Truth In Prophecy

Presents

LYING WONDERS OF THE ENDTIME PART 2

Upon performing some Scriptural research, I discovered that the word 'exploits' is only used two times in the entire Daniel. The Hebrew lexicon does not provide any information whatsoever for this word; and my Heritage Desktop Dictionary defines this word as 'an act or deed, especially a heroic feat'. While this could indeed be applied to heroic military action, in light of the fact that we are clearly told that we must rely upon the Lord for His spiritual strength, and not upon our own strength or wisdom in the flesh, is it possible that Daniel might be referring to heroic deeds which require great faith, and not necessarily military equipment? In other words, like the Apostle Paul, who told us to put on the whole armour of God, that we might fight the good fight of faith, is it possible that these are the exploits to which Daniel might be referring? Paul dedicated a major part of his Epistle to the Hebrews to this very topic of the heroes of faith. Consider the following verses:

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, KJV.

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12, KJV

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."2 Timothy 2:3,4, KJV" I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: "2 Timothy 4:7, KJV

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:10-12, KJV

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."Hebrews 4:12, KJV

Furthermore; is it possible that God the Father is much more concerned about the welfare of His spiritual Bride, that is, the New Jersualem, His Body of worldwide believers, who have been freed through the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son, and who are now fighting a relentess battle against the forces of darkness in the hearts and minds of men, so that they can be free as well; than He is in the fate of the Earthly city, Jerusalem; which is not only filled with the blood of His Prophets, but with His own Son's Blood as well? Again, Paul describes for us the spiritual Jerusalem in the following verses:

"Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forthand cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Galatians 4:21-5:1, KJV

Just as He fought against Jerusalem of old when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city three times, and then destroyed it, as we saw in part two, the Lord is going to do it again sometime in the near future, due to the multitude of her sins against Him in our current day as well. Consider the following warnings which the Lord issued to Jerusalem of old, through the mouth of His servant Jeremiah, just prior to her invasion and destruction by the forces of the Babylonian king:

"Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart. Jeremiah 4:16-18, KJV

"Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up atnoon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out. Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces. For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets. To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace." Jeremiah 6:4-14, KJV

As the Prophet Zechariah tells us in the following verses, the Lord is going to bring the Muslim nations of the Middle East against Jerusalem in order to chastise and destroy her in these Latter Days. Of course, once the Lord has used the Arab nations round about to chastise the rebellious Jews, He will then punish those nations as well by the brightness of His Coming at Armageddon. We are told that their bodies shall literally melt away while they stand upon their feet; which sounds very similar to what occurs during a powerful atomic blast:

"And in that day will I make Jerusalem 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 it...And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon." Zechariah 12:3, 9-11, KJV

"And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite
all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their
flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,
and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their
tongue shall consume away in their mouth."
Zechariah 14:12, KJV

We will take another look at the destruction of the wicked in part five of this series; but for now, let us return for a moment to the exploits and great works of faith which will be performed by God's children in the Last Days. As stated earlier, while Daniel's words could indeed be interpretted as referring to military victories by the IDF, as we have already seen, God is more interested in spiritual Salvation and Deliverance. He is more interested in the Salvation of our souls at this current time, than He is in the physical salvation of our bodies. That will come in its own time when we partake in the Resurrection of the Dead. In the following Endtime verses, not only does the Prophet Daniel seem to be referring to Spiritual Deliverance for the believing Jews at the Time of the End, following the three and a half years of Great Tribulation, instead of physical deliverance by way of military victories, but Jesus and the Apostle Paul emphasize this point as well:

"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." Daniel 12:1-3, KJV

"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke 4:16-19, KJV

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28, KJV

"Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." Romans 8:21-23, KJV

Notice that Daniel specifically says 'every one that shall be found written in the book'. In my view, he can only be referring to the Book of Life; and the only way that one can be included in that Book, is if he has done the work of God; which according to Jesus' own words, is accepting Him as the only Lord and Saviour. Thus in contradiction to those people who erroneously teach that the entire nation of Israel will be saved, as I point out in 'The Woman In The Wilderness And The 144,000', it is my belief that the Prophet Daniel may be referring to 144,000 flesh Jews who will be saved during the Endtime, due to God's extreme chastisements against the land of Israel. Consider the following verses:

