Podcasts about assyrians

Welcome to Day 2918 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2918 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 147:12-20 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2918 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2918 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The title for today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Swift Word of the Sovereign King – Fortifying Zion and Thawing the Frozen Wilderness On our previous expedition—on Day Two Thousand Nine Hundred Seventeen—we stepped onto the opening slopes of Psalm One Hundred Forty-Seven, exploring verses one through eleven. We marveled at the breathtaking paradox of our Creator: the very same Almighty God who marshals the stars of heaven, calling each one by name, is the gentle Physician who bends down to bandage the broken hearts of hurting exiles. We learned that Yahweh takes no delight in the brute strength of warhorses or human self-reliance, but instead, takes supreme pleasure in those who humbly put their hope in His unfailing covenant love. Today, as we continue along Day Two Thousand Nine Hundred Eighteen of our trek, we move directly into the second half of this glorious hymn: Psalm One Hundred Forty-Seven, verses twelve through twenty. In this concluding movement, the psalmist turns his focus toward the fortified walls of Jerusalem, the fierce power of winter weather, and the unique, incomparable privilege of receiving God's holy word. We will see how the sovereign command of yahweh rules effortlessly over both the physical elements of nature and the spiritual destiny of His covenant people. The first segment is: Fortified Gates and the Finest Wheat: The Security of the City Let us open our ears to the exuberant call to worship that begins this second stanza, as recorded in the New Living Translation, grouping together the logical, contiguous thoughts found in verse twelve, verse thirteen, and verse fourteen. Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For he has strengthened the bars of your gates and blessed your children within your city. He sends peace across your nation and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat. The psalmist issues a thunderous, joyous summons to the holy city, shouting, “Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!” He immediately anchors this call in concrete acts of divine protection and flourishing, declaring, “For he has strengthened the bars of your gates and blessed your children within your city. He sends peace across your nation and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat.” To grasp the profound relief and joy embedded in these verses, we must remember the historical setting of post-exilic Jerusalem. The city walls had been torn down by Nebuchadnezzar's armies, the gates were burned with fire, and for decades, the returning remnants lived in perpetual fear of hostile surrounding tribes. But when Nehemiah and the people rebuilt the walls under Yahweh's guidance, the city gates were once again secured with heavy bars! Yet, the psalmist recognizes that physical iron bars are useless unless the Lord Himself strengthens them. It is Yahweh who establishes real, impenetrable security around the community, allowing children to play safely within the city streets without fear of sudden invasion. Furthermore, notice the scope of this blessing! It extends from structural safety to internal prosperity. Yahweh grants shalom—complete, untroubled peace—across the borders of the nation, and He satisfies the people's hunger with the “finest wheat.” In the Ancient Israelite divine-council worldview, neighboring pagan nations believed that agriculture and territorial peace depended on sacrificing to localized fertility gods like Baal or Asherah. But Israel knew the truth! Yahweh alone controls the borders of the earth, and Yahweh alone opens the bounty of creation to nourish His children with the very best food. The second segment is: The Cosmic Voice of Winter: Snow, Frost, and the Swift Word The narrative now transitions from civil security to the vast, sweeping power of God's command over the forces of nature, combining the contiguous thoughts found in verse fifteen, verse sixteen, verse seventeen, and verse eighteen. He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly! He sends the snow like white wool; he scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls the hail like stones. Who can stand against his freezing cold? Then at his command, it melts. He sends the wind, and the ice thaws. Look at the astonishing speed and absolute authority of God's royal decrees! The psalmist proclaims, “He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly! He sends the snow like white wool; he scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls the hail like stones. Who can stand against his freezing cold? Then at his command, it melts. He sends the wind, and the ice thaws.” In this breathtaking section, the word of God—His davar—is personified as an invincible, swift royal messenger! In the ancient Near East, human kings sent runners across their empires to deliver royal decrees, but those human couriers were limited by speed, terrain, and exhaustion. When Yahweh speaks from His celestial throne room, His word runs like lightning across the globe, instantly obeyed by every element of creation. Notice how the psalmist paints the freezing winter weather: snow falling soft and thick like white wool, frost coating the ground like scattered wood-ash, and hail pounding down like jagged stones! Winter in the mountainous regions of Israel could be severe, paralyzing life and threatening survival. The psalmist asks the dramatic rhetorical question: “Who can stand against his freezing cold?” Human military power, heavy armor, and thermal garments are completely helpless when the Creator turns down the tem“erature of the earth! Yet, just as quick”y as the frost seals the land in ice, Yahweh issues another swift command: He releases His warm wind—His ruach—and the ice immediately thaws, streams begin to flow again, and spring returns to the land. In the divine-council framework, the spiritual principalities that pagan nations worshipped as lords of winter or chaos are unmasked as mere puppets before Yahweh; the weather is simply obedient clay in the hands of the ultimate Cosmic Craftsman. The third segment is: The Unique Treasure: Revealing Decrees to Jacob Having demonstrated how Yahweh's swift word commands the physical cosmos, the psalmist reaches the grand finale of the psalm, revealing the supreme, incomparable gift given exclusively to Israel, as recorded in verse nineteen and verse twenty. He has revealed his word to Jacob, his decrees and regulations to Israel. He has not done this for any other nation; they do not know his regulations. Praise the Lord! The psalmist seals this magnificent hymn with a declaration of astounding covenant privilege, exclaiming, “He has revealed his word to Jacob, his decrees and regulations to Israel. He has not done this for any other nation; they do not know his regulations. Praise the Lord!” Think about the staggering theological progression of Psalm One Hundred Forty-Seven! The God who commands the trillions of stars in verse four, and who directs the freezing hail and melting winds in verses fifteen through eighteen, has chosen to speak directly to human beings! But He did not reveal His holy, written law to the mighty Egyptian empire, nor to the cultured Babylonians, nor to the warlike Assyrians. Instead, He entrusted His sacred decrees, His Torah, and His legal judgments—His mishpatim—uniquely to the descendants of Jacob! To fully appreciate this verse, we must view it through the lens of Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two in the ancient Israelite divine-council worldview. When Yahweh divided the nations after the Tower of Babel, He allocated the pagan peoples under the oversight of lesser spiritual beings, the "sons of God." But Israel was Yahweh's personal, direct inheritance! While other nations stumbled in spiritual darkness, worshipping idols and guessing at the desires of fickle gods, Israel was given the clear, brilliant, life-giving light of Yahweh's written word. They were given the blueprint of cosmic wisdom, showing them how to live in alignment with the Creator. This unique revelation calls for an explosive, ultimate response, ending the psalm with that glorious, unshakeable command: Hallelujah—Praise the Lord! As we conclude today's trek through Psalm One Hundred Forty-Seven,

After 200 years of idolatry, God finally allowed the northern kingdom of Israel to be destroyed and the people carried off by Assyria. Meanwhile, the southern kingdom of Judah was being ruled the young, foolish, idolatrous King Ahaz. After being defeated in battle by the Aramean Kingdom of Damascus, Ahaz decided to worship the gods of Syria rather than turning to God for help. He also sacrificed his son to Molech in the Valley of Hinnom southwest of Jerusalem. Then he turned to the Assyrians for help against Israel, Syria, and Edom, cutting up fixtures in the Temple to send to Assyria as tribute. Needless to say, God was not pleased. Apparently, neither were the people of Judah. Ahaz was buried in the City of David rather than in the tombs of the kings of his forefathers. Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, has been battling stage 4 bowel cancer and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah. Derek's new book War of the Watchers Book One: From Baal to Balfour is now available at Amazon in paperback and as a Kindle e-book! 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 JOIN US IN ISRAEL (NOTE NEW DATES)! We will tour the Holy Land Oct. 25–Nov. 6, 2027 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. Follow us!• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert• Substack: GilbertHouse.substacdk.com | SharonKGilbert.substack.com• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation | @thebiblesgreatestmysteries• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship 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/. 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 left-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.

After 200 years of idolatry, God finally allowed the northern kingdom of Israel to be destroyed and the people carried off by Assyria. Meanwhile, the southern kingdom of Judah was being ruled the young, foolish, idolatrous King Ahaz. After being defeated in battle by the Aramean Kingdom of Damascus, Ahaz decided to worship the gods of Syria rather than turning to God for help. He also sacrificed his son to Molech in the Valley of Hinnom southwest of Jerusalem. Then he turned to the Assyrians for help against Israel, Syria, and Edom, cutting up fixtures in the Temple to send to Assyria as tribute. Needless to say, God was not pleased. Apparently, neither were the people of Judah. Ahaz was buried in the City of David rather than in the tombs of the kings of his forefathers. Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, has been battling stage 4 bowel cancer and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah. Derek's new book War of the Watchers Book One: From Baal to Balfour is now available at Amazonin paperback and as a Kindle e-book! 

This chapter highlights the reign of King Hezekiah over Judah and his conflict with the Assyrians.

When the U.S. wages war in the Middle East that American Christians support, do we remember that some of the people beneath those bombs are fellow Christians? And even when they are not Christians, how can we forget that Jesus calls us to love our neighbor and enemy alike? Mennonite pastor, writer, screenwriter, and activist Nathan Perrin joins Craig for a conversation about the people Western headlines often leave out. Nathan has spent nearly a decade working alongside Assyrians, Kurds, Palestinians, and other Middle Eastern communities through local organizing and visits to northern Iraq. He recounts visiting an Assyrian church that had been rebuilt again and again after attempts to destroy it. A cross in its courtyard covered in bullet holes. Yet when new bombardments began, Christian and Muslim neighbors exchanged keys to their homes so each family would have a place of safety. That act of neighbor-love stands in sharp contrast to the fear often preached in American churches. Craig and Nathan explore why the word evangelical carries painful baggage in parts of the Middle East. Ancient Christian communities have sometimes been treated as mission targets, while humanitarian aid has been tied to conversion. Nathan challenges us to consider whether people abroad encounter Jesus through Western Christianity, or the pressure of empire. The conversation also covers: Christian communities in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine How US military action creates blowback against local Christians and Muslims Dispensationalism and unquestioning Christian support for the State of Israel The difference between loving Jewish neighbors and defending a government Craig's Ramadan meal with a Muslim neighbor Assyrians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, and other overlooked communities Christian nationalism, political personality cults, and closed media silos Books, sermons, documentaries, and films for deeper learning Nathan reminds listeners that ordinary Muslims he has met often describe Christians in simple terms: “Christians are our neighbors.” What would change if the Western church began there?

Daily Dose of Hope July 29, 2026   Scripture: 2 Kings 21   Prayer: Abba Father, We come to you today with gratitude.  Thank you for loving us.  Thank you for wanting a relationship with us. Thank you for never leaving our side.  Thank you for giving us glimpses of how this world is supposed to be.  Help us to follow you more closely, Lord.  We need your truth.  We need your guidance and direction.  With every fiber of our being, we need you.  As we read your Word today and reflect on it, Lord, speak to us.  Help us grow closer to you.  Let us know where we are falling short so that we can be the people you have called us to be.  In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Bible reading plan.  We are currently in 2 Kings, getting close to the end of the chapter.  In fact, we have four chapters left after today.  On August 5, we will be starting a deep dive into Genesis and Exodus.  Hope you will join us for that as well.   Today's chapter is 2 Kings 21.  After Hezekiah, his son takes over.  King Manasseh is almost the opposite of this father.  He is really, really evil – worshipping other gods, putting altars to other gods in the Temple, sacrificing human beings, shedding innocent blood, the list goes on and on.    I can't help but wonder how Manasseh got to be so evil.  He had a pretty good role model in Hezekiah.  Who were his other influences?  What was his family life like?  He came to the throne at twelve, very young really.  Did he have any relationship at all with his dad?  When someone is that evil, you can't help wonder how he got that way.   We don't get a lot of details about Manasseh in this chapter.  But 2 Chronicles 33 gives more information.  In 2 Chronicles, we read about how God's anger led him to allow Manasseh to be taken by the Assyrians into Babylon and he was treated like an animal.  It was at that point that Manasseh cries out to the one true God and God hears his cries.  God allows him to return to Jerusalem and gave him back the kingdom.  It was at that time that Manasseh really changed his ways.  He no longer worshiped other gods but only the one true God.  He removed the desecration in the temple and restored the proper altar.  He appears, at least according to the chronicler, to be a changed man.  This seems like such a significant life transformation that one wonders why the author of 2 Kings did not mention it.  What are your guesses?   But today we also learn about Amon, Manasseh's son.  He is evil through and through, learning from his father's early days.  I wonder how much parenting actually went on between a king and his son.  It seems that good kings had bad kids and bad kings sometimes had good kids.  With so many wives and concubines, I can't help but think most of the parenting was done by the moms and probably hired help.  These women were usually pagans, having a huge influence on these kids.  The situation was far from ideal.  The fate of the nation really fell to men who were often parented by pagans and probably given everything they wanted.  Y'all, leadership really matters.   Blessings, Pastor Vicki

In this Bible Story, we learn about the battle between God and the Assyrian King Sennacherib, and the Lord provides victory over the Assyrians. This story is inspired by 2 Chronicles 32:1-23 & 2 Kings 18:13-19:37. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Chronicles 32:20-21 from the King James Version.Episode 150: As the King lay sick on his bed, he begs God to remember him. Asking that God would recall all the good he did in His name. This call was not made in vain. God heard him and sent a word through the prophet Isaiah that he would be spared and live another fifteen years. The nations heard about this miraculous healing and even Babylon came to congratulate the King. But instead of using this visit to point the nations to his God, he used it to show off his wealth. This sin would cost him his nation.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 Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the greatest questions of life is this: How do we respond to destruction?Every one of us will face setbacks, losses, disappointments—even, G-d forbid, profound tragedy. The question is not whether pain will enter our lives, but what happens after it does.How do we face trauma? Experiences that overwhelm us, shake us to our core, and leave us wondering if we will ever be the same again. Some people are broken by such experiences. Others survive, but carry invisible scars for years. And then there are those remarkable souls who emerge stronger, deeper, and more compassionate than before.What is their secret?Humanity has invested unimaginable resources trying to answer that question—through medicine, therapy, psychology, self-help, and every imaginable means of easing the pain, quieting the anxiety, and healing the wounds of the human spirit.But is there a deeper answer?Let's explore this question not through isolated experiences or quick fixes, but by looking at the larger story of humanity. Let's examine what has truly endured. What has enabled individuals—and entire civilizations—not merely to survive destruction, but to transform it into growth and renewal.There is perhaps no greater case study than the Jewish people.As we approach Tisha B'Av, the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, we remember the destruction of our Holy Temples and centuries of exile, persecution, and loss. The Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, and countless others sought to erase us from history.They are gone.We are still here.How?What gave a small, vulnerable people the resilience not only to survive but to continue creating, building, and bringing hope to the world?The answer lies in the profound message of Tisha B'Av itself.The day that commemorates destruction also contains the seed of redemption.The day our hearts were shattered also reveals how brokenness can become the birthplace of our greatest strength.Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson as we uncover one of life's most essential secrets: How do we transform destruction into redemption?

Daily Dose of Hope July 27, 2026   Scripture: 2 Kings 19   Prayer:  Almighty God, Thank you for today and new week.  Thank you for providing for us, caring for us, and protecting us.  Over thousands upon thousands of years, you have taken care of your people.  We give you glory and praise, for who you are.  Thank you, most of all, for sending Jesus, who moved into our neighborhood so that we could begin to understand your love.  Wow.  There are no words to adequately thank you for the sacrifice that saved our lives.  Lord Jesus, we love you and we thank you.  Help us grow in holiness, continue to transform us so we can be a better reflection of you.  In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan.  What a great summer in the Word it has been.  We have been working our way through 1 & 2 Kings.  There is so much substance in these books.  On the surface, you might not think so, but we learn a lot about God's intolerance for sin, but also his deep mercy for his people.  Our reading for today is 2 Kings 19.   In today's chapter, the Assyrians are just chomping at the bit to conquer Judah.  King Hezekiah and his leaders are grieving and pleading before the Lord.  They have put on ash and sackcloth.  Someone wanting to show a deeply repentant heart would often wear sackcloth, sit in ashes, and put ashes on top of his head. Sackcloth was a coarse material usually made of black goat's hair, making it quite uncomfortable to wear. The ashes signified desolation and ruin.    In an effort to seek Godly wisdom, they go to the prophet Isaiah.  Isaiah, not surprisingly, says that God will not allow the Assyrians to conquer them.  But the Assyrian king taunts them in a letter, asking how in the world they think their God can defeat the mighty Assyria.  Hezekiah's reaction is moving.  He takes the letter and lays it out before the Lord.  Humbly (key word there), Hezekiah asks the Lord to deliver them from the hands of the Assyrians.   And God answers.  God is responding to the Assyrians' letter with his own taunts.  He is quite clear that he despises the Assyrians' mockery and he will take care of them.  Judah will come out on top and it will be clear that God Almighty is the one who accomplished it.   Sure enough, an angel of the Lord ensures that 185,000 Assyrian soldiers die in their camp that night, so many that they must withdraw.  And then Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, is killed by his own sons.    Judah is the victor.  God has saved them.   There are certain things that really stand out to me in this chapter.  The first is that arrogance does not pay.  Assyria was so full of themselves that they did not and could not even conceive of anyone beating them.  Arrogance and pride will always lead to negative consequences.  Humility is difficult but this is what Jesus modeled for us.  Is there any arrogance or pride that needs to be rooted out of your life?   Second, I was so impressed and moved by how Hezekiah just laid everything out before the Lord.  He knew that Judah was weak and had no power.  But God has plenty of power.  He simply gave it to the Lord and asked for his help.  He surrendered it to God.  God hears and responds. How many of us have something we need to surrender to the Lord right now?   Blessings, Pastor Vicki  

PA596 Isaiah 10:1-15 mp3 In this message, Yehovah pronounces woe against the governing authorities in Israel who make troublesome laws, twist justice, and deprive the helpless of their rights. What will they do when God oversees their work? They will go into captivity from the Assyrians. The Assyrians and their king are the rod of […]

Daily Dose of Hope July 23, 2026   Scripture: 2 Kings 17   Prayer:  Dear Holy God, Your love is amazing.  Thank you for the way you care for us.  In these next few moments of silence, Lord, help us focus on you...Lord Jesus, help us set aside every distraction and take this time to lean on you.  We want to hear your voice.  Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading.  We are about two-thirds done with 2 Kings and this has been quite a journey. Today's reading, 2 Kings 17, is what we have been dreading.  The kings are once again leading the people astray.  In the north and the south, they are worshiping other gods, committing child sacrifice, and they have set up altars in the high places.  Both nations are depending on the protection of the pagan nations around them.  They are paying tribute to some and not others, and the political consequences are bad.  God allows Aram and Israel to conquer Judah, and the casualties are significant, although God doesn't allow them to be totally decimated. But destruction does occur in Israel.  All the disobedience, the years of pushing God away, the horrific kings over generations, and the constant warnings that were not heeded, it has all come to a head.  The Assyrians have taken over.  While there is priest allowed to stay to teach the people about their God, it's a warped Judaism mixed with pagan influences.  This is the end of the Northern Kingdom.  I had always been taught that once the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom, that was basically the end of them.  The Assyrians were known for their brutality and moving the native people out of their land, sending their own people to populate it.  But we do see here that some Israelites stay.  Again, Chronicles helps fill in some of the gaps.  Hezekiah (who we will read about tomorrow) invites many from the north to settle in Judah after the Assyrians take over the north and they take him up on that offer.  Most likely, many of the residents stayed, mixing with the new immigrants from Assyrian lands.  This helps make sense of why the Samaritans were so despised in Jesus' time by the Jews.  They were not pure Jews, having many different mixed cultural and religious influences. While this chapter was expected, it is also incredibly sad.  There is a high cost to disobedience.  God offered so much mercy, giving many chances, and sending many prophets to warn the kings and the people.  But they just didn't listen.  Blessings, Pastor Vicki

