Podcasts about Asherah

In this Bible Story, Elijah puts the God of the universe on display against the false Gods of Baal. 450 prophets of Baal and King Ahab gathered to challenge Elijah and the One True God. In front of the whole nation, God sent fire and rain down from the skies to prove his power and might. The blighted and unfertile land finally received rain. This story is inspired by 1 Kings 18. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 1 Kings 18:39 from the King James Version.Episode 123: For three years the famine in Israel continued and King Ahab was desperate to find Elijah. One day, when his servant Obediah was out searching for water, Elijah appeared to him. Elijah tells him to send for the king and challenges king Ahab to bring all of his “prophets” of Baal and Asherah for a showdown on Mount Carmel.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday Bible Study (6/13/25) // 2 Kings 21 // Visit our website: https://mbchicago.org Follow us to remain connected: Facebook:   / mbc.chicago   Instagram:   / mbc.chicago   TikTok:   / mbc.chicago   Podcasts: Listen on Apple, Spotify & others To support this ministry, you can donate via: Zelle to: info@mbchicago.org Website: https://mbchicago.org/give Venmo: https://venmo.com/mbchurch DAF Donations: https://every.org/mbc.chicago PayPal: https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_but... 2 Kings 21 (ESV)Manasseh Reigns in Judah21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 And he burned his son as an offering[a] and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.Manasseh's Idolatry Denounced10 And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, 12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster[b] that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.Footnotesa. 2 Kings 21:6 Hebrew made his son pass through the fireb. 2 Kings 21:12 Or evil#mbchicago #2kings #BibleStudy #DanielBatarseh #mbchicago #mbcchicago #Bible #livechurch #churchlive #chicagochurch #chicagochurches #versebyverse #church #chicago #sermon #bibleexplained #bibleproject #bibleverse #bookbybook #oldtestament #explained

April 26, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 3 - 9:00AM Session   Richard leads a bible study Isaiah 3, 13, 53 and other passages which point as what an effective shepherd would look like. From a foundation of believes to actions, Richard explains and provides examples of shepherds.   2 Kings 15-21 - Azariah Reigns in Judah 15 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, became king. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, 4 except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 5 Then the Lord struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death; so he dwelt in an isolated house. And Jotham the king's son was over the royal house, judging the people of the land. 6 Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 7 So Azariah rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jotham his son reigned in his place. Zechariah Reigns in Israel 8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. 9 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 10 Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck and killed him in front of the people; and he reigned in his place. 11 Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 12 This was the word of the Lord which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it was. Shallum Reigns in Israel 13 Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. 14 For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, came to Samaria, and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him; and he reigned in his place. 15 Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he led, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 16 Then from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah, all who were there, and its territory. Because they did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All the women there who were with child he ripped open. Menahem Reigns in Israel 17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. 18 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 19 Pul king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his control. 20 And Menahem exacted the money from Israel, from all the very wealthy, from each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land. 21 Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 22 So Menahem rested with his fathers. Then Pekahiah his son reigned in his place. Pekahiah Reigns in Israel 23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. 24 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 25 Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, an officer of his, conspired against him and killed him in Samaria, in the citadel of the king's house, along with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of Gilead. He killed him and reigned in his place. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Pekah Reigns in Israel 27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. 28 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria. 30 Then Hoshea the son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed him; so he reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. 31 Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Jotham Reigns in Judah 32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 34 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. 35 However the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord. 36 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 37 In those days the Lord began to send Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. 38 So Jotham rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Ahaz his son reigned in his place. Ahaz Reigns in Judah 16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. 5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Syria captured Elath for Syria, and drove the men of Judah from Elath. Then the Edomites went to Elath, and dwell there to this day. 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” 8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin. 10 Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. 11 Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and made offerings on it. 13 So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 He also brought the bronze altar which was before the Lord, from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the house of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar. 15 Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great new altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king's burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” 16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded. 17 And King Ahaz cut off the panels of the carts, and removed the lavers from them; and he took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it on a pavement of stones. 18 Also he removed the Sabbath pavilion which they had built in the temple, and he removed the king's outer entrance from the house of the Lord, on account of the king of Assyria. 19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20 So Ahaz rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place. Hoshea Reigns in Israel 17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute money. 4 And the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. Israel Carried Captive to Assyria 5 Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods, 8 and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. 9 Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger, 12 for they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13 Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.” 14 Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like them. 16 So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. 17 And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone. 19 Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20 And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight. 21 For He tore Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, 23 until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day. Assyria Resettles Samaria 24 Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. 25 And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.” 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord. 29 However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared the Lord, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. 34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel, 35 with whom the Lord had made a covenant and charged them, saying: “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; 36 but the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. 37 And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. 38 And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39 But the Lord your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. 41 So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children's children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day. Hezekiah Reigns in Judah 18 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. 5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. 7 The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city. 9 Now it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. 10 And at the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; and they would neither hear nor do them. 13 And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house. 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord 17 Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller's Field. 18 And when they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them. 19 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 20 You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 21 Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,' is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem'?” ' 23 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 24 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 Have I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.' ” 26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?” 28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; 30 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ' 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” 33 Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?' ” 36 But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. Isaiah Assures Deliverance 19 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.' ” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ' ” Sennacherib's Threat and Hezekiah's Prayer 8 Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come out to make war with you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?' ” 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 17 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.” The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib 20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.' 21 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back! 22 ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. 23 By your messengers you have reproached the Lord, And said: “By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter the extremity of its borders, To its fruitful forest. 24 I have dug and drunk strange water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of defense.” 25 ‘Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 26 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown. 27 ‘But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me. 28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came. 29 ‘This shall be a sign to you: ‘You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And in the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 30 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.' 32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,' Says the Lord. 34 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.' ” Sennacherib's Defeat and Death 35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 37 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. Hezekiah's Life Extended 20 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.' ” 2 Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5 “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 6 And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” ' ” 7 Then Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. 8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?” 9 Then Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.” 11 So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz. The Babylonian Envoys 12 At that time Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the Lord. 18 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.' ” 19 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?” Death of Hezekiah 20 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah—all his might, and how he made a pool and a tunnel and brought water into the city—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 21 So Hezekiah rested with his fathers. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place. Manasseh Reigns in Judah 21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 7 He even set a carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the Lord had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; 8 and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers—only if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. 10 And the Lord spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), 12 therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, 15 because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.' ” 16 Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord. 17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh—all that he did, and the sin that he committed—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 18 So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon reigned in his place. Amon's Reign and Death 19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. 22 He forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. 23 Then the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house. 24 But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place.       Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYpEm7AL4fU   Duration 40:15

Teaching Text - Deuteronomy 7When the Lord your God brings you to the land that you are going to occupy and forces out many nations before you—Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you— 2 and he delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy! 3 You must not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will erupt against you and he will quickly destroy you. 5 Instead, this is what you must do to them: You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, cut down their sacred Asherah poles, and burn up their idols. 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth.7 It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you—for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. 8 Rather it is because of his love for you and his faithfulness to the promise he solemnly vowed to your ancestors that the Lord brought you out with great power, redeeming you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 So realize that the Lord your God is the true God, the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 but who pays back those who hate him as they deserve and destroys them. He will not ignore those who hate him but will repay them as they deserve! 11 So keep the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that I today am commanding you to do.12 If you obey these ordinances and are careful to do them, the Lord your God will faithfully keep covenant with you as he promised your ancestors. 13 He will love and bless you, and make you numerous. He will bless you with many children, with the produce of your soil, your grain, your new wine, your olive oil, the offspring of your oxen, and the young of your flocks in the land that he promised your ancestors to give you. 14 You will be blessed beyond all peoples; there will be no barrenness among you or your livestock. 15 The Lord will protect you from all sickness, and you will not experience any of the terrible diseases that you knew in Egypt; instead he will inflict them on all those who hate you.16 You must destroy all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you. 17 If you think, “These nations are more numerous than I—how can I dispossess them?” 18 you must not fear them. You must carefully recall what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt, 19 the great judgments you saw, the signs and wonders, the strength and power by which he brought you out—thus the Lord your God will do to all the people you fear. 20 Furthermore, the Lord your God will release hornets among them until the very last ones who hide from you perish. 21 You must not tremble in their presence, for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 He, the God who leads you, will expel the nations little by little. You will not be allowed to destroy them all at once lest the wild animals overrun you. 23 The Lord your God will give them over to you; he will throw them into a great panic until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand over their kings to you, and you will erase their very names from memory. Nobody will be able to resist you until you destroy them. 25 You must burn the images of their gods, but do not covet the silver and gold that covers them so much that you take it for yourself and thus become ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God. 26 You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house and thereby become an object of divine wrath along with it. You must absolutely detest and abhor it, for it is an object of divine wrath.

When the kingdom grows dark with idolatry and wicked leadership, God sends in His crack team—prophets. And with Ahab, the worst king so far, God sends Elijah to confront the spiritual decay.In one of the Bible's most dramatic moments, Elijah goes head-to-head with hundreds of prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel. It's not even a contest. While the false prophets cry out in vain, Elijah's God—the one true God—answers with fire from heaven and ends a long drought. It's a clear display of who really holds power.But shockingly, even after all that, nothing changes. Ahab returns to Baal. There's no repentance. The kingdom continues its downward spiral.Disillusioned and afraid, Elijah runs. He hides in the wilderness and asks God: What was the point? God responds—not with rebuke, but with purpose. Elijah is told to return and anoint those whom God has chosen. His mission isn't over.Through it all, we see God's design:A call to repentance – We cannot live with divided hearts. Idols must go. We must cling to Jesus alone.A call to obedience – Faith isn't just believing; it's doing. It's action born from trust in God.

How does the energy of Jezebel feel to you? Is she spicy, sexual, ritualistic… And could you see yourself showing up with your ancient beliefs in the God, Baal and the Goddess Asherah at the doorstep of a monotheistic culture? And then converting them to your ways? Was the world open to sex magic, blood magic and the teachings of a High Priestess? Jezebel was a teenage Phoenician Princess who married Ahab, the King of Israel as the story in the Bible is told. Jezebel was also a Priestess of Asherah and showed up with hundreds of priests of Baal, priests of the grove, and a polytheistic religion. A political alliance could not have survived the difference between their spiritual beliefs, Yahwism and Baalism. As most powerful women in the Bible, she was vilified, condemned, and murdered by a powerful prophet. Jezebel is now a cautionary tale to not be promiscuous, powerful and in your own integral energy. If you are loving this podcast and you feel really motivated or compelled to share, please donate to this podcast: Donate here Do you want to connect with April? Readings with April: starwindssage@gmail.com Connect with the Goddesses: https://www.goddesswitchwomb.com  Follow us on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/goddesswitchwomb/  Follow us on TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@goddesswitchwomb  

Introduction: 2 Kings 18:4 – He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery (Matthew 5:27-30): Adultery Is a DEVASTATING SIN. (Matt 5:27–28) Matthew 15:19 – For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. Titus 1:15 – To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. Adultery has DIRE CONSEQUNECES. (Matt 5:29–30) 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 – Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Adultery requires DRASTIC MEASURES. (Matt 5:29–30) Romans 13:14 - But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 – And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead Matthew 5:27-30What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Explain Matthew 5:28 in your own words.What did Jesus mean by gouging out your right eye and cutting off your right hand (Matt 5:29-30)? What are some practical ways to apply this teaching?Is Jesus saying a believer who commits adultery will go to hell? Who exactly is “thrown into hell”?What would you say to a professing believer who confesses that they can't break free from lusting? BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Open up those Bibles to Matthew chapter 5.If you're visiting with us today, we are going through the Sermon on the Mount verseby verse.And Happy Mother's Day, the title of today's sermon is "Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery."I, I, um, we go where the text goes, okay?That's what we do.We go where the text goes.So let's do that.I'd like you to bow your heads please and just pray for me to be faithful to communicateGod's Word.And I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what is an extremely challengingpassage.Let's pray.Father in heaven, we thank You for Your Word.We're not going to shy away from it.We just heard two testimonies of the way that Your Word has transformed lives.We're going to hear at least four more in the next service.That's why we, um, we just want to go after Your Word, God, because we believe that YourWord does Your work because that's what You said.And that is certainly what we've seen.So Father, I pray for all of us here today, all those who are going to be listening, watchingthis stream or downloading the podcast.Father I pray that You would bring revival in each and every heart in a way that greatlyglorifies Your name.We pray in Jesus' name.And all of God's people said, "Amen."Amen.Matthew chapter 5, are you there?In Numbers chapter 21, you have Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt to the promisedland and Israel complained and grumbled against God, against Moses.And the Lord sent these fiery serpents who, and these serpents bit some of the Israelitesand many of them died.Well they repented.And God told Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole.And if the Israelites, when they were bitten by one of the snakes, if they looked at thisbronze serpent, they would live.Well then fast forward, Israel in the land established and they had kings.Some kings were very bad and some kings were just not as bad.Right?Can you relate to that at all?And Hezekiah was a king who was not as bad and he brought a lot of reforms to Israel.Here's one.We put this verse up from 2 Kings chapter 18.Hezekiah says, "He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the ashram.He broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made for until those days the peopleof Israel had made offerings to it."It was called Nahushdin.See what happened?You see what happened?People took a blessing that God gave them for their benefit and they turned it into anidol.That's exactly how it is with physical intimacy.It is a gift that God gave those in the covenant of marriage, but we have turned it into anidol.So on your outline today, this is it."Thou shall not commit adultery."I want you to write some things down.Number one, write this down.Adultery is a devastating sin.Adultery is a devastating sin.Now just that statement alone, it's a hard sell because we are a sex-obsessed culture.You've taken this gift from God and we've perverted it and we worship it.Do I have to point that out at all?Look at all the homosexuality madness, all the transgender stuff.And you're like, "Yeah, you know what, Pastor Jeff, you're right.You're right.It's bad out there."And I would say, "Church, it's bad in here."I was reading some polls for what they're worth.But according to one poll, one half of self-identifying Christians believe that casual sex is okay.Consenting but not in a relationship.They believe that's okay.Half.Think that's alright.What?I read a poll about pornography use among non-Christian men.Non-Christian men, 65%.Like, yeah, that's pretty bad.Christian men, 64%.The same poll, lest you think, "Yeah, creepy men, right?Creepy men, same poll, 51% of women."And you know at this point, you could be like, "Well, look, Jeff, we're only human.Everyone does it.It's not hurting anyone."Well according to Jesus, it's a devastating sin.Look at verse 27, Matthew chapter 5.Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'"Stop there.Adultery.What is adultery?Well the technical term is defined as intercourse with another person's spouse.But it's become a catch-all term for relations with anyone who is not your spouse.And you're going to see in this passage, it's very clear that that's how Jesus was usingthe term in the most general sense possible.You go to Exodus chapter 20 and verse 14, you see that it's the seventh commandment.You go to Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verse 22, you'll see that under the law in Israel,adultery was punishable by death.And I don't have time to get into it this morning.We've done whole sermon series on this, by the way.But I just encourage you, if you're ready to just brush it off as, "Oh, church people,just making a big deal out of nothing," read Proverbs 5, 6, and 7 sometime.And you will see that adultery is a devastating sin.I heard one pastor this past week call it a sin for fools.And I think that's a very good description.adultery is devastating.I mean, it wrecks you, destroys your reputation, affects your relationship with your spouse,relationship with your kids.Oh, and the other person, what about them?It affects, now if they're married, it affects their relationship with their spouse.If they have kids, it affects their kids.And what has done to their reputation.But the devastation of adultery is way deeper than that.Look at verse 28.Jesus says, "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent hasalready committed adultery with her in his heart."Do you notice verse 27, verse 28?Jesus said, "You have heard, but I say to you," what was Jesus doing?Pastor Taylor talked about this last week.Same thing with murder.Same thing.Jesus was contrasting their definition of sin with God's definition of sin.Because their definition of sin in Jesus' day was all about externals.So when they hear adultery, they're thinking only in terms of the physical act with anotherperson.But that, not alone, is adultery.And Jesus says, "No, you're not taking it far enough.And you're understanding.It's a hard issue.Like murder.You don't have to actually kill someone to be considered a murderer in the eyes of God."Jesus is saying the same thing about adultery.You don't have to physically be with another person to be an adulterer.Look at verse 28 again.He says, "I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has alreadycommitted adultery with her in his heart."Now you have to understand this looking with lustful intent, it's not an accidental glance.This is literally in the process of continuing to look.It's looking in such a way that you are fueling your sexual imagination.When that happens, the deed's already done.Adultery has happened.Now listen, I don't want you to misunderstand because it's even worse than you think itis.Listen, Jesus did not say that looking at a woman with lustful intent causes you to commitadultery in your hearts.Jesus said looking at a woman with lustful intent means you already committed adulteryin your heart.Jesus is saying that you looked with lustful intent because it was already in your heartto commit adultery.I think this is where a lot of people get this mixed up.It's not, "Oh, I was going about my business and I just stumbled across this woman andI looked at her and that is what caused me to lust."That's not the extent of it.It's this, I have an adulterous heart that's looking for a woman with lustful intent.See the difference?The look did not cause the lust.It is the lust that caused the look.You see the difference?Look, look, I can't, there's no way I can overstate this.This is a real problem.And this is a real problem that people sitting here have right now and are not dealing withit.You're not an adulterer because of something you do, it's who you are.It's a heart thing.You see with adultery like murder, as Pastor Taylor talked about last week, before it'san act, even if it doesn't become an act.That is what is in your heart.This is the heart of the law.Jesus said in Matthew 15, 19, "For out of the hearts, out of the heart come evil thoughts,murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander."You see that?The sinful acts are symptoms of a sinful condition.Committing the act of adultery, those are the leaves on the tree that has the root ofan adulterous heart.And if you're sitting here still somehow magnanimously saying in your head, "I would never committhe act."I did not and I would never commit the act of adultery.But if that sin is in your mind, if that sin is constantly in your imagination, you havea real problem.That's why pornography is such a big business.Why?Because sinful hearts are literally searching for it.And you have to understand that if that's your issue, the sin started even before yougot online because it's in here.It's a devastating condition to live in.You're unable to live a holy and upright life because when your heart is full of adultery,it perverts everything.And consider Titus 1.15.Look at this verse.Paul says to the pure, "All things are pure."But to the defiled and unbelieving, meaning your heart is full of perversion and sin,to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure.But both their minds and their consciences are defiled.Do you know what that means?That means that when you're in that latter condition, you cannot look at another womanpurely.You cannot see another woman as a sister, as a mom, as even just another human being.When this is where your heart is, every woman that you encounter, you're evaluating.And many become objects in your minds and hearts of fantasies.Lust just becomes all-consuming.And the people that live in this defiled state don't even see a problem.God's gift of marital intimacy has become an idol that you use to gratify your flesh.So see, Jesus is telling us out the gate, this is a devastating condition.And secondly, I shall not commit adultery.Not only is adultery a devastating sin, but adultery has dire consequences.Adultery has dire consequences.Look at verses 29 and 30.These two verses kind of saying the same thing, but this is some of the most startling stuffJesus ever said, in my opinion.He says, "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away, for itis better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away, for it is betterthat you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."And you're like, "Man, gouge out your eye?Like cut off your hand?"Like, "Man, that seems awfully extreme."If that's the part you're focusing on, then you have completely missed the point.Because neither of those things are extreme.They're not extreme at all compared to hell.Notice twice Jesus says, "Thrown into hell."Thrown into hell.What's the obvious implication, right?We get it.We get what He's saying.Jesus is saying here that people with adulterous hearts go to hell.If you're still not convinced, Paul backs this up, verse Corinthians 6, verses 9 through10.He says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?"Meaning go to heaven.Meaning go to hell.He says, "Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral nor adulterers nor men whopractice homosexuality nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor revilers nor swindlerswill inherit the kingdom of God."Your priority in this life, more than anything, should be preparing yourself for eternity.Are you doing that?Because the Bible says your decisions in this life matter.And someday you're going to stand before God.So if lust is a problem for you, if lust characterizes you, and look, I can't answerthat.I can't answer that for you.But you know if this sin consumes who you are.And if it characterizes you, there are consequences.As we talked about before, here and now, apparently, obviously, easily seen, there are consequencesfor adultery.But Jesus says there's also consequences when you take your last breath.Adultery has dire consequences.So let's talk about the other big thing in these verses.Number three, adultery requires drastic measures.Look at them again.He says, "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away, for itis better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away, for it is betterthat you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."Weren't you just blessed by the obedience of those who were baptized today?Didn't you say obedience is a wonderful thing?Awesome.Who's first?I mean, didn't Jesus just say if your hand causes you to sin, to cut it off?Who's first?We're not going to do it over the tub because we get more baptisms in the next service.And you're like, "Yeah, what about the other verse?"Well, don't worry.We can take care of the eye, too.We'll get Pastor Taylor up here.We'll do them both at the same time.You won't know.You won't even know what's going on when both of them are happening at the same time.And you're like, "Man, gouging out your eye and cutting off your hand.Man, that sounds drastic."Oh, it absolutely is.Maybe even more than you think.Because you see, Jesus was speaking to Jews.And the Jews viewed the right greater than the left.Just as a general thing.If you're left-handed, I don't need any hate emails.Okay?That's just the way it was, right?Sitting at the right hand.My right hand, man.The idea was right is better than left.So your right eye and your right hand and the Jewish mindset, those were the two most importantthings that you own.What Jesus is saying is this, there is nothing that is too important to eliminate from yourlife if it is causing you to sin.Adultery is destructive, it's enslaving, it's condemning.We got to deal with that.We have to deal with it.Do you believe that?Whatever.Listen.Whatever it is that feeds the lust in your heart, no matter how important that thingis, it has got to go.It's got to go.If you're feeding your lust through your phone or maybe a tablet, smash them up.And you're like, "Pastor Jeff, I have the newest iPhone.I spent a lot of money for that."It's not worth hell.Is it your laptop?Smash it up.Or you know, take your laptop to the kitchen and only use it around your family.You're like, "Oh, Pastor Jeff, my family is really nebby."Good.So glad to hear that.It's not worth hell.Maybe for some of you it's your social media accounts where you're having inappropriaterelationships, conversations with people online or looking at things through those that youshouldn't be looking at.Delete them.Delete those social media accounts.You're like, "But Pastor Jeff, that's how I stay connected.Join a small group."You're like, "Put Pastor Jeff, the social media, that's just my leisure time.Take up pickleball.It's not worth hell."You know what?Maybe we'll just take care of all this.Call and cancel your internet if it's a problem.If it's leading you to feed this lust, Jesus says, "It has to go."And you're like, "Well, Pastor Jeff, I need the internet for my job.Get a new job.I will find you a job where you don't need the internet because it's not worth hell."Maybe for some of you as we are approaching summer, maybe it's a membership in a publicpool.Like, you know what?I go there, Pastor Jeff, and I look at the women there, and I get to tell you what didJesus say.You've got to get extreme here, people.But Pastor Jeff, my pool membership, that's just kind of our thing like we do in the summer.Swim at home.And I don't have a pool at my house.Do you have a bathtub?It's not worth hell.And I know people are like, "Okay, Pastor Jeff, I hear what you're saying, but I'm goingto be honest with you."It's going to be kind of embarrassing to have to explain to people why I smashed my phoneand canceled my internet.It's going to, I'm going to have to explain to people why I did that.That's kind of embarrassing.I'll tell you what's going to be more embarrassing than that is you not cutting off your sin,and someday you're going to stand before God.And God's going to say, "Do you remember the strangest Mother's Day sermon you've everheard?"Why didn't you listen?Why did you despise my word?Why did you think following me was not worth cutting off the stuff that keeps you from followingme with your whole heart?Why did you find me not worthy?Notice Jesus says it's better.It is better to lose your eye, lose your hand.It's better.What's better than going to hell?Literally anything.Anything you have to lose for the sake of your soul is going to be worth it.Romans 13, 14, same thing.Paul's saying the same thing.Maybe not in as graphic terms as Jesus, but it's the same thing.He says, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratifyits desires.Make no provision.Take drastic measures to cut off anything that feeds the flesh."It's like that old story I heard, an old metaphor.Maybe you've heard about the guy.He had a white dog and a gray dog.And every time he put food out for them, the gray dog would whoop up the white dog, takeall the food.The white dog would get none.After a while, the white dog, not eating, got weaker and weaker and weaker and the graydog getting all the food, got stronger and stronger and stronger.The guy said, "I've got to do something about this."So he put both the dogs on a leash.And for a month, he only fed the white dog.This isn't a real story, by the way.Don't call it PETA.But he only fed the white dog.The gray dog barely surviving.But after that time of only feeding the white dog and not the gray dog when he let themoff the leash, now the white dog was strong because it was the one that got fed.The gray dog was weak because it was the one that got starved.And I think you see the obvious application.The dog you feed is going to be the dominant dog.And the dog you starved was going to be the weak dog.See in this analogy, the white dog represents walking by the Spirit.The gray dog represents walking in the flesh.I think some of you are so weak because you're not feeding the Spirit, so to speak.You're not into Word.You're not worshiping.You're not praying.You're not in fellowship.You're not listening to good biblical podcasts.You're starving that.When instead you need to be starving the flesh.Make no provision for the flesh.Starve the adulterous heart by making no provision for whichever dog you feed is going to bethe dog that is strong.And the dog that you don't feed is the dog that gets weak.And you're like, "Man, Pastor Jeff, this sounds impossible."Oh, it is.Absolutely.That's why we put Romans 13 back up there, please.It is impossible.Hence the first phrase in this verse, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ."Reformation is not going to work.If your goal here is to just try to clean up your act, you're not going to get very far.You need transformation.You need the life of Christ in us to be able to make these choices.Oh, and by the way, earlier we read, well, 1 Corinthians 6, we read verses 9 and 10.I'd like to go back and I'd like to look at the very next verse.Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?Do you not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor adulterers, nor adulterers, normen who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers,nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God?Look at verse 11.And such were some of you that you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, youwere justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God.I just want to ask you today, are you an R?Or are you a Wurr?Because today, today could be the most important day of your life because today you can becomea Wurr.Like it about your heads as the worship team makes their way back up.Just like it about your heads.Close your eyes.Look, this is a between you and God thing here, alright?There's some of you that have been trapped because you don't know Jesus Christ as yourLord and Savior.You don't have the power or resources to overcome this sin because you're living in the flesh,not by the power of His Holy Spirit because you don't know.Today can be the day that you receive Him.And you know what?We're baptizing in the next service.Pastor Taylor would be thrilled to be able to baptize you because you've repented fromyour sin and turned to Jesus Christ.But if you, heads bowed, eyes closed, if you're sitting here and you're like, you know whatpastors, I am a believer in Jesus Christ, but I'm honestly, I'm stuck in this sin.I just want to ask you, Christian, stuck in this sin.Why in the world would you indulge in a sin that Jesus died for?Today Christian, you need to repent.Today Christian, you need to do some cutting.Father in heaven, I just simply ask today that you open up the eyes of our hearts that wedon't look at this sin from a worldly perspective because the world celebrates it.Father, let us see this sin from your perspective.It's a horrible sin.Father, let us see the consequences that Jesus laid out for us.There is eternal separation from you for the heart that chooses to live in lust insteadof walking by the Spirit.Father, I pray that you would give us the wisdom, you would give us the strength, andyou would give us the faith to be able to cut some things today.It's ultimately going to bless us to be free from this bondage, but the end goal of allthings, Father, is for the glory of your name.Father, I pray that you would glorify your name through a work of your Holy Spirit, bringingpeople to you in repentance and bringing your people back from a willing bondage tosin.Please, Father, let our life, let our very life be an act of worship in the way we repent.We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

