Podcasts about christs

Bishop Nathan Wilson pt.1 Welcome back to Gnostic Insights and to the Gnostic Reformation on Substack. Hey, this week I interviewed Bishop Nathan Wilson of the Gnostic Union, and it was a good long interview, so I’ll be breaking it up probably into three segments for the next three weeks here. Bishop Wilson earned a diploma of ministry from the Gnostic Catholic Union, and then he later went on to create The Gnostic Union, and he’ll tell you about that in this week’s episode. Here I’ll read you the intro from their website. “The Gnostic Union is an independent sacramental assembly of Gnostic Christian communities and individuals. It exists to uphold the Gnostic Christian traditions and to encourage and promote the work of Christ and the Holy Sophia in the world.As an international, independent, autonomous, non-political organization, the Gnostic Union is in no way dependent upon any other authority outside of its own administration. We are neither Roman Catholic, Orthodox, nor Protestant. We are Gnostic Christians that encourage self-development and connecting with the spirit within to build a personal relationship with God, the Monad, the Father. Our bishops, priests, and deacons are merely guides to help you on your spiritual journey. The Gnostic Union aligns itself with the history and teachings of the first Christians of early first century Christianity and the teachings of Jesus Christ as found in the Gospel of Thomas. We encourage new members to read from the Nag Hammadi and to understand how different early Christianity is from modern mainstream Christianity. We welcome all people, regardless of past religious backgrounds or faiths. Gnosis means knowledge, not just simple intellectual knowledge, but deep spiritual knowledge within you. Knowledge from the Spirit, from the Holy Spirit, and from and of God.” You see, I felt that that really went along with what we talk about here at Gnostic Insights, and so when Bishop Wilson reached out to me via our Substack Gnostic Reformation site, I was more than happy to engage in conversation with him, and I thought that having a talk with him along with you and then broadcasting it would be helpful to all of us. Here’s the last little bit that it says on their Gnostic Union homepage, which is only one page long. It’s still in development. It says, “Gnostic Christian theology differs greatly from Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Gnostic Christianity does not depend upon the authority of a Pope or the Church. Instead, it emphasizes being reborn in Spirit, building a personal spiritual relationship with God, and becoming Christ-like by enacting the teachings of Jesus Christ in our lives. Gnostic Christianity began from earlier Gnostic traditions, such as Hermeticism and Mysticism, which arose from Jewish mystics. Gnosticism itself is much older than Judaism, and traces back to the Hermetics of ancient Egypt, the Druids, and the ancient Greeks. Although many Gnostic Christian theologies differed, they shared a common theme of a trapped spiritual essence within the material body, the divine spark, the soul, or the spark of Sophia. The ultimate goal for Gnostic Christians was to become like Jesus, to be reborn in Spirit, through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Sophia, and to know thyself, reflecting the divine essence within.” As you know, here at Gnostic Insights and the Gnostic Reformation, I stay away from the histories, because it seems to me that what is important is the here-and-now relationship we have with the Christ and with the Fullness of God. And so, I’m just not all that interested in history, but as you’ll hear from these ongoing interviews with Bishop Wilson, he’s all about history. So, for those of you who have been missing that strain of thought in our Gnostic Insights here, you’ll get an earful for the next three weeks. So without further ado, here's part one of my interview with Bishop Nathan Wilson of The Gnostic Union. Cyd: Well, such a pleasure to see you. You have such a nice smile. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me. It’s a pleasure. It’s always lovely to meet other Gnostics, other spiritual people, all those with open hearts and open minds. It’s always lovely to see. Cyd:Yes. Yes. Yes, it’s true. I wish I had more of these people close around me. Do you have neighbors who are Gnostic? Do you have people you can actually face-to-face with? Bishop Nathan Wilson:I’ve met a priest that I can now speak face-to-face, which was really good. So, it was the first real Gnostic I got to speak to face-to-face. Mostly, I was speaking to many online in other parts of the world, and I kind of felt like I was the only one here in Adelaide, Australia. So, I kind of felt like the one odd villager out. So, it was lovely to meet some other people. I’ve trained people, and other people have done what they wanted. Other people carried on as undercover Gnostics in this world. So, yeah. Cyd:Let me get a formal introduction to you here going. This is Bishop Nathan Wilson of the Gnostic Union, and we have connected through Substack, although you don’t have a Substack presence, do you? You don’t have a site? Bishop Nathan Wilson:No, no. We have got a website in the works, but it’s still in development. I’m not too tech-savvy, but we’ve got other people that are. So, we’re mostly on Facebook and YouTube at the moment. Cyd:Well, wonderful. Now, tell me the difference between the Gnostic Catholic Union and just the Gnostic Union. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, we used to be the Gnostic Catholic Union as well until I basically got in charge, and then I removed the Catholic part, which they only had for the Latin reasons, meaning universal, but not everyone knows that Latin subject. They’re just going to see Catholic, and usually today’s world, when you have a Catholic Union, it’s mostly those who have been brought up with a Catholic background that have now found Gnosis, and in turn, carry on those old traditions, which I don’t find anything wrong with. I think there’s many different ways to experience Gnosis. Gnosis doesn’t belong to any religion. It’s something you find within. It’s what you experience, spiritual knowledge gifted to you by what’s divine, by God, by the Father, by the Mother-Father, whichever term you like. The Source. It could even be referenced to, given you to by divine beings, by angels, angelic forces. So, Gnosis is something that you experience. So, it’s yours. It’s personal. It’s intimate. So, it’s a beautiful thing. So, with the Gnostic Union, we are more open to different Gnostic schools of thoughts. So, you could be a Sethian, a Valentinian. You could be a Carpucratian Gnostic, whichever. It doesn’t matter. You could be a Jewish Christian. Whichever the path is—we’re not really dogmatic. So, we appreciate all those who come into this spiritual life, seeking answers, and respecting each other’s beliefs, which is also rare. We have to remember, when we looked at the ancient schools of thought regarding Gnosticism, the ancient Gnostics got along. They didn’t kill each other. They didn’t fight. They had some disagreements, but they shared each other’s writings, which is fantastic. So, that’s very rare when you see that in a religious or even a spiritual school of thought. Many people can be my way only. So, that’s where Gnosis comes in, that inner spiritual experience. So, one’s own personal relationship with what’s divine. The Gnostic Union wants to encourage that, not to be bound by traditions. That’s mostly the difference between the Gnostic Union and the Gnostic Catholics, where they will be more bound by tradition, more bound by a dogmatic experience. We’re not really about that, not dissing any of that. We don’t mind, but we’re more open. Cyd:So, the Gnostic Catholics are still going on? That church is still active, but you have stepped away from them then, in that sense? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yes, pretty much. So, we’ve done our own independent thing. So, that way we can have more schools of thought. I prefer it like that, so we can all grow from each other, which is something that I’m more about. So, that’s why I went into more of the Gnostic Union sense of things and removing the Catholic part. Some people didn’t like Catholic. Some people liked it and others were stoked that I removed that term from the group. I much prefer it. It’s less of a mouthful as well. I like things nice and simple as well. Cyd:Yes. So, it’s union—it's unity. That’s what the union means in the name, not like a labor union, but the union of Gnostics. That’s lovely. That’s very lovely. So, how many people are associating with the Gnostic Union at this point? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, we have a couple of other different groups from different parts of the world. We have a Gnostic Catholic group. I think they’re Gnostic Catholic Unitarians located in the Philippines. Then, we have other groups as well that associate with us. Within the Union itself, we have a couple of different ones. We have also side branches as well that used to be a part of the Gnostic Catholic Union, but there was some theological difference. So, some splitting went on. So, there’s other groups. We still recognize each other. Within the Gnostic Union at the moment. There is Bishop Jason, me, Bishop Nathan Wilson, Bishop Lorenzo, David and Michael, Randall over in South Africa. There’s also Priest Jeremy and Edgar and Rus. So, there’s quite a few. At the moment, it’s mostly men. We’re hoping to have some females join as well. We did have a couple of female members back in the Gnostic Catholic Union, but they ultimately retired. So, we’re hoping to expand. So, the Gnostic Union is kind of fresh on the scene. So, everything’s still building. Cyd:How fresh is it? How long have you been in existence here? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, in the Union itself, probably about almost two years now. It’s still maybe a year, year and a half, something like that there. So, it’s still growing in a sense. So, we’re doing okay, which is not too bad. We’re mostly on Facebook and YouTube. So, we do our online masses and group gatherings and stuff like that online as well. And mostly, just support each other’s individual works as well as promote each other’s work. And sometimes, I might edit a couple of videos of all of us together, give it to other people with their own channels, their own independent use, and then I’ll put it onto, say, the Union sites. Other people can go check it out as well. Cyd:I’ll be putting this up on my site. I’m going to post this to YouTube and make it for my audio podcast. But I’ll also give you the recording so that you can use it at your site if you’d like. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Oh, lovely. Lovely. I’d enjoy that as well. And again, thanks for reaching out to me. I very much enjoy speaking to like-minded individuals as well. And regarding even my translations that you brought me on to discuss as well, that’s relatively new as well. It took me about two years to fully actually translate. So, to get it all together, I use encyclopedias, I used Greek, Koine Greek dictionaries, as well as I used Bill Mounce, which is one of the top Koine Greek-speaking people in the world. I have a few friends that can speak Koine Greek as well as modern Greek as well. So, that also came in handy. So, it took me a while. I started doing that while I was still with the Gnostic Catholic Union and I didn’t finish it until the Gnostic Union. Cyd:So, tell us about, you’re speaking of your translation, tell us about that. It’s your New Testament, is it? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yeah, I did the New Testament Gospels. I used Codex Sinaiticus because that was the oldest complete text, but then I wanted to do non-canonical. I didn’t know any Coptic at all, so I didn’t want to use any other people’s work. I just went to the Koine Greek, used what knowledge I did know, and I also used experts as well. So, I was able to look at every definition of the word and term and use. I did the Gospel of Thomas, which I actually first messed up on because I found out that the version I was looking at first was actually inspired by the Coptic version put into Koine Greek, and I realized it’s not the text. So, I went to the actual fragments themselves, and so I translated from there. It’s not very long. I didn’t use any AI recovery, so anything that wasn’t visible to our naked eye, I did not touch. So, I didn’t want to have any guessing involved. So, I just put what it was, and I did the Greek Gospel of Mary, as well as the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Peter, and I did three unknown Gospels, and they are little fragments, and they are Papyrus Oxyrhynchus. I have the names here. Actually, I better put that in—5072, and the other one was Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 and the other one is Egerton Gospel. So, they’re little fragments. The titles are missing. We don’t know who wrote them, so they’re unknown, but they could and likely do predate the Gospels that we do have. So, they predate the fragments we have. So, that’s interesting. So, all the fragments we have are second century. It’s likely they predate the fragments that we have. So, I chose to do them, but the interesting side was the Egerton gospel, which was actually a two-sided text, and Bart D. Ehrman actually did side two, and I did side one. So, he didn’t realize that there was a side on one. So, that means he was only looking at digital copy only, just like me. So, he didn’t actually look at the actual Papyrus itself, and so when I did one-sided, I didn’t realize there was a double side to that text, and so otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. So, the interesting thing is side one has not been publicly released for public domain, where side two has been released, which is very suspect, if you ask me, and I didn’t like that. So, I thought I’d introduce some texts that are very little looked at that were very Gnostic, such as Jesus insulting the Pharisees for dipping in waters that pigs jumped into and making themselves look like prostitutes to attract men. Cyd:They’re highly offensive, yes. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yes, and that’s why they really want to release that publicly. So, you have to pay a scholar for their works, and that’s not really fair. All this knowledge should be for free, especially when you’re looking at our own religious or spirituality or the text involved in that. Otherwise, we’re limiting ourselves, and that’s definitely not fair. So, I think we should be more open, and the text should be up for public display, public domain for everyone to have access to. So, that’s what I ultimately believe in. It’s one reason I chose to share my translations and make accessible for free digital copies. I didn’t want people to just buy my work rather than download the digital text and just read it for themselves. Go to the library, print it out. It might be cheaper. So, when I do sell my texts, I donate it, like some of it’s a charity anyway, to Make-A-Wish Foundation. So, that’s something I do on my end. So, everything I do, I try not to make money just for myself. I try to do other things with it because I’m not really materialistic. I live very much a monk lifestyle, so I read a lot. Cyd:Yeah. Yeah, I do too. I live like a nun, I say. I’ve got a little cloister where I sleep. I live in a one-room place, so it’s very interesting. Would you explain to us the difference between the Koine Greek and the Coptic Greek and which was written and why are there two different versions? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Okay, well the Coptic, when you see Coptic Greek, that’s devolving into Coptic. So, very early proto-Coptic is what scholars term, is the developing into it. You see it with Greeks in the very language. Otherwise, Coptic language very much is a mixture of Greek and Egyptian. So, Egyptian hieroglyph turned into writing basically, but mixed in with Greek. So, Greek was like the English of the past back then. Hebrew also borrowed from the Greek during the second temple period of Jesus’ time. So, the word Judaism and synagogue are Greek words, for instance. So, a lot of borrowing, but the Greeks also borrowed from the Canaanites, such as the Phoenician language or the alphabet. So, that’s also fascinating. So, the ancient past, it was all about borrowing and making it your own, you know. But yeah, with Greek as well, that would be also evolving as well. So, you have, within the gospel itself, you might have one word being spelt slightly different, but ultimately meaning the same thing. And all that is, is one dialect from another speaking from one coastal region to a different coastal region. Obviously, saying the same thing, it just might be the accent. So, that’s played different in the language. So, it’s like we see hilios or hilion, but it’s the same root message. It’s just one person’s pronouncing it in the market different from this region, because he’s closer to the shore and other ones closer to the inner cities. And that’s basically all. So, Greek’s very advanced. You can have one word that can mean ultimately different meanings. And some words you come across can have hundreds of meanings, and that can make things difficult when translating. So, with the Koine Greek, we only know 70% to 90% of the language. We know the 100% of the alphabetical, but we don’t know every context of use. So, because of that difficulty, I had to add alternative English translations. So, I realized then that every translation we’re reading is just based on someone else’s interpretation of that translation. And it’s like, oh, that kind of sucks, so I put them all in there. So, when you come across the word aftos, for he, she, it, they, them, this one, I leave it as all of that, so, you can choose what that means. Because Jesus is speaking to diverse audiences. He’s speaking to males and females, not just men. And that’s what people forget. It’s like the word for spirit is also very feminine in Hebrew. In Greek, it’s masculine and feminine. So, it’s used as both, which is fascinating as well for the spirit within us, you know. So, but again, that’s going back to that root meaning of feminine, because when you add in the word hagion pneuma you now have the Holy Spirit, but that’s a feminine word of it. Otherwise, the root word of masculine is hagios, but the female name or the feminine version of that concept is hagion. Cyd:Ah, that’s fascinating. Yeah. You run into the same problem when translating Chinese, because Chinese pictograms can just mean many, many things. So, I’ve studied the Tao Te Ching quite a bit, and everybody’s book that’s famous of the Tao Te Ching, it’s their translation out of a hundred choices for every word. So, it’s, I understand quite a bit what you’re saying there. Well, tell me this, what makes you a bishop? How is it that you’re calling yourself bishop? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, I was ordained by, well, back when it was the Gnostic Catholic Union, I was ordained by Bishop Bill Thomas, and he was the bishop of a church in Florida. He was running a church. He was an older man, so he’s kind of, he retired for a bit, and now he’s more of a wandering bishop, because he had trouble with the funds of running a church. It’d be quite expensive. So, he was part of an organization that was the Gnostic Catholic Union. A lot of members retired as well, then he took over, and then it kind of went on for a few years, and then they started retiring, and then I joined from there, and I was ordained, and I took up a course with them, started off as a deacon, then became a priest, and then as they were retiring, I was made bishop, basically, and so then I was left with a little bit of the reins. So, it was from there, it was a lot more—more churches were involved. So, some of that has also, a lot of them have also retired or ultimately changed theologies. One of the original members of the Gnostic Catholic Union, I believe, is now either an Orthodox priest or joined the Orthodox Church, and he renounces all his old Gnostic past, which is kind of a shame. So, sometimes that does happen. So, people become wanderers because of, people basically rely solely on one priest, oftentimes, which is also sad, and when one priest moves, people lose passion, and sometimes that’s how it is. So, I prefer to have people more independently on their own, not just say rely on me, I make other people bishops so they can carry on with their own, and from there, expand it. So, someone might have, say, the coin enough to start their own church, and from there, maybe, from there, do whatever they need. So, it inspires, and still something to bring a bit of community in, and have a little bit of recognition from other people, basically. So, I kept that term. I was almost considering to remove the title, bishops and priests, but a lot of the old members wanted to keep it as well, and some of the young ones did as well. So, I thought, well, I’ll keep the term for them in their sake. Otherwise, I was going to keep it as teachers, or brothers and sisters, but I still encourage our members to, when dealing with each other, not just sit there and call each other bishops, or bishopettes, or priests, or priestess, whichever term they prefer. I prefer to call us brothers and sisters, which is more stressed. Even with the outfit some people are talking about, I would tell them, remember that Jesus wouldn’t be wandering around with fancy robes, or wearing collared shirts, or wearing gold jewelry, and say, I’m doing now, in a sense. He was out in the wilderness, gathering with community. So, as blessed as those who are poor, you know, so, which was rare. So, a lot of people wanted money back then. So, he was very much for the poor, which is beautiful to see. There were rich Christians. It doesn’t mean that was strictly only for poor people only. There were ones who were shipfarers, and in turn, would carry their message throughout the ports, or from region to region. Cyd:I was just wondering–you are obviously a Christian Gnostic, as am I. I know that you’re open to all Gnosticism, but Gnostics who reject the notion of the Christ, or the need for the Christ, doesn’t that create some kind of difficulty, let’s say? Bishop Nathan Wilson:It would conflict a little bit, yes. I haven’t really come across ones that more reject the Christ. I wouldn’t mind. I have come across ones who have debated me over it in a sense, which I don’t mind in a sense, but I would also encourage them to say, look at the message. Ultimately, it’s about finding the Christ within, being Christ-like for yourself. It goes back to that root word of the first Christians for Christanos, being little Christs, little anointed ones. So, those who were taken on their masters teaching to be Christ-like. But say we have ones that don’t believe Jesus existed. I don’t mind that, because ultimately it is the message, but I will tell them I do believe because I have reasons. I would say for them to look up, say, Judas Kriakos, which is a grandson of Jesus, which is recorded in history. We have church father writings that actually whinged about Jesus’ family being Jewish Christians and not Catholic. So, that’s interesting. So, why would you whinge about a family if the man did not exist? For instance like that. But ultimately, there were some Gnostics that didn’t believe that Jesus existed, but was rather a spirit or was the myth that you took on yourself. So, I’m okay with that, as long as we don’t conflict with each other, with our hearts, as long as we’re not hating each other. So, we can have separate beliefs, as long as we respect those beliefs. Ultimately, that’s what would stop the disheartening and also the conflictions. end part one of interview Okay, we’re going to stop for this week. This is a good place to stop because next, Bishop Wilson goes on to discuss his translation of the New Testament and also some other Gnostic texts. So, we’ll spend next week talking about his translation that he calls the Gnostic Christian Truth Bible, and we’ll get into that. Also, I did record this entire interview as a Zoom video, and as soon as I get that edited, I’ll be posting it to YouTube so you will be able to find it and watch the interview as Bishop Nathan Wilson and I discuss these things. So, I hope to see you there, and thank you for listening this week, and we’ll pick it up again next week. Until then, God bless us all, and onward and upward. The Gnostic Union Facebook The Gnostic Union YouTube Channel