God loves to make us work for it by Autumn Dickson Asa is one of the kings we read about this week. He was a king of Judah, the southern kingdom. He starts out his reign really strong, tearing down idol worship and deposing his own grandmother who worshipped idols. He encouraged people to seek the Lord. Unfortunately, he also took a turn for the worse and started trusting in human solutions over God, and he died. There is one verse in the midst of his story that I want to share. 2 Chronicles 14:6-7 6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest. 7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. Asa had a time of peace during his reign, and in the midst of this peace, he built fortified cities in Judah. Asa goes on to face an Ethiopian army, and he is vastly outnumbered. As he faces his enemy, he cries out to God. 2 Chronicles 14:11 And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. The Lord proceeds to smite the Ethiopians, and they are driven back. So here is my question…why did they fortify their cities? Over and over and over again in the Old Testament we read about this same pattern. The Israelites (or in this case, Judah specifically), do all of the things only to have the Lord completely fight their battles. The Lord parted the Red Sea. He made the walls of Jericho come down. He struck down 185,000 Assyrians outside Jerusalem's walls during Hezekiah's reign. This is a consistent pattern throughout scripture. The Lord fights the battles. Entire armies are defeated or become confused or simply flee. So why bother even fortifying the cities? Even in this specific story where the Lord defeats an army of a million Ethiopians, it doesn't say that the fortified cities made a difference in the slightest. So why? Why fortify the city when the Lord defeats the enemy? The only way I can think to explain it is this: chores. Every Monday, our house gets totally cleaned. Bathrooms, mopping, dusting, vacuuming, all of it. Then, throughout the week, my three oldest kids are assigned one chore a day. It is usually the same list of chores that is done on Monday. I remember watching my four year old wipe down the mirrors in the bathroom on Tuesday. That mirror went from clean to streaked in no time flat. My soul kinda died a little bit watching her make the mirror dirtier, and then it died a little more when I had to sneak back in to clean it a third time in two days. But. I have to remind myself that it's not about a clean mirror. It's about a healthy, growing child. She doesn't clean the mirror so that I can have a clean mirror (obviously). She cleans the mirror so that she learns how to clean a mirror (eventually). The Lord paid for our sins. He paid for the sin you committed years ago, the sin you committed yesterday, the sin you're going to commit today, and the sin you're going to commit years into the future. The mirror is already clean. But He still asks us to learn how to clean a mirror. Even when we're actually just making the mirror dirtier again or when we're cleaning an already clean mirror. Being saved means you're clean again, and to some extent, all of us will be saved in some degree of glory. Being saved means you're clean, but being exalted means you grew up. And that's important because it determines our level of happiness. There is inherent worth in knowing how to clean a mirror. There is inherent worth in learning how to fortify your city and do labor. There is inherent worth in growth even if it's not actually contributing to anything yet. There is inherent worth in work even when it's not paying for our salvation. The Lord saves us. He cleaned the mirror. He protected His people throughout the scriptures. But He asks us to learn how to clean the mirror because we won't find happiness unless we know how. Some of the most miserable people I know are the ones who don't appreciate the value of working hard. It won't do you much good for the Lord to save you if you're still miserable, and He's not going to hook you up to constant happy drugs in heaven. Where do you think happiness comes from? It doesn't really come from the mirror simply being clean. It comes from growing, and the clean mirror enables you to live with God again. So we follow the Lord and His commandments so we learn how to be happy, and then He pays for the whole experience. He cleanses us so we can return to live with Him, and we return with the knowledge and experience required to find deep and lasting joy. I'm grateful for the scriptures that teach true doctrine. I'm grateful that I get to watch these patterns over and over and over throughout the Old Testament. The Lord does the work, but then He asks us to grow. I see it everywhere. I'm grateful He paid the price for me to get messy and come home with the knowledge and experience I need. I'm grateful that I get to learn, through my own experience, the good from the evil. I testify that the Lord saves, and I also testify that He gives commandments for our good. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR's 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Chronicles 14–20; 26; 30 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

After several chapters of prophecies of destruction at the hands of the Assyrians, Micah concludes his book with a promise of restoration for the people of Israel. Although there are some differences between the Masoretic text on which the old Testament of our English Bibles is based and the Septuagint, which was translated from Hebrew into Greek by about 200 BC, the overall message is the same: God will chastise His people for their behavior, but He will bless the remnant who repent and return to Him. Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, has been battling stage 4 bowel cancer and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah. Our latest book The Gates of Hell is available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Derek's book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is 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 JOIN US IN ISRAEL (NOTE NEW DATES)! We will tour the Holy Land Oct. 25–Nov. 6, 2027 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. Follow us!• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert• Substack: GilbertHouse.substacdk.com | SharonKGilbert.substack.com• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation | @thebiblesgreatestmysteries• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship 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/. 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 left-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.

After several chapters of prophecies of destruction at the hands of the Assyrians, Micah concludes his book with a promise of restoration for the people of Israel. Although there are some differences between the Masoretic text on which the old Testament of our English Bibles is based and the Septuagint, which was translated from Hebrew into Greek by about 200 BC, the overall message is the same: God will chastise His people for their behavior, but He will bless the remnant who repent and return to Him. 

In this passage, Yahweh comforts Judah concerning the attack from the Assyrians.

When You Have Nothing but God by Autumn Dickson This week, we find a righteous but imperfect man surrounded by legitimate reasons to be afraid. How do you respond when you've been backed into a corner? Let's talk about how Hezekiah responded. Hezekiah was a righteous king especially when contrasted with his wicked father, Ahaz. When Hezekiah rose to the throne, he threw out all of the idolatry and tore down all of the false places and altars of worship. He was reforming Judah, and he was helping them repent and turn back to the Lord. Assyria was a superpower in the ancient world. They had just dominated the northern kingdom of Israel, and they set their sights on Judah next. I am a firm believer that the Lord protects the righteous. It's one of the main themes of The Book of Mormon, and yet, we see something interesting happen here. Judah is not completely protected. Assyria is able to take some of their fortified cities, and Hezekiah responds by offering to pay them a tribute to go away. In order to afford the tribute required by Assyrian, Hezekiah strips the temple. It doesn't work. Assyria sticks around. One of the Assyrian commanders comes to the walls of the city and starts speaking in Hebrew so that the people of Jerusalem can fully understand the danger they're in. It's psychological warfare, and the people respond with silence as instructed by Hezekiah. Hezekiah responds differently this time. He covers himself in sackcloth and ashes and goes to the temple to pray to the Lord. He prays and tells the Lord, “They're mocking Thee. Show them who You are.” The Lord does. He slays 185,000 soldiers in the Assyrian army, and Sennacherib goes home to be assassinated by his sons. We get to see Judah change and repent at this particular period in time. There are many good details; let's cover a few. Detail one. The Lord allows Assyria to defeat some of the fortified cities in Judah. Judah was in the process of repenting. Hezekiah had torn down a lot of the idolatry, and this was incredible faith. Unfortunately, Judah had a long history of turning away from the Lord. Losing these cities was not an indication of the Lord being powerless. It was about discipline so that Judah could learn. I actually find it really poetic that the fortified cities were conquered, but Jerusalem remained. What was in Jerusalem? The temple. The kingdom of Judah was being stripped down to its center, specifically to that covenant relationship that it held with the Lord. I've seen this kind of repentance in my own life. I didn't actually recognize it until a couple of days ago as I sat in my car in a parking lot. There was once a time when the Lord dismantled huge parts of who I used to be in order to make way for more important things. Music used to be the most important thing in my life. I would drive down the highway, listen to some good country songs, and I always felt like I was on fire. It was such a strong feeling. So much of my identity revolved around music. There were a lot of reasons I was worried about getting married and starting a family, but I actually think music was a huge portion of those reasons. I didn't want to sacrifice music. Music was taken away from me. I stopped college to try and be a musician. I was working in the industry. I was entering competitions and playing small shows. I did it for months. Then it all collapsed a bit. I was surrounded by darkness, both within my own mind and in what I had surrounded myself with. After being separated from that dark period, I put up a barrier between me and music. It didn't touch me like it used to. I couldn't write anything anymore. It was too associated with darkness. As I sat in my car pondering this, I found myself bawling my eyes out that the Lord had taken it away. Only, I was bawling in gratitude not in despair. Music is powerful and wonderful and I don't think I'm done with it yet. However, it had become an idol to me. I needed it taken away because the Lord had something much more important in mind. If I had kept music, regardless of whether I was successful or not, I think it would have prevented me from fully stepping into more divine callings. I wouldn't have had room for these other things that the Lord wanted to give me. Would I have willingly chosen children or resented them? Would I have ever had time to bear my testimony in the capacity that I do now? Would I even have been able to enjoy my role as a wife as much as I do now if music hadn't been taken away from me? I can't totally be sure, but I think music would have robbed me of those things. I was that obsessed. It was an idol. I know that's not the case for other musicians, but it was for me. It would have kept me from some of the most important parts of my life. As I think about the beautiful life I've been given, it makes me sick to think that I could have missed it. The Lord stripped away all of these parts of me that felt so important, and He left just Himself and His covenant with me. With all of the problems I had accumulated combined with the music having been taken away, there wasn't much of me left. Just a covenant. And the Lord upheld that covenant. He somehow got me on a mission and gave me my family. He had to remove all of that other stuff so that He could build something better with nothing but the covenant protection He had given me. Detail two. Hezekiah goes from stripping the temple of riches to praying in it. Hezekiah originally tried to give money over to Assyria to get them to leave, and it didn't work. They camped outside of Jerusalem. He doesn't make the same mistake twice. Hezekiah receives a letter telling him, “Don't trust anyone who tells you that your God can save you. We've defeated so many other gods before you.” Hezekiah had overturned altars and torn down idolatrous images in Judah; he did all the things. Now he gets to prove how much he really trusts the God of his fathers. Hezekiah tells the Lord that the Assyrians have done all of these major feats of strength and power, but Hezekiah also acknowledges that it is only the power of mankind. He continues his beautiful prayer with this sentiment. 2 Kings 19:19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only. He implores the Lord to show the Assyrians who the true God is. This isn't about saving his own skin anymore. Hezekiah's heart has turned towards God's glory. That is the result he wants: God's glory. God shows up with a whole lot of glory, and He shows Judah and the rest of the world who holds the real power. Hezekiah repented. He spiritually up-levelled. He went from knocking down idols to facing fear with nothing but his trust in God's covenants with Judah. He went from fear of losing his life and kingdom to simply wanting the glory of God. He stood to lose a lot in facing off with Syria, but he chose trust and it saved him. I testify that a covenant relationship with Christ is a powerful foundation. I testify that sometimes the Lord strips away parts of us that feel so important so that He can uncover that foundation and start anew with something more powerful. I testify that spiritually maturing means stepping into trust, and I testify that trusting in God saves us. It's not enough to keep the commandments and do the things. Hezekiah did the things, and they were SO important and necessary, but even that was not enough. Hezekiah still had to trust, and that was what turned the tides of Judah. It can turn the tide for you. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR's 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Kings 16–25 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

When and how was Israel conquered by the Assyrians? Why did God allow Assyria to invade and conquer Israel?

Fr. Mike talks about the destruction of Israel and explains how Jesus becoming man fulfills this prophecy we hear in Isaiah. He also points out the importance of God's anger with the Assyrians destroying Israel, even though he will bring the greatest blessings out of the worst circumstances. Today's readings are Isaiah 9-10, Tobit 10-12, and Proverbs 10:9-12. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Come Follow Me Kids Podcast - a primary podcast for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (Not officially affiliated in any way.) This week we are studying 2 Kings 17–25“He Trusted in the Lord God of Israel”We will learn about king Hezekiah and king Josiah. Mahershalalhashbaz Isaiah's sonZaphnathpaaneah Joseph when prime minister of EgyptTilgathpilneser king of AssyriaChushanrishathaim king who oppressed IsraelNebuchadnezzar king of BabylonBerodachbaladan king of BabylonMephibosheth. grandson of king SaulHazarmaveth sons of NoahAmmishaddai follower of MosesChedorlaomer king of ElamBashanhavothjair Son of ManassehHezekiah King of IsraelAre you looking for a scripture study church podcast? You are listening to Come Follow Me Kids! A Come Follow Me Podcast For Kids. This is specifically a Primary Podcast or Primary Scripture Study Poscast that studies Come Follow Me. Welcome to Come Follow Me Kids! We are a scripture study podcast that accompanies the Come Follow Me Manual by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We play games, sing songs, and tell stories to go along with the scriptures. This year we are specifically studying the Old Testament. We sometimes use audio clips from the Friend Magazine and other church sources, however we are not officially sponsored by the church in any way. If your children would like a free baptism shout out or to be guests on this podcast, email us at comefollowmekidspodcast@gmail.com. If you like this podcast, please leave us a review. Thank you! Despite the prophet Elisha's powerful ministry, the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel did not repent. Eventually, the Assyrian Empire conquered and scattered the ten tribes of Israel. Meanwhile, the Southern Kingdom of Judah wasn't doing much better: idolatry was also widespread there.Amid all this spiritual decay, the scriptures mention two kings of Judah who, for a time, turned their people back to the Lord. One was Hezekiah. During his reign, the Assyrians conquered much of Judah. But Hezekiah and his people showed faith in the Lord, who saved Jerusalem in a miraculous way. Later, after another period of apostasy, Josiah became king. Inspired in part by a rediscovery of the book of the law of Moses, Josiah brought reforms that revived the religious life of his people.Like Israel and Judah, we all make both good and bad choices. When we sense that our lives need some reforms, we can take encouragement from these two bright spots in the dark years of Judah's history. Perhaps the examples of Hezekiah and Josiah can inspire us to “trust in the Lord our God” (2 Kings 18:22).