MOST OF THE kings of Judah, and all of those who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel, “did evil in the sight of the LORD.”  One notable exception was Asa, king of Judah between about 910 and 873 BC, whose “heart was wholly true all his days.” He got rid of the idols erected by his father, Abijah, and banished male cult prostitutes from the land. The account of his reign in 2 Chronicles further records the religious reforms instituted by Asa, who even removed his mother (or grandmother) Maacah from her position as queen mother because she'd erected an Asherah pole. Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah. Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Derek's new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources: Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821) Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF) The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser's two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch Follow us! • X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate. Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech! The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/. Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site! Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store! Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store. Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.

MOST OF THE kings of Judah, and all of those who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel, “did evil in the sight of the LORD.” One notable exception was Asa, king of Judah between about 910 and 873 BC, whose “heart was wholly true all his days.” He got rid of the idols erected by his father, Abijah, and banished male cult prostitutes from the land. The account of his reign in 2 Chronicles further records the religious reforms instituted by Asa, who even removed his mother (or grandmother) Maacah from her position as queen mother because she'd erected an Asherah pole.

Do humans deserve to keep ruling Earth, or is it time to give the apes a chance? Or is there a secret, third, weird option? Your not one, not two, but THREE hominid co-hosts put their heads together and decide the fate of the Planet of the Apes!Discord (“Happy Bug Catching Contest Day, Everyone!”): https://discord.gg/Y5Uw6sdmU2Email: findingmonsterright@gmail.comBluesky: @monsterrightpod.bsky.socialDISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast episode, the listener forfeits all right to their immortal soul (hereafter referred to as "the asset") and transfers ownership of said asset to Allison Alžbeta Asherah, the Dark and the Demonsbane. The asset can be recovered by the listener if and only if they actually follow up on a bit from two years ago like anyone was keeping track.

Our reading today begins by wrapping up the account of Deborah and Barak after Sisera's defeat. It's not long, however, before Israel turns, once again, to worship idols. The false gods of Baal and Asherah were meant to bring fertile crops and prosperity, but they only bring despair and a fractured relationship with the One True God. During a period of oppression by the Midianites, the Lord speaks to a young man named Gideon and calls upon him to destroy his father's idolatrous altars. Later, the spirit of the Lord envelops Gideon as he gathers troops for battle. The Lord then reduces the number of men who will go to battle to just 300 so that Israel will not forget the power of God and His merciful deliverance.Judges 5 - 1:01 . Judges 6 - 7:28 . Judges 7 - 16:49 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Our reading today begins by wrapping up the account of Deborah and Barak after Sisera's defeat. It's not long, however, before Israel turns, once again, to worship idols. The false gods of Baal and Asherah were meant to bring fertile crops and prosperity, but they only bring despair and a fractured relationship with the One True God. During a period of oppression by the Midianites, the Lord speaks to a young man named Gideon and calls upon him to destroy his father's idolatrous altars. Later, the spirit of the Lord envelops Gideon as he gathers troops for battle. The Lord then reduces the number of men who will go to battle to just 300 so that Israel will not forget the power of God and His merciful deliverance.Judges 5 – 1:13 . Judges 6 – 7:22 . Judges 7 – 16:49 . Psalm 72 – 23:15 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

The Israelites are at it again: Jehu's son becomes king and continues in the "sins of Jeroboam" A refresher on Jeroboam, the first king of Israel Israel again worships golden calves and the Asherah pole God sends the Syrian army against the Israelites A brief history on the state of Syria during the reign of Hazael   Hey! Don't go away yet! Also check out these other P40 sites:  YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnh-aqfg8rw Ko-Fi - https://ko-fi.com/p40ministries  Website - https://www.p40ministries.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p40ministries  Contact - jenn@p40ministries.com  Rumble - https://rumble.com/c/c-6493869  Books - https://www.amazon.com/Jenn-Kokal/e/B095JCRNHY/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk  Merch - https://www.p40ministries.com/shop  YouVersion - https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/38267-out-of-the-mire-trusting-god-in-the-middle    Support babies and get quality coffee with Seven Weeks Coffee  https://sevenweekscoffee.com/?ref=P40   This ministry is only made possible due to your generous support https://ko-fi.com/p40ministries

