Thorn in the Flesh

I read and respond to many prayer requests on Facebook -- so many people are going through trials and tribulations and need our collective voice going up to the Throne on their behalf -- myself included. One I read recently was seeking agreement to his prayer that he shared in which he started it by saying, “I claim victory over such and so.” I’ve seen others begin with “I decree this in Jesus’ name.”

These words defy the LORD’s instructions to us to “ask” in His name. Asking is not decreeing, demanding, or claiming. It is common to see such wrong prayers performed by televangelists in which they address Satan and say “I take authority over you Devil” . . . Does that make the devil omnipresent? Why talk to him as if he tuned into all prayers as God does?

Do we have all authority over the devil? If we did, the antichrist would never rise and fulfill the prophecies of his 7-year revolt and earthly exaltation. When Jesus sent out the seventy in His name while He was still with us, they returned excited about their delegated power:

“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”- Luke 10:19-20

Does that same power operate in Christians today or even after His resurrection and ascension? Certainly spiritual warfare against the power of the enemy over our lives continues and we can have victory as we resist Satan and he flees from us. But even the devil has a purpose here in the scheme of things until Jesus returns and locks him up. If we could just stomp on him, why couldn’t the Apostle Paul do so when he pleaded to the LORD to be free from his invisible enemy?

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” - 2 Cor 12:7

So Paul could not demand, decree, claim, or rebuke what God allowed. If he could not do so, neither can we.

The war against the powers of darkness will continue until Jesus returns with us His saints to rule and reign over this planet. Until then, we need the spiritual armor listed in Ephesians 6 to resist the enemy. We must not give him any advantage over us by wandering off into enemy territory. 

“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” - Eph 6:16

And we must be on the alert for one another -- we’re not in this battle alone. Soldiers watch each others backs. This is where confessing our faults one to another and bearing one another’s burdens come in. The need to gather together is all the more vital as we see the Day approach. The devil knows his time is short and he is on the rampage. It’s not “every man for himself,” but “all hands on deck.”

Keep on the lookout for your brother - you are his keeper.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” = Rom 8:35-39

"Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death. Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." - 1John 3:13-16

Church Calendar

Easter is coming soon -- another tradition of man that has been placed on the Catholic Church Calendar as a way to compel Christians to attend church by compulsion. We do not need to follow the Calendar to celebrate the resurrection of our LORD Christ Jesus. We are to memorialize His death and resurrection every time we break bread together until He comes.

If you’ve listened to my Scattered Sheep Report and seen the postings on my Facebook page of the fish head man attacking Lenton meat-eaters, you know what I think about churchianity and Catholic baggage left over in the Protestant denominations. How could the Apostle Paul be any clearer with what he wrote to the believers in Galatia?

Gal 4:9-11 - “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”

Attending church under the threat of being guilty of a sin is the bondage upon which Rome built her holy Roman empire. Paul calls it weak and beggarly. Some translations use the words, “weak and worthless.” Even if non-Catholic churches play up Easter with their sunrise services and Easter egg hunts, they are playing into something that passage says is futile. He even takes it personally by saying it’s as if all the work of the Gospel he preached to them was in vain -- a waste of his time -- if what they end up with is this kind of empty churchianity.

And then to top that off -- those he warned were apparently offended by his words:

Gal. 4:16 - “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?”

How many times have some of you been vilified and ostracized for speaking the unpopular truth to your churched and unchurched family and friends?

When I buy some marshmallow peeps and maybe a chocolate bunny from the special occasion aisle at the grocery store next month, I’ll relish the treat without giving it any religious significance whatsoever. I might even eat a hard-boiled egg or two without even thinking of the stone being rolled away from the empty tomb.

You might want to ditch church on Easter this year to leave room for the crowd that comes out twice a year. Your pastor no doubt will be giving the Gospel message, assuming that the crowded pews are full of unconverted sinners carrying on a long-held empty tradition of attending church on Easter. Let them have their day. We walk in the light and have no need of going back over the milk of the Word.

"Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." = Heb 6:1-2

"When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." -- Matt 28:17-20

Restoration of All Things

I posed this question earlier in the week and it only sparked a couple of A-mil fb friends to surface and proclaim that Elijah will not actually come - the prophecy already being fulfilled by John the Baptist.

"Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things."-- Matt 17:11 -- When Elijah comes, what things will he restore? 

Jesus here is saying that Elijah is still coming, and in the next verse stated that John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah. He was obviously showing the present and future double fulfillment of the prophecy -- a spiritual fulfillment first off, and the physical fulfillment before His second coming.

John the Baptist called the people back to their fathers, but is that the same thing as the final Elijah restoring all things? John the Baptist did not restore all things -- Elijah's future ministry plays a role in the second coming when the one Elijah proclaims does indeed restore all things. 

Now -- what needs restoration in this day and age that Elijah points to and Jesus' return fulfills? Where do we begin?

• Restore the faith once and for all delivered to the saints that has been hijacked and corrupted by apostate imposters.

• Restore the planet earth that is groaning for the corruption and destruction being done upon it by the earth dwellers.

• Restore the 12 Tribes of Israel to their promised land and to their Messiah -- when they look upon Him whom they have pierced.

• Restore a righteous government -- a new world order -- where David is back on the throne and we resurrected saints rule and reign with Jesus 1,000 years.

• Restore the ecology of the planet and even the harmony between the animals.

I could go on and on. All I can say is -- Bring it on Jesus!! Every knee shall bow before Him -- I await that day -- but not in idle anticipation, but with an excitement that I hope is contagious among people I encounter.

What a happy day that will be!!

“But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." - Acts 3:18-21

"But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea."
--Is 11: 4-9

Lazarus

Dear Pilgrims-

I saw a trailer for a new film that just came out. It is called The Lazarus Effect – named after the Bible story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The problem with the movie scenario is that the serum used to revive a dead woman brought the spirit back from hell – and as you can imagine what follows makes for a ghastly horror movie. When you watch the trailer, you’ll see a quick flash of a black screen with John 11 imprinted on it. If you blink, you’ll miss it. [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGfOyzyK2cQ ]

Why has this zombie theme been so popular in the history of novels and films? The Frankenstein monster -- those brought back from the dead – are always frightening and evil. If they all are inspired by John 11, they sure got it all wrong. When Lazarus was raised from the dead, he continued to live out his life just as he always had with his two sisters. He was no monster.

The Walking Dead TV series, inspired by the vintage film, The Night of the Living Dead, is a mockery of the true resurrection we saints anticipate. When the dead in Christ rise first, and we are transformed from mortal to immortality, we won’t be spooky at all. When we come back in our resurrected bodies to rule and reign with Christ, we’ll be glorious and beautiful. The only fear we’ll invoke to mortals will be holy fear and reverence.

I honestly believe that when we are caught up into heaven, to the place where Jesus said He would prepare for us, when we get there it will really feel like home, sweet home. It will not be a strange place for us. We will feel very comfortable – nothing scary about it.  If you are feeling homesick for a place you’ve never been – that’s what your heart is longing for.

The world can have its zombie stories – because without Jesus that is the horror that awaits them. All the cheap thrills and chills the world now gets attending such movies will be even more of a nightmare when they find themselves at the Great White Throne Judgment.

Our resurrection from the dead is described in this passage:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

-- 1 Cor. 2:9

I hope this new film that directs the lost to John 11 will be a shout out to the audience that they have a choice to make. Choose Jesus and you’ll be blessed like Lazarus, reject Jesus and you’ll resemble the woman and dog displayed in this movie. Pray they will see the obvious.

"Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” -- John 11:23-26

"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. "- Rev 22:1-3

"Little Faith"

                                                  

"And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." - Matt 24:12

We hear much in the news about tensions in the Middle East or between the U.S. and Russia. All over the news, the rhetoric between the political right and left is heating up. It seems that in every sphere of life, people are dividing into camps and separating from others at an unprecedented rate.