Bishop Nathan Wilson pt.1 Welcome back to Gnostic Insights and to the Gnostic Reformation on Substack. Hey, this week I interviewed Bishop Nathan Wilson of the Gnostic Union, and it was a good long interview, so I’ll be breaking it up probably into three segments for the next three weeks here. Bishop Wilson earned a diploma of ministry from the Gnostic Catholic Union, and then he later went on to create The Gnostic Union, and he’ll tell you about that in this week’s episode. Here I’ll read you the intro from their website. “The Gnostic Union is an independent sacramental assembly of Gnostic Christian communities and individuals. It exists to uphold the Gnostic Christian traditions and to encourage and promote the work of Christ and the Holy Sophia in the world.As an international, independent, autonomous, non-political organization, the Gnostic Union is in no way dependent upon any other authority outside of its own administration. We are neither Roman Catholic, Orthodox, nor Protestant. We are Gnostic Christians that encourage self-development and connecting with the spirit within to build a personal relationship with God, the Monad, the Father. Our bishops, priests, and deacons are merely guides to help you on your spiritual journey. The Gnostic Union aligns itself with the history and teachings of the first Christians of early first century Christianity and the teachings of Jesus Christ as found in the Gospel of Thomas. We encourage new members to read from the Nag Hammadi and to understand how different early Christianity is from modern mainstream Christianity. We welcome all people, regardless of past religious backgrounds or faiths. Gnosis means knowledge, not just simple intellectual knowledge, but deep spiritual knowledge within you. Knowledge from the Spirit, from the Holy Spirit, and from and of God.” You see, I felt that that really went along with what we talk about here at Gnostic Insights, and so when Bishop Wilson reached out to me via our Substack Gnostic Reformation site, I was more than happy to engage in conversation with him, and I thought that having a talk with him along with you and then broadcasting it would be helpful to all of us. Here’s the last little bit that it says on their Gnostic Union homepage, which is only one page long. It’s still in development. It says, “Gnostic Christian theology differs greatly from Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Gnostic Christianity does not depend upon the authority of a Pope or the Church. Instead, it emphasizes being reborn in Spirit, building a personal spiritual relationship with God, and becoming Christ-like by enacting the teachings of Jesus Christ in our lives. Gnostic Christianity began from earlier Gnostic traditions, such as Hermeticism and Mysticism, which arose from Jewish mystics. Gnosticism itself is much older than Judaism, and traces back to the Hermetics of ancient Egypt, the Druids, and the ancient Greeks. Although many Gnostic Christian theologies differed, they shared a common theme of a trapped spiritual essence within the material body, the divine spark, the soul, or the spark of Sophia. The ultimate goal for Gnostic Christians was to become like Jesus, to be reborn in Spirit, through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Sophia, and to know thyself, reflecting the divine essence within.” As you know, here at Gnostic Insights and the Gnostic Reformation, I stay away from the histories, because it seems to me that what is important is the here-and-now relationship we have with the Christ and with the Fullness of God. And so, I’m just not all that interested in history, but as you’ll hear from these ongoing interviews with Bishop Wilson, he’s all about history. So, for those of you who have been missing that strain of thought in our Gnostic Insights here, you’ll get an earful for the next three weeks. So without further ado, here's part one of my interview with Bishop Nathan Wilson of The Gnostic Union. Cyd: Well, such a pleasure to see you. You have such a nice smile. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me. It’s a pleasure. It’s always lovely to meet other Gnostics, other spiritual people, all those with open hearts and open minds. It’s always lovely to see. Cyd:Yes. Yes. Yes, it’s true. I wish I had more of these people close around me. Do you have neighbors who are Gnostic? Do you have people you can actually face-to-face with? Bishop Nathan Wilson:I’ve met a priest that I can now speak face-to-face, which was really good. So, it was the first real Gnostic I got to speak to face-to-face. Mostly, I was speaking to many online in other parts of the world, and I kind of felt like I was the only one here in Adelaide, Australia. So, I kind of felt like the one odd villager out. So, it was lovely to meet some other people. I’ve trained people, and other people have done what they wanted. Other people carried on as undercover Gnostics in this world. So, yeah. Cyd:Let me get a formal introduction to you here going. This is Bishop Nathan Wilson of the Gnostic Union, and we have connected through Substack, although you don’t have a Substack presence, do you? You don’t have a site? Bishop Nathan Wilson:No, no. We have got a website in the works, but it’s still in development. I’m not too tech-savvy, but we’ve got other people that are. So, we’re mostly on Facebook and YouTube at the moment. Cyd:Well, wonderful. Now, tell me the difference between the Gnostic Catholic Union and just the Gnostic Union. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, we used to be the Gnostic Catholic Union as well until I basically got in charge, and then I removed the Catholic part, which they only had for the Latin reasons, meaning universal, but not everyone knows that Latin subject. They’re just going to see Catholic, and usually today’s world, when you have a Catholic Union, it’s mostly those who have been brought up with a Catholic background that have now found Gnosis, and in turn, carry on those old traditions, which I don’t find anything wrong with. I think there’s many different ways to experience Gnosis. Gnosis doesn’t belong to any religion. It’s something you find within. It’s what you experience, spiritual knowledge gifted to you by what’s divine, by God, by the Father, by the Mother-Father, whichever term you like. The Source. It could even be referenced to, given you to by divine beings, by angels, angelic forces. So, Gnosis is something that you experience. So, it’s yours. It’s personal. It’s intimate. So, it’s a beautiful thing. So, with the Gnostic Union, we are more open to different Gnostic schools of thoughts. So, you could be a Sethian, a Valentinian. You could be a Carpucratian Gnostic, whichever. It doesn’t matter. You could be a Jewish Christian. Whichever the path is—we’re not really dogmatic. So, we appreciate all those who come into this spiritual life, seeking answers, and respecting each other’s beliefs, which is also rare. We have to remember, when we looked at the ancient schools of thought regarding Gnosticism, the ancient Gnostics got along. They didn’t kill each other. They didn’t fight. They had some disagreements, but they shared each other’s writings, which is fantastic. So, that’s very rare when you see that in a religious or even a spiritual school of thought. Many people can be my way only. So, that’s where Gnosis comes in, that inner spiritual experience. So, one’s own personal relationship with what’s divine. The Gnostic Union wants to encourage that, not to be bound by traditions. That’s mostly the difference between the Gnostic Union and the Gnostic Catholics, where they will be more bound by tradition, more bound by a dogmatic experience. We’re not really about that, not dissing any of that. We don’t mind, but we’re more open. Cyd:So, the Gnostic Catholics are still going on? That church is still active, but you have stepped away from them then, in that sense? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yes, pretty much. So, we’ve done our own independent thing. So, that way we can have more schools of thought. I prefer it like that, so we can all grow from each other, which is something that I’m more about. So, that’s why I went into more of the Gnostic Union sense of things and removing the Catholic part. Some people didn’t like Catholic. Some people liked it and others were stoked that I removed that term from the group. I much prefer it. It’s less of a mouthful as well. I like things nice and simple as well. Cyd:Yes. So, it’s union—it's unity. That’s what the union means in the name, not like a labor union, but the union of Gnostics. That’s lovely. That’s very lovely. So, how many people are associating with the Gnostic Union at this point? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, we have a couple of other different groups from different parts of the world. We have a Gnostic Catholic group. I think they’re Gnostic Catholic Unitarians located in the Philippines. Then, we have other groups as well that associate with us. Within the Union itself, we have a couple of different ones. We have also side branches as well that used to be a part of the Gnostic Catholic Union, but there was some theological difference. So, some splitting went on. So, there’s other groups. We still recognize each other. Within the Gnostic Union at the moment. There is Bishop Jason, me, Bishop Nathan Wilson, Bishop Lorenzo, David and Michael, Randall over in South Africa. There’s also Priest Jeremy and Edgar and Rus. So, there’s quite a few. At the moment, it’s mostly men. We’re hoping to have some females join as well. We did have a couple of female members back in the Gnostic Catholic Union, but they ultimately retired. So, we’re hoping to expand. So, the Gnostic Union is kind of fresh on the scene. So, everything’s still building. Cyd:How fresh is it? How long have you been in existence here? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, in the Union itself, probably about almost two years now. It’s still maybe a year, year and a half, something like that there. So, it’s still growing in a sense. So, we’re doing okay, which is not too bad. We’re mostly on Facebook and YouTube. So, we do our online masses and group gatherings and stuff like that online as well. And mostly, just support each other’s individual works as well as promote each other’s work. And sometimes, I might edit a couple of videos of all of us together, give it to other people with their own channels, their own independent use, and then I’ll put it onto, say, the Union sites. Other people can go check it out as well. Cyd:I’ll be putting this up on my site. I’m going to post this to YouTube and make it for my audio podcast. But I’ll also give you the recording so that you can use it at your site if you’d like. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Oh, lovely. Lovely. I’d enjoy that as well. And again, thanks for reaching out to me. I very much enjoy speaking to like-minded individuals as well. And regarding even my translations that you brought me on to discuss as well, that’s relatively new as well. It took me about two years to fully actually translate. So, to get it all together, I use encyclopedias, I used Greek, Koine Greek dictionaries, as well as I used Bill Mounce, which is one of the top Koine Greek-speaking people in the world. I have a few friends that can speak Koine Greek as well as modern Greek as well. So, that also came in handy. So, it took me a while. I started doing that while I was still with the Gnostic Catholic Union and I didn’t finish it until the Gnostic Union. Cyd:So, tell us about, you’re speaking of your translation, tell us about that. It’s your New Testament, is it? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yeah, I did the New Testament Gospels. I used Codex Sinaiticus because that was the oldest complete text, but then I wanted to do non-canonical. I didn’t know any Coptic at all, so I didn’t want to use any other people’s work. I just went to the Koine Greek, used what knowledge I did know, and I also used experts as well. So, I was able to look at every definition of the word and term and use. I did the Gospel of Thomas, which I actually first messed up on because I found out that the version I was looking at first was actually inspired by the Coptic version put into Koine Greek, and I realized it’s not the text. So, I went to the actual fragments themselves, and so I translated from there. It’s not very long. I didn’t use any AI recovery, so anything that wasn’t visible to our naked eye, I did not touch. So, I didn’t want to have any guessing involved. So, I just put what it was, and I did the Greek Gospel of Mary, as well as the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Peter, and I did three unknown Gospels, and they are little fragments, and they are Papyrus Oxyrhynchus. I have the names here. Actually, I better put that in—5072, and the other one was Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 and the other one is Egerton Gospel. So, they’re little fragments. The titles are missing. We don’t know who wrote them, so they’re unknown, but they could and likely do predate the Gospels that we do have. So, they predate the fragments we have. So, that’s interesting. So, all the fragments we have are second century. It’s likely they predate the fragments that we have. So, I chose to do them, but the interesting side was the Egerton gospel, which was actually a two-sided text, and Bart D. Ehrman actually did side two, and I did side one. So, he didn’t realize that there was a side on one. So, that means he was only looking at digital copy only, just like me. So, he didn’t actually look at the actual Papyrus itself, and so when I did one-sided, I didn’t realize there was a double side to that text, and so otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. So, the interesting thing is side one has not been publicly released for public domain, where side two has been released, which is very suspect, if you ask me, and I didn’t like that. So, I thought I’d introduce some texts that are very little looked at that were very Gnostic, such as Jesus insulting the Pharisees for dipping in waters that pigs jumped into and making themselves look like prostitutes to attract men. Cyd:They’re highly offensive, yes. Bishop Nathan Wilson:Yes, and that’s why they really want to release that publicly. So, you have to pay a scholar for their works, and that’s not really fair. All this knowledge should be for free, especially when you’re looking at our own religious or spirituality or the text involved in that. Otherwise, we’re limiting ourselves, and that’s definitely not fair. So, I think we should be more open, and the text should be up for public display, public domain for everyone to have access to. So, that’s what I ultimately believe in. It’s one reason I chose to share my translations and make accessible for free digital copies. I didn’t want people to just buy my work rather than download the digital text and just read it for themselves. Go to the library, print it out. It might be cheaper. So, when I do sell my texts, I donate it, like some of it’s a charity anyway, to Make-A-Wish Foundation. So, that’s something I do on my end. So, everything I do, I try not to make money just for myself. I try to do other things with it because I’m not really materialistic. I live very much a monk lifestyle, so I read a lot. Cyd:Yeah. Yeah, I do too. I live like a nun, I say. I’ve got a little cloister where I sleep. I live in a one-room place, so it’s very interesting. Would you explain to us the difference between the Koine Greek and the Coptic Greek and which was written and why are there two different versions? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Okay, well the Coptic, when you see Coptic Greek, that’s devolving into Coptic. So, very early proto-Coptic is what scholars term, is the developing into it. You see it with Greeks in the very language. Otherwise, Coptic language very much is a mixture of Greek and Egyptian. So, Egyptian hieroglyph turned into writing basically, but mixed in with Greek. So, Greek was like the English of the past back then. Hebrew also borrowed from the Greek during the second temple period of Jesus’ time. So, the word Judaism and synagogue are Greek words, for instance. So, a lot of borrowing, but the Greeks also borrowed from the Canaanites, such as the Phoenician language or the alphabet. So, that’s also fascinating. So, the ancient past, it was all about borrowing and making it your own, you know. But yeah, with Greek as well, that would be also evolving as well. So, you have, within the gospel itself, you might have one word being spelt slightly different, but ultimately meaning the same thing. And all that is, is one dialect from another speaking from one coastal region to a different coastal region. Obviously, saying the same thing, it just might be the accent. So, that’s played different in the language. So, it’s like we see hilios or hilion, but it’s the same root message. It’s just one person’s pronouncing it in the market different from this region, because he’s closer to the shore and other ones closer to the inner cities. And that’s basically all. So, Greek’s very advanced. You can have one word that can mean ultimately different meanings. And some words you come across can have hundreds of meanings, and that can make things difficult when translating. So, with the Koine Greek, we only know 70% to 90% of the language. We know the 100% of the alphabetical, but we don’t know every context of use. So, because of that difficulty, I had to add alternative English translations. So, I realized then that every translation we’re reading is just based on someone else’s interpretation of that translation. And it’s like, oh, that kind of sucks, so I put them all in there. So, when you come across the word aftos, for he, she, it, they, them, this one, I leave it as all of that, so, you can choose what that means. Because Jesus is speaking to diverse audiences. He’s speaking to males and females, not just men. And that’s what people forget. It’s like the word for spirit is also very feminine in Hebrew. In Greek, it’s masculine and feminine. So, it’s used as both, which is fascinating as well for the spirit within us, you know. So, but again, that’s going back to that root meaning of feminine, because when you add in the word hagion pneuma you now have the Holy Spirit, but that’s a feminine word of it. Otherwise, the root word of masculine is hagios, but the female name or the feminine version of that concept is hagion. Cyd:Ah, that’s fascinating. Yeah. You run into the same problem when translating Chinese, because Chinese pictograms can just mean many, many things. So, I’ve studied the Tao Te Ching quite a bit, and everybody’s book that’s famous of the Tao Te Ching, it’s their translation out of a hundred choices for every word. So, it’s, I understand quite a bit what you’re saying there. Well, tell me this, what makes you a bishop? How is it that you’re calling yourself bishop? Bishop Nathan Wilson:Well, I was ordained by, well, back when it was the Gnostic Catholic Union, I was ordained by Bishop Bill Thomas, and he was the bishop of a church in Florida. He was running a church. He was an older man, so he’s kind of, he retired for a bit, and now he’s more of a wandering bishop, because he had trouble with the funds of running a church. It’d be quite expensive. So, he was part of an organization that was the Gnostic Catholic Union. A lot of members retired as well, then he took over, and then it kind of went on for a few years, and then they started retiring, and then I joined from there, and I was ordained, and I took up a course with them, started off as a deacon, then became a priest, and then as they were retiring, I was made bishop, basically, and so then I was left with a little bit of the reins. So, it was from there, it was a lot more—more churches were involved. So, some of that has also, a lot of them have also retired or ultimately changed theologies. One of the original members of the Gnostic Catholic Union, I believe, is now either an Orthodox priest or joined the Orthodox Church, and he renounces all his old Gnostic past, which is kind of a shame. So, sometimes that does happen. So, people become wanderers because of, people basically rely solely on one priest, oftentimes, which is also sad, and when one priest moves, people lose passion, and sometimes that’s how it is. So, I prefer to have people more independently on their own, not just say rely on me, I make other people bishops so they can carry on with their own, and from there, expand it. So, someone might have, say, the coin enough to start their own church, and from there, maybe, from there, do whatever they need. So, it inspires, and still something to bring a bit of community in, and have a little bit of recognition from other people, basically. So, I kept that term. I was almost considering to remove the title, bishops and priests, but a lot of the old members wanted to keep it as well, and some of the young ones did as well. So, I thought, well, I’ll keep the term for them in their sake. Otherwise, I was going to keep it as teachers, or brothers and sisters, but I still encourage our members to, when dealing with each other, not just sit there and call each other bishops, or bishopettes, or priests, or priestess, whichever term they prefer. I prefer to call us brothers and sisters, which is more stressed. Even with the outfit some people are talking about, I would tell them, remember that Jesus wouldn’t be wandering around with fancy robes, or wearing collared shirts, or wearing gold jewelry, and say, I’m doing now, in a sense. He was out in the wilderness, gathering with community. So, as blessed as those who are poor, you know, so, which was rare. So, a lot of people wanted money back then. So, he was very much for the poor, which is beautiful to see. There were rich Christians. It doesn’t mean that was strictly only for poor people only. There were ones who were shipfarers, and in turn, would carry their message throughout the ports, or from region to region. Cyd:I was just wondering–you are obviously a Christian Gnostic, as am I. I know that you’re open to all Gnosticism, but Gnostics who reject the notion of the Christ, or the need for the Christ, doesn’t that create some kind of difficulty, let’s say? Bishop Nathan Wilson:It would conflict a little bit, yes. I haven’t really come across ones that more reject the Christ. I wouldn’t mind. I have come across ones who have debated me over it in a sense, which I don’t mind in a sense, but I would also encourage them to say, look at the message. Ultimately, it’s about finding the Christ within, being Christ-like for yourself. It goes back to that root word of the first Christians for Christanos, being little Christs, little anointed ones. So, those who were taken on their masters teaching to be Christ-like. But say we have ones that don’t believe Jesus existed. I don’t mind that, because ultimately it is the message, but I will tell them I do believe because I have reasons. I would say for them to look up, say, Judas Kriakos, which is a grandson of Jesus, which is recorded in history. We have church father writings that actually whinged about Jesus’ family being Jewish Christians and not Catholic. So, that’s interesting. So, why would you whinge about a family if the man did not exist? For instance like that. But ultimately, there were some Gnostics that didn’t believe that Jesus existed, but was rather a spirit or was the myth that you took on yourself. So, I’m okay with that, as long as we don’t conflict with each other, with our hearts, as long as we’re not hating each other. So, we can have separate beliefs, as long as we respect those beliefs. Ultimately, that’s what would stop the disheartening and also the conflictions. end part one of interview Okay, we’re going to stop for this week. This is a good place to stop because next, Bishop Wilson goes on to discuss his translation of the New Testament and also some other Gnostic texts. So, we’ll spend next week talking about his translation that he calls the Gnostic Christian Truth Bible, and we’ll get into that. Also, I did record this entire interview as a Zoom video, and as soon as I get that edited, I’ll be posting it to YouTube so you will be able to find it and watch the interview as Bishop Nathan Wilson and I discuss these things. So, I hope to see you there, and thank you for listening this week, and we’ll pick it up again next week. Until then, God bless us all, and onward and upward. The Gnostic Union Facebook The Gnostic Union YouTube Channel