Armored Against Demon Invasion (audio) David Eells – 7/15/26 Bundle of Serpents Attacks  John David Feagin - 10/31/2011 (David's notes in red) In the brief dream I had, there was a bundle, like the old-fashioned bundle of wheat that was being passed down from two others in line to me, only this bundle was a bundle of serpents. I could tell that they were very venomous serpents, like sea snakes, cobras, mambas, or coral snakes. They tried to bite my arm and, naturally, I did not like this. I did remember that we are immune to the bites of serpents if we are covered in the Blood of Jesus, so this is where I put my trust. I was no longer so concerned and set them aside. At the time I awoke, this was puzzling to me, but now, after some thought, I believe I understand it more fully. The snakes involved have neurotoxins, which attack the brain, that is, our thoughts. We are strictly warned to take captive our every thought (that is, against the knowledge of God's Word) and this now means much more to me than it ever has before. I am certainly no expert with such things or spiritual warfare, but I do know that demons associated with pornography, bitterness, criticism, faction, etc., are very powerful and deadly. I also know that demons can be transferred by men, and inadvertently opening doors, even with the best of intentions, can invite personal attack. I personally believe this was a warning to be very careful, but it may also be a general warning to others as well, and may be applied to all sorts of demonic or thought influence. If the enemy can truly read our thoughts and insert them, as has been shown in a previous UBM study, then this is particularly devious. It is difficult to reject such thoughts if you think they are your own.  Then, this morning, as a sort of confirmation, I saw the UBM update about the bug detector and casting such thoughts to hell immediately in the name of Jesus. I also noticed that when I was praying, in the Word, and seeking wisdom in such matters, my thoughts were clear, but when my guard was down, my own thoughts and emotions in the matter, no matter how well-intended, were somewhat intoxicating. So, forewarned is forearmed. God bless always in His service.  Be careful of slander and criticism for the purpose of making disciples. It comes only from demons, and those they can use, and it comes for only one reason -- to impart demons and poison minds against someone the devil hates. Demons impersonating aliens to turn the world to the mark of the beast to destroy Christianity. The Word for “heresies” or “parties” in Galatians 5:20 means “a self-willed opinion leading to division”. The word for factions among these works of the flesh means separating followers through selfish ambition. Demons impersonate righteous indignation but are actually criticism or new revelation. {Jas.3:14} But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth. {15} This wisdom is not [a wisdom] that cometh down from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. {16} For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed.   Bluffing Demons & Spiritual Authority  Sandy Shaw 11/09/2011 (David's notes in red) The way this dream starts is that I'm walking into this room, and I'm watching a group of men (some I know, some I don't know) who are turning around and leaving the room. I ask the ladies there, “Where are the men going?” (These men are the chosen.)  The women who are there tell me not to worry because they need to go -- they have to go. The Lord wants them to go. When this happens, I feel like all the women are in unity that the men needed to go. (The spiritual catching up to the throne anointing of those who will return as the Man-child reformer ministry.) I then grab Tina's hand and ask, “Don't you feel the winds of change?” She answers, “What?” Then I say, “The change. The winds of change. Don't you feel the winds of change?” (From this point on, everything will change both positively for those who love God and are called according to His purpose and negatively for the wicked; a separation of the wheat from the tares. Tina ended up going factious, the opposite of Sandy.)  Then I go from there to an ancient-looking town square or plaza. People are walking all around. There are archways all around the square leading into different hallways, buildings, or rooms. It looks and feels like it's an ancient city. (Archways were made famous by the ancient Romans, who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures. We are seeing a revival of the iron and clay of Daniel's end-time vision of the 10 toes of the world beast kingdom. There is no dispute that the iron is the seed of the Roman Empire.) As I'm walking slowly through this square, I'm praying. I'm praying continuously because I can feel the presence of evil so strongly there. (Great darkness is about to descend as the principality of the old Roman Empire prepares to take charge and make the covenant with many, as spoken of in Daniel 9:26,27.) As I'm looking at some of the people, they look human, but for a brief moment, I can see certain demons that are controlling them. (As we watch this progressive revelation, the people who belong to the body of the beast become less and less human and more and more demon, just as those who belong to the body of Christ become less and less human and more and more sons of God. Those from among the people of God who do not forsake their evil will go with the wicked. {Rev.22:11} He that is unrighteous, let him do unrighteousness still: and he that is filthy, let him be made filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him do righteousness still: and he that is holy, let him be made holy still. In the days before the coming of the Lord, at the end of the tribulation, Jesus will come in and then with His saints. {2Th.1:7} and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, {8} rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: {9} who shall suffer punishment, [even] eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, {10} when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day.) As I'm praying, some man grabs my arm and pulls me into one of the hallways. As he is pulling me into the hallway, I hear someone in the square saying, “We gotta find her. We gotta find her. We have to stop her. Her prayers are reaching the throne of Heaven!” (These voices are the demons speaking through men). (Our prayers do reach the throne when sent by faith, and the demons' plans are thwarted. {Psa.10:17} Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the meek: Thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear. {Rom.10:13} for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. {Jer.33:3} Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great things, and difficult, which thou knowest not.) So the man pulls me into this room, and there are mostly men and a few women there. This room is full of uniforms of all different kinds. The people are trying to figure out which uniform to put on. Some of the uniforms are military. As they are excited about finding the right uniform to wear, they are trying them on. I know in the dream that these people are Christians. (The “Christians” will be worried about how to appear to the world in this dangerous time and what lifestyle to put on besides Christ's. A military uniform indicates a militant lifestyle in dealing with this beast system, which will be disastrous since “they who take the sword will die by the sword”. We must put on the uniform of the new man, who is in the image of Jesus and His actions, according to the knowledge of the Word. {Col.3:9} lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings, {10} and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him.)  I tell them that they have it wrong and that the full armor that they need to put on is the full armor of God, not one of these physical uniforms made by man. The people just look at me, not receiving anything I'm saying (as apostate patriotic Christians). A man asks me to sit down and take a look at this uniform. Then this man puts on some kind of uniform with a jacket. The jacket and uniform cover his legs, feet, and everything. There is a hood to the jacket that covers his whole head with a face-covering mask. The material of the jacket is a material I've never felt before. They then pour chemicals over it, resulting in no damage. Then they turn a blowtorch on it, and the torch doesn't burn or damage it. (As a volunteer fireman for Exxon, they gave us shirts that had metal woven into them to reflect heat.  Our government is allying with alien impersonating demons like the galactic federation or alliance in hopes of profiting from their “higher technology.” But these hate Christians and will help to bring about the mark of the beast to be rid of them.) They are really excited about the uniform/jacket and are picking it to be the one they will use. (There is no safety outside of God's will. He sent the curse, and no man can defend from it. {Jer.17:5} Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah. ... {7} Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah, and whose trust Jehovah is. {8} For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat cometh, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.) I tell them again, “No, you have it wrong; it's the full armor of God that you need to put on. There is nothing manmade that will help you. You only need the full armor of God”. I then get up and walk out of there into the long hallway. As I walk down the hallway, it is full of men lining up to put on the uniform they think is going to help them in the battle ahead. {Psa.33:16} There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. {17} A horse is a vain thing for safety; Neither doth he deliver any by his great power. {18} Behold, the eye of Jehovah is upon them that fear him, Upon them that hope in his lovingkindness; {19} To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. {20} Our soul hath waited for Jehovah: He is our help and our shield. ... {Psa.34:7} The angel of Jehovah encampeth round about them that fear him, And delivereth them. {8} Oh taste and see that Jehovah is good: Blessed is the man that taketh refuge in him.) After leaving the “Christians” in their false confidence, I kept walking and went back to the square. The ground in the square has changed: it's all dirt now, and I could see through the dirt. I see under the dirt different piles of bones all over the place. No one knows that those bones are there, and no one sees them either. I'm not quite sure why I'm seeing them. (The hidden bones represent those who are martyred behind the scenes because they are not prepared for the battle by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, as in Romans 13:12-14. Notice that putting on Jesus IS putting on God's armor or protection. Notice that it is always called the “armor of God” because it is God Himself. {Eph.6:11} Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. {12} For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. {13} Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.  {14} Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, {15} and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; {16} withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one]. {17} And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: {18} with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Notice that putting on all of these attributes: truth, righteousness, the Gospel, and salvation are manifestations of the Word, Who is Jesus. Putting on Jesus is putting on God. It is the armor of GOD Himself.) I'm walking through the square again, and I'm praying because I need to get to the other side of the square. (Contrary to popular opinion, we will all have to pass through this time of the revived Roman beast with America at the head.) As I'm walking and praying, the people that I saw with demons controlling them, I now see as full-blown demons, but to the natural eye, they still looked human. (The worldly people will be totally possessed, though they appear to each other as normal, and we are seeing more of this happening now. The D.S. can only be picked out by their leftist demon doctrines.) There was one demon that would walk really fast. So fast that it seemed as if he was flying. This demon went right in front of my face, standing right in front of me but he could not see me. He was really angry and talking with authority, telling the other demons, “We have to find these people who are praying! NOW! NOW, I say! Find them! (Prayer by those who believe in its power will be both destructive to Satan's kingdom and defensive to those who walk in the Lord's Kingdom. {Jas.5:16} Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working. {17} Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months. {18} And he prayed again; and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.)  I was standing right in front of him, praying, and the demon had no clue that I was there. (In other words, I was hidden in Christ.) So, I keep walking and when I get to the right-hand corner of the square, I look. I stop, turn around, and I'm looking! I'm watching these people. And the room is not really a room. The way that it feels is completely off, like when you walk into a room, and you can see the light, yet you can see shadows behind things. This was now completely reversed. There was light where shadows would normally be. There were bits and pieces of light. It was completely off, completely out of order. It just didn't feel or look right. (When the light is dark, and the dark is light, it is when good is called evil and evil is called good. This is where demon-possessed society is and has been going. {Isa.5:20} Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! We see this with demon-possessed people now.) After I walked through there, I saw what looked like some kind of old train depot-type thing. I know it's some kind of old transportation system. I'm in this room where there are two big fences with gates -- a cement-type fence. There is a gate, and people are going in and out of the gate. And then there is like a middle part where a lot of people are walking -- a lot of traffic. (To get where they want to go, Christians can't walk where the masses do in their bondage, spiritually speaking. {Mat.7:13} Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. {14} For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. We must be conformed by the Word within.) On the other end is the same kind of gate that people are entering this place from somewhere else. When I go there, I'm waiting for Tina, Sam, and my mom. I feel like Tina and Sam went to get my mom wherever she was to bring her here. I knew that it hadn't been very long since I had seen Tina and Sam, but that I hadn't seen my mom in a while. Tina and Sam were getting ready to go through the gate that's on the other side to go to the middle. My mom stopped them and said, “No, we can't go that way. We have to go the other way”. (Sandy said that she felt that if they had gone into the middle, they would have died. This warning was not taken seriously by them and they spiritually died. They did not listen. This is where the people of God need to go from the worldly to the spiritual; there cannot be ‘a halfway', ‘a lukewarm'. This would mean spiritual death to them in this time and a spewing out of the body of Christ. {Rev.3:15} I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. {16} So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth.) If you walked all the way around to the end, there was another part that was covered by the fence. They did not walk in the middle part. They had to walk all the way around to where I was. (The path of least resistance, or the shortcut, is the wrong way. The worldly church offers many of these. Just listen to them, and they will show you the quick and easy way to get saved and fly away, but the end is death.) They were almost down to that part, and there was another little gate to walk to the middle. My mom stopped and turned around and told Tina, “Grab Sam. He cannot walk in the middle. There is no middle; he can't walk in the middle”. (None of those who are lukewarm, middle-of-the-road walkers will spiritually survive.) As Sam goes toward the middle, Tina grabs him and they walk all the way around to where I was. I greet them and hug them. (This awakening was temporary.) Then I tell them, “Things are not what they seem to be”. My mom then says, “It's okay, it's okay, because everything that is happening is according to God's will. We just need to stay in constant prayer. {Pro.14:12} There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death. We just need to stay in constant prayer”. (In the days of strong delusion and deception, there's much advanced technology now using AI, CGI, and programming through drugs, mind control and manipulation, etc., we cannot walk according to our carnal mind or senses, or we will stumble. Prayer without ceasing is our command.) So, I'm walking ahead of them. Tina is walking on one side, my mom on the other side, both holding Sam's hand. Sam was not as old as he is now. He looked to be eight or nine years old. (We will have to help guide those Christians who are not yet mature in discernment. God will hear their prayers, too. Samuel is Hebrew for “God heard” or “God's name”. Shem is a variant of Sam, meaning “name”. Shem was the father of the people of the name, as Christians are now. Shem was the father of the Israelites.) Sam was trying not to act afraid when there was the presence of evil all around us. Even amongst all the evil, we knew we were under the protection of the Lord. There was no safe place other than the arms of God. I bent down to talk to Sam in his ear, saying, “It's okay to be afraid; you just fear the Lord. Don't fear anyone else or anything else. Nothing can harm you because they have to go through the Father first. Don't be afraid”. (Fear permits faith to be robbed and the enemies to take advantage of us. It is faith in reverse. {Psa.23:4} Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod [of correction] and thy staff [of direction], they comfort me. {5} Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over. (With this anointing of the Holy Spirit, we should give the good confession.) {6} Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for ever.) Then we started walking back to the square. The dirt has changed again. The dirt now seems like it's a mud-like consistency. But to the natural eye, it looks just like dirt. I still see the piles of bones now with the mud going between the fingers, toes, etc. But now I also see something like a circle; it's a tunnel and I can see it at weird angles and kind of far. The things that I'm seeing in these tunnels are body parts with the flesh. I'm seeing arms cut off, legs, face, head, all different kinds of body parts. They look to be freshly cut off from the body because I can still see the blood. The blood is still wet. I can see the nerves on some of these parts still shaking and moving. (The ‘powers that be' have made many underground tunnels connecting cities, where the military and special forces have found remains of countless people who were murdered by satanists. According to other dreams and prophecies I have seen, it is in these tunnels that the saints will be expected to renounce Jesus or die. It behooves us to walk carefully so we fill out both our days and our ministry.)  I'm getting ready to step, and I stop. I put my hand out to stop my mom, Tina, and Sam as I watch the details of the body parts freshly cut off. It was gross. I then asked them if they saw those parts. Tina and my mom saw it; Sam closed his eyes. He didn't want to see it. I then asked, “But it's not there?” My mom said, “Oh, but it is there under the dirt”. We stopped then and there, and we started praying. We were praying in tongues. While we were praying, I told Tina to take my mom and Sam to the outer part of the square, find a place, and begin praying and interceding. And that's what they did. (As with the Nazi persecutions in the death camps of World War 2, many will deny for the sake of soothing their own conscience that these persecutions are happening, but they will be out of sight and out of mind, “under the dirt”.) I was taking very small steps as the Lord was guiding me and telling me to. (Every step in these days will need to be according to the Father's will because of the dangers. {Eph.5:15} Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; {16} redeeming the time, because the days are evil.) And I was just praying and praying and praying. As I was starting to pray, I saw the people in the square now completely as demons. I no longer saw them as humans. (The righteous will be able to see in the spirit realm those who have been displaced by demons.) As I was walking, I felt as if they were trying to find me, and they were bumping into me, but didn't know they were hitting me. I kept praying more and more. I prayed out loud, and they could hear me but couldn't see me. (Invisibility in the spirit realm makes for peace from the flesh realm.)  That big demon I saw earlier that walked really fast was now there, and there were more demons of his stature and size. They were frantic, upset and mad. One of them said, “Now there are more praying. Do you hear them praying? We have to find them NOW! I'm telling you, their prayers are reaching the throne room of Heaven. Things are going to change. Find them NOW!” There was such an urgency to find us. I walked all the way to the end of the square and I turned around and asked, “Okay, Lord. What is it that You want me to do?” (Truly, “things are going to change.” Walking to the end of the square represents that the saints will go through this beast tribulation and bring the Gospel to the whole world. Watch volume one of Hidden Manna for the End Times.) I don't know where the Lord took the men whom I saw at the beginning of the dream or what had happened, but I just knew that they were coming back. The demons were still looking really hard for the people who were praying. Not just us, but they were looking to stop everyone everywhere from praying. The Lord told me to step a foot back in the square, and I did. When I stepped back in the square, I was speaking the Word out loud. Everything that the Lord was saying to me, I was speaking out loud. The demons could now see me and were in my face, trying to intimidate or scare me. I knew that they could not touch me. They were telling me to shut up, be quiet, that my prayers were dead, and I was doing no good. “Don't you know we can kill you? We can take you out! You are nothing!” Many of them kept saying those things to me over and over. (Demons are full of threats to discourage the prayers and works of God, but most Christians don't recognize them as coming from demons, but feel they are their own thoughts and are defeated. The knowledge of God's Word will enable them to defeat the deceivers. {2Co.10:3} For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh {4} (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds), {5} casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.) I said to them, “I am nothing, but through Christ Jesus He is everything. He is my all and all. Everything that I need, God is. God is the source. God is the strength. God is the great I AM! One of the demons was so close to my face that I could smell his stench. So close that he was almost touching me. I told him, “You are nothing! You can't do anything other than what my God allows. You are nothing! (God is sovereign over all, but He will allow many things that we allow because He has delegated authority over all the power of the enemies. {Mat.18:18} Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. {19} Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. ... {Luk.10:19} 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. {20} Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. I heard a noise behind me, and I turned around and saw all the men who had gone out, and there were more with them coming, and with what looked like Christ in the middle. Everyone was dressed in white. When Christ and all those men came on the scene, some of those demons became smaller and smaller. The ones that were already small were trying to run, but they couldn't go anywhere, as you have seen in cartoons, only this was not a cartoon; they were liquefying before me into a puddle on the floor, and then they were gone. I was backing up as the men were going forward. I went with Tina, Sam, and my mom to this place where I saw a lot more people who were praying and interceding. Then I woke up. (Who are these men whom the demons fear? The Lord is in the Man-child ministry to raise up many in the image of the Lord. These are coming to wreak havoc on the spiritual hosts of wickedness. Hallelujah!)  After I woke up from the dream, I heard the Lord say, “Write this down: “You have all power and authority in the name of Jesus Christ. Understand and know the power of His blood. For you are adopted, therefore you are entitled to everything. Hear Me! Understand Me! Know Me! For then the enemy cannot deceive you for what's ahead.”   The Men Whom the Demons Fear Seven spiritual shepherds who are sent by the Man-child to minister to the seven Churches, which is mentioned in Hidden Manna for the End Times. First, Jesus is coming to be manifested in the Man-child ministry. (Mic.5:2) But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Obviously, this is Jesus. (3) Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth (the man-child body): then the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. Jesus left because of rebellion and will return in the Man-child who is born of the travailing woman in Revelation 12. As Jesus fed the former rain woman in a body of flesh, so He will feed the latter rain woman in a corporate body of flesh. (Mic.5:4) And He shall stand, and shall feed [His flock] in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God: and they shall abide; for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth. The Jesus of the former rain was revered by the disciples and feared by His enemies, but because of apostasy, this has not been true for many centuries since because they have had “another Jesus.” The Man-child body and those disciples who follow in His/their steps will restore this, and He shall be “great unto the ends of the earth”. The Man-child's teaching will bring peace to the seven churches that are at war with the beast and harlot. (5) And this [man] shall be [our] peace, When the Assyrian shall come into our land, and shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds and eight principal (Hebrew: “princes among”) men. The corporate body of the Man-child is “this man” who brings peace to the corporate woman with his teachings, which enable her to resist the beast invasion. He brings peace because the “Prince of peace” is in his heart. Spiritually speaking, we are the “land” with the “palaces” that the corporate beast is trying to invade. (1Co.3:9) For we are God's fellow-workers: ye are God's husbandry (Greek: “tilled land”), God's building (“palaces”). As we shall see, the beast is a corporate spirit from the abyss (Rev.17:8) that inhabits the body of the wicked (3) and seeks to inhabit the righteous and mark them. Notice that the “Assyrians” are called “him” which shows that they are seen as the corporate body of the beast. Since the Assyrian beast kingdom passed away over 600 years before Christ, they could not have been connected with Jesus or the Man-child. Therefore, God, as usual, was using the beast of that day to represent a particular aspect of the end time beast. As the Assyrian beast did not conquer Jerusalem, so the end time beast will not conquer those spiritually abiding in the New Jerusalem. (Mic.5:5) ...Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds and eight principal (Hebrew: “princes among”) men. The Man-child Jesus raised up twelve apostolic shepherds primarily to restore those of the “twelve-tribes of Israel” who would listen (Mat.10:5; Act.26:7; Jas.1:1; 1Pet.1:1). In exact parallel, the corporate Man-child will raise up “seven” corporate apostolic “shepherds” primarily to restore the “seven churches”. The Man-child's primary job is to feed the unleavened bread of the Word to disciples in order to manifest Christ in them. These will be the new leadership for the seven churches in the last 3 1/2 years. These “seven shepherds” are not sectarian religious leaders but one man in Christ and are inhabited by one “prince of peace”, Jesus, hence “eight princes among men”. In the next chapter of Micah, we will see that even after the Man-child Jesus' 3 ½-year ministry, He promised to be with the shepherds in spirit “unto the consummation of the age,” (Greek: Mat.28:20) hence “eight princes among men”. These princes are sons of the King and have authority over His realm of the seven churches. The seven churches of Revelation are a type of seven different types of Christians in the Church. (Isa.4:1) And seven women (the Church) shall take hold of one man in that day. The “one man” here is Jesus manifested in the Man-child. Then He will be manifested in the seven shepherds and then in the true Church. One of God's solutions to the apostasy in the Church is new leadership. (Isa.1:26) And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning. The same type of counselors in the former rain will be given in the latter rain. Here is another confirmation of the Man-child giving His revelation to seven shepherds, who passed it on to the seven churches. When the Man-child Jesus sent His shepherds out, He called them “apostles”, meaning “one sent forth”. In other words, the shepherds were the Man-child's messengers to the churches. As a type of the Man-child, John on the Isle of Patmos was “a partaker with you in the tribulation” (Rev.1:9) when he was caught up to the throne of God and given a revelation of the coming tribulation to give to the seven churches. (4:1) After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, [a voice] as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter. (2) Straightway I was in the Spirit: and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting upon the throne. Like Jesus, he was given a revelation of the apostasy in the Church and told to send it to the seven churches by the hand of seven angels. (1:11) ...What thou seest, write in a book and send [it] to the seven churches.... (Rev.2:1,8,12,18; 3:1,7,14) To the angel of the church in Ephesus (and so with Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea) write.... “Angel” in these cases is the Greek word angelos meaning “messengers” and is also used of ministers in the New Testament (Example: Luk.4:24,27; 9:52). The equivalent Hebrew word in the Old Testament is translated “messenger” when speaking of priests (Mal.2:7), John the Baptist, and Jesus (Luk.3:1). Since it doesn't make sense that John sent the revelation by angels, he must have sent it by seven minister messengers to the seven churches. This is exactly what Jesus did as Man-child. He shared His revelation with minister messengers, who shared it with the seven churches.

This weeks episode centers around the destruction of Israel and Judah. The two nations are destroyed by first the Assyrians, …

Are you too far gone for God to forgive you? It might be the quietest question people carry into a Sunday service, or refuse to say out loud at all. Some of us have done things we cannot forget, and we are half convinced God cannot either. And some of us have the opposite problem. We are bothered by the idea that God would forgive certain people, and we do not fully know why that offends us so much.In this sermon, Pastor Brandon opens with three things he says Americans struggle with. The offsides rule in soccer. The metric system. And the fact that God forgives people who have done truly terrible things. He then walks us straight into 2 Chronicles 33 and the story of King Manasseh, the man the Bible describes as the worst king in the entire history of Judah.Manasseh was 12 when he became king and reigned 55 years. He tore down every reform his father Hezekiah had built. He filled the temple with idols. He practiced witchcraft, divination, and demon worship. He sacrificed his own sons in the fire. And 2 Kings 21:16 says he filled Jerusalem from end to end with innocent blood. Pastor Brandon does not soften any of it. Because the point of the sermon is not that Manasseh was not that bad. The point is that he really was.And then rock bottom hits. The Assyrians captured him, put a hook in his nose, and dragged him to Babylon in chains. And there, in shackles, this man finally humbled himself. He cried out to the same God he had rejected for over fifty years. And the sentence that follows is one of the most staggering in the Bible. "The Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea. So he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God" (2 Chronicles 33:13).Pastor Brandon lands the point that most modern Christians have never fully wrestled with. God's forgiveness does not minimize sin. It magnifies grace. Every objection our hearts raise when God forgives a person we think should be beyond forgiveness reveals a version of the gospel we have not fully understood yet. Because the gospel has never been about God forgiving people who deserve it. It has always been about God forgiving people who do not.He tells the story of David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam killer, to make the modern version of Manasseh painfully real. And then he brings the whole thing to the cross. Centuries after Manasseh, blood would fill Jerusalem again. But this time the King would shed his own. Jesus was treated like Manasseh so that Manassehs could be treated like Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21).If you have been carrying a story you think has disqualified you, this teaching is for you. And if you have been quietly angry that God would forgive certain other people, this teaching is even more for you.

In this passage, Yahweh promises to judge the Assyrians for their mistreatment of His people.

“Does the Bible teach the invocation of saints?” This question opens a discussion on the role of saints in Catholic belief, alongside inquiries about the end of animal sacrifice in Scripture, the presence of archangels, and the interpretation of 2 Corinthians 5:8 regarding Purgatory. The conversation also touches on the differences in Gospel accounts of Judas’s betrayal. Join the Catholic Answers Live Club Newsletter Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 06:05 – Does the Bible teach the invocation of saints? 13:30 – Where in the Bible is the end of animal sacrifice? And why was it ended? 20:15 – Where are the archangels in the Bible? 23:58 – Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have Judas kissing Jesus. John does not. Which one is true? 32:55 – 2 Cor.5:8 says to be absent with the body is to be present with Christ. Do protestants think that they all go to heaven? What about Purgatory? 41:35 – Is the Deuterocanon read in the same way the rest of the Old Testament is? 48:32 – Regarding Isaiah 37:36 records the siege of Jesusalem by the Assyrians. Was the Angel that was sent to save Jerusalem actually a pharaoh from Egypt? Is it possible that the bible recorded the pharaoh and his army as an angel from God?

Dr. Petra Creamer, an Assyriologist, archaeologist, and professor of the Ancient Near East at Emory University, joins Lexie to discuss focusing on the Assyrian Empire to understand how non-elites experienced state power, Assyrian deportation as a labor and control strategy that often moved families and aimed to resettle people as productive “Assyrians,” and conducting fieldwork at Katrash near Erbil, an unexpected rural Neo-Assyrian administrative/storage center likely tied to agricultural extraction and imperial bureaucracy. So tuck in your togas and hop aboard Trireme Transit for this week's exciting odyssey! Don't forget to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook & Instagram or visit our website www.theozymandiasproject.com! Originally recorded July 31, 2025. Learn more about Dr. Creamer: https://mesas.emory.edu/people/biographies/Creamer-Petra.htmlFollow her on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/petramcreamer.bsky.social Follow her research on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Petra-CreamerFind her publications on Academia: https://emory.academia.edu/PetraCreamerCustom music by Brent Arehart of Arehart Sounds and edited by Dan Maday. Want a transcript of the episode? Email us at theozymandiasprojectpodcast@gmail.com and we can provide one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The chapter highlights the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians.