Even in the church, factions are springing up and hostilities are on the rise between believers who disagree on grey areas of biblical understanding -- where the Bible is not black and white. Social media has become rather unsociable.

Old earth creationists and new earth creationists bicker and villainize each other. Pre-wrath rapturists and post-tribbers ridicule pre-tribbers and insult their intelligence --- and vice-a-versa. King James-Only adherents belittle all those who read modern versions of the Bible. Hyper-Grace name-call believers who promote moral purity, labeling them as legalists and pietists. I could go on and on.

The arguing back and forth has sent many Christians into isolation where they can be alone with just the Bible, free of controversy. Alone with God’s Word to find encouragement, faith, hope, and spiritual salve for festering wounds inflicted by well-meaning brothers in Christ.

As the prophesied rise in persecution of those who name the name of Christ heats up, somehow denominations and institutions and their creeds fly out the window. When a man cries out to Jesus, while a terrorist saws off his head, whether he has all his doctrine in order pales under the circumstance. He, just by his new nature, as who he is, in childlike faith calls on the name above all names (but don’t argue whether that name is Jesus Christ or Yeshua Hamashiach) to receive him into His Kingdom with his last breath.

Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders for laying heavy burdens upon the people. Are we doing the same thing when we expect all Christians to be as advanced in Bible knowledge as we think we are? The Apostle Paul wrote:

“Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.” - Rom 14:1

It’s time to re-examine our tone when contending for the faith. We cannot give up on instructing the younger believers or reasoning with those in opposition. But we must do so without judging the other person’s standing in Christ. Each follower of Jesus is on a different place along the narrow road -- some are stragglers.

In the Christian classic, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” a character named ‘Little Faith’ is introduced who loses much based on his poor decisions -- but he makes it to his journey’s end in spite of his lack of knowledge. We must make sure we are a help to such pilgrims, and not a hindrance.

“I will hear what God the LORD will speak,

For He will speak peace

To His people and to His saints;

But let them not turn back to folly.

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,

That glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth have met together;

Righteousness and peace have kissed.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

And righteousness shall look down from heaven.”

-- Ps 85:8-11

And a song for “Little Faith.”

Imminence Part 2 - by Anton Bosch

Paul and Imminence

Part 2

Jesus’ teaching on imminence is exceedingly clear: “…the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:44; Luke 12:40). (See Part 1 of this series.) His statements on the topic should be sufficient to convince any of us. But what did Paul believe and teach on the subject?

Before we look at Paul’s teaching on the topic, bear in mind that those who deny the doctrine of imminency, try to reason it away by saying that we can die at any moment. They say that Paul was looking forward to death and not the Rapture. While it is true that Paul teaches us not to fear death, and that “absence from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8), he encourages believers to look for the Lord’s return rather than their own death.

To the Corinthians Paul writes: “… eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:7-8). Was Paul mocking them by telling them to wait for something that was not going to happen in their lifetime? Was he using the Lord’s return as a false threat? Obviously not. The soon return of the Lord was very real to Paul, and to all believers of that time.

In teaching on marriage Paul says: “…the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none… For the form of this world is passing away.” (1 Corinthians 7:29-31). In the light of the imminency of the Lord’s return, even legitimate pursuits should be set aside. Remember, Paul is not mistaken since the very principle of imminence means Jesus comes at any moment, and an “an unexpected time.” While Paul was addressing the believers of his day, he is also speaking to all believers of all time, and this truth does not change: The time is short, the Lord is at the door.

Paul also reminds the Corinthians: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed”. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). Pay attention to the “we” in the above quote. He does not say “they,” meaning those in the distant future, but “we,” meaning himself and those alive at that time. Evidently Paul genuinely expected that some, or all, of those alive at that time would be raptured (even though some may die) before that great day.

To the church in Rome he says: “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:11-12). Once again notice the words “we” and not “they.” By our “salvation” Paul is clearly meaning the final consummation of our salvation – the transformation of the body. This cannot mean death and can only mean the resurrection which is concurrent with the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18). Once again, Paul is emphatic that the rapture is imminent and that he was expecting it in his lifetime. Furthermore his reference to the night being far spent and the day being at hand is a reference to the “Day of the Lord” which was soon to arrive.