Have a comment? Text us!"People have been saying that for thousands of years!""Nobody knows the day or the hour!"Statements like this pour water on the notion that Christs return may be close. Join Elizabeth and Christine as they talk about the signs of the times in their continuing deep dive into the Book of Revelation.Watch Christine's Revelation Study episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27-yRngOBdkMusic by Good_B_Music from Pixabay==========Check Coffee With Jesus Radio: https://s6.citrus3.com/public/coffeewithjesusradioVisit our Website: https://coffeewithjesus.info/Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cwj2011/View us on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsQBybBdPxlSxvmWYfcMzQView us on Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/CoffeeWithJesusCheck out our Substack: https://coffeewjesus.substack.com/Unless otherwise noted, Intro music written and performed by Todd Uebele. Copyright Coffee With Jesus, 2020, all rights reserved.

John 10:16-18Series: John (2025-2026) Preacher: Nathan RaynorCongregational MeetingDate: 14th June 2026Passage: John 10:16-18

“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks each one of us that question, and there are a lot of wrong answers out there. By exposing the phony Christs peddled by progressives, Jason Jimenez will explain why the Jesus of the Bible is the one to trust. He will test the progressive version of Jesus against the four canonical gospels, which remain the most credible sources for Jesus’s life, teachings, miracles, death, and resurrection.Become a Parshall Partner: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/inthemarket/partnersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John 10:11-14Series: John (2025-2026) Preacher: Nathan RaynorCongregational MeetingDate: 7th June 2026Passage: John 10:11-14

James 3:1 offers a sobering reminder that church leaders, pastors, and Bible teachers are held to a higher standard because of their responsibility to teach God’s Word. In this devotional, Emily Rose Massey explores the growing concern over moral failures among Christian leaders and why believers should respond with prayer rather than cynicism. As false teaching, spiritual compromise, and public scandals continue to impact the church, Christians are called to support and pray for faithful pastors who shepherd God’s people with integrity and biblical conviction. Highlights James 3:1 reveals the serious responsibility carried by Bible teachers and pastors. Church leaders are held to a higher standard because they influence others spiritually. Moral failures in ministry should lead believers to prayer, not cynicism. False teaching can create confusion and spiritual harm within the church. Faithful pastors need consistent prayer and support from their congregations. Sound biblical teaching protects believers from deception. Church leaders face unique spiritual attacks and temptations. Christians can strengthen their local church by praying for those who shepherd and teach. Join the Conversation How has a faithful pastor, elder, or Bible teacher impacted your spiritual growth? What are practical ways believers can encourage and pray for church leaders facing the challenges of ministry? Continue the conversation with the Crosswalk community here: https://forums.crosswalk.com/ Do you want to listen ad-free? When you join Crosswalk Plus, you gain access to exclusive, in-depth Bible study guides, devotionals, sound biblical advice, and daily encouragement from trusted pastors and authors—resources designed to strengthen your faith and equip you to live it out boldly. PLUS ad free podcasts! Sign Up Today! Full Transcript Below: The High Standard of Church Leaders By: Emily Rose Massey Bible Reading:“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1, ESV). It seems that over the last couple of years, there has been much exposure and shaking in the church regarding leaders who have fallen or gotten caught in scandal and lies. When the news of another pastor’s moral failure makes its way into the public eye, is your first reaction one of sarcasm and jadedness, or does it cause you to weep and hit your knees in prayer? It seems easier to get angry or grow cynical when those in the pulpit fall into grave sin and disappoint those who have attributed much of their spiritual growth from their teaching. Instead of wagging our fingers or shaking our heads in disappointment, it should truly break our hearts when leaders in the church fall. There is a stern warning found in the book of James that should cause us pause and reflect upon the great and weighty responsibility that pastors carry as teachers of God’s Word: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1, ESV). This verse begins a chapter in the book of James that focuses on the importance of the tongue and its ability to either bring encouragement and growth or hostility and destruction. We will all be held accountable for the words we speak, but for those who teach the Bible, there is a higher standard. With a higher standard comes a stronger judgment from God. This should motivate us to pray for teachers, especially those who pastor our own local church. Intersecting Faith & Life: In America (and perhaps even around the world, thanks to television and social media), the gospel of Jesus Christ has become extremely muddied by false teaching full of false gospels, New Age/occult/pagan practices, lying signs and wonders, and distractions from worldly desires that are all leading many to false Christs. For almost half of our marriage, my husband and I were among those believers who were believing lies from the result of the twisting of scripture and emotional, mental, and spiritual manipulation from leaders in ministry whom we trusted. By God’s grace, we were rescued from this deception and now attend a sound and Biblical church that has been such a blessing to our family. Every week, the elders preach the Word of God with such conviction and clarity, and are unashamed about the gospel. Although we finally feel “safe,” we know that these men of God are susceptible to the same temptations as we are, and instead of growing comfortable or letting our guard down, we must fiercely pray for the men in our lives who teach God’s Holy Word because Satan has put a giant target on their backs. The enemy knows how much damage can be done to the Body of Christ if God’s Word is abused or distorted, but the same is true for the carriers of that message; A teacher’s life is held to a higher standard because the Lord uses teachers to help us understand who He is. The weighty responsibility and calling of bringing truth to the sheep of God is one no one should have to bear alone. Let us shoulder Kingdom responsibility with our elders by making it a priority to daily pray for the teachers and pastors who have much influence on our spiritual well-being. In the age we live in, we can know personal details of public figures very quickly and easily. It seems there is always a new Christian leader who has given in to fleshly temptation and taken advantage of the trust of their sheep. When you discover this shocking news of another moral failing, are you tempted to harden your heart or grow cynical towards the church? It should cause us heartache and wake us up to the reality that the enemy wants to cause destruction among God’s people. These moral failings cause distrust among sheep, but they also hurt our witness to the world when they see the hypocrisy and corruption within the visible church. We must ask the Lord to give us a burden to pray for church leaders, but more importantly, the leaders of our very own church who have given their lives to shepherd souls and teach others about God and His ways. We are called to make disciples and need to be equipped by God’s Word to do that. God has called teachers and pastors to a higher standard to equip the Body for the work of the ministry by teaching us what God’s Word says. May we be quick to lift them up every day, knowing the seriousness of their high calling as teachers of God’s Holy Word, and thank the Lord for their role in your life personally, as someone who keeps watch over your soul. Further Reading: 1 Timothy 3:1-13 Titus 1:7-9 1 Peter 5:1-4 Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Join host Jeff Shepherd in the opening episode of the series "Mass Deception: The Antichrist Plan for the Church." In this episode Jeff explains the advance toward a one-world church, examines different religions and belief systems, and highlights the surprising commonalities that are being deliberately promoted in our time. He outlines the enemy's strategy of taking truths and twisting them just enough to lead sincere believers off course. Jeff presents clear evidence rather than speculation, showing how subtle, almost invisible deceptions are designed to look close enough to the truth to mislead many. He draws on biblical warnings — including Paul's caution that Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light and Jesus' prediction that false Christs and false prophets will arise — to frame the spiritual danger behind these shifts. In the spirit of transparency, Jeff shares his personal convictions and acknowledges past teachings he has reexamined and corrected after returning to Scripture. He invites listeners to follow the Berean example: test everything against God's Word and search the Scriptures daily. What to expect from the series: subsequent messages will pull back the curtain on several areas of mass deception working inside and around the Church, sharpen discernment, and equip listeners to stand firm in the truth. The focus will be on spiritual realities that precede and influence physical developments, because eternal outcomes are at stake. Listen to this episode to understand the opening case for why a unified, deceptive spiritual movement is forming, and to prepare for deeper, evidence-based examination in future episodes. Let's seek truth together and pursue the revelation of the glory of Jesus Christ. Want to Understand and Explain Everything Biblically? Click Here: Decoding the Power of Three: Understand and Explain Everything or go to www.rightonu.com  Thank you for Listening to Right on Radio. Prayerfully consider supporting Right on Radio. Click Here for all links, Right on Community ROC, Podcast web links, Freebies, Products (healing mushrooms, EMP Protection) Social media, courses and more...https://linktr.ee/RightonRadio Live Right in the Real World! We talk God and Politics, Faith Based Broadcast News, views, Opinions and Attitudes We are Your News Now. Keep the F

We take a look at 1 John 2, today in our 1-2-3 series; where we study the later epistles of the apostle John and where we look at what they mean for the foundation of our Christian walk. Our core concept we want to remember is that walking with Jesus means letting Him lead. Part of knowing God better and trusting Him more is letting Him guide our lives. One of the biggest areas that we have to let God lead in is teaching and showing us what it is to love properly. As John moves on in this chapter, we see him draw the connection between loving God properly and have a fruitful, unifying life with other believers. The inverse of which shows that if you hate your brother or sister, then the love of the Father is not in you and you are still in darkness. See, a divided love divides your life. And those who sow division and darkness are called anti-Christs. we need to watch out for anti-Christs. Ultimately, to be lead by Jesus means knowing that He is the way and the destination. - Key Verses // 3 John 1:4, 1 John 2 - For Sermon Notes, the Connect Card, and our other online resources: https://linktr.ee/Celebrationchurchlive

We take a look at 1 John 2, today in our 1-2-3 series; where we study the later epistles of the apostle John and where we look at what they mean for the foundation of our Christian walk. Our core concept we want to remember is that walking with Jesus means letting Him lead. Part of knowing God better and trusting Him more is letting Him guide our lives. One of the biggest areas that we have to let God lead in is teaching and showing us what it is to love properly. As John moves on in this chapter, we see him draw the connection between loving God properly and have a fruitful, unifying life with other believers. The inverse of which shows that if you hate your brother or sister, then the love of the Father is not in you and you are still in darkness. See, a divided love divides your life. And those who sow division and darkness are called anti-Christs. we need to watch out for anti-Christs. Ultimately, to be lead by Jesus means knowing that He is the way and the destination. - Key Verses // 3 John 1:4, 1 John 2 - For Sermon Notes, the Connect Card, and our other online resources: https://linktr.ee/Celebrationchurchlive

We take a look at 1 John 2, today in our 1-2-3 series; where we study the later epistles of the apostle John and where we look at what they mean for the foundation of our Christian walk. Our core concept we want to remember is that walking with Jesus means letting Him lead. Part of knowing God better and trusting Him more is letting Him guide our lives. One of the biggest areas that we have to let God lead in is teaching and showing us what it is to love properly. As John moves on in this chapter, we see him draw the connection between loving God properly and have a fruitful, unifying life with other believers. The inverse of which shows that if you hate your brother or sister, then the love of the Father is not in you and you are still in darkness. See, a divided love divides your life. And those who sow division and darkness are called anti-Christs. we need to watch out for anti-Christs. Ultimately, to be lead by Jesus means knowing that He is the way and the destination. - Key Verses // 3 John 1:4, 1 John 2 - For Sermon Notes, the Connect Card, and our other online resources: https://linktr.ee/Celebrationchurchlive

John 10:7-10Series: John (2025-2026) Preacher: Nathan RaynorCongregational MeetingDate: 31st May 2026Passage: John 10:7-10

John 10:1-6Series: John (2025-2026) Preacher: Nathan RaynorCongregational MeetingDate: 24th May 2026Passage: John 10:1-6

If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects.  In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge.  So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.  Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Cash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsPart 1 — BibliographySecondary worksEncyclopaedia Britannica. “Christianity: The Gentile Mission and St. Paul.”Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Saint James, the Lord's brother.”Joel Marcus, “Jewish Christianity,” in The Cambridge History of Christianity, ed. Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young (Cambridge University Press).Carson Bay, “The First Christians of Antioch,” in Antioch on the Orontes, ed. Andrea U. De Giorgi (Cambridge University Press).Clayton N. Jefford, “Didache,” in The Cambridge Companion to the Apostolic Fathers, ed. Michael F. Bird and Scott Harrower (Cambridge University Press).David J. Downs, “Church, Church Ministry, and Church Order,” in The Cambridge Companion to the Apostolic Fathers, ed. Michael F. Bird and Scott Harrower (Cambridge University Press).Janelle Peters, “1 and 2 Clement,” in The Cambridge Companion to the Apostolic Fathers, ed. Michael F. Bird and Scott Harrower (Cambridge University Press).Jonathon Lookadoo, “The Letters of Ignatius,” in The Cambridge Companion to the Apostolic Fathers, ed. Michael F. Bird and Scott Harrower (Cambridge University Press).Dan Batovici, “The Shepherd of Hermas as Early Christian Apocalypse,” in The Cambridge Companion to the Apostolic Fathers, ed. Michael F. Bird and Scott Harrower (Cambridge University Press).Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Ebionites.”Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Nazarene.”Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Marcion of Pontus.”Harry Y. Gamble, “Marcion and the ‘canon',” in The Cambridge History of Christianity, ed. Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young (Cambridge University Press).Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Valentinus.”Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Valentinian.”Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Gospel of Philip.”Bible Odyssey, “Gnosticism and the Nag Hammadi Library Explained.”Bart D. Ehrman, “The Discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library,” in Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code (Oxford University Press).Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Montanism.”Bible Odyssey, “James.”Bible Odyssey, “James and Paul.”Bible Odyssey, “Priscilla and Aquila.”Bible Odyssey, “Lydia.”Bible Odyssey, “Women's Work in the Greco-Roman World.”Primary texts usedActs 15.Galatians 2:11–14.Romans 16:1–7.1 Corinthians 1:22–24.Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1 (20.200).Didache.1 Clement.The Letters of Ignatius.The Shepherd of Hermas.Irenaeus, Against Heresies.Tertullian, Against Marcion.The Gospel of Truth.The Gospel of Philip.Also want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. A