New Age Alien Deceptions (audio) David Eells - 4/20/25   The camel's nose is in the tent. We are headed towards a New World Order in the midst of a Galactic Federation of “aliens” aka, demons by those of discernment. (Who of us voted for this? The Alliance leaders did. Is this Communism?) I want to share with you some updates regarding the AI, New Age and Alien Deceptions we are witnessing among the Alliance and others. I'm going to begin with some recent headlines from Operation Disclosure (4/17/25) that point to this federation: ·         Thurs. 24 April 2025: Planetary Council announced. New Global Alliance leaders step forward. Non-territorial cooperation treaty signed by 177 nations. (We are to be realigned as a one world order) ·         Sun. 27 April 2025: Interplanetary programs declassified. First public mention of secret space operations. Unity Accord with Off World Representatives acknowledged. (When did we have a say?) ·         Tues. 29 April 2025: New Earth Constitutions signed locally. Communities select Peace Councils to represent them in the Planetary Council. “Governments” replaced with Service Cells. (We are being absorbed into their Galactic terminology) ·         Wed. 30 April 2025: Final transfer to Quantum Internet complete. All devices migrate to Q-Net. Artificial Intelligence fully transparent, accountable and people-aligned. (We cannot be aligned with antichrist) ·         Fri. 2 May 2025: Healing centers begin opening across continents. Med Beds, DNA repair chambers, and neuro-harmonization technologies become publicly available. The Age of Restoration officially begins. (We must now harmonize with the rest of the pagan planet and Galaxy.) ·         Sat. 3 May 2025: The first interspecies council meeting is broadcast worldwide. Humanity is formally acknowledged as a sovereign civilization by the Galactic Alliance. Contact protocols enter public discourse. (A federation does not permit a sovereign planet.) ·         Sun. 4 May 2025: “Earth Year Zero” is initiated. (Is our history now abolished?) A new planetary calendar replaces systems rooted in empire and conflict. Time now begins from the moment of planetary liberation. (Resistance is Futile says the Borg.) ·         Mon. 5 May 2025: Starport construction begins in seven geostrategic locations. Civilian transport to orbital gateways is confirmed. Terra-farming partnerships announced for Mars and Luna sectors. ·         Wed. 7 May 2025: The Department of Human Advancement launches. Global curricula shifts toward consciousness training, ethics, quantum sciences, and planetary stewardship. ·         Thurs. 8 May 2025: Agricultural reset begins. Geo-engineered soil is restored. Food independence programs roll out. Seed vaults opened under open-source planetary stewardship mandates. ·         Fri. 9 May 2025: Language harmonization initiatives commence. (Back to Babel?) Ancient root languages are integrated into education. Telepathic development modules introduced for children under 9. (Will we know who is training our children?) ·         Sat. 10 May 2025: Planetary Defense Grid declared active. Not military—protective. Q-NET AI monitors for existential threats in space and time. Transparency dashboards are made public. ·         Sun. 11 May 2025: Official end of the Transition Phase. Humanity enters full-spectral sovereignty. No more passports. No more taxes. No more surveillance. Only stewardship, transparency, and service. A one world order.     How To Connect With The Galactic Federation https://thegalacticfederation.com/016-24 Many people believe that the Galactic Federation is a made up thing, some are so confused to even claim it's negative, but it is not. (If the people did not get to vote on this and the aliens are actually demons, this is traitorous.) The Galactic Federation is a group of highly evolved souls who have been around since the beginning of time. They are here to help you fulfill your purpose on earth. (Let the Bible be the judge.) The Galactic Federation is made of love, light, and peace. It is a collective of beings who have reached the highest level of consciousness possible. (Everybody believes that about their religion.) The Galactic Federation was created as an extension of each individual's soul to help them on their journey towards self-realization. They exist to help us live in harmony with one another, as well as with our environment and the rest of creation. Next, let me share a few revelations from brethren on our site that relate to these alien, aka demon deceptions.     Aliens Are Demons Manifested in Flesh There are many people convinced of “aliens” or “guides” that they feel are friendly to humanity, which is a strong delusion because all of the aliens are demons, as the Scripture says. Have you noticed that many of the Planet X / Nibiru researchers have fallen for what they read the ancients said of aliens showing up when Planet X did? They were deceived by demons as a type for our day. We should not be deceived; they are being released by God to deceive. Jud.5 Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. 6 And angels that kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. It is possible they will play the good alien / bad alien game to drive the multitudes into the camp of the so-called “good aliens,” but they are all demons.   G.C. - 06/15/10  (David's notes in red) In my dream, I was outside in a populated area, maybe in a park or something. It was nighttime and it seemed like any other summer night. All of a sudden, a lot of strange lights started appearing in the sky. First, it seemed like hundreds of shooting stars falling to Earth; then, as the light became more illuminated, the objects took the shape of spacecraft. The night sky was lit up like the Fourth of July! Everyone was shocked and amazed; from east to west, the sky filled with this armada of craft entering Earth's atmosphere. (What the ancients believed were aliens, who showed up during the time of Planet X, according to their writings, were in fact demons who are fallen angels and can take on the appearance of physical bodies, just like God's angels can, but for the purpose of deception. The Tribulation covenant could be made under the cover of catastrophes. Just as the Woman is going into the wilderness, there is a war in heaven and Satan and his fallen angels are cast to earth to deceive the whole world. Rev.12:9 And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. We also received a dream of a bright star falling from heaven and the confirming scripture Isaiah 14, where Satan is falling from heaven. Isa 14:12-13 How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations! 13 And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.) Satan deceives men into thinking he is God, and he is pleased with unregenerate, falsely called “good men,” which is the doctrine of the New Agers. 2Co.11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. 15 It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. The Alliance is bringing about many good moral changes but it appears they are complicit in this deception of the nations. Rev.18:23 and the light of a lamp 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 princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. Back to the dream, I was very skeptical, even while seeing this with my own two eyes. I confidently told everyone, “Don't be fooled; it's a hologram!” (Which is one of the theories.) I thought these sights were just a crafty trick (which is true but not as a false vision) but then the ships started to get closer to the ground and they ultimately landed. By this time, I was starting to get bewildered; I didn't know what to think. I was really caught off guard. I thought for sure it was all some sort of illusion by the evil rulers of the world. (Is the Alliance in on the plan of “strong delusion”, which is according to God's will to separate the wheat from the tares? 2Th.2:8 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming; 9 even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, (Can fallen angels perform lying wonders? Did we get to vote on joining the Galactic Federation?) 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: 12 that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. It appears in this dream the fallen angels' deception is so strong that God's people will be tested to see who really believes. Mar.13:22 for there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, the elect.) Once the craft landed, the door opened and some humanoid beings walked out. Everyone was amazed and startled at the same time. I couldn't believe my eyes. Still believing this was a hologram, I ran over to the ship to touch it and realized it was real. (Satan and his angels are very technological, if they have to be, and have the ability to manifest and interact with the physical realm. They gave men atomic bombs and anti-gravity flying saucers.) I swallowed hard, realizing I was wrong, and I ran back to the crowd. The humanoid beings dressed in Star Trek-type apparel were being led out by a blond-haired woman. (There is a woman who has introduced many to speaking and hearing from aliens. This is no different than a seance, which is speaking to aliens called familiar spirits.) I, being overwhelmed and slightly intimidated, ran up to her and began to rebuke her in my tongue language. (I often do this in dreams when I feel physically or mentally helpless against an enemy; it often gets me results.) I thought for sure she would shrivel up in a puddle of goop, like something out of The Wizard of Oz. But, to my astonishment, she just kind of pushed me out of the way, without even acknowledging me. I was perplexed. (The answer to this is, when God sends a delusion to deceive the evil world, we cannot cast it down, nor should we try to. 2Th.2:11 And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: 12 that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. As you can see, we only have authority to help the believers.) I watched the group of beings disperse into the crowd. It seemed like they had specific orders and didn't even stop to talk to anyone; they just went about whatever it is they were sent here for. I remember being surrounded by hundreds of people like me -- everyone just totally in awe of what they saw. After some time, I started to see the beings again, but now they did not look like humans. They had glass faces, like ice. It was like they were wearing a mask, but they weren't -- I could see through their heads and nothing was inside. (fallen spirits) They had hideous, clown-like faces with big smiles, like jack-o-lanterns. (Thinking these beings to be mere humanoids while in fact they are demon-possessed is more common than we think. But the whole world outside of Christ will be deceived and possessed.) They were now corralling people like cattle in different areas (FEMA camps). The adults were forced to separate from the children and were taken to a designated area. The children were all taken to another area and placed in long lines, all of which led into a large circus-like tent. (This alien disclosure will bring much confusion and distraction as well as cause some people to give up their faith in the One True God.) None of the children quite knew what was happening; they were all a little less concerned than the adults. I remember leaving the adult group and running over to see what was happening to the children. After seeing what was taking place, I immediately woke up.   I Met Satan :o) G.C. - 4/19/11 (David's notes in red) I would like to share a dream I had that confirms we should not fear Satan or evil. Evil is not as powerful as our minds sometimes imagine, and Satan is no different. I dreamed that I was with an unknown person in this dream who I believe was an angel. I could tell he knew a lot more of what was going on than I did. I accompanied him everywhere he went. I was like an observer. Toward the end of the dream, we entered an elevator. This elevator took us deep inside the Earth. I was told we were going to Hell to see Satan. The ride took a long time and my mind was wondering about how Satan would really appear. I was thinking, “Would he be intimidating? Would he be scary? How would I react to seeing him?” Once we arrived at the very bottom, the door opened. I looked around and we were inside a very large, dark cave. Hell was just like I'd imagined it: Big, dark and cavernous. I looked out of the area we were in and looked out into the larger opening. I saw armies and very sophisticated weapons. There was violence taking place and fire was everywhere; it was almost like a war itself. One of the weapons spotted us as we came out of the elevator and fired a missile at us, but it missed and exploded against the wall. My companion, the angel, was never frightened; it was like he knew nothing could hurt him. As he walked, I followed; he knew right where he was walking. He came to a door off in a dark corner in the cave. I realized this was Satan's office. Behind the door was the evil one himself. My heart was racing, not from fear but from the suspense. The angel I was with opened the door and there sat Satan in a chair behind a desk. But to my amazement, Satan was not a seven-foot giant with goat horns. He was a clown. Yes, a clown. And a cartoon clown at that. I was shocked and a little disappointed. I was expecting something more terrifying. Clearly the Lord is saying that Satan and his demons are putting on a false face but are not to be feared. Luk.10:17 And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. The angel then revealed to me that Satan is planning something big for Earth. During our trip back up in the elevator, I saw all these green vines shooting up through the elevator shaft from Hell and they were headed straight to Earth. There were a lot of them, like something from Jack and the Beanstalk. But instead of reaching from Earth to the heavens, they were going from Hell to the earth above. Then I woke up. (According to the follow up dream that Father gave him recently, the vines represent the alien deception that satan is sending to earth from the pit of hell.) G.C. said, “Below is a continuation from the dream above from 2011 called. “I Met Satan”. It has the “green vines connection” where green vines were growing up from hell, and the angel told me, “Satan is planning something big for Earth.” Well, it seems the green vines finally made it to Earth and the plan is revealed....     Satan is Planning Something Big for Earth G.C. - 5/13/22 (David's notes in red) G.C. said, “For a little context, many years ago I worked for mortgage companies securing and repairing vacant foreclosures.” I dreamed that my dad and I had been given a work order to secure and inspect a foreclosed home in Los Angeles, California. (Los Angeles means, “The angels.”) It was a big house in a nice neighborhood. It was owned by a black husband and wife in their 50's or 60's. (UFOs and aliens were big in the 50's and 60's. The black couple owning the house could represent that this is a house of sinners submitted to darkness.) (I gathered this information by looking at their family photos still left at the property.) I thought these folks looked very successful from the photos. It didn't make sense to me how they could lose their house to foreclosure. (Foreclosure means that they can't pay their debt so the house is taken back. The debt for our house has been paid by faith in Jesus. If it's not paid because there is no faith, then it belongs to the devil.) I thought maybe one or both of them died. But I wasn't sure. I just knew something was amiss. (When one loses one's house to the devil, their soul is his too.) We proceeded through the large house, taking photos with a camera I had rented at a local camera shop. These photos were to be provided to the bank. Then we walked into the basement and to our utter amazement, we saw a small alien infant tangled up in green vines that appeared to be growing from the floor of the basement. (And according to the previous dream, they came straight out of hell. This represents the alien deception.) The vines were attached to the wall and the infant was wrapped up in them. He had a large brown head with 2 large eyes. When we saw him and approached him he became aggressive and hissed at us. (The aliens/demons hate Christians.) I remember taking the rented camera and snapping pictures of him. Even though I was astonished at this, I was not overly distracted by it. I proceeded with my work at the property. My dad and I decided not to show the photos to anyone as it would become a distraction to the public. (Could this represent the Father hiding things from the wise and prudent and revealing them unto babes?) I knew people would not be ready to see this. I downloaded the photos, removed them from the camera and told my dad to return the camera to the shop. Later, I sent my report and inspection photos to the bank. The next day, I was out and about and realized the whole world was aware of the alien we had found! They had our photos! They were in every publication and on every news station. I had no idea how this had leaked. (True Christians will recognize this as a deception while the rest of the world will swallow the lie, like the waters out of the mouth of the Dragon.) I assumed it was because we returned the camera and the camera shop found the photos on the device and released them. I knew we had discovered it, but no one would ever know our identity. I was ok with that, but I was a little disturbed by how and why they were released. The world was in a frenzy, to say the least. A few days had passed and I was sent back to the same home by the bank to remove the small area of vines growing in the basement. When I got back to the house, the alien child was gone, but the basement dining room was now absolutely full of green vines. (This will be a worldwide deception that will be ‘fed' to all the people.) The walls and ceiling were now covered. I was supposed to remove them, and it was a daunting task. Then, my dad showed up, and we were talking about the alien. The next thing I knew, I stumbled across the rented camera in the basement. I got so upset at my dad because he returned the case but not the camera. (Honestly, I was worried about the late fees. Lol) He said he forgot to look inside the case when he returned it. I realized something strange had happened. How did the world know of the alien if we never took the camera back? Who released the photos? Then I woke up. (2Th 2:8-12 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming; 9 even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: 12 that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.)     Flesh is Born of Flesh and Not Demons Excerpt from: Sons of God, Aliens and Giants   David Eells God said in John 3:6, That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. So Demons cannot birth Children through humans. Demons can infest humans with lying spirits. (Gen.6:1) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them, (2) that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose. Believers are the sons of God mentioned here and in the rest of the Scriptures (Psa.82:6; Dt.14:1,2; Hos.1:10; Isa.43:6; etc.). Notice this was “when men began to multiply” not angels. Jesus quoted Psa.82:6 to His people: (82:6) I said, Ye are gods, And all of you sons of the Most High. To be a son you must be born of God, not created, as the angels. Adam was called a son of God and he was born of God when He breathed into him the breath or Spirit (same Hebrew word) of life. Only his flesh was created from the earth and so was ours, which came from his. God specifically says that He never called an angel His son nor are they born of Him. (Heb.1:5) For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten (Greek: “born”) thee?.... God specifically says their spirits were created. (7) And of the angels he saith, Who maketh (created) his angels winds (Greek: “spirits”). The proponents of this false doctrine say that Satan came among the angels in Job who were said to be sons of God. It does not say that. Satan, the highest fallen angel, was not a son of God but only came among them to be their accuser as he did with Job. (Job 1:6) Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, that Satan also came among them. He immediately begins to accuse them to God. (11) But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will renounce thee to thy face. Here is the same case. (Zec.3:1) And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. (2) And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. (3) Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel. Joshua, the Hebrew word for Jesus, and Jerusalem represent the same thing here, the body of Christ, who are being accused by Satan. Paul said the heavenly Jerusalem was “the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven” (Heb.12:23). We are seated with Christ in heavenly places. We, as the sons of God present ourselves before him constantly and Satan comes among us to accuse us. We are never out of God's presence. You will notice that God separated the line of Seth and the line of Cain in Gen.4 and 5, just as he separated Israel from the Gentiles and commanded them to not cross. In the New Testament Christians are forbidden to marry unbelievers (1 Cor.7:39), although if you are married to one do not leave them for God can save them (7:12-14). Notice in all three of these cases we are talking about crossing the sons of God and the sons of the Devil, or men, which is strictly forbidden (1 Cor.7:39; Ezra 9:2; 10:10; 2 Cor.6:14-18). In all of these cases when the sons of God fell away they began to have fellowship with fallen angels which we call demons (Psa.78:49, called here “angels of evil”; 2 Cor.12:7; Greek: “angel of Satan”) Demons did not directly create giants because they cannot. The Scripture teaches that each seed brings forth after its own kind. Jesus said, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. Therefore, spirits cannot bring forth flesh. Some would argue that Jesus was born of God. Jesus' spirit was born of God but His flesh was born of David through Mary; “the seed of the woman”. Rom.1:3 concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Spirits can inhabit bodies of men that can procreate but they cannot have anything to do with making giants through marrying the daughters of men. (Mat.22:29) But Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (30) For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven. Fallen angels do not procreate man's flesh but his spirit and soul. Spirits sow a spiritual seed, not a physical one. Jesus is the Word, who in Matthew 13 sowed the seed of the Word in His people's heart to bring forth His fruit in them, 30, 60, and 100 fold. In Mat.13:24,27,32 the word for seed in Greek is “sperma”. Demons also sow their “sperm” in mankind's hearts to bring forth their evil fruit but this is their spiritual man and not their flesh. Seth, the son of God, is mentioned in the spiritual lineage of Jesus. (Luk.3:38) the [son] of Enos, the [son] of Seth, the [son] of Adam, the [son] of God You will notice that God mentions all of Cain's wicked descendants in Gen.4:16-24. After this we are told, (Gen. 4:25) And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth. For, [said she], God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him. (26) And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then began men to call upon the name of Lord. Notice after all that evil seed God gave one to replace Abel the righteous seed. Why didn't any of Cain's seed replace Abel as a righteous seed? Obviously, his seed were evil. (1 Jn.3:12) not as Cain was of the evil one. Only after Seth and his son were born did the scripture say “men (plural) began to call on the name of the Lord”. Obviously Cain and his tribe did not call on the Lord. They were sons and daughters of men and as such called on the devil. After Adam there was not another son of God born until Seth; skipping over all of the seed of Cain. (Gen.5:3) And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his own likeness, after his image (a son of God) ; and called his name Seth. Notice none of Cain's descendants were sons of God but were of men. How then were the giants made? Seth and Cain's lineages stayed separate for hundreds of years. They inbred within their lines, which was not against the command of God at this time. In nature, especially after the curse, this deteriorates the line. They became weaker, smaller, and less intelligent. Wherever there has been in-breeding today, the descendants are sickly in mind and body. When the sons of God began to fall away some became inhabited by demons. This also happened in Israel and Christianity because history always repeats. (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. When after years of inbreeding the fallen sons of God and the sons of men crossed, making what is called in nature hybrids. The “Nephilim” were bigger, stronger, and more intelligent because as hybrids they end up with the better physical characteristics of both lines. Later in the Law God forbid inbreeding, at least with close relatives. Now even cousins are a no-no because the farther from Adam we go the stronger the curse has become. The serpent obviously walked on legs in the Garden because God cursed him to crawl on his belly. That curse was gradual and increased as time went by. Even in Job's day, which was in Jacob's day, he saw dinosaurs in Job 40:15 - 41:34. You have to ignore the translator's silly notes calling them hippopotamus and crocodile. We have never seen a hippo with a tail like a cedar tree or a croc that stood so tall that a multitude of men with spears and arrows dared not even approach him. The dinosaurs were serpents with legs. Even today some serpents have vestiges of legs beneath their skin. The fire-breathing dragon in Job 41:18-21 was a tyrannosaurus. This was one type of the serpent in that time but it was cast down by the curse to crawl on its belly. Rev.12:9 And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent...The increasing curse made it more and more improbable for giants, human or beast, to be bred.     “Added Books of the Bible” Disproven by God David Eells – 4/20/25 The people are wrong who say: “There were other books of the Bible that should have been included or the apocryphal books should not have been taken out. Saying we only had 66 of them, while many were missing. The White Hats retrieved all of them from the basement of the Vatican.” Who made these people experts on the anointed words which they have never followed? There have been many books hidden at the Vatican, but Numerics is a pattern in every letter of the original Greek and Hebrew, parts of which are shown in various ancient manuscripts. Every manuscript can be proven as to where this pattern is or isn't, showing the original text. This pattern was designed by God to prove that only the 66 books are inspired by Him. No other book has been found to have this complete pattern in every letter and its position. The Catholics added their apocryphal books that were proven not to have this pattern. The original KJV had these books in it. Satan and his “aliens” want desperately to pollute the Bible. The “New Agers” throw out the book of Revelations, which has this perfect pattern disproving their 1000 years of peace. Where the original “Numeric Greek New Testament” is used Bible skip sequence codes will show up all through the text. God pronounces a curse at the end of the true Bible on all who add to or take from its Words. Rev 22:18-21 I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: 19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.     66 Books Proven by Math Science Proves the Bible Numeric English New Testament The Holy Bible, Wholly True Numerics and the KJV Numeric Materials   Now I'm going to share an excerpt from this book by Philippe Besnard on New Age. Why? Because this sect has invaded the Alliance and is totally defenseless against this demon deception along with the Unitarian types and long dead “Christian” religions of shifting sands. Only the firm foundation of the Word and infilling of the Holy Spirit will give discernment.     Spiritual Warfare- Revelation of a New-Age Deception https://www.ubm1.org/spiritualwarfare-besnard.pdf (David's Notes in Red) North America, Birthplace of the Modern New-Age Movement (When I met Philippe, he was coming out of 30 years of the New Age movement, and as such, he was an expert in describing it.) The North American continent is the birthplace of the modern New Age movement, and when I immigrated to Canada from France, I felt in awe of what I saw as the vibrant “new spirituality” of this wild land. In comparison, I thought France and old Europe were still living in the Middle Ages. France is now catching up with the New Age, but for many years, it has been very slow to emerge. As part of my new identity, adapting to a new culture and learning English, I became a true product of the New Age. I was eager to embrace the lifestyle and social and spiritual trends of my adoptive country. For thirty years I had earnestly followed New Age teaching, traveled to workshops, conferences, seminars, training sessions, and festivals, met many of its teachers, and was personally taught by some of them. I had received countless readings from channelers, psychics, astrologers, palm readers, and Tarot card readers. I received spiritual healings from healers of all faiths and denominations, and even so-called “DNA activation” from a “Spiritual Scientist”. But the Bible says in Lev.19:31 “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.” I had embraced the mystic path and the contemplative lifestyle. I practiced yoga and meditation for many years; sat in Darshan to receive the blessings of gurus, and participated in Satsang, chanting the names of Hindu deities and Buddhist mantras. I facilitated devotional evenings with my guitar, chanting Sanskrit mantras, the music of which I had composed. I traveled to India twice and other countries in the Far East seeking “truth, wisdom, enlightenment, and good karma”. I have been in the company of, and received teachings from, a number of swamis, gurus, yogis, lamas and so-called “enlightened” Western spiritual teachers. As a nature lover, I had worshipped Nature, called the earth Gaia, followed and believed in various native teachings and Shamanism. My space at home was cluttered with New-Age paraphernalia on the walls, tables, and corners. In the garden, I had crystals, posters, images and statues of Buddha and Hindu deities. The New Age is a melting pot made of practically every religious and occult philosophy found in the world. It is a strange convergence of mysticism, holism, pantheism, aboriginal animism, humanism, Luciferian Western occultism with Freemasonry, Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, modern Masonic witchcraft (called Wicca), the Illuminati, apostate Christianity, Gnosticism, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, Zen, Sufism and Hinduism. The New Age is a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture, with an interest in Druidism, shamanism, neo-paganism, Voodoo, exploration of human sexuality, environmentalism, modern-day occultism, worship of “Mother” Earth, psychic healing and extraterrestrial phenomena. Most of the ancient origins of the New Age are found in classical Hinduism, Buddhism, and pagan Babylonian religions. So, despite the name “New” Age, we are dealing here with a very ancient system. Paganism is a people or a community observing a polytheistic religion, which is the worship of many gods, as opposed to monotheism, the worship of One Almighty God, the Creator of All that is. A Pagan is also called an irreligious heathen, gentile, or hedonistic person... The great New-Age plan is dedicated to the unification of all races, religions and creeds. This plan is claiming to establish a “new order of things”, it is to make all things new - a new nation, a new race, a new civilization and a new non-sectarian one world religion that has already been recognized by the United Nations. This New Age globalism movement advocates a one-world government, a one-world religion, and a one-world economy; and this would mean the destruction of the sovereignty of nations and religions. New Age teachers are using standard texts of Eastern religions such as the Hindu Baghavad-Gita and the Tibetan Book of the Dead, as well as writings of Jewish mysticism called Kabbala and those gnostic scriptures often called the Apocrypha. Over the years, I became more and more confused in studying such “new revelations” as the Urantia book, the Keys of Enoch. (Academy for Future Science), A Course in Miracles, Elizabeth Clare Prophet (of The Church Universal and Triumphant). (General Flynn in Sept. 2021 offered a prayer at a large church gathering of Trump worshipping, patriotic “Christians” that originated from Elizabeth Clare Prophet invoking the 7 fold rays and the arch angels. Rick Wiles has denounced Michael Flynn, because he delivered a “New Age prayer” almost word for word by Elizabeth Claire Prophet, a New Age Theosophist and Christian Science advocate, at pastor Hank Kunneman's Christian conference last week and had everyone in the congregation repeat the invocation after him: “ Rick said, “My advice to you is to separate from Gen. Michael Flynn.” In this prayer Flynn invokes “the 7 fold rays and the arch angels”, “in your name and the name of your legions” to help guide humanity (Ascended Masters) and protect us against the enemy and further the purposes of their agenda. (Who is his god? And to whom is he praying?) The “7 fold rays and the arch angels” is based on New Age Theosophy developed by Helena Blavatsky. By the way, you can not achieve the rank of a military general without being initiated. The White Dragons who support the Alliance behind the scenes believe that the Abrahamic God is satan @ 11:53 minutes. (What's Behind General Flynn and the White Hats Alliance? Here is an informative Link: https://youtu.be/Dkx7v0JTmmw) Back to Philippe's text: I also studied... Rudolf Steiner (Anthroposophy), Edgar Cayce, Law of One, Aquarian gospel of Jesus Christ, Heindel Max (the Rosicrucian cosmo-conception-Mystic Christianity) the Gnostic gospels. There is a lack of uniformity in the doctrines of the New Age. The beliefs of New Agers vary from ‘group to group' and ‘person to person.' Thus, it is difficult to have a clear definition and a solid understanding of what the New Age really is. I believe this confusion has been created on purpose. It is very hard to pinpoint, identify and shoot the enemy when it is moving constantly, shape-shifting, or invisible. People entering these movements are generally concerned with having an experience, and not necessarily with finding the truth. Their actions are determined by feelings, not intellect. The emphasis is on “practicing and becoming god” and this is why meditation and many other techniques that teach “stillness of the mind” and a “receptive feeling mode” are promoted. We are told to “follow our bliss”, “go with the flow”, “let loose”, to “transcend the limitation of the mind,” and to “experience the pleasure and the ecstasy of the body”. Using your mind to discriminate and discern has become taboo. The principle of “spiritual vibration” is the belief that all things vibrate at some frequency. The ultimate goal of all New-Age practices is for humanity to vibrate at the same frequency so that we can all become one, spiritually and mentally. “We are all one”, this most repeated New-Age catch phrase, wants us to believe the unity of all things, heaven and earth, spirit and matter, the invisible and the visible worlds, the great melting pot of Darkness, Light, and everything in between. (WWG1WGA?) This “All is ONE”, “all is good”, “don't worry, be happy”, “don't judge” and “be in the moment” is a disastrous recipe that generates apathy and complacency. It is creating a generation of self-seeking, egotistical people who are indifferent to iniquity and the suffering of others. I have been a dedicated student of this school of thought and I have practiced being fully in my body, opening all “the inner channels” and feeling “the subtle currents”. I was proud of “feeling and being” but I was a total fool...! I had lost common sense and the ability to discern and discriminate good from evil. I didn't want to judge anything or anybody for the fear of being unloving, and spiritually not evolved. What a perfect brainwashing and a diabolical device to enslave, control people and turn them into powerless puppets! I was losing my God-given right to discriminate and I didn't realize that judging is necessary for preserving the integrity of my soul. I used to confuse judging with condemning, and I know this confusion had been fostered on purpose. Then I discovered I can judge a situation or someone without condemning and feel love and compassion toward all the parties involved. This was a very liberating and empowering realization. Of course, our human judgment is flawed and imperfect, but as we draw closer to God, we learn true Divine Justice. (And discernment)     Is Darkness Real and Is it a Sovereign Force? The beginning of the story starts with a question I have been asking myself over the years: “And what about God?” I often wonder how God is seeing me, seeing us, seeing the world. I often cry out to Him, asking, “Why, God? Why is there so much pain and suffering everywhere on this beautiful planet? Why is there so much injustice, poverty, and violence?” Do you have the feeling, as I and many others do, that something ominous is about to happen and that we are only seeing the beginning of a momentous transformation? It seems with each day, the world is spiraling down into greater chaos, deception, and destruction. I know a lot of us choose to look at the positive and ignore the increasingly rapid deterioration of our civilization, but refusing to see that anything serious is happening, denying that we, as a human race, are in deep trouble is not going to change it, resolve it, or make it go away. No, in fact, denying is not seeing, and if we don't see, we are blind and hopeless to change anything. Because of my willingness to honestly acknowledge and recognize the darkness pervading our world, I have been more readily able to recognize that this darkness is also within myself. I realized I can only change something in the world or within myself when I am fully aware of what is truly happening. I have heard many times people saying, “The dark only exists when you believe in it. If you believe in the devil, in darkness, you are giving it power, but if you focus on the light, the dark has no place to be.” I tried that belief on, wearing it for some time, but darkness was still there. This belief crippled my ability to discriminate evil from good. Is not believing in darkness preventing darkness from manifesting? Is the world such a paradise that there is no darkness to be seen anywhere? How can anyone believe this? The dark, of course, wants you to believe it is not there but even the most remote paradisiacal Pacific island has murder, theft, violence, greed, etc. In my twenties, I lived on Boraccai, a remote Philippine paradise island, for five months. I was living in a bamboo hut on the beach with no electricity, no running water or any modern amenities. Life was so gentle and simple, I felt surely, I had found the Garden of Eden. One morning, I heard that a man had been murdered the previous night. There had been some drinking and a knife fight broke out. I was deeply shaken to the core, as was most of the tiny population of the island. My innocent naivety that the world is a safe place was completely shattered. In that one moment I became aware of the pervading presence of the dark. “The light” is such a broad, impersonal concept when it is not mentioned as an attribute of God. In fact, many of us embrace the concept of “the light” standing all by itself as a sovereign, impersonal, beneficial force that is replacing the Name of God. Few people know the dark is quite capable and is a master at parading and appearing as the “light”. 2Co.11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. 15 It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. There is the assumption prevalent in New-Age circles that the light needs the presence of the dark to exist. We are told that within the fabric of the universe there is built in an eternal polarity that makes the light of God not being able to exist without the darkness of Lucifer. This is a clever but absurd concept invented, of course, by the dark to deceive people into accepting Lucifer as a legitimate, purposeful, and even beneficial force. The great paradox is this: that Lucifer is, indeed, purposeful, not as an independent sovereign entity but as a force that God uses for His own plan. The dark was created and is allowed to exist by God for His Sovereign purpose and actually needs God's approval and permission to continue to exist. On the other hand, God obviously exists outside of this fallen, polarized world and has no need whatsoever of anything or anybody outside of Himself. There is no darkness in the Kingdom of God, not even anything that remotely resembles darkness. 1 John 1:5 And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If there is no darkness in the Kingdom of God, then surely this planet, which has been corrupted with darkness since the beginning of time, is not the Kingdom of God. Jesus confirmed that fact by saying: My kingdom is not of this world: John 18:36 Of course, this doesn't mean God is not present or is removed from His creation, but I wondered why God allows darkness to be here. Please be patient with me as I attempt to offer my understanding based on the fruit of my life experiences and the teachings found in the Bible.     The New-Age Movement For over thirty years I had been searching for God and the Truth while being completely lost in the great deception of the New Age. I was immersed in New-Age thinking, was an intimate part of its movement, and worked to promote its philosophy and belief system. I was brainwashed to blindly accept and embrace New-Age occult knowledge, and I was convinced my life of service and my spiritual studies were the highest expression of my love for God. I was sincere, as most New-Agers are, but I was also completely deceived and clueless. My study and knowledge of esoteric and ancient mysteries gave me a sense of belonging to the highest-evolved portion of humanity. Although I have always managed to retain some humility in my being, through a natural devotion to the Lord, I still had a typical new-age persona, a spiritual vanity, that vague illusion of having achieved a higher consciousness. This was constantly reinforced by countless readings, which I had received over the years from psychics, clairvoyants, mediums and channelers. I was repeatedly told how great, spiritual, and amazing I was and how I had come here on earth from the higher angelic realms to save lost mankind. I was a walking earth angel with a mission….!!! Of course, I knew everybody else was more or less told the same story, so I took all of it with a grain of salt as I was aware of the deception of ego-flattering, but I was hoping somehow I was special in the eyes of God. Little by little over the last few years, I came to realize through the grace of God's revelation, the many distorted truths and the outright evilness of the New-Age teachings. Because of my passionate nature, I had delved into this New-Age pool deeply and had many close encounters with renowned teachers and spiritual centers across North America. This first-hand, practical knowledge and in-depth study has given me a unique perspective to share with you, the discovery of a very shocking and disturbing truth. The Dark New Age of Aquarius is here right now, and those leading the way forward in this New Age are working hand-in-glove with the great and the powerful. Some of the wealthiest and influential men and women on our planet are openly identifying themselves with the New Age. From bankers, industrialists, politicians, celebrities, and religious leaders of all faiths, it seems everyone is going “New Age,” and they are bringing huge numbers of the population along with them. Darkness is a very powerful force at work over this world. It is a corporate entity made up of many individuals, and is described in the Bible as “the beast”. It is also the embodiment of one being who has been known by various names, including Thoth or Seth in Egypt, Manu in India, Hermes in Greece and Lucifer, the Devil, or Satan in the Judeo-Christian tradition. God is executing end-time Bible prophecy right this very day and He is allowing Lucifer to create the final end-time New World Order of the beast empire. One of the instruments for all this to come to pass is the New Age Movement, also called “The Plan” and what Freemasonry calls “The Great Work Of Ages”. (The QAnon movement has always said, “Trust the Plan.” Whose ‘Plan' are they referring to? Probably not God's plan, but the New Age plan and their AI computers.) This is Lucifer's rebellion and master plan in action against God. The New Age movement has become a powerful political, philosophical, and economic force in our contemporary culture and is exerting its influence into every facet of modern life. (As I've often said, One beast is being conquered by the other and we are grateful for that at this moment. The day will come when all this camaraderie will melt away because they are looking down their snoots at us.) Its ultimate goal and plan is to introduce a One World Order and One World Religion. The UN is gradually becoming the center of this New World Religion, and the “house of peace” with its programs and policies is even more worthy of comparison to what some have called a modern-day “Tower of Babel”. All of my research and personal experiences during those years have led me to believe that Lucifer is very real and he is rising, or descending, depending on which way we look at it! He is here on earth, in this dimension, causing havoc and chaos in an attempt to seat himself on the throne of a World State, and to inaugurate a New Religion with himself as its sole deity. Dan.11:36 And he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done. (Isa.14:13 And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; There is a false belief among many today that Lucifer and Satan are the same but this is propagated by the New Ager's. “Lucifer and Satan are actually two different aspects of the same creature. Lucifer, meaning “the brilliant one, son of the morning” in Hebrew, was an angel beloved by God until his fall and after his rebellion, he became Satan. While there is a significant difference between the two, the terms today have unfortunately become synonymous with each other and with the devil.” Satan has been busily working through his false prophets and religious harlots to pollute true Christianity and also offer a fake moralizing replacement for it to the world so that no one has to repent of sin.     False Prophet and Religious Harlot Experience and the Word have taught me concerning prophecy that if the majority of God's people believe something, it must be wrong. God hides his truths in dreams or visions that are parables so that the false prophets and carnal Christians cannot understand them as in (Mat.13:10-13) but privately He explains them to His disciples. He hides truths from the wise and understanding of this apostate religious system and reveals them to babes according to Jesus in (Luk.10:21). He reveals His hidden truths to those who are faithful. Rev.2:17…To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna…. John's Revelation was given to him as a parable from Jesus. If it were literal, the false prophets would know what is going to happen and that is contrary to Jesus' own words. When the disciples were young and under the Law they did not recognize the false prophets that ruled them. As a matter of fact, they respected them! And so it is today! I want to share with those of you who have eyes and ears who the false prophet is and what his work is. ...The false prophet is a corporate body of religious leaders that to the trained eye resemble those of Jesus' day. Since Jesus' day is a type of the coming Man-child reformers in our day, we know there are going to be false prophets, plural. In all of the New Testament writings, outside of the book of Revelation, we are warned that false prophets, plural, would come. In Revelation, false prophet, singular, is used, but in an allegory or parable to hide the corporate body. Since Jesus, Peter and John said that in the end time many false prophets shall arise, then the false prophet in Revelation is a symbol of a corporate body, like the rest of the characters there like the Woman, the Harlot, the Beast, etc., are corporate bodies. It's the only way that all verses concerning false prophets can be right. Mat.7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. Mat 24:11&24 And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. (24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets… so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. So you see they are plural... They come to you with moralizing like the New Age but cannot live it at all because they don't know the Gospel that saves from sin, and nothing is sin to them. They are false because Jesus said, “To him that overcometh will I give authority” meaning, overcome sin. False prophets fit the type and shadow of history, according to Jesus. Luk.6:26. Woe [unto you], when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets. Peter also said there would be false prophets among us. 2Pe.2:1 But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers …. John also said that many false prophets would speak for antichrist. 1Jo.4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (3) And every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist … Notice that every spirit is the antichrist. The New Age is one of these false prophets that confesses not Jesus as the only begotten Son of God and leader of His Church. Part of the “strong delusion” (KJV) taught by the false prophets is that we are to be looking for the coming of a man called the false prophet, while the Biblical corporate false prophet is here and in the pulpits already. 2Co.11:14 And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. (15) It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. ...Most agree that the second beast in Revelation 13 is the false prophet. He is given authority by the first beast for the second stage of the last 3½ years of the Tribulation (Rev.13:5). He is identified as a beast because he is a corporate body, as is every other prophetic beast in the Scripture. Rev.13:11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. (12) And he exerciseth all the authority of the first beast in his sight. And he maketh the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed. The beast that is coming into authority now is pointed to by the New Age. It is a one-world order with a covenant. Here we see that the false prophet masquerades as the lamb: “two horns like unto a lamb” but he speaks as the world and Satan: “and he spake as a dragon” (beast). This second beast in chapter 13 is also identified after the world beast in Revelation 16:13 as the false prophet. This impostor leadership for the harlot has “a form of godliness” (2Tim.3:5) but is carnal and can only teach a worldly corruption of the Word. They are actually a mouthpiece for the world beast in the apostate church. It was said of the world beast, (Rev.13:5) and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies…. These apostates speak against (Greek: blasphemeo) God with their hypnotizing, ear-tickling doctrines of all-fly-away, unconditional eternal security, worldly prosperity, greasy grace, and anything but the self-crucifying truth. And 1000 years of peace that will be interrupted by the Tribulation that they do not believe in. The false prophet is a corporate body within the corporate body of the harlot, which is female because they receive the seed of antichrist. In verse 15, we see the female body of the false prophet. “And it was given to her (Greek) to give spirit (Greek) to the image of the beast.” Bible Numerics show a perfect pattern for “her” and “spirit” in the original Greek and in the most accurate New Testament, the Numeric English New Testament by Ivan Panin. There is no pattern in “he” or “it.” In Greek, breath and spirit are the same. Numerics show beyond a shadow of a doubt which words are correct here. In the rest of the text this false prophet is identified as male by the same numeric pattern. A translator would have had to respect the Word enough to ignore his own reasoning to simply translate what was there. Most are not willing to go out on a limb and look foolish when they do not see the reason. A male, who is also seen as female, is clear proof that God is not speaking of an individual here but a corporate body of people. In parallel, we are the male body of Christ, made in His image (2Cor.3:18), but we are female in another type (Eph.5:22-25), being married and submitted to Him to receive only His seed, His Word. Let's see this corporate false prophet and his relationship to the harlot in another parable. We know Ahab represents the ten-horned beast who was being ridden by Jezebel (1Ki.18), exactly as the harlot rode the beast in Revelation 17:1-3. They ruled over the apostate ten tribes, who were also those who worshiped the image of the beast, the golden calf. As the corporate mother of the harlot sects of Christianity, she leads them into the Great Tribulation and death unless they repent. Rev.2:20 … Jezebel … teacheth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication (with the world beast by receiving their seed)…. (21) And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication. (22) Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her works. (23) And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto each one of you according to your works. Like the harlot, Jezebel was guilty of the blood of the prophets and of the saints (1Ki.18:4; 2Ki.9:7; Rev.18:24). In Revelation 17:16 when the beast is through using the harlot he devours her, and so it was with Jezebel who was devoured by the dogs (1Ki.21:23), symbolizing the unbelievers (Mk.7:27) or the beast. The true ministers of God are fed at the Church's table (1Cor.9:13-14) and the false prophets are fed from the harlot's table. (1Ki.18:19)…The prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel's table. The two categories of false prophets represent the two horns of the false prophet in Revelation 13:11. Find out who Baal and Asherah represent in modern times and you will know who the corporate false prophet is. These two have their roots at the tower of Babel and were originally Nimrod and his wife Semiramis (Gen.10:8-10). They created the original harlot religion that spawned all the rest. They are a type of the great corporate mother of harlots of all of history. Rev.17:5 And upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. When Nimrod died and Semiramis (later called Asherah) became pregnant, she claimed that Nimrod had become the Sun God (later called Baal) who then by virgin birth was reborn as her son, Tammuz (Son of God). These original Babylonians worshiped the false father, son, and virgin about 2,300 years before the true virgin birth. Semiramis probably knew of the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 concerning the virgin birth seed of the woman and if she didn't, the devil did. With the confusion of languages and dispersion at Babel, this legend went throughout the world and these three were given different names in different cultures, many of which are in the Bible. The golden calf in Egypt was a symbol of the Father (Baal) in the Son. Remember Pharaoh's title meant “Great Temple of the Sun God.” Sun images all over the world and in Catholic and Eastern churches symbolize the false Son. The Israelites with their golden calf thought they were worshiping “YHWH” or “Elohim,” the true God, but it was Baal, “another Jesus.” One horn, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, represent those who teach “another Jesus.” This is the apostate Protestant ministers. The other horn, the four hundred prophets of the Asherah, represent those who worship the virgin. These are the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and many others that are into “Mariolatry.” We know that Mary became saved and is our sister, and we love her but she is not the mother of God as Mariolatry teaches. (Rom.1:3) Concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, (Jesus' “flesh” was the “seed of David” through Mary, which was the promised seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15. Mary is the mother of Jesus' flesh which is the “Son of Man.”) (4) who was declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; [even] Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus' “spirit” man was the “Son of God.” Jesus agreed with this saying in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. Some would say that the two horns are the apostate leaders of the Christian religion and the leaders of false religions. To this I agree. The same verses usually address both greater and lesser types. The greater type is the most complete fulfillment and all the Babylonish religions will be gathered together in the end-time harlot. The False Prophets and Religious Harlots spread from the confusion at Babel throughout the world, and now the Unitarian New Age is seeking to bring Babel back together in a new Catholic, meaning “universal” religion that doesn't rebuke their own sins, much less others. Read also: Aliens Demons Bow to Jesus' Name Note: If you are a Spirit Filled Christian the Lord was speaking to you when He said, “I give you authority over all the power of the enemy.” And “What you bind on earth is bound in heaven.” The Lord said that we can delay this invasion now but we cannot ultimately stop it for God has sent this delusion. 2Th 2:9 even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: 12 that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.  “Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.”

