Podcasts about HEB

In this message we experience the thunder of God's holiness rumbling down from the Mountain of God's Law (Sinai), and then find the grace of God's mercy in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because God is fearsome in his holiness and His law cannot save, we must flee by faith to the Mediator He has provided in Jesus who leads us away from Sinai to the mountain of His grace. I. The Terror of the Law. vv 18-19a II. The Cry for a Mediator. vv 19-20 III. We Have a Better Mediator and a Better Mountain in Jesus. v 21; Heb 12:18-21

Megan J. Conner invites us to confront the fears and anxieties we often harbor around money and control. Drawing from her personal journey and key scriptures like Hebrews 13:5 and Philippians 4:19, she challenges us to shift our trust from financial security to God’s faithful provision. This devotional gently reminds us that money itself isn’t evil—our hearts and priorities matter most. Through surrender and faith, Megan shows how we can find peace and contentment even amid economic uncertainty. ✨ Highlights Why money is a tool, not the enemy, when used with the right heart How financial fear often signals a deeper trust issue with God Megan’s personal struggle with anxiety and the breakthrough found in surrender Scriptural promises to anchor your faith in God’s provision and care Practical step: physically “surrender” your financial worries through journaling and prayer

 What do you do when your job starts feeling… eerily quiet? In this episode of The JB and Sandy Show, the crew dives into the unsettling trend of “quiet firing,” where employers subtly push employees out without ever saying the words. But that's just one of the many wild threads in this fast-moving, laugh-out-loud episode. From Austin Butler slinging drinks at Dirty Bills to Charlie Sheen's jaw-dropping Netflix documentary, JB, Sandy, and Trisha cover everything from celebrity sightings to workplace drama. Special guest Jane Ko, founder of A Taste of Koko, joins later to share her journey as a food and lifestyle influencer in Austin's vibrant scene.Key Moments:

Nog steeds, nog altijd, nog niet... Heb jij er weleens bij stilgestaan hoe vaak we het woord 'nog' gebruiken in de Nederlandse taal? Joyce Diebels van Dutch with Joyce bespreekt de verschillende combinaties.

Floor Rusman heeft een lichte tot zware controlebehoefte die ze toch ook graag uit handen geeft. Heb jij ook een goed, waargebeurd verhaal dat je wilt delen bij een Echt Gebeurd-editie In Toomler? Ga dan naar onze website, want we zijn altijd op zoek naar nieuwe vertellers. Onze redactie neemt contact op als je verhaal geschikt lijkt. De thema's voor alle verhalenmiddagen na de zomervakantie vind je hier. Echt Gebeurd is te volgen op Instagram, Facebook, Threads, BlueSky en LinkedIn. Voor mensen die het kunnen missen hebben we Vriend van de Show. Wil je donateur worden voor € 2,50 per maand of een eenmalige donatie doen, dan kan dat hier. Om te adverteren in onze podcast kun je contact opnemen met Dag en Nacht Media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who released “those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb 2:15)? 

In deze 19de aflevering (deel 1) ga ik in gesprek met Dennis Gulikers (56). Dennis kreeg zo'n vijf en een half jaar geleden de diagnose mucosaal melanoom. In dit eerste deel vertelt hij over de weg hiernaartoe, hoe hij dit alles ervaren heeft en hoe de eerste periode met diagnose verloopt. De relatie tussen HPV en Mucosaal melanoom is nauwelijks aangetoond. Er zijn enkele studies waarbij HPV-DNA gevonden is in hele kleine aantallen. Vanaf nu kun je me persoonlijk steunen om deze podcast te blijven maken en verder uit te bouwen. Met een donatie via deze link:⁠Kankerpraat - Ken Driessen - Petje af - Petje Af⁠via Petje Af help je me om nog meerwaardevolle afleveringen te maken en mijn werk voor Kankerpraat voort te zetten. Jouw steun, groot of klein, betekent enorm veel en maakt een groot verschil.Heb je vragen of lijkt het je mooi om zelf een keer te gast te zijn? Stuur me dan gerust een mailtje op Ken@kankerpraat.nl.Bedankt voor het luisteren!

In het tweede deel van aflevering 19 horen we of de ziekte na de eerste operaties nog is teruggekeerd of niet. Gaan we dieper in op het omgaan met je omgeving en het wel/niet delen van emoties en nog veel meer! Hartelijk dank Dennis voor het delen van je verhaal! Vanaf nu kun je me persoonlijk steunen om deze podcast te blijven maken en verder uit te bouwen. Met een donatie via deze link:⁠Kankerpraat - Ken Driessen - Petje af - Petje Af⁠via Petje Af help je me om nog meerwaardevolle afleveringen te maken en mijn werk voor Kankerpraat voort te zetten. Jouw steun, groot of klein, betekent enorm veel en maakt een groot verschil.Heb je vragen of lijkt het je mooi om zelf een keer te gast te zijn? Stuur me dan gerust een mailtje op Ken@kankerpraat.nl.Bedankt voor het luisteren!

This episode was recorded at the 2025 Western Dairy Management Conference in Reno, Nevada.Stan begins with an overview of the dairy checkoff since its inception in 1983. At that time, dairy farmers were producing 139 billion pounds of milk, but only 122 million pounds were being consumed. Dairy promotion has evolved to focus on research and education about nutrition, crisis management and even partnerships with Domino's, Taco Bell and McDonald's. (3:02)Stan and Marty detail some of the national and regional partnerships around dairy menu options. Walt notes that the grilled cheese burrito from Taco Bell is one of his son's favorite fast food meals. The panel discusses some of the strategy behind the Taco Bell partnership as well as marketing to Gen Z consumers about how dairy fits into mind and body wellness. (6:39)Walt comments the checkoff has done and is continuing to do a great job of being future-ready. He remembers a few years ago hearing about the gaming generation and partnerships with Mr. Beast and YouTube and embedding cows in Minecraft, and now his sons are playing Minecraft and gaming and are on YouTube. (13:43)Stan notes in 1995, exports were at 3%. That has now increased to 16-17%. Marty gives some examples of partnerships with the Dallas Cowboys and HEB stores in Mexico to promote dairy. (16:09)The panel discusses the US investments in processing, the “Dairy Renaissance”, research into dairy-as-medicine, and continued product innovations to meet consumer demands. (23:24)Marty and Stan detail the agreement between the Dairy Checkoff and Mayo Clinic investigating the role of whole milk foods in treating and preventing cardiovascular and metabolic disease. (34:04)Panelists share their take-home thoughts. (37:51)You can find more information about the dairy checkoff at https://www.dairycheckoff.com/Please subscribe and share with your industry friends to invite more people to join us at the Real Science Exchange virtual pub table.  If you want one of our Real Science Exchange t-shirts, screenshot your rating, review, or subscription, and email a picture to anh.marketing@balchem.com. Include your size and mailing address, and we'll mail you a shirt.

In this episode of the Level Up and Live podcast, host Sean Meyers talks with Josh Webb, owner of Webb's Custom Apparel, about transforming a family business into a thriving, customer-focused success story. Josh shares how he went from a corporate career at HEB to taking over his parents' business, why learning every role was key to understanding the company, and how leadership in a family business comes with unique challenges. You'll hear how Josh applies lessons from jiu-jitsu—like patience and calm under pressure—to his leadership style, why customer satisfaction drives every decision, and how he balances business growth with family, faith, and personal well-being. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a leader, or someone seeking inspiration to level up in life, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom you can use today. Topics covered: Transitioning from corporate to family business ownership The importance of mastering every role in your company Overcoming leadership challenges in a family-owned business Applying martial arts principles to business and life Prioritizing customers, relationships, and personal well-being

Anna Vocino Returns!Take a walk with me down Fascination Street, as I get to know even more about Anna Vocino. Anna's first appearance on the show was released on 6.13.22. I recomend going back and checking that one out, as it was A BLAST! This time around, we discuss some different stuff. We kick the show off talking about her first experience on a film set. Anna was in the classic film Dead Poets Society, where she got to hang out with the late, great Robin Williams. We then transition into her work on another Robin Williams project, this time for television. The Crazy Ones was one of Robin's last projects, so naturally I ask her about working on that with him. Anna and I then talk about a series she worked on called Free Radio, and she tells some great stories from that set as well. Then we move onto the subject of her health. Anna has some fairly unique immune related issues that she deals with on a daily basis. She is fine, but does navigate some challenges, and she is very open about dealing with those. Of course, we discuss her working with the wonderful Vinnie Tortorich and theie podcast Fitness Confidential, before we dive into her Eat Happy empire! Anna has released 3 cookbooks (a fourth to be released in October of 2026), and an ever growing product line! Eat Happy Kitchen currently offers: 4 pasta sauces (marinara, arrabbiata, puttanesca, pink crema), and 1 seasonal pasta sauce (pumpkin marinara), as well as 4 spice mixes (BBQ Dust, Taco Seasoning, Dill Ranch Seasoning, Salt / Onion Dust), and now offering 3 flavors of Crispy Crunchy Cheese Bites (Cheddar & BBQ, White Cheddar & Onion, Monterey Jack & Onion). We talk about all of these products, and where to find them. They are all available at EatHappyKitchen.com, as well as myriad grocery stores nation wide. Anna shares some behind the scenes stories about what it takes to get a product on the shelf at your local grocery store. As always, no matter what we are talking about; Anna brings the funny! Oh, and pay special attention because we decide to offer a special deal to all of the listeners! 

COVID, infections, deaths, vaccine...this is all we seem to hear (and fight) about anymore, but how should a Christian respond to the pandemic? Should we buy into the hype? How would God have us respond?On today's podcast, Pastor Derek and Pastor Jackie talk through a biblical perspective on COVID-19 and some practical steps on how we ought to view and handle the hype of this virus. This topic is as controversial as they come, but thankfully, God's Word speaks to all topics.The 17:17 podcast is a ministry of Roseville Baptist Church (MN) that seeks to tackle cultural issues and societal questions from a biblical worldview so that listeners discover what the Bible has to say about the key issues they face on a daily basis. The 17:17 podcast seeks to teach the truth of God's Word in a way that is glorifying to God and easy to understand with the hope of furthering God's kingdom in Spirit and in Truth. Scriptures: Job 42:2; John 16:33; Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Rom. 8:18; Jer. 17:7-8; Eph. 5:15-17; Prov. 22:3; Luke 14:28; 2 Tim. 1:7; Psa. 23:3; Josh. 1:9; Isa. 26:3; Phil. 4:6-7; Acts 4:29; Eph. 6:10-20; 1 Cor. 16:33; Heb. 10:25; 2 Tim. 4:5.If you'd like access to our show notes, please visit www.rosevillebaptist.com/1717podcast to see them in Google Drive!Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review the podcast so that we can reach to larger audiences and share the truth of God's Word with them!Write in your own questions to be answered on the show at 1717pod@gmail.com or tweet at us @1717pod on Twitter.  God bless!

====================================================SUSCRIBETEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNpffyr-7_zP1x1lS89ByaQ?sub_confirmation=1==================================================== LECCIÓN DE ESCUELA SABÁTICA         III TRIMESTRE DEL 2025Narrado por: Miguel PáezDesde: Bogotá, ColombiaUna cortesía de DR'Ministries y Canaan Seventh-Day Adventist ChurchMARTES 12 DE AGOSTOAGUA DE LA ROCA En el desierto se necesita mucha agua. Dios se ocupó de este problema pese a que el pueblo era pendenciero, no confiaba en él, e incluso puso a prueba su capacidad y su disposición a proveerles el vital líquido. En su incredulidad, volvieron la vista a Egipto. Lee Éxodo 17:1 al 7. ¿Qué lección debería haber aprendido el pueblo de este incidente? Moisés llamó al lugar Masa, que significa “prueba”, y Meriba, que significa “rencilla”. El Señor dio agua a los israelitas a pesar de su incredulidad. Esas dos palabras deberían haberles recordado que no debían poner a prueba a Dios ni reñir con él (Heb. 3:7, 8, 15). Cuestionaron seriamente la presencia de Dios a pesar de las numerosas demostraciones previas que habían tenido de su compañía, poder y autoridad. “Moisés hirió la peña, pero fue el Hijo de Dios el que, escondido en la columna de nube, estaba junto a Moisés e hizo brotar las vivificadoras corrientes de agua. No solo Moisés y los ancianos, sino también toda la multitud que estaba de pie a lo lejos, presenciaron la gloria del Señor; pero si se hubiera apartado la columna de nube, habrían perecido a causa del terrible fulgor de aquel que estaba en ella” (Elena de White, Patriarcas y profetas, pp. 304, 305). El agua es símbolo de vida, pues esta no es posible sin aquella. Todas las células de nuestro cuerpo necesitan agua. Nosotros mismos estamos constituidos por un 60 % de agua. Incluso nuestros huesos están en parte compuestos por ella. Por lo tanto, el hecho de que Dios proporcionara agua a los israelitas en el desierto era evidencia de que Dios se preocupaba por sus necesidades y de que podían confiar en él. Pero, de nuevo, era necesario que fueran obedientes. Muchos siglos después, Pablo recuerda a los creyentes que la experiencia de los israelitas en el desierto fue única. Cristo mismo no solo los guio, sino que también les proporcionó agua (Sal. 78:15, 16) y satisfizo otras necesidades espirituales y físicas. En tal sentido, el apóstol afirmó: “La roca era Cristo” (1 Cor. 10:4). Para ellos, Cristo era la Fuente de la vida y el Dador de la vida eterna. Así como una roca es sólida, Dios guiaba firmemente a su pueblo. Se puede contar con él porque no deja de cumplir sus promesas. ¿En qué aspectos necesitas ahora mismo confiar en Dios? ¿Cómo puedes aprender a someterte a su voluntad y esperar hasta que él actúe a su debido tiempo? ¿Por qué no siempre es fácil hacerlo? 

Luke recounts Jesus teaching, "Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom." (Lk 12:32) To live our lives even now in the Kingdom of the beloved Son requires faith, and so, this homily considers one of the most famous verses on faith in the New Testament: "Faith is the substance of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen." (Heb 11:1)

Fr. Roger J. Landry Convent of the Missionaries of Charity, Bronx, NY Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, C August 10, 2025 Wis 18:6-9, Ps 33, Heb 11:1-2.8-19, Lk 12:32-48   To listen to an audio recording of today’s homily, please click below:  https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/8.10.25_Homily_1.mp3   The following text guided today’s homily: “Blessed the people the Lord […] The post Indestructible Money Bags with Inexhaustible Treasures, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C), August 10, 2025 appeared first on Catholic Preaching.

"God-Pleasing Faith," Ordinary Time; Heb. 11:1-16; Rev. Zach Croonquist.