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6, KJV

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:12-15, KJV

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." John 6:29, KJV Thus, in my view, the greatest exploits that Christians can be doing at this current time, and in the dark days ahead, is to continue waging the War of the Spirit, by preaching the truth, and winning souls to Christ; in spite of mounting opposition, persecution, and even death, at the hands of the anti-christ forces of the world; whether this be converted Christian Jews in Israel witnessing to their own unbelieving Jewish brethren, or whether it be the Lord's worldwide Body preaching the Gospel in many foreign lands. How many of us have read or heard of the heroic stories and testimonies of those brave pioneers of the Spirit who have dared to smuggle Bibles into Communist and Islamic lands; and by so doing, have placed their very lives in danger; or at the very least, have faced torture, incarceration, or deportation? As the Word clearly teaches us:

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13, KJV

"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." 1 John 3:16, KJV

It is for this reason that I always encourage my readers to
pray for the foreign missionaries. As a fifteen-year veteran of the mission field myself, I know what it is like to have to face a hostile communist crowd; or to be despised by staunch Buddhists; or even to be deported by an unfriendly foreign government due to ones's Christian beliefs and active evangelism. I have experienced all of these things for the cause of Christ; and by God's Grace, I would do so again, if He were to clearly call me into such a ministry. For now though, it appears that my primary ministry, is one of writing and instructing others via our online ministry. Like many of you, in a sense, I am currently an 'armchair Christian', and I do not hide the fact from myself; but at the same time, I know that God is in control of my life; and that He knows where He wants me, and what He wants me to be doing at any given time. As such, like the Apostle Paul, I can also say:

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Philippians 4:11, KJV

Truly then, the greatest exploit, and the greatest challenge for we Endtime Christians, is to publish the glad tidings as far and as wide as possible, in the time that remains; so that we may not be found ashamed at His Coming. In fact, as I point out in other articles, it may very well be that the Lord is purposely delaying His Second Coming, until we have completed the task which He has given us to do. Please consider the following verses:

"The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it." Psalms 68:11, KJV

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matthew 24:14, KJV

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15, KJV

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8, KJV

"And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." 2 Timothy 2:2, KJV

In light of all of this Scriptural evidence, it seems rather obvious to me, why right after stating 'but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits', Daniel then adds 'And they that understand among the people shall instruct many'; as if to possibly explain that this is what he means by exploits; that is, teaching and instructing the Lord's precious sheep; even if it means facing the sword of persecution. Surely, this task is about finished; and when it is done, the Lord will finally call all of us Home; but before that occurs, as we saw in part one, we will all be scattered and overcome by the anti-christ forces of the Endtime. In the eyes of the world, it will appear as if the Children of Darkness have triumphed over the Children of Light. Whether we speak of Christian Jews in Israel, or the Christian Body worldwide, heavy persecution seems to be in the forecast. Here are a few more verses on the topic:

"And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed." (Daniel 11:33-35)

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,(whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:15-22)

"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." (Revelation 13:7)

"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast,
that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause
that as many as would not worship the image of the beast
should be killed." (Revelation 13:15)

"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make
war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ." (Revelation 12:17)

"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall
kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's
sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one
another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets
shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity
shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that
shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
(Matthew 24:9-13)

All of the above verses paint a very startling picture of
what we can expect from both camps during these Last Days.
It should be noted that when the Great Tribulation begins,
as Jesus seems to indicate, its point of origin will most
likely be Jerusalem itself where the Beast will have set up
his seat of authority. It is for this reason that the Lord
directs His words in Matthew chapter twenty-four and other
Endtime chapters, to the Jews who will be living there at
the time the persecution begins. From there, beginning with
the defiling of the Third Temple of Solomon, the persecution
will spread out, and engulf other countries which oppose the
Beast. Whether or not it will eventually become worldwide in
scope, depends upon one's understanding of what is meant by
phrases such as 'all nations' and 'all the world', as they
are used in the various Endtime prophecies. Whether the
writers were simply referring to the world as it was known
in their day, or to literally all the world of the Endtime
is hard to say. For example, in the following three verses,
three different Greek words are use to denote the word 'all':