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. 2 Samuel 19:40-20 Spencer Cary Download TranscriptGood morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We are continuing to walk through the book of 2 Samuel. We'll get towards the end, you guys. We're going to be in chapter 19, verse 40.We're going to go all the way through chapter 20 today. It's on page 310 in those black Bibles. And to 311, I encourage you to follow along with us as we walk through 2 Samuel. We are kind of having a moment in our country right now because the World Cup is here. And it's not just, which if you didn't know, that's soccer, you guys. It's not just that we're actually winning and it seems like we're pretty good.It's that people from all around the world have come to America. And they love it here. I've watched so many of these videos, it's ridiculous. There's so many videos of people from Europe, from Africa, from Japan, that are just so excited about Buc-ee's, about free refills, about Costco, and ranch. Ranch dressing is having a moment. But it's wonderful because there's all these things that they love.It's like, you know what? We've got some good things going on. We're just kind of celebrating a moment as a country. We're all united joyously for the first time in a long time. And the reason that it feels like it's the first time in a long time is because I don't know if you've been paying attention. The last decade plus has been a lot.It's been a lot of hostility. It's been a lot of disunity. I mean, it's been a lot of just tribalism and hate. And man. And I just want to capture that. I want to read some quotes.And these are from public figures, political leaders. But this kind of captures the last 10 years of kind of what we've been in. It's been just at each other's throats. There's a few different quotes from a few different people. We will root out the communist, Marxist, fascist, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin. That's talking about fellow citizens.Live like vermin. There's another one. If you see anybody from that cabinet, that political cabinet, in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gas station, you get out and create a crowd. You push back on them. You tell them why they're not welcome anymore anywhere. That's another one.The third one. We need a national divorce. We are two completely different countries living under one flag. And one side is trying to destroy the other. Straight up calling for it. A national divorce.Last one. You could put half of his supporters into what I call a basket of deplorables. So half of someone's supporters deplorable. Now, you can say, well, that's politicians. And many of them are like the worst of us. And I'm not going to fight you super hard on that because there might be some merit to some of that argument.But it's not just leaders like that. That's trickled down and been reposted and been recirculated on social media and break rooms and shop floors at family get-togethers. We've seen this over and over again. So much to the point where the word Nazi and commie has almost lost its meaning entirely. We've heard destroying America, threat to democracy, enemy from within, fascists, on and on and on and on and on. If you've been insulated from this, brother or sister, blessed are you.It's kind of hard to miss it. But if you've had any touch points with people, the Internet, there's a lot of angry people right now with a lot of alarmist, heightened, extremist rhetoric that is symptomatic of a deeper problem of deep disunity that many of us have observed and felt for a long time at this point. And we're getting ready to celebrate our 250th birthday. And I think the story we have in 2 Samuel is timely because it's going to highlight what happens when you have unresolved conflict that weaves its way through a nation. And that, paired with heated, intensified rhetoric and words, brings about consequences that we should be careful to take notice of.And as Christians, we should consider on a national level, on a local level, and within our own church, that we are called to live differently than many who are trying to tear each other apart today. And as we take a big step back from this, as we walk through this story, my hope is that we see Christ as our ultimate hope in the widening rift that we are currently living in. So let's pray, and then we'll walk this together. Heavenly Father, I thank you that our hope is in Christ alone. And that message resounds in beautiful, wonderful, unifying ways against the backdrop of history that is filled with broken people fighting for their own interest.God, I pray that you'd help us see the truth of the Scriptures, the hope of the Gospel, and that we leave here in faith and obedience and repentance. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, so last week when Chet ended, where he ended, it was a moment after the civil war between Absalom and David where there was a lot of good happening. There was the pardoning of enemies. There was the rewarding of individuals.And this is exactly where Chet ended last week in verse 40. It says, The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him. All the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel brought the king on his way. Okay. So that last sentence is really important context here.And it's a problem. Because after the civil war, they should be coming together, unified, and taking David back. But what's happened is, is it says, All of Judah and half of Israel. And what that is, is political positioning. All of Judah to put influence, to gain influence with David as he's being reestablished in Jerusalem. And half of Israel.That's a problem, y'all. If the American civil war ended, and afterwards the north said, You know what? We're going to give the south, I don't know, five to ten senators. And we're going to have forty to fifty. It would have restarted. Because that's not unifying.That's how you have unequal representation. That's not how it's supposed to go. And the people of Israel see this, And they are upset. Verse 41. Then all the men of Israel came to the king, And said to the king, Why have our brothers, the men of Judah, stolen you away?All right, pause there. Israel sees this, And they go to David, And they're like, Why have the people of Judah, our brothers, stolen you away? Now that kind of gets lost on us in the English. But in their language, in their context, With this being used throughout the scriptures, That's fighting words right there. That is a massive accusation. You are stealing our king.Why are they stealing you away? And it says, And brought the king and his household over the Jordan, And all of David's men with him. So, They level this accusation. Verse 42. All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is our close relative, Why then are you angry over this matter? They say, Because we're related to him.Like more than you. Like you're a distant cousin. We're close cousins. This is David we're talking about. Of the tribe of Judah. So, Why are you angry about this?They continue. Have we eaten at the king's expense? Or has he given us any gift? Have we taken advantage of the situation in a way that promotes us? Have we taken bribes? Have we taken favors?Why are you angry? Verse 43. And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, We have ten shares in the king. And in David also, We have more than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?All right. Pause there. They're saying, We have ten shares. We have ten tribes. What are you doing? How do you as one tribe get all this influence with David?Why do you hate us? Why do you despise us? And they just keep going. It says, But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. And you can see them devolving into a shouting match. And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer.Fiercer. Harsher. Louder. Intensified. Talking. Yelling.Over. One another. And what's happening here is the widening of an ongoing rift that is never going to heal in this nation. Wounds are not going to be healed that come out of this. And it shows that words matter. They matter.Israel comes in hot. They say, Why are you stealing our king? And Judah doesn't slow down. They answer back. Israel answers back. The words get more fierce.More intensified. And now they're at it again. In conflict. Raging. Now. Pick up in chapter 20 verse 1.There's somebody present. Who is going to take advantage of the anger in this moment? Verse 1. Now there happened to be there a worthless man whose name was Sheba. The son of Bichri. A Benjaminite.Okay. So. While they're all shouting at each other. There's a man named Sheba from the tribe of Benjamin. Son of Bichri. Okay.And he is an opportunist. Now he's described as a worthless man. We're going to see why in a moment. He's an opportunist. Who is going to seize on all the anger that is happening right here. It says, And he blew the trumpet and said, We have no portion in David.And we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents. Oh, Israel. So as they're shouting and yelling and the words are fiercer and fiercer and fiercer. He blows the trumpet. Gets everyone's attention.And declares independence. He says, We have no share in this mess. No share in Judah. Done with this. We're going to our own tents. Who's with me?Verse 2. So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem. So in the heat of this argument, an opportunist steps in, declares independence. And because they're so angry, they're like, Yeah! And we're going home free!And that signals to the people of Judah, Oh no, we might be back in a civil war again. And they get around David, escort him all the way back to Jerusalem, keeping him safe. And when David gets back to Jerusalem, he has to both put together his household again, that's been broken, and also put down another rebellion. Verse 3. And David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten concubines, whom he had left to care for the house, and put them in order, put them in a house under guard, and provided for them, but did not go into them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as in widowhood.So you want to get this little explanation that kind of finishes up this part of the story. It goes back to when Absalom was starting his rebellion, and it's very sad. Remember the events of Absalom, and what he did with David's concubines with his wives? After all of this, when David gets back, because of some prohibitions in the law, what he does is he cannot maintain this relationship with these wives in the way that he had before, so he puts them in houses, makes sure they're provided for, but they live in practical widowhood the rest of their lives, which is just sad. Women that were abused, women that now have to live in that shame and widowhood for the rest of their days.That is what happens in war, and it is awful. And that once he does this, he has to begin to put down this rebellion, starting in verse 4. Then the king said to Amasa, Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself. So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. Okay. So Amasa, if you remember from last week, is now the commander of David's army, right, of the military.He replaced Joab. David is still upset with Joab because Joab killed his son Absalom in battle. Okay. So Amasa is now in charge. And y'all, Amasa doesn't seem to be a very competent general, doesn't seem to be very competent at all. Amasa, if I'm honest, kind of just fails up.It's like a lot of U.S. politicians that, I mean, you see sometimes they lose an election, and then they get elevated to a position of power in their political party. Or they commit an offense, and they rise in the polls. They just, this happens. It's not unique to American history. It's all over history. People just fail up all the time.But what's happened is, is Amasa led the rebellion with Absalom against David. That should be a strike against him. Another strike should be a failed rebellion. He didn't even win. He lost. So he fails at that, and now he's elevated to be the commander.And it's like, then he's given this job where it says, you need to go. You have three days time. Go. Let's gather the men of Judah together. We have to go and fight. And it says, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed to him, which means he didn't get it done in time.You might think, well, that's a lot to ask to gather troops in three days. You know what? It's not. Because Judah is about the size of Lexington and Richland County. Okay? Not a very massive area.So you've got a bunch of men under you. You've got a thousand soldiers that are right near you. Just get them. Go. Go to every town, every neighborhood. Bring them back.He doesn't. And now David can't wait any longer. So it says in verse 6, and David said to Abishai, now Sheba the son of Bichri will do more harm than Absalom. Take your Lord's servants and pursue him lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us. All right.It's a lot of names in 1 and 2 Samuel. So Abishai, if we remember, is Joab's brother. So he looks at Abishai and says, all right, I don't know what Amasa is doing, but we don't have time for this. You need to go. Take some men. We need to put down this rebellion before it gets any worse.And Abishai isn't going out alone. Verse 7, And there went out after him Joab's men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites and the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba, the son of Bichri. So Abishai is loyal to his brother and says, Hey, come on. Let's go.So he takes them, the mighty men, the mercenaries and said, We're going. We're going out together. And that isn't good because if you've been around with us for a bit, you know that Joab is an unsavory person to say the least. Pretty violent, gruesome person. Verse 8, When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing the soldier's garment and over it was a belt with a sword and its sheath fastened on its thigh.And as it went forward, it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well with you, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab's hand. So Joab struck him with it in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow.And he died. So Joab, being a very violent man who holds grudges, has a plan of revenge and he assassinates and murders another threat. He keeps doing this. And this is not like, Oh, the sword spilled out. Oh, a moment. This was planned.He goes up to do a traditional greeting, which is like kiss on both cheeks. That's their equivalent of dapping him up. And the sword spills out on purpose. He picks up the sword and he violently thrusts it into him. One shot kill. And this is, listen, Amasa, I'll be honest, should have seen this coming.The moment he sees Joab, he should have said, Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He should have had men surrounding him. But he isn't very competent. He's very unsuspecting. He's very naive. And he goes up to a man with a history of violence, with a history of wanting to be in control and just unsuspectingly is murdered.It says, Then Joab and Abishai, his brother, pursued Sheba, the son of Bichri. Verse 11. And one of Joab's young men took his stand by Amasa and said, Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab. That's a key part for me that just lets you know, Oh, this was planned. So he murders him and then he has one of his men come by and say, If you're with David, you're with Joab.If you're with Joab, you're with David. Joab's in charge now. Let's go. You're following. And they all, the men who just were following Amasa are kind of stunned at what's happening. Verse 12.And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway and anyone who came by seeing him stopped. So you got to think this is happening very quickly. All of a sudden, there the general of the army is lying. It was a one-shot kill, but he's not dying immediately. He's wallowing in his blood in the ground and they're all seeing this. A man that just, who was just their leader, they're looking at this and they're hearing the call.They're following Joab and that's a lot to absorb. And the people who are with Joab realize this. The man who just yelled that says, And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. And it's like, all right, don't be confused. He's gone. Whoop.All right, we're going. Follow us, Joab. Here we go. And those men are going to fall in line or you'll die. And they do. Verse 13, When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba, the son of Bichri.Verse 14, And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-Maacah and all the Bichrites assembled and followed him in. Okay. We've got to read that very carefully because it's very good context for what's happening here. Remember, Sheba was an opportunist and he yelled, Everyone to his own tent! Declaring independence! But then, as we can see, he goes through all the tribes of Israel and Abel of Beth-Maacah is up in the north.It's about as far north in the promised land before you leave the promised land. So it looks like he's gone through all the different tribes trying to say, All right, you coming with? And what does it say? And all the Bichrites assembled and followed him. Y'all, that's his cousins. That's his clan.He's gone through all the promised land all the way of Israel trying to gather steam and everyone's like, Ah! I don't know about that. Which, listen, if you're a man, this makes a lot of sense. You really, I understand this. There are times where you get very angry and testosterone's flowing and all of a sudden someone says something that you think seems reasonable in the moment. It's like, Oh yeah, they did disrespect us.You know what? This can't stand. Oh, we gotta take care of this. Yeah, we should. Let's go.We're gonna go take them out. We're gonna go show them they don't do that again. And then you hop in the truck and you're going and you're like, once it starts to settle down and you're like, Ah! I don't know about this. I'm an adult now. This is assault.I now have a job. I don't, you know, honestly, I think I'm just gonna get off to the next stop. I don't really wanna, I don't wanna do this. And it just, it's what happens. Everyone at first is like, Yeah! We're going to our tents.And then they have some time to think about it. It's like, Well, I'm kind of tired of Civil War. I'm tired of death and dying. And, you know, honestly, I don't even know this guy, Sheba. So, it's got a weird name anyways. You know what?I'm out. And it doesn't work. And listen, that's just some free advice for the men in this room. Sometimes you just need a few minutes to calm down. You know, go on a walk, pray, breathe, let oxygen flood the brain again, and then come to reason. Also, for the women in this room.Wives, friends, just let them have some space for a minute. It's on us to calm down. But that's what happens. They calm down. They don't join them. And now, it's just Sheba and his cousins.Verse 15, And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-Maacah. So, they catch up. They're ready to fight. And it says, They cast up a mound against the city and stood against the rampart. And they were battering the wall down, wall to throw it down. So, they engage in some ancient tactics of war.They show up to the city, which they are in. They start building a mound against the rampart. They start getting a battering ram, ready to take this out. They're ready to tear this city apart. when a wise woman realizes what's happening and steps up to the plate. Verse 16, Then, a wise woman called from the city, Listen, listen! Tell Joab, come here that I may speak to you.And he came near her. And the woman said, Are you Joab? He answered, I am. Then she said to him, Listen to the words of your servant. And he answered, I am listening. Then she said, They used to say in former times, Let them but ask counsel of Abel.And so they settled a matter. I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You see, to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel, why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord? She says, Joab, you know the reputation of our city. We are a peaceable city. We settle disputes.We don't fight. Why are you trying to kill us? Can we have a conversation about this? Why would you destroy the heritage of the Lord? Don't destroy us. What's going on?Joab answers. Verse 20, Joab answered, Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy. That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim called Sheba, the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up this man alone. I withdraw from the city.So Joab says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We don't have a problem with you. There's somebody in your city that we have a problem with. He's a problem. We're here for him. Now you might think, well, why did they let him in the city in the first place?And this is a Middle Eastern cultural thing that we don't understand here. In the Middle East, even into today, when you have someone who comes to you, you're hospitable, you take them in. And then they become your responsibility. So when they come to the city, it's just immediately, hold on, you're not, this is our responsibility. So it's a lot in the Iraq and Afghanistan war that some of those families would take in U.S. soldiers and protect them and care for them.That's what's happening here. It's, oh, oh, oh. But then she's like, wait a second. This is the most violent leader and all the mighty men. Can we have a conversation? Then she hears, oh, oh, he's a terrorist.Oh, he's a traitor. Okay. Now I understand why you're so upset. And the woman said to Joab, behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall. She doesn't hesitate. She's like, oh, okay.We're going to toss the head over. It'll be good, right? And Joab's like, ha ha. And then she goes to her people. Verse 22. And the woman went to all the people in her wisdom and they cut off the head of Sheba, the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab.So he blew the trumpet and they dispersed in the city every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. So she successfully persuades the people. Sheba gets his head cut off and the fighting is over. Everyone goes home. And the chapter ends with really a summary of the leadership that's really going to stay in place that we're getting towards the end of David's reign.This is the leadership list that's in place throughout the rest of David's reign. Verse 23. Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel, which that just tells us, y'all, Joab, David's not fighting Joab anymore. He's done with this. He is going to keep him in power.Joab is going to get what's coming to him, but it ain't right now. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And Adoram was in charge of the forced labor. And Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder. And Sheba was secretary. And Zadok and Abiathar were priests.And Ira the Jairite was also David's priest. And that's how chapter 20 concludes. Now, at the beginning, I said that this would be, what we would see is the widening of a rift between Judah and Israel. But the fault lines were there. Influence in the nation was being fought over. And this widening is continuing.Now, as this split is coming many decades later, one of the people we just read about, Adoram, is going to be the first casualty in that civil war. So I want to skip to 1 Kings chapter 12 because this helps us see where this is going. So let me give some context before we read this together. This will be on the screen, but stay with me for a moment. This is David's grandson, Rehoboam. So David has Solomon, who's the king next, and Solomon's son, Rehoboam, takes over.Rehoboam immediately doesn't recognize the situation because Israel and Judah, this widening has continued and continued. Even through Solomon's reign, it's continuing. And Rehoboam listens to some foolish younger man's advice on, you know what? You need to be strong and you need to enforce more harshness on the Israelites. He doesn't read the room at all. And this division is widening and not coming back.So that's where we pick up in 1 Kings. When it is widened so far, verse 16, And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, hear this, What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel, look now to your own house, David. Now, what does that sound like? That's what Sheba said.That's almost a verbatim quote. They remember what he said and his rebellion didn't work, but they bring it back and they quote him. That's intentional. And they say, No, we are done with this. What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance of this.To our own tents, Israel. They're declaring independence. So Israel went to their tents, verse 17, But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, that's who David put in place, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee Jerusalem. So Adoram later receives the first violence in a civil war that never heals.This nation is never the same again. From this point forward, it is not the 12 tribes of Israel. It is the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. It never heals. And you can trace it throughout history and you can see it in the story we saw today, just this widening that happens. And from this point forward, there's only violence, there's only hatred, there's only disunity.And this is the result of it that goes forward. They could have at any point slowed down, could have at any point hurt each other, could have at any point reconciled, but they choose harsh words, fierce words, which we read. They speak fiercely, they choose their sides, they dig in their heels, and all the people that were once unified as children of the covenant of Abraham. They're now enemies for centuries to come. Now, what I want to do is I want to help picture what's happening in this division over time and ultimately the only hope that shows up in fixing this. So, as I said, around 930 B.C. is when Israel and Judah permanently divide.That's the situation with Rehoboam. So, they divide at this point and you have the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. And they're never the same, never with each other again. Now, Israel quickly devolves into a lot of pagan practices. They mix their faith with some idolatry and they quickly over the next two centuries start to really fall apart to the point where God brings judgment on the northern kingdom of Israel and sends in the Assyrians over a period of time to completely destroy their kingdom. And, next slide, 720 B.C. that's what happens.Israel is completely destroyed. The northern kingdom is done. So, they destroy them. It's never a national kingdom again. And then, they send, they bring people out, they bring some foreigners in and they leave some of the Israelites behind and those Israelites end up marrying with those people and many of them settle down into a region called Samaria. And, in Samaria they have some of the old faith mixed in with these idolatrous practices and they stay there for centuries to come.So, the descendants of Israel, the northern tribes, are there while Judah keeps going. And, over time, Judah has its own judgment that comes upon them but the people of Judah stay together and they later are called the Jews. So, the people, the descendants of Judah is where we get Judaism from, the Jews. So, the descendants of mostly Judah and Benjamin but the kingdom of Judah. So, the people of Judah continue but then they're still living side by side with Samaritans and they hate them. They hate them.They hate Samaritans. They hate that they share some bit of faith. They hate them for their old differences, this widening rift that continued for so long. They hate them. They're racist towards them. I mean, you have to, if you live both in northern Galilee to get through Samaria or to get to Jerusalem, the straight line is to go through Samaria but they wouldn't do that.They go all the way around Samaria because they don't want the dust of that people on them. They don't want to see them. They don't want to deal with them and that continues with that kind of hatred and that kind of division for centuries. So, you can trace what happened in our story and it continues and it continues and it continues over time where these people are just hating each other. And then, centuries later, Jesus comes and Jesus begins to speak of a kingdom that's not of this world. He begins to speak of a kingdom that is going to last for eternity.He begins to describe and picture what this kingdom is going to be like and one of the things that Jesus does in His ministry is instead of going all the way around Samaria, He goes straight into it. And when Jesus begins to minister around 27 AD, He goes into Samaria and He meets a Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 and He has this wonderful conversation. If you've never read it, you should sit in it today. It's beautiful as He articulates the gospel to a lost woman and He declares to her that He is the Messiah and He hints at that this old division is going away. And then Jesus takes that ministry to the cross where He dies for hostile, angry, disunified people and He resurrects creating a new people that are no longer to reflect the divisions of this present world.And then He commissions His church. He ascends at the right hand of God the Father. And then when you get to the book of Acts, which, by the way, that's our next book. We get done with this book at the end of this month. We're going to be in the book of Acts for the next season. So, spoiler alert.When you get to the book of Acts, one of the things that we're going to see is that as the church begins to spread, they go into Samaria just like Jesus did. And then when they minister in 33 to 35 AD, when they start ministering to Samaritans and they start bringing the gospel to them, the people that had been disunified for almost a thousand years are now finally unified again. And it doesn't stop there. The gospel continues to spread and it starts reaching other Gentiles, Romans, Greeks, Ethiopians, Ephesians. And then you see that this household of faith is going to have a whole bunch of different people.But what unifies this people is Christ primarily. And when you hear the book of Ephesians as they're addressing some of these differences between Gentiles and Jews, God through His servant Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, for He Himself, this is Jesus, is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that He might create in Himself one new man and the place of two, so making peace that Jesus Christ through His redemptive work breaks down walls of hostility, breaks down differences that we cling to in this present world because it's in Him that we are unified. The most important thing about Christians is Christ Jesus and it says and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross thereby killing hostility that through the cross of Jesus Christ every petty difference, every temporary difference, everything that we make primary in this present life that separates us goes to die because the primary expression of unity is found in Christ in His people. And that gospel continues to spread.It spread and spread and spread. And then, as God's people unified in Him, caring most about what we have in Him, not caring about the racial differences, ethnic differences, political differences, philosophical differences because the most important thing about us is Christ. We have a different way of speaking. And in James chapter 3, ministering to a church, teaching them how they might speak, verse 5 and following, it says, so also, the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. But that is a reminder that your tongue, that our speech, is powerful in a way that when it is used for ungodly purposes, can set communities on fire, can destroy unity amongst peoples. And then when you skip to verse 10, it says, from the same mouth flow blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not be so. Now, that leads us back to where we started.We live in a culture that only blesses their friends and curses their enemies. That's the way we do this today in our culture. You bless your friends, you curse your enemies. Enemies now are defined by us and them. And them is defined by not from our tribe, not from our political party, not from our region of the country, not from our race, not from our sex, not from our people. It's them.They're the problem. And that's how our culture rages right now. And that leads to violence, to dehumanization, to evil prevailing. And the more the culture rages, the more angry it gets. We of all people who belong to Christ, a God who reconciles us who was once enemies of him to make us friends in him, to see Jesus as most primary about us, descendants of Israel, Judah, Rome, Ephesus, Ethiopia, and beyond. All of us should be the people who understand what it means to be on the same page.The most important person is Christ in us. And therefore, everything that this world is clinging to, all the power plays, all the frantic energy, it's like, we don't, it's not us. We're not doing that. We're going to choose love. We're going to choose peace. We're going to choose to bridle our tongues and to restrain our speech.We're not going to engage in other-side-is-evil business. We're not going to do that. We're not going to dehumanize people. We're not going to be people of tribes of this world because we belong to the most beautiful, wonderful tribe that is Christ Jesus. And that means we change the way we operate in this culture. Listen, I love America.I love America. This Saturday, I'm going to go so hard. I'm going to America 250 so hard. I'm serious. I do love, I love this country. As Jeremiah prophesied to the people he was prophesying to, he said, seek the good of the land that you are in.I want to seek the good of the land that I'm in and I'm thankful for all of our bright spots and I'll seek to evangelize through everyday mission and all the parts that are broken. But not for a moment should we forget where our main citizenship is. It is not here. It is in heaven. And from it, we wait a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would transform these broken bodies to be with him in glory for eternity. That's where our hope is.So, that means that the present divisions that we see everywhere around us, if you have gotten wrapped up in them in any way, shape, or form, you need to repent. I have had to do the work of repentance. I'm having to repent. If you have gotten caught up in the frantic nature of everything's falling apart, no, no, no. We need to be grounded in what is eternal and what is true. That the vile language that is unbecoming of Christian living has to go.It cannot be reposted. It cannot be said in jokes. It cannot be said in conversations and shops, rooms, and break rooms, and community groups. And it's got to go. It has to go. So, may we be a people that are salt and light and a culture filled with darkness that if this continues in a direction that it is going, will breed more violence and more violence and more violence and more hate.May we be a people that stands in the middle of it and says, no, there is a better way and that better way is Jesus. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that you might help us compel us to gospel hope that doesn't put hope in all the present divisions that are at play right now that we would as Christians repent where we've spoken harshly and fiercely about other people. As that's trickled down into how we think about each other in our own church, may we repent that we speak kindly, speaking the truth in love, that we embody wise speech that flows out of a primary allegiance to you. And Lord Jesus, if there's anyone here that's put their hope in this present world and all of its political forces and all of its temporary hope, may you compel them to primary faith and allegiance to you.In Jesus' name. Amen.