We all wear glasses in this room. I am not referring to your contacts or the physical glasses your eye doctor prescribed. I am referring to your worldviewthe lenses through which you interpret everything you see: God, yourself, others, suffering, evil, history, the purpose of life, and the future. In our world today, people use a wide range of worldviews to make sense of reality. Theism holds that a personal God created and rules the world. Naturalism holds that the physical universe is all that exists. Pantheism identifies God with the world or sees God as present in everything. Postmodernism treats truth as personal, socially constructed, or tied to power. Nihilism holds that life has no ultimate meaning, purpose, or moral order. Most people do not wear only one pair of glasses. They switch lenses depending on what suits thema little theism for comfort, a little secularism for control, a little skepticism against authority, and a little self-rule for freedom. It may feel meaningful in the moment, but it cannot finally correct the vision problem. It still leaves reality blurred. One of the clearest symbols of modern humanitys hope was the World Trade Center. It took twelve years, from the earliest design stages in 1961 to the ribbon-cutting in 1973, to complete the Twin Towers, at a cost of about $900 million. The chief architect, Minoru Yamasaki, said the World Trade Center should become a living representation of mans belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his belief in the cooperation of men, and through this cooperation his ability to find greatness. That is a remarkable statement. The towers were meant to say something about us: our greatness, dignity, cooperation, and our ability to build a better world. Yet on September 11, 2001, it took less than two hours for those towers to fall, and nearly 3,000 lives were lost. Brothers and sisters, that is not merely a tragedy in American history. It is a parable of the world we inhabit. We live in a world of conflict, bloodshed, injustice, suffering, and death. We build towers and call them peace. We create systems and call them progress. We trust power, wealth, cooperation, technology, politics, and human greatness to bring stability. Yet again and again, the world proves unable to save itself. What we need is a biblical worldviewa way of seeing the world through the lens of Gods Word. Revelation pulls back the curtain on human historypast, present, and futureso we can see things as they really are. In Revelation 6:18, that curtain is drawn back on the world we know all too well: a world marked by conquest, war, famine, injustice, suffering, and death. Yet Revelation does not show us these things to make us despair. It shows us these things so we will see that the horsemen are permitted to ride only because the Lamb has the authority to open the seals. Before we go any further in this sermon, do not miss who opens each seal. It is not the horsemen. It is not the devil. It is not the antichrist. It is not kings, nations, armies, or empires. The Lamb alone has the authority to open the seals and to allow the horsemen to ride. As the Lamb opens the first four seals, do not think of the horsemen as strange figures waiting to be released in the distant future. Instead, think of them as the symbolic unveiling of the very world Jesus told us to expecta world marked by conquest, violence, exploitation, and death. Yet Revelation 6 shows us something the evening news never can: the horsemen ride only because the Lamb opens the seals, and He alone is worthy to do so. The Horsemen and the World Jesus Told Us to Expect We are now entering a section of Revelation that may challenge how many of us have been taught to think about the end times. For many Christians, passages such as Revelation 6 and Matthew 24 have been interpreted almost entirely as future events, often within a framework known as the seven-year tribulation. Many have also been taught that the church will be removed from the earth before that tribulation begins. I realize that, for some of you, that may be the only framework for understanding the end times you have ever known. Faithful Christians have held different views on these matters, so my goal is not to mock what you have been taught or force you into a different system. My goal is simply to ask you to do what the Bereans didto search the Scriptures and see whether these things are so (see Acts 17:10-11). What I want to show you is that Revelation 6 and Matthew 24 are not describing realities completely disconnected from the churchs present life. Jesus Himself told His disciples what this present age would look like: And Jesus answered them, See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. (Matt. 24:4-8) Revelation 6 is not describing a strange world the church has never seen. It pulls back the curtain on the age Jesus describeda world marked by conquest, violence, exploitation, suffering, and death. The four horsemen symbolize realities that have marked human history since Christs ascension and will end when He returns. Yet Jesus words also keep us from hopeless despair. These things are not the end. They are birth pains. And as painful as birth pains are, they remind us that something is coming: the kingdom of Christ in all its fullness. Until that day, the horsemen ride. Like birth pains, the realities they represent continue throughout this age and increase in frequency and intensity as history moves toward the return of Christ and the birth of the new creation. But understand this: they do not roam at their own leisure. The Lamb reigns, and He alone has the authority to open the seals. So when the Lamb opens the seals and the four horsemen are revealed, we are shown the world Jesus told us to expect. But we are also shown what the world cannot see: conquest, violence, exploitation, and death are not rogue realities, nor do they unfold outside His sovereign will and authority. The White Horse: The Lust for Conquest (vv. 1-2) There is some debate about what the rider on the white horse represents, largely because certain features seem to mirror the way Jesus appears in Revelation 19:1116, particularly the white horse He rides and the crown He wears. Others believe the rider represents a false Christ or even the antichrist because he seems to mimic Jesus appearance. The problem with these views is twofold: first, Jesus is the One who opens each of the seals; and second, the remaining horsemen clearly represent forces of destruction rather than specific individuals. There are other suggestions, but the context of Revelation 6 suggests that the rider on the white horse belongs with the other three horsemen: war, famine, and death. Together, they represent the destructive realities that mark this present age. This connection may be reinforced by the first living creature who announces this horse and rider. Notice that the first living creature has the face of a lion, representing strength, majesty, and power among the wild creatures. It is this creature that introduces the rider on the white horse. If there is a symbolic connection between the creature who speaks and the horseman who appears, then the first horseman fittingly represents conquestthe lust of kings, nations, empires, and rulers to expand their power, secure their kingdoms, and impose their will on others. Unlike the kingdom Jesus will bring, this rider represents fallen humanity grasping for dominion apart from God. This horse and its rider promise peace but never deliver it. Their creed is simple: If we can gain enough territory, enough power, enough influence, enough control, then we can secure the future. But Revelation shows us the truth: conquest does not lead to peace. It prepares the way for the red horse. The Red Horse: The Vandalism of Peace (vv. 3-4) The Lamb then opens the second seal. In response, the heavenly creature with the face of an ox, representing domesticated strength, service, and laborthe kind of creature people use to bring forth life from the earthsays, Come! Then the red horse appears, and its rider is permitted to take peace from the earth so that people may slay one another. If the white horse represents the lust for conquest, the red horse reveals what that lust produces. The world promises peace through power, but Revelation shows that power seized apart from God does not preserve peace; it vandalizes it. When God gives sinners over to themselves, the restraints that hold back violence are removed, and the human heart is exposed as it is and what it is capable of. This is why the rider is given a great sword, symbolizing violence, bloodshed, and the destructive force of war. From the first murder in Genesis 4 to the wars and rumors of wars Jesus said would mark this age like birth pains in Matthew 24, human history has been stained with the blood of those created in Gods image. Nations rise against nations. Kingdoms seek to outdo kingdoms. Brother turns against brother. Neighbor turns against neighbor. When sin-cursed humanity seeks dominion apart from God, even in the name of peace, peace is among the first casualties. Make no mistake: the rider on the red horse is not rogue. He is only permitted to take peace from the earth because the Lamb has authority to break the second seal. He does not seize the sword; he is given a great sword. The breaking of the second seal shows that even the violence of this age is not outside the sovereign hand of the Lamb. While the serpent of old was a murderer from the beginning and is the father of lies (John 8:44), Humanitys propensity toward violence is the result of its fallen nature; it is mankind that robs the earth of the shalom it was created to experience. Yet even this violence remains under the authority of the Lamb. The Black Horse: Exploitation of Need (vv. 5-6) The Lamb opens the third seal, and the living creature with the face of a man says, Come! The irony is that while man symbolizes wisdom, reason, and the stewardship God entrusted to humanity, the black horse and its rider represent the exploitation of creations needs by mankind. The rider is seen holding a pair of scales, and a voice is heard saying, A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine. The scales symbolize measurement, rationing, and scarcity. In Johns day, a denarius was a days wage, so the announced prices of wheat and barley reveal a world where food is available yet barely affordable. A person could work all day and still barely survive. Meanwhile, the command not to harm the oil and wine suggests that while daily bread becomes burdensome for the poor, others comforts and luxuries remain protected. Human need becomes an opportunity for human greed. The black horse reveals that much of the worlds suffering stems from the corruption of human stewardship. Humanity was created in Gods image to cultivate the earth, care for one another, and administer justice for the good of mankind and the rest of creation. But when people seek dominion apart from God, the needs of the earth and those who live on it are twisted into opportunities for profit. When mankind is given over to itself, human beings exploit one another and anything else in creation that offers an opportunity to get ahead of their neighbor. Yet even here, the rider is not sovereign and does not ride beyond the authority of the Lamb. The Pale Horse: The Dominion of Death (vv. 7-8) The Lamb opens the fourth seal, and the creature with the face of an eagle says, Come! Consider what an eagle represents: swiftness, height, watchfulness, and the realm just above the earth. When John hears this single word, he sees a pale horse, and its rider is named Death, with Hades following him. While the eagle soars over the earth, the pale horse gathers what mans lust for conquest, readiness to kill, and greed producenamely, death. The horses color is disturbing. The Greek word translated pale (chlōros) denotes a greenish hue, suggesting the sickly color of decay, disease, and death. There is little left to the imagination with the name given to this rider. He is Death, and Hades follows behind him like a grave, collecting what death has taken. This is the world east of Eden, where sin has brought decay to everything God created good. Death follows kings and nations. Death follows war. Death follows hunger, poverty, disease, and the neglect of creation. Death is the final enemy, and no human kingdom, political system, technological advancement, or amount of wealth or power can ultimately escape it. But while the pale horse and its rider may terrify us, they are not sovereign. The Lamb is the One who breaks the seal. Death rides, yet the Lamb reigns. And all who belong to the Lamb are assured that in a world where the four horsemen are permitted to ride for a time, the One who opens the seals also says to His people: Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades (Rev. 1:1718). Conclusion What the apostle John and the seven churches likely found most reassuring in the vision of the four horsemen is the reminder that it is the LambChrist Himselfwho breaks each seal and permits the horsemen to ride. The power wielded by rulers and nations is granted by the One who sits sovereignly on the throne. Revelation 6:18 is given so that we might see the world as it really is and see the Lamb as He truly is. The horsemen do not ride because chaos reigns. They ride because the Lamb opens the seals. And when the four living creatures cry, Come! their summons echoes the prayer Jesus taught us to pray: Your kingdom come, your will be done... (Matt. 6:10). The Lamb gives mankind over to its wickedness, not because evil is sovereign, but because He is accomplishing His sovereign purposes until His rule and reign are fully manifested on earth as it is in heaven. The four horsemen reveal to those who belong to the Lamb that Gods kingdom is indeed coming. Gods kingdom comes not only through salvation, but also through judgment upon everything that ruins His creation.

Philippians 1:27-28Series: Christian Living Preacher: Cody ClicknerCongregational MeetingDate: 17th May 2026Passage: Philippians 1:27-28

Happy Mother's Day to all of our amazing moms!  Pamela Picard joins us to share a message about overcoming the adversities of life through Christs.  She is the director of Keep Growing Ministries and owner of House of Life, a counseling service.  We pray you are blessed by this message she shared! Join us in person: 22811 S. Cedar Rd., Manhattan, IL 60442 Learn More: encounterthrive.com Give Online: encounterthrive.churchcenter.com/giving

In C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity he says: “the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time”This idea—that the point of the church is to make disciples is, at its core, not a highly contested one. But ideas about the way disciples are made and the context in which discipleship happens are much more varied.And, in these conversations, the question of a church's size looms large.On the one hand you have the small church. It could be anywhere from just a handful of members to a few hundred, but, in any case, there is a much greater likelihood for congregants to build personal relationships with those leading the church, a greater sense of a tight-knit community where everybody knows one another and oftentimes a wide variety of ages in attendance, with some congregants having attended for the bulk of their lives.On the other hand you have the large church. Maybe its attendance is in the upper hundreds, the thousands or even the ten-thousands. This substantial attendance often means the ability to acquire a large chunk of land and employ a staff of seasoned professionals for everything from worship leaders who sound like pop-stars to trained baristas for their in-house cafes. And, with these resources and this influence, there is a greater ability to quickly raise money for disaster relief or needs in the congregation. There may be more comfort for new believers to not feel like they are standing out in the crowd. And the culture might be one which more naturally attracts non-christians.Criticism from one size of church to the other is not uncommon—the small churches will say congregants don't know their pastors at large churches. The large churches will say the small churches aren't going to reach unbelievers.But, what size is right for a church? Is there one at all? To find out, I spoke with Karl Vaters. Vaters was a pastor for decades, and now he creates resources dedicated to helping small churches thrive. Back in 2024, he wrote a book called “De-Sizing The Church” which investigates the way many churches pursued growth in attendance above all else, often to their detriment. Vaters' book doesn't demonize church growth, but instead asks pastors and congregants to consider what it means to be a healthy christian community, without anchoring that health to merely the number of people in the pews.

systematic and expository Monday Bible Study at The Deeper Life Bible Church, Gbagada, Lagos.https://dclm.org/sermons/bible-studies/2026-bible-study/-purchasing-and-possessing-christs-hidden-heavenly-treasure/