Fr. Mat preaches Gen 15:1-6 Ps 33:(1-9)10-21 Heb 11:1-16 Luke 12:32-40

Jesus Delivers Us (9) (audio) David Eells -8/10/25 Saints, I'm going to continue our teaching on how Jesus delivered us and the authority and power we've been given over the kingdom of darkness. I have several revelations to share with you today to encourage you in your faith. I want to begin with this dream. First, I'm going to read the entire dream and then break it down with scripture and interpretations, so listen carefully.   Dream: Escaping the Darkness – LD (David's notes in red) I was in an empty parking lot with two young men who may have been angels. It was dark outside. I saw many people walking around talking to themselves. Many people had their heads down as if they were depressed or worried. Behind most, if not all of the people talking to themselves, I saw at least one or two demons standing. The demons were whispering in their ears the very words that they were speaking. The people were oblivious to the demons, thinking that what they were saying was their own thoughts. At some point, the demons realized that I was aware of them and that I knew what they were doing. At that point, all of the demons stopped at once and stared directly at me. Then they began to chase me to attack me. I and the two young men (angels) began running to the right side of the parking lot where there was a wooden fence. I was then helped over it to escape the demons. On the other side was a three-story apartment building, all one structure. On the top floor, a single light was on. I went to that room. I entered to see a man sitting down, smiling at me. I knew I was safe there.  As we look at the interpretation of this dream, I'd like to point out some underlying Scriptural principles. I was in an empty parking lot with two young men who may have been angels. (This is a revelation of mobile vessels, or people, finding no rest although they should be resting because this was a parking lot.) It was dark outside. (We know that darkness is closing in quickly.) I saw many people walking around talking to themselves. (This could be spiritual or physical. It could represent that they are talking to themselves in their minds or aloud, with their tongues. People who have demons often do talk to themselves.) Many people had their heads down as if they were depressed or worried. (They were being oppressed by the very demons that were using them.) Behind most, if not all of the people talking to themselves, I saw at least one or two demons standing. The demons were whispering in their ears the very words that the people were speaking. When demons attempt to seduce people who are loyal to the Lord and His Word, those people have authority over the demons to rebuke them, but when the demons have gotten this far, people, as represented here, are overcome. Even so, they still have this authority if they repent of the thing that caused them to be taken over by these spirits in the first place, and if they have faith to exercise their authority or go to someone who has authority, or both. Demons do speak directly to your mind. They're testing you; they're looking for a crack in your armor (Romans 13:12,14; Ephesians 6:10-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:8). Anyone who listens to them speak through others or listens in their own mind will lose their freedom. If you listen to them, their demonic words have power. If you listen, they will take you where you don't want to go. It's a different situation for those who have authority. (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. This includes all the demonic powers. But a person does not have authority over Satan when they've disobeyed God's Word and been turned over to Satan for a chastening (1 Corinthians 5:5). However, if a person repents, or if they haven't given in to Satan but are being tested by Satan, this person does have authority. They can “bind” and the devil has to obey. It's just like commanding a healing. You believe you have authority over that curse (Matthew 10:8; John 20:21). When your conscience is clean and you understand what Jesus accomplished at the Cross, you do have this authority. This is not because you are absolutely perfect; even the youngest child in the Lord has this authority to bind or loose. Now, this principle can go against you. People do loose Satan on themselves by their disagreement with God's Word instead of binding Satan by their agreement with God's Word. It's not about saying, “I bind” or “I loose”; it's about agreeing or disagreeing with God's Word. People do it all the time, whether they know it or not. (Luk.9:1) And he called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. We know that the disciples weren't perfected at that time. They still had quite a way to go in walking with Jesus, but they had been given authority. Jesus told us in (Mar.16:17) And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons… And in (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. We have that authority. You have that authority if you have faith to agree with the Word. The devil tries to bluff people. He tries to tell them he has authority or that he's going to take them out. If your conscience is not clean, you need to do something about that quickly! If you have confessed your sins (1Jn 1:7-9) and your conscience is clean, you can turn on the demons and tell them they don't have any authority over you because of what Jesus said. You have authority over them. Demons can't take you without your permission, but you can permit them in one or more ways. You give them permission when you sin or when you are determined to walk in sin. You give them permission when you choose to walk after idols because they are more important to you than obeying God. You give them permission when you give in to deception or seduction by evil spirits, and so on. So, if you give them authority, they will take it. What you bind on earth is bound in heaven. You have the authority on the earth, but you also have the authority to give it to Satan just as Adam did. God's Word says, (Rom.6:16) Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves [as] servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Adam obeyed Satan and lost his authority. The same thing happens today. People get demon-possessed because they obey Satan. Let's return to the dream. Oblivious to the demons, the people were thinking that what they were saying was their own thoughts. (You can't tell them, “Hey! That's demons talking through you.” It's a waste of breath. When the demons have already taken over, they are not going to let the person even think they've got demons. This is a common symptom of possession.) At some point, the demons realized that I was aware of them (Now this is important.) and that I knew what they were doing. At that point, all of the demons stopped at once and stared directly at me. Then they began to chase me to attack me. This is also common in demon possession. They know their advantage is to stay hidden. Demons make their victims believe that the demonic thoughts and words are the victims' own, or that the thoughts are from God. They can be peaceable until they know that you are aware of them, then they fight against you because they are not worried so much about hiding themselves anymore. I've had the gift of discerning of spirits since I was about a year old in the Lord, but it doesn't happen all the time. It happens when God wants it to happen. On one occasion, I saw demons in a woman looking at me, and by the spirit I heard the demons saying to one another, “Do you think he sees us? Do you think he knows we are in here?” Well, yes! I did know because I had seen them long before they spoke, but I had not said anything. I was waiting on the Lord. Once I acknowledged their presence, they would completely turn her against me. I knew this from experience, and so during this time of waiting, I was praying for this person to repent. Not repenting is most often why people are turned over to demons. (Mat.18:34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. (35) So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. The Lord Himself turns people over to demons because they don't repent. Some of the biggest reasons for needing to repent are holding on to unforgiveness, being bitter, and habitually criticizing people, which can be a type of judging others. These wrongs are always cause for a person to be turned over to demons for the purpose of bringing them to repentance. An example is the man who had his father's wife. Apostle Paul was led by the Spirit (1Co.5:5) to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. In the case of the woman in whom the demons were questioning if I could see them, the time came to reveal the problem to her husband for his sake, but he chose fellowship with the demons and his wife over the Lord. Then he became infected, too. I've seen this disloyalty to God cause possession many times. I pray for these folks who are in that kind of situation. More than ever, God is turning people over to Satan for chastening to humble them and bring them to repentance. (Mat.10:32) Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven. (33) But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven. One way this happens is by choosing demons, relatives, or friends over the Lord and His Word or representatives. This happened all through the Scriptures. God's representatives spoke for Him, but the demons in people railed. Those who felt it more important or more advantageous to listen to demons got demon-possessed. “Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven.” In other words, they have no right to grace or the benefits of the Kingdom. Jesus is the High Priest of our confession (Hebrews 3:1). If we don't confess Him before men, we don't have any offering before the Father. (Rom.10:10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Salvation comes from our confession. And so, once again, I saw a seducing Jezebel spirit in a wife give a husband no peace until he knuckled under for the sake of advantage, and from then on, they both served this false god. This happens a lot, and that's how we end up with so many Ahab spirits out there. The Scripture is clear in (Luk.14:26) If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (“Life” here is the Greek word psuche and it means “the soul, life, self.”). What is Jesus talking about hating here? It's the carnal soulish life that we should hate in ourselves and our relatives. Some people give in to that soulish life and the opinions of relatives, but we should never do that, because it's denying the Lord. It's following a false god for the sake of advantage. People do this for the sake of peace in their family. A husband or wife sways a person because of their idols or fear of someone else's opinions. For the sake of their ego or whatever, they give in and deny the Lord, and then demons come in and oppress or torment. They are the ones who administer the curse. The curse is wherever grace is not. When God takes away grace, that's the curse. (Luk.14:26) If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not … his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. If you don't love God above everyone else, you can't be His disciple. And if you don't hate that carnal life in your relatives and turn against it for the sake of the Lord, you cannot be God's disciple. (Luk.18:29) And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or wife, or brethren, or parents, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, (30) who shall not receive manifold more in this time, and in the world to come eternal life. There are some men who do end up leaving their wives for the Kingdom's sake, but no one can do this of themselves, and wives and children must be cared for. (1Ti.5:8) But if any provideth not for his own, and specially his own household, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. In some cases, wives refuse to follow husbands into the harvest work. If God ordains a man to a five-fold office (Ephesians 4:11) they must go, but they are responsible to care for their families through faith or by actions. No one can take an office unto themselves or ordain themselves. Some men stay home and don't work, putting their wives to work instead. If a man doesn't work at a secular job, he must be ordained to a ministry office, but either way, he must work to eat. (2Th.3:10) For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat. (11) For we hear of some that walk among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies. (12) Now them that are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. You will notice in the last two Scripture texts that the man is responsible to work or provide, if able. If the above responsibilities are met, a wife should not be able to hold a man back from work. Remember that Lot's wife looked back to sin and destruction (Genesis 19:26), but Lot kept going to the refuge (Genesis 19:19:22- 23). Men, do not appease a Jezebel spirit; it's going to seduce you and lead you astray. We have our command from God. (Eph.5:22) Wives, [be in subjection] unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. (The Lord, not I, said this, but those who have a Jezebel spirit will still get angry, although this is the truth. We have to obey God's Word, otherwise we can't call ourselves “disciples”.) (23) For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, (Just as much as Jesus is Head of the Church, the husband is the head of the wife.), [being] himself the saviour of the body. (If a wife does not obey her husband, she is not going to get saved.) (24) But as the church is subject to Christ, so [let] the wives also [be] to their husbands in everything. (To make this possible for the wife, we are then told,) (25) Husbands, love your wives (Feeling unloved isn't an excuse for a wife to disobey her husband, but love makes it easier for the wife to obey her husband.), even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it. Loving your wife does not include giving in to a Jezebel spirit. Giving in means you are putting yourself under a demon spirit, and taking yourself and your family out from under God. If you do that, you will pay the price for it. On the other hand, do not judge the lost wife. God insists on Christ the Word being your Head. Don't judge her, but don't allow her to be your Head. If Jesus is not your Head, then you are following a false god. It's very plain. (Mat.12:30) He that is not with me is against me… If, because of your stand for Christ, your wife leaves you, then suffer for Christ's sake. We all have to suffer in one way or another, but do not follow a false god. The Bible says, (1Co.7:15) Yet if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart: the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such [cases:] but God hath called us in peace. If your mate leaves because you follow Jesus, then so be it. You are not bound in such a case; God never really wants you to be married to an unbeliever anyway. He says to stay married to them only if they are content to dwell with you, because they can be saved through your witness. Amen! The wife who has an unbelieving husband should obey him up to, but not including, moral sin. (1Pe.3:1) In like manner, ye wives, [be] in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the behavior of their wives. [Read our book on our site, The Word, Women and Authority https://www.ubm1.org/books/pdf/wwaa.pdf] If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, you have to follow the Word. If you want to be a “Christian” and not be a disciple of Jesus, you are not going to be saved. It's that simple. The word “Christian” is a very loose term in our day, meaning almost nothing. In the early days, people were called “Christians” because they followed Christ Jesus and they did His works. Today, the word “Christian” should mean more, but sad to say, it doesn't mean much to people. Jesus told us, (Mat.10:34) Think not that I came to send peace on the earth (You might think, “Peace between me and my wife is the most important. I have to do whatever I have to do.” No, you don't. Jesus did not come to send peace on the earth.): I came not to send peace, but a sword. (And that “sword” is to divide those who are loyal to God's Word from those who are not.) (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 (Of course, there are many more relationships. He's just making a point.): (36) and a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household. When you come to God and they have not, you have no communion there. The Bible says, (2Co.6:14) Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? If you follow the Lord, they can be converted by your witness. If you don't follow the Lord, you have no favor from God, and in that event, don't expect your family to be saved. To get your family saved, the most important thing for you to do is follow the Lord as a disciple of Jesus Christ and have favor from God. He will save your family if you believe Him for it. (Mat.10:37) 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. You can love people more than you love the Word. The Lord and Word are the same. If you love someone or something more than the Word, you are going to be deceived. It's possible to pity demon-possessed people and then, through demons manipulating that pity, to get deceived and fall right into their situation. Don't believe that all those who call themselves “Christian” are going to be saved, because (Mat.10:38) And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. (We are to die on our “cross” in order to gain our higher life, the life of the born-again man.) (39) He that findeth his life (This is the old psuche life.) shall lose it; (39) and he that loseth his life (Again, this is the old psuche life, the carnal self.) for my sake shall find it. (40) He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. Those who favor God in His representatives will have His favor. Those who don't receive His representatives, God will not receive. Those who do not receive His representatives due to selfish purposes will be rejected as unworthy. (Mat.10:41) He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet (“Name” means “nature, character and authority.” In other words, a prophet or other office should be respected in the Name that they fill.) shall receive a prophet's reward: and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. If you don't do these things, you will not receive that reward. “Filthy lucre” preachers have selfish ambition. (1Pe.5:2) Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to [the will of] God; nor yet for filthy lucre…When tested of the Lord, they fail. I have seen ministers tested by demons who told them how good the ministers were and how bad I was, until finally the ministers promoted themselves and sought to overthrow me with slander. They were taken captive. Now we can finish interpreting the dream. I and the two young men (angels) began running to the right side of the parking lot (This represents the sheep being on the right, as opposed to the wrong side, or the left, which is where the goats go.) where there was a wooden fence. I was then helped over it to escape the demons. (The Lord will make a way of escape for those who are on the right, but not for those who are on the left. The Bible says they will be held under punishment until the Day of the Lord (2 Peter 2:9). Those faithful who overcome with the help of God's ministering spirits will escape the demons. They will not be separated from the body, as will be the unfaithful.) On the other side of the fence was a three-story apartment building, all one structure. (This represents those who go over the fence are being joined with the other true overcomers in God, becoming the temple of God. (Eph.2:21) In whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; (22) in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. God does not want to share His building with demons. A person needs deliverance if they have demons because the demons are keeping them from serving God. Demons are idols and they take advantage of people to prey upon their flesh as a judgment on the wicked. If a person wants deliverance from these tormentors, they must forgive everybody from their heart; otherwise, Jesus said the Father would put those tormentors on them. On the top floor a single light shone. I went to that room. The top floor represents the spirit of the body. The one light is Jesus, our Light in darkness. I entered in to see a man sitting down, smiling at me. I knew I was safe there. Amen! This is a very interesting revelation that opens up a lot of good points from the Lord. Now, I have another dream by Sister A. to share with you.    Satan Is Under Jesus' Feet - Sister A. I was standing before a door in the attic of a house with a group of white women. They were unknown to me. I had a golden key. We all knew that a demon would be behind that door. I unlocked that door with my key and entered that attic with these women following behind me. As I stood inside, a huge, beast-like creature with a face like a bear and long hands like a monkey, full of hair, stood suspended in the air before me. (The house can be our individual house or the corporate house.) I started singing “Satan is Under Jesus' Feet.” I was the only one singing this song, though there were a few women with me. They were like unwilling witnesses to the hideous demon. Also, I did not rebuke or bind the demon at all. (Nobody particularly likes to look at demons. They are ugly.) As I was singing this song, the demon started getting smaller and smaller until it vanished. I continued to sing and left that room with the others. I locked that door behind me. You don't have to speak to a demon. Your attitude and actions will do that for you. If you do not accept that they have authority over you, then you have authority over them. If you preach to them that they are under Jesus' feet, they don't like to hear it. They do not like to hear about the Blood of Jesus. They don't like to hear about this great sacrifice that Jesus made to deliver us out of the power of darkness. So, as she was singing this song, the demon got smaller and smaller until it was gone. Sister “A” asked, “Does the attic have significance? Does it speak about the mind? Why was the demon locked up, and why did I lock the door after me?” The answers to all those questions are found in the interpretation of the dream. This is the “golden key” to the Kingdom that will loose people from bondage, which is in the mind. The golden key is the revelation that in the “attic” of the mind, all evil hidden there has been put under Jesus' feet. This means it is under the Body of Christ. The Bible says God made Christ to sit (Eph.1:21) far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. Yes, Jesus has that absolute dominion over them, so how do people get demons if Jesus doesn't agree? Well, He does turn people over to demons for chastening, like the Apostle Paul did in (1 Corinthians 5:1-5), and He knows when people are putting themselves under the curse because they don't walk in repentance and faith toward God. (Eph.1:22) And he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, (23) which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. He put all things under His feet. He is the Head over His corporate body upon the earth, but notice that He put all of these demon powers under the feet, under the very lowest members of His corporate body upon the earth. He's saying that He's put all these powers and dominions and rulers under the very lowest members of the Church. If we look at the image of the beast in Daniel with its ten “toes” being the end-time revelation in (Daniel 2:31-45), and we stand up the Body of Christ next to that over history, the “toes” there are also at the end of history. It's in these days that Christians are going to bring Satan's kingdom under their feet and plunder it. Note that this promise was spoken first to Adam and his seed, and then to Christ and His seed. (Heb.2:6) But one hath somewhere testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visitest him? (7) Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands: (8) Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet… There it is, but people like to say this is just about Jesus. No, it was spoken first to Adam and his seed, and then to the Last Adam, Christ and His seed. We have a confirmation here that it's talking about the seed of Christ having all things in subjection, just as in Ephesians 1:21-23. (8) Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him. When those words were spoken by Paul, he did not yet see all the manifestation of that dominion, but in the end-time we are going to see it. The battleground between us and Satan is the mind. The battleground is in that “attic.” (2Co.10:3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (4) (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds). We are talking about “strongholds” where Satan, through his demons, has gained dominion in a person's mind. Demon spirits, through those strongholds, are even passed on from parents from generation to generation through the blood (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 5:9; Numbers 14:18). God has given us authority to cast this down, but the devil works hard to convince you that you do not have this authority. If you want to have dominion over those strongholds that have been built up in your mind over the years of your lost life, you must take your authority in Christ. (2Co.10:5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. How do you win this battle? Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The rules Jesus laid down regarding judging and forgiving must be followed, especially in personal relationships. If you ignore these regulations, you will lose this battle. Even while you are puffed up by demons who want you to exercise your authority among men, you will have lost the battle. That will be proven after the Lord has used you as a vessel of dishonor. The “white women” in the dream represent those corporate bodies who are justified by grace to “walk in white,” but they need this revelation to be free, and of course, Sister “A” was demonstrating this revelation to them. There are people out there who do walk in white to the very best of their ability. They walk with the Lord. They walk under His cleansing power. We need to know that we have authority over Satan's minions and that we have authority over their strongholds in our minds. When we repent and stop agreeing with him, his influence in our mind shrinks until it's gone, just like the demon vanishing in the dream. Believe the Lord when He says, (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Believe the Lord when He says, (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. (What does “all” mean? What does it leave out? “All” leaves out nothing.) (20) Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Can you imagine what will happen when saints believe that Jesus in them has total authority? Can you imagine what will happen when the Word in them takes total authority over the kingdom of darkness? (Col.1:13) Who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. That's awesome! We need to exercise our authority, saints! Our battle does not depend on whether the enemy can read our minds; it depends on what he can do about what we know. Satan admitted he didn't have the power to get at Job because of God's “hedge.” (Job.1:9) Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? (10) Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath, on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. The same is true of us. It's not important for our thoughts to be hidden from the enemy when he can do nothing about them, and he can do nothing about our thoughts unless by our thoughts, we give him permission. This is because we have authority over him. Remember Jesus said, (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. It doesn't matter what the demons know. It matters what we know as sons of God. We are their lords, just as it was with Jesus. (Joh.20:21) Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind (The Greek word deo here means “forbid” or “prohibit.”) on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose (The Greek word luo here means “release” or “permit.”) on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Faith permits the sovereignty of God to be manifest through the Body of Christ. Faith forbids Satan, no matter what he knows of our thoughts. Jesus' condition for receiving His benefits is plain. (Mat.8:13) … As thou hast believed, [so] be it done unto thee… (Mat.9:29) … According to your faith be it done unto you. And (Luk.17:19) … Thy faith hath made thee whole. He said such things as these, giving us authority. Praise be to God! As we believe, God's benefits will be given. Unbelieving thoughts and actions forbid God's benefits to us because He has made a condition, and He cannot lie (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Hebrews 6:18). Unbelief permits Satan to continue administering the curse. We come out from under the curse through faith. We are counted righteous through our faith. We have to use our faith, but we can't exercise complete authority over other people. They have to use their faith, too. (Mar.6:5) And he (Jesus) could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. (6) And he marvelled because of their unbelief. Even Jesus was forbidden to do mighty works for those who would not believe. It's a condition, but whether we know it or not, we are constantly forbidding or permitting by our thoughts, words, and actions. All authority in heaven and earth was given to Jesus. He, in turn, delegated it to His disciples; so where does Satan get his authority? He gets it from our unbelief, words, and disobedience. Adding to or taking from God's Word, whether in thought or deed, permits the curse to be administered by Satan and forbids God's blessings for us or through us. This is by God's design to motivate us to come into agreement with Him. (Rev.22:18) I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book (How do we add to or take away from them? We do it with our thoughts. We do it with our words and actions. We deny the Lord when we deny His Word.): (19) and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. To win this battle, we have to cast down the thoughts of Satan. They are sent to deceive us so that we might give him permission to destroy us. Now, another thing. Many people think the reason God gives the gift of tongues is so that Satan cannot understand what we say to God, so that his purposes will be thwarted. This is false. Satan and his fallen angels have tempted mankind since shortly after the beginning, so they know some tricks. And they are angels, whether people believe it or not (Revelation 12:9). They certainly know the “tongues of men and angels”; otherwise they couldn't communicate with one another, or put thoughts in our heads. We read in (1Co.13:1) If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. When prophecy is uttered in one's own language, one's mind, doctrine, and desires are permitted to be involved in what is said. The Word is polluted. (1Co.13:9) For we know in part, and we prophesy in part… To put it another way, the prophecy can be part God and part man. That's why the prophecy, not the person, needs to be judged in (1 Corinthians 14:29). The true reason we speak in tongues is so that we will not know what we are saying, and therefore we will have no carnal reason to change the word. If our mind gets involved, then we can be tempted because of selfish ambition or our own doctrines to change it. So when you speak in tongues, the Holy Spirit is praying through you to God in a language that can be purely the Holy Spirit's request to God. (Rom.8:26) And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for [us] with groanings which cannot be uttered (That is, which cannot be uttered by man.); (27) and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to [the will] of God. It's important to pray in this way because … For the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. (1Ch.28:9) In the spirit realm, thoughts are audible to the mind of God, angels, and to demons. God and demons can, in turn, impart the gift to read minds. A man once asked me if I knew what he was thinking. At that moment the Holy Spirit gave it to me, and the man was just awed at the power of God. When I first went to a full-gospel church, I witnessed Christians exorcising a demon-possessed man who thought he was a woman, and that man also showed his ability to read minds. Why those unbelieving Christians asked for a demonstration is beyond me, because magicians, wizards, and mediums with familiar spirits or spirits of divination have demonstrated the power to read minds in front of audiences of people. I don't know why people think that demons can't read minds, especially since we wrestle with principalities and powers in the mind. We are commanded to (Eph.6:11) Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With the renewed mind of the Word (Romans 12:2), our thoughts can be guarded as with a helmet. We are then able to take back our thoughts and cast the enemy's thoughts down. (2Co.10:3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (4) (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds) (The principalities and the powers possess strongholds in the thoughts of the mind.), (5) casting down imaginations (our thoughts), and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, (Cast down anything that opposes God. You will have victory over Satan in this way. Any other way you go is opening yourself up to him.), and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Be sure you do this when the demons in people are trying to deceive you. They are fighting to win the battle against you, so bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of the Word of God. Study the Word. We have studied and talked about the verses that most often trip people up, because they disobey them. When they do that, they get captured by Satan. We win the battle by rejecting the enemies' thoughts and replacing them with God's thoughts. We win the battle by holding on to God's thoughts. We are at peace with God when we are full of His thoughts, since then our minds are guarded from demonic attacks that cause outward actions of sin. The Bible says, (Php.4:6) In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (7) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. We should be aware that Satan can insert thoughts within our thoughts. (Act.5:3) But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Also, we see another example here. (1Ch.21:1) And Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. We can use a little Holy Spirit reasoning by asking, “How can Satan insert thoughts unless he knows the content of thoughts?” If you went into your computer to edit a text, how could you insert changes unless you could read the text? If you just inserted a word change at random without knowing the text, you would make a nonsensical document, and anyone would know that someone inserted something. It's the same with us. If Satan or demons inserted something nonsensical, it would be obvious that demons were at work, but they know they do their best work undercover. How would Satan be able to tempt us if he were so dysfunctional? We would know immediately that he was up to something. Now, let me share the following testimony of faith by A. T.   Poor Blood Circulation Healed given to A. T. I went to help my mom volunteer over at this place where she gets her food. I didn't have time to grab a coat, but I knew the Lord would keep me warm within the warehouse. It turned out I was working in the freezer the entire time. Within that freezer, the Lord did keep my body warm through my faith. My hands were the only thing that were suffering from the cold. I have always had problems with poor blood circulation in my hands. I felt intense pain in my hands. My fingers were freezing up, making my task harder to perform. As pain was an attribute of the curse, I kept in prayer and continued to thank Him for healing my hands on the Cross. (Php.4:6) In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know unto God. A couple of times I had to leave the cold because my hands hurt too much. But every time I would leave, I felt as if my faith was wavering and I wasn't holding fast to my confession. The spirit of doubt was trying to come in to hinder my faith. Then I began to deal with condemnation. It was demonic activity holding me back. I was acting in double-mindedness, and such did not please the Father. (Jas.1:6) But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. (7) For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord; (8) a doubleminded man unstable, in all his ways. The Lord wanted my actions to be according to my confession, for (Jas.2:17) faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. The Lord could not manifest my healing without His works being involved. He told me to bind and loose and to cast down any vain imaginations of the flesh. This is as Paul speaks about in (2Co.10:5) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, for Christ bestowed upon us authority over all the power of the enemy. The third time I got back into the freezer, I was convinced not to leave the freezer for the purpose of warming my hands. When I thanked the Lord, I felt confession pouring from my heart, rather than just my lips. I completely ignored the pain and began to rest on what the Lord had accomplished on the cross. Behold, the Lord faithfully answered! The pain was leaving my hands all at once, and a great comfort was coming over my affliction (The pain had not left due to numbness. I could feel everything I was touching.) I felt supernatural warmth cover over my hands. I regained mobility in my fingertips, as well as overall strength. Praise the Lord and His Sovereignty! Praise the Son of the Most High and His Love! Even after the healing manifested itself, my flesh was trying to scare me out of the healing by attempting to suggest that it was only a temporary healing. Eventually, Satan gave up trying to steal my gift, for I continued to cast down more doubt that was exalting itself against the Lord. (Jas.4:7) Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. I kept working. The Lord put me into an environment with an exaggerated degree of cold—where the cold was so strong against my flesh that I was in utter weakness—in order that Jesus could show His might. In such a cold environment, heat could not have been in the air. Only the Lord could have heated my hands. He engineered this circumstance so that it was impossible for my flesh to reason and prevail against my spirit. There have been more trials with my blood circulation, but the Lord has healed my hands. (1Pe.2:24) … by whose stripes ye were healed. (And He continues to conquer this old flesh.) He is our only resistance to Satan and the mind of the flesh. He is our only salvation. Without His grace and love, we are nothing. Now, I'm going to talk to you about the faction war and how we win this battle. Let me begin by sharing this dream.   Getting Ready for the Storm by S.G. A few of us were outside a big house that was more than one-story high. We were trying to get a platform or something apart before the storm was to come. We needed to unscrew some bolts or something like that. We started to see wolves and dogs trying to come against us. It was dark outside. There was thunder, lightning, and blowing wind. We went inside the house. Many others from local UBM were in different rooms praying. Some were kneeling down, while some were standing and commanding the wolves and the dogs to go! It was all happening so fast. It was as if we were in the midst of a storm on a ship out to sea. Things were coming from all directions. We were just commanding those things to cease and go. At one point it settled down a little. But then I was going outside and touching a gate that was opened. It seemed like it shocked me. Then I couldn't speak, as if the enemy were trying to silence me. I was able to say, “No! In the Name of Jesus!” I said this as loudly as I could, and started to fight in the spirit. It started to get windy and rough again. I saw David and Michael and other brothers and sisters praying and taking care of the little ones. It was so chaotic and noisy! But everyone was doing their part in the warfare. A few of us would go up and down stairs, helping each other to fight. We were strong and didn't give up. No one was frightened. But we were more determined when we saw the enemy come against us. As far as I could tell, there were no casualties. And before I woke up, I heard myself say two or three times, “I have to wake up and write this down.” And then I woke up. S.G.'s Notes: I sensed we had the victory, even though I had left the whole scene (without seeing the end) when I woke up. I felt good about the dream, sensing that we were all working together. Even though the enemy was trying to bring chaos, the fight was done with order. We all knew what we were to do, and we did it. I asked the Lord for a Word to correspond to this dream. My finger went down on “our captain.” (2Ch.13:12 KJV) And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper. Then, the Lord gave me the word “tumult” from H1993 “Strong's Concordance,” which means “to make a loud sound, to be in great commotion, roar, be in an uproar, to rage, war, clamor.” I looked up a few verses with the word tumult in them. One of the scriptures, Psalm 83:2, I received this twice in twenty-four hours. (Psa.83:2) For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: And they that hate thee have lifted up the head. Amen! When the enemy plans an attack, God warns us in advance. We received the next several Words at random from the Lord, by faith, in one day. To begin with, I received words from the Lord in Job about a coming faction attack. (Job.16:9) He hath torn me in his wrath, and persecuted me; He hath gnashed upon me with his teeth: Mine adversary sharpeneth his eyes upon me. (10) They have gaped upon me with their mouth; They have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully: They gather themselves together against me. (11) God delivereth me to the ungodly, And casteth me into the hands of the wicked. The “me” in this case represents the David Man-childs who have been going through a persecution. However, the Lord may have said, “Enough!” The faction that was planned was confirmed to me by another verse I received. (Isa.1:2) Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. (3) The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; [but] Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. (4) Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly! they have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are estranged [and gone] backward. (5) Why will ye be still stricken, that ye revolt more and more? the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. (6) From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; [but] wounds, and bruises, and fresh stripes: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil. (8) And the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. The last verse describes faction situations very accurately. That same day, I was directed to a Judas passage. (Joh.13:27) And after the sop, then entered Satan into him (Judas, the betrayer). Jesus therefore saith unto him, What thou doest, do quickly. At that same time, praying brethren received warnings, too. E.B. received this Judas verse: (Mat.26:50) And Jesus said unto him, Friend, [do] that for which thou art come. Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. D.L. got (Lam.1:9) Her filthiness was in her skirts (This represents “harlot” religion, those who have turned away from their “husband” Christ, having received the seed of the world.); she remembered not her latter end (It's a demonic problem when people don't count the cost of low living. They don't understand that all of this is going to catch up to them.); Therefore is she come down wonderfully; she hath no comforter: Behold, O Lord, my affliction; for the enemy hath magnified himself. Isn't it interesting how all of these verses line up? We have received wonderful training for several years now on spiritual warfare and gained a lot of understanding and wisdom from the Lord. What the Man-child corporate body is going through right now is what the Woman corporate body will go through in the “wilderness.” Everybody has to go to their “cross,” and so all this training is necessary, or else the Lord would not be speaking to us in this way. What is the enemy's sin? (Jer.34:8) The word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people that were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; (9) that every man should let his man-servant, and every man his maid-servant, that is a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free; that none should make bondmen of them, [to wit,] of a Jew his brother. (10) And all the princes and all the people obeyed, that had entered into the covenant, that every one should let his man-servant, and every one his maid-servant, go free, that none should make bondmen of them any more; they obeyed, and let them go: (11) but afterwards they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids. What will happen to the enemy? Well, I received the answer to those questions. (Jer.34:17) Therefore thus saith the Lord: ye have not hearkened unto me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim unto you a liberty, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth. The wicked were to forgive debts owed to them and to let their servants go free from their servitude. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus taught that these “debts” were the debts of forgiveness for their sin that the wicked owed to others who had sinned against them (Matthew 18:23-34). Failure to do this would bring the judgment of the Shemittah. Everybody thinks the Shemittah is all over, but no, Jesus said that the Father would turn those guilty of unforgiveness over to tormenting demons. This has already happened. [Note: Shemittah is the Hebrew word “to release.” (Deu.15:1) At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. (2) And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he hath lent unto his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother; because the Lord's release hath been proclaimed. In other words, “the Shemittah waives all outstanding debts” (see chabad.org).] Saints, a tremendous Passover, along with much death and destruction, is coming, and we need to get ready for it, but the Passover is only good if you have a sacrifice. If you walk in willful disobedience, we are told in (Heb.10:26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, (27) but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. There is no sacrifice for you if you walk in willful disobedience and, therefore, the Blood is not on the doorpost. There needs to be repentance, or many are going to be taken away. And then E.B. got, (SoS.1:5) I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, As the tents of Kedar, As the curtains of Solomon. (6) Look not upon me, because I am swarthy, Because the sun hath scorched me. My mother's sons (“Mother” represents the church.) were incensed against me… This is all part of crucifixion. God has vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor to do His work (2 Timothy 2:20-21). We need somebody to bring us to our cross, and God will use whom He can use. If anybody is fitted to be used as a vessel of dishonor, God will use them for that purpose. So when I opened my Bible to nowhere in particular because I was getting ready to study, as I looked at the page, I was asking, “Lord, can this usurpation attempt be cast down?” It wasn't as if we hadn't gone through enough of it, but we know that's up to God, and my eyes fell on, (Mar.11:23) Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. That's certainly kind of a “blank check” but then, of course, His Word says, (Mat.11:24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. He certainly answered my question there without any doubt. Then, in the same meeting, M.L. got the same Word from Matthew 17:18. What are the chances of that in this great big Bible! (Mat.17:18) And Jesus rebuked him; and the demon went out of him: and the boy was cured from that hour. (19) Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast it out? (20) And he saith unto them, Because of your little faith: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Another sister received this word about Joseph's persecution and later promotion. (Psa.105:19) Until the time that his word came to pass (Joseph was persecuted because of the things that he prophesied about his brethren, but there came a time, which they thought would never come, when his word came to pass.), The word of the Lord tried him. (20) The king sent and loosed him; Even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free. (21) He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his substance; (22) To bind his princes at his pleasure, And teach his elders wisdom. His factious brothers came to find out that Joseph had been promoted over them, just as he had said in (Genesis 40:38-45). Their faction against him, in delivering him into bondage, was found out and those brethren were humbled (Genesis 45:1-15). M.L.'s word spoke about the enemy who was evil to Joseph. (Amo.6:6) … But they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. (7) Therefore shall they now go captive with the first that go captive; and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away. All their rejoicing in their evil comes to nothing because the factious enemy today is also going into captivity as a chastening. They were not grieved for the affliction of the Joseph Man-child of our day, who was going through a crucifixion. E.B. asked for a confirmation and got another faction verse. (Psa.60:4) Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah (5) That thy beloved may be delivered, Save with thy right hand, and answer us. (6) God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult; I will divide Shechem (Shechem were those who factioned against the house of Gideon. In that time, Abimelech was the beast, and Shechem was the harlot. God said, “I'm going to divide Shechem,” the harlot that had come against His people.), and mete out the valley of Succoth. There is faction planned by Satan, and we are warned so that we may cast it down and divide the enemy. (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. The Lord wants to teach us that this is true. In the coming tribulation, we will need to know this is true because the enemy is everywhere. The corporate body of the beast is very large, and the people of God are comparatively small. Because of the demons that are in them, this great big beast is set on making war against the saints. We have authority, but not in wrestling with flesh and blood. (Eph.6:12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. Wrestling with flesh and blood will just get you killed. Jesus said, (Rev.13:10) If any man [is] for captivity, into captivity he goeth; if any man shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and faith of the saints. Anybody who doesn't know anything about spiritual warfare and hasn't put the Word of God in their heart is going into captivity. Those people who don't take the authority and the dominion that Jesus gave them over the evil, including the evil in themselves, are going into captivity. When Jehoshaphat in Zion was faced by three enemy armies in (2 Chronicles 20:1), he sent out the praisers first in (2 Chronicles 20:20-21). Those armies were divided and killed one another off in (2 Chronicles 20:22-24). Then Zion celebrated and spent three days gathering up the loot in (2 Chronicles 20:25). Our battle with the spirits of faction is not something that's over in a moment, but His Word encourages us with awesome verses. His Word helps us to believe we have received and to cast down faction. Through His Word, we have authority to cast down faction and every evil work. You come into more and more rest in the battle after you have gone through it for a while. It's like anything else that you face that comes against your faith; the more experience you gain with spiritual warfare, the more solid your faith becomes and the more you enter into the rest. Praise be to God!