What happens when most Chaldeans and Assyrians now live outside Iraq? Will our language disappear? How do we stop our culture from dissolving in the West without losing our Catholic Faith? On this episode we talk about the Church itself as the glue holding our scattered people together — more than land, more than language — and why preserving our Eastern identity actually matters to the whole Catholic Church. Fr. Simon and Fr. Tristan just got back from a pilgrimage in France where they visited St. Thomas Chaldean Church in Sarcelles and were blown away. They describe the most beautiful Chaldean church they've ever seen, a packed Mass, and being welcomed with a massive lunch and full-on khigga dancing. They also met young French-born Chaldean priests who speak Sureth with a French twist and are fully living both worlds. Featuring: Fr. Simon Esshaki, Fr. Tristan Farida, Abbot Ankido Sipo, Fr. Augustine Joseph –––

This chapter highlights that God was going to use the Assyrians to punish Israel. Isaiah says that God would eventually punish the Assyrians because of their pride.

870 A Samaritan Woman Came to Draw Water, A Guided Christian Meditation on John 4:5-9 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation John 4 NET 5 Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me some water to drink." 8 (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies.) 9 So the Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you—a Jew—ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water to drink?" (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) NKJV 5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Reflection on Scripture: I love this story. It is the moment Jesus reveals himself at Jacob's well, literally Israel's well and yet it is not in the country of the Jews. This leads to interesting questions like who were the Samaritans and why do they show up in the New Testament? I think it is meaningful to ponder these questions for a moment. The Samaritans had a meaningful history. Through the whole Bible we see God's interaction with people that he has called His. God called the people of Jacob as his people. Jacob's name was changed to Israel and he had sons that formed large tribes. After Solomon the tribes split into two parts. The Southern Kingdom which was mostly the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin and the Northern kingdoms representing the other tribes. The northern tribes fell to the Assyrians and interbred with the pagan nations that surrounded. As a result they adopted different habits and theology and for this they did not get along with the Jews well.  So this is why the well of Jacob is among the Samaritans and additionally why Jesus would be near the lands of the Samaritans. They had been Israelites in the past. Jesus chose to reveal that he was the Messiah at this well. He did not choose Jerusalem. He did not go to the Pharisees. He chose those who were rejected, not those who thought themselves very important. We will talk more about the choice of this woman in the future but for now it is important to reflect on God's choice of the Samaritans.  Each of us are, in a form, outsiders to God. We are His children, yet we have acted in a way inconsistent with His perfection. He is able ot use the imperfect to do His work. In fact, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. You are enough for God to love and for Him to accept. His grace is sufficient for you.   Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod  

The prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, prophesied the coming judgment of God on the kingdoms of Israel and Judah at the hand of the Assyrians. Our chronological reading order brings the book of Micah into the middle of our study of Isaiah. While Isaiah prophesied a day when the kingdom of Judah would declare, “God is my salvation,” Micah's prophecy is a warning of God's imminent judgment for the sins of Judah and Samaria. We see both prophecies as being of the “already but not yet” type, fulfilled in the eighth century BC, but with a future fulfillment still to come. Bear in mind when reading Isaiah 12 that the the Hebrew word translated “salvation” is Yeshua—Jesus. Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, has been 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 latest book The Gates of Hell is available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Derek's book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is 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 JOIN US IN ISRAEL (NOTE NEW DATES)! We will tour the Holy Land Oct. 25–Nov. 6, 2027 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. Follow us!• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert• Substack: GilbertHouse.substacdk.com | SharonKGilbert.substack.com• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation | @thebiblesgreatestmysteries• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship 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 left-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.

The prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, prophesied the coming judgment of God on the kingdoms of Israel and Judah at the hand of the Assyrians.Our chronological reading order brings the book of Micah into the middle of our study of Isaiah. While Isaiah prophesied a day when the kingdom of Judah would declare, "God is my salvation," Micah's prophecy is a warning of God's imminent judgment for the sins of Judah and Samaria.We see both prophecies as being of the "already but not yet" type, fulfilled in the eighth century BC, but with a future fulfillment still to come. Bear in mind when reading Isaiah 12 that the the Hebrew word translated "salvation" is Yeshua—Jesus.

Part 11 of the series in Isaiah. Universal global judgement, with Edom as its focus, but a new creation. Then the account of the turning back of the Assyrians from Jerusalem.

As we read of King Hezekiah's desperate prayer because of the invading and mocking hordes of the Assyrians, it occurred to us that there are today some modern equivalents.  The Assyrian armies had been boasting of their conquests, as we read yesterday in Isaiah 36 – they were sure that Jerusalem would suffer a similar fate.  Deserters must have joined them, for the Assyrians are aware that Hezekiah had removed “the high places” [v.7] at which many of the people liked to worship instead of coming to the Temple.  The Assyrian king makes false claims about what the God of Israel is supposed to have said (v.10). There are parallels to this today in the beliefs of those who read into the Bible things it does not say and who criticise those who remain faithful to what God has caused to be written. In today's chapter (37), we read how the plight of Jerusalem gets worse.  This causes Hezekiah to come to see Isaiah (v.5) and we read of the reassurance the prophet gives the king.   In the same way today, and more so in the days that are coming, we will turn to God's prophets and to the reassurance of the words of his Son and the Apostles.  Hezekiah receives a letter from the Assyrians (v.14) and takes it into the Temple and there prays ….  “O LORD of Hosts … you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.  Incline your ear O LORD, and see, and hear all the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to mock the living God.” [v.17-18]God does hear, he does see, he does act.  We are about to see a parallel in our days.  Atheists are becoming more blatant and more public in mocking believers and belief in God.  The man Dawkins is one of the worst; many are getting bolder in mocking God and Christianity.  There is much, of course, to be ashamed of in the behaviour of some who claim the name of Christ, such as many Catholic Priests.  Let us pray for God to act in dealing with these mockers. All those who mock or ignore the living God and the Saviour he sent into the world – will really fear when his judgements begin.  We read Peter's message on this today, “The end of all things is at hand: therefore be self-controlled and sober minded … as one who serves by the strength that God supplies…” [1 Pet. 4 v.7,11]  Let us seek as much of this strength that we can – and we know the source!.

“Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.’” (Jonah 3:1–2 NLT) Most believers have reasons not to evangelize. Some of these reasons might even seem compelling or legitimate. “I don’t want to make the friendship weird or awkward.” “I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer people’s questions.” “I don’t want to become a person that other people avoid.” The Old Testament prophet Jonah had some pretty compelling reasons not to evangelize. At least, he thought they were compelling. He’d been given an assignment that no prophet in his day would have been excited about. God had called him to preach His Word in Nineveh, which was one of the most wicked cities on earth. The Ninevites were the enemies of Israel. Other prophets had warned Israel that one day the Assyrians would overtake them, and Nineveh just happened to be the capital of Assyria. Jonah likely reasoned, “Wait a second! If I go and preach to them, they might repent. And if they repent, then God will spare them, and they will conquer us. But if I don’t preach to them, they won’t repent, and God will judge them. That will be one less enemy we have to deal with.” So, Jonah tried to go in the opposite direction. He went down to Joppa, boarded a ship, and set sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. He would have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had remembered the words of David, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!” (Psalm 139:7 NLT). You probably know the rest of the story. God sent a great storm that threatened the lives of everyone aboard the vessel. Jonah admitted that he was the cause of the storm and was tossed overboard: “The LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17 NLT). Jonah repented, and the great fish—likely a whale—vomited him up on shore. “Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you’” (Jonah 3:1–2 NLT). This time, Jonah did what God had called him to do. God helped him recognize what all believers need to understand: The work of evangelism is far more important and pressing than any discomfort we may experience or any objections we may have. We’ve been called to share the gospel, even with people we may not like. Nonbelievers aren’t the enemy; they’ve been taken captive by the god of this world to do what he wants them to do (see 2 Timothy 2:26). Until the end of our lives or until the Lord returns, our job is to reach them with the Good News of Christ. Let’s embrace the work God’s given us so that others may experience His forgiveness, salvation, and love. Reflection question: What seemingly compelling reasons might keep you from sharing the gospel? The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details. — The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known." All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the Assyrians carried off the 10 northern Israelite tribes, they imported pagans into Samaria. What is the nature of the religion these people then practiced, and why did Judeans despise them? Take a deep dive with us into the history of the Samaritans.

Some people think their own well-being is a personal right. Jonah being confronted with his heartlessness towards the Assyrians, while he is still clinging to his "right" to feel comfort. In this message, Pastor Lutzer illustrates how God will break us of our narcissistic heart for a heart of compassion like His. Will we let ourselves be broken by God? This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at https://offerrtw.com or call us at 1-800-215-5001.  Moody Church Media [https://www.moodymedia.org/], home of "Running To Win," exists to bring glory to God through the transformation of lives.  Erwin W. Lutzer is Pastor Emeritus of The Moody Church in Chicago, where he served as Senior Pastor for 36 years. He is a prolific author of over seventy books. A clear expositor of the Bible, he is the featured speaker on "Running To Win" and "Songs In The Night," with programs broadcasting on over a thousand outlets in the U.S. and across more than fifty countries in seven languages. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in the Chicago area. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.    SUPPORT:  Tax Deductible Support: https://www.moodymedia.org/donate/  Become an Endurance Partner: https://endurancepartners.org/    SUBSCRIBE:   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MoodyChurchMedia  Daily Devotional and Weekly Digest: https://www.moodymedia.org/newsletters/subscription/ 

Be Strong in the Lord Ephesians 6:10-24 by William Klock We've made it all the way to the end of St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  For just over five chapters, Paul's been explaining how the church is God's means of taking what Jesus has done in his death and resurrection and turning it into God's new creation.  He's shown us how, in Jesus and the Spirit, he's given us back the vocation that Adam rejected.  We've been restored to our position as stewards of God's presence and God's wisdom and God's glory for the sake of the world.  Even more than that, as Adam was placed in God's garden-temple, through the gift of God's indwelling Spirit, you and I—the church—have now become God's temple.  And as Jesus has been raised from death to go be the new Adam, so in him and in the power of the Spirit, you and I are now called to put off the old, corrupt, lie-based way of being human and to put on the new humanity exemplified by Jesus.  And if we will be faithful to be fruitful and to multiply—whether by having our own children and raising them in the wisdom of the Lord or through our proclamation and living out of the gospel that brings others to the Messiah—Brother and Sisters, the temple will grow and grow and grow, carrying God's presence to the ends of the earth, spreading his wisdom—the way of new creation and the way of truly being human—to the ends of the earth, until God's glory covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. And having established that this is what the church is and that this is what our mission is, he shifted in Chapters 3-5 to the how of living out this new creation, to the how of putting off the old and putting on the new.  Don't listen to the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Speak the truth and live the truth of God's new creation.  Put aside anger and wrath, and start living out love and grace and patience and mercy with all humility—just like Jesus.  And don't believe the world's lies about sex and money and power.  Be holy as God is holy and trust in his goodness and faithfulness.  In other words, as I said last week, stop trying to write your own story.  You're bad at it.  We all are.  God did not design us with the capacity to write our stories for ourselves (or to be gods, as Genesis put it).  Instead, trust in the God who gave his own son as a sacrifice for our sins, to set us to rights at such a great cost, and live the story he has written for us.  And the world will take note.  Live God's story, and you will challenge the lies of the world.  Live the story in which Jesus is Lord, proclaim that story and seeing that glimpse of new creation, of redemption and renewal, of mercy and grace people around us will believe.  But, too, live the story in which Jesus is Lord and you will challenge the Caesars of this world.  Live the story in which God is good and faithful and generous, and you will challenge the greedy, grasping lies of the world.  And the world, the flesh, and the devil will push back.  Or as Paul puts in Chapter 6, the principalities and powers.  They've lost, but they don't want to admit it.  They don't like to be challenged.  And this is where Paul picks up in Ephesians 6:10 with his final bit of wisdom for the Ephesians and for us.  [This is page 1163 in the pew Bibles.] “What else is there to say?  Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on the whole armour of God, then you will be able to stand firm against the devil's schemes.  The warfare we're engaged in, you see, is not against flesh and blood. It's against principalities, against the powers that rule the world in this dark age, against the wicked spiritual elements in the heavenly places.” Brothers and Sisters, know who your enemy is.  When things, when people, when systems push back against the gospel.  When we try to bring new creation to the world, when we try to live out the new way of being human we have in Jesus and the Spirit, we will experience opposition.  And it's critical we stand firm and fight back  But Paul stresses here: Know your enemy.  Because fighting the wrong enemy isn't going to win us anything. Paul knew this well.  Consider that he'd been a Pharisee.  The Pharisees were the party that traced its roots back to the Maccabean revolt two hundred years earlier, when the Jews rose up and threw off their pagan Greek overlords.  Paul—like most of his fellow Jews—grew up knowing that the enemies of God's people were the pagans: the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greek, the Romans. In a couple of decades it would happen again in the Judean volt of a.d. 70 and then again in the bar Kochba revolt in a.d. 132.  Neither of those revolts ended well for the Jews. And when the Jews revolted, they went into battle with passages like Isaiah 11 in mind: The shoot from the stump of Jesse would come, full of wisdom and justice.  “He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins” (Isaiah 11:4-5)  But they added their spin to the scriptures.  The community at Qumran—the people responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls—the saw it this way: “With your sceptre may you lay waste the earth. With the breath of your lips may you kill the wicked…May justice be the belt of your loins, and loyalty the belt of your hips.  May he make your horns of iron and your hoofs of bronze.  May you gore like a bull…and may you trample the nations like mud…For God has raised you to a sceptre for the rulers before you…all nations shall serve you, and he will make you strong by his holy name, so that you will be like a lion.”[1] You can hear Isaiah in that, but then here the warrior girds himself up for battle, to trample the nations like mud.  He gores the nations like an ox and ravages them like a lion.  The picture begins with Isaiah, but it gets lost along the way.  In Isaiah 11 the Messiah's warfare ends not with a goring ox or a lion tearing flesh, but with the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the goat, the calf and the lion laying down together at peace and one like a little child leading them into a renewed creation where the lion eats straw like an ox. I fear we fall into the same trap.  Jesus said to his disciples: “Don't be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. I will show you who to fear: fear the one who starts by killing and then has the right to throw people into Gehenna. Yes, let me tell you, that's the one to fear! (Luke 12:4-5) Brothers and Sisters, God had always urged his people to stand firm and to put up a fight, but our enemy, as Paul says here isn't flesh and blood.  It's not the people, however wicked they may be.  It's the lies the devil whispers—or sometimes shouts—into our world.  It's been that way from the beginning when Adam and Eve believed the first of his lies.  It's the lie that we can write our own stories better than God can.  It's the lie that security or power is to be found in money or in politics or in sex or in education or in all the other things to which we look that are not God—all the things that use and abuse and manipulate and exploit others for our benefit.  It's the lie that we can fight the gospel battle with bullets or with politics or with violence.  Paul's people talked about principalities and powers—sort of angelic beings whom God had created and appointed to oversee the nations, but who had fallen under the power of the devil's lies.  That's how they thought. I don't know if that's how it really is, but there are powers—political, economic, sexual, intellectual—that perpetuate the devil's lies and keep us in the dark, keep us stomping on each other, keep us at each other's throats, keep us seeing everyone else as the enemy so that we never stop to think that the real problem is the devil and his lies. So Paul reminds us.  The enemy is not flesh and blood.  Yes, other people enforce those systems.  Caesar believed the lie that he was the world's lord.  And his soldiers believed that lie too, when they arrested Christians and threw them to the lions.  But they were not the enemy; the lie was.  It still is.  They needed deliverance from it just like we do.  The enemy isn't Mark Carney or Donald Trump.  The enemy isn't greedy bankers or crooked businessmen or the people who run giant pornography websites.  It's not the abortionist or the therapist pushing gender ideology.  They're flesh and blood.  They bought the lie.  They need a gospel resuce just like we do.  And so Paul warns us, yes, there's a battle, put on the armour of God, and stand firm, but know your enemy.  Take your battle to the devil and the principalities and powers that perpetuate the lies.  Don't shoot their prisoners when what their prisoners need is to know the truth, the wisdom of God.  Brothers and Sisters, to fight them, to take the battle to flesh and blood, is just to fall prey to another lie of the real enemy.  Paul says that weird thing in verse 12, that these wicked spiritual elements are in the heavenly places, but I think his point there is that—as he said back in Chapter 2, we are seated in the heavenly places with the Messiah.  In his death and resurrection, Jesus won the decisive victory and now he's enlisted us, not to just sit in the church and be holy until he returns, but to be the new humanity who takes his new creation to the ends of the earth and, along the way, confronts the lies and the systems and powers that perpetuate them and declares that they have been defeated.  As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “he must go on reigning until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”  Brother and Sisters, the church is his means to bring that day.  (See, this has turned out to be an Ascension sermon after all!) So, Paul goes on in verse 13, “For this reason, you must take up God's complete armour.  Then, when wickedness grabs its moment, you'll be able to withstand, to do what needs to be done, and still be on your feet when it's over.  So stand firm!”  Now, what is the armour of God?  Notice the echoes of Isaiah 11 here.  “Put the belt of truth around your waist; put on justice as your breastplate; for shoes on your feet, ready for battle, take the good news of peace.  With it all, take the shield of faith; if you've got that you'll be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.” Notice that everything about this picture is defensive except the sword.  Again, the Messiah has already won the decisive victory.  He's won the ground.  Creation once again belongs to him.  Our job is to hold it against the enemy.  And, notice, as Paul has said before and as he says here in verse 10: We stand in God's power and might, not in our own.  We know what this power can do, because it's the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and now, as Paul has said over and over, we are “in the risen Messiah” and that makes us strong in the strength of his might.  There's an interesting parallel to this in Romans 4.  There Paul writes that Abraham was “strong in faith”, believing God's promise even though everything around him said not to trust this strange God.  He was strong because he trusted the God who had the power to accomplish what he had promised. Brothers and Sisters, we stand in that same faith, but unlike Abraham we have every reason to believe.  No one knew this God in Abraham's day.  You and I live with the witness of all the generations who have known and experienced this God ever since.  You and I live with the witness of the resurrection of Jesus, the greatest show of God's might in history and the event by which he has inaugurated his new creation.  If Abraham had reason to be strong in faith, we have reason to be even stronger.  So stand firm in the Messiah's battle and put on his armour to guard against the enemy who wants nothing more than to take back the ground he's lost to Jesus. As the Messiah puts on his armour for the battle in Isaiah, so should we.  It shouldn't be surprising that the first thing Paul says to put on is the truth.  All along he's been warning us not to believe the lies that have brought sin and death to the world.  All along he's warned us to be committed to the truth and not to be deceived by the lies around us.  In Isaiah 11:5 the Messiah puts on the belt of justice and faithfulness.  In the Greek “faithfulness” is translated as “truth”. The truth of God's creation and his new creation are the foundation of the gospel.  Isaiah saw the Messiah setting creation to rights, and to do that demands the truth to put an end to the lies.  The gospel proclaims Jesus' victory and the new creation that has come with him out of the tomb, the truth of the goodness of God's original creation and the truth of the goodness that he's now restoring it to.  Our calling now is to stand firm on that foundation and to wrap that truth around us like a belt.  The gospel is not about our feelings or our imaginations or what we think people will like or not like.  The gospel is about truth: God's good creation and Jesus' setting it to rights. But our main piece of defensive equipment is the breastplate—the breastplate of justice—or righteousness in some translations.  The Greek word means both.  Paul takes this image from Isaiah 59:17.  It's not just righteousness as we often think of it as moral goodness.  It's truly justice.  It's God's desire to see this broken world full of pain and tears truly set to rights.  In Isaiah 59 it's the divine warrior who goes out to bring God's justice to the world, but Paul understood that the divine warrior is Jesus the Messiah.  And he didn't go out to bash heads in order to bring justice.  He went in humility to the cross.  He gave his life to free us from sin and to wash away the stain of death, so that he could fill us with his Spirit and make us his temple.  And, in that, Paul's saying we're now called to follow in Jesus' steps to bring God's justice, his righteousness to the world as we live out Jesus' new—renewed—way of being human.  This is why Jesus talked in the Sermon on the Mount, about his people hungering and thirsting for justice.  It's our breastplate.  It's the thing staves off our own temptations to idolatry and greed that would otherwise cause us to bring more pain and tears into the world. And then the shoes of peace.  Another echo of Isaiah that Paul and the Jews knew so well: “How beautiful are the feet of the messenger who announces peace…who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”  Except whereas for people like the old Paul, this had become a hope of violent military victory over the pagans, in Jesus peace has come through his resurrection.  The enemy did his violent worst, and Jesus has trounced him with life.  And now he commissions us to be his ambassadors, running to the world to announce that in the risen Messiah, the king has returned to establish the peace that Israel had so long hoped for and the peace that even us gentiles hope for, knowing that the world is not as it should be.  Put on your gospel shoes! And then the shield of faith.  Paul seems to have come up with this all on his own.  He pictured flaming arrows that would set an ordinary shield on fire, but there were things you could do to prevent that—like stretching water-soaked leather over your shield.  Faith is like that, says Paul.  The Messiah's faith and then our faith that answers in return.  Faith will protect you from the enemy.  Don't let go of it. And then, back to Isaiah 59:17, the helmet of salvation—the helmet of “rescue”.  The divine warrior has won the battle and rescued the captives.  Brothers and Sisters, we've been rescued by Jesus, put that helmet on not only to stand your ground, but as with all these things, when we take up the Messiah's armour, we take up the Messiah's task.  He's rescued creation from the devil and now we're part of the battalion called to keep the devil from taking creation back.  That helmet of salvation reminds us—maybe that's why Paul puts it on our heads—that the Messianic mission is ultimately a rescue mission—to rescue creation and to rescue humanity from the enemies lies. And then there's the one defensive bit of God's armour: the sword of the Spirit, which Paul says is God's word.  The word is the gospel, the good news of Jesus, crucified and risen.  The word that fulfils Isaiah 11:4 where the Messiah smites the earth with the rod of his mouth and slays the wicked with the breath of his lips.  His breath.  In both Hebrew and Greek the word for breath is also the word for spirit.  Brothers and Sisters, Paul knew that when he proclaimed the gospel, God's Spirit went to work: confronting idolatry with the true and living God and sinners with a message of hope.  The battle isn't won with violence.  It's won with the good news of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  But Paul knew, too, that if we're going to stand firm in the Messiah, and if we're going to put on his armour, we'd better be praying, too.  He continues at verse 18: “Pray on every occasion in the Spirit, with every type of prayer and intercession.  You'll need to keep awake and alert for this, with all perseverance and intercession for all God's holy ones—and also for me.  Please pray that God will give me his words to speak when I open my mouth, so that I can make known, loud and clear, the mystery of the gospel.  That, after all, is why I'm a chained-up ambassador.  Pray that I may announce it boldly; that's what I'm duty-bound to do.” The military imagery is still here.  Like a sentry on guard: stay awake and alert.  Pray and persevere.  Don't give up.  The lies will swirl around you like a hurricane, but stand firmly in the truth of God's new creation and pray.  Connect with him in that mysterious and inexplicable gift he's given us to speak with and to be in communion with him.  It's one of the main reasons he's given us his own Spirit.  And here, I think Paul is again thinking of Isaiah 59 and the divine warrior, driven by the Spirit.  “As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my Spirit that is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth…from now on and forever” (Isaiah 59:21).  So pray.  Pray, pray, pray and pray that the Spirit will give you—will give us all—the boldness to speak God's word: his truth, his wisdom, his gospel into a world so desperately in need of them.  It doesn't matter if you're chained up for the gospel like Paul.  That's the gospel paradox.  God reveals his strength when we are at our weakest—just as he did at the cross. And then the last few verses of the letter.  Paul wraps things up saying, “It's important that you should know how things are with me, and what I'm up to; so our dear brother Tychicus will tell you about it.  He is a loyal servant in the Lord.  I've sent him to you with this in mind, so that you may know how things are with us, and so that he may encourage your hearts.  Peace be to the whole family, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah.  Grace be with all who love our Lord, Messiah Jesus, with a love that never dies.” Tychicus is making the rounds to let them know what's up with Paul.  Again, Paul's said it several times: he's in prison.  We don't know what else beyond that Tychicus would have told them about Paul, but it's telling that whatever the news is, Paul expects them to be encouraged.  And it doesn't seem that it's news of a soon release.  I expect Paul would have mentioned something like that.  Instead, Paul seems to expect them to be encouraged by his chains.  Again, the opposition he's facing is a sign that the gospel and the Spirit are doing what they're supposed to do, that the gospel is marching on, that (so to speak) Aslan is on the move, and the principalities and powers feel threatened.  And that's good news.  So, knowing his brothers and sisters are standing firm and fighting the gospel fight, he wishes them peace and love with faith and grace—the heart of the gospel, the foundations on which God's new creation is being built. And then that last word.  I'll close with that.  To everyone who loves the Messiah: grace.  Grace with a love that never dies.  The Greek word literally means “immortality”.  Brothers and Sisters, this gracious love will never pass away.  When the battle is finally over, when we have fought the good fight, when we have stood firm and kept the faith, when the church has finally done what she was created to do and expanded God's temple until his presence, his wisdom, his glory have filled the whole earth and Jesus has made a final end of death itself, when we have done what our Lord has called us to do and find—maybe to our own surprise—that we're still standing on our own feet in those shoes of peace, when there are no more lies and Jesus is Lord, then our love for him—which may feel so imperfect and inadequate today—but our love for him that kept us strong through the storm and the battle, will turn out to have been only the beginning of the great gift of love that we will enjoy for ever in God's presence and in his creation set to rights, in that new heaven and earth in which there are no more pain or sorrows or tears or death, only grace and love. Paul began his letter by directing our gaze back before the foundation of the world and now he points forward to day when not only are all God's promises fulfilled, but when he himself sums up all things in heaven and earth himself, the fullness of all in all.  And here in the in-between, in the middle of the story we stand: rescued by love, given a new gospel life in love, equipped with God's word and God's Spirit in love, and filled with God's wisdom that, following Jesus, we will be the new humanity—the firstfruits of his new creation.  Not only for our sake, but for the sake of the whole word over which Jesus the Messiah is already ruling as Lord. Let's pray: O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting.  Amen. [1] The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, ed. F.G. Martinez and E.J.C Tigchelaar (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 109.