About the same time the book of Revelation was written, a Jewish historian named Josephus, who was not a Christian, wrote about Jesus. Though the wording of the full passage has been debated, the basic testimony is striking: Jesus was known as a wise man, a worker of remarkable deeds, a teacher, one who gained followers, was crucified under Pilate, and whose followers did not disappear: Around this time there lived Jesus, a wise manif it is right to call him merely a man. He performed remarkable works and was a teacher of people who gladly received the truth. He attracted many Jews and many Gentiles. He was the Christ. When Pilate, at the urging of our leading men, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him from the beginning did not abandon him. For he appeared to them alive again on the third day, just as the divine prophets had foretold this and many other wonderful things about him. And the tribe of Christians, named after him, has not disappeared to this day. It is possible to know many true things about Jesus and still miss the weight of His worth. Josephus could describe Him as a wise man, a worker of remarkable deeds, a teacher, and one condemned to the cross. But Revelation 5 pulls back the curtain of heaven and shows us what all creation will one day confess: Jesus is not merely remarkable. He is worthy. The following is a list of twelve windows into the glory of the Lamb and why it is that He is worthy. Jesus is worthy because He is Judahs Lion (v. 5) Judah was a deeply flawed man who sold his younger brother Joseph into slavery, deceived his father, abandoned his daughter-in-law, and hid behind hypocrisy. But God changed Judahs heart, and by Genesis 44, Judah was willing to sacrifice himself to save Benjamin, the youngest son who was dearly loved by their father. Later, Jacob blessed Judah with a promise that the promised serpent-stomping King would come through him: Judah is a lions cub... The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the rulers staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to Him; and to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples (Gen. 49:910). That promise finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Jesus is more than Judahs descendant; He is Judahs promised Lionthe true and better Judah who offered Himself as the sinless Substitute for His people. He is the One to whom the scepter belongs, the One before whom the obedience of the peoples will one day be gathered. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and He has conquered sin, death, and the dragon. Jesus is worthy because He is Gods Lamb (v. 6) We cannot have the Lion as our friend unless we first have Him as our Lamb, for Scripture declares, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb. 9:22; see Lev. 17:11). This theme runs throughout the Bible. In Genesis 22, Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice and asked, Where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham answered, God will provide for Himself a lamb (Gen. 22:78). In Exodus 12, Israel was sheltered from wrath by the blood of the spotless lamb, and in Isaiah 53, the suffering Servant is portrayed as the Lamb pierced, crushed, and slaughtered for the iniquities of guilty sinners. So when John the Baptist cried out, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), he summed up the promises and the point of the Old Testament. Jesus is the Lamb God provided, the Passover Lamb whose blood shelters His people from judgment, the sacrificial Lamb whose blood makes atonement, and the suffering Lamb who bears our sins. Apart from the blood of the Lamb, the Lion is not our comfort but our Judge. But for those covered by His blood, there is no condemnation. Those of us who have the Lamb know that the Lion is not against us but for us. Jesus is worthy because He can take the scroll (v. 7) He alone has the right to receive and enact Gods plan to judge evil, redeem His people, and restore creation. The scroll contains the sovereign plan of the Lord God Almightythe One who says in Isaiah 46: I am God, and there is no other declaring the end from the beginning saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose (Isa. 46:910). The scroll is in the right hand of this God, and when no one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth was found worthy to open it or even look into it, John wept bitterly. If the scroll remains sealed, Gods promises remain unfulfilled, sin and death are not finally defeated, the saints are not vindicated, and creation is not restored. But the Lion who is the Lamb came forth because He alone is worthy to open the scroll. He took it from the right hand of the Father. This was not theft but triumph. This was not presumption but due to the worthiness of the Preeminent Lamb. Jesus alone has the right to open the scroll because He alone has conquered by His blood. The destiny of creation is in the nail-scarred hand of the Lamb who is the Kinsman-Redeemer. Jesus is worthy because He is the unconquerable King (v. 6) When John turns to see the Lion worthy to open the scroll, he sees a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain. The One who knew no sin and became sin for us bears every scar from the cross as a reminder that His sacrifice was once for all: the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Pet. 3:18)! The Lamb stands because death could not keep Him. The Lamb stands because the grave could not hold Him! The Lamb stands even though He was rejected by men, condemned by rulers, mocked by the religious leaders, and nailed to the cross... He stands at the center of heavens throne room, victorious. His wounds testify to His triumph.The Lamb who was slain is worthy because He is the King who cannot be conquered. Jesus is worthy because He is the Omniscient King (v. 6) The unconquerable King is seen with seven horns and seven eyes. As you may recall, in Scripture, horns symbolize strength, power, and sovereign authority, while eyes symbolize sight, wisdom, and knowledge. The number seven points to fullness and perfection, which means the Lamb who was slain is not weak but all-powerful, not limited but limitless, not unaware but all-seeing.He shares the wisdom and sovereignty of the Ancient of Days.Nothing escapes His sight. No enemy can hide from Him. No suffering saint is forgotten by Him. No act of faithfulness goes unnoticed by Him. The Lion, who is the Lamb, sees all and reigns over all by the fullness of the Spirit sent into all the earth. Jesus is worthy because He is the King whose reign is as extensive as His holiness, goodness, justice, love, grace, and mercy. Jesus is worthy because He is creations Lord (vv. 7-8) The living creatures and elders fall before Him because the Lamb is creations Lord through Whom all of creation exists. The four living creatures represent the created order, and the twenty-four elders represent the redeemed people of God. The worship that belongs to the Lord God Almighty is directed to Jesus not only because of what He has done, but also because of who He is. All things were created through Him and for Him (Col. 1:16), and now all creation bows before Him as One who is equal with the Father. The Lamb who was slain is worthy because He is the Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and rightful Lord over all things. Jesus is worthy because He was slain as the sinners ransom (v. 9) The blood of the Lamb is the price of our redemption. The new song of heaven celebrates this: Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation... The Lion of Judah is the willing Lamb who stands before those He came to save; He is the Kinsman-Redeemer that creation needs. The price was not the religious deeds of fallible man, but the life of the second Adam, who lived the life we could not live and died the death we deserved. We were once enslaved by sin and stood condemned before God as guilty sinners, but Jesus gave His life to ransom us and set us free for God. Jesus is worthy because He was slain in our place, bore the judgment we deserved, paid the debt we could not pay, and purchased us by His precious blood. Jesus is worthy because He redeemed a people for mission (vv. 9-10) Jesus did not ransom, redeem, and save sinners from condemnation merely so they could occupy space in His kingdom; He redeemed them for His kingdom purposes. We are not only forgiven of our sins; we are restored to the purpose for which humanity exists. Jesus saved us to send us into the world as His ambassadors and the Fathers priests. We are priests before God, and we live under the reign of Christ as citizens of His kingdom. This is why Peter says, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9). Jesus is worthy not only because He rescued us from the wrath of God we deserved, but also because He restored us to what we were created to be. Jesus is worthy because He is the song of the angels (vv. 11-12) After the song of the four living creatures and the new song of the twenty-four elders, John turns his attention to what he hears around the throne. What he hears is an innumerable host of angels resounding with praise: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! The angels erupt in praise after those who represent redeemed humanity conclude theirs. Why? Because the second person of the Trinity took upon Himself human flesh, was born of a virgin, and came to redeem a lost, rebellious, and cursed race (Phil. 2:1-11). This is something angels find baffling, for Peter tells us that our salvation is something angels long to look into (1 Pet. 1:12). What the angels offer in worship is a sevenfold declaration of what belongs only to Yahweh. To give this kind of worship to anyone else would not merely be inappropriate; it would be idolatrous. You cannot see it clearly in English, but in the Greek there is one definite article governing the entire sevenfold list attributed to the Lamb. The point is simple: Jesus is worthy to receivethepower,thewealth,thewisdom,themight,thehonor,theglory, andtheblessing that belong to the One true God. In his commentary on Revelation, Richard Phillips captures the wonder of this angelic worship well: Like that of the glorified church, the angels worship responds to Christs atoning death on the cross. Their testimony therefore shows that what once seemed like defeat for Jesus has been revealed as total victory. The cross was seen as weakness but was actually power; the cross displayed poverty but gained true riches; the cross was foolishness to the world but wisdom from God; the cross represented shame but earned the highest honor for Christ; the cross was a place of deep disgrace, yet revealed the very glory of Gods grace; and the cross stood for the curse of sin but achieved eternal blessing for those on whose behalf Jesus died. The One who was slain is now declared worthy by countless heavenly beings. Jesus is worthy because all of heaven knows what earth so often forgets: the Lamb who was slain is worthy of the glory that belongs to God alonebecause He is God. Jesus is worthy because He is creations celebration (v. 13) The worship does not end with the millions of angels, the twenty-four elders, or the four living creatures. John hears more. He hears every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, declaring in worship: To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! What John witnesses is not universal admiration, but the worship of every creature directed to God and to the Lamb. The One who was rejected and despised by men is celebrated by creation. The One who was crucified and crushed outside the city is praised throughout the universe. Jesus is worthy because He is the Lamb before whom every creature will one day bow in worship. Jesus is worthy because He deserves everything (vv. 12-13) Jesus is worthy to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing that belong to the Lord God Almighty. Every creature appropriately joins the heavenly worship by declaring, To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! Heaven holds nothing back, and creation attributes to the Lamb what rightfully belongs to Yahweh alone. All power belongs to Him because He reigns. All wealth belongs to Him because all things are His. All wisdom belongs to Him because His ways are perfect. All might belongs to Him because He has conquered. All honor belongs to Him because He is exalted. All glory belongs to Him because He is God. All blessing belongs to Him because all praise is His due. Jesus is worthy because He embodies, in infinite measure, all that is good, glorious, powerful, beautiful, and praiseworthy. Jesus is worthy because He is the Amen of the Father (vv. 13-14) Jesus did not need to earn the praise He receives from the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, the angels, and all creation; He is worthy because of who He is. In the same way the Father is unchanging, Jesus is unchanging, for Scripture testifies, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Heb. 13:8). In response to the worship and praise Jesus receives as the One worthy to take and open the scroll, the four living creatures respond, Amen!a word that means, Truly, Let it be so, This is true. But do not misunderstand what they are doing. They are not only saying Amen to Jesus as the One who is worthy; they are saying Amen because He Himself is the Amen of God the Father. Jesus is the faithful and true witness, the One in whom every promise of God finds its fulfillment. As Paul writes, For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory (2 Cor. 1:20). Revelation 5 begins with the question, Who is worthy? But after the Lion who is the Lamb takes the scroll, it ends with heaven, earth, and every creature confessing through worship that He alone is worthy. There is nothing left to say but Amen, and nothing left to do but fall down and worship. Conclusion Jesus is worthy before the angels sing that He is.Jesus is worthy before creation celebrates that He is.Jesus is worthy before the elders fall down because of who He is.Jesus is worthy before you and I respond to all that He is! Jesus is worthy. Our worship does not make Him worthy.Our worship simply agrees with what is already true. The question is not whether Jesus is worthyheaven has already declared it, and creation will one day echo that truth. There will come a time when every knee will bow, every tongue will confess, and all creation will acknowledge what has always been true (Isa. 45:23; Phil. 2:9-10): the Lamb who was slain is worthy. The question I leave with you today is whether your heart, your obedience, your faith, your suffering, your worship, and every other part of your life will respond with Amen to the Lamb who is worthy. So, do not wait until every creature sings to join the song of heaven. Sing now. Trust Him now. Follow Him now and may Psalm 119:37 be your hearts cry: Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word (Ps. 119:37; BSB).

John 9:1-41Series: John (2025-2026) Preacher: Nathan RaynorCongregational MeetingDate: 10th May 2026Passage: John 9:1-41

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of the Gotta Be Saints Podcast, I'm joined by actor Michael Girgenti, who portrays Jesus in the new docudrama That They May Be One, coming to theaters nationwide May 19–20 through Fathom Events.Inspired by Jesus' prayer in John 17, the film explores Christian unity, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the invitation for all people to come to know Christ more deeply. Michael shares about his own return to the Catholic faith, what it was like preparing to portray Jesus on screen, and how the experience transformed his prayer life and relationship with the Lord.We also discuss:The meaning behind Jesus' prayer “that they may all be one”Christian unity and evangelizationMichael's journey back to the Catholic ChurchThe beauty of the sacraments and EucharistWhy Christian media is having a major cultural momentWhat it means for all of us to live as “mini-Christs” in daily lifeHow the Holy Spirit continues to renew the Church todayThis was a deeply encouraging conversation about holiness, discipleship, and the call to boldly share Christ with the world.Featured FilmThat They May Be OneIn theaters nationwide May 19–20 through Fathom Events.Tickets & Information:https://hubs.ly/Q04dqbS30Follow Michael GirgentiInstagram: @michaelgirgentiSponsored by TruthlyWant to grow deeper in your faith and better understand the Catholic Church? Visit Truthly:https://www.truthly.aiTruthly is helping Catholics pursue truth, holiness, and authentic discipleship.Support the PodcastIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review, share it with a friend, and help us continue spreading stories of holiness. Support the show

John 8:48-59Series: John (2025-2026) Preacher: Nathan RaynorCongregational MeetingDate: 3rd May 2026Passage: John 8:48-59

Romans 5:12-21 One Mans Gross Rebellion - Adam (vv. 12-14) Spread sin Spawned death One Mans Gift of Redemption - Jesus (vv. 15-17) Provided grace Purchased life One Choice for All People You (vv. 18-21) Judgment vs. justification Rebellion vs. righteousness Sin and death vs. grace and eternal life More to Consider Employing the concept of corporate solidarity, Paul explained that when Adam sinned all humanity was profoundly affected through that act of rebellion. There is a corresponding corporate solidarity in Christ. Whereas in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive (1 Co 15:22). Therefore, Paul said later that no condemnation comes to those in Christ Jesus (Rm 8:1, emphasis added). So while the damaging consequences of Adams sin, including an inherited tendency to sin, were passed on to all of Adams descendants, justification likewise passes on to all who receive Gods gift of righteousness secured through Christs death (vv. 1719). Note, however, that Paul did not teach universalism here. God forces His righteousness on no one; people must receive the offered gift through faith. Ted Cabal et al., The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007), 1688. When the author walks onto the stage, the play is over. God is going to invade, all right; but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else comes crashing in? This time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. That will not be the time for choosing; It will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side.C.S. Lewis. Film maker Walt Disney was ruthless in cutting anything that got in the way of a story's pacing. Ward Kimball, one of the animators for Snow White, recalls working 240 days on a 4 1/2 minute sequence in which the dwarfs made soup for Snow White and almost destroyed the kitchen in the process. Disney thought it was funny, but he decided the scene stopped the flow of the picture, so out it went. When the film of our lives is shown, will it be as great as it might be? A lot will depend on the multitude of "good" things we need to eliminate to make way for the great things God wants to do through us. Kenneth Langley.

Anchored: Becoming Like Christ - Jonathan Hurshman - a2cc.org. Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - vimeo.com/annarborcommunitychurch  Summary: Jonathan sets the stage by showing that a centered-set mindset only works if we have clear language for who and what is at the center—Jesus and his ways. He compellingly highlights our need for Christlikeness, reminding us that it is the whole point of the Christian life. The term itself means “little Christs”—people who imitate and resemble Jesus. Yet one of the failures of the Western Church, he notes, is that few of our coworkers and neighbors associate being “Christian” with becoming like Jesus. What if that were different? He then offers a thoughtful exposition of Philippians 2:5–11, grounding it in the Greco-Roman world, where status and achievement were everything—often gained at the expense of others. Against that backdrop, we see again and again that the way of Jesus is humility: a willing lowering of oneself for the good of others. Jonathan calls us to embrace this humble way as we seek to become like Christ in all things.  

Musical WorshipSeries: Why We Do What We Do Preacher: Jake RiznerCongregational MeetingDate: 26th April 2026Passage: Colossians 3:16

As a part of our understanding of the anointing  we must acknowledge that Jesus warned us about false Christs, false prophets, and false teachers.  The closer we get to the return of Jesus the greater the enemy's deception will be.