Sometime in eternity past, God the Father planned to send God the Son into the world to fulfill a divine mission. God's Word tells us, “The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). This was the great mission: to bring salvation to everyone. This act of God was done in love, as it is written, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and “He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). The Son agreed with the Father, saying, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38), and “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). When God the Son came into the world and took upon Himself humanity, He executed His mission flawlessly.   The divine mission began in time and space nearly two thousand years ago when God the Son took upon Himself humanity. The writer to the Hebrews cites the words of God the Son as He was about to enter the world, saying, “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says [to God the Father], ‘Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me'” (Heb 10:5). The third Person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, facilitated the mission by bringing about the hypostatic union within the womb of the virgin Mary (Isa 7:14; Luke 1:30-35; Gal 4:4). The angel Gabriel told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). At the moment of conception in the womb of the virgin Mary, undiminished deity was combined forever with perfect humanity. Eventually, Jesus was born, and God “became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The apostle Paul tells us, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col 2:9).   God's Word informs us that Jesus was a Jew, born a son of Abraham, in the line of David (Matt 1:1), the promised Messiah (Matt 1:17). Jesus grew in wisdom (Luke 2:40, 52) and lived a perfectly righteous life before God and man. The record of Scripture is that Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), “committed no sin” (1 Pet 2:22), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). In His humanity, Jesus walked in perfect conformity to God the Father's holy character and divine revelation. This is important, for Jesus' sinless life qualified Him to go to the cross and pay the ransom price for our sins (Mark 10:45).   When the divinely appointed time came for Jesus to go to the cross (John 12:23; 13:1), He went willingly (Isa 53:10; John 10:18). Just hours before the crucifixion, Jesus said to His Father, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). Then He went to the cross and “offered Himself without blemish to God” (Heb 9:14), giving “His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus paid our sin debt by means of His “precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:19). While on the cross, “Christ died for our sins” (1 Cor 15:3), and He died in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18; cf. Rom 5:8).   Jesus' death on the cross was a one-time event, as He “offered one sacrifice for sins for all time” (Heb 10:12). After Jesus paid for all our sins, “He said, ‘It is finished!' And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). Jesus' death on the cross satisfied every righteous demand of God the Father concerning the payment for our sins (Rom 3:25), for “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Jesus paid the price for all our sins. There's nothing more to pay. After Jesus died, He was placed in a grave and was resurrected to life on the third day (Acts 2:23-24; 4:10; 10:40; 1 Cor 15:3-4), never to die again (Rom 6:9). Because Christ died for everyone (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2), everyone is savable. The Bible tells us that God has brought “salvation to all men” (Tit 2:11), that He “desires all men to be saved” (1 Tim 2:4), and is “not wishing for any to perish” (2 Pet 3:9).   Once we understand who Jesus is, as God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14), and what He has accomplished for us on the cross—having died for our sins, was buried, and raised again on the third day (1 Cor 15:3-4)—we can then exercise our faith by trusting in Him as our Savior (John 3:16; 20:31). To receive salvation, the unbeliever is told to “believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31a). Jesus is the object of our faith. To believe in Christ as our Savior means we trust Him to accomplish for us what we cannot accomplish ourselves: eternal salvation from the lake of fire.   Faith in Christ is the only condition for salvation. Faith does not save; Christ saves. Faith is merely the instrument by which we receive the free gift of God, which is eternal life. Though the gift was very expensive for the Lord, it is offered totally free to us, for “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). And it is “by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). Only the empty hand of faith accepts the gift. It offers nothing but is open to receive that which is offered by another. God's gift is available to everyone, for “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and “he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47). No payment is required from us to receive it (Rom 4:4-5), and no precondition of good works is necessary before, during, or after salvation. The only sin that keeps a person out of heaven is the sin of unbelief, the individual choice NOT to trust in Jesus as one's Savior. The one who rejects Jesus as Savior is judged by God on the sole ground that “he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). These are the ones who “are always resisting the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51; cf. John 16:8), who “do not believe” in Jesus as their Savior (John 16:9), and “are unwilling to come” to Him so that they “may have life” (John 5:40). Those who willingly reject Christ as Savior will, after death, experience eternal separation and punishment away from God for all eternity, for “if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15). This need not happen. Hell is avoidable for the one who trusts in Christ as Savior, for “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Salvation is a free gift from God (Rom 3:24; 6:23), offered by grace alone (Eph 2:8-9), through faith alone (Rom 3:28; Gal 2:16; 3:26; 2 Tim 3:15), in Christ alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), totally apart from human works (Rom 4:5; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). For lost sinners, the matter is simple: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).   Our forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and many wonderful blessings from God are all made possible because God the Son came down to us and accomplished what we cannot: our salvation. For this, we praise God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit for their work of salvation, for “having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). Amen.   Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.

     Second, there is God's directive will, which refers to His actively guiding His people to do what He expects. It is sometimes called His prescriptive will because it prescribes how people are to think, live, and relate to Him and others. For example, God directed Adam and Eve to be “fruitful and multiply” and to “rule” as theocratic administrators over His creation (Gen 1:28). After creating the garden of Eden, He directed them to “cultivate it and keep it” (Gen 2:15). He also gave them freedom, saying, “from any tree of the garden you may eat freely” (Gen 2:16), but also gave one prohibition, saying, “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). Other examples include God directing Noah to build an ark (Gen 6:13-14), directing Abraham to leave his country and go to the place where God wanted (Gen 12:1), directing Moses to go to Egypt to liberate His people (Ex 3:10), and later to give them the Law so they could walk in His will (Ex 34:27-28).[1] It should be remembered that the four Gospels reveal that Jesus was born and lived under the Mosaic Law code (Gal 4:4), and during His time of ministry, He directed others to obey that code (i.e., Matt 8:1-4; 23:1-3). However, that covenant and law code has been fulfilled by Christ and rendered obsolete (Matt 5:17-18; Heb 8:13). And now, God has given commands to Christians which are found in the New Testament. The book of Acts covers the first thirty years of the Church and is generally historical information, being descriptive but not prescriptive. Specific commands for the Christian living in the dispensation of the Church age generally start in Romans 1 and extend to Revelation 3. However, Jesus' discourse in the Upper Room (John chapters 13-17), the Lord's Supper (Luke 22:19-20), and the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-2) belong to the Church.      These biblical distinctions are important, for though all Scripture is written for us, only some portions of it speak specifically to us and command our walk with the Lord. Just as Christians would not try to obey the commands God gave to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1-2, or the commands God gave to Noah in Genesis 6-9, so we should not try to obey the commands God gave to Israel in Exodus through Deuteronomy. Christians are not under the Mosaic Law (Rom 6:14), which has been rendered obsolete (Heb 8:13). but operate under the Law of Christ (1 Cor 9:21; Gal 6:2). Charles Ryrie states: "Adam lived under laws, the sum of which may be called the code of Adam or the code of Eden. Noah was expected to obey the laws of God, so there was a Noahic code. We know that God revealed many commands and laws to Abraham (Gen 26:5). They may be called the Abrahamic code. The Mosaic code contained all the laws of the Law. And today we live under the law of Christ (Gal 6:2) or the law of the Spirit of life in Christ (Rom 8:2). This code contains the hundreds of specific commandments recorded in the New Testament."[2]      Because God is the Author of both law-codes (i.e., the Law of Moses as well as the Law of Christ), it is not surprising that He chose to incorporate some of the laws He gave to Israel into the law-code which He has given to the Church. Nine of the 10 commandments are restated in the New Testament (the Sabbath is excluded because it was the sign of the Mosaic Covenant; Ex 31:13-17).[3] Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.   [1] God had revealed His will for Israel through the Law of Moses, and this gave them clear guidelines for how to live as God desired. Because God cares for His people, He provided them rules for living in relationship with Himself and others. If His people walked in the ways of the Lord, He promised them blessing (Deut 28:1-14). But if they turned away from His revealed will, He promised them cursing (Deut 28:15-68). The blessed life or the cursed life was always before them (Deut 11:26-28). God's directives were communicated through Moses to God's people (Deut 6:1-2), who were to receive them and adhere to them (Deut 6:3-6), and communicate them to their children (Deut 6:7). [2] Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 351. [3] Additional biblical distinctions reveal that Israel is a nation (Ex 19:6), but the church is not a nation (Rom 10:19). God's program for Israel focused on the land promised to Abraham (Gen 12:1; 15:18; 17:8), whereas the church is called to go out to many lands (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). Israel was mentioned throughout the Old Testament and recognized by other nations (Num 14:15; Josh 5:1), but the church was a mystery not known in the Old Testament (Eph 3:1-6; Col 1:26-27; cf. Rom 16:25-26). Israel had a priesthood that was specific to the tribe of Levi (Num 3:6-7), whereas all Christians are priests to God (Rev 1:6). Israel worshipped first at the Tabernacle and later the Temple (Ex 40:18-38; 2 Ch 8:14-16), but for Christians, their body is the temple of the Lord and they gather locally where they want (1 Cor 6:19-20; cf. 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15). Israel offered animal sacrifices to God (Lev 4:1-35), but Christians offer spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet 2:5; cf. Rom 12:1; Heb 13:15). Israel was required to tithe from the produce of their land (Deut 14:22-23; 28-29; Num 18:21), but there is no tithe required from Christians, only a joyful attitude when giving, “for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7).