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the
world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end
come." (Matthew 24:14)

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)

"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a
decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be
taxed." (Luke 2:1)

These three words respectively are 'holos', 'hapas' and
'pas'; and they have a variety of meanings such as 'all',
'throughout' and 'everyone'. While we can preach the Gospel
throughout the whole world, that is, in every country, it
doesn't seem humanly possible for us to reach every single
person; as there are new people constantly being born into
the world; and Jesus must return at some point in time. In
the case of the taxation under Caesar Augustus, the writer
Luke cannot literally mean the entire world, because Caesar
did not control the entire world. The only ones who could be
taxed would be those who were under the jurisdiction of the
Roman Empire, which was not the entire physical world. For
these reasons, my understanding of what John means by the
Beast causing 'all the world' to wonder after him, as well
as 'causing all' to receive his mark, as we see in the
following verses, has changed somewhat:

"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and
his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered
after the beast...And he causeth all, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their
right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy
or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the
beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him
that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for
it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six." Revelation 13:3, 16-18, KJV

"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall
ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and
they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were
not written in the book of life from the foundation of the
world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and
yet is." Revelation 17:8, KJV

The above verses may still literally mean the entire Earth's
population, or they may be referring only to those people
who fall under the Beast's control in the Middle Eastern
arena, or however far his powerbase may extend. Time will
surely clarify this issue. One thing is for certain; the
technology for implementing this enslaving, demonic credit
system, is currently being developed in the United States of
America, as well as in Great Britain, and has already been
accepted by many other countries around the world. All that
may be lacking is a worldwide economic emergency, possibly
resulting from the coming Y2K glitch, in order to create a
situation where the world's population will be prompted to
accept such an evil system, in order to relieve them of the
suffering and discomfort which will result from the global
crash. For more information on this topic, please refer to
such articles as 'Mondex And The Mark Of The Beast' and 'The
Seven Heads'.

Returning to our topic of Endtime signs and wonders, I am
reminded of something which Jesus said to the unbelieving
Jews of His day. This verse can be found in three of the
Gospels; that is, Matthew, Mark and Luke; and it reads as
follows:

"A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign;
and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of
the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed."
(Matthew 16:4)

In the above verse, Jesus is showing a spiritual parallel
between the three days that the Prophet Jonah spent in the
belly of the great fish, and the three days that He would
spend in the bowels of the Earth following His Crucifixion.
Aside from that, He is saying that His generation of the
unbelieving Jews would receive no other signs due to their
unbelief. This is confirmed for us by another verse from the
Gospel of Mark which I also shared in part one:

"But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour,
but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his
own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that
he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And
he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round
about the villages, teaching." (Mark 6:4-6)

From these two verses, it appears that faith and belief were
necessary requirements in order for the Lord to manifest His
miracles. We could say that faith is the driving force which
enables one to manifest what they believe. In other words,
in certain cases, the people had to manifest their belief in
Jesus as the Messiah by an action of faith; such as bringing
the sick to Him on a bed, or stretching forth their hand, or
whatever action the Lord required of them. The Apostle James
expressed this idea very well when he wrote:

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew
me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my
faith by my works." (James 2:17-18)

Thus, we can say that it was the people creating a spiritual
vacuum through faith, which served as the mechanism by which
Jesus was able to perform His miracles. The Creative Power,
the Power to heal, was always there; Jesus always had access
to it. In fact, we are told by the Lord Himself, that He was
given the Spirit without measure by His Father. His physical
body served as a sort of storage container for the Power of
the Almighty. The Apostle Paul appears to have taught this
very same thing. Consider these verses:

"For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for
God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him."
(John 3:34)

"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
Colossians 2:9, KJV

But, unless the people drew upon Jesus in faith believing,
He was apparently limited in what He could do for them. We
find a perfect natural example of this in a young infant
with its mother. Under normal circumstances, the mother has
an unlimited supply of breastmilk; however, unless the baby
sucks her nipple, creating a vacuum in its mouth, the child
will never receive the nourishment the mother can provide.
Another example can be found in the field of meteorology.
There is an old saying which states that nature abhors, or
detests, a vacuum. We are all taught in school that after a
lightning discharge, the cold air must rush back together in
order to replace the hot air which was displaced by the heat
of the lightning bolt. It is this sudden expansion and
contraction of air which is believed to cause thunder.