Offices of the Church: DeaconsSeries: Why We Do What We Do Preacher: Nathan RaynorCongregational MeetingDate: 19th April 2026Passages: Acts 6:1-71 Timothy 3:8-13

Matthew 24 What are the signs of His return? False versions of Jesus Vs.5 Wars and Rumors of war/Nations against nations Vs. 6-7 Famines and earthquakes Vs. 7 Persecution of the Church Vs. 9 Betrayal and hatred Vs. 10 False Prophets Vs. 11 Lawlessness and Cold hearts Vs. 12 Why Has He Not Returned? “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 NASB “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:8-9 NASB How To Prepare For His Return Be Eager “And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3 NASB Be Aware “And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,' and they will mislead many people. And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains. “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people… For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:4-11, 24 NASB Be Faithful “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Matthew 24:36 NASB Be Wise “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37-39 NASB Be Alert “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:42 NASB Be Ready “For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” Matthew 24:44 NASB

False and True Ministers (1) (audio) David Eells, 4/15/26   Discerning False Prophets J.N. - 06/09/2008 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was in a class with several other pupils. We were in this big room which looked rather like a gymnasium, and I remember thinking and missing my friends from other classes, who I remembered were long gone away. David Eells was our teacher, and I was standing next to him. (A type of the David man-child reformer body.) David was telling me that the previous night there was a party at his next-door neighbor's house and he didn't get much sleep. (God's people giving into lasciviousness have truly caused conscientious leaders loss of sleep.) He was casually dressed, like a sports teacher or a trainer. (We have to train the people of God to get in shape for the contest to come.) Since I was seeing his profile, I noticed he was wearing a patch or a piece of wool over his nose, like he had a nose job, or even more, it looked to me like something he was wearing to filter the air he was breathing. (This nose filter represents the ability to discern and separate good from evil. The nose gives discernment to the mind that is neither seen nor heard. Wool over the nose represents having the true clothing or actions of sheep, which filter out the false spirits, which is the meaning of “breath” in the Hebrew.) The next thing I remember was a tall man entering the room, accompanied by a woman. (The tall man is seen in many dreams as the larger body of the corporate false prophet and his companion, the harlot church.) They were dressed in suits and looked to me like teachers. The man came and was standing next to me, and I knew they were there to acquire some pupils for themselves. (They will seek through lasciviousness, meaning a license to excess, to draw aside disciples of Christ for their own aggrandizement.) I tried to ignore him since I could tell what his intentions were, and then he pointed his finger at me. I looked around for David but couldn't see him. (We will face temptation alone.) I turned to the man and looked at his face for the first time. He was so tall, almost all the way up to the ceiling; I remember feeling the pain in my neck as I was struggling to look at his face. (His great size represents a corporate body of people.) He was nicely groomed, curly-haired, and had bright grey, watery eyes. (They tend to see things in grey, not black or white, as in wrong or right.) Being determined, I told him that I was not going with him because David was my teacher. As I was saying these words, I was getting weak. I remember being hardly able to say that last word, “teacher”, but I succeeded. He looked shocked and very offended because obviously, he had the authority to choose from the class as he liked, and he looked at the woman (the harlot) with disbelief. He looked back at me, trying to put some smile on his angry face, and then I woke up. (JN's name means “victory”. Although tempted, he obviously represents those who gain the victory over the false prophet and harlot because of his training in discernment. We are told that the Word exercises our senses to discern good from evil: (Heb.5:12) For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. (13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. (14) But solid food is for fullgrown men, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.)   True and False Leadership Seen Jan Albayalde (David's notes in red) I dreamed these two dreams back-to-back on 08/28/2007.   The Fasting Dream I was sitting in the front row of a huge church that was the true church of the Lord Jesus. The Church was very plain, with white walls and a little wood trim, but nothing ornate or stained glass. A man I don't know walked to the podium to address the people. He was a small man in stature, almost frail. He said just a couple of words, called forward a large man who was about his same age, around 45, had him face the crowd, and began to introduce him. Suddenly, the man at the podium fell on the floor, weeping under the presence of God. At the same time, the man standing to be introduced, who was a Jew wearing a business suit with an azure blue shirt, was also filled with the Spirit and began speaking in tongues. This man was slightly overweight, let's say hearty, with a rosy, robust complexion. He had a lot of snow white hair, so much that I'm sure the Lord wanted me to notice (i.e., it was very high on his head). I rushed forward to help the man on the floor, but before I got to him, as I passed the man speaking in tongues, I became filled with the Spirit, fell on my knees, and began worshipping God. A man in the congregation, a man I DO know as pastor of a local church here, came forward, looked at the man weeping on the floor, the Jew speaking in tongues, me worshipping and said, “This is what happens when you fast and pray; this man on the floor had been in a long fast before the Lord, seeking the face of God and is why the power and glory of God is falling”. An interesting thing about the dream: the man at the podium who had been fasting and fell weeping on the floor was dressed in a suit as he stood, but when I rushed forward to help him, as I fell to my knees under the anointing, I saw he was naked. The man standing behind the pulpit was fasting to weaken the old outer man and so he fell. He was small because “the outer man is decaying yet our inner man is renewed day by day” (2 Cor.4:16). The one introduced represented the new inner man because he had gained what the outer man had lost. He stood in the fast and had a lot of perfectly white hair, meaning much submission to holiness. As in 1 Cor.11:10 the hair is a sign of submission to authority. He had a blue shirt representing heavenly works. He is the spiritual man because he spoke the words of the spirit and is a spiritual Jew because he is circumcised in heart, not flesh. Fasting is so that the old man who is naked, because he is not dressed up with the works of Christ, can be removed so that the new man who is dressed up with Christ in his heavenly works would face the congregation (Rom.13:12-14). This is a good exhortation for the coming new Church leadership to deny feeding self and pray so that Christ, through them, can minister to His people.   The Snake Dream Immediately after the above dream, I dreamed this: I was in my spirit looking down over an orchard of pure white trees which represents the true Church. A huge green snake with huge muted splotches of black along its body appeared at the edge of the grove of white trees. From this point, I no longer saw the trees; my focus was on the snake. Next, the snake turned totally blue. Then the snake turned totally black. End of dream. The green snake is the false leadership of the church or the false prophet. In Acts 16:16 the spirit of false prophecy or divination is translated in Greek as “a spirit; a python”. It is green because it is the natural man ministering and not the spiritual. He stands outside of the white or holy trees, but not in their midst, for he is not holy. The black splotches represent their works of darkness, which are plainly seen. His turning blue as a chameleon represents deception in that he is attempting to be seen as ‘heavenly,' but he serves the (black) darkness and will be seen that way. God is raising up a new leadership for the true church that refuses to feed the flesh, typed by fasting, and the old leadership will be plainly seen for what it has been all along. They will bring a great persecution against the holy, as it was with the Pharisees in Jesus' time.   Man-child Separates False Brethren Ron Shaw - 09/12/2011 (David's notes in red) In a dream on 7/13/10, I heard an audible voice. It said, “It is time for Isaiah 11 and to rid the land of the Palestinians”. I woke up but didn't see anyone. The reference to the Palestinians is not to the physical people in the Middle East but to that spirit that is operating here against Christians. As they work against Israel, so in spirit here against the saints. (The Palestinians were children of Abraham through Ishmael and were considered brothers to the Israelis. In like shadow, there are Christians who are Christians, and there are “Christians” who are Palestinians making war on their brethren while claiming to be the promised seed and owners of the land. Like terrorists and like Judas, they hate and attack their brethren by stealth from darkness. This, along with the types of Jesus as the Man-child, shows Him separating the false brethren from the saints by His Word. Jesus said: (Mat.10:34) Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword (meaning separation). (35) For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law: (36) and a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household. (37) He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (38) And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. (39) He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. We see here that the Man-child will separate those who refuse to lose their old life from the true disciples of Christ. They will separate the tares from among the wheat. Their Word is a sword.) The following night, I dreamed we were being divided up into different tribes, and there was such joy, and this would come soon. (Just as the spiritual tribe of Judah with its bride, Jerusalem, is being chosen now, so are the rest of the tribes. The names of the 12 tribes, applied spiritually to the Church, identify them by their nature and works.) (So how does Isaiah 11 rid the land of spiritual Palestinians? In the very beginning, which is the beginning of the tribulation, we see the Man-child comes forth.) (Isa.11:1) And there shall come forth a shoot (David) out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots (Jesus is the root and those who have abided in Him are the roots) shall bear fruit. (Jesus said: Rev.22:16, “I am the root and the offspring of David” and He is the root below in verse 10. Here, we see that this text is speaking of a branch out of David's roots that will bear fruit. This speaks of the first-fruits corporate body to come out of the roots. This branch is the Man-child who is spoken of in Jeremiah chapters 23 & 33, whose corporate name is “Jehovah Our Righteousness” in both texts. “Our” here identifies them as a corporate body of people. (2) And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. (3) And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; (4) but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (5) And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins. (This corporate body looks so much like Jesus because He lives in them by His fruit and Word. He will minister to the whole Earth through them to raise up the Church. He will have latter rain power to judge the Earth and separate the tares.) (6) And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them (the Man-child). (7) And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. (8) And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. (9) They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain (or Kingdom of God); for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. (The Man-child's truth and anointing will bring unity and peace between the Gentile beasts who normally “bite and devour one another” (Gal.5:15) who were sanctified according to the Lord: (Act.10:11) and he beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth: (12) wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things of the earth and birds of the heaven. (13) And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. (14) But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean. (15) And a voice [came] unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common. (16) And this was done thrice: and straightway the vessel was received up into heaven. These beasts obviously represent the unsaved, unclean Gentiles, as revealed later in the text. (28) and he said unto them, Ye yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to join himself or come unto one of another nation; and [yet] unto me hath God showed that I should not call any man common or unclean. So the beasts are the Church, whom the Lord will cleanse of their beastly natures. I had a vision of these beasts saved in 2007 called UBM, Refuge from the Storm.) (10) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse (Jesus), that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious (We see here nations of Christians seeking rest in Jesus). (11) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain (A great revival of those giving up their beastly heritage to follow Christ.), from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (The Lord will use the body of the Son of David/Man-child to save the beastly from among the nations.) (12) And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (13) The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. (The non-Spirit-filled northern 10 tribes will cease warring with the Spirit-filled who have the temple of His presence.) (14) And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they despoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. (These who warred against their ancient brother can become brothers when born again. Many, including Palestinians themselves, believe they are descendants of the Philistines. The word “Palestine” means “land of the Philistines”. But many Palestinians are Arabs from Ishmael and descendants of Abraham. It is possible they are a mixture. Alexander the Great conquered the Philistine cities and sold at least some of them into slavery. Later, Arabs conquered the Byzantines who ruled over Palestine. Jesus taught that it is the spirit that giveth life, the flesh profits nothing. It matters not what our flesh is, but Who lives in it.) (15) And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. (The Word of the Lord will judge Egypt, as a type of the world, by the Man-child, as it was with Moses, and deliver God's people from bondage.) (16) And there shall be a highway (of holiness) for the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria (the beast); like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.   