Friday Bible Study (4/11/25) // 2 Kings 18:1-12 // Visit our website: https://mbchicago.org Follow us to remain connected: Facebook:   / mbc.chicago   Instagram:   / mbc.chicago   TikTok:   / mbc.chicago   Podcasts: Listen on Apple, Spotify & others To support this ministry, you can donate via: Zelle to: info@mbchicago.org Website: https://mbchicago.org/give Venmo: https://venmo.com/mbchurch DAF Donations: https://every.org/mbc.chicago PayPal: https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_but... 2 Kings 18:1-12 (ESV)Hezekiah Reigns in Judah18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).[a] 5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. 8 He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it, 10 and at the end of three years he took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed.Footnotesa. 2 Kings 18:4 Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for both bronze and serpent#mbchicago #2kings | #BibleStudy | #DanielBatarseh | #mbchicago | #mbcchicago | #Bible | #livechurch | #churchlive | #chicagochurch | #chicagochurches | #versebyverse | #church | #chicago | #sermon | #bibleexplained | #bibleproject | #bibleverse #versebyverse #oldtestament

Send us a textGods, ETs, or both? Does our creation narrative tell of a cosmic battle high up in the Heavens? The stories we've cherished for millennia as divine revelations may have very ancient—and potentially extraterrestrial—origins than most realize. Our dive into the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation myth that predates Genesis by over a thousand years, reveals shocking parallels that challenge conventional religious understanding.When 19th-century archaeologists unearthed the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, they discovered clay tablets containing creation narratives startlingly similar to Biblical accounts. The Enuma Elish, an epic poem written in Akkadian cuneiform script, tells of primordial waters dividing, skies forming, and humans being created to serve gods. These are all elements found in the Book of Genesis, but with dramatically more detail about cosmic battles and involving multiple deities.We explore the provocative question proposed by ancient astronaut theorists: what if these weren't mythologies at all, but attempts by ancient humans to document encounters with advanced beings using the limited vocabulary available to them? As Zecharia Sitchin pointed out, while later cultures might create myths, how does the very first civilization—Sumer—get a myth? Perhaps their accounts weren't metaphorical but historical and then filtered down through generations of oral tradition before being condensed into the Biblical form that we know today.The evidence suggests the Old Testament's formation occurred much later than many believe—compiled after the Babylonian exile around 520 BCE, allowing ample time for Mesopotamian cosmologies to influence Hebrew thought. Archaeological discoveries even reveal that early Israelite religion included a female consort for Yahweh named Asherah, paralleling the divine couples in surrounding cultures, before later theological developments emphasized monotheism and abstraction.Whether you approach these texts through faith, historical interest, or the ancient alien perspective, they demand the same rigorous standards of evidence and critical thinking. The striking similarities between these accounts offer profound insights into humanity's earliest attempts to understand our origins and purpose. We must ask how they continue to shape our worldviews today?"Space Journey" by Geoff HarveyCopyright © 2021 Melody Loops LPFull License Royalty-Free Music https://www.melodyloops.com Support the showVisit our website

It took over half a century for the stop-motion movie The Primevals (2023) to finally get released. This grand tale of lizard men, yetis, different lizard men, and different yetis (who are also lizard men) left us with a concern that rarely gets addressed in "lost world" media: What happens next?Discord (“Honestly, that guy could have gotten way more cows for so many magic beans.”): https://discord.gg/Y5Uw6sdmU2Email: findingmonsterright@gmail.comBluesky: @monsterrightpod.bsky.socialDISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast episode, the listener forfeits all right to their immortal soul (hereafter referred to as "the asset") and transfers ownership of said asset to Allison Alžbeta Asherah, the Dark and the Demonsbane. The asset can be recovered by the listener if and only if they survive a gladiator match.