Bas Smit | Nicolette van Dam | Robèrt van Beckhoven | Helene Hendriks | Thomas van Groningen | Özcan Akyol | Jan Slagter | John Williams Interview met Victor in De Telegraaf. Sponsor: Saily. Ontvang 15% korting op Saily databundels door de code [victorduidttv] te gebruiken bij het afrekenen. Download de Saily-app of ga naar https://saily.com/victorduidttv. Heb jij een vraag, kritiek of een tip? Mail Victor op podcast@victorvlam.nl of reageer op X via @VictorVlam. Adverteren in deze podcast? Neem contact op met Dag en Nacht Media via adverteren@dagennacht.nl

How should we understand the words, “in him all things were created” in Col 1.16? Although commonly taken to mean Christ created the universe, this view has contextual, structural, and exegetical problems. In what follows I’ll name six problems with old-creation readings before laying out why a new creation approach makes sense. I presented this talk at the 2025 Unitarian Christian Alliance (UCA) conference in Uxbridge, England. Scroll down to see the full-length paper. For those listening to the audio, here’s a quick reference to Colossians 1.15-20 Strophe 1 (Col 1.15-18a) 15a      who is (the) image of the invisible God, 15b      firstborn of all creation 16a      for in him were created all things 16b                  in the heavens and upon the earth, 16c                  the visible and the invisible, 16d                  whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities 16e      all things have been created through him and for him 17a      and he is before all things 17b      and all things hold together in him 18a      and he is the head of the body of the Church,[12] Strophe 2 (Col 1.18b-20) 18b      who is (the) beginning, 18c      firstborn from the dead, 18d                  in order that he may be first in all things, 19        for in him was pleased all the fulness to dwell 20a      and through him to reconcile all things in him, 20b      making peace through the blood of his cross 20c                  whether the things upon the earth 20d                  or the things in the heavens Here’s Randy Leedy’s New Testament Diagram Here are the slides in the original PowerPoint format Download [13.82 MB] Here are the slides converted to PDF Loading... Taking too long? Reload document | Open in new tab Download [3.16 MB] To read the paper, simply scroll down or read it on Academia.edu.   Listen on Spotify   Listen on Apple Podcasts —— Links —— Check out these other papers by Sean Finnegan Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Finnegan on X @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play it out on the air Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here Get Finnegan’s book, Kingdom Journey to learn about God’s kingdom coming on earth as well as the story of how Christianity lost this pearl of great price. Get the transcript of this episode Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Below is the paper presented on July 25, 2025 in Uxbridge, England at the 2nd annual UCA UK Conference. Access this paper on Academia.edu to get the pdf. Full text is below, including bibliography and end notes. Colossians 1.16: Old Creation or New Creation? by Sean P. Finnegan Abstract  How should we understand the words, “in him all things were created” in Col 1.16? Although commonly taken to mean Christ created the universe, this view has contextual, structural, and exegetical problems. In what follows, I will explain the difficulties with the various old creation readings of Col 1.16 along with five reasons for a new creation approach. Then I'll provide a new creation reading of Col 1.16 before summarizing my findings in the conclusion. Introduction  Colossians 1.15-20 is a fascinating text of great importance for Christology. Commonly understood to be a hymn, it is fascinating in its cosmic scope and elevated Christology. Although many commentators interpret Paul[1] to say that Christ created the universe in his pre-existent state in Col 1.16, not all scholars see it that way. For example, Edward Schillebeeckx writes, “There is no mention in this text of pre-existence in the Trinitarian sense.”[2] Rather he sees “an eschatological pre-existence, characteristic of wisdom and apocalyptic.”[3] G. B. Caird agreed that Paul's focus in Col. 1.15-20 was not pre-existence (contra Lightfoot), rather, “The main thread of Paul's thought, then, is the manhood of Christ.”[4] In other words, “All that has been said in vv. 15-18 can be said of the historical Jesus.”[5] James Dunn also denied that Paul saw Christ as God's agent in creation in Col 1.15-20, claiming that such an interpretation was “to read imaginative metaphor in a pedantically literal way.”[6] James McGrath argued that “Jesus is the one through whom God's new creation takes place.” [7] Andrew Perriman likewise noted, “There is no reference to the creation of heaven and earth, light and darkness, sea and dry land, lights in the heavens, vegetation, or living creatures,”[8] also preferring a new creation approach.[9] To understand why such a broad range of scholars diverge from the old creation interpretation of Col 1.16, we will examine several contextual, structural, and exegetical problems. While explaining these, I'll also put forward four reasons to interpret Col 1.16 as new creation. Then I'll provide a fifth before giving a new creation reading of Col 1.15-20. But before going any further, let's familiarize ourselves with the text and structure. The Form of Col 1.15-20  To get our bearings, let me begin by providing a translation,[10] carefully structured to show the two strophes.[11] Strophe 1 (Col 1.15-18a) 15a      who is (the) image of the invisible God, 15b      firstborn of all creation 16a      for in him were created all things 16b                  in the heavens and upon the earth, 16c                  the visible and the invisible, 16d                  whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities 16e      all things have been created through him and for him 17a      and he is before all things 17b      and all things hold together in him 18a      and he is the head of the body of the Church,[12] Strophe 2 (Col 1.18b-20) 18b      who is (the) beginning, 18c      firstborn from the dead, 18d                  in order that he may be first in all things, 19        for in him was pleased all the fulness to dwell 20a      and through him to reconcile all things in him, 20b      making peace through the blood of his cross 20c                  whether the things upon the earth 20d                  or the things in the heavens Here I've followed the two-strophe structure (1.15-18a and 18b-20) noted more than a century ago by the classical philologist Eduard Norden[13] and repeated by James Robinson,[14] Edward Lohse,[15] Edward Schweizer,[16] James Dunn,[17] Ben Witherington III,[18] and William Lane[19] among others. By lining up the parallel lines of the two strophes, we can clearly see the poetic form. Strophe 1 15a who is (the) image… 15b firstborn of all creation 16a for in him were created all things… 16e  all things have been created through him… Strophe 2 18b who is (the) beginning, 18c firstborn from the dead … 19 for in him was pleased all… 20a and through him to reconcile all things in him… Such striking repeated language between the two strophes means that we should be careful to maintain the parallels between them and not take a grammatical or exegetical position on a word or phrase that would disconnect it from the parallel line in the other strophe. Some scholars, including F. F. Bruce,[20] Michael Bird,[21] David Pao,[22] among others proposed vv. 17-18a as an independent transitional link between the two strophes. Lohse explained the motivation for this unlikely innovation as follows. Above all, it is curious that at the end of the first, cosmologically oriented strophe, Christ is suddenly referred to as the “head of the body, the church” (1:18a κεφαλή τοῦ σώματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας). Considering its content, this statement would have to be connected with the second strophe which is characterized by soteriological statements. The structure of the hymn, however, places it in the first strophe.[23] For interpreters who prefer to think of the first strophe as cosmogony and the second as soteriology, a line about Christ's headship over the church doesn't fit very well. They restructure the form based on their interpretation of the content. Such a policy reverses the order of operations. One should determine the form and then interpret the content in light of structure. Lohse was right to reject the addition of a new transitional bridge between the two strophes. He called it “out of the question” since vv. 17-18a underscore “all things” and “serve as a summary that brings the first strophe to a conclusion.”[24] Now that we've oriented ourselves to some degree, let's consider old creation readings of Col 1.16 and the problems that arise when reading it that way. Old Creation Readings  Within the old creation paradigm for Col 1.16 we can discern three groups: those who see (A) Christ as the agent by whom God created, (B) Wisdom as the agent, and (C) Christ as the purpose of creation. Although space won't allow me to interact with each of these in detail, I will offer a brief critique of these three approaches. As a reminder, here is our text in both Greek and English. Colossians 1.16 16a      ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα 16b                  ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, 16c                  τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, 16d                  εἴτε θρόνοι εἴτε κυριότητες εἴτε ἀρχαὶ εἴτε ἐξουσίαι· 16e      τὰ πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται· 16a      for in him were created all things 16b                  in the heavens and upon the earth, 16c                  the visible and the invisible, 16d                  whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities 16e      all things have been created through him and for him 1. Christ as the Agent of Creation Scot McKnight is representative in his claim that “The emphasis of the first stanza is Christ as the agent of creation … and the second is Christ as the agent of redemption.”[25] This view sees the phrase “in him were created all things” as Christ creating the universe in the beginning. However, this position has six problems with it. Firstly, the context of the poem—both before (vv. 13-14) and after (vv. 21-22)—is clearly soteriological not cosmogonical.[26] By inserting vv. 15-20 into the text after vv. 13-14, Paul connected the two together.[27] V. 15 begins with ὅς ἐστιν (who is), which makes it grammatically dependent on vv. 13-14. “It is widely accepted,” wrote Dunn, “that this passage is a pre-Pauline hymn interpolated and interpreted to greater or less extent by Paul.”[28] By placing the poem into a redemptive frame, Paul indicated how he interpreted it. The fact that God “rescued us from the authority of darkness and transferred (us) into the kingdom of his beloved son” is the controlling context (v. 13).[29] As I will show below, I believe vv. 15-20 are ecclesiology not protology, since ecclesiology naturally flows from soteriology. Rather than remaining in the old domain of darkness, vulnerable to malevolent spiritual powers of this age, Colossian Christians are transferred into the new domain of Christ. The context makes it more natural to interpret the creation language of vv. 15-16 in light of Christ's redemptive work—as references to new creation rather than old creation. Doing so retains the contextual frame rather than jumping back to the beginning of time. A second problem arises when we consider the phrase “image of the invisible God” in v. 15. Although some see a Stoic or Wisdom reference here, I agree with F. F. Bruce who said, “No reader conversant with the OT scriptures, on reading these words of Paul, could fail to be reminded of the statement in Gen. 1:26f., that man was created by God ‘in his own image.'”[30] Immediately after making humanity in his own image, God blessed us with dominion over the earth. Philo also connected humanity's image of God with “the rulership over the earthly realms.”[31] But if the Christ of v. 15 is the pre-existent son prior to his incarnation, as the old creation model posits, “How can he be the ‘image of God,'” asked Eduard Schweizer, since “the one who is thus described here is not the earthly Jesus?”[32] It is precisely by virtue of his humanity that Jesus is the image of God not his pre-existence.[33] Thus, image-of-God language points us to the creation of a new humanity. A third problem is that “firstborn of all creation” prima facia implies that Christ is a member of creation (a partitive genitive). This is how Paul thought about Christ as firstborn in Rom 8.29 when he called Christ “firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Clearly he saw Christ as a member of the “ἀδελφοῖς” (brothers and sisters). Furthermore, “πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως” (firstborn of all creation) in v. 15 parallels “πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν” (firstborn from the dead) v. 18. Although the former (v. 15) can be taken as a genitive of subordination (firstborn over creation) or as a partitive genitive (firstborn of creation), the latter (v. 18) is unambiguously partitive. Because v. 18 includes the word ἐκ (from/out of), instead of a multivalent genitive, it must mean that Jesus was himself a member of the dead prior to his resurrection. Likewise, he was the firstborn member of creation. To take v. 15 as a genitive of subordination and v. 18 in a partitive sense allows theology to drive exegesis over against the clear structural link between v. 15b and v. 18c. In fact, as the BDAG noted, Christ is “the firstborn of a new humanity.”[34] He is chronologically born first and, by virtue of that, also preeminent.[35] Fourthly, the phrase, “ἐν αὐτῷ” (in him), implies soteriology not protology as it does throughout the Pauline corpus. The prepositional phrases “in Christ,” “in the Lord,” “in him,” and others that are similar occur more than a hundred times in Paul's epistles. McKnight elucidated the sense nicely: “This expression, then, is the inaugurated eschatological reality into which the Christian has been placed, and it also evokes the new-creation realities that a person discovers.”[36] Creation in Christ is not likely to refer to Genesis creation. In fact, apart from Col 1.16, there is no text within Paul or the rest of the Bible that speaks of the origin of the universe as something created “in Christ.”[37] Sadly translators routinely obscure this fact by translating “ἐν αὐτῷ” as “by him.”[38] Amazingly, the NASB and ESV render “ἐν αὐτῷ” as “in him” in every other usage apart from Col 1.16![39] For the sake of consistency, it makes better sense to render “ἐν αὐτῷ” as “in him” and let the reader decide how to interpret it. Fifthly, the line, “and he is the head of the body, the Church” (v. 18a) clearly roots the first strophe in redemptive history not creation. Our English translations follow Robert Estienne's verse divisions, which confusingly combine the last line of the first strophe (v. 18a) and the first line of the second (v. 18b), obscuring the native poetic structure. As I made the case above, the structure of the text breaks into two strophes with v. 18a included in the first one. As I mentioned earlier, vv. 15-20 are a pre-existing poem that Paul has modified and incorporated into the text of Colossians. Ralph Martin pointed out that the poem contains “no less than five hapax legomena” and “about ten non-Pauline expressions.”[40] Additionally, there appear to be awkward additions that disrupt the symmetry. These additions are the most explicitly Christian material. It is likely that the original said, “and he is the head of the body” to which Paul appended “the church.” Edward Schillebeeckx commented on this. In Hellenistic terms this must primarily mean that he gives life and existence to the cosmos. Here, however, Colossians drastically corrects the ideas … The correction made by Colossians is to understand ‘body' as a reference to the church, and not the cosmos. This alters the whole perspective of the cultural and religious setting … The cosmic background is reinterpreted in terms of salvation history and ecclesiology. In fact Christ is already exercising his lordship over the world now … however, he is doing this only as the head of the church, his body, to which he gives life and strength. Thus Colossians claims that the church alone, rather than the cosmos, is the body of Christ.[41] If this is true, it shows Paul's careful concern to disallow a strictly old creation or protological reading of the first strophe. For by inserting “of the church,” he has limited the context of the first strophe to the Christ event. “The addition of ‘the church,'” wrote Dunn, “indicates that for Paul at any rate the two strophes were not dealing with two clearly distinct subjects (cosmology and soteriology).”[42] Karl-Joseph Kuschel wrote, “The answer would seem to be he wanted to ‘disturb' a possible cosmological-protological fancy in the confession of Christ … to prevent Christ from becoming a purely mythical heavenly being.”[43] Thus Paul's addition shows us he interpreted the creation of v16 as new creation. Lastly, theological concerns arise when taking Col 1.16 as old creation. The most obvious is that given the partitive genitive of v. 15, we are left affirming the so-called Arian position that God created Christ as the firstborn who, in turn, created everything else. Another thorn in the side of this view is God's insistence elsewhere to be the solo creator (Isa 44.24; cf. 45.18). On the strength of this fact, modalism comes forward to save the day while leaving new problems in its wake. However, recognizing Col 1.15-20 as new creation avoids such theological conundrums. 2. Wisdom as the Agent of Creation Dustin Smith noted, “The christological hymn contains no less than nine characteristics of the wisdom of God (e.g., “image,” “firstborn,” agent of creation, preceding all things, holding all things together) that are reapplied to the figure of Jesus.”[44] Some suggest that Col 1.15-20 is actually a hymn to Wisdom that Paul Christianized.[45] The idea is that God created the universe through his divine Wisdom, which is now embodied or incarnate in Christ. Dunn explained it as follows. If then Christ is what God's power/wisdom came to be recognized as, of Christ it can be said what was said first of wisdom—that ‘in him (the divine wisdom now embodied in Christ) were created all things.' In other words the language may be used here to indicate the continuity between God's creative power and Christ without the implication being intended that Christ himself was active in creation.[46] Before pointing out some problems, I must admit much of this perspective is quite noncontroversial. That Jewish literature identified Wisdom as God's creative agent, that there are linguistic parallels between Col 1.15-20 and Wisdom, and that the historical Jesus uniquely embodied Wisdom to an unprecedented degree are not up for debate. Did Paul expect his readers to pick up on the linguistic parallels? Afterall, he could have just said “in her were created all things” in v. 16, clearly making the connection with the grammatically feminine σοφία (Wisdom). Better yet, he could have said, “in Wisdom were created all things.” Even if the poem was originally to Wisdom, Paul has thoroughly Christianized it, applying to Christ what had been said of Wisdom. However, the most significant defeater for this view is that applying Wisdom vocabulary to Christ only works one way. Wisdom has found her home in Christ. This doesn't mean we can attribute to Christ what Wisdom did before she indwelt him any more than we can attribute to the living descendants of Nazis the horrific deeds of their ancestors. Perriman's critique is correct: “The point is not that the act of creation was Christlike, rather the reverse: recent events have been creation-like. The death and resurrection of Jesus are represented as the profoundly creative event in which the wisdom of God is again dynamically engaged, by which a new world order has come about.”[47] Once again a new creation approach makes better sense of the text. 3. Christ as the Purpose of Creation Another approach is to take ἐν αὐτῷ (in him) in a telic sense. Martha King, a linguist with SIL, said the phrase can mean “in association with Christ everything was created” or “in connection with Christ all things were created.”[48] Lexicographer, Joseph Thayer, sharpened the sense with the translation, “[I]n him resides the cause why all things were originally created.”[49] William MacDonald's translation brought this out even more with the phrase, “because for him everything … was created.”[50] The idea is that God's act of creation in the beginning was with Christ in view. As Eric Chang noted, “Christ is the reason God created all things.”[51] G. B. Caird said, “He is the embodiment of that purpose of God which underlies the whole creation.”[52] The idea is one of predestination not agency.[53] Christ was the goal for which God created all things. A weakness of this view is that purpose is better expressed using εἰς or δία with an accusative than ἐν. Secondly, the parallel line in the second strophe (v. 19) employs “ἐν αὐτῷ” in a clearly locative sense: “in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.” So even though “ἐν αὐτῷ” could imply purpose, in this context it much more likely refers to location. Lastly, Paul mentioned the sense of purpose at the end of v. 16 with “εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται” (for him has been created), so it would be repetitive to take “ἐν αὐτῷ” that way as well. To sum up, the three positions that see Col 1.16 as a reference to old creation all have significant problems. With these in mind, let us turn our attention to consider a fourth possibility: that Paul has in mind new creation. Reasons for a New Creation Reading I've already provided four reasons why Col 1.15-20 refers to new creation: (1) calling Christ the image of God points to the new humanity begun in Christ as the last Adam;[54] (2) since the firstborn of the old creation was Adam (or, perhaps, Seth), Jesus must be the firstborn of the new creation; (3) saying Jesus is the head of the church, limits the focus for the first strophe to the time following the Christ event; (4) the context of the poem, both before (vv. 13-14) and after (vv. 21-22) is soteriological, making an old creation paradigm awkward, while a new creation view fits perfectly. The Catholic priest and professor, Franz Zeilinger, summarized the situation nicely: “Christ is (through his resurrection from the realm of death) Lord over the possession granted to him, of which he is the ἀρχή (beginning) and archetype, … and head and beginning of the eschatological new creation!”[55] Additionally, a new creation paradigm fits best with Paul's elaboration of what visible and invisible things in heaven and on earth he has in mind. Once again, here's our text. 16a      for in him were created all things 16b                  in the heavens and upon the earth, 16c                  the visible and the invisible, 16d                  whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities 16e      all things have been created through him and for him By specifying thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities, we discern Paul's train of thought. Form critics are quick to point out that v. 16d is Paul's addition to the poem. Without it, the reader may have thought of sky, land, and animals—old creation. However, with v. 16d present, we direct our attention to political realities not God's creative power or engineering genius. Martha King noted the two possible meanings for εἴτε: (1) specifying the “invisible things” or (2) giving examples of “all things.” Taking the second view, we read “in him were created all things, including thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities.”[56] Randy Leedy also presented this position in his sentence diagrams, identifying v. 16d as equivalent to v. 16c and v. 16b, all of which modify τὰ πάντα (all things) at the end of v. 16a. (See Appendix for Leedy's diagram.) Perriman pressed home the point when he wrote: The fact is that any interpretation that takes verse 16 to be a reference to the original creation has to account for the narrow range of created things explicitly listed. … The Colossians verse mentions only the creation of political entities—thrones, lordships, rulers and authorities, visible and invisible—either in the already existing heaven or on the already existing and, presumably, populated earth. What this speaks of is a new governmental order consisting of both invisible-heavenly and visibly-earthly entities.”[57] Understanding v. 16d as equivalent to “all things” in v. 16a nicely coheres with a new-creation paradigm. However, taken the other way—as an elaboration of only the invisible created realities—v. 16d introduces an asymmetrical and clumsy appendix. A New Creation Reading of Col 1.16 Now that we've considered some problems with old creation views and some reasons to read Col 1.16 from a new creation perspective, let's consider how a new creation reading works. New creation is all about the new breaking into the old, the future into the present. G. F. Wessels said, “Paul made clear that there is a present realized aspect of salvation, as well as a future, still outstanding aspect, which will only be realized at the eschaton.”[58] New creation, likewise, has future and present realities. Exiting Old Creation Before becoming part of the new creation, one must exit the old creation. “Our old humanity was co-crucified“ (Rom 6.6). “With Christ you died to the elemental principles of the world” (Col 2.20). “As many as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death” (Rom 6.3). We were “co-buried with him through baptism into the death … having been united with the likeness of his death” (Rom 6.4-5). Our death with him through baptism kills our allegiance and submission to the old powers and the old way of life “in which you formerly walked according to the zeitgeist of this world, according to the rule of the authority of the air, the spirit which now works in the children of disobedience” (Eph 2.2). Entering New Creation As death is the only way out of the old creation, so resurrection is the only way into the new creation. “You have been co-raised with Christ” (Col 3.1). God “co-made-alive us together with him” (Col 2.13).[59] By virtue of our union with Christ, we ourselves are already “co-raised and co-seated us in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2.6). The result of this is that “we also may walk in newness of life” (Rom 6.4). For those who are “in Christ, (there is) a new creation; the old has passed away, behold (the) new has come into existence” (2 Cor 5.17). “They have been ‘transported,'” wrote Schillebeeckx, “they already dwell above in Christ's heavenly sphere of influence (Col 1.13)—the soma Christou … that is the church!”[60] Community For the people of God, “neither circumcision is anything nor uncircumcision but a new creation” is what matters (Gal 6.15). Those who “are clothed with the new” are “being renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created, where there is no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, (or) free, but Christ (is) all and in all” (Col 3.10-11). Through Christ God has nullified the law “in order that he might create the two into one new humanity in him” (Eph 2.14-15). Thus, within new creation, ethnic identity still exists, but it is relativized, our identity in Christ taking priority ahead of other affiliations and duties. Lifestyle When the lost become saved through faith, they become his creation (ποίημα), “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph 2.10). This means we are to “lay aside the former way of life, the old humanity corrupted according to deceitful desires” and instead be clothed with “the new humanity created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4.22-24). Rather than lying to one another, we must “strip off the old humanity with its way of acting” and “be clothed with the new (humanity), renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it” (Col 3.9-10). “The ones who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts” and instead “walk by the spirit” (Gal 5.24-25). Ultimately, All Creation Although new creation is currently limited to those who voluntarily recognize Jesus as Lord, all “creation is waiting with eager expectation for the unveiling of the children of God” (Rom 8.19). Because of the Christ event, the created order eagerly awaits the day when it will escape “the enslavement of corruption” and gain “the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (v. 21). Like a bone out of joint, creation does not function properly. Once Christ sets it right, it will return to its proper order and operation under humanity's wise and capable rulership in the eschaton. Eschatology God predetermined that those who believe will be “conformed to the image of his son, that he be firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Rom 8.29). Thus, the resurrected Christ is the prototype, “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15.20). Whereas “in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (v. 22). We await Christ's return to “transform the body of our humble station (that it be) shaped to his glorious body according to the energy which makes him able to also to subject all things to himself.” (Phil 3.21). This is the end goal of new creation: resurrected subjects of God's kingdom joyfully living in a renewed world without mourning, crying, and pain forevermore (Isa 65.17-25; Rev 21-22). The Powers Taking Col 1.16 as a new creation text adds key information about the present governing powers to this richly textured picture. In Christ God created thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities. He made these through Christ and for Christ with the result that Christ himself is before all things, and in Christ all things hold together (Col 1.17). He is the head of the body, the Church (Col 1.18). We find very similar language repeated in Ephesians in the context of Christ's exaltation.