As I concluded in part three, in order for Jesus to perform
miracles in any given town, it was necessary for the people
to create a sort of spiritual vacuum through their actions
of faith. Upon doing this, the creative, curative Spiritual
Energy which was stored in Jesus' body was released, thus
resulting in the miracles that He performed. That there was
indeed some intangible element leaving Jesus' body during
the performance of these miracles, is confirmed for us by
the following verses:

"And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had
gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said,
Who touched my clothes?" (Mark 5:30)

"And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went
virtue out of him, and healed them all." (Luke 6:19)

"And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive
that virtue is gone out of me." (Luke 8:46)

Thus, we see a clear correlation between the manifestation
of miracles, signs and wonders, and the people's willingness
to believe, and to manifest their belief through actions of
faith. As it also becomes evident through the Scriptures I
shared in part three, where there was little faith, there
were also fewer miracles. Through the above verses, I have
also demonstrated that a flow of Spiritual Energy emanated
from Jesus' body each time that He did these miracles. At
the time that I wrote the original version of this series
several years ago, a very inspiring picture formed in my
mind. With this brief picture I was also reminded of some
verses, which I will share with you shortly.

In this short flash of revelation, which lasted but a second
or so, I pictured a figure, which I understood to represent
the Lord, standing upon the Earth with His arms outstretched
as He is commonly depicted in many movies and paintings. As
I watched, a beam of white light came down from above, which
I understood to represent the Power and Spirit of God. When
this beam reached the Lord, I suddenly understood that He
was simply acting as a prism in order to reflect the Light
of God the Father. He wasn't the actual Source of the Light,
but only a Reflector of the same. The reason I know this, is
because after passing through His body, the Light was split
into many different colors, just as there are many different
manifestations of the Power and Spirit of God, yet all are
derived from the very same Source. Please refer to chapter
twelve of Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians for a more
thorough explanation of the Gifts of the Spirit, as well as
to my article 'Are The Gifts Of The Spirit For Today?'.

While this was a very quick simple revelation, nevertheless,
it was very fitting for what the Lord was trying to show me.
Right after seeing this in my mind, I looked up the verses
which I knew would confirm what I had just seen. To begin
with, we all know from different verses found throughout the
Bible, that Jesus represents the Light of the world. Here
are some examples for your consideration:

"Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who
stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:"
Psalms 104:2, KJV

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:
they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon
them hath the light shined." Isaiah 9:2, KJV

"And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy
One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and
his briers in one day;" Isaiah 10:17, KJV

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the
light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it
not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The
same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that
all men through him might believe. He was not that Light,
but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the
true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world." John 1:4-9, KJV

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of
the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life." John 8:12, KJV

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
John 9:5, KJV

"Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light
with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come
upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not
whither he goeth...I am come a light into the world, that
whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."
John 12:35, 46, KJV

"The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for
brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD
shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy
glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon
withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting
light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended."
Isaiah 60:19-20, KJV

Furthermore, it is important to note that Jesus never once
claimed that He was the actual Source of the Light. The Lord
always glorified His Father, and stated that He was simply a
reflection of His Father's Power, Will and Light. This point
is made perfectly clear for us through the following verses:

"But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I
work." (John 5:17)

"Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he
seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these
also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son,
and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will
shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For
as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even
so the Son quickeneth whom he will." (John 5:19-21)

"I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and
my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but
the will of the Father which hath sent me." (John 5:30)

"But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works
which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works
that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent
me." (John 5:36)

"And I know that his commandment is life everlasting:
whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto
me, so I speak." (John 12:50)

"Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it
sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time
with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that
hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then,
Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the
Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto
you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in
me, he doeth the works. " (John 14:8-10)

Clearly then, these verses demonstrate that Jesus recognized
that He reflected those things which He had both seen, and
learned, from His Father. He openly admitted that it was His
Father who had given Him the Power to say and to do them. It
was the Power of His Father working through Him, just as we
saw in the example of the prism. This is why the Lord never
wanted to take the credit for anything. In short, Jesus was
only a Vessel of His Father, and it was actually His Father
who was performing the mighty signs and wonders through Him,
just as we see the Apostles saying in this verse:

"Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a
man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and
signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye
yourselves also know:" (Acts 2:22)

Prior to His Crucifixion and subsequent Resurrection, Jesus
provided some indications that His Disciples would follow in
His footsteps, and perform even greater miracles than He
Himself. In fact, there are certain verses which show that
He specifically delegated this Authority and Power to them:

"Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That
if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing
that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father
which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
(Matthew 18:18-20)

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me,
the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than
these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."
(John 14:12)

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name
shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new
tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands
on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:17-18)

Just as Jesus had promised, the Scriptures make clear that
once He ascended to His Father, His Disciples did indeed
receive the same Power and Heavenly Anointing which He had
possessed during His Earthly life. Mere fishermen and tax
collectors were transformed into conductors, prisms, or
reflectors for the awesome, creative, curative Power which
descended from above. Consider the case of Peter in Acts
chapter five:

"And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes
both of men and women.) Insomuch that they brought forth the
sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches,
that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might
overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of
the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks,
and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they
were healed every one." (Acts 5:14-16)

The Apostle Paul, even though he was not included amongst
the Original Twelve, likewise manifested the Divine Power
and Anointing of the Most High. Consider the example found
in Acts chapter twenty, where Paul apparently raises a man
from the dead:

"And there sat in a window a certain young man named
Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was
long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from
the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down,
and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not
yourselves; for his life is in him. When he therefore was
come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a
long while, even till break of day, so he departed. And they
brought the young man alive, and were not a little
comforted." (Acts 20:9-12)

On another occasion, after his arrest, while Paul was en
route to Rome in order to stand trial, he was bitten by a
poisonous snake while they were shipwrecked on the island of
Melita, now known as Malta. While the natives of the island
waited for Paul to fall over and die due to the deadly bite,
they were truly shocked when the following occurred:

"And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid
them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and
fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the
venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves,
No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath
escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he
shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit
they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead
suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw
no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that
he was a god." (Acts 28:3-6)

These are not the only examples found in the New Testament.
Following are additional verses found in the Book of Acts
which clearly demonstrate the miracles, signs and wonders
which God performed through the hands of the First Century
Disciples:

"And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs
were done by the apostles." (Acts 2:43)

"And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and
wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with
one accord in Solomon's porch." (Acts 5:12)

"And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and
miracles among the people." (Acts 6:8)

"Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord,
which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted
signs and wonders to be done by their hands." (Acts 14:3)

"Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to
Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God
had wrought among the Gentiles by them." (Acts 15:12)

"And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So
that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs
or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil
spirits went out of them." Acts 19:11,12, KJV

Thus, it is obvious, that whatever the mechanism, whatever
the principle the Lord used to allow these men to do these
things, it was still in existence after Jesus' Ascension
into Heaven. From the verses we have looked at thus far, we
can conclude that just as a lack of faith will drive away or
block the Spirit and Power of God from performing, as in the
case of the unbelieving Jews, an expression of faith by one
or more people will in like manner draw God's Spirit through
the chosen channel or vessel; thus resulting in marvelous
things happening; which will not only glorify God, but which
will also bring new sheep into His Pastures. Let us not
forget that this is the primary reason for such events; to
bring forth good fruit for the Kingdom of Heaven, through
the manifestation of God's awesome Power.

Now, allow me to pose a question to you. What if we were to
take these same principles of faith, and apply them to our
modern world; not just to one person, but rather to a whole
group of people or even to the entire world? In recent years
we have seen just such events occurring. There have been a
number of nationwide, and even worldwide, prayer chains, or
meditations, organized on a specific date, and at a specific
time, in order to achieve some specific result. We have seen
such endeavors organized by various religious organizations
of various faiths, by New Age groups, by environmentalist
groups, etc. The idea behind such events is that the psychic
energy generated by these meditations, will result in good
things happening to the people involved, or even to the
Earth as a whole.