False Prophet Revealed (audio) David Eells – 4/13/25 Who is the False Prophet and how may we identify him? Experience and the Word have taught me concerning prophecy that if the majority of God's people believe something, it must be wrong. God hides His truths in dreams or visions that are parables so that the false prophets and carnal Christians cannot see them. Let's read Mat 13:10-13 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. But privately He explains them to His disciples Mar 4:33-34 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it; 34 and without a parable spake he not unto them: but privately to his own disciples he expounded all things. He hides things from the wise and understanding (of this apostate religious system) and reveals them to babes. Luk 10:21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes: yea, Father; for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. Notice that “disciples”, meaning, learners and followers, get to partake of the hidden manna. Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it. And Pro 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. John's Revelation was given to him as a parable of Jesus. If it were literal, the false prophets would know what is going to happen and that is contrary to Jesus' own words. When the disciples were young and under the law they did not recognize the false prophets. As a matter of fact, they respected them! And so it is today! I want to show you who have eyes and ears, who the false prophet is and what his work is. The False Prophet is a corporate body of religious leaders that, to the trained eye resemble those of Jesus' day. In all of Jesus, Peter, and John's writings outside of the Book of Revelation, the warning is that false prophets (plural) would come. In Revelation, false prophet (singular) is used, but in an allegory. Since Jesus said in the end time that Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; …  We read that many false prophets shall arise; verse 11 And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. And verse 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Then the false prophet in Revelation is a symbol of a corporate body like the rest of the characters in Revelation are; the beast, the woman, the harlot, the bride, etc. It's the only way that Jesus and John can both be right. You might say, “David, aren't you sharing the secrets with the false prophets?” Have no fear; they are too proud to admit they have passed on the lie of the traditions of men and repent. Moses prophesied the coming of the true prophet and the false prophet. Deu 18:15-22 Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16 according to all that thou desiredst of Jehovah thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. 17 And Jehovah said unto me, They have well said that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken? 22 when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him. The true Prophet of course, is the Son of God Jesus Christ. He is the Spirit that is in His true corporate body. (1Co 15:45 So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.) He is the head of His body the Church which is female (Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body.). Jesus' headship is manifest physically through the 5-fold ministry (Eph 4:11 And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;). The senses of the head correspond to the ministers. For example: the prophets are the eyes (Isa 29:10 For Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath he covered.) – Evangelists are the mouth (the ministry to those outside of the body), Teachers are the ears (1Ki 3:9 Give thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this thy great people? 12 behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart;) “Understanding” here is the Hebrew word for “hearing”. Soloman heard answers from the Lord.  (1Ki 10:3 And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not.). It takes the 5-fold ministry to raise up others into the head (Eph 4:15 but speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ;). We can see a false headship in these days because of the Nicolaitan error which Jesus hates according to (Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate., and verse 15 So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner.) That false headship is that the pastor usurps the authority of the rest of the 5-fold ministry to be the head of the church. The Spirit of Christ is manifest through the 5-fold ministry to lead His body, the church. So also the spirit of antichrist is identified in (1Jn 4:3 and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.). This spirit is manifested through men as a false prophet to lead his body the harlot. The false prophet also has a female body, the corporate harlot, who receives not the seed of the true husband. These do not confess Jesus, the Word, which was given in the beginning. Confess here is a word meaning “to speak the same as”. The false prophet body cannot say what Jesus said. Christ sows His seed, which is the true Word, as we read in His parable in Mat 13:18-23 Hear then ye the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side. 20 And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it; 21 yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth. 22 And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.) The true Prophet, Jesus, always sows the Word. The false prophet cannot confess Him. In Rev 13:11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. Here we see a false lamb who speaks for the dragon. We see the head of the false prophet with two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as the dragon beast. Also in verse 5 and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies (meaning, to speak against); and there was given to him authority to continue forty and two months. In verse 15, we see the body (harlot) of the false prophet. Rev 13:15 NENT And it was given to her to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Bible Numerics shows a perfect pattern for “her” in the ancient manuscripts and in the most accurate New Testament, the Numeric English New Testament by Ivan Panin. There is no pattern in “he” or “it”. Numerics show beyond a shadow of a doubt which manuscript is right and where. As the harlot of Judaism caused Jesus to be crucified, so will the harlot of Christianity cause His body to be crucified. Let me show this another way. In 1Ki 18, Ahab represents the beast with ten horns, for he ruled over the apostate ten tribes, who worshiped the image of the beast (the golden calf). Ahab's wife, Jezebel, killed the saints and prophets. Compare this for relationship in Rev 17:1-3 …saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters; 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication. 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. There she is ruling by the ten horned beast again.) Jezebel is a clear type of the harlot in (Rev 2:20 But I have this against thee, that thou sufferest the woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess; and she teacheth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.) She, like the harlot, was guilty of the blood of the prophets and of the saints. (1Ki 18:4 for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) (2K 9:7)(Rev 18:24) In Rev 17:16 when the Beast is through using the harlot, he devours her. Rev 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire. And so it is with Jezebel in (1Ki 21:23 And of Jezebel also spake Jehovah, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.). The true ministers of God are fed at the Churches table (1 Cor 9:13,14) and the false prophets (corporately the false prophet) are fed from Jezebel's table (1Ki 18:19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel's table.). The false prophets of Baal and the false prophets of the Asherah represent the two horns of the false prophet in Rev 13:11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. Find out who the two horns of Baal and Asherah represent in modern times, and you will know who the corporate false prophet is. These two go back to the tower of Babel and were originally Nimrod in (Gen 10:8-10) and his wife Semiramis, the false virgin Asherah. When Nimrod died and Semiramis became pregnant claiming that Nimrod had become the Sun God, Baal, who then by virgin birth was reborn as her son, Tammuz, the false son of God. Then of course, the Babylonian worshiped the false Father, Son and Virgin about 2,300 years before the true Virgin birth. Semiramis probably knew of the prophecy in Gen 3:15 concerning the virgin birth. This false scenario is still worshipped in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. At the dispersion at Babel this legend went throughout the World and these three were given different names in different cultures, many of which are in the Bible. The golden calf in Egypt was a symbol of the Father (Baal) in the Son. Pharaoh's title meant Great Temple of the Sun God. Sun images all over the world and in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches symbolize the false Son. The Israelites, with their golden calf thought they were worshiping “YHWH” or “Elohim”, the true God, but it was Baal. One horn, the 450 prophets of Baal represent those who teach another Jesus. This is the apostate protestant ministers. The other horn is the 400 prophets of the Asherah or those who worship the virgin. This is the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and many others that are into Mariolatry. Mary is my sister and I love her but she is not the mother of God according to (Rom 1:3) concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, (In Genesis Jesus was called the “seed of the woman”, who was Mary, the seed of David.) 4  who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; even Jesus Christ our Lord. Here we see Mary is the mother of Jesus' flesh, which is “Son of Man”. His spiritual man was “Son of God” (Verse 4) and born of God. John 3:6 says, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. The false prophet has always been the head of the harlot, and she sitteth (present tense) on 5 world empires that are fallen but still present in Rev 17:10. These were never Christian: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media Persia, and Greece. The corporate leadership of all false Christian religions is the false prophet. Emperor Constantine was head of the early Roman Empire or beast as Daniel 7:7 describes it. Rome was the great beast devouring all the beasts before it (Dan.7:23). Much like the world is today, his kingdom was divided because of much religious faction. Because of Babel there were, to the untrained eye, similarities between the pagan religions and Christianity. In order to unite his empire, Constantine decided to capitalize on these similarities and merge paganism with Christianity. Through the temptations of bribery and power, the backslidden leadership of Christianity gave in. Constantine gathered together at his round table religious leaders of every sect and gave them a position of authority. This corporate false prophet was to advise him and exercise authority over his religious empire. He presided over their councils and put down individual theological differences for the sake of unity. “That which hath been is that which shall be” (Ecc 1:9). Our modern-day revival of the Roman beast, the United Nations, has within its body the whole earth (Dan 7:23) and is doing exactly what Constantine did to unite the earth. The “World Conference on Religion and Peace” was a gathering together under the U.N. of all sects of religious leaders from all over the world to bring unity to religion and hopefully the world. This corporate false prophet with the authority of the U.N. has created a corporate one world religion called the United Religions (the U.R.). Once, when I was teaching on the false prophet several years ago, a brother came into the meeting who had just received a confirming dream. Let me share that with you. Mark W. Dream  (David's notes) I went to church and to the altar to get delivered from smoking. There were many people up front. I knew that the pastor was walking toward me to get away from someone who smelled like smoke, and I thought, “I hope he doesn't come down here because I smell like smoke too”. Just then, my sister came to me very happy and said, “Oh, it's OK now, look over there.” I looked over and saw this man light up a cigarette. There were some booths and a sign that read “smoking section”. People said, “You don't have to quit because now we can smoke in church”. I said, “No, I want to quit smoking.” (Spiritually, smoking is to partake of an unclean spirit because “breath” and “spirit” come from the same word in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Smoke is an unclean breath. “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a prison [booths] of every unclean spirit...” Rev.18:2) Then the scene changed, and I saw on TV that everyone was rejoicing because a great agreement had been made to have “one church”. I saw that the agreement was two stacks of paper (two horns of the false prophet), but nothing was written on them. (This is a sign that everyone will drop their doctrinal demands, which in the case of Christians is truth, in order to have unity - Jude 3,4). Then I went to this extremely big church. I couldn't even see the other end of it (This is the U.N. corporate apostate church). I happened to open the wrong door, and I saw inside a giant ministers' conference. (The corporate False Prophet) They were being shown a film on how to scan barcodes on the foreheads of their congregation with a beam of light without them knowing it. (The spiritual mark of the beast given by the false prophet abusing the light of the word.) More interpretation: This is the corporate two horned false prophet who makes merchandise of the people of God (2 Pet 2:1-3) and the Word of God (2 Cor 2:17 in Greek) and marks those belonging to the Beast in their foreheads (or minds Rom 8:5-6, Rev 13:16). Remember in Jesus' day, the “respectable” religious folks who walked after the mind of the flesh cast their vote against him. They were followers of a “respectable” group of ministers who gave them that mind using the light of the word. Remember that 10 out of the 12 tribes and their ministers worshiped the beast (golden calf) and had his mark in their foreheads (mind) and hand (works). The false prophets are the ones who war against this Word the most. It's an honor to have these against me as they were against my Lord Jesus. They protect their prestige, authority, position, and bank account. Draw close to God and His Word so you may be able to recognize them. Daniel 3:4,5 says, “Then the herald cried...peoples, nations, languages... fall down and worship the golden image (of the beast).” This word, “herald” is the only Greek word in the text at a time before Greek became a world language. It is the same word used in the New Testament for preacher. The command to worship the image (Rev 13:14,15) will come from the pulpits in the form of a deception so strong that, “if possible, even the elect would be deceived” (Mat 24:24). If the truth weren't hidden in the parable of Revelation, there would be no strong delusion. In Daniel 3:7, all worshipped the image, even the Israelites except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three wouldn't bow because they wouldn't eat of the beast's food (word) and wine (nature) and be defiled (Dan 1:5-16). If you receive the word and nature of a Babylonish false prophet, you too will be defiled and bow down (Mat 15:6-20). In Constantine's court, there sat the senate of secular rulers over the countries under his control. These foreshadowed the ten horns in Daniel's vision of the end time Roman Empire (Dan 7:7). The ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings (end time secular rulers), who have received no kingdoms as yet, but they receive authority as kings, with the beast for one hour (Rev 17:12). The horn represents power for it is the weapon of the beast. A king without his kingdom has no power. These kings gave their kingdoms to the beast in (Rev 17:17). From among these kingdoms in Constantine's day arose the religious rulers. They were different, for they were a corporate body of religious leaders from among all the kingdoms. This is exactly what Dan 7:8,24) says. The little horn came “up among” the ten and was “different from the former” because he was a corporate religious body among leaders of corporate secular bodies. Now, the little horn is the false prophet of Rev 13 is easy to see because it had eyes (Dan 7:20), which makes it a prophet (Isa 29:10). He had “a mouth that spake great things” (Dan 7:20) and made war on the saints (verse 21). This identifies the false prophet who was given to the beast in Rev 13:5-7 for the false prophet is the beast's mouth to religious people. In Jesus and Constantine's time, the corporate false prophet kept the people in line for the beast (Rome) because of the threat of loss of position (John 11:47,48). It was this corporate false prophet who was guilty of the blood of Jesus, the Apostles and prophets (Mat 23:29-36). Pilot, representing the Roman beast, did not want to kill Jesus. This is the way it will be in our day. The false prophet Sanhedrin was afraid the Romans would come and take away their position if they didn't put down the Jesus rebellion. Another type of the little horn was Antiochus Epiphanes in 175-164 B.C.. He came up among the horns of the division of Alexander the Great's kingdom and was king of Syria, which means “lifted up”. I emphasize that this king of the “lifted up” was a type because many believe that the history of his acts in Daniel are literally speaking of the end-time antichrist. Daniel prophesies what is clearly now history in chapters 8:9-14, 23-26 and 11:21-39 regarding Antiochus, but he is also a type and shadow of what is to come. His compelling interest was to subject God's people to himself, much like the false prophets of today. He “magnified himself” (Dan 8:25) above all the gods of the Harlot and “the one desired of women” (Dan 11:37) - Jesus was desired of seven women who are the church in Rev 1:11. Isa 4:1  And seven women (the Church) shall take hold of one man (Jesus) in that day, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name (In their rebellion against the Word, they still wanted to be called Christians.); take thou away our reproach. The false prophet, Antiochus deposed the Jewish high priest Onias 3 and usurped his place. Many today usurp the position of Jesus as head. If you permit a person to exalt themselves or their teaching above Jesus and the Scriptures, they become to you a false prophet. He will even use the Word to paint an image in your mind of a false Jesus (2 Cor 3:18), which is none other than the image of the beast (spoken of later). Antiochus, in his position as “lord of God's heritage” then sacrificed a son on the altar and sprinkled the Holy Place with the swine's broth. He cast down many of God's people and caused them to lose their position in the heavenlies like the end time saints (Dan 8:10, Epe 2:6, Rev 6:13). He took away the continual burnt offering (Dan 8:11, 11:31) in the end time will be in the middle of the tribulation or seventieth week of Daniel when the mark is given. (Dan 9:27). We are the sanctuary or temple of God (1 Cor 3:17). Our old life is the continual burnt offering (Rom 12:1) as we take up our cross and follow Jesus and lose our old life (Mat 16:24,25). It is a burnt offering because in the midst of the fiery trial (1 Pet 4:12, Mat 3:11,12) when we obey God, the flesh burns up (2 Cor 4:16,17). If we walk after the mind of the flesh and take the mark, the burnt offering ceases (Dan 8:12). We are to be as gold and silver refined in the fire by burning up the impurities of flesh - Mal 3:2,3. Many will follow the example of Antiochus and sacrifice the Son. Heb 10:29 of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God.  They follow the false prophets and are defiled, turning back to their sins (2 Pet 2:1-3, 18-22). These are they who give up their life of sacrificing their flesh in the fiery trial in the middle of the tribulation and take the mark of the beast (Rev 13:5-7, 16-18 and Dan 9:27), having been deceived by the false prophets. If you allow the false prophets to identify the mark of the beast and the image, you will not be able to see it when it comes. The Pharisees and Sadducees could not identify the true Image of God, Jesus Christ. What makes you think that they could today? It is not the visible Image and Mark of the beast that you should fear, but the invisible. This is how it can be a deception. Any physical mark can only be put on one who has the spiritual mark already. It will identify these people as members of the body of the beast. Antiochus also set up a statue of Jupiter in the Holy of Holies. He, like the little horn of Ahab's day, Jesus' day, Constantine's day, and the U.R. of our day, gives to the people a false Image of God. Even among Christians, you will notice there are different ideas about who Jesus is, what His nature is, what His teaching is, and what His attitude is toward us. Much of this leads people to worship another Jesus, which is an abomination. Become familiar with the Jesus of the Bible, the true Image of God (Heb 1:3, Jn 1:1). The tip of the little horn starts in the leadership of the U.R., but like Mark W.'s dream, it shows that it goes all the way down to the man in the pulpit. All of them together are the false prophet, the head of the harlot. “Be not many of you teachers, my brother, knowing that we shall receive the heavier judgment” (James 3:1). Now, I'd like to share a few more revelations with you that reveal the end-time false prophet.   War, False Prophet, Harlot, Mark, War Below are two dreams on these subjects East and West War in the Middle East Bill Steenland - 11/14/2014 (David's notes in red) I dreamed there was a lion and a white tiger fighting one another very fiercely with a lot of back and forth, while rolling around on the ground. (I think the white tiger represents Russia, Iran, India, and China [Eastern nations] going to war with the “lion” [Britain, America, Australia, Canada, Europe and NATO].) (The lion with eagle's wings in Daniel is Britain and her lion cubs with the US and its air power. Siberia is part of Russia. The white Siberian tiger represents Russia.) (I was watching Putin in this video, and the Lord said to me, “The white tiger!” Why hadn't I seen it before? We are really seeing the fulfillment of this dream now. This topic is huge in the book Hidden Manna for the End Times, now that I think about it. We are really seeing the posturing and coming war that is shown in that dream now, with all the lines being drawn in the sand over Europe and Asia. (Ultimately this war that the Deep State has tied to start many times, to distract from their evil, will come to pass but I for one have fought for peace.) As the lion and the tiger fought, the scenery and the settings were changing. It was as if they were rolling back and forth in the Middle East from the mountains to the desert to more mountains, back to a dry parched setting like a desert and then a combination of the two. It was as if they were rolling around, fighting each other across the whole Middle East. This is the strange part: There was a black car following them everywhere they went. (This is the Satanic Deep State powers that be, the banksters, with money invested on both sides of the war, as always.) All I knew was that they were in the Middle East and that it was a huge power struggle for territory. At the end of the dream, I saw a black man in full-blown black Masonic attire with a black plate that had a golden pyramid on it. (D.S. Masonic powers that be.) The eye was not floating over the pyramid. It was one that has always represented Lucifer (The antichrist spirit who will once again rise up in Revelation 13 and control the Beast and finally bring their war between East and West to make money off of both.). (Masonic agenda is unfolding; their god Lucifer is the “all-seeing eye” over the Beast one world government.) The black plate was hanging on his chest (the breath/spirit/demons of the Beast). He was standing in the middle of these two fighting animals as they fought, but he was much bigger than the cats. He was kicking his toes into the ground on each side, as if one foot or toes was the lion and the other foot was the tiger. He would kick his toes into the ground one at a time toward the other foot. (End-time fulfillment of the 10 kingdoms from Daniel 2, known as Nebuchadnezzar's image or dream.) (The two feet of the image of the Beast in Daniel's revelation are the end-time Eastern Roman Empire, which Russia is the head of, and Western Roman Empire, which the US is the head of. The clay is nations that were not a part of the original Roman Empire seed, typed by the iron. This Roman Empire is the sixth head that was smitten unto death which is revived. Satan and his earthly representatives, the Deep State powers that be, are kicking their pawns back and forth in the Middle East. The pawns of the U.S. and Russia have also always had their pawn nations that they prefer to fight through, supplying weapons, logistics, trainers, etc., so that they are not personally drawn into a nuclear world war. [Although nukes may be used in this war, it is not the full-scale nuclear war that will come at the end of the tribulation, as seen in Bill's other dream below.] They have engaged in this covert warfare for many years, and it will continue because it makes money for the powers that be and decreases populations, plus it keeps the nations under control. I would say the big black man is the world Antichrist Beast ruled by Satan.) Dan.2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay. (Islam is invading the nations by the DS to bring division.) 44 And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (This begins with the Man-child reformers.) 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. In the dream, I knew the black man over the big cats was Tiger Woods, the pro-golfer. (Tiger has a family heritage from many nations and represents the world beast like the Dan 2 vision of the world beast.) He is like the melting pot of nations and religions melted into one. Tiger Woods spent most of his life standing on grass, playing golf. (This war of back and forth is like a golf game to them. Life is cheap.) Here are a few details from Wikipedia about his multinational family tree: Woods was born in Cypress, California, to Earl (1932-2006) and Kultida (Tida) Woods (born 1944). He is the only child of their marriage; however, he does have two half-brothers, Earl Jr. (born 1955) and Kevin (born 1957), and a half-sister, Royce (born 1958), from the 18-year marriage of Earl Woods and his first wife, Barbara Woods Gray[14]. Earl, a retired lieutenant colonel and Vietnam War veteran, was of mostly African American, as well as Caucasian, and possible Native American and Chinese, ancestry[15]. Kultida (née Punsawad), originally from Thailand (where Earl had met her on a tour of duty in 1968), is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry[16]. He refers to his ethnic make-up as “Cablinasian” (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian).[17]. Woods' first name, Eldrick, was coined by his mother because it began with “E” (for Earl) and ended with “K” (for Kultida). His middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name. He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend, Col. Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger.[18]. The name Eldrick is an English baby name. In English, the meaning of the name Eldrick is “old/wise ruler”.   False Prophet, Harlot, Mark, Nuclear War Bill Steenland - 06/22/2015 (David's notes in red) The dream started off where I was in a big city, like New York or Philly. I had a large white tablet in my hands. There were two guys who were working on it, but we were talking about the mark of the Beast. The guy was talking about the basics of where it goes and so on. The second man was sitting on the step. He had a really faraway look on his face, like he had spent a long time looking at the physical properties of the mark. He sat down on the step and just kept saying, “It's so much more than a mark”, over and over. Then he said, “Calling it just a 'mark' doesn't do it justice. It's much more than that”. (I found out later in that dream the mark will have currency on it as an incentive to take it after a total global economic meltdown.) I looked back at the tablet. I knew that in the dream, when I looked down at the tablet, I could see anything I wanted to or any place I wanted to and that I could be there by looking at this tablet. (It means the Word of God written upon the tablet of our hearts, which gives spiritual insight and discernment. 2Co.3:2 Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men; 3 being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh. Maybe that is why when I looked at the tablet later in the dream, I could see future events and see into the spiritual realm. 1Co.2:10 But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.) I was watching a video of a beach as I walked around with the tablet. Then I found myself there on the beach at a resort. I was walking around this beach next to the resort. (Fellowshipping with Abraham's seed, the children of faith. God told Abraham that his children would be as the sands of the sea. Heb.11:11 By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised: 12 wherefore also there sprang of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand, which is by the sea-shore, innumerable. Rom.4:11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision; that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might be reckoned unto them.) (The promised seed, the Man-child Isaac, would bring forth the great multitude of fruit, just like in these end times.) While I was walking around, I saw an old friend whom I knew was caught up in confusion, walking around, too. In the dream, I knew that I had a room at this beach resort. I went to my room and relaxed on my bed (representing resting in the promises of God). I pulled out the tablet and I saw a picture of Benny Hinn. He was wearing a red shirt. (Red represents sin, as in the “man of sin”: 1 John 3:4,10.) (Isa.1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.) He looked very effeminate; there was make-up on his face (I.e. what you see is not what you get) and he had his arms out, as if to present something. I noticed there was a witchcraft book in front of him. (1Sa.15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.) 1Co.10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have communion with demons. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons: ye cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons. There was a table with a whole bunch of objects in front of him that were being used in witchcraft to send curses. (Those infected with Kundalini and who practice false signs and lying wonders are sent out to deceive God's people. God is the one allowing it. 2Th.2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming; 9 even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Jesus warned of false leaders. Mat.24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. The word for “false Christ” is pseudochristos or false anointings. (When God does signs because of the faith of His people but the signs do not confirm the life and word of the minister, they are false signs and lying wonders: Mar.16:20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen. Deu.13:1 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods (another Elohim or Jesus'), which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.) They have another Jesus because they received another Word and another spirit. This scripture explains why he was performing witchcraft in the dream: Gal.1:7 which is not another gospel only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. 9 As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema (accursed). When people receive another Word, they can receive this working of error mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 3:9-11. Kundalini is a huge working of error that the Harlot Church is going under. Like in the dream, they say they serve God but are in rebellion and witchcraft. When people pray and fellowship with people who are serving these Kundalini spirits, they open themselves up to this working of error because, frankly, they are praying with a witch, and they get slimed with this curse from Galatians that they are under. Here is a call of God to leave these false teachers and churches: Isa.2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of Jehovah. 6 For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines (Kundalini has been named the false prophetic movement for good reason), and they strike hands with the children of foreigners. (They have joined the Eastern religions through Kundalini spirits.) 7 And their land is full of silver and gold (Benny Hinn is reportedly worth $60 million. (Somebody is not eating while these kind surfeit and care not for the needs of others. Ecc.5:11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, save the beholding of them with his eyes? Isa.56:11 Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.), neither is there any end of their treasures (prosperity message); their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots. (His Rolls-Royce and private jets.) 8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands. (This type builds a false temple made with man's hands, which God says He does not inhabit. Act.17:24 The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.) Isa.10:1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness; 2 to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right that widows may be their spoil (Their ministries are funded by the poor and the fatherless whom they rob. Benny has promised to these poor people that if they give him $1000, God will multiply it. (When God is teaching His children to give, He may honor their faith but not a greedy leader.), and that they may make the fatherless their prey! (Those who have no true spiritual fathers but are hirelings.) 3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? (What will they do when the Lord comes manifested in the Man-child ministry to bring justice?) Back to Bill's dream: There was a book on the table in front of him. As I looked at the book, I heard a news broadcast in the background. The female broadcaster said these words: “Benny Hinn has a new social media program to join,” like Alex Jones has, and another name that was mentioned but was blanked out. (I believe it was a reference to Facebook. I believe these social media programs are the hive mentality of corporate bodies of people who are under the deception of certain spirits. For instance, Facebook is vanity and self-promotion. Benny is obviously Kundalini and the Harlot Church. As I looked at the book, I heard the famous singer Katy Perry singing these lyrics: “I hear that the mark of the Beast is coming and I want one”. (Katy is a perfect symbol of the Harlot Church who will take the mark of the Beast. She is also being used as a type of the Harlot spirit that cause the falling away and, finally, the mark of the Beast.) 1Ti.4:1 But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. (The Feast of Unleavened Bread in Exodus 12 was for seven days, representing the tribulation. Anyone who ate leaven during that time was cut off from the people of God, so we must come out from them now. This will be a great falling away of the people who are cut off.) Next, there were two aliens in my room. They were demons. I knew in the dream that the Harlot Church who rides the Beast was rolling out another deception: aliens. I immediately turned the tablet off, and the demons left. Then I had an open vision while there on my bed. I was looking at a world destroyed by a nuclear war with Russia and a total global economic collapse. (The war between East and West is bound to end this way.) Joe.2:30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The pillars of smoke mentioned in Joel could be the mushroom cloud pillars of nuclear war. That word “pillar” can also be translated as “column” that could stretch from the earth to the heavens, literally. I was looking at a soldier and a young boy of about 14 years old. The sun was not giving its light, like the scriptures mention. I saw the boy with the mark of the Beast in his hand; it was glowing in the dark while in his hand. It was slightly curved in shape, like a banana. (Representing the fruit of the wicked? A crescent shape?) It was glowing green and yellow. The boy was thinking the following words in his head, and I heard them very clearly. As he looked up at a totally destroyed world, he thought, “We don't ever have to worry; we are safe. The government knows where we are at all times and will be here shortly to help us”. (Notice he had the mark before the nuclear war came and he was programmed to trust in Antichrist.) Rev.13:16 And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead; 17 and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark (In the dream, I knew that this mark had electronic currency on it.), even the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six. (We who refuse the mark will be in the wilderness with God our supplier.) Dan.9:27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing (or pinnacle) of abominations shall come one (abomination = the mark) that maketh (them) desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate. (In the midst of the week, many so-called Christians will take the mark as sons of perdition in the temple of God's people. This mark is an abomination that makes them desolate, which means devoid of God.) As I watched the boy, I knew that people would take the mark for many reasons, but one reason is that there will be currency given to the recipient so he can survive. I came out of the vision and said to myself, “I need to find my old friend”. I knew in this dream that there were a lot of people who needed to hear this warning: Rev.18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues: 5 for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. And 2Co.6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, 18 And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.   False Prophets Revealed Rex Veron - 11/29/2004 (David's notes in red) I believe this is an end-time dream. (This dream is as seen from God's perspective of the false prophets who have put on their deceptive show to deceive the people as to their true nature and false teaching.) I saw a mouse standing in front of a medium-sized congregation, preaching and teaching. It stood up on its hind legs and was the size of a small terrier dog; it had the face of a man. The face was nondescript and no one I knew. (The false prophets standing in the pulpits of God's people are indeed very small in spiritual stature and the vilest of beasts attempting to depict themselves as men of God. As in a plague, they are the carriers of spiritual disease that have brought spiritual and physical death to multitudes.) It had a red broad brimmed hat with little gold tassels hanging from the brim. (They attempt to glorify their own thinking, but underneath is still hidden the brain of a spiritual mouse. The red color here is an attempt to appear to have blood-washed thinking but instead, it is sinful thinking. Isa.1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.) It wore a red vest with some tassels hanging from the edge. (They attempt to glorify their own heart, which is not covered by the blood but the sin of the fallen nature. Underneath their show is the heart of a spiritually small beast.) It wore red pants with tassels hanging from the bottom of the pant legs. He had jester-type shoes with a little gold bell on each end of the toe curl. (They love to bring attention to their walk by ringing their own bell when they put on a show to be seen of men. However, before God and those with understanding, they are seen as jesters who walk crooked as the curled toes depict.) It had a stubby tail like a bulldog with a gold cover on it that was flattened out and looked like a spoon upside down. (As unclean dogs, they are dung eaters and that which should be left behind, as Paul pointed out, and flushed is glorified by these apostates and fed to the people as doctrine.) The people kept saying, “We can't stand this any longer, he needs to be made to be quiet, get rid of him”. (When the people begin to awaken, they become dissatisfied with the religious show and want more of God and His Word to sustain them.) I went to the front, picked him up and took off his hat, his vest, his pants, and I started to put him down. (It is here that the true ministers are able to uncover the false thinking, heart and walk of these apostate leaders.) Then I heard a voice saying, “You must take his shoes off and the golden tail, as well. You cannot turn him loose with those on”. (It is necessary to also reveal the apostates' evil walk and despicably unclean doctrine that the righteous will forsake.) I then took his shoes and golden tail off and set him on the floor, and he vanished. (When the truth is revealed, they become nothing in the eyes of God's people, as their yoke is broken off of them.) Turning back to the people, they were quiet and at peace; nothing was said. While still dreaming, I thought the entire scene strange and was wondering about it when I heard, “Get up and write the dream down”. I awoke, wrote it down and meditated about it and then I went back to bed.   False Prophet & Son of Perdition G.C. - 12/2007 (David's notes in red) In this dream, I was watching a scene go down. There was a line of people shuffling forward toward a podium. There were two men at this podium: a father and a son. (In real life, I know them.) The father was dressed in full Masonic priest regalia and was wearing what seemed to be a pope-like hat. The son was on his left hand, and he was dressed like a normal person. Many who only see the letter of the parable in dreams would think this father to be the pope, but this is not how parables work. Like the pope is the “holy father” over the Catholic, meaning “universal” Church, so this father represents a corporate False Prophet over a world body of apostate religions. Many of these very visible leaders are also Masons. Judas, who was called the Son of Perdition, sold the body of Christ to the Sanhedrin, which was this corporate False Prophet in their day. Likewise a corporate Son of Perdition hidden in the body of Christ today will betray them. This way, both people in this parable represent a corporate body today. I watched in horror as the father was giving the mark of the beast to the people in line. (Rev.13:16) And he (the False Prophet) causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead.) As soon as the people received the mark they instantly transformed into a wild pig and leaped straight into a furnace off to the side of the podium. (2 Pet. 2:12) But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed. (Php.3:18) For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, [that they are] the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is perdition, whose god is the belly (like wild pigs), and [whose] glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things (mark in the forehead). I considered what was taking place and tried to warn the people about the furnace (of the great and terrible day of the Lord and Hell itself), but they seemed not to take heed to what I was saying. They were willfully taking this mark as if under strong delusion. It was horrible. Note: Although in real life I worked for this father, he had NEVER called me before. All the business matters were usually handled through his son. After I woke from the dream, the father called me on the phone! He asked me to come to his office to have a meeting with him and his son. So that was a sure confirmation from the Lord. They are merely figures the Lord used to show me something in the dream. They own their own company and are in the business of buying and selling (Just like the “merchants of Babylon” who “make merchandise of you”). The father's name is ROLAND, meaning “renown throughout the land”. This reminds me of the men of renown or giants of old. We have giants today, too: the megachurch pastors of the apostate church. The son in real life is a lukewarm Christian who is given to drunkenness (which is spiritually like the Son of Perdition).   Discernment Delivers from False Prophets Jay N. - 06/09/2008 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was in a class with several other students. We were in this big room which looked rather like a gymnasium, and I remember thinking and missing my friends from other classes, whom I remembered were now long gone away. David Eells was our teacher, and I was standing next to him. (A type of the David man-child reformers.) David was telling me that the previous night, there was a party at his next door neighbor's house and he didn't get much sleep. (God's people giving into lasciviousness have truly caused me some loss of sleep.) He was casually dressed, like a sports teacher or a trainer. (We have to train the people of God to get in shape for the contest to come.) Standing next to him, I could see his profile, and I noticed he was wearing a patch or a piece of wool over his nose, like he had a nose job, or even more, it looked to me like something he was wearing to filter the air he was breathing. (This nose filter represents the ability to discern good from evil. The nose gives discernment to the mind that is neither seen nor heard. Wool over the nose represents having the true clothing or actions of sheep, which filter out the false spirits, which is the meaning of “breath” in Hebrew.) The next thing I remember was a tall man entering the room, accompanied by a woman. (The tall man is seen in many dreams as the corporate false prophet and his companion is the harlot church.) They were dressed in suits and looked to me like teachers. The man came and was standing next to me, and I knew they were there to acquire some students for themselves. (They will seek through lasciviousness, meaning a license to excess, to draw aside disciples of Christ.) I tried to ignore him since I could tell what his intentions were, and then he pointed his finger at me. I looked around for David but couldn't see him. (We will face temptation alone.) I turned to the man and looked at his face for the first time. He was so tall, almost all the way up to the ceiling; I remember feeling the pain in my neck as I was struggling to look at his face. (His great size represents a corporate body of people.) He was nicely groomed, with curly hair and he had bright grey, watery eyes. (They tend to see things in grey, not black or white, as in wrong or right.) Being determined, I told him that I was not going with him because David was my teacher. As I was saying these words I was getting weak. I remember being hardly able to say that last word, “teacher”, but I succeeded. He looked shocked and very offended because obviously he had the authority to choose from the class as he liked, and he looked at the woman (harlot?) with disbelief. He looked back to me, trying to put some kind of smile on his angry face, and then I woke up. (The Sanskrit meaning for “Jay” is “victory”. Although tempted, Jay obviously represents those who gain the victory over the false prophet and harlot because of their training in discernment. We are told that the Word exercises our senses to discern good from evil: Heb.5:12 For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. 13 For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. 14 But solid food is for fullgrown men, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.

Deuteronomy is Moses' final address to Israel before they enter the Promised Land. Chapter 7 continues his instructions, emphasizing God's covenant faithfulness and Israel's responsibility to remain holy and separate from the surrounding nations. This chapter feels like a father's final counsel to his children: “Don't forget who you are. Don't mix with the ways of the world. You are chosen.” Summary and Breakdown 1. The Lord Goes Before You (Verses 1–2) “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations…” (v.1) Moses reminds the people: it is God who drives out the nations, not their strength. These nations were “greater and mightier,” but God has sovereignly chosen to displace them. The list of seven nations symbolizes completeness of conquest—God's full action to give His people space to flourish in the land of promise. Reflection: Victory belongs to the Lord. Often, what seems bigger than us is not bigger than God. He goes ahead of His people to prepare the way. 2. No Compromise, No Covenants (Verses 2–5) God commands: •Do not make treaties. •Do not intermarry. •Tear down their altars, smash sacred stones, cut down Asherah poles, and burn idols. This is not about ethnicity but spiritual purity. Intermarriage risked leading Israel into idolatry. God's desire is that they remain fully loyal to Him. Reflection: God calls His people to live distinct lives, not blending into the surrounding culture where it leads to compromise. Holiness is separation unto God, not isolation from people. 3. Chosen Because of Love (Verses 6–8) “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you…” (v.7–8) Here is the heart of the covenant: God's love and faithfulness to His promise. Israel's election is an act of divine grace, not human merit. Reflection: We are chosen not because of our qualifications, but because of God's unchanging love. His grace is the foundation of our identity. 4. Blessings for Obedience (Verses 9–15) “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love…” (v.9) God's blessings include: •Multiplication of children and livestock •Prosperity in the land •Victory over enemies •Health and protection from diseases God ties obedience to covenant blessings—not as a transaction, but as a relationship. Obedience aligns Israel with the life God desires for them. Reflection: Obedience brings us into alignment with the fullness of life God desires. It is not about earning love but walking in the benefits of relationship. 5. Assurance of Victory (Verses 16–24) Moses reassures: do not fear the nations, no matter how powerful they seem. God will fight for them and deliver them into Israel's hands “little by little.” “Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.” (v.21) The “little by little” progression teaches patience and preparation. Sudden victory might leave the land unmanageable. Reflection: Victory in life is often progressive. God prepares us step by step, not all at once. Trust His timing. 6. Remove Every Snare (Verses 25–26) Moses warns against bringing anything detestable into their homes. Destruction is complete because idols are not neutral—they ensnare hearts. “Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction.” (v.26) Reflection: We must be vigilant about what we allow into our lives and homes. What seems small can be a doorway to compromise. Key Themes of Deuteronomy 7 •God's Sovereignty: He goes before His people, fights their battles, and secures their inheritance. •Covenant Love: God's choosing of Israel is an act of steadfast love, not human achievement. •Holiness and Separation: God calls His people to live distinctly, reflecting His holiness. •Victory Through Obedience: Walking in God's ways leads to flourishing and protection. •Diligence Against Compromise: Removing every idol and snare preserves covenant faithfulness. ⸻ Life Application Deuteronomy 7 is not just for ancient Israel; it speaks today - Remember that we are set apart for God's purposes. Do not fear challenges, for God fights for His people. Be vigilant against compromise in the small things. Trust God's timing in your journey. Celebrate God's choosing love—it is not earned but freely given. ⸻ Closing Prayer “Lord, thank You for Your faithful love and for choosing us to be Your people. Teach us to walk in holiness, trust in Your timing, and remove every snare from our lives. Help us to honor You in all we do, as we remember that victory belongs to You. Amen.”Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sendme-radio--732966/support.

Trapped Week #3 Still not Tolerant Judges 6:25-31 God's Grace is Amazing There is always a way out of the pit That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father's altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing […]

IT DIDN'T take long for simmering tensions in Israel between north and south to erupt into civil war. Following the death of Solomon, Jeroboam led the northern tribes in rebellion against Judah and the House of David. Solomon's son, Rehoboam, wanted to go to war immediately but was warned by the prophet Shemaiah that it was not the will of God to do so, since the rebellion was God's punishment for Solomon's fall into the worship of pagan gods. However, after just three years of peace, north and south were at war. Egypt's pharaoh, Shishak, seeing the weakness of his northern neighbor, plundered the temple in Jerusalem. Rehoboam humbled himself before God, which saved himself and the kingdom of Judah from destruction—but it didn't take long for Judah to fall back into pagan practices, even in the royal household. Rehoboam was succeeded by his son, Abijam, who was followed just three years later by his son, Asa (reigned c. 910–873 BC). Asa removed the male cult prostitutes and the Asherah poles from the kingdom, and even had to remove his mother as queen mother because she'd made an image for Asherah, which probably fertility connotations (to put it politely). It appears that even during the reign of good kings like Asa, the cult practices of the Amorites and Canaanites were a powerful snare for the people of Israel and Judah. Question of the week: Are cemeteries the modern equivalent of ancient dolmens? Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah. Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Derek's new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources: Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821) Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF) The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser's two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch Follow us! • X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate. Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech! The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/. Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site! Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store! Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store. Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.

IT DIDN'T take long for simmering tensions in Israel between north and south to erupt into civil war. Following the death of Solomon, Jeroboam led the northern tribes in rebellion against Judah and the House of David. Solomon's son, Rehoboam, wanted to go to war immediately but was warned by the prophet Shemaiah that it was not the will of God to do so, since the rebellion was God's punishment for Solomon's fall into the worship of pagan gods. However, after just three years of peace, north and south were at war. Egypt's pharaoh, Shishak, seeing the weakness of his northern neighbor, plundered the temple in Jerusalem. Rehoboam humbled himself before God, which saved himself and the kingdom of Judah from destruction—but it didn't take long for Judah to fall back into pagan practices, even in the royal household. Rehoboam was succeeded by his son, Abijam, who was followed just three years later by his son, Asa (reigned c. 910–873 BC). Asa removed the male cult prostitutes and the Asherah poles from the kingdom, and even had to remove his mother as queen mother because she'd made an image for Asherah, which probably fertility connotations (to put it politely). It appears that even during the reign of good kings like Asa, the cult practices of the Amorites and Canaanites were a powerful snare for the people of Israel and Judah. Question of the week: Are cemeteries the modern equivalent of ancient dolmens?