Long before Pazuzu terrorized audiences in *The Exorcist*, this ancient Mesopotamian demon struck fear into the hearts of the Assyrians and Babylonians—both as a harbinger of destruction and an unlikely protector against even greater evils.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/pazuzuFEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: The Exorcist is widely regarded as one of the most influential horror movies of all time. Even now, half a century after its release, it continues to terrify audiences, in large part due to its horrifying practical effects and iconic antagonist: Pazuzu. (Pazuzu, The Demon ‘The Exorcist' Made Famous) *** Latoya Ammons and her family claim to have experienced demonic possession that began when they moved into what became known as the “house of 200 demons” in 2011. (The Haunting on Carolina Street) *** In the eerie depths of 1920s Los Angeles, a sinister tale unfolded, shrouded in secrets and steeped in darkness. It all began with May Otis Blackburn and her daughter, Ruth, who claimed to receive divine revelations from the angels Gabriel and Michael. Thus emerged the enigmatic Blackburn Cult, a group entangled in a web of prophecies, tributes, and whispered mysteries. (The Blackburn Cult) *** 19th-century freak shows brought both the extraordinary and the macabre to captivated audiences far and wide. Among the peculiar spectacles of these exhibitions stood a man whose skeletal frame defied all norms of human anatomy… as his skeleton and skin appeared to be the only parts of his anatomy intact. (Seurat, The Living Skeleton) *** In the heat of summer in 2008, a mysterious creature washed ashore on a beach in Montauk, Long Island, sending shockwaves through the community. What began as a simple sighting by local resident soon exploded into a media frenzy, with wild theories and speculation running rampant. (Hot Montauk Summer) *** While epic Hollywood films often depict gladiators as men, the truth is far more captivating. We'll step into the arena with the women who dared to defy convention and enter the gladiatorial games. (Gladiators Of The Fairer Sex)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding00:01:04.902 = Show Open00:03:56.963 = Pazuzu, The Demon ‘The Exorcist' Made Famous00:12:38.281 = The Blackburn Cult00:18:05.924 = Haunting on Carolina Street00:23:19.429 = Seurat, The Living Skeleton00:29:34.090 = Gladiators of the Fairer Sex00:44:04.311 = Hot Montauk Summer00:52:59.948 = Show Close & Bloopers*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:“Pazuzu, The Demon ‘The Exorcist” Made Famous” by Austin Harvey for All That's Interesting:https://tinyurl.com/3myts9h4“The Blackburn Cult” by Troy Taylor from the book “Taking Up Serpents: American Cults, Messiahs and Madmen”: https://amzn.to/4ak7SUG“The Haunting on Carolina Street” sources: https://tinyurl.com/2cvyfu46, https://tinyurl.com/bdzz467u,https://tinyurl.com/39u7b79f, https://tinyurl.com/35uvhbp6“Seurat, The Living Skeleton” by Kaushik Patowary for Amusing Planet: https://tinyurl.com/mr4xwp9k“Gladiators Of The Fairer Sex” by Paul Chrystal for Ancient Origins: https://tinyurl.com/ptzpv46v“Hot Montauk Summer” by TheGhostInMyMachine.com: https://tinyurl.com/2b74wzpx(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: March 26, 2024

Send us Fan MailIn the last episode, Assyria sacked Thebes, the jewel of Amun and the ancient world. They looted the temples and laid waste to the treasury. The Assyrians nominally held Egypt, but Tanutamun was secure in Napata. His death in 656 B.C. ended the Nubian domination of Egypt. This episode focuses on the 26th Dynasty, the Saite Period of Egypt. Checkout the video version at:https://www.youtube.com/@DWAncientEgyptSupport the showThis Podcast series is available on all major platforms.See more resources, maps, and information at:https://www.dwworldhistory.comOutlines, Maps, and Episode Guides for this series are available for download at:https://www.patreon.com/DWWorldHistory

His Beatitude Mar Paulos III Nona is now leading the Chaldean Church, and it feels like we're stepping into a genuinely hopeful new chapter. In this episode we talk about the direction he's already setting for our Church, what it really means to have a patriarch, and how our ancient structure is meant to carry us forward. We walk through the patriarch's role as father of the Church, how the synod actually governs, and how we live in full communion with Rome while staying true to our own tradition. We also get real about life in the diaspora — where the vast majority of Chaldeans and Assyrians now live — and what it's going to take to keep our liturgy, the ancient Anaphora of Addai and Mari, our language, music, and entire patrimony alive far from our historical homeland. One of the most exciting parts of the conversation is the real hope for deeper unity and eventual reintegration with the Assyrian Church of the East — returning together to our shared roots in the historic Church of the East. We also talk about the Sons of the Covenant Monastery and how communities like this are living out our consecrated life and identity right here in the diaspora. This is an honest, hopeful conversation about where our Church is headed. The installation of Patriarch Mar Apolos III Nona is May 29th — please keep him and the entire Chaldean Church in your prayers. Featuring: Fr. Simon Esshaki, Fr. Daniel Shaba, Abbot Ankido Sipo, Fr. Fadi Auro ––– 00:00 Meet the New Patriarch 03:04 What Makes a Patriarch 05:13 Patriarchs vs Major Archbishops 06:04 Synods East and West 07:50 Patriarchal See and Origins 18:45 Preserving Tradition in Exile 22:04 Ecumenism and Reintegration Vision 26:59 Language Loss and Identity 32:42 Reviving Chaldean Monasticism 43:03 Diaspora Distinctions 46:52 'Hot Takes' Game –––

The Assyrian Language College and for the last 10 years has opened its doors to young Assyrians as well as older adults to learn the Assyrian Language. Anwar Atto is co-founder and principal of this college, spoke to SBS Assyrian about the positive outcome and the role the college plays in educating and preserving the Assyrian language, heritage and culture.

In this podcast, Marc Barnes and Star Plato continue their discussion of the book of Judith. Specifically, they discuss Judith's "strategy" of using her beauty to trick the Assyrians. What is the meaning and power of female beauty?