[61] Ephesians 1.20-23 20 Which [power] he energized in Christ having raised him from the dead and seated (him) on his right (hand) in the heavenlies 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name named, not only in this age but also in the one to come; 22 and he subjected all things under his feet and gave him (as) head over all things in the Church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in all. The parallels are striking. Both speak of Christ's resurrection, Christ's exalted position of authority over all the powers, Christ's role as head of the church, and both mention the fullness. It's easy to miss the connection between these two passages since most think of Eph 1.20-22 as ascension theology and Col 1.15-20 as creation theology. But, if we adjust our thinking to regard Col 1.16 as new creation, we see how the two fit together. In Ephesians we see Christ's ascension to God's right hand as the reason for a cosmic reordering of authorities with the result that all rule, authority, power, and dominion are subjected to him. (Though we may be accustomed to reading these powers in Eph 1.21 as only malevolent owing to Eph 2.2 and 6.12, the list here must be mixed, since only benevolent powers will survive the final judgement and continue into the age to come.) Instead of exaltation, in Colossians Paul employed the language of creation to describe Christ's relation to the powers. Perhaps lesser terms like reassign, reorder, or establish were just too small to adequately express the magnitude of how the Christ event has changed the world—both in heaven and on earth. The only term big enough to convey the new situation was “creation”—the very same word he routinely used elsewhere with the meaning of new creation.[62] We can gain more insight by considering what the powers of Eph 1.21 and Col 1.16 mean. McKnight saw them “as earthly, systemic manifestations of (perhaps fallen) angelic powers—hence, the systemic worldly, sociopolitical manifestations of cosmic/angelic rebellion against God.”[63] I partially agree with McKnight here. He's right to see the powers as both heavenly and earthly, or better, as the heavenly component of the earthly sociopolitical realities, but he has not made room for the new authority structures created in Christ. John Schoenheit helpfully explained it this way: Not only did Jesus create his Church out of Jew and Gentile, he had to create the structure and positions that would allow it to function, both in the spiritual world (positions for the angels that would minister to the Church—see Rev. 1:1, “his angel”) and in the physical world (positions and ministries here on earth—see Rom. 12:4-8; Eph. 4:7-11).[64] We must never forget that Paul has an apocalyptic worldview—a perspective that seeks to unveil the heavenly reality behind the earthly. He believed in powers of darkness and powers of light. In Christ were created thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities (Col 1.16). He is “the head of all rule and authority” (Col 2.10). These new creation realities make progress against the old powers that still hold sway in the world outside the Church. Although the old powers are still at work, those who are in Christ enjoy his protection. With respect to the Church, he has already “disarmed the rulers and authorities” (Col 2.15). We can don “the armor of God that we be able to stand against the methods of the devil” (Eph 6.11) and “subduing everything, to stand” (v. 13). We find glimpses of this heavenly reality scattered in other places in the Bible. Peter mentioned how Christ “is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and power having been subjected to him” (1 Pet 3.22). In John's Revelation, he addressed each of the seven letters to the angels of their respective churches.[65] Although it's hard for us to get details on precisely what happened at Christ's ascension, something major occurred, not just on earth, but also in the spiritual realm. Jesus's last recorded words in Matthew are: “all authority in heaven and upon earth was given to me” (Mat 28.18-20). Presumably such a statement implies that prior to his resurrection Jesus did not have all authority in heaven and earth. It didn't exist until it was created. Similarly, because of his death, resurrection, and ascension, Christ has “become so much better than the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to them” (Heb 1.4). Once again, the text implies that Christ was not already superior to the angels, but “after making purification of the sins, he sat on the right hand of the majesty on high” at which time he became preeminent (Heb 1.3). Perhaps this also explains something about why Christ “proclaimed to the spirits in prison” (1 Pet 3.19). Another possibility is that Christ's ascension (Rev 12.5) triggered a war in heaven (v. 7) with the result that the dragon and his angels suffered defeat (v. 8) and were thrown out of heaven down to the earth (v. 9). Sadly, for most of the history of the church we have missed this Jewish apocalyptic approach that was obvious to Paul, limiting salvation to individual sins and improved morality.[66] Only in the twentieth century did interpreters begin to see the cosmic aspect of new creation. Margaret Thrall wrote the following. The Christ-event is the turning-point of the whole world … This Christ ‘in whom' the believer lives is the last Adam, the inaugurator of the new eschatological humanity. … Paul is saying that if anyone exists ‘in Christ', that person is a newly-created being. … In principle, through the Christ-event and in the person of Christ, the new world and the new age are already objective realities.[67] New creation is, in the words of J. Louis Martyn “categorically cosmic and emphatically apocalyptic.”[68] In fact, “The advent of the Son and of his Spirit is thus the cosmic apocalyptic event.”[69] In Christ is the beginning of a whole new creation, an intersecting community of angelic and human beings spanning heaven and earth. The interlocking of earthly (visible) and heavenly (invisible) authority structures points to Paul's apocalyptic holism. The Church was not on her own to face the ravages of Rome's mad love affair with violence and power. In Christ, people were no longer susceptible to the whims of the gods that have wreaked so much havoc from time immemorial.[70] No, the Church is Christ's body under his direct supervision and protection. As a result, the Church is the eschatological cosmic community. It is not merely a social club; it has prophetic and cosmic dimensions. Prophetically, the Church points to the eschaton when all of humanity will behave then how the Church already strives to live now—by the spirit instead of the flesh (Gal 5.16-25). Cosmically, the Church is not confined to the earth. There is a heavenly dimension with authority structures instantiated under Christ to partner with the earthly assemblies. God's “plan for the fulness of the times” is “to head up all thing in the Christ, the things upon the heavens and the things upon the earth in him” (Eph 1.10). Although this is his eschatological vision, Zeilinger pointed out that it is already happening. [T]he eschatological world given in Christ is realized within the still-existing earthly creation through the inclusion of the human being in Christ, the exalted one, by means of the proclamation of salvation and baptism. The eschaton spreads throughout the world in the kerygma and becomes reality, in that the human being, through baptism, becomes part of Christ—that is, in unity with him, dies to the claim of the στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (2.20) and is raised with him to receive his eschatological life. The people thus incorporated into the exalted Christ thereby form, in him and with him, the new creation of the eschaton within the old! The body of Christ is thus recognizable as the expanding Church. In it, heavenly and earthly space form, in a certain sense, a unity.[71] The Church is a counter society, and embassy of the future kingdom shining the light of the age to come into the present in the power of the spirit with the protection of Christ and his heavenly powers over against the powers of darkness, who/which are still quite active—especially in the political realities of our present evil age (Gal 1.4). We bend the knee to the cosmic Christ now in anticipation of the day when “every knee may bend: heavenly and earthly and subterranean” (Phil 2.10) and “every tongue may confess that Jesus Christ (is) Lord” (v. 11). Christ's destiny is to fulfil the original Adamic mandate to multiply, fill, and have dominion over the earth (Gen 1.28). He has already received all authority in heaven and earth (Mat 28.18). God has given him “dominion over the works of your hands and put all things under his feet” as the quintessential man (Ps 8.6). Even so, “Now we do not yet see all things subjected to him” (Heb 2.8), but when he comes “he will reign into the ages of the ages” (Rev 11.15). Until then, he calls the Church to recognize his preeminence and give him total allegiance both in word and deed. Conclusion We began by establishing that the structure of the poetic unit in Col 1.15-20 breaks into two strophes (15-18a and 18b-20). We noted that Paul likely incorporated pre-existing material into Colossians, editing it as he saw fit. Then we considered the problems with the three old creation readings: (A) Christ as the agent of creation, (B) Wisdom as the agent of creation, and (C) Christ as the purpose of creation. In the course of critiquing (A), which is by far most popular, we observed several reasons to think Col 1.16 pertained to new creation, including (1) the image of God language in v. 15a, (2) the firstborn of all creation language in v. 15b, (3) the head of the Church language in v. 18a, and (4) the soteriological context (frame) of the poem (vv. 13-14, 21-22). To this I added a fifth syntactical reason that 16d as an elaboration of “τἀ πάντα” (all things) of 16a. Next, we explored the idea of new creation, especially within Paul's epistles, to find a deep and richly textured paradigm for interpreting God's redemptive and expanding sphere of influence (in Christ) breaking into the hostile world. We saw that new Christians die and rise with Christ, ending their association with the old and beginning again as a part of the new—a community where old racial, legal, and status divisions no longer matter, where members put off the old way of living and instead become clothed with the new humanity, where people look forward to and live in light of the ultimate transformation to be brought about at the coming of Christ. Rather than limiting new creation to the salvation of individuals, or even the sanctifying experience of the community, we saw that it also includes spiritual powers both “in the heavens and upon the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities” (Col 1.16). Reading Col 1.15-20 along with Eph 1.20-23 we connected God's creation of the powers in Christ with his exaltation of Christ to his right hand “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Eph 1.21). The point from both texts is clear: as “the head of the body, the Church” (Col 1.18; Eph 1.22), Christ is “before all things” (Col 1.17), “first in all things” (Col 1.18), and “far above all” (Eph 1.21), since God has “subjected all things under his feet” (Eph 1.22). Christ is preeminent as the firstborn of all new creation, “the new Adam … the starting point where new creation took place.”[72] Although the old powers still hold sway in the world, those in the interlocked heaven-and-earth new creation domain where Christ is the head, enjoy his protection if they remain “in the faith established and steadfast and not shifting away from the hope of the gospel” (Col 1.23). This interpretation has several significant advantages. It fits into Paul's apocalyptic way of thinking about Christ's advent and exaltation. It also holds together the first strophe of the poem as a unit. Additionally, it makes better sense of the context. (The ecclesiology of Col 1.15-18a follows logically from the soteriological context of vv. 13-14.) Lastly, it is compatible with a wide range of Christological options. Appendix Here is Col 1.16 from Leedy's sentence diagrams.[73] Of note is how he equates the τὰ πάντα of 16a with 16c and 16d rather than seeing 16d as an elaboration of τά ὁρατά. Bibliography Bauer, Walter, Frederick William  Danker, William F. Arndt, F. Gingrich, Kurt Aland, Barbara Aland, and Viktor Reichmann. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000. Bird, Michael F. Colossians and Philemon. A New Covenant Commentary. Cambridge, England: The Lutterworth Press, 2009. Brown, Anna Shoffner. “Nothing ‘Mere’ About a Man in the Image of God.” Paper presented at the Unitarian Christian Alliance, Springfield, OH, Oct 14, 2022. Bruce, E. K. Simpson and F. F. The Epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians. The New International Commentary on the New Testament, edited by Ned B. Stonehouse. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1957. Buzzard, Anthony F. Jesus Was Not a Trinitarian. Morrow, GA: Restoration Fellowship, 2007. Caird, G. B. New Testament Theology. Edited by L. D. Hurst. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 2002. Caird, G. B. Paul’s Letters from Prison. New Clarendon Bible, edited by H. F. D. Sparks. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1976. Carden, Robert. One God: The Unfinished Reformation. Revised ed. Naperville, IL: Grace Christian Press, 2016. Chang, Eric H. H. The Only Perfect Man. Edited by Bentley C. F. Chang. 2nd ed. Montreal, QC: Christian Disciples Church Publishers, 2017. Deuble, Jeff. Christ before Creeds. Latham, NY: Living Hope International Ministries, 2021. Dunn, James D. G. Christology in the Making. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996. Dunn, James D. G. The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon. New International Greek Testament Commentary, edited by Gasque Marshall, Hagner. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996. Heiser, Michael S. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019. King, Martha. An Exegetical Summary of Colossians. Dallas, TX: SIL International, 1992. Kuschel, Karl-Joseph. Born before All Time? Translated by John Bowden. New York, NY: Crossroad, 1992. Originally published as Beforen vor aller Zeit? Lane, William L. The New Testament Page by Page. Open Your Bible Commentary, edited by Martin Manser. Bath, UK: Creative 4 International, 2013. Leedy, Randy A. The Greek New Testament Sentence Diagrams. Norfolk, VA: Bible Works, 2006. Lohse, Edward. Colossians and Philemon. Hermeneia. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1971. MacDonald, William Graham. The Idiomatic Translation of the New Testament. Norfolk, VA: Bibleworks, 2012. Mark H. Graeser, John A. Lynn, John W. Schoenheit. One God & One Lord. 4th ed. Martinsville, IN: Spirit & Truth Fellowship International, 2010. Martin, Ralph. “An Early Christian Hymn (Col. 1:15-20).” The Evangelical Quarterly 36, no. 4 (1964): 195–205. Martyn, J. Louis. Theological Issues in the Letters of Paul. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1997. McGrath, James F. The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2009. McKnight, Scot. The Letter to the Colossians. New International Commentary on the New Testament, edited by Joel B. Green. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018. Norden, Eduard. Agnostos Theos: Untersuchungen Zur Formengeschichte Religiöser Rede. 4th ed. Stuttgart, Germany: B. G. Teubner, 1956. Originally published as 1913. Pao, David. Colossians and Philemon. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament, edited by Clinton E. Arnold. Grand Rapid, MI: Zondervan, 2012. Perriman, Andrew. In the Form of a God. Studies in Early Christology, edited by David Capes Michael Bird, and Scott Harrower. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2022. Philo. The Works of Philo. The Norwegian Philo Concordance Project. Edited by Kåre Fuglseth Peder Borgen, Roald Skarsten. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2005. Robinson, James M. “A Formal Analysis of Colossians 1:15-20.” Journal of Biblical Literature 76, no. 4 (1957): 270–87. Schillebeeckx, Eduard. Christ: The Experience of Jesus as Lord. Translated by John Bowden. New York, NY: The Seabury Press, 1977. Schoberg, Gerry. Perspectives of Jesus in the Writings of Paul. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013. Schweizer, Eduard. The Letter to the Colossians. Translated by Andrew Chester. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1982. Smith, Dustin R. Wisdom Christology in the Gospel of John. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2024. Snedeker, Donald R. Our Heavenly Father Has No Equals. Bethesda, MD: International Scholars Publications, 1998. Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996. Thrall, Margaret. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Vol. 1. The International Critical Commentary, edited by C. E. B. Cranfield J. A. Emerton, G. N. Stanton. Edinburgh, Scotland: T&T Clark, 1994. Wachtel, William M. “Colossians 1:15-20–Preexistence or Preeminence?” Paper presented at the 14th Theological Conference, McDonough, GA, 2005. Wessels, G. F. “The Eschatology of Colossians and Ephesians.” Neotestamentica 21, no. 2 (1987): 183–202. Witherington III, Ben The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and the Ephesians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary of the Captivity Epistles. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007. Yates, Roy. The Epistle to the Colossians. London: Epworth Press, 1993. Zeilinger, Franz. Der Erstgeborene Der Schöpfung. Wien, Österreich: Herder, 1974. Footnotes [1] Since the nineteenth century biblical scholars have been divided over whether Paul wrote Colossians. One of the major reasons for thinking Paul didn't write Colossians is his exalted Christology—the very conclusion this paper seeks to undermine. A second major factor to argue against Pauline authorship is the difference in vocabulary, but this is explainable if Paul used a different amanuensis. The theologically more cosmic emphasis (also evident in Ephesians) is likely due to Paul's time in prison to reflect and expand his understanding of the Christ event. Lastly, the proto-Gnostic hints in Colossians do not require dating the epistle outside of Paul's time. Although Gnosticism flourished at the beginning of the second century, it was likely already beginning to incubate in Paul's time. [2] Eduard Schillebeeckx, Christ: The Experience of Jesus as Lord, trans. John Bowden (New York, NY: The Seabury Press, 1977), 185. [3] Schillebeeckx, 185. [4] G. B. Caird, Paul’s Letters from Prison, New Clarendon Bible, ed. H. F. D. Sparks (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1976), 177. [5] Caird, 181. [6] James D. G. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, New International Greek Testament Commentary, ed. Gasque Marshall, Hagner (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), 91. “[W]hat at first reads as a straightforward assertion of Christ's pre-existenct activity in creation becomes on closer analysis an assertion which is rather more profound—not of Christ as such present with God in the beginning, nor of Christ as identified with a pre-existent hypostasis or divine being (Wisdom) beside God, but of Christ as embodying and expressing (and defining) that power of God which is the manifestation of God in and to his creation.” (Italics in original.) James D. G. Dunn, Christology in the Making, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), 194. [7] James F. McGrath, The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2009), 46. [8] Andrew Perriman, In the Form of a God, Studies in Early Christology, ed. David Capes Michael Bird, and Scott Harrower (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2022), 200. [9] In addition, biblical unitarians routinely interpret Col 1.16 as new creation. See Anthony F. Buzzard, Jesus Was Not a Trinitarian (Morrow, GA: Restoration Fellowship, 2007), 189–90, Robert Carden, One God: The Unfinished Reformation, Revised ed. (Naperville, IL: Grace Christian Press, 2016), 197–200, Eric H. H. Chang, The Only Perfect Man, ed. Bentley C. F. Chang, 2nd ed. (Montreal, QC: Christian Disciples Church Publishers, 2017), 151–52, Jeff Deuble, Christ before Creeds (Latham, NY: Living Hope International Ministries, 2021), 163–66, John A. Lynn Mark H. Graeser, John W. Schoenheit, One God & One Lord, 4th ed. (Martinsville, IN: Spirit & Truth Fellowship International, 2010), 493–94, Donald R. Snedeker, Our Heavenly Father Has No Equals (Bethesda, MD: International Scholars Publications, 1998), 291–92, William M. Wachtel, “Colossians 1:15-20–Preexistence or Preeminence?” (paper presented at the 14th Theological Conference, McDonough, GA, 2005), 4. [10] All translations are my own. [11] Stophes are structural divisions drawn from Greek odes akin to stanzas in poetry or verses in music. [12] Throughout I will capitalize Church since that reflects the idea of all Christians collectively not just those in a particular local assembly. [13] Eduard Norden, Agnostos Theos: Untersuchungen Zur Formengeschichte Religiöser Rede, 4th ed. (Stuttgart, Germany: B. G. Teubner, 1956), 250–54. [14] James M. Robinson, “A Formal Analysis of Colossians 1:15-20,” Journal of Biblical Literature 76, no. 4 (1957): 272–73. [15] Edward Lohse, Colossians and Philemon, Hermeneia (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1971), 44. [16] Eduard Schweizer, The Letter to the Colossians, trans. Andrew Chester (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1982), 57. [17] Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 84. [18] Ben  Witherington III, The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and the Ephesians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary of the Captivity Epistles (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007), 129. [19] William L. Lane, The New Testament Page by Page, Open Your Bible Commentary, ed. Martin Manser (Bath, UK: Creative 4 International, 2013), 765. [20] E. K. Simpson and F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1957), 65. [21] Michael F. Bird, Colossians and Philemon, A New Covenant Commentary (Cambridge, England: The Lutterworth Press, 2009), 50. [22] David Pao, Colossians and Philemon, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament, ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapid, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 87. [23] Lohse, 42. [24] Lohse, 43–44. [25] Scot McKnight, The Letter to the Colossians, New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. Joel B. Green (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018), 144. [26] Col 1.13-14: “who rescued us from the authority of darkness and transferred (us) into the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of the sins.” Col 1.21-22: “And you being formerly alienated and hostile in thought in the evil deeds, but now he reconciled (you) in his body of the flesh through the death to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him.” [27] In fact, we can easily skip from vv. 13-14 to vv. 21-22. [28] Dunn, Christology in the Making, 187–88. [29] Sadly, most translations erroneously insert a paragraph between vv. 14 and 15. This produces the visual effect that v. 15 is a new thought unit. [30] Bruce, 193. [31] Moses 2.65: “τὴν ἡγεμονίαν τῶν περιγείων” in Philo, The Works of Philo, The Norwegian Philo Concordance Project (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2005). See also Sirach 17.3. [32] Schweizer, 64. [33] For a helpful treatment of how the image of God relates to Christology, see Anna Shoffner Brown, “Nothing ‘Mere’ About a Man in the Image of God” (paper presented at the Unitarian Christian Alliance, Springfield, OH, Oct 14, 2022). [34] Walter Bauer et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), s.v. “πρωτότοκος,” 2.a. [35] Franz Zeilnger wrote, “Christ is temporally the first of a series that essentially proceeds from him, and at the same time its lord and head.” Franz Zeilinger, Der Erstgeborene Der Schöpfung (Wien, Österreich: Herder, 1974), 182. Original: “als “Wurzel” ist Christus zeitlich der erste einer Reihe, die wesentlich aus ihm hervorgeht, und zugleich ihr Herr und Haupt.” [36] McKnight, 85–86. [37] The closest parallels are 1 Cor 8.6; Heb 1.2; and John 1.3, which employ the preposition δια (through). Upon close examination these three don't teach Christ created the universe either. [38] ESV, CSB, NASB, etc. Notably the NET diverges from the other evangelical translations. Roman Catholic, mainline, and unitarian translations all tend to straightforwardly render “ἐν αὐτῷ” as “in him” in Col 1.16; cf. NABRE, NRSVUE, OGFOMMT, etc. [39] Chang, 150. [40] Ralph Martin, “An Early Christian Hymn (Col. 1:15-20),” The Evangelical Quarterly 36, no. 4 (1964): 198. [41] Schillebeeckx, 186. [42] Dunn, Christology in the Making, 191. [43] Karl-Joseph Kuschel, Born before All Time?, trans. John Bowden (New York, NY: Crossroad, 1992), 336. [44] Dustin R. Smith, Wisdom Christology in the Gospel of John (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2024), 5–6. For more on wisdom Christology in Col 1.16 see Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 89, Roy Yates, The Epistle to the Colossians (London: Epworth Press, 1993), 18–19, 23, G. B. Caird, New Testament Theology, ed. L. D. Hurst (Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 2002), 46, McGrath, 44, 46. [45] See Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, 89. See also Yates, 18–19, 23. [46] Dunn, Christology in the Making, 190. [47] Perriman, 199. [48] Martha King, An Exegetical Summary of Colossians (Dallas, TX: SIL International, 1992), 53. [49] Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), s.v. “ἐν,” 1722. He recognized the cause was both instrumental and final. [50] William Graham MacDonald, The Idiomatic Translation of the New Testament (Norfolk, VA: Bibleworks, 2012). [51] Chang, 147. Similarly James McGrath wrote, “[I]f all things were intended by God to find their fulfillment in Christ, then they must have been created “in him” in the very beginning in some undefined sense, since it was axiomatic that the eschatological climax of history would be a restoration of its perfect, original state.” McGrath, 46. [52] Caird, Paul’s Letters from Prison, 172. [53] “God so designed the universe that it was to achieve its proper meaning and unity only under the authority of man (Gen. 128; Ps. 86). But this purpose was not to be implemented at once; it was ‘to be put into effect when the time was ripe' (Eph. 110), when Christ had lived a human life as God intended it, and had become God's image in a measure which was never true of Adam. Only in unity with ‘the proper man' could the universe be brought to its destined coherence. For one who believes in predestination it is but a small step from this to saying that the universe was created in him.” Caird, Paul’s Letters from Prison, 178. [54] See also Paul's Adam Christology in Rom 5.12-21; 1 Cor 15.21-22, 45-49. [55] “Christus ist (durch seine Auferstehung aus dem Todesbereich) Herr über den ihm verliehenen Besitz, dessen ἀρχή und Urbild er ist, … und Haupt und Anfang der eschatologischen Neuschöpfung!” Zeilinger, 188. [56] King, 54. [57] Perriman, 200. [58] G. F. Wessels, “The Eschatology of Colossians and Ephesians,” Neotestamentica 21, no. 2 (1987): 187. [59] I realize my translation is awkward, but I prioritized closely mirroring the Greek over presenting smooth English. The original reads, “συνεζωοποίησεν ὑμᾶς σὺν αὐτῷ.” [60] Schillebeeckx, 187. [61] Scholars who make this connection include Caird, New Testament Theology, 216, Caird, Paul’s Letters from Prison, 177, McGrath, 44, Perriman, 201. [62] In fact, only two of the texts I cited above explicitly say “new creation” (2 Cor 5.17 and Gal 6.15). In all the others, Paul blithely employed creation language, expecting his readers to understand that he was not talking about the creation of the universe, but the creation of the new humanity in Christ—the Church. [63] McKnight, 152. [64] Mark H. Graeser, 493. [65] Rev 2.1, 8, 12, 18; 3.1, 7, 14. [66] See Gerry Schoberg, Perspectives of Jesus in the Writings of Paul (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013), 280–81, 83. [67] Margaret Thrall, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, vol. 1, The International Critical Commentary, ed. C. E. B. Cranfield J. A. Emerton, G. N. Stanton (Edinburgh, Scotland: T&T Clark, 1994), 423, 26–28. [68] J. Louis Martyn, Theological Issues in the Letters of Paul (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1997), 122. [69] Martyn, 121. [70] Whether the old gods actually existed or not is a topic beyond the scope of this paper. Interested readers should consult Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019). [71] “[D]ie in Christus gegebene echatologische Welt verwirkliche sich innerhalb der weiterhin existenten irdischen Schöpfung durch die Einbeziehung des Menschen in Christus, den Erhöhten, mittles Heilsverkündigung und Taufe. Das Eschaton setzt sic him Kerygma wetweit durch und wird Wirklichkeit, indem der Mensch durch die Taufe Christi Teil wird, d. h. in Einheit mit ihm dem Anspruch der στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου stirbt (2, 20) und mit ihm auferweckt sein eschatologisches Leben erhält. Die so dem erhöhten Christus eingegliederten Menschen bilden somit in ihm und mit ihm die neue Schöpfung der Eschata innerhalb der alten! Der Christusleib ist somit als sich weitende Kirche erkennbar. In ihr bildet himmlischer und irdischer Raum gewissermaßen eine Einheit.” Zeilinger, 179. [72] “Der neue Adam … Ausgangsort, in dem sich Neuschöpfung ereignete,” Zeilinger, 199. [73] Randy A. Leedy, The Greek New Testament Sentence Diagrams (Norfolk, VA: Bible Works, 2006). This is now available in Logos Bible Software.

