperial temple to Hadrian. Along with inscriptions honoring the emperors and statues of Domitian and Trajan, coins issued by the city often depicted emperors and even the imperial temples, so it is obvious that Smyrna was dedicated to the worship of the emperor and the imperial cult.

Continue reading “188) The Crisis Church Rev 2:8-11”