While on the surface, some of these events may appear to be
good, that is exactly where the potential danger lies. When
these events are conducted by God-fearing, Christ-believing
people, we can hope that the spiritual vacuum created by
them will result in fruit which is good and positive. We
must remember that when these psychic or spiritual vacuums
are created, it is just like the baby or the lightning bolt
we discussed earlier. Something must come in to fill it.
Whenever one begins to dabble in the things of the Spirit,
whether it be through personal prayer, or through some form
of meditation, he is subject to being influenced by forces
which dwell on both ends of the spiritual spectrum; and
unless he is protected by the Spirit of God, this can be
very dangerous!

While I don't particularly like to dwell on the powers of
darkness, it is a known fact that those who delve into the
occult practices, such as the satanists, are well aware of
this principle. It is for this very reason that, according
to the sources I have studied, they utilize pentagrams and
special key words or formulae, while performing their evil
incantations. Supposedly, the pentagram and words are used
to protect themselves from the spirits they are conjuring up
through their various techniques. In truth, the thought of
doing such things makes me shudder, as they are clearly in
violation of God's Holy Laws. Consider some of the verses
found in the Bible, which deal with necromancy, or talking
to the dead, and other related practices:

"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek
after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your
God." (Leviticus 19:31)

"And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar
spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I
will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him
off from among his people." (Leviticus 20:6)

"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his
son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth
divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a
witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits,
or a wizard, or a necromancer." (Deuteronomy 18:10-11)

"And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the
valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and
used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a
familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in
the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger."
(2 Chronicles 33:6)

"And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed
times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar
spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight
of the LORD, to provoke him to anger." (2 Kings 21:6)

"Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the
wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the
abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in
Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the
words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah
the priest found in the house of the LORD."
(2 Kings 23:24)

"And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have
familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that
mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the
living to the dead?" (Isaiah 8:19)

"And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof;
and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek
to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have
familiar spirits, and to the wizards." (Isaiah 19:3)

"But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one
day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come
upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy
sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine
enchantments...Stand now with thine enchantments, and with
the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured
from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so
be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of
thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the
monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these
things that shall come upon thee." (Isaiah 47:9, 12-13)

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness,
revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before,
as I have also told you in time past, that they which do
such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
(Galatians 5:19-21)

"Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their
sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts."
(Revelation 9:21)

"And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in
thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall
be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the
great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all
nations deceived." (Revelation 18:23)

The fact that so many people today are interested in such
darkness, and in such evilness, is startling proof of how
perverse the world has become. Concerning these people, who
in their own foolish ignorance, take such things so lightly,
and become involved with ouija boards, dungeons and dragons
games, astral travel, out-of-body experiences, also known as
OOBE's, eastern meditation, kabalism, and other dangerous
occultic practices, what kind of spiritual protection do
they have, if any, against these evil forces of darkness? If
they are not even saved Christians, which obviously, many of
them are not, then the outcome can indeed be very dire. It
could even result in outright demonic possession, which, sad
to say, in our modern day, has been cleverly disguised under
a plethora of modern scientific terms.

Other New Age practices which are also on the rise include
the use of tarot cards and crystal balls, performing blood
sacrifices, which some people claim was the real reason for
the Charles Manson cult-related murders several decades ago,
doing rituals and encantations in places of natural beauty
such as the Wiccans do, palm readings, seances, psychic
readings over the telephone, reading daily horoscopes, etc.
Some of these things are even being advertised and promoted
as the 'in thing' to do in movies and videos! One shocking
example was a popular, so-called children's movie which came
out a number of years ago. Many people in the United States
grew up reading 'Caspar The Friendly Ghost' comic books. In
the movie version of the same, one encounters a necromancer
and his daughter, who meet the famous ghost, along with
three other malevolent demons. Of course, Hollywood presents
the film as a simply fun-filled, innocent children's movie;
however, closer observation reveals the main character using
a pentagram and other objects used in satanic practices, and
talking to the dead; not to mentin scenes of violence and
foul language.