Friday Bible Study (3/28/25) // 2 Kings 17:1-23 // Visit our website: https://mbchicago.org Follow us to remain connected: Facebook:   / mbc.chicago   Instagram:   / mbc.chicago   TikTok:   / mbc.chicago   Podcasts: Listen on Apple, Spotify & others To support this ministry, you can donate via: Zelle to: info@mbchicago.org Website: https://mbchicago.org/give Venmo: https://venmo.com/mbchurch DAF Donations: https://every.org/mbc.chicago PayPal: https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_but... 2 Kings 17:1-23 (ESV)Hoshea Reigns in Israel17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria. And Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. 5 Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years he besieged it.The Fall of Israel6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.Exile Because of Idolatry7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. 9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this.” 13 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”14 But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings[a] and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only.Footnotesa. 2 Kings 17: 17 Or made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire#2Kings | #BibleStudy | #DanielBatarseh | #mbchicago | #mbcchicago | #Bible | #livechurch | #churchlive | #chicagochurch | #chicagochurches | #versebyverse | #church | #chicago | #sermon | #bibleexplained | #bibleproject | #bibleverse #versebyverse #oldtestament

In Monarch's defense, how do you house a type specimen that's larger than the museum?Discord (“Pirates of the Cambrian: Curse of the Black Uh Do Pearls Exist Yet Hang On Let Me Check”): https://discord.gg/Y5Uw6sdmU2Email: findingmonsterright@gmail.comBluesky: @monsterrightpod.bsky.socialDISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast episode, the listener forfeits all right to their immortal soul (hereafter referred to as "the asset") and transfers ownership of said asset to Allison Alžbeta Asherah, the Dark and the Demonsbane. The asset can be recovered by the listener if and only if Kurt Russell and his son play the older and younger versions of them, respectively.

A realistic, two-hour dinner conversation doesn't look like the kind of movie where you'd find a monster, right? But looks can be deceiving. This week, we're going where no monster podcast has gone before!Discord (“Yardwork is just an excuse for adults to play dinosaur.”): https://discord.gg/Y5Uw6sdmU2Email: findingmonsterright@gmail.comBluesky: @monsterrightpod.bsky.socialDISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast episode, the listener forfeits all right to their immortal soul (hereafter referred to as "the asset") and transfers ownership of said asset to Allison Alžbeta Asherah, the Dark and the Demonsbane. The asset can be recovered by the listener if and only if they have opinions about the relative quality of all six seasons of Community.

Break the Cycle Living in Revival March 23, 2025 Elwyn Johnston 2 Chronicles 34 & 35; 2 Kings 22 Verse of the Week: “Josiah stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord…with all his heart and with all his soul” 2 Chronicles 34:31 1. Remove hindrances “During the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David. Then in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem, destroying all the pagan shrines, the Asherah poles, and the carved idols and cast images. He ordered that the altars of Baal be demolished and that the incense altars which stood above them be broken down….so he purified Judah and Jerusalem.” 2 Chronicles 34:3 - 5 “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 “do not give the devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4:27 2. Relentlessly and radically make God your priority “Put the holy ark in the house” 2 Chronicles 35:3 “in God's presence there is fullness of joy.” Psalm 16:11 “Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lord given by Moses.” 2 Chronicles 34:14 “our fathers have not observed the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.” 2 Chronicles 34:19 “There had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did” 2 Chronicles 35:18

This is a discussion of the events surrounding Gideon tearing down the idol of Baal and cutting down the Asherah pole.

Friday Bible Study (2/28/25) // 2 Kings 13 // Visit our website: https://mbchicago.orgFollow us to remain connected: Facebook: / mbc.chicago Instagram: / mbc.chicago TikTok: / mbc.chicago Podcasts: Listen on Apple, Spotify & othersTo support this ministry, you can donate via: Zelle to: info@mbchicago.org Website: https://mbchicago.org/give Venmo: https://venmo.com/mbchurch PayPal: https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_but...2 Kings 13 (ESV)Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them. 3 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. 4 Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. 5 (Therefore the Lord gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly. 6 Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin, but walked[a] in them; and the Asherah also remained in Samaria.) 7 For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 9 So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place.Jehoash Reigns in Israel10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash[b] the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13 So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.The Death of Elisha14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

ALTARS Wk3Altar of The Church

Be not afraid! Eternal bliss doesn't pay the bills, so it's time for the heavenly host of angels to proclaim with unending hymns the reason for the 6,000-year gap in their resumé. Dust off your halo, preen your wings, and call your optometrist, because this week we're getting biblically accurate!Discord (“I want to dig for fossils and then eat every one I find to obliterate all evidence of life on this planet.”): https://discord.gg/Y5Uw6sdmU2Email: findingmonsterright@gmail.comBluesky: @monsterrightpod.bsky.socialDISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast episode, the listener forfeits all right to their immortal soul (hereafter referred to as "the asset") and transfers ownership of said asset to Allison Alžbeta Asherah, the Dark and the Demonsbane. The asset can be recovered by the listener if and only if they can be your angle....or yuor devil.

Franklin begins taking things apart when he is just three months old. It is easy to find interesting objects to deconstruct at the landfill where he lives with his family. But Franklin tires of being known as the odd cat with a strange hobby. He decides to make his home in the country, where he might find some peace and quiet, and keep his unusual hobby to himself. But things do not go quite as planned. If you LOVE THIS EPISODE, PLEASE SHARE IT! Thank you to MURPHY for the super important reminder message at the beginning! Thank you to the many premium subscribers who supplied sound effects used in this story: HENRY, HOLDEN, AURORA, JJ, DAVIS, HAZEL, ASHERAH, BELLA ROSE, LINNEA, BEATRIX, RILEY, KEON, AVA, and ISABEL! Get more of the stories you love, ad-free listening, and access Little Stories for Sleep--a bedtime podcast featuring brand new sleep stories--with Little Stories Premium! Join or GIFT a subscription at http://www.littlestoriespremium.com

Way back in cowboy times, a small town in Iowa was visited by a pterodactyl with laser vision. What better way is there to start the morning than by unpacking that?Discord (“[recent quote from Discord]”): https://discord.gg/Y5Uw6sdmU2Email: findingmonsterright@gmail.comBluesky: @monsterrightpod.bsky.socialDISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast episode, the listener forfeits all right to their immortal soul (hereafter referred to as "the asset") and transfers ownership of said asset to Allison Alžbeta Asherah, the Dark and the Demonsbane. The asset can be recovered by the listener if and only if they can think of literally anything funny or interesting to say about Iowa.

Alcoholics Anonymous Discussion Meeting: We are a weekly podcast where we interview Alcoholics Anonymous members on their journey through the program. We discuss recovery, spirituality, and other sober related topics. Details here: https://linktr.ee/tmatmlive.

In 1975, Universal Pictures released Jaws, the birth of a new shark-centric media landscape. But after the critical and financial failure of its three subsequent installments, the franchise was indefinitely abandoned. Now, in 2025, the powers that be have called on two snarky monster devotees to unearth the concept. We're Adam and Allie. Are You Afraid of the Shark Universe? Discord (“And you must be married to peanut butter. Because you're jelly.”): https://discord.gg/Y5Uw6sdmU2 Email: findingmonsterright@gmail.com Bluesky: @monsterrightpod.bsky.social DISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast episode, the listener forfeits all right to their immortal soul (hereafter referred to as "the asset") and transfers ownership of said asset to Allison Alžbeta Asherah, the Dark and the Demonsbane. The asset can be recovered by the listener if and only if they radio in and get a bigger boat.

This episode may contain some politics, mission statements, and broad generalizations. My road of good intentions led where such roads always lead. Discord (“Look into the dark of what you do not know and feel hope instead of fear.”): https://discord.gg/Y5Uw6sdmU2 Email: findingmonsterright@gmail.com Bluesky: @monsterrightpod.bsky.social DISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast episode, the listener forfeits all right to their immortal soul (hereafter referred to as "the asset") and transfers ownership of said asset to Allison Alžbeta Asherah, the Dark and the Demonsbane. The asset can be recovered by the listener if and only if they stay calm for once, instead of flying off the handle.

Adam was missing for several weeks in 2023. Upon his return, something still felt wrong. Imagination, it turns out, is a very dangerous thing. Discord (“Unfortunately, it is possible that being in such proximity to me scrambled Yarrow's brain, cosmic horror that I am.”): https://discord.gg/Y5Uw6sdmU2 Email: findingmonsterright@gmail.com Bluesky: @monsterrightpod.bsky.social DISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast episode, the listener forfeits all right to their immortal soul (hereafter referred to as "the asset") and transfers ownership of said asset to Allison Alžbeta Asherah, the Dark and the Demonsbane. The asset can be recovered by the listener if and only if they take a three-month two-month mental health break.

Later on, in the third year of the drought, the LORD said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. 1 Kings 18:1-2 NLTWhen Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?” “I have made no trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the LORD and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. 1 Kings 18:16-18 NLTChoosing to blame God for the trouble our broken choices cause is a foolish waste of time.If you carefully obey the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the LORD your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, then he will send the rains in their proper seasons, the early and late rains so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will give you lush pastureland for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat. But be careful. Don't let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the LORD and serve and worship other gods. If you do, the LORD's anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the LORD is giving you. Deuteronomy 11:13-17 NLTThe prodigal perspective will separate you from God's provision and protection.Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.” 1 Kings 18:19 NLTSo Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent. 1 Kings 18:20-21 NLTOur choosing to be neutral on worship to Baal isn't a blessing to anyone. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20 ESVThen Elijah said to them, “I am the only prophet of the LORD who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed. 1 Kings 18:22-24 NLTThen Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You go first, for there are many of you.” 1 Kings 18:25 NLTSo they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. 1 Kings 18:26 NLTAbout noontime Elijah began mocking them. You'll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened! 1 Kings 18:27 NLTSo they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. 1 Kings 18:28 NLTThe life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD. Leviticus 17:11 NLTYou can't make sacrifices to a false god without on some level sacrificing your own life.They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response. 1 Kings 18:29 NLTIt's sad to sacrifice anything to a false god, when in the end all you offer is offered in vain.Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. 1 Kings 18:30 NLT Just because you have an altar doesn't mean it's ready for a sacrifice. Disobedience, distraction and disregard will always leave the altar in a state of disrepair. The altar must be an honored and intimate place of communion with and dedication to God.He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons. He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood.” After they had done this, he said, “Do the same thing again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they did as he said, and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench. 1 Kings 18:31-35 NLTAt the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O LORD, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.” 1 Kings 18:36-37 NLT Sacrifices made to Jehovah are never wasted. Immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! 1 Kings 18:38 NLTTruly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18 ESVAnd when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The LORD, he is God! Yes, the LORD is God!” 1 Kings 18:39 NLTWhen the score is tallied in an honest way the outcome will always say that Jehovah alone is God.Poem

Later on, in the third year of the drought, the LORD said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. 1 Kings 18:1-2 NLTWhen Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?” “I have made no trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the LORD and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. 1 Kings 18:16-18 NLTChoosing to blame God for the trouble our broken choices cause is a foolish waste of time.If you carefully obey the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the LORD your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, then he will send the rains in their proper seasons, the early and late rains so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will give you lush pastureland for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat. But be careful. Don't let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the LORD and serve and worship other gods. If you do, the LORD's anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the LORD is giving you. Deuteronomy 11:13-17 NLTThe prodigal perspective will separate you from God's provision and protection.Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.” 1 Kings 18:19 NLTSo Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent. 1 Kings 18:20-21 NLTOur choosing to be neutral on worship to Baal isn't a blessing to anyone. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20 ESVThen Elijah said to them, “I am the only prophet of the LORD who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed. 1 Kings 18:22-24 NLTThen Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You go first, for there are many of you.” 1 Kings 18:25 NLTSo they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. 1 Kings 18:26 NLTAbout noontime Elijah began mocking them. You'll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened! 1 Kings 18:27 NLTSo they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. 1 Kings 18:28 NLTThe life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD. Leviticus 17:11 NLTYou can't make sacrifices to a false god without on some level sacrificing your own life.They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response. 1 Kings 18:29 NLTIt's sad to sacrifice anything to a false god, when in the end all you offer is offered in vain.Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. 1 Kings 18:30 NLT Just because you have an altar doesn't mean it's ready for a sacrifice. Disobedience, distraction and disregard will always leave the altar in a state of disrepair. The altar must be an honored and intimate place of communion with and dedication to God.He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons. He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood.” After they had done this, he said, “Do the same thing again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they did as he said, and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench. 1 Kings 18:31-35 NLTAt the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O LORD, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.” 1 Kings 18:36-37 NLT Sacrifices made to Jehovah are never wasted. Immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! 1 Kings 18:38 NLTTruly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18 ESVAnd when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The LORD, he is God! Yes, the LORD is God!” 1 Kings 18:39 NLTWhen the score is tallied in an honest way the outcome will always say that Jehovah alone is God.Poem

In this episode, I take you to the cultic site of Biblical Shechem where Abraham made his covenant with his Lord, Baal Berith. We will make a few discoveries that might just explain the condemnation of foreign gods, the Asherah and Baal.

Daily Dose of Hope January 21, 2025 Day 3 of Week 43   Scripture: Ezekiel 7-9; John 3   Welcome, everyone, to the devotional and podcast called the Daily Dose of Hope.  This complements the Bible reading plan for New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida.    For our Old Testament reading, we are in Ezekiel, this time looking at chapters 7-9.  First, Ezekiel is again experiencing visions from God.  At first, he is taken to see the abominations occurring in Judah.  There is an Asherah pole at one of the Temple entrances.  For those who aren't familiar with Asherah, she was a Canaanite fertility goddess and the Asherah cult became very popular in Israel.  When you read about temple prostitutes in the Bible, they were often part of Asherah worship.  You can see why God was disgusted by this.   Then, Ezekiel was brought to a place inside the Temple in which the elders were worshiping many other gods and burning incense to them.  Next, there was a visit to another Temple gate where woman were worshiping Tammuz, a Babylonian fertility god.  And finally, outside the Temple, were Jewish men worshiping the sun god.  What a mess.  How did it get to this?   So, God is enraged and he wants Ezekiel to communicate this.  Chapter 9 is a vision of an executioner who will kill most of the people in Judah for their idolatry and disobedience.  Only those marked with an X will survive.  It is a bit disconcerting that God tells Ezekiel not to feel sorry for them, as they have earned this punishment.  Wow.  I struggle with this.  It makes me so grateful for the cross of Jesus.   Our New Testament text is John 3.  In this chapter, we meet Nicodemus, who is Pharisee and a member of the ruling council.  He is someone who is well-trained in Jewish law and tradition and most likely held in high esteem in his community.  And he comes to see Jesus at night.  To me, it's interesting that the Scripture points this out.  Obviously, Nicodemus is intrigued by Jesus.  He has seen the miracles and listened to Jesus' teaching.  He knows that Jesus knows God in some way, Nicodemus acknowledges that, but he is probably a bit leary of being connected with Jesus.  After all, what will the others think?   We don't know if there is some pleasant chit chat between Jesus and Nicodemus, there may have been, but in the Scripture it seems that Jesus wastes no time --- he gets right to the point.  He says to Nicodemus, “no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.”  Then, there is that interesting back and forth dialogue in which Nicodemus says, “well, how in the world can someone enter into their mother's womb a second time?”  And Jesus doesn't even respond to that, he says it again “Dude, you can't get into the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  You must be born again!”   Now, Nicodemus would have probably thought that salvation was his because he was born a Jew.  He was one of the “chosen people.”  Or, he would have thought salvation was his because he knew a whole lot about the law, he had accumulated a lot of information about God, and he was trying hard to apply it.   Jesus is pushing back against that.  He says you must be born again.  Yes, Nicodemus, you were born a Jew in your first birth but that isn't enough for you to be saved and to enter God's Kingdom.  Yes, Nicodemus, you have lots of information about God, you may even be a really good person and attend synagogue, but that isn't enough either.  Jesus is saying to Nicodemus that you have to be spiritually reborn. Jesus knew that Nicodemus needed a change of his heart—a spiritual transformation that could only come from above.   The phrase “born again” can be translated “born from above.”    This is what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus:  Just as your mother gave physical birth to you, if you want to receive salvation and have eternal life, you need the Holy Spirit to give you a spiritual birth. Jesus says, flesh gives birth to flesh but only the Spirit can give birth to spirit.  This rebirth is when we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive in Jesus Christ.  And there is a certain mystery to it.  Just as the wind exists in the earthly, physical realm but there is mystery to where it is going and coming from; so there is the same mystery with the Holy Spirit and how he moves and works.  How can this be?  That was the question Nicodemus asked.  Yeah, how can this be?   Let's unpack this a bit more.  When we were born the first time, we were born inclined to sin, inclined to make bad choices.  Think about a toddler.  Why do we have to put safety plugs in all our electrical outlets?  Because no matter how many times we say no, our little ones defy us and they go straight for that outlet.  Because they don't know what's best for them.  Our natural inclination is to do what we want to do.   From the time of the fall in Genesis to right now, this very second, we as human beings are sinful, broken people.  Look at our world.  We miss the mark of God's full intention for our lives.  Even when we are generally good people, we are far from perfect.    And our sin, our brokenness, creates a barrier between us and God.  God is holy, totally without sin, and we are a hot mess.  We all are.  And we can't jump that barrier between us and God.  Nothing we can do will close that gap.  No striving to be good.  No racking up spiritual merit badges.  Not being born into a Christian family or having a really strong Christian mama.    God made a way for us to be right with him, to eliminate that barrier.  God himself made a way for us to walk closely with him.  You know God's solution to our sin ---- Jesus.  (If we were to continue with today's Scripture, then we would read the best known Scripture verse in the world.  John 3:16 ---- For God so loved the world, that he…)   Jesus was God with flesh on.  He came voluntarily to demonstrate a different way of doing life AND then he went to the cross.  He died on that Roman cross, serving as the final, ultimate sacrifice for sin.  You see, when Jesus died on the cross, his blood atoned for our sins.  For all of our sins.  So, if we believe in him, turn away from our old way of doing life, then we receive salvation.  We are spiritually reborn.  Born again by the Spirit.  Jesus did the work and the Holy Spirit applies the blood.    You see, when we believe in Jesus Christ, God no longer sees our sin and our mess, he only sees the blood of Jesus.  Not only does this ensure that we get to spend eternity with Jesus, we receive new life right now, today.  We become new people, new creations (2 cor. 5:17).  The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God himself, comes and dwells within us, changing us from the inside out.  Being born again means: 1-       Acknowledging your sin, turning away from your old life and turning toward God (repentance) 2-       Saying yes to Jesus!  3-       Being filled with the Holy Spirit.    Have you been born again?  That's a question we all have to answer.    Blessings, Pastor Vicki    

In this episode, Jess reads "Nephi and His Asherah" by Daniel C. Peterson. Abstract Asherah was the chief goddess of the Canaanites. She was El's wife and the mother and wet nurse of the other gods. At least some Israelites worshipped her over a period from the conquest of Canaan in the second millennium before Christ to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC (the time of Lehi's departure with his family). Asherah was associated with trees—sacred trees. The rabbinic authors of the Jewish Mishna (second–third century ad) explain the asherah as a tree that was worshipped. In 1 Nephi 11, Nephi considers the meaning of the tree of life as he sees it in vision. In answer, he receives a vision of “a virgin, . . . the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.” The answer to his question about the meaning of the tree lies in the virgin mother with her child. The virgin is the tree in some sense and Nephi accepted this as an answer to his question. As an Israelite living at the end of the seventh century and during the early sixth century before Christ, he recognized an answer to his question about a marvelous tree in the otherwise unexplained image of a virginal mother and her divine child—not that what he saw and how he interpreted those things were perfectly obvious. What he “read” from the symbolic vision was culturally colored. Nephi's vision reflects a meaning of the “sacred tree” that is unique to the ancient Near East. Asherah is also associated with biblical wisdom literature. Wisdom, a female, appears as the wife of God and represents life. Peterson, Daniel C. (2000) "Nephi and His Asherah," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 9: No. 2, Article 4.Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol9/iss2/4

Can arrogance truly be equated with idolatry? Explore the intriguing parallels between arrogance and the Asherah tree, a symbol of idol worship, as we draw insights from Talmudic teachings, specifically Tractate Sotah 5a. Reb Elazar's compelling comparison sets the stage for a deeper understanding of how arrogance disrupts our connection with the divine, much like leavened bread contrasts with the humble matzah of Pesach. Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner's teachings further reveal how unchecked arrogance might challenge God's sovereignty, urging us to remain vigilant against its insidious influence.Join us as we highlight humility's pivotal role amidst prosperity, contrasting worldly perspectives with timeless divine insights from sacred texts. Through the inspiring stories of biblical figures like Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, discover how God often champions the underdog, teaching us the value of community and reliance on divine providence. The tale of the Reichman brothers serves as a powerful reminder of the responsibility that comes with success—supporting those in need through acts of charity and humility, in alignment with spiritual teachings.Balancing humility and arrogance is a tightrope act many must navigate. We unravel this delicate dance by examining the paradox of the ark in the Holy of Holies, which embodies true greatness through humble presence. Leaders and scholars can learn much from this balance, maintaining authority without alienating others. Recognizing that even positive traits, when taken to extremes, can become detrimental, we stress the importance of character balance. Tune in to understand the nuanced interplay of these traits and how acknowledging the source of one's abilities enhances gratitude and humility._____________The Thinking Talmudist Podcast shares select teachings of Talmud in a fresh, insightful and meaningful way. Many claim that they cannot learn Talmud because it is in ancient Aramaic or the concepts are too difficult. Well, no more excuses. In this podcast you will experience the refreshing and eye-opening teachings while gaining an amazing appreciation for the divine wisdom of the Torah and the depths of the Talmud.This Episode (#69) of the Thinking Talmudist Podcast is dedicated by Yossi & Ashlene Azulay for the merit of the speedy recovery for David ben Simona.This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by David & Susan MarbinRecorded at TORCH Meyerland in the Levin Family Studios to a live audience on January 3, 2025, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on January 7, 2025_____________DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!_____________SUBSCRIBE and LISTEN to other podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Prayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at https://www.TORCHpodcasts.com_____________EMAIL your questions, comments, and feedback: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Please visit www.torchweb.org to see a full listing of our outreach and educational resources available in the Greater Houston area!_____________#Talmud, #Humility, #Arrogance, #PersonalGrowth, #Sotah, #DivineSovereignty, #Matzah, #Pesach, #Hutner, #Underdogs, #Isaac, #Jacob, #Joseph, #Philanthropy, #Reichman, #Charity, #Wealth, #DivineProvidence, #Gratitude, #Leadership, #HolyofHolies, #TorahScholar, #Balance, #Character, #TorahStudy, #Shabbos ★ Support this podcast ★