Blood Coming to America (1) (audio) David Eells, 4/26/26 (Note: Parts of this may be a little scary for children. They could at least need encouragement in faith.)    American Flag Bleeds Marie Kelton – End of March 2026 (David's notes in red) While I was at work, I went to the back room in my work area to get something. I saw that someone had stuck an American flag in a box located on top of a shelf so that the flag was just hanging over the floor. I then had an open vision where I saw drops of blood falling from the American flag.   Blood up to the Horse's Bridle Marie Kelton - 4/16/26 As I was driving to work, I had an open vision. My windshield wipers were going, and blood splashed on my windshield, covering it. I saw the following written in the blood: “Blood of the saints.” Then my windshield wipers wiped it off. But blood splashed on my windshield again, and what was written this time was, “Blood of the innocent.” My windshield wipers wiped off again. Then I heard a voice say, “America will burn.” (This is a quote from Dumitru Duduman's revelation. https://www.ubm1.org/?page=dumitru_duduman-5 ) “He said, The Russian spies have discovered where the most powerful nuclear missiles are in America. "It will start with the world calling for 'peace, peace'. Then there will be an internal revolution in America, started by the Communists. Some of the people will start fighting against the government. The government will be busy with internal problems. Then from the oceans, Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Central America, Mexico, and two other countries (which I cannot remember) will attack! The Russians will bombard the nuclear missile silos in America. America will burn". Then, in the open vision on both sides of me on the highway, I saw that the whole land was covered in blood like a lake. In the vision, I had stopped my car and stepped out of it to look at the scene in shock. In the vision, my hair was its normal color again. The blood reminded me of the verse about it being about as high as the horse's bridle. Rev.14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs.   Marie Kelton - 4/19/26 At my work, we have a big American flag in front of the store. After finishing my work for the night, I walked out to my car. I saw the flag blowing in the wind. As I was walking to my car, I looked back at the flag, and I had an open vision. I saw the flag had blood dripping from it, just like it was in the vision of it hanging from the shelf.   Marie Kelton - 4/21/2026 While I was having lunch at work, I had an open vision of the Statue of Liberty. She had a sad look on her face, and she was crying tears of blood. The flame on her torch was a real flame, while the rest of her was a statue. (America will burn)   4-23-2026 During the morning meeting, David asked me to seek the Lord with these questions about the visions: what is the cause of the blood, who did it, and when. After the meeting, I asked the Lord “why” concerning the visions above, and a verse came to mind about broken cisterns that hold no water. Jer.2:13 For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. (They cannot contain the “water of the Word.”) Then I heard the Lord say, He would lessen the judgment if His people would seek Him. Antichrist vision, and World War III vision - April 24, 2026 During worship, I had an open vision of ancient Rome it was an open auditorium with roman pillars around the auditorium The sky was blue with clouds. I saw the back of a Ceaser he had a golden laurel crown on his head. He had a red cape on which is called a paludamentum. The Ceaser was on platform there was a large crowd in front of him. (Representing the anti-christ leadership of a revived Roman Empire.)  I could see the demon in the Ceaser, and I can see the demons in the crowd I heard the crowd say, "Who is like the beast,". The large crowd then came together and turned into a giant ceaser. The sky turned into a night sky with a lot stars in it. I then saw a giant Jesus Christ come and I saw the foot of Jesus step on the giant Ceaser and squish him.    Antichrist vision, and world war III vision I had another open vision, the Lord was sitting next to me and He had a newspaper, it was open to where I could see it. The newspaper page said in bold print World War III is happening soon, then in little letters it said underneath Peace Peace, sudden destruction. The Lord shook the newspaper in his hands as He was holding it open a couple of times. I saw this multiple times. The Lord then folded the news paper and laid it on the floor in a square. The front of the news paper said the Daily News.  (There are several newspapers in the world called The Daily News, one is in New York, another in India, another in Australia,  another South Africa and one Britain etc. ) 1Th 5:3 When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.   War and Blood on U.S. Hands Michael Boldea, October 2003 Psalm 32:6-7 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found, surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. It was October 11th 2003, and I dreamt I was kneeling by my bedside praying, when I felt a presence behind me. I turned, and a man was standing there, dressed in white, his hands clasped in front of him. It was the same man I had seen in a dream some time earlier. “Why didn't you say something, if you were standing there”, I asked. “I would never interrupt your communion with the Father”, he answered, “it is a precious thing. Take my hand, I must show you something. I took his hand, and suddenly we were standing in front of the US Marine War Memorial. It is a statue depicting a group of soldiers raising the American flag on Iwo Jima in World War II. I looked to the man standing on my right, but he pointed toward the statue, and said, “look at the flag”. As I was watching the flag flap in the wind, a red spot appeared in its center, it began to grow, and spread turning the flag red as it went. (Just as Marie's revelation) It was like someone had spilled this red liquid in the flag's center, and absorbing it the stain continued to grow. I watched as the entire flag became saturated until it finally started to drip. To my surprise, I realized the liquid dripping from the flag was blood. “What is this supposed to mean?” I asked the man. “The leaders of this nation have war on their hearts, and on their lips, and soon they will have blood on their hands. The banner of war is upon this land”, the man answered solemnly. Before I could ask anything more, I found myself sitting up in bed in a cold sweat. I shared this dream with a friend that Sunday night, as I happened to be speaking in his church in Topeka. I also shared it with Geno and the rest of the staff here at the Hand of Help office, but in my heart, I had decided not to make it public until after the holidays. The reasons for choosing not to share this until after the New Year are something I choose not to elaborate on at the present time. Then three weeks after this initial dream, I had another. I dreamt the same man was standing by my bedside, but he was no longer dressed in white. Over his robe, he had a breastplate, and as he stood, I could see the handle of a sword protruding from behind his right shoulder. It was the fiercest image I had ever seen in my life, but I was not afraid. Kindness still showed in his eyes, and I knew he meant me no harm. As I looked up at him, the one thing that struck me was that his breastplate was not shiny. For some reason, I had expected it to shine, rather it was dented and scarred, and looked as though it had seen much battle. He looked down at me with what I could only describe as disappointment in his eyes. Before I could speak, he said, “For a vessel to fulfill its task, substance must be poured into it, then that same substance must be poured out. If it is never poured out, it will overflow, being of use to no one. Do you understand?” I nodded halfheartedly, although I knew what he was trying to tell me. “When a vessel is chosen, it is an honor”, he continued, “be faithful in completing your task and share what is given you without delay. Come, I will show you once more. Once again, we stood before the monument, and the same scene played out. “When will this happen?” I asked before he could turn away. “When the Father wills it”, he answered. “His will be done”. “Can't you ask Him?” I asked, realizing only after the words had left my mouth how infantile the question had been. “You speak of things your mind cannot comprehend,” he said. “You speak of time concerning the One to whom centuries are no more than a blink of an eye. Be diligent in what you have been shown, and more will be revealed. All things proceed as He ordains, that is all you are given to know for now”. The dream ended, and I found myself in my bed. I have had some time to contemplate this dream, and if I were one given to speculation, there are many theories I could come up with, but I am not. What I do know is whether, in retaliation for a certain action, or as a preemptive measure, this nation will set out on a course that will eventually be the cause of innocents losing their lives. This nation will be perceived as having blood on its hands, and it will stir the emotions of the world against it. I pray with all my heart this does not occur, that all who are denoting peace and safety for generations to come are right, and I am wrong. Regardless of what some may think, I do not want to see the judgment of God fall on this land, but the path we have chosen as a nation is leading us to it. More than ever, I urge you to pray for this nation. and its leaders, because it is our duty as children of God to do so. May He who ordains all things be with you and guide you, knowing that in Him there is perfect safety, and perfect peace. My heartfelt gratitude and thanks go out to all those who pray for and support this work, being more than certain that your reward will be great indeed. Jonah 3:8-9 “But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away His fierce anger so that we may not perish.”   Earthquake, Slaughter, Economic Destruction  Charlie and Linda Smith - July 2013 (David's notes in red) If the following scenes make you fearful, remember, Pro.11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath; But righteousness delivereth from death. Charlie's Dreams What started out to be a beautiful day to travel and visit a nearby city turned out to be a horror story that we both became witnesses to. First Night's Dream As the dream began to unfold, Linda and I were traveling by truck to a city to the north, not far from us. (All of us here know this city, which has a high population of “Christians” but far fewer disciples.) We traveled on a four-lane highway to our destination. Our intention was to buy something we needed, have a meal, and return home. As we came to the city limits and topped a hill, I saw the store to my right and pulled into the parking lot. We must have been early because there were only two or three cars in the parking lot. Our thought was to run in, get what we came for, have a meal and leave. But while at the store, the place trembled and shook. We thought, “QUAKE! We have to leave”. I told Linda, “Hurry, and I'll get the truck”. But I couldn't find where I had parked it. When I finally got to the truck, the dream was ending, and we became separated from one another. It was a fearful feeling. I did not like the dream or the way it was being played out. I woke up full of fear. Second Night The second night, the dream started again. It picked up as I entered town at the store/shopping center. This time, I didn't park in the store parking lot, but decided to park the truck across the highway, behind a hill of dirt in view of the store. Still separated from Linda, I found myself walking and looking around. No one was around. Everything had now changed. Everything was a dirty, dark gray color. (The color of death.) The sky, the land, the town also. It looked like ash from a wood stove. I was looking at what was left of a city. Everything was destroyed. The city was gone, except for a building or two in the distance here and there. The streets were empty -- no cars, no people, nothing, only piles of gray rubble where buildings once stood. Later in the evening, as darkness closed in, I saw people - a family of three or four running through the streets, running and hiding. I believe they were trying to get away from the city or someone in the city because they looked around before they moved again. As I watched, I saw three men of dark complexion and demon-possessed. The demon-possessed men ran upon a woman, her husband, her son, and a small girl, with swords (which were curved) and daggers and took off their heads. (This curved sword is the Muslim scimitar, which is most effective for cutting off heads with one blow. How could such an attack come on a city in darkness in the U.S.? This certainly wouldn't happen with swords in the U.S., where guns are everywhere, right? Notice it is after the earthquakes here that martial law will be used to take guns away and restrain people in their homes or FEMA camps. Many could be killed quietly before this is found out, and it certainly wouldn't make the news in the US today. Most or all of this would be blamed on deaths from earthquakes and fire. Jihadists always target as many Christians and Jews as possible. God Himself has warned the rebellious: Amo.9:10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us. ...7:17 therefore thus saith Jehovah: Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line (by earthquakes, or war, or civil war?); and thou thyself shalt die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land. It is Islam's goal to behead Christians, unless they deny Christ. They are doing this now in places where they can get away with it. Rev.20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God.... Many will have to die in this way, or they will not enter the Kingdom. Others, through maturity, will be alive and remain until the coming of the Lord. A few days later, the Lord reminded me of something in the dream: the woman and her child who had escaped. He had to remind me of the timing of the birth, then the escape, because I couldn't remember it. (The Woman, a parable in Revelation 12 of the Church who bears the fruit of Jesus, will escape. Also, the Woman who brings forth the corporate Man-child at this time will escape into the wilderness.) The woman gave birth to her child at the same time Linda and I were at the store/shopping center when we felt the shaking (quake). Later, the woman took the child and escaped (the sword). I thought of the Woman and Man-child escaping the Dragon, as in Revelation 12:4, or escaping Herod the Beast, as in Matthew 2:13. (As we have seen, the Man-child is manifested after the earthquakes begin destroying America.) After all night watching this dream, I asked the Lord, “Lord, is this dream from You, or am I having nightmares?” I said, “I don't want to see anymore. Lord, if the dream is from You, give me a confirmation. Give the same dream to Linda tonight”. And God did. Third Night Again, the dream picked up where it had stopped the night before. More death and destruction everywhere. Then the dream changed. In the distance, I saw a three or four-story building. I quickly arrived there and found myself entering a door into the building. Inside was dark, except for some light that came in through a window. I crossed a large room of the building and came to a staircase going to the top floor. When I arrived at the top floor, before me was a steel double door. As I went in, I found myself in a large, dark conference room with a large round table with a hanging light illuminating the table, where seven men in dark suits were gathered. Six men were sitting around the table, each having a stack of papers before him. One man, the leader or head man, stood before the six men and was speaking. They were going over plans to destroy the economy. Each of the six men was in control of a different part of the economy. They were in disagreement about what was about to happen. The head man who stood over them speaking was enraged because the other six men were complaining, saying, “It won't work”, shaking their stacks of papers before the head man who stood. They were railing back and forth when the head man began to curse and say, “This economy is finished”. He said, “Tomorrow at this time it will be over” (or finished). (Shortly after the earthquakes, the financial ‘powers that be' will bring down the economy in order to control the people and bring in their New World Order.) He cursed again, struck the table with his fist, and said, “Don't worry. Everything will be all right; you will see”. The six men, yet greatly troubled, went along with the plan. The dream ended. The Lord gave Linda and me the same dreams. It's from God. Linda's Dreams First Night I had just gone to bed, closed my eyes, and somehow I just appeared in this dream. Charles and I were in our truck, and he was driving. He drove to a city and found a parking place where we both got out and walked to a building. Charles went inside, so I followed him. I didn't know where I was or why I was there. While we were inside looking around at some things, the building began to shake. It shook for what seemed like 30 or 35 seconds. In my dream, we were trapped in this building. There were other people in this building, about 12 of us in all. A man about 35 years old came up to me and said, “Please come with me; I think I know of a way out”. He grabbed a long rope, and we went up some stairs to the second floor. The man took the rope and tied knots in it almost all the way down the length of it, and then tied it to a steel I-beam and then dropped it out of a hole where a window had been. We went back and told the others, and each one climbed down the rope, and we all were able to get out. Once outside, we could see that most of the buildings of this city were like great heaps of rubble, but a few smaller buildings were badly damaged but were still standing. Then, suddenly, there was a four or five-second aftershock, and everyone scattered. Charles said to me, “Just wait here. I'll go get the truck, and we'll get out of this place”. So I stood there waiting for about three or four minutes. I decided to walk down the same way Charles had gone. When I got to the parking lot, there weren't any cars or anyone there, so I quickly turned and ran back to where I had been waiting. Then I walked 20 feet to the front of the building, looking up and down the street, but saw no one. I walked back and waited. I just stood there, not really knowing what to do, just standing there all alone. It was starting to get dark, and Charles had not returned. Suddenly, I saw a young woman with a little boy about three years old coming down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. She was quickly passing by me. I called out to her, but she turned left at the corner and, crossing the street, she kept on walking. I ran down to the corner to see where she was going. As she got to the end of that block, three men stepped out in front of her. She screamed, and two of the men began to beat her. The other man grabbed her little boy and, with his raised sword, hit the boy on top of his head, cutting him in half all the way down, and I saw his intestines falling out of his little body. I was close enough to see the man's eyes, and they were black as coal. Laughing, he picked up the two halves of the body and carried them away. The other two men, drawing their swords, began to slash the woman numerous times. Both men, each grabbed one of her ankles and dragged her body away. I ran back to the building where I had been waiting for Charles to return. Fear had overtaken me, but seeing the rope still hanging down from where we had escaped from this building earlier, I climbed up, went back in the building, and pulled the rope up so no one else could get in. I was so fearful that my whole body was shaking because what I had just witnessed was so horrifying. I cried out, “Jesus, help me. Fill me with Your peace, Lord”. In the dream, I lay down on the floor to go to sleep, and I woke up from the dream. I did not write down the dream at that time because I just wanted to forget it. Second Night The second dream continued where the first left off: In the dream, I lay down and went right off to sleep. When I woke up, it was late afternoon, and I was lying on the floor in the building. I got up and looked out the hole where a window had been. I wanted so badly to find a way out of this city. I got the rope and climbed down to the sidewalk. I decided to walk 15 blocks down the east side of the city. I walked block after block, counting each one and looking for a road that would take me out of there. At the 15th block, I saw no way out going this way, so I turned around and went back to my starting point. I decided to walk 15 blocks west and check it out. I got to the 15th block, and the sun was setting, and I knew I didn't have much time because I didn't want to be out after dark again. Then I heard voices. I looked in the direction from where I thought the voices were coming. I saw a park-like setting. I looked and saw some people in the park -- a man and a woman with two kids. I walked down a little way and hid behind a large tree. In the far distance, I saw a big fire. Then I saw some of those demonized people surrounding the man, woman, and the two kids. They began screaming and begging, “Don't hurt us, please”. The kids were crying. The demonized men had curved swords, and some of the men began to strip them. The ones with the swords were cutting all their heads off, then arms and legs. Others of them carried the body parts to the fire and threw them on the fire (to destroy the evidence). I slipped away, going back to the building where I had been staying. I ran the first eight blocks as fast as I could. I was getting very tired, so I tried to walk at a fast pace for the next seven blocks. I heard voices behind me saying, “There is another one. Get her. Don't let her get away. Hurry, hurry, she's getting away. Get her”. The voices were louder and getting closer. I ran into a dark alley and hid. Then I heard a scream and slowly looked out of the alley and saw that they had caught a pregnant woman. One of the men took his sword and plunged it into her chest, and cut her all the way down her body, and her baby fell out. I saw the baby's and the woman's bloody bodies mutilated. The men dragged the bodies back toward where the fire was. I woke up from the dream. Again, I did not write down these dreams; I did not want to. I just wanted the dreams to stop. I just wanted to forget all of it.   Mena Lee - 04/05/2013 (David's notes in red) About two nights ago, the Lord gave me a dream where He was speaking directly to me. He said, “Al Qaeda is here in the country”. I responded with, “What?!” The Lord continued, “Al Qaeda is in the country, and Obama knows that they are here”. (This administration has been using Jihadists overseas to fight for his causes. It will be so here, too. Islamic Jihadists have been entering the country through Mexico, disguised as Mexicans who do not speak Spanish. These cells are placed strategically all over the U.S. now. This has been reported for years. This is not about blaming that President, who is a vessel of God's wrath to judge apostate Christianity. God is the one who has pronounced these judgments. So what is the moral of this story? Fight against the government? No. Deal with God, Who works all things after the counsel of His own will. Pro.16:7 When a man's ways please Jehovah, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Be Holy and be safe.) “They are remaining low-key and not wanting to draw attention to themselves. I will show you where they are hiding”. And with that, the Lord began to show me places throughout the country where they were stationed. I saw small businesses, beauty supply stores, local grocery stores, and small shops. The Lord said, “Tell the people that a war event is coming to the coastline of this country”. And with that, I woke up. Four nights later, He returned to me again with the same thing. The Lord told me to study the book of Zephaniah as a reference on what is to come. He also informed me that the fourth month would be significant. (Please read Zephaniah. How can this be seen as a judgment coming now? Zephaniah is a prophecy of many things that happen almost simultaneously. It is a prophecy of coming judgment on apostate Judah, representing apostate “Spirit-filled” Christianity. Then a warning about the coming Day of the Lord to those who refuse to repent. Also, a demand for repentance so they will be hidden in this time of judgment. Then there is the judgment of their persecutors. Then there is a destruction of Nineveh (the capital of the Assyrian Empire), which I was shown was the U.S. head of the world Beast. [Not to be confused with that ultimate judgment at the end of the tribulation.] Then the corruption of apostate Jerusalem, as a type of the false leadership of God's people. Then the matured remnant of the Bride, who has been purified of all of the above and blessed. Read it and be exhorted to be in the secret place of the Most High, a Psalm 91 Passover of Judgment.) This morning, I asked for a word concerning the date of a factious attack on 4/11, which came to pass, and I looked down on Micah 4:11. This was the Sennacherib scenario in which the Assyrians attacked Jerusalem [in confirmation of the text above]. In this case, the Bride, Jerusalem, is victorious over the enemy army that had conquered the rest of God's people. I believe God is speaking of a spirit army that is using apostates to come against the remnant. This is a spiritual earthquake of sorts. Mic.4:9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee, is thy counsellor perished, that pangs have taken hold of thee as of a woman in travail? 10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even unto Babylon: there shalt thou be rescued; there will Jehovah redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. 4:11 And now many nations are assembled against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye see [our desire] upon Zion. 12 But they know not the thoughts of Jehovah, neither understand they his counsel; for he hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor. 13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples: and I will devote their gain unto Jehovah, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. I also received a confirmation: Zec.12:8 In that day shall Jehovah defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. I also received: Isa.28:22 Now therefore be ye not scoffers, lest your bonds be made strong; for a decree of destruction have I heard from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, upon the whole earth. (Earthquakes and WWIII.F 23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. 24 Doth he that ploweth to sow plow continually? doth he [continually] open and harrow his ground? Meaning God is almost through breaking up the fallow ground of His remnant; He is ready to plant.   Linda L. Gray - 08/29/2014 I just finished listening to UBM's Wednesday's (8/27/14) audio file while at my mom's house for my caregiving responsibilities. The topic of the evening was the violence of the ISIS/Islamic movement and the possibility of another incident happening on a large scale within our country. In the early morning hours of Friday, August 22nd, I had the following dream: In the dream, I was alone in my home. It was daytime, and the sun was shining. My front door was open so fresh air could come into the house. I walked over to one of my windows facing the front of the house (it faces the east). Standing in the distance, I could see a line of men dressed in black clothing (similar to ISIS photos). In front of the black-dressed men was a large pit. Inside the pit were bundles of packaged newspapers (like you see prior to delivery to a news stand). While looking at this strange sight, the newspapers suddenly exploded up into the air. Discerning that these individuals and the situation were dangerous and threatening, I went over to my front door to close and secure it. Upon reaching the door, a demonic-type figure was standing outside. I quickly shut the door and locked it. Whatever or whoever the entity was, they were not permitted to come inside my home. The door was wide open. After securing the door, I picked up my pet parrot and proceeded to go to the “secret place” (Psalm 91). Isa.26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. End of dream. Additional notes: As a note in history, western Pennsylvania was involved in the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. In designated homes, secret rooms were built to house individuals running away from slave owners. Another reference would be what the family of Corrie ten Boom did in preparing their home to hide Jewish people from the Nazis in (The Hiding Place). Could all the coming bloodletting have anything to do with America reaping what it has sown with millions of slaughtered babies and constant wars? Here is a portion of Dana Coverstone's Dream on 5/19/23   Let Me Show You Something (David's notes in red) ….Then he (the Lord) said to me, “There's more to see.” Suddenly, I'm on the southern border. I saw an enormous line of volcanoes that seemed to have sprung up overnight. They covered from the western point of California all the way to Texas. Literally, these were volcanoes on the border. (Hell's demons coming out of hell upon the earth to use the wicked enemies. Rev.9:2-3 And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.) They were very tall; they shadowed the ground. And I cannot emphasize this enough. These volcanoes on the border were (shooting) hundreds of miles up into the air. The ground was shaking, seemingly creaking, and the volcanoes trembled, and they started erupting magma and lava. And then suddenly the entire border shook, and I saw the volcanoes appear to grow, and the ground below them looked like it was torn. It was like, how a tree that gets knocked over in the wind or damaged by a tornado, there was an area of the earth that opens up at the base of the tree trunk. So the volcanoes tip backwards, they're still spewing lava and all these other things. (Hell on earth) But there was a hole where the volcanoes came up along the entire southern border. (This is a demonic empowered invasion over the southern U.S. border.) At that moment all sorts of people dressed like normal migrants came running out, and they were sprinting. (This would be in addition to those who have already come across the border and those anarchists and radical Muslims already inside the US. And the left-wing military faction. It has been reported that millions of migrants are below the border waiting, and many are military-age men, and also, there are many Chinese Communists there to support their DS. MS-13 has been an arm of the DS military too.) They were running as hard and as fast as they possibly could to get into the country. As they ran, they were taking off backpacks, and they were pulling out weapons, and they were putting them together. They were unfolding them, and they were pulling them out. They were putting clips in, but they're doing it as they were running. The people on the American side were watching the eruptions, watching the magma and the lava and the smoke and the ash cloud, and they didn't even notice the people who were running towards them. They pointed to the sky and acting as if they were watching fireworks, they were just, like, “Oh wow! Look at that.” And they are pointing over there, and over here and saying things like, “Look at that!” They were looking up, and they did not see any of the people who were rushing towards them. (Because of enemy distractions.) And now they were running up and they were shooting. They were teaming up on people, they were storming properties, but they took nothing. When they went into the buildings and the houses, they took nothing; they just shot and killed the people. They sprinted on and they were moving with skilled intent and military precision. They would come together to a house, they would go in, and you would see gunfire; they would run out, not taking a thing. They were brutal. They showed no mercy. And some carried samurai swords, and they were beheading many people along the way. I saw death and destruction. I saw danger. I saw chaos on the border and it was rushing towards us. It was rushing north. This was on purpose, a “dismantling,” and this was also on purpose, a “distraction”.  Back in Times Square, the broadcaster was informing citizens that spectacular eruptions on the southern border were getting people out of their homes to watch. (The DS MSM involved again to cover up) They were saying, “Hey, folks, you need to go out of your homes and watch these incredible magma fields and watch these incredible volcanic eruptions that are going on. Go outside and watch.” He said, “If you live within 100 miles of the border, you need to go outside immediately and see if you can see them from where you are.” (On foot, they could not go very far without stealing vehicles from their victims. Maybe 100 miles before they were dispersed enough it would be hard to make war on them.) And I said to the man (the Lord) that the newsman is trying to get people outside so they will be killed, and the man nodded. And then he said, “There's more.” Suddenly, we're standing outside the Capitol of Washington, DC. Then I could hear all kinds of noise going on inside the Capitol building. And someone yelling with a bullhorn. But these people are talking about taking the country back (Democrats will join the Communist Chinese and the Islamics like they are now. Obviously they plan to take the country back from the Alliance and Trump) and making people listen. (This fits with their M.O. They can't win by vote.) There were screams that seemed very demonic and just wild coming out of humans. It was like growls and screams and cries. Demonic, almost like banshees. And there was a fence outside the Capitol building. They surrounded it. But suddenly, the police and military came, and they tied ropes, making loops and threw them up on the tops of the fence, like a noose. They were pulling the fences down with all their might. They bent the fences over. (We have been told that military tribunals are being held there at this time. Hence the fence.) And then just as suddenly, the doors of the Capitol pushed open and the congressmen, congresswomen, senators, faces of people I recognized, people who are in power, leadership, elected officials at the federal level. (Satanists, the head of the dragon, devouring the people.) They all came rushing out into the streets, and they were jumping and leaping and stepping over those fences. (This could just symbolize that the leftist DC leadership, some under investigation, will escape and will join and be behind this invasion against the people. As far as I know, they have not met in the Capitol anymore.) And they were armed with guns and clubs. And they began attacking and beating any citizen who was close. (Symbolizing their abuse of the people.) They left this extremely bloody trail. And they pursued people until the people became so exhausted that they dropped from exhaustion, and then they beat them to death. I watched elected officials beat these people to death. (Now I do not think this is what's going to (physically) happen. I think the whole point of it is these people are the ones that make the laws.) This is horrific because they were beating people to death in the streets, and it was getting darker. (Through more demon possession and death.) It was horrific to the point I said to the man, “Why are our elected officials doing this to the people?” Well, this time he didn't move, he didn't nod, he didn't move his head at all, but he said, “There's more to see.” And it suddenly became very, very quiet. (Folks, we now have laws that are changing and shifting, we have people who believe that men can be pregnant, that men can be women, that women can be men, and everything else. And we absolutely know better. We're starting to see culture believe every single lie that's being pushed out there, and then we have new laws being passed to protect those lies. Think about that.) The Congress began to beat these people to death. They were attacking ordinary citizens. I saw families taking pictures outside the capital who were just pummeled and beaten, and the elected officials who were running were covered in blood from the people that they had beaten to death. (Meaning they are guilty of the blood of the people.) And they just kept on going, looking for somebody else to attack and beat on. The man didn't move his head when I said, “Why are elected officials doing this to the people?” He didn't move his head at all. He just simply said, “There's more to see.” (Well, obviously, we know the government is corrupt, and they are compromised, everything it is and was and it's going to be. It's not to be trusted, it's not going to be a help to us at all.) (And the Alliance has gathered all their crimes to prosecute and, in many cases, execute them as is going on now. So, they are desperately trying to save their lawless lives.)   AMERICA The Bison with Two Heads REPENT NOW!!! Daniel Masika - 7/9/25 (David's notes in red) Vision: I saw a pregnant wolf coming out of the desert, and it was ready to deliver, for her time was due. The wolf was hungry for blood and fresh flesh. It looked somewhat like a bear, but no, it was the wolf. The wolf had tears in its eyes, as if on a mission of revenge.  The wolf had two colors: gray and yellow-brown, and stars upon its head. It was a desert wolf, but it crossed mountains and seas covered in snow and arrived in the land of the bison and the bald eagle. (power) I saw one huge bison with two heads: the head of an eagle and the head of a bison. The wolf captured the two-headed bison by the neck, and the bison surrendered without a battle. The wolf drank its blood. The wolf acted like a vampire, carrying a virus, and now the blood of the bison was mixed with the wolf's.  Then the wolf delivered 24 babies; half bison, half wolf. She did not die but was wounded in the neck, while her teeth remained fastened in the throat of the bison. Whenever the wolf turned, the bison turned, for the wolf controlled it. The bison's freedom was taken away, and it was in great pain. It cried out for help, but none came to its rescue. I looked to the east, and when I turned, I saw moving fire like a whirlwind. The fire looked as if it were being carried on wheels of gold. A voice came out of the fire, saying: “The bison with two heads is the nation of the United States of America. The wolf is her enemy (This is Islam), the one she did not destroy when she had the strength.  Now she will cry, for she will be forced to bow and follow the rules and laws of the wolf.  The seed of the bison's freedom will be taken away.  The bison will suffer and long for her freedom, but her tears will become her meat and water, for her walls of protection will be broken. (The Democrats invaded this country for this purpose.) The bison is dancing with her enemy. The bison lies in bed with the ravenous wolf. Unless the bison uproots now the seed and agenda of the wolf, there will be no time. Unless the bison builds her defense now, there will be no time. Unless the bison tears down and destroys the works of the wolf now in her land, she will suffer adversaries and judgment. For the pain of the wolf will be greater than that of the scorpion. Repent and turn, bison. Daniel, go stand on the tower and declare this vision.” As I was coming out of the vision, I heard a loud voice saying:  “We want Sharia Law!”    Sharia Law in America Mena Lee Jones, 11/21/2013 Last week I had a dream. In this dream, I walked into a convenience store with my mother. The store was small, as any convenience store would be. I walked up and down each aisle, browsing the items on the shelves. I noticed that at the end of one aisle, there was a stand with homemade honey. They were in small jars and had handwritten labels on them. I walked over to the stand and saw that at the top, it had a sign made out of cardboard. On this sign, it said, “Support Islam.” At this point, a Middle Eastern man with his wife and two sons walked into the store. I could tell they were Muslim by the clothes the wife was wearing. The peculiar thing was that the two boys (who looked to be around the ages of four and eight), had on kippahs (or yarmulke. For those who do not know, these are the little caps that the Jewish men wear). The father spoke and said to his sons, “Allah requires us to be pure and live holy. We must make sure we are following his rules and living holy.” But all the while he was saying this, the man kept looking over at my breast. I was paying attention to this, and when I would look over at him to make eye contact, he would quickly turn his face to the side as if he was avoiding something despicable. Next, I looked over towards the cashier who was running the store. He looked to be Middle Eastern as well. On the front of the cash register, there was another cardboard sign; it said “Sharia Law.” At this point, I was on the opposite side of the aisle as the man with his family. I blurted out, “Allah is Satan! Mohammed is in hell! Jesus Christ is the only answer!” Everyone was quiet. Finally, the man at the cash register broke the silence. “No one disrespects the holy prophet!” he exclaimed. But I repeated what I said the first time. I looked around the small store and noticed that my mother had left. When I looked towards the door, I saw a mob of men bust through the door. They all had leather whips in their hands. They were coming for me!  The funny thing was, I quickly walked down the aisle and went straight for the door. I walked right through the crowd without them laying a single finger on me. It was as though I was invisible. I thought about the times when Jesus would slip through the angry crowds after he spoke. I found myself outside on the street. I looked ahead and saw my mother walking. I paced myself to catch up with her, but I only got close enough to speak. “Mom, why did you leave?” I asked. “They were going to beat you,” she responded. “But you are safe now.” The strange thing was that she never turned around to look at me; she just kept walking. I noticed the white, almost iridescent dress she was wearing. It glowed softly, like a guide for me. I started looking around the area where I was. That's when I noticed these dog-like creatures roaming the streets. They were black with cat eyes, and seemed to be disappearing and then reappearing in different places. They were evil spirits! I looked up at a billboard. I saw the face of the president on it. Next to his face was a caption that said, “Support Sharia Law.” I stopped. I looked up to the sky and said, “Lord, what are you showing me? Where am I?” At that moment, I saw the top of a familiar building. It was the Empire State Building! I then knew I was in New York. My dream ended.  Saints, roughly two years ago, I had a couple of similar dreams to this one. They involved me being in the midst of Muslims and calling out the name of Jesus as the One true God. In one dream, I even prayed for several Muslim women, and through their healing, they accepted Christ as their Savior. The Lord has let me know that Islam will increase in this nation at a rapid rate. This is in preparation for the beast to come forth. We know that “Chrislam” (the marriage of Christianity and Islam) is on the rise today. We have a pope who is admired by the Muslim people and is pushing the idea of “peace” between the two religions. We have a commander in chief (Barack Obama in 2013) that is a Muslim at heart. (By his own confession to Islamic leaders.) This deceptive spirit is being lorded over our nation. And between that and the continuous increase of immorality and wickedness in this nation, we will see the persecution of Christians just before the Rapture. I want you all to be prepared and stand strong. We must know that as it began, it will end.  We are reverting back to the times of the first-century church. It was a time when the true believers were meeting in homes and secret places, a time when being a Christian was hostile. But remember that our brothers, the Apostles, continued to spread the gospel, no matter what the cost. So we, too, must be bold and confident in Christ. Know your authority (The Word), put on your armor, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood. Let us be encouraged, and therefore encourage one another. The finish line is in sight. Our Bridegroom is coming!   The Assassination of President Trump, Muslim Jihad  Jenni Haan, 8/26/2017 (David's notes in red)  I just woke up from a very disturbing dream. In my dream, my family and I were camping in northern Wisconsin. My husband had taken the kids into town to go to church. I stayed behind at the campground to get everything packed up because it was Sunday, and it was time to go home. I was in my tent packing up suitcases and sleeping bags, and I was just about finished when all of a sudden, I heard the announcer on the radio interrupt the song to come on air and say that the President had been shot by a Muslim radical while he was attending a church service. His voice sounded so sobering, as if he couldn't believe what he was announcing himself. He went on to say that they were able to get close to the President because the Muslims were pretending to be Christians in order to get into churches. The President thought they were people of peace. (Maybe back in 2017 but he knows better now.) Then the announcer's voice went from distressed to hopeless. He was getting more reports of Muslims opening fire, saying that their holy war had started, and it was every man for himself. The triggering event was the assassination of President Trump. Once that happened, every radical Muslim around the world opened fire wherever they were. (The DS, communists, democrats, Islamists, all want to kill Trump and they are not shy about working together to do this. Could this be why there are different assassination dreams about who done it? Also, some of these scenarios may have been prayed down and another not so.) I was scrambling in my tent looking for my 9 mil, and I realized I had just thrown it in my car. All of a sudden, through the door in my tent, I could see that there was a family of Muslims that was starting to open fire with assault rifles, shooting towards my direction. I knew I needed to get to my car, and that is when I woke myself up because my heart was pounding so fast. When I woke up, my adrenaline was pumping because it seemed so real. Northern Wisconsin gets pretty cold quickly, but we were still camping in the fall. The leaves had not quite started changing colors, but the air was very crisp that Sunday morning.   War Brings Death, Destruction, Ruins McKana - 03/07/26 (David's notes in red) Psalm 103:19 (KJV) The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. Psalm 145:13 (KJV) Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.  We know the Kingdom of Heaven governs heaven and earth and everything in it forever. God is the ultimate authority. There is nothing impossible for God. Nothing happens without the Lord allowing it, and everything He allows has a purpose. Judgment has started to fall to test the faith of all and bring redemption. The Kingdom of Heaven is coming, but first the earth must be cleansed of evil and corruption. All global governments pursue power, money, and territory. Which government in the world serves the Lord? The word of the Lord is trustworthy. The Lord speaks and it is done.  In a previous message, the Lord said, “This Iran deal will lead to world war.” (Spoken in 3-7-26)  And in reality, the war we have long warned about has begun with its consequences. On the morning of March 3 at 6:00 AM, the Lord said, “Iran war will ruin America.”  The Lord has order and sequence in what He does. He has been teaching and preparing His children for what is coming. Everything happening now was foretold centuries ago and revealed again in our time.  Before the start of the war in Iran, I asked the Lord a question about the sequence of events. I asked whether the great shaking would happen before or after Elam. Soon after, the Lord answered: “After.”  The great shaking will happen after the war in Elam. Elam is modern-day Iran.  The war in Iran will soon be followed by a global earthquake, and after the great quake, events will rapidly move toward world war. What This War Will Bring: Mass death and destruction Economic calamities affecting oil prices, trade, groceries, and commodities Depletion of military resources and strain on everyday life Global powers stretched thin and weakened Internal political conflicts and division A divided nation — “A house divided cannot stand.” Internal and external conflicts leading toward collapse Breakdown of diplomacy and mass evacuations Encouragement for other global powers to advance their ambitions  Global Tensions  China over Taiwan China over Japan China over the South China Sea China over Australia China over the West North Korea against South Korea Russia against Ukraine, Europe, and Eurasia Russia against the West Global terrorism Religious friction between Christianity and Islam Step by step, this war will lead to the collapse of governmental systems, anarchy, and world war.  Yes, the bear, the dragon, the serpent, and the scorpion — even fallen angels, called “aliens” — are moving as the end approaches.  Final Warning  Make your last preparations and wait for the Lord. Endure to the end. Repent, Repent, Repent! The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  Jeremiah 49:34-38 (KJV) 34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam…    George Washington Saw America Invaded (David's notes in red) I felt the Lord impressed me that George Washington's vision of an invasion from the East was happening with Islamists coming into the US both with permission and illegally. The full vision Washington saw two future wars fought on US soil that were fulfilled: the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. This, of course, gives credibility to the rest of the vision. In the last part of the vision, concerning these end times below, the third invasion appears to have come, and its resulting war comes soon after. Here is George Washington's Vision of the Third and Most Fearful Peril: “Again, I heard the mysterious voice saying, 'Son of the Republic, look and learn'. At this, the dark, shadowy angel placed a trumpet to his mouth and blew three distinct blasts; and taking water from the ocean, he sprinkled it upon Europe, Asia, and Africa”. (God is bringing a Jihadist Invasion from these continents to make war, especially against the Christians and Jews.) “Then my eyes beheld a fearful scene. From each of these continents arose thick black clouds that were soon joined into one, and throughout this mass there gleamed a dark red light by which I saw hordes of armed men. These men, moving with the cloud, marched by land and sailed by sea to America, which country was enveloped in the volume of cloud, and I dimly saw these vast armies devastate the whole country and burn the villages, towns and cities which I had seen springing up”. (A prophet friend in Florida shared a vision he had with me many years ago. He said, 'The Lord took me to the streets of America, and I saw the cities on fire. We have eight million Muslims in America, and when the war breaks out in the Holy Land, and when America gets involved, they will burn America to the ground. I saw Muslim women coming into America and in their inner body parts, vials of anthrax and bio chemicals. I saw 180 million Americans die in a 72-hour period. He also spoke of many people being butchered, as we also have seen in dreams.) I believe the third war Washington saw has started with the Islamic Jihadist invasion into the US from Europe, Asia, and Africa for the purpose of making war on the people and making this a Muslim nation. This video by Avi Lipkin from March 26, 2015, speaks of Muslim radio stations repeating the Saudi demand to make America a Muslim nation. The plan is to bring tens of millions of Muslims into the United States. In this video, it is also mentioned that the plot to destroy Israel and Iran involves using them against each other. The elite are cornered as investigations leak out their crimes, and the Lord has told us they are going to come out fighting with an attack on America soon. The globalist elite have tried to keep the border open to bring in their troops who are joining with the Islamics (and communists) here who are practicing for a jihad. ISIS has flooded into the country with Hamas. Antifa is getting weapons, too. A large rebellion is about to begin. They are also going to spray chemicals and biologicals from the sky, as they have to a lesser extent already been doing. They own the pharmaceutical companies, and they don't make money on healthy people. The chemtrail fleet was built by these monsters. They all claim the population is unsustainable and want to bring it down to a fraction of what it is. Unscreened Muslims are flooding into the US with government permission. Many do not understand the sovereignty of God, Who works ALL things after the counsel of His own will and works ALL things together for the good of those who love Him and even for the good of those who will love Him when they get the fear of the Lord. Many do not understand when I say God ordained chastening the rebellious Church to bring many to repentance through the fear of the Lord. Without this, many would not bear fruit and be saved. He will bring more to repentance than all the lukewarm preachers could ever do. ISIS is in the US by their own admission and planning attacks. ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other Islamic Jihadists are here to make war. Under Obama, a woman witnessed that large buses with whited-out windows were coming over the border with Homeland Security and its logo on the side of them. She decided to speak to one of the drivers at a stop, who told her he was transporting Muslims to cities in the US. ISIS claims it can smuggle nuclear weapons through Nigeria and Mexico into the United States. Nazi Germany's Night of the Long Knives took place in the timeframe of Jade Helm. The Night of the Long Knives (German: Nacht der langen Messer (help·info), sometimes called Operation Hummingbird or, in Germany, the Röhm Putsch, was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from June 30 to July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives_(1934) Consider my prophet friend's statement from years ago: “We have eight million Muslims in America and when the war breaks out in the Holy Land, and when America gets involved, eight million Muslims will burn America to the ground”. Not so shocking that Egypt has accused Turkey of providing Turkish Passports to members of ISIS, the Islamic State, to facilitate the travel of fighters across the region. Seems the Turkish leadership and the DS leadership may be in agreement to rid the world of Christians and Jews. You who are truly righteous, trust in our God. Remember the three Hebrews. Is this the coming World War 3 we have been expecting to bring in the New World Order tribulation? Back to Washington's vision: “As my ears listened to the thundering of the cannon, clashing of the swords, and the shouts and cries of millions in mortal combat, I again heard the mysterious voice saying, 'Son of the Republic, look and learn.' Where the voice had ceased, the dark, shadowy angel placed his trumpet once more to his mouth and blew a long and fearful blast.” (It is apparent that at this time enough repentance is given to America that God says, “Enough”.) Heaven Intervenes “Instantly, a light as of a thousand suns shone down from above me and pierced and broke into fragments the dark cloud which enveloped America. At the same moment, the angel upon whose head was still showing the word 'Union' and who bore our national flag in one hand and a sword in the other, descended from the heavens attended by legions of white spirits. These immediately joined the inhabitants of America who I perceived were well-nigh overcome but who, immediately taking courage again, closed up their broken ranks and renewed the battle”. (We were told here that 'the inhabitants of America' were warring with the invaders. I prayed about this and felt the Lord tell me, ‘When the Christians fear God and start being a witness of true Christianity, the inhabitants of America will begin to listen and be given victory by the Lord.' I remember when I was a young Christian, and the non-Christians would ask forgiveness when they said bad words or did bad things around you. There was a respect for the Christians and their God. But now that Christianity has sunk so low, this respect is not there. Is it any wonder that God would send chastening before it's too late? These 'inhabitants of America', even though they war with flesh and blood, can have that conscience again through a good witness from us.) “Again, amid the fearful noise of the conflict, I heard the mysterious voice saying, 'Son of the Republic, look and learn.' As the voice ceased, the shadowy angel, for the last time, dipped water from the ocean and sprinkled it upon America. Instantly, the dark cloud rolled back, together with the armies it had brought, leaving the inhabitants of the land victorious”. (Notice the armies, plural, were fighting with the Americans.) “Then once more I beheld the villages, towns, and cities springing up where I had seen them before, while the bright angel, planting the azure standard he had brought in the midst of them, cried with a loud voice, 'While the stars remain and the heaven send down dew upon the earth, so long shall the UNION last.' And taking from his brow the crown on which blazoned the word 'Union', he placed it upon the standard while the people, kneeling down, said, 'Amen.'“ Interpretation “The scene instantly began to fade and dissolve, and I at last saw nothing but the rising, curling vapor I at first beheld. This also disappeared, and I found myself once more gazing upon the mysterious visitor who, in the same voice I had heard before, said, 'Son of the Republic, what you have seen is thus interpreted: Three great perils will come upon the republic. The most fearful for her is the third, but the whole world united shall not prevail against her. (Notice the world Beast, will wage war against her and after chastening her lose.) Let every child of the republic learn to live for his God, his land, and UNION'. Rom.12:18 If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men. With these words, the vision vanished, and I started from my seat and felt that I had seen a vision wherein had been shown me the birth, the progress, and destiny of the United States. “Such, my friends”, the venerable narrator concluded, “were the words I heard from Washington's own lips, and America will do well to profit by them.” (American Christians repent and turn to the Word that doesn't change quickly to receive mercy and grace from God.)