What does it really mean to be a biblical father? Not just a moral, modern, or “cool” dad, but one who shapes his kids' hearts for the Lord. In this episode, we break fatherhood down into three essential ingredients—straight from Scripture—so you can parent with purpose. Whether you're a brand-new dad or a seasoned veteran, you'll find biblical encouragement, practical wisdom, and even some laughter along the way.   Think of this episode as a distillation of who we are at our core here at Father On Purpose. If you've been along for the ride with us for the last 4 years or so, we owe you our gratitude. We've also got a special challenge for you. If you're a dad who's just joining us, welcome aboard. We hope God uses us to "spur you on toward love and good deeds" (Heb 10:24) and that you would fully embrace becoming a Father On Purpose. -------------------------------------------------------------------------   Range Leather: Support the show and upgrade your fatherhood swag. Shop Range Leather and get 15% OFF with code MJ15 Grab some fresh beans! https://rangecoffee.com/   Fatherhood Guard – Connect with dads from over 20 states and at least 2 countries by joining the Fatherhood Guard. Grab your welcome hat at https://manhoodjourney.org/donate/fatherhood-guard/     Buy Kent's latest book: Don't Bench Yourself on Amazon   Read the new State Of Biblical Fatherhood report here: http://manhoodjourney.org/sobf Find tools to share the report here: https://manhoodjourney.org/sobf-tools   Have a topic you want us to touch on? Well, get in touch! Send us an email at: info@manhoodjourney.org   -------------------------------------------------------------------------   About our hosts: Kent Evans is the Executive Director and co-founder of Manhood Journey, a ministry that helps dads become disciple-makers. After a twenty-year career as a business leader, he embarked on biblical Fatherhood ministry projects. He's appeared on television, radio, web outlets and podcasts. He's spoken at parenting and men's events. He's authored four books. The first, Wise Guys: Unlocking Hidden Wisdom from the Men Around You, was written to help men learn how to find mentors and wise counsel. The latest, Don't Bench Yourself: How to Stay in the Game Even When You Want to Quit, aims to help dads stay present in their roles as fathers and husbands even when they feel like giving up. Kent's life has been radically affected by godly mentors and his lovely wife, April. They have been married thirty years and have five sons and one daughter-in-law. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky. Lawson Brown is husband to his high school sweetheart, a father of two young adult daughters, has been a business leader since 1995, and is a former Marine. He served as a small group leader for teenage boys for many years, helped start the Christian media ministry City on a Hill Productions, then later Sanctuary – a new church in Kennesaw, GA – where he served as its leader for Men's Ministry. Lawson's journey of faith has always been centered in a grounding from his wife, Audrey, and supported throughout by many men whom he's found as brothers along the way. His family is nearing an empty nest phase and has recently relocated to the Florida Gulf Coast beaches area.