Can arrogance truly be equated with idolatry? Explore the intriguing parallels between arrogance and the Asherah tree, a symbol of idol worship, as we draw insights from Talmudic teachings, specifically Tractate Sotah 5a. Reb Elazar's compelling comparison sets the stage for a deeper understanding of how arrogance disrupts our connection with the divine, much like leavened bread contrasts with the humble matzah of Pesach. Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner's teachings further reveal how unchecked arrogance might challenge God's sovereignty, urging us to remain vigilant against its insidious influence.Join us as we highlight humility's pivotal role amidst prosperity, contrasting worldly perspectives with timeless divine insights from sacred texts. Through the inspiring stories of biblical figures like Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, discover how God often champions the underdog, teaching us the value of community and reliance on divine providence. The tale of the Reichman brothers serves as a powerful reminder of the responsibility that comes with success—supporting those in need through acts of charity and humility, in alignment with spiritual teachings.Balancing humility and arrogance is a tightrope act many must navigate. We unravel this delicate dance by examining the paradox of the ark in the Holy of Holies, which embodies true greatness through humble presence. Leaders and scholars can learn much from this balance, maintaining authority without alienating others. Recognizing that even positive traits, when taken to extremes, can become detrimental, we stress the importance of character balance. Tune in to understand the nuanced interplay of these traits and how acknowledging the source of one's abilities enhances gratitude and humility._____________The Thinking Talmudist Podcast shares select teachings of Talmud in a fresh, insightful and meaningful way. Many claim that they cannot learn Talmud because it is in ancient Aramaic or the concepts are too difficult. Well, no more excuses. In this podcast you will experience the refreshing and eye-opening teachings while gaining an amazing appreciation for the divine wisdom of the Torah and the depths of the Talmud.This Episode (#69) of the Thinking Talmudist Podcast is dedicated by Yossi & Ashlene Azulay for the merit of the speedy recovery for David ben Simona.This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by David & Susan MarbinRecorded at TORCH Meyerland in the Levin Family Studios to a live audience on January 3, 2025, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on January 7, 2025_____________DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!_____________SUBSCRIBE and LISTEN to other podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Prayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at https://www.TORCHpodcasts.com_____________EMAIL your questions, comments, and feedback: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Please visit www.torchweb.org to see a full listing of our outreach and educational resources available in the Greater Houston area!_____________#Talmud, #Humility, #Arrogance, #PersonalGrowth, #Sotah, #DivineSovereignty, #Matzah, #Pesach, #Hutner, #Underdogs, #Isaac, #Jacob, #Joseph, #Philanthropy, #Reichman, #Charity, #Wealth, #DivineProvidence, #Gratitude, #Leadership, #HolyofHolies, #TorahScholar, #Balance, #Character, #TorahStudy, #Shabbos ★ Support this podcast ★

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Advent Philippians 4:4-7 & St. John 1:19-28 by William Klock The days are short and the clouds are heavy.  I was walking home for lunch yesterday and thinking that it felt more like dusk than noon.  It seemed very appropriate for Advent.  These dark and dreary days build anticipation for Christmas, for the birth of Jesus—they're very fitting.  Think of Israel two thousand years ago—in those days of Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, and King Herod.  The world was dark.  The nations were enslaved to false gods and pagan kings.  Even little Israel, called to be the light of the world, lay in darkness.  The candlestick in the temple was kept lit, but the cloud of glory that had once filled the holy of holies, the very presence of God, had been absent for five-hundred years.  God's people were ruled by pagans and pretenders.  But the people knew the words of the prophets, the promises of their God.  It would not be this way forever.  That's the setting for today's Gospel, which begins at John 1:19.  Here's what John writes: This is the testimony John [the Baptist] gave when the Jews sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”  “What then?” they asked him, “Are you Elijah?” “I am not,” he replied.  “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”  “Well, then who are you?” they said.  “We've got to take an answer back to those who sent us.  Who do you claim to be?”  He said, “I am ‘a voice calling in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord,' just as the prophet Isaiah said.”  (John 1:19-28) The priests were the spiritual gatekeepers of Israel and when they heard of this prophet, John, preaching and baptising, they sent their people to ask him what he was about—to see if he was legit.  People were talking about John like he was the Messiah.  You have to understand that everyone was eagerly waiting for the Messiah.  He would come to drive away the darkness and to set things to rights.  He would deal with the pagans and then sit on the throne of David to usher in a new age.  Was John the one? So they ask, “Who are you?  Who do you claim to be? Elijah?”  Some people thought Elijah would come back as Messiah, kind of like King Arthur coming back in Britain's darkest hour of need to save the nation.  Remember that Elijah never died.  He, the greatest of Israel's prophets, was carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot.  Malachi had prophesied that he would return, writing: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.  (Malachi 4:5) But John says, “No.  I'm not Elijah.”  He hadn't come to earth in a fiery chariot.  He was the son of Zechariah the priest and his wife, Elizabeth. “Are you the prophet?” they asked.  In Deuteronomy 18 the Lord had promised that he would one day raise up a prophet like Moses, who would declare his words.  Many people thought this prophet would be the Messiah.  But again John answers, “No, I'm not the prophet either.”  We get a sense of the longing and expectation of the Jews in those dark days.  They were in an Advent season of their own.  Like a kid waking up every morning in December and asking his parents, “Is it Christmas yet?”  So the Jews waited expectantly for the Messiah to come and drive away the darkness: to vindicate their faithfulness, to end their long exile, to restore the presence of the Lord to his temple.  They knew the Lord had promised all of this long before and they knew from their own history that the Lord is faithful to fulfil his promises.  He would surely come and rescue them just as he'd rescued them from Egypt and just as he'd rescued them from Babylon.  So for five hundred years, they woke up each morning eagerly asking, “Is it today?  Will the Messiah finally come today?” John says “No”, but in Matthew and Mark, Jesus affirms that John was fulfilling the prophecy of the return of Elijah.  I think John denied these things because he knew people associated the prophecies of Elijah and the Prophet with the Messiah.  John knew he wasn't the Messiah; he was the Messiah's herald.  And so when the priests finally let him speak for himself, he quotes Isaiah 40:3, and says, “I am ‘a voice calling in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.'”  In other words, John was indeed fulfilling prophecy—not as the Messiah, but as the one sent to prepare Israel to receive the Messiah. They were surprised.  People in the past had claimed to be the Messiah.  No one claimed to be his herald.  That was weird.  So they dig deeper.  Look at 25-27: They continued to question him, “So why are you baptising, if you aren't the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?” John answered them, “I'm baptising with water, but there is one sanding among you whom you do not know—someone who is to come after me.  I'm not worthy to untie his sandal straps.” Baptism was a symbol of cleansing and of ritual purity.  At this point the other gospel-writers are helpful as they expand on John's answer.  Mark tells us that John's baptism was a baptism of repentance—it was a preparatory act in light of the coming judgement the Messiah would bring.  And Matthew and Luke also report John continuing about this one who will come, this one greater than John: “He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16).  In other words, John is calling Israel to repentance in anticipation of the Messiah, who will fulfil the Lord's promises to set Israel to rights by filling his people with his own Spirit.  The law written on stone tablets would be inscribed on the hearts of God's people so that they could finally fulfil his law of love.  But the Messiah was also coming in judgement.  He would baptise the repentant with God's own Spirit, but he would baptise unrepentant Israel with fire. These are the two sides of the gospel coin.  You can't have one without the other.  Jesus' advent, on the one hand, brought mercy to the repentant, but on the other it also brought judgement on the unrepentant within Israel.  What's important for us here, Brothers and Sisters, is that this exchange between John and the priests reminds us of the Messiah's place in Israel's story and of the faithfulness of God to his promises.  It is this manifestation of the Lord's faithfulness (and of his goodness, mercy, grace, and wisdom) to Israel—something we see brought to its climax in the birth, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus, that has drawn us—you and I—to the God of Israel and that, by faith, has incorporated us into the people of God.  Through our union with Jesus, through our incorporation into this people, through our being made adopted sons and daughters of Abraham, you and I have come to know God's mercy and the life of the Spirit, too.  Because of the faithfulness of God, revealed in Jesus and in the power of the gospel, the darkness that Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, John the Baptist and Jesus knew, that deep, deep darkness full of false gods and wicked kings and demonic power has been driven away by the light.  The light has come into the darkness, his gospel has thrown those powers down and lit up the world.  And you and I have seen—we live in—the glory of that light.  And this is where our Epistle today takes off.  Brothers and Sisters, it means something that you and I have been incorporated into the people of God.  God has a purpose and a mission for his people—for us.  This is where our Epistle takes off. Paul writes those wonderful and challenging words in Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always; I say again, rejoice. What prompted Paul to write this?  Well, just two verses earlier, Paul exhorted two women, Euodia and Syntyche, to agree with each other.  They had once been fellow labourers with Paul, but they'd had some kind of falling out.  There's something providential in the fact that Paul doesn't give us the details, because with no details I think we all end up thinking of the fallings out we've had with our own brothers and sisters in the Lord.  This isn't just about two women in Philippi.  It's about each of us.  In response to that falling out, Paul calls the Philippian Christian to rejoice in the Lord.  Instead of a public display of disunity or resentment or anger—whatever it was that was going on between these two women, the Church was to put joy on display, to celebrate the life of God.  They were people of the light, but they were living in the dark.  It was imperative that they come back into the light.  Brothers and Sisters, the devils and the evil powers of this age want nothing more than to undermine our gospel witness in the world, to flip the switch and turn off our gospel light.  Don't let that happen.  Jesus and the gospel should overcome and drown out the darkness whenever it tries to creep into our church family.  Here's how it works.  Paul writes: Let everyone know how gentle and gracious you are.  (Philippians 4:5a) Gentle and gracious.  Paul uses the same description in 2 Corinthians 10 to describe the meekness of Jesus as a model for Christians.  This is gospel light lived out.  What Paul's getting at is that Jesus is the King, but in him we see this amazing display of gracious gentleness.  This is the gentleness we see revealed as Jesus, the one to whom heaven and earth belong, humbled himself to be born one of us, to die on the cross, and to show mercy to his enemies.  This kind of meekness or gentleness is unique to Jesus, and yet Paul stresses that as his people, as stewards of the gospel, we're called to witness this same gentleness amongst ourselves.  As it should be the resolution to so many disputes in the Church, it was the resolution to whatever had driven Euodia and Syntyche apart. Brothers and Sisters, when we demand our rights, when we grasp for power, when we nurse grudges, we undermine our gospel witness—we put on display the very darkness from which we've been delivered by the one who is light.  In contrast Paul calls us to rejoice in the Lord and to manifest Jesus-like gentleness in our relationships.  Jesus' gracious gentleness has forgiven and restored us and that same gracious gentleness ought to shine through us and through the life of the church.  Consider that every time we hold a grudge, allow a relationship to break down, or follow the world's advice to cut those problem or negative people out of our lives, we undermine the Church's witness to the world.  But that's not all. Paul goes on: The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything.  Rather in everything let your requests be made known to God, by prayer, supplication, and with thanksgiving.   There's that Advent theme again: Jesus has given us a job to do.  He's given us a gospel treasure to steward in his absence.  In the meantime, rather than being anxious, we should take our needs to God.  Jesus made the same point in the Sermon on the Mount.  The pagans worry about what they'll eat, what they'll wear, and where they'll sleep.  God's people should know better than to worry unduly about these things.  God will provide just as he always has.  He is faithful to his promises.  The story of his dealings with Israel is the proof and even more so, so is his gift of Jesus, who died and rose again to set us free from sin and death.  So go to the Lord with your needs and ask.  And while you're at it, give thanks, because you know his faithfulness and his love. This is part of the witness of the people of God—it's how we are light in the darkness—and it ties back into rejoicing.  When Paul talks about rejoicing, at least part of what he's got in mind is a public display or a public witness.  The pagan Greeks in Philippi regularly held public celebrations to honour their gods.  And yet the pagans, as Jesus said, were always anxious.  Why?  Because their gods never delivered.  Pagan religion was a non-stop game of trial and error, trying to guess what the gods wanted, trying to guess what you may have done wrong to offend them, and then guessing at what you might offer to appease their anger or to ingratiate them to you in order to get what you needed or wanted.  The pagan gods were silent and they were notoriously capricious and unreliable.  And in this context Paul exhorts the Philippian Christians: Rejoice yourselves.  Let the pagans see you celebrating the fact that the Creator of the universe has, through Jesus, made you his own and lives in your midst by his own Holy Spirit.  Let the pagans, who know only mean and capricious gods and who live in a dog-eat-dog world, let them see the gracious gentleness of God in you.  Live in such a way that they see in you the God who humbles himself to die for the sake of his enemies.  And let the pagans see you living in faith, praying in confident thankfulness to the God whose story reveals an unfailing pattern of promise and fulfilment.  Shine the light of Jesus into the darkness of the world.  And the result of all this?  Look at verse 7: And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in King Jesus.   I think we tend to look at Paul's exhortation here as something we should do in order to experience the peace of God ourselves, but given the context in Philippians, I think Paul's point is actually more about our witness.  If we truly live as stewards of the good news about Jesus, if we truly live as people who know the faithfulness of God revealed in Jesus and particularly in his death and resurrection, if we truly know the life of the Spirit, the peace of God—rather than the strife and anxiety of the world—will guard our hearts and minds in a way that will astound the pagans around us. I said last Sunday that we are called both to proclaim and to live the gospel.  This is how we live it.  Put together with our proclamation, to truly live in light of Jesus and what he reveals about God, should cause the world to stand up and take note.  This is our way of being John the Baptist in our own age.  And as it did for John, for us—if we are faithful—it will result in many giving glory to God for his faithfulness and then coming to him in faith as we have.  But it will also threaten many who are invested in the pagan and sinful systems of the world.  Brothers and Sisters, we are now the voice calling in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord!” So we need to ask: Does the world see our joy?  Are we the voice crying in the wilderness?  Are we the royal heralds the Lord has called us to be, summoning the word to let go of its false gods and to come to the Lord Jesus, calling the world away from sin and self and to come to the cross?  And we need to ask how the world is responding to us.  If we're faithfully proclaiming the good news about Jesus, if we're faithfully calling people to repent and to believe, if we're faithfully proclaiming that Jesus is Lord and that his kingdom has come—well—people will respond in one of two ways.  Either they'll believe or they'll get angry—as Herod got angry with John.  There's some of both out there in the world, but overwhelmingly, when I look at how people respond to or think of the church these days in our part of the world, it's often just indifference.  Why? Because we have not been the witnesses God calls us to be.  We have been mealy-mouthed and, quite often, just plain silent in our proclamation, because we have too often sought to please people rather than God, and because we have been half-hearted and unfaithful in our gospel living.  Like old Israel, we pray to God, but we've failed to tear down the old altars to Baal and Asherah—or Mammon or Aphrodite or Caesar.  We name Jesus, but we deal dishonestly in business, we sell our souls to the commercialism that surrounds us, we look to politics or to science as our saviours, and we dabble in the sexual immorality of the age.  We've failed to proclaim the gospel and we justify it, saying that we'll preach it with our lives.  But if we stop to ask what the world sees in our lives, is it really very different?  Does the world see us rejoicing in the Lord?  Does the world see us manifesting the gracious gentleness of Jesus?  Does the world see us living in faithful prayer and trusting in God, or does it see people just as anxious as everyone else?  Does it see enmity and strife and broken relationships or does it see a gospel people living out the healing and reconciling love of Jesus?  Does the world see the peace of God ruling our hearts and minds?  Does the world see us, holding high the gospel, as a challenge to its gods and its kings and its sins?  It should.  But sadly, I think that for the Western Church at large, the answer is often “no”. And, all too often, when we do proclaim the gospel, we do so without power or authority.  Think of John boldly declaring the coming judgement and calling Israel to repentance.  It was urgent and powerful.  In contrast we tend to hold the gospel out as good advice, rather than as the good news that it is.  Friends, the gospel is the royal summons to submit in faith to Jesus, the world's true Lord—the Lord who has come with mercy so that the repentant will escape when he comes one day in judgement.  This was the power behind John the Baptist' preaching.  But all too often we present the gospel as just another option on the religious smorgasbord—something you might want to try. See if you like it.  See if it works for you.  If not…oh well.  Brothers and Sisters, that's not the gospel.  The gospel is good news to the people living in the midst of darkness: the king who will set the world to rights has come.  And that means the gospel, when preached as it should be, will challenge and upset the Herods and Caesars of our age and all those invested in the false gods of the world. The Advent message is to be prepared.  Jesus has given us a gospel mission to take the good news of his death, his resurrection, and his lordship into the world.  Brothers and Sisters, pray that we will be faithful to our mission—faithful enough to provoke persecution, because that's the kind of faithfulness that also reaps a harvest for the kingdom.  Pray for the holy boldness of John the Baptist and the gracious gentleness of Jesus.  Pray that we will be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  Pray that the joy of the Lord will overcome us.  Brothers and Sisters, Rejoice!  Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again, I say rejoice. Let's pray: O Lord, come among us, we pray, with your power and strengthen us with your great might; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness we are grievously hindered in running the race that is set before us, your bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honour and glory, now and for ever.  Amen.

There's a lot of talk online that Christmas is actually a pagan holiday. Is this a fact, or simply a theory? Tonight we're diving deep into the supposed "pagan" origins of Christmas - and it's not what everyone thinks. Join our premium membership here: https://encountertoday.com/exclusive-... ⚡Be sure to let us know where you are watching from! ☕Get your bag of Encounter Coffee here: https://encountertoday.com/special-of... If you'd like to GIVE, visit this link: https://encountertoday.com/giving/ Your support will help us to bring you more content just like this! *Special Offer: https://encountertoday.com/special-offer

SHOW NOTES:   In Podcast Episode 301, “Deeply Committed to the Ways of the Lord,” Kim discusses the importance of consistently digging into God's Word. To live a life deeply committed to the ways of the Lord, you must be committed to digging into God's Word and inviting God's Word to dig into you. Then see what miracles the Lord might do in and through you and how many others who will follow your lead.   Our focal passage for this episode is 1 Kings 22:41-44 and 2 Chronicles 17:1-6 with 2 Chronicles 17:6 as the focal verse:   6 He was deeply committed to the ways of the Lord. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah.     WEEKLY ENGAGEMENT FEATURE:   To what are you “deeply committed”?   Additional Resources and Scriptures:   EMAIL — encouragingothersinlovingjesus@gmail.com TWITTER - https://twitter.com/EOinLovingJesus INSTAGRAM -  https://www.instagram.com/encouragingothersinlovingjesus/ “Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus” YouTube Channel: Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/@EncouragingOthersInLovingJesus   I WANT TO BEGIN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST.   RESOURCES USED FOR BOOK OF 1 & 2 Kings PODCASTS: “The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament OT in One Volume” “Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings” by Tony Merida “The Tony Evans Bible Commentary: Advancing God's Kingdom Agenda” “Life Application Study Bible” “The Swindoll Study Bible: NLT” by Charles R. Swindoll Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary “The Baker Illustrated Bible Background Commentary” by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays (Editors) Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): Old Testament, 2004, by Kenneth L. Barker, John R. Kohlenberger, III.     "Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus" Facebook Group:   Our Facebook Group is devoted to providing a place for us to encourage each other through all the seasons of life. Follow the provided link to request admittance into “Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus”—https://www.facebook.com/groups/encouragingothersinlovingjesus/ Feel free to invite others who will be good encouragers and/or need encouragement to follow Jesus.   This podcast is hosted by Kim Smith, a small town Country Girl who left her comfort zone to follow Jesus in a big City World. Now, she wants to use God's Word and lessons from her faith journey to encourage others in loving Jesus.   In each episode, Kim will share insights regarding a portion of God's Word and challenge listeners to apply the lessons to their daily lives.   If you want to grow in your faith and learn how to encourage others in loving Jesus, subscribe and commit to prayerfully listening each week.   Remember, “It's Always a Trust & Obey Kinda Day!”   If you have questions or comments or would like to learn more about how to follow Jesus, please email Kim at EncouragingOthersinLovingJesus@gmail.com.     National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline   988   https://988lifeline.org/   Reference: Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.   Podcast recorded through Cleanfeed and edited through GarageBand. The soundtrack, entitled “Outlaw John McShane” was obtained from Pixabay.         The HIDDEN Episodes:  If you can't access episodes 1-50 on your podcast app (the podcast was then entitled "A Country Girl in a City World - Loving Jesus"), you can get all the content at my Podbean site at https://acountrygirlinacityworldlovingjesus.podbean.com/  