WATCH ON YOUTUBE - https://youtu.be/ZR38dK_I22g "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil..." (Isaiah 5:20). April 24 marks the 111th anniversary of the launch of the systematic extermination of Christian Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks by the Ottoman Turks. This presentation provides a sobering historical and theological analysis of one of the greatest—yet often forgotten—crimes against the Church in modern history. From the arrest of 250 Christian leaders in Constantinople on Easter Sunday 1915 to the forced death marches into the Syrian deserts, we document the martyrdom of over 3.5 million believers. We examine the "10 Stages of Genocide" and how the same patterns of dehumanization, state propaganda, and the disarming of civilians are manifesting in contemporary contexts, specifically focusing on the rising tide of incitement against Christians in South Africa. Key Points of Discussion: The Martyrdom of a Nation: Armenia's history as the first official Christian nation and the cost of their 1,700-year faithfulness. The "Scandalous Alliance": A critique of Western foreign policy and the failure of Christian nations to protect their brethren during the Crimean War and the Burning of Smyrna. The Theology of Resistance: Evaluating the impact of "non-resistance" advice given by church leaders during the 1915 massacres. Global Warnings: Identifying the road marks of genocide today, including state-led dehumanization and the removal of the right to self-defense. A Call to Remembrance: Obeying the command to "remember the prisoners as if chained with them" (Hebrews 13:3) and the vital necessity of Muslim evangelism.

In this study of Hezekiah and Manasseh, the lesson centers on faithfulness, pride, legacy, and the consequences of neglecting the next generation, drawing heavily from 2 Kings 19, where the angel of the Lord defeats 185,000 Assyrians; 2 Kings 20, where Hezekiah falls mortally ill, prays, and is granted fifteen more years; Psalm 56:8, which reminds us that God collects every tear; Joshua 10:12–14, where God demonstrates His sovereignty over time by holding the sun in place; 2 Chronicles 33, which records the wicked reign of Manasseh after Hezekiah; and 1 Timothy 1:15, declaring that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—showing that although Hezekiah began as a reformer who trusted God, his pride in displaying his treasures and his failure to prepare the next generation led to devastating spiritual decline, culminating in Manasseh's idolatry, child sacrifice, and occult practices, ultimately fulfilling the prophetic warning that what is not spiritually guarded and intentionally passed down will be corrupted, and echoing Christ's sobering question about whether faith will be found when He returns. You can connect with Moriel in more locations than just YouTube! Check out all our official links on the About page: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorielTVministries/about.

This audio excerpt is taken from a video interview with Mr Sam Darmo of Assyrians for Justice, who spearheaded the Simele Martyrs Memorial project in Simele, Duhok. In the interview, Mr Darmo discusses in detail the proposal, planning process, and the Kurdistan Regional Government's approval and support for the memorial's sponsorship and construction. The full video interview will be published on the SBS Assyrian Facebook page very soon.

The National Security Hour with LTC Sargis Sangari – Like the British, the Crusaders, the Romans, the Hellenic, the Egyptians, the Persians, the Assyrians, the Parthians, the Mongols, the Armies of Mohammad, and countless more, the Americans are fighting the Persians for control of the Pivot Area. But what Mackinder did not factor in was the effect that a deeply interconnected global trade dependence upon...

2. This interview shifts to the aftermath of the Bronze Age collapse, focusing on the resilience of the Assyrians. Cline attributes their survival to strong leadership and redundant systems, such as their enduring military and government structures. While their previous trading partners struggled, the Assyrians adapted by using military force to acquire necessary resources and conducting near-constant warfare. The discussion also covers the complex, shifting relationship between the Assyrians and the Babylonians, who cycled between being allies and enemies. Ultimately, the Neo-Assyrians emerged as the dominant Near Eastern power for several centuries before being superseded by the Neo-Babylonians. (2)

ISAIAH'S PROPHECY of a coming Messiah included foreseeing where Jesus would declare war on the fallen realm.  Chapter 9 of the book of Isaiah picks up where the prophet left off, condemning the people of Israel, for consulting the dead on behalf of the living. His prophecy that a light would shine on those dwelling in a land of deep darkness was cited by Matthew as fulfilled when Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. We connect this to Psalm 23 in the valley of the shadow of death, which in our view is the Jordan River Valley between Mount Hermon and the Sea of Galilee. Isaiah 9 also includes the prophecy of a coming Savior who is called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). We discussed the interesting rendering of this verse in the Lexham English Septuagint, in which “Wonderful Counselor” is translated “Messenger of the Great Council.” The second half of this chapter is devoted to God's judgment on the northern Kingdom of Israel, which was fulfilled when the Assyrians overran and conquered Samaria in 722 BC. Here is a link to a PDF copy of the R. H. Charles translation of The Ascension of Isaiah (link opens PDF document). Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, has been 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 | @thebiblesgreatestmysteries• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship 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 left-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.