Beware of the False Man-child Ministers Eve Brast - 08/31/2008 (David's notes in red) In a dream, my husband and I went to visit David for three days. He lived in a small wooden shack to the right and behind a large white mansion with Roman pillars in front of the porch. (The Revived Roman Empire, one world order harlot church.) He had a long gravel driveway leading back to his shack. He looked like Charlton Heston in “The Ten Commandments”, except he wore some faded blue jeans, a faded yellow t-shirt, and an old, worn-out red flannel shirt over it. (David is an end-time type of the Man-child Moses and Jesus who came in humble surroundings and fashion and were very much obscured by the worldly church of their day, “The large white mansion”. The things that have been shall be.) On the first day, my husband and I were going to sell our only last possession -- an old rusted red and yellow station wagon (the old way under the curse) with a chrome luggage rack on the top in the driveway of the mansion, and give the money to UBM. But David came up and said, “I can restore that for you if you want”. (The reformer ministries will restore the simple original way, which looks very different from the lavish mansions of the worldly, prosperity-minded church.) We agreed, and he pulled out a large sander/polisher and ground the old car down into what looked like a yellow nylon rug (restoring the walk of the sun/Son) and then it slowly built itself back up into a brand new, mint condition 1950s station wagon. (The David/Man-child ministries are reformers to restore the way to travel in -- the old paths or ways of Scripture -- which the prosperous apostate church has cast aside for many generations. (Jer.6:16) Thus saith Jehovah, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk [therein]. (Isa.58:12) And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. (Jude 1:3 Numeric) ...contend earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints.) The scene then changed, and I was holding sound equipment in the corner of a room in a white wooden house across the street that belonged to UBM. Still looking like Charlton Heston, David came in and said, “There is a guy who will be coming in, and he is the enemy. He tries to look like me and talk like me and imitate my ministry”. (I have seen these fakes who steal my words and revelations to make disciples of themselves. Just as Pharaoh's magicians copied the works of Moses up to a point. (2Ti.3:6) For of these are they that creep into houses, and take captive silly women (local apostate bodies) laden with sins, led away by divers lusts, (7) ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (8) And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the truth. Men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith. (9) But they shall proceed no further. For their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be.) I was holding a black pole in my left hand that arched out with a black foam-covered microphone on the end (a boom mic) like reporters use in a crowd to pick up sound from the person that everyone is trying to interview. In my right hand, I held a two-way walkie-talkie so that David and I were in constant communication and he could hear everything the imposter was saying and give me advice and instructions. This device also recorded what the imposter was saying. I was also wire-tapped, like someone working undercover with law enforcement to catch a criminal. David said, “Just be real, still, and faithful about holding that sound recording equipment”. (The Bride has recorded in her memory the sayings of the apostate leadership for God to contrast them with the teachings of the true David ministries. No one knows what is wrong with Babylon any better than those who have been through it.) David said, “You will be fine, don't worry. I will be right outside this window next to you.” He left and went out around the outside of the house, and was fixing a hole in the window screen with some needle-nose pliers. A darker-skinned man (symbolizing walking in darkness) came into the room and went over to the other window screen, imitating David, and began fixing the hole in that screen. (Fixing holes in screens is to keep out the curse of flies. Beelzebub is the lord of the flies, or demons. The impostor only started to fix the screen, but they cannot keep the demons out, for they are already in.) He was really close to me, and I was frozen, holding the equipment. He looked like a Hispanic Charlton Heston. (A fake alien.) He had black hair and a beard. (Symbolizing submission to darkness - 1Co.11:10,15) He was dressed the same as David, bragging about how he could do everything David Eells could do and better, but he was railing in my face about it and bragging like a drunk man how he had restored toy guns in the same manner that you had restored our old car! (The impostors are full of pride and selfish ambition to impress others to gain a following, but this fruit reveals their true nature. Toy guns are for show but have no power against a real enemy. Satan doesn't cast out Satan or destroy his own works but puts on a good show of doing this in his impostors, as in the false revivals.) David was on the other window screen outside, saying, “UH Huh” and “Really?” in response to his tirade. When he realized that David was there outside the window and that I (Eve) was recording him, he was furious and stomped out of the room. (The David ministries will discover who these people are who are covertly attempting to deceive Eve like the serpent did. Eve was the wife of Adam, who represents here a type of the Bride to the “last Adam”, Jesus, who will dwell in the Davids by word and Spirit.) David came back into the room, sat down on the empty floor with the pair of pliers still in his right hand, and said, “Did you hear all that?” I nodded in silence, and he asked, “What are we going to do about this guy?” He was tired and perplexed and shook his head. This man was causing problems for UBM that David had never encountered before. (After this dream in 2008, these false apostles came to us one after another, starting around 2010. We always hope to see the good in God's people, but we tried these men and found them false. (Rev.2:2) I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false. (2 Cor.11:13) For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. (14) And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. (15) It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. Going through this trial has sharpened our eyesight to recognize these fakes.) The second day, I was sitting in an eye exam office in the den of David's shack behind the mansion. I was sitting behind and to the right of an angelic being with short brown hair and extremely large muscles, who was dressed in a white lab coat. David was facing me as he sat on an exam chair. I was sitting in the maroon chair (This was my chair for a lot of teachings. Eve's perspective is from one who sees and understands with the renewed mind of the true Gospel.) I was relaxing in the chair and watching him get his eyes examined by this angel. A large magnifying glass appeared in front of his left eye, and it became extremely large. I was leaning forward in his maroon chair and really looking hard to see what about his eyes the angel was examining. It seemed like David was amused at my curiosity because I was like a child who was really looking hard at something. His eye behind the magnifying glass then smiled at me in response. His eyes were crystal clear and sky blue and so large under that glass that it seemed as if I looked long enough, someone could see right into his soul. I became embarrassed at his amusement at me and quit looking before I could see that far into his being, though. Then the same thing happened with the other eye! (The crystal-clear eyes of the Man-child reformers and seeing into the soul implies no demonic activity, since many see demons in the eyes of those who have them. The sky-blue eyes represent heavenly vision, such as comes from behind the veil in the temple in the Man-child Melchizedek priesthood. Large eyes represent much discernment that is not normally seen. The Bride desires to look into these things, which will be to the delight of the Man-child ministries.) The angel then commanded to my mind and to David's without talking, “TAKE SEVEN DAYS OFF FOR EACH EYE!” (The left eye suggests discernment of evil and the right discernment of good, such as is seen in Jesus' ministry.) A yellow and pink triplicate form then appeared in front of David, without the white copy on top (the angel kept the white copy) and David got up and went and put the triplicate form on his dining room table. (Seven days is the number of entering into the rest from our own works through faith, but the Davids will rest every day from their own works for good insight, as the New Testament commands. The one in charge of any transaction keeps the original copy, and God is in charge of bringing to pass in His Davids the completed rest from man's works, which will bring discernment to look into a man's soul, as Jesus had.) This shack had no bedrooms. (This indicates that this parable is not speaking of a physical rest.) Then on the third day, I was sitting in David's little living room inside his shack. (Morning of the third thousand-year day, when Hosea 6:2,3 says the Lord will come as the latter rain, and this will be first in His David/Man-child ministries as the former rain anointing came first to Jesus.) He was doing one of the Bible studies, and there was a woman to my left with a bobbed, blondish, streaked hairstyle. (The short hair represents lack of submission to the husband, as in 1 Corinthians 11. The unnatural coloring of hair symbolizes submission to various spirits that are not natural to God's people.) She was his wife in this dream, but very bossy, harping, and controlling of the conversation. (His wife means she was receiving of His seed, representing his Word. But initially, there is not complete submission because of ignorance. But for some this will change. All of the disciples were first in their apostate knowledge until the word changed them.) She was interrogating me to spit out what I saw in the eye exam and what was told to us. (Jezebel is antagonistic and persecuting towards what the true Bride sees in the Davids.) There was another tall, thin man about 6' 4” in a tan plaid western shirt and some blue jeans, wearing a dark blue ball cap; he had messy black, oily hair, and an untrimmed black goatee. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, but I knew something wasn't right, and they were there to bring chaos to UBM. (This is a spiritual picture of the same false prophets who attempt to lead away the people from the true path. They are thin, meaning undernourished in the Word of God. The goatee pictures of Satan as the head of the goats, since he is seen as the head of a goat in Satanism. The tan plaid shirt represents the many different works of these men, none of which is as white as the Bride's garment. The oily black hair and dark blue ball cap represent submission to the spirits of darkness. (2Pe.2:1) But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. (Mat.24:24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.) Then, this woman, who was David's spiritual wife made us all go outside. (The disciples who were just freed from their sectarian denominations began to form another denomination, and Jesus corrected them. (Luk. 9:49) And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. (50) But Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against you is for you. Paul declared that denominations or sects are a work of the flesh.) Like the harlot church in Israel was led by their false prophets to excommunicate their appointed husband, Jesus, and his disciples, so the end-time Jezebel will excommunicate the David ministries and disciples in whom Jesus lives. Israel was supposed to receive the seed of the Son of God through David's seed, and now the Church is to receive the seed of the Son of God through David's corporate man-child seed.) Then we rode bicycles around his shack with him in the lead on a red bicycle. (Bicycles represent balance and progress, since you must keep moving only forward and stay balanced in the Word. The red bicycle represents a path washed in the blood.) (He seemed to be unaware of the danger that these two people posed to UBM. They took advantage of his tiredness and were taking charge of things.) (Notice that false prophets “shall arise” and may not be apparent at first, just as Judas was hidden among the disciples as he has been among us but they were revealed by dreams and visions. Jesus knew Judas, as will the David Man-child ministers. The Judas' will manifest as the treasonous traitors and thieves that they are.)   False and True Wedding Rehearsal Eve Brast - 12/21/2011 (David's notes in red) In a dream, I was standing with my mom and looking down from a high balcony of a hotel (the Church) onto a wedding rehearsal taking place in an inner courtyard at the ground level. Everything looked white except a curved trail of colored rose petals that ran from the left of the courtyard up to the altar. (There was no minister at the altar. (Because they are not living the crucified life.) This false wedding rehearsal is very deceptive; it even appeared white to me except that I recognized it as being on the ground and of the earthly things, and I respected what the Word has to say about those who dwell on the earth and mind earthly things.) (This Wedding rehearsal is at the ground level because it is for those who dwell on the earth and not in heavenly places, abiding in Christ Jesus. It is a deception that much of the Church has bought into.) There was also a white tent gazebo where a harlot was reclining under on a green lawn chair with a giant squirrel. (A squirrel is a beast that digs in the earth and stores up its treasures like the talent there.) (This beast represents the carnal nature of the harlot -- loving the world and the things of the world. The white is deceptive, for she is not pure. We can see and know by experience that the harlot falsely claims to be the bride of Christ.) My mom (the true church) and I (the true bride) saw a white staircase that extended toward heaven in the center of the courtyard, but did not touch the ground. (It is heavenly and may not be ascended without faith and the resulting help from heaven.) We wanted to go up the staircase in order to see more clearly from a better vantage point during this rehearsal. (Yes, a heavenly vantage point, which only those with the Word have.) We had to go down to the second-floor balcony (spiritual death comes first.) in order to go up to the top landing of the staircase (resurrection life). When we were halfway up the staircase, I noticed that my son Elijah was a three-month-old baby in my right arm. (The Man-child is born from the bride body, in the mist of the larger Church body.) I noticed five women in white dresses who were following my mom and me up the staircase. (The corporate body of the five wise virgins who kept enough oil for their lamps and dwell in the heavenlies and not on the earth will see through this false move of satan to deceive and blind the eyes of those who dwell on the earth, who mind earthly things and have not separated themselves to seek after the Kingdom of God.) When we reached the top landing, the women sat down on the stairs to wait with us, and a purple sponge dripping with water appeared in my hand, and I washed Elijah with it. (The Man-child has now been washed with the pure water of the Word.) As I was looking through a baby bag for a blue outfit to put on Elijah (representing heavenly works), the sponge fell out of my hand over the stair railing and hit the harlot's left foot. (The pure Word will judge the harlots leftist walk.) (All I could see was her left leg from the knee down. She had on a green sequined gown split up to the mid-thigh with a green 3 1/2-inch-high heel pump on her foot.) (Green represents natural not spiritual. Also she wants to appear larger than she is.) When the sponge hit her foot and shoe, the giant squirrel crawled over her (took authority over her) and started to dig a hole next to her foot outside the tent gazebo and bury a large acorn out of its mouth there. (The sponge brings the royal water from heaven, the seed of the Kingdom. It is useless to the harlot who walks with the squirrel beast on the left who buries his treasures in the earth. The beast in her only valued the seed that comes from earth, out of the beast's mouth, the acorn.) After this, I saw a very fat (i.e. fleshly), false bridegroom dressed in a white tuxedo with a yellow rose on his lapel. His hair was very short (Representing lack of submission) and dyed blonde (fake sunship) with blonde beard stubble growth on his face. It was a transsexual who looked just like “Chaz Bono,” Sonny and Cher's daughter, Chastity, who became a man. (The real bridegroom is not at all confused about Who and what He is; He is all male and sows the seed of the Kingdom to bring forth His fruit.) He also had five women wearing white dresses hanging on him in worship and awe. (One behind him and two on each arm. (the five foolish virgins) He had a big smile on his face as he paraded around showing off these women. This is when I woke up. (It seems that these two events will be happening simultaneously. The world and apostate “Christianity” will only see the false wedding rehearsal happening; they won't see the true Man-child ministry when it is anointed to go forth. I asked the Father to give me some verses for this dream. I opened my Bible, and my finger was on: (Mat.1:20) But as he thought on these things, lo the Lord's angel appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, David's son, fear not to take to thee Mary thy wife: for what is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. (Mary believed God that she would bear the fruit of Jesus ant it was fulfilled. The true Man-child who sows the true seed of the Word, born of the virgin, who has known no seed or word of man.) The second verse I got was (2Co.11:1) Would that ye could bear with me in a little foolishness: but ye indeed bear with me. (2) For I am zealous over you with a zeal of God; for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you a pure virgin to the Christ. I went on to read down through: (14) And no marvel; for the very satan fasioneth himself into an angel of light. (There are many who claim to be the Man-child, woman, or Bride of our day and they are deceived by Satan.) (Php.3:18) For many walk, of whom I told you often and now tell you even weeping, they are the enemies of the cross of the Christ: (19) whose end is destruction: whose god is the belly (this was represented by the very fat, false bridegroom in the man-child) and their glory is their shame, who mind the earthly things. (20) For our citizenship is in the heavens whence also we wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Represented by the true corporate body of the Bride and Man-child, along with the wise virgins who are filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit and whose job it is to escort the Bride and groom to the groom's home in heaven.) (21) who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, conformed to the body of His glory according to the working whereby He is able even to subject all to Himself.