From the movies themselves, to much of the other crap which
is associated with New Age thought, the occult, etc., most
of it originates in trendy California, U.S.A.! Our children
are slowly being poisoned in every sphere of their lives,
right in the United States of America; the country which
hypocritically boasts of her Christianity by putting 'In God
We Trust' on their money and singing 'God Bless America'!
Not only is this happening in America; it is happening all
around the world as American television programs, movies and
propaganda are exported all around the globe! America once
shared Christ with the world; now she shares her violence
and her New Age sorceries! God will surely bless America
alright, but it will be with the fiery wrath of His loving
chastisements, because that is what she truly needs to
straighten her out! The Lord blessed her and raised her up
so that she might carry the Gospel of Salvation into all the
world; but she has turned her Christian heritage into an
abomination and is as a dog which has returned to its vomit.
Consider the following verses:

"And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the
fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered,
ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination."
(Jeremiah 2:7)

"As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his
folly." (Proverbs 26:11)

"But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb,
The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that
was washed to her wallowing in the mire." (2 Peter 2:22)

Some of you might be asking yourselves what prompts these
people to even want to become involved with these demons of
darkness. If one studies the works of Aleister Crowley, Dee,
and other satanists, the answer becomes very clear. It is a
desire to obtain power and control over the lives of others;
and this begins by attempting to control the demonic forces
which are said to grant such power. A clear example of this
sick mentality, are the high school shootings and killings
which have occurred in the United States of America. It has
been reported by the mass media, that some of the killers
were involved in the occult. If one truly wants to feel as
if he possesses power over the lives of others, what more
convincing way could there be than to be able to decide if a
person lives or dies; and according to what I have read,
some of the teen killers had a morbid fascination for death.
Tragically, it has been reported that some of the student
victims in these senseless killings, were targetted simply
because they were Christians, and for no other reason.

Through their foolish alliance with such negative spiritual
entities, which some of us believe may possibly manifest
themselves in the form of so-called 'aliens' and UFO's, the
more serious practitioners of the ancient crafts are said to
have as their ultimate goal, the enslavement of the entire
world under one final Kingdom of Darkness, with their Prince
of Darkness sitting as the King of the World. While I do not
fully understand the connections between such practices as
satanism, kabalism, illuminism, talmudism, zionism, masonry,
and the various shadow organizations and brotherhoods which
are said to be associated with them, one thing which I can
say, is that all of them are in opposition to our Heavenly
Father, and are striving for a world ruled by the Prince of
the Power of the Air, as mentioned by the Apostle Paul in
his Epistle to the Ephesians:

"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience:" Ephesians 2:2, KJV

Exactly how all of the aforementioned things fit into the
Biblical prophecies concerning the Beast, the False Prophet
and the Anti-Christ, is also something which I cannot fully
explain at this current time. It is for this reason that,
rather than spend a lot of my time discussing the various
individuals, government organizations, secret brotherhoods,
etc., which many conspiracy-related web sites claim are
involved in these things, I prefer to point my readers to
what is contained in the more sure Word of God. As I tell my
readers quite often, the World Wide Web, and even the mass
media, is not a very reliable source for accurate, truthful
information. As such, it should be read with a great deal of
Spiritual Discernment. From reading the Bible, one thing
which becomes clear, is that Satan's offer to bow down and
worship him in exchange for the control of the world still
stands today; and there are indeed those people who have
answered his call. You will find my most thorough expose on
these people in the in-depth series 'The International Jew
And The Protocols Of Zion'. As that demon of darkness said
to Jesus:

"...All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall
down and worship me." (Matthew 4:8b-9)

While Jesus was wise enough to reject the Evil One's subtle
offer, the foolish humans I discuss in the aforementioned
series have not; and soon, they will pay the full price for
their stubborn rebellion, unless they repent. As the Apostle
Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Romans:

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to
obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin
unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
(Romans 6:16)

If they wish to serve the Prince of Darkness, then they must
also be willing to answer for their actions. While they may
think that they are in charge, it is really Satan who has
them in bondage. Each day this division grows clearer, as
more people choose sides, and the world becomes polarized in
its stand either for or against God. As I mentioned earlier
in this series, while it may temporarily appear as if the
Children of Darkness have won and have overcome the Children
of Light, this will only be God's way of allowing them to
fill their cup of iniquity, so that everyone will know that
His righteous judgments are justified when they begin to
fall; and have not some of them begun to fall already?

Go To Part Three...

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