Deception is simply taking a piece of the truth, and twisting it. That's what makes it so convincing. It sounds right... sort of. Almost. I believe I first read in one of C.S. Lewis's books, probably in several of them, that evil defines itself by the absence of God, just as darkness defines itself as the absence of light. Satan cannot create anything; all he can do is pervert something that God made, and intended for good.   The introduction of Jonathan Cahn's most recent book, "The Dragon Prophecy," puts this extremely well, so I'm going to just quote him. He writes, "If God is good, then how could there be evil? And if God is evil, then how could God be good? But if God did not create evil, then how could evil exist? Or how could God be God?... If evil was created, it would not be a problem, nor would it be evil. Evil is a problem for the very reason that it was not created. It should not exist, because it was not created, and yet it does. The existence of evil defies the created order. It is not of the creation and thus exists in opposition to the created order. Evil exists in defiance of existence... evil is not simply a force, like that of an earthquake, a hurricane, or a fire. All these bring calamity and destruction. But none would constitute true evil. Serial killers are. Why? The hurricane is an impersonal force. It acts without consciousness, will, choice, volition, or intent. But the serial killer commits his acts with conscious intent, will, an volition--and so is evil. And so evil is not an impersonal force--but a personal one, requiring consciousness, volition, will, and intent. Thus in our search for an answer to evil, we are led to personhood... Evil is an inversion--an inversion of truth, of reality, of existence. Evil is, by nature, inverted and, by nature, inverts. It twists, bends, and turns existence in upon itself. It exists as anti-existence. Its being is anti-being, and its nature, anti-nature. It is a negation and therefore seeks to negate, a nullification that exists to nullify. It has no true, ultimate, or absolute existence and therefore acts to bring that which exists into non-existence... Possessing no absolute or true existence of its own, evil is, as well, by nature, parasitic... Evil must use the good. And so though good can exist without evil, evil cannot exist without good. Truth can exist without falsehood, but falsehood cannot exist without truth. Laws can exist without crimes, marriage without adultery, and life without murder. But crimes cannot exist without laws, adultery without marriage, nor murder exist without life. Destruction requires structure, immorality requires morality, and sin requires the holy. The good is primary. Evil is the parasitic inversion of the good. And so the existence of evil inadvertently testifies not against the existence of the good--but for it. It bears witness, unwillingly, to the existence of the good--the existence of God" (9-10). So if evil itself is an inversion of something created to be good, then nearly everything God created for our pleasure and enjoyment can also become evil... but because it contains the seeds of something that was originally good, Satan can also use that kernel of goodness, or truth, to convince us that the twisted version is actually good and true, too... and if we don't know the truth well enough to tell the difference, we'll fall for it.  The Syncretism Trend According to Dr George Barna's research with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, the dominant worldview of Americans (92%) now is syncretism (https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CRC-Release-AWVI-2-April-23-2024.pdf): that is, an amalgamation of disparate and contradictory beliefs, pulled from multiple religious or philosophical ideologies, according to an individual's personal inclinations and emotions. Syncretism is therefore not a single worldview, but a mishmash of beliefs--hence the common phrase, "your truth" and "my truth." The implication is that these can be mutually exclusive, without any logical contradiction. This strategy of Satan's is nothing new. He is a liar and the father of lies by nature (John 8:44). He sticks with this approach because it works.  Syncretism in the Old Testament Syncretism has  been around since the days of the Old Testament, and was the main reason why the Israelites couldn't seem to stay on the "blessing" side of God's covenant (Deuteronomy 28). Literally the first of the Ten Commandments was "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Ex 20:3)--and al, the Hebrew word translated "before", also means "by" or "beside." So God wasn't saying they simply had to worship Him the most, but it was okay if they occasionally sacrificed to Baal or Molech or Asherah--so long as He was the most important. No; they were to have no other gods besides Him. Period. The entire Old Testament history is a cycle of the Israelites' disobedience of this one commandment. The first example after the Ten Commandments were given is the golden calf that Aaron made with the spoils from Egypt while Moses was up on the mountain receiving God's law (Ex 32). These Israelites had spent their entire lives in Egypt, where a pantheon of gods were worshipped (many of whom God specifically humiliated by the plagues chosen to eventually force Pharaoh to let them go). When they made the golden calf, the Israelites declared that this was God--the One who had delivered them from Egypt (Ex 32:4). So they weren't exactly abandoning Yahweh for some other god; rather, they were mixing Him with the gods they had grown up with. Then, the Israelites tended to mix worship of Yahweh with worship of the gods of neighboring nations, even before they ever got to the Promised Land. Israel's enemies feared God, and one of them (King Balak of Moab) sent for Balaam, a local seer, to curse Israel (Numbers 22-24). God wouldn't allow Balaam to curse Israel, but Balaam wanted Balak's money... so instead, he told Balak how to get the Israelites to curse themselves, by placing themselves on the "cursing" side of God's covenant (Deuteronomy 28). Numbers 25 shows the result: the Moabite harlots used sex to entice the men of Israel into idolatry. The issue in this case wasn't so much the sex, as it was that sex was used in worship of false gods.  The cycle repeats throughout the Old Testament: Israel falls into idolatry, they fall under the 'cursing' side of God's covenant as a result (bringing themselves out from under His protection, and subject to Satan's machinations), they get oppressed by their enemies, they cry out to God, and God delivers them. They renew their vows to and worship of the One True God in varying degrees, but then they forget again, fall into idolatry, and the cycle repeats. God had laid out very clearly that they would be blessed if they followed His laws, and cursed if they didn't (Deut 28), and the very first commandment was no gods before Him. It was the first for a reason: God knows that we were made to worship something, and we treasure what we worship. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt 6:21), and our hearts guide the course of our lives (Prov 4:23).  Eventually Israel split into two kingdoms (Northern and Southern, or Israel and Judah) over this very issue. Most of the subsequent kings of both nations perpetuated idolatry, though a few tried to purge the nation of idolatry to varying degrees, and enjoyed the 'blessing' side of the covenant for a time as a result (Deut 28). But God sent prophet after prophet to the Northern and Southern nations (writers of most of the major and minor prophetic books of the Old Testament), warning them of impending destruction if they did not repent of their idolatry. They ignored the warning, and eventually both nations were taken into captivity because of their idolatry: Israel to Assyria and Judah to Babylon. (Though of course, God was not done with Israel, and His promises to them still stand--Ezekiel 37 prophesied their restoration to their own land as a resurrection of dry bones, which miraculously took place on May 14, 1948. And the nation of Israel takes center stage throughout most of the book of Revelation, from chapter 5 on.)  Syncretism in the New Testament  Syncretism was around during the time of the early church, too, particularly in Paul's ministry. God sent him as the apostle to the Gentiles, who practiced varying forms of pagan beliefs already. They attempted to mix Jesus with these beliefs, until Paul's preaching convicted them to follow Jesus only, burning their books of magic arts and getting rid of their idols of Greek and Roman gods (Acts 19:11-20--which turned into a big riot in the city, v 21-41). Paul described the end times as being a time of "unrighteous deception among those who perish" (2 Thess 2:10), so we can expect that as we approach that day, this will only increase. Jesus told us that in the last days, "if possible, even the elect" would be deceived (Matt 24:24). The Greek work for deception in these verses is planao, and it means "to lead away from the truth, to lead into error." This inherently means that there is such a thing as truth. If you believe something contradictory to that truth, that is deception. We're living in an age that largely borrows from postmodernism as part of the syncretic worldview. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "Postmodernists deny that there are aspects of reality that are objective; that there are statements about reality that are objectively true or false; that it is possible to have knowledge of such statements (objective knowledge); that it is possible for human beings to know some things with certainty; and that there are objective, or absolute, moral values." Holders of this worldview are therefore confused about even observable or mathematical truths, let alone those that are not observable (such as whether or not there is a God, and if there is, how many, and which one, how do we get to Him, etc). So before we even approach the topic of how to avoid being deceived, we have to establish that there is such a thing as objective truth. If there isn't, then there is no such thing as deception, either, since deception derives its definition from truth (just as darkness derives its definition from light, by the absence of it). What Is Truth (i.e. Is There Such A Thing As Objective Reality?) The best argument I've heard on the topic of whether or not there is an objective reality comes from Dr Jason Lisle's "The Ultimate Proof of Creation" (which is a book, but here is his lecture on the argument https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ_UxcV-xcM). While there is an abundance of apologetic evidence for the scientific and historical accuracy of scripture (here's the first in an apologetics series I did on the subject, https://www.drlaurendeville.com/anthropic-fine-tuning/), Lisle points out that none of these arguments can be definitive, because someone who holds a different worldview can simply invoke a "rescuing device" to explain away any evidence that seems to contradict his own position. We all do this, and it's not necessarily a bad thing--for example, if someone points out an apparent contradiction in scripture, my first reaction isn't, "Oh, I guess the Bible is wrong!" Rather, I assume there's additional information I don't happen to know about yet, which resolves the apparent contradiction, and then I go look for it. Even if I can't find it at the time, I am still certain it exists, and someone will find it eventually. That's a rescuing device, to preserve an otherwise deeply held worldview without logical contradiction. The real key to establishing which worldview is correct lies in that last statement: "without logical contradiction." There are laws that govern the way the world and the universe works--laws that we all have to believe in and abide by in order to know anything at all. C.S. Lewis expounded on this concept in "Mere Christianity" (https://www.authorcagray.com/posts/mere-christianity/) with respect to morality, in particular--the idea that we all know that there are universal laws of decency and conduct, and we further know that we don't live up to them. But, that being the case, who made those laws? Where did they come from? He argues that their very existence necessitates a lawgiver. Lisle takes this argument further--the existence of non-moral rules that govern how the material world works, such as the laws of logic, and principles of math and science, are the presuppositions upon which all knowledge is based. Everyone has to abide by these, no matter what their worldview is, or it would be impossible to know anything at all. But who made those rules? Where did they come from? Why does math work? Why do we all assume the laws of logic in order to have a coherent conversation? This, too, necessitates a creator. Many who abide by laws of math, science, and logic (and morality, for that matter) don't happen to have a theistic worldview, but that in and of itself is a logical inconsistency; they can't account for those rules in their worldviews at all. They have to borrow from the theistic worldview in order to make any of their other arguments.  This is the very place where postmodernism diverges, though. If there is no objective reality, then knowledge of any kind doesn't exist. Most of those who hold this worldview at least believe in morality of some kind. Lewis's argument might be most relevant here--you'll never get someone persuaded by postmodernism and religious syncretism to argue that murder, or genocide, or racism are fine, for example. They know these are wrong because they "feel" them to be wrong--and they're not just wrong for them, they're wrong for everyone. Now we have at least one absolute... which necessitates a lawgiver not only for morality, but also for at least one logical law: that of non-contradiction. This already establishes the existence of an objective reality. If there is an objective reality, then necessarily, some statements about it must be true while others must be false. The world is round and not flat, for example. If a world exists at all, both things cannot be true about it at the same time and in the same way, simultaneously--that would be a logical contradiction. Which Objective Reality Is It? (Can Anybody Know?) If some objective reality does in fact exist, how do we know which one it is? How do we know that our senses are reliable, first of all, and that we're not living in a simulation a la "The Matrix," for instance--one in which the laws of morality, logic, math, and science are simply foundational to the code? This argument goes back to Descartes, who concluded that at the very least, he must exist after some fashion, because his consciousness told him he must. C.S. Lewis in "Mere Christianity" used a similar line of reasoning, arguing that if there were a deeper reality, one that created this reality, we couldn't possibly find out anything about it through our five senses. Of course we couldn't; those senses are of the physical world, and can thus only give us information about the physical world. Our consciousness, however, has no identifiable physical reality. (To this day, science cannot explain what consciousness actually is - https://www.drlaurendeville.com/electromagnetism-vital-force/.) So Lewis argues that, if there were anything knowable about the world beyond our own, the only place where we might possibly expect to find clues about it would be in our own consciousness. And there, in fact, we do find such clues: specifically, we all have a sense of right and wrong. While we might quibble about the details therein--someone might say that under such and such a condition, killing someone is not murder, for example--no one will seriously argue that murder is morally fine. One might have different rules surrounding the morals of sex, but nobody is going to say you can just have any person you like anytime you like. This establishes several things, according to his argument: the existence of a moral law outside of our reality, of how we ought to behave (even though we know we don't, or at least not always, and certainly not perfectly), which necessitates the implied existence of a law-giver. The very fact that we do not keep the law (even though we know we should) is the whole point of the law of the Old Testament, too (Romans 7)--but even those who didn't know the Old Testament were aware of the moral law to this extent, so that no one is without excuse (Romans 1:18-2:16). Once we know that there is a moral law, and that we're incapable of keeping it on our own, that narrows down the possible religions considerably. We must choose one that hinges on the concept of grace, not works. There is literally only one of those. (More on that in this podcast: https://www.drlaurendeville.com/relational-apologetics/). That's why we call Christianity the gospel, which means good news: the good news is that, while you can't make yourself righteous no matter how hard you try, you don't have to make yourself righteous because Jesus did it for you. All you have to do is accept what He did on your behalf. Once you've gotten to this place, now all the scientific apologetics (start here: https://www.drlaurendeville.com/anthropic-fine-tuning/) can fall into their proper place: as corroborating evidence for the Bible. But the Bible has to be philosophically established as authoritative first. Once we've established that the Bible is truth (John 17:17, Psa 25:5, Psa 91:4, Psa 96:13, 100:5, 117:2, 119:142, 151, 160; 138:2, Prov 3:3, Col 1:5), we've got to learn what it says--well enough that Satan can't take it out of context and feed it back to us, or add a tiny bit to it to change the meaning. That's exactly how he works, though. He even tried that with Jesus (Luke 4:1-13). Fortunately Jesus was the Word made flesh (John 1:14), so He didn't fall for it... but the less we actually know the scripture, the more vulnerable we'll be to this strategy. Knowing the Truth Well Jesus warned us that as the last days approach, Satan will double down on this strategy: that false prophets will rise up and deceive many (Matt 24:11), claiming to be Jesus returned (Mark 13:6), some with signs and wonders. At the same time, Revelation suggests that in the last days, the church will become apathetic, so prosperous materially that we will be unaware of our spiritual emptiness (Rev 3:14-22). (This sounds a lot like the seeds choked by thorns in Jesus' parable of the sower: the seed is choked by "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, and he becomes unfruitful", Matt 13:22). Peter tells us that "scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.'" (2 Peter 3:3-4). Paul tells us that the last days will be accompanied by a great "falling away" (2 Thess 2:3). Deception comes in many forms, but one thing they all have in common is that they act almost like a vaccine against the truth. There's just enough truth to them, mixed with a lot of untruth, that it's hard to tease apart the good from the bad. In that way, they can deceive "even the elect, if possible" (Matt 24:24, Mark 13:22). We protect against this, in a nutshell, by knowing the truth really, really well. This is the way bankers are trained to recognize counterfeit money: they don't study every possible counterfeit (there will always be a new one). Rather, they learn what the real thing looks like so well that they'll know when something seems off, even if they can't articulate what it is. In the same way, we're to renew our minds with the Word (Romans 12:2); that's how we will recognize truth from lies. Otherwise, it's all too easy for Satan to take a sliver of truth, mix it with a lie, and so deceive us. An Old Testament example of this is found in 2 Kings 18. The back story: in Numbers 21:6-9, the people had sinned, had come out from under the protection of God's covenant, and were dying from bites from poisonous snakes. God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent on a pole, and told the people that if they would only look at the serpent, they would be healed. We know with hindsight that this was a type and shadow of Jesus, who was made sin for us, and became our substitutionary sacrifice ("by His stripes, we are healed," Isaiah 53:5). But the Jews didn't realize that; all they knew was that God ordained healing through looking at the pole, so the pole became a symbol of deliverance. But over the centuries, they made looking at the pole into a formula: the shadow without the substance of Jesus behind it. It became an idol, which they called Nehushtan. Back to 2 Kings 18, centuries later: verse 4 tells us that King Hezekiah had torn down the high places and broke Nehushtan in pieces. Later in the chapter, Judah is threatened with destruction by a messenger from the King of Assyria, Rabshakeh. This would have been especially terrifying, since Israel (by this point they has become two nations, Israel and Judah) had already been carried into captivity by Assyria, in punishment for the fact that the people kept falling into idolatry and had forsaken God. So when Rabshakeh threatened the people with destruction, he said, "You broke down God's symbols of worship! Why would He come through for you?" (2 Kings 18:22). The people of Judah had to know God and His word well enough to know that what Hezekiah did was actually right in God's eyes (2 Kings 18:5-7). God had originally ordained the serpent on the pole, yes, but the people had made it into an idol, which broke the first of the Ten Commandments. Hezekiah's actions had placed the Jews on the right side of God's covenant (Deut 28), so they, unlike their sister nation of Israel, could trust that God would come through for them. But if the people had not understood all the back story, they might easily have believed Rabshakeh's taunts. They could have lost faith that God would come through for them, convinced that they would go the way of Israel before them, and turned against Hezekiah, thinking he'd brought them out from under God's protection. This is how the enemy works. The serpent is subtle and cunning (Gen 3:1, 2 Cor 11:3-4). Satan tried to deceive Jesus not even by misquoting scripture, just by quoting it out of context (Matt 4:6). This happens to us today all the time. One common example is the teaching that God causes or (directly) allows sickness in order to discipline us, or to teach us something, or for the "greater good". This sounds so spiritual, and a host of out of context scriptures even seem to back it up--yet Deut 28 makes it clear that sickness is always considered a curse. Jesus became a curse for us and redeemed us from the curse (Gal 3:13-14), and even before that, He healed all who came to Him (Matt 15:30, Matt 4:23-24, Matt 8:16, Matt 9:35, Matt 10:1, Matt 12:15, Matt 15:30, Luke 4:40, Luke 10:9). Jesus He was a perfect representation of the Father (John 5:19, 5:30, 8:28, 12:49). So this cannot be right. He may take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good (Gen 50:20), but that doesn't mean He caused the evil in the first place. Not even close. (For more on this, see https://www.drlaurendeville.com/why-bad-things-happen-from-a-biblical-perspective/). Truth is the foundation of the spiritual armor (Eph 6:14)--it must go on first, before anything else. The Bible can testify to us that not only is the Word truth, but God is the God of truth (Isa 65:16), that Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). Only knowing the truth will make us free (John 8:32). If we focus on knowing the truth, we will recognize deception. It's important to also rely upon the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13, 1 John 5:6), to guide us, rather than on our own understanding (Prov 3:5-6), or the wisdom of the world (1 Cor 1:20-2:7), or any other spirit besides the Holy Spirit. The world is confused about what truth is (John 18:37-38) because they don't hear His voice--but we do. This shouldn't be a problem for us.  Cross-Reference What You Hear Along those lines, just because we hear a doctrine preached from the pulpit doesn't mean it's so. It's our responsibility to be like the Bereans in Acts 17--when Paul and Silas preached the word to them there, Luke writes of them, "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed" (Acts 17:11). They didn't just take Paul and Silas's word for it; they went straight to the source text to confirm it. Paul later wrote to the Galatians, "even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed" (Gal 1:8-9). He repeats himself, because this is so important. Forget him--even if an angel preaches it, let him be accursed! We are not to blindly follow any person simply because of his or her authority. (We're to respect authority of all kinds, Romans 13:1-7--that's a different issue. But when what someone in authority says comes in conflict with God's word, we obviously go with God's word, Acts 4:19). There are plenty of warnings about false teachers in scripture (though one important note here--there's a difference between a false teacher, and a good person doing his or her best who is simply flawed. None of us is going to get everything right. This is the reason why James says that not many should become teachers, as they will "receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things," James 3:1-2.)  A false teacher, though, is one who will distort the truth (Acts 20:29-30, 2 Peter 3:16), by mixing it with myths/fables (Titus 1:14) or "merely human commands" (Matthew 16:1-12) or the traditions of men (such as forbidding to marry, abstaining from certain foods, 1 Tim 4:3), according to the principles of the world (Col 2:4-8). They will pretend to be godly or moral, though (2 Cor 11:13-15, 2 Tim 6:5)--so we must use discernment. There are a few criteria we're given to distinguish a false teacher from just a flawed human being, in process like the rest of us: Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a false teacher (1 John 2:22-23, 4:2-3) Some may lie intentionally for their own gain (Deut 18:20, Ezekiel 13:9, Jer 14:14, Jer 23:16, Titus 1:10-11) or in hypocrisy (1 Tim 4:2-5), using "godliness" as a means of their own selfish gain. Others may be so blind that they truly believe they are doing God a favor in persecuting His true followers (John 16:2). Romans 16:18: Paul said in this verse that these individuals use good words and fair speeches and deceive the hearts of the simple. This means that they flatter people (2 Timothy 4:3) and appeal to the same selfish desires that they themselves have, to draw people after themselves (Acts 20:30). We can't judge another person's motives (Matthew 7:1-3), but we can, and should, judge the fruit of their lives and ministries (Matthew 7:15-20, 1 John 3:7-9). There are many who claim to be believers but aren't (Matthew 7:21-23) and they'll be among us until the end of the age, when God will finally separate them out (Matthew 13:24-30). Truth, "Signs," and Our Emotions We are the gatekeepers of our hearts (Prov 4:23), and have to guard its boundaries, careful of what we allow in. I always thought the parable of wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30) only referred to evil people sown amongst the good people of the church. But what if it also means good and bad ideas from good and bad spirits within a given individual-- in other words, we can bear good fruit and bad fruit from different 'trees' even within our own hearts? This might be why Jesus could tell Peter "get behind me Satan" (Matt 16:23) and James and John, "you don't know what spirit you are of" (Luke 9:55), but the men themselves were still His. This also probably goes along with the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:3-15)... the 'tares' we allow into our own hearts are part of what can choke the word and render it unfruitful. Truth of course must correspond to an accurate description of reality (Gen 42:16)--which should negate any postmodernist philosophy, or syncretism, blending contradictory descriptions of reality. Once we know the truth, we are to continue in what we were taught (Col 2:6-7, 1 John 2:24), not mix a little Christianity with a little of some other contrary message. Paul rails against this practice in many of his letters. In 2 Cor 11:3-4, Paul is angry that the Corinthians' minds may be corrupted so that they receive the one preaching a different Jesus or gospel from the one he preached. In Galatians 1:6-9, as mentioned earlier, the Galatians are falling prey to a perverted gospel, and Paul curses those who preach such a gospel. In Eph 4:14, he writes that only "children" in Christ are tossed about by every wind and wave of doctrine, taken in by trickery and craftiness and deceit. We're supposed to guard against not just what we hear from other humans, but to test what the spirits say too--hence Paul's angel comment (Gal 1:8-9). John also tells us, "do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1). In a lot of denominational churches that don't believe in the supernatural gifts of the spirit (1 Cor 12), this may not come up much. But in those that do, or for individuals who might ascribe to varieties of syncretism (believing in "signs from the universe" if they seem especially coincidental, perhaps), this will become important. Just because a prophet seems to be speaking from a supernatural source doesn't mean what they're saying is from God. It might be, but we have to test it. Just because an idea out of left field pops into our minds doesn't mean it was the Holy Spirit who put it there. Just because a black crow perches on a tree doesn't mean it's an omen foreshadowing our future. Just because we see the same state license plate on every car doesn't mean God is telling us to move there, etc. Solomon writes, “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps” (Prov 14:15). Elsewhere "simple" is used as a synonym for "fool" (Prov 7:7, 8:5, 9:13). We have to remember that the physical world is a battleground. Until the earth lease is up, Satan is still technically the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). So God can send us signs in the physical realm, yes--but so can Satan. God can whisper thoughts to our minds--but so can Satan (in fact, this is his primary tactic, 2 Cor 10:3-6). Peter writes that the scriptures are a "more sure word of prophecy" even than hearing an audible voice from heaven (2 Peter 1:19-21), probably for this exact reason: anything using the physical realm has the potential to be counterfeited. That doesn't mean God can't use physical means to communicate with us, but it's clear that the primary means He uses for His own are the scriptures, and the Holy Spirit (John 14:17, 26), who also often speaks to us by bringing the scriptures we know to our remembrance. He also will speak through the prophets (1 Cor 12:1-11), dreams and visions (Acts 2:17-18), but we have to check all of this against the Word. Scripture will divide between soul and spirit (what originates with us vs Him, Hebrews 4:12), as well as what might originate with a malevolent spirit sent to lead us astray. David tells us it's the scriptures that make the simple wise: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7). What if an idea comes to us as an idea, a dream, a vision, a prophecy, or a "synchronicity" moment that seems supernatural, and it's something that isn't addressed in scripture at all, though? How do we know if it's from God, from us, or from the enemy then? The first thing to check there is whether or not the message is consistent with God's character. Jesus said we can ask anything in His name and He will give it to us (John 14:14). What's in God's name (https://www.drlaurendeville.com/names-of-lord-psalm-9-9-10-meditation/)? He is Jehovah Nissi (the Lord my Banner), Jehovah-Raah (the Lord my Shepherd), Jehovah Rapha (the Lord that Heals), Jehovah Shammah (the Lord is There), Jehovah Tsidkenu (the Lord our Righteousness), Jehovah Mekoddishkem (the Lord who Sanctifies You), Jehovah Jireh (the Lord who Provides), Jehovah Shalom (the Lord is Peace), Jehovah Sabaoth (the Lord of Hosts).  The next thing to check is the fruit that message produces (Gal 5:19-23, Romans 8:6-8). God won't lead us into anything producing negative fruit--if the fruit is bad, it's from the flesh or the enemy, and not the Spirit. If it passes those tests, though, then as we continue to pray about the message (dream, vision, prophecy, idea, etc) then it's also biblical for us to ask for additional confirmations of the message--Paul says in 2 Cor 13:1 that every word should be established by two or three witnesses. If the message is from God, He'll make sure you know it. His Spirit guides us into all truth (John 16:13). And as you continue to seek Him and pray about it, peace (a fruit of the Spirit) should grow, confirming that the message comes from God (Col 3:15). Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

  Vanya Leilani, PhD is a depth psychologist, writer, teacher and storyteller. She has completed a certificate training with Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes and has served as adjunct professor at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Vanya was born and raised in southeastern Brazil and currently lives in the woods of the Pacific Northwest of the United States, where she tends to the land and many animals.  Summary   In this episode, Sarah & Vanya delve into the themes of creative transgression, the myth of salvation, and the archetypal figure of Eve.    They explore the implications of patriarchal narratives on women's lives, the importance of friendship with oneself, and the need to reclaim the mythic medicine of Eve.    The conversation also touches on the Great Reversal, highlighting the shift from Earth Mother to Sky Father and the impact of these narratives on our understanding of femininity and spirituality.    In this conversation, Vanya and Sarah explore the themes of the divine feminine, particularly through the lens of Eve and Asherah. They discuss the historical and mythological context of these figures, the implications of their exile, and the concept of creative transgression as a means of reclaiming sovereignty and desire.  Chapters   00:00 Introduction to Sacred Remembering and Creative Transgression 03:02 The Myth of Salvation and Its Implications 06:01 Exploring the Archetypal Eve 09:00 The Impact of Patriarchal Narratives 11:57 The Great Reversal in Mythology 15:06 Friendship with Our Lives and the Descent 18:05 Eve's Transgression and Its Reclamation 32:26 The Battle of the Divine Feminine 35:12 The Great Reversal: Exile of the Feminine Sacred 38:14 Eve's Mythic Medicine: A New Perspective 46:28 Creative Transgression: Embracing Desire and Sovereignty 56:27 Transgression and the Journey of Reclamation 01:07:17 Navigating Grief and Loss 01:10:53 Embracing Defeat and Failure 01:12:12 The Journey of Creative Transgression 01:16:12 Listening to the Inner Voice 01:19:06 Economic Empowerment and Sovereignty 01:22:34 Dismantling Patriarchy and Embracing Messiness 01:27:11 Practicing Self-Belonging and Kindness Join the Sacred Remembering Community at:    https://www.sarahpoet.com/community Find Dr. Leilani at:    Website: www.drvanyaleilani.com Instagram: @drvanyaleilani Podcast:https://www.drvanyaleilani.com/belongingtothewild #sacredremembering #eve #creativetransgression #archetypes #feminine #feminineenergy #patriarchy #greatreversal #depthpsychology #sacredfeminine #myth #mystic #sovereignty #desire #grief #womensvoices #belonging #dismantlingpatriarchy #kindness #selflove #womensresources #rewilding #gardenofeden #religiousrecovery 

God is Here.  God is Worthy.  Altars and Offerings Genesis 8:20 "Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it." Genesis 22:9 "When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood." Exodus 20:24 Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. Exodus 24:4-5 "Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord." Judges 6:24-26 "So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. That same night the Lord said to him, 'Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.'"   2 Samuel 24:25 "David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped." 1 Kings 8:22, 62 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel . . . Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. Ezra 3:3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. Hebrews 13:10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. Hebrews 10:10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. You are to be a living altar - the place of God's presence.  Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Philippians 2:17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. Ephesians 5:2 And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. You are to be a living offering - a life devoted to worshiping God.     Hebrews 13:15-16 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.