Offices of the Church: EldersSeries: Why We Do What We Do Preacher: Nathan RaynorCongregational MeetingDate: 12th April 2026Passages: Acts 20:28Titus 1:7-9Hebrews 13:7Hebrews 13:17-18

"Therefore be ye also ready." Jesus warned in Matthew 24: wars, famines, earthquakes, false Christs, and a Great Tribulation like the world has never seen. Then suddenly —Jesus returns in the clouds with power and glory. In such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.” The King is coming. Are you ready? ⭐️: True Gold Republic: Get The Endtime Show special on precious metals at https://www.endtimegold.com 🥤: Ready Pantry: Save an extra 10% your entire order (use code “ENDTIME”): https://www.readypantry.com/endtime 📱: It's never been easier to understand. Stream Only Source Network and access exclusive content: https://watch.osn.tv/browse 📚: Check out Jerusalem Prophecy College Online for less than $60 per course: https://jerusalemprophecycollege.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Easter Sunday - Ephesians 2:1-10Series: Easter (2026) Preacher: Nathan RaynorCongregational MeetingDate: 5th April 2026Passage: Ephesians 2:1-10

Join us as we look through the current trend of the ancient alien phenomena, recent events, and ufo disclosure and how it relates to us as Christians. We need to be vigilant in these times as get closer and closer to Christs return. Many will be deceived and we need to have discernment as the Church moves further toward the end times. Is it deception or distraction......or both?