He reminds the Philippians of the same truth: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21). Remember, death does not transform our body, the Rapture / Resurrection does, and again he writes of “our” and “we” and not “their” or “them.”

But also note that we are not urged to eagerly wait for death or for the Antichrist, but for the Lord Jesus Christ. Our focus is to be on Jesus. It just cannot be more simple or clear: “The Lord is at hand.” (Philippians 4:5). Just as with the statements of Jesus, it takes a lot of twisting of Scripture and mental gymnastics to make this verse mean anything but “The Lord is at hand”!

One of the clearest statements that shows that believers of the first century believed that the Lord could return literally at any moment lies in the fact that the Thessalonians had been deceived into believing that the Lord had come and that they had been left behind (2Thessalonians 2:1-2ff). If they had been taught that the Lord would not, and could not, come at any moment, they would not have been deceived. But they were deceived exactly because they believed what Paul had taught them: “…to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

Paul therefore says to them: “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober… For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-9). Notice how Paul uses the same reference that Jesus did to the thief coming at an unexpected time (Matthew 24:36-44; Luke 12:35-40). There is absolutely no warrant to link the “night” in this passage to the Tribulation. Only by reading a preconceived idea into the text can you come to that conclusion. The point is obvious: The thief comes at an unexpected time, and the middle of the night is the most unexpected time because people are sleeping. So the Thessalonians (and we) should not be spiritually asleep but sober since the Lord’s return is at the door.

While we do not fear death, we do not have our hope set on dying! We indeed long to be in His presence, but death is not our hope – the resurrection is. (Acts 23:6; 24:15; 26:6; 1Cor 15:19; 1Thes 2:19; 1Tim 1;1; 1 Pet 1:3; 13; 1 John 3:3;). It is against this background that Paul writes to Titus: “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

Let me say again, we have no Scripture to look for the Antichrist, the Tribulation or any other event or sign – we are to look for, and expect, our blessed hope – the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He should be our focus. Paul and the Lord Jesus’ message is exactly the same: Be ready, He is coming soon – when we least expect Him!

Jesus Loves His Children

This week I saw a funny article about the traits of a middle child.** Being from a large family - the fifth of nine children - I could relate to a lot of what the writer pointed out. One of the marks of a middle child is the desperate need for attention and the child's efforts to get noticed - even if it was by acting up. I was the child that got left behind with Grandma while the rest of the family went on vacation. 

Most of my siblings, vying for our parents' attention, took a different approach. They became performers. They sought ways to please our parents and would put on a show - singing and dancing - to find approval. Their reward was expressions of love from the adults who would brag about them to outsiders.

I'm sure each of you who had siblings had similar disparities in your own families. Now as members of the family of God, we are no longer in a dysfunctional family. We are not in competition with each other for our Heavenly Father's favors. His love for us is unconditional -- once we have been adopted into His family by the blood of the Covenant. 

The middle child syndrome can be seen in the church by Christians who put God's love to the test by acting up. They continue in their sins while proclaiming that God's grace covers all their rebellious ways. Others become performers, thinking they must find work to do in ministry - must keep busy - in order for Christ to approve of them.

Neither attitude is the fruit of one who has been set free from the bondage of sin. 

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." - Rom 8:2

The two extremes: legalism and license, are childish notions. And we are commanded to "Put away childish things." Jesus Christ finished the work. The Holy Spirit has empowered us to overcome sin. God the Father accepts us based upon the righteousness of His Son if we are in Christ.

So relax; grow up. Enjoy your liberty. You are OK. 

"Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him."
-- Ps. 37:3-7a

"Thus says the LORD:
'Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths,
where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.'"
-- Jer. 6:16a

** http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinchack/things-all-middle-children-know-too-well?fb_action_ids=10101715303230647&fb_action_types=og.shares#.ejVPmM8eV