Ga voor de shownotes en het transcript naar https://www.damnhoney.nl/aflevering-242DAMN, HONEY wordt gemaakt door Marie Lotte Hagen en Nydia van Voorthuizen Deze aflevering wordt gesponsord door Vedette met de feministische film Manas. Vanaf 14 augustus te bekijken in de bioscoop en te streamen via online platform PICL editwerk: Daniël van de Poppe jingles: Lucas de Gier website: Liesbeth Smit DAMN, HONEY is onderdeel van Dag & Nacht Media. Heb je interesse om te adverteren in deze podcast? Neem dan contact op met Dag en Nacht Media via adverteren@dagennacht.nlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ruth Scheper is vijftien en wordt gebeld door haar... ja, wat eigenlijk? Heb jij ook een goed, waargebeurd verhaal dat je wilt vertellen tijdens een Echt Gebeurd-editie In Toomler? Ga dan naar onze website, want we zijn altijd op zoek naar nieuwe vertellers. Onze redactie neemt contact op als je verhaal geschikt lijkt. De thema's voor alle verhalenmiddagen na de zomervakantie vind je hier. Echt Gebeurd is te volgen op Instagram, Facebook, Threads, BlueSky en LinkedIn. Voor mensen die het kunnen missen hebben we Vriend van de Show. Wil je donateur worden voor € 2,50 per maand of een eenmalige donatie doen, dan kan dat hier. Om te adverteren in onze podcast kun je contact opnemen met Dag en Nacht Media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday August07JoyfulHearts Sharing His GospelLuke 24:48-5348And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of MyFather upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued withpower from on high." 50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, andHe lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while Heblessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 Andthey worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 andwere continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.Aswe look at the last verses of Luke 24, we remember that after the crucifixionof Christ, the disciples faced disappointment, discouragement, and all thatcomes with it. The women went to the tomb with perplexed hearts,expecting a sealed tomb. Today, many in our Christian community love the Lordand live for Him, like these women, but get perplexed trying to figure it allout. What is happening? Where is His body? He shows them the open tomb and evengives His first appearance to Mary Magdalene.  Then,we have the two disciples on the road to Emmaus with discouraged hearts,thinking Jesus was going to set up His kingdom. Many believers today arediscouraged because things aren't turning out as expected. Jesus opens theireyes to see Him. In the upper room, the disciples have troubled hearts,afraid and wondering what is going on. Jesus opens their understanding to theScriptures, explaining all things concerning His death, burial, andresurrection, beginning with Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Andwhat happens next? We find out in verse 52.  They have joyful hearts and Jesus nowopens their lips to share the Good News of His resurrection. My friend, whenyou know there's an empty tomb, keep your eyes on Jesus Christ, and realize Heis there with you, and He opens your understanding to all the Scriptures, youwill experience a joyful heart and be willing to open your lips too! Luke24:50-52 should be compared with Mark 16:19-20 and Acts 1:9-12. Think of whatit meant to Him to return to heaven and sit on the throne of glory! (John 17:5,11) His ascension is proof that He has conquered every enemy and that He reignssupremely "far above all" (Eph. 1:18-23). Inheaven today, our Lord ministers as our High Priest (Heb. 7:25) and ourAdvocate (1 John 2:1). As High Priest, He gives us the grace we need to facetesting and temptation (Heb. 4:14-16); and if we fail, as Advocate He forgivesand restores us when we confess our sins (1 John 1:6-10). As the glorified Headof the church, Jesus Christ is equipping His people to live for Him and serveHim in this present world (Eph. 4:7-16; Heb. 13:20-21). Through the Word of Godand prayer, He is ministering to us by His Spirit and making us more likeHimself. Ilove this book. It started with Zacharias in the temple and the angelsappearing to shepherds, proclaiming, a message “of great joy whichshall be to all people." Now the book ends with these disciples fullof great joy. Jesus opens their lips, and they go everywhere worshiping,praising, and telling the nations that Jesus Christ is alive. He is risen, andyou can trust Him today to be your Lord and Savior. It will change everything,and your perplexed, troubled, discouraged hearts will become joyful heartsliving for eternity.  That'swhat the Great Commission is all about. Over the next couple of days we will betalking about how you can also participate in fulfilling the Great Commission. Godbless!

Al sinds haar jeugd staat Leontien (50) altijd aan, vooral voor de mensen om haar heen. Voor haar dochters, haar zus met verstandelijke beperking en haar vader die ouder wordt. Ze voelt zich schuldig als ze tijd voor zichzelf wil nemen. En tegelijkertijd voelt ze zich alleen omdat niemand er écht onvoorwaardelijk voor haar is.

Je kent het vast – die ene liefde waar je niet los van komt. Waarin alles even magisch voelt als jullie samen zijn, maar waarin je jezelf ook elke keer opnieuw kwijtraakt. Noor zit er middenin. Tien jaar lang een knipperlichtrelatie. Tien jaar hoop dat het deze keer echt anders wordt. Maar het patroon van aantrekken en afstoten blijft terugkomen. En inmiddels voelt het niet meer als liefde, maar als een verslaving.Waarom is het zó moeilijk om los te laten wat je diep vanbinnen weet dat niet goed voor je is? En wat zegt zo'n relatie eigenlijk over jezelf?In deze aflevering duiken David en Arjan diep in het spanningsveld tussen verlangen en zelfverlies. Ze onderzoeken waarom we ons vastklampen aan relaties die pijn doen, waarom sommige liefdes zo verslavend zijn, en wat je kunt ontdekken als je durft te kijken naar het ‘gat' dat je eigenlijk probeert te vullen. In de shownotes vind je ook een gratis training die je helpt om dieper te zakken in innerlijke rust – en misschien wel de kracht vindt om het patroon te doorbreken.Shownotes:

We hebben weer een nieuwe gast in de studio in de vorm van the one and only Carmen Felix! Carmen verbaast zich over het onzekere en onderdanige gedrag van tukker Rinus, want Ingrid lijkt de arme man volledig onder de duim te hebben. Eva duidt de vrouwen bij Illya, die verrassend veel op elkaar beginnen te lijken (we noemen een kippenvel, een bijzondere doom) en Jan bespreekt de naïviteit van Arie en Arno. Het lijkt hen niet om het vrouwtje te gaan, maar puur en alleen om de winst. En we sluiten de week natuuuurlijk af met... DE RANKING!!! Download hier de Reality Check B&B Vol Liefde Bingo En claim hier je tickets voor Podimo at the Park. Wij staan op zaterdag 6 september om 20:00 uur op de main stage. We zijn er iedere maandag t/m donderdag om de aflevering van die dag na te bespreken. Heb jij een hot take, spannende achtergrondinformatie of wil je heel graag je mening met ons delen? Stuur ons dan een (voice)berichtje op instagram (@realitycheck_depodcast). Op onze Instagram & TikTok houden we 24/7 alles voor je in de gaten houden uit Reality-TV land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prayer Judgment and Revival (2) (audio) David Eells – 8/6/25 Going over What the Lord Showed Me About the Asteroid that's Coming Brandon @ Last Days – 7/26/25 (David's notes in red) https://youtu.be/xUTlHLlBy_g?si=1W7FB9aV5GfR-osX Portion of transcript: Speaking of the revival, the Lord said, “Heaven and Earth are about to collide with the greatest harvest of souls and the greatest demonstration and manifestations of My glory that this world has ever seen before. In a 24-hour period, He said, “Brandon, everything you know, [will change] we're at the point of no return. We're at that point. It's time to push.” It's time to push. (Laboring to bring forth the Man-child body which will bring the revival as it was with Jesus the Man-child. History repeats on a larger scale.) He said, “You're looking at a thin thread.” Remember that hair-thin thread I saw coming up? I said, “Adam's lease is coming up.” Do you understand? We're about to step over the water's edge. We're about to step over the waterfall. (Revival) And the Lord said, “You're about to see something I long for you to see.” Why? Because it was there, the lease; it was Adam's timeframe of a 6,000-year window. Now, we're about to step into the 7,000–year window with the 7-year tribulation. (According to Numeric Bible Chronology we are already in the thousand year sabbath but men are breaking it by their works so tribulation comes.) We're about to see some radical things. Radical and amazing things with the Holy Ghost and fire like we've never seen it before. We've only seen glimpses of it. The Lord said, “You've only seen glimpses of it with Azusa Street, …, with the Welch revival. These only lasted for just a short window. But, Brandon, what I'm about to do, all those others will pale in comparison to what is about to happen in these last days.” (Amen!) But He said, “I have to give you a warning about the plague. I have to tell you to stand and pray and tell the people that I'm coming.” And He talked about Psalm 91. (He will come to us as the Latter Rain to once again heal the plagues of men as Jesus did in the former rain.) Then I saw an asteroid, and He was talking about this telescope called Lucifer. And then He called it Satan.  (I have read that the Vatican's telescope was originally called Lucifer but was changed to Luci in 2012 to avoid controversy.) I thought how this was a very demonic name, and I wondered if I was hearing this right? And is this the Lord or Satan? I saw this telescope in the Arizona West and it is massive. (That is where Luci is.) The lens on it was ginormous. As I was looking at this, I saw men wearing white lab coats, and they were talking and writing things down. They said, “The odds are in our favor.” And “It's unlikely this will happen.” China was involved, and they were communicating back and forth about what they were seeing coming. China said, “This is going to hit. This is serious.” But the people in America were like, “Uh, I don't know, I don't think so.” But China was taking it seriously. They were freaking out. I could see these educated Chinese men calculating and talking back and forth. They knew something serious was about to happen and that we were not going to divert it. As I was looking over into outer space, I saw a massive rock heading toward Earth. They said, “We were not telling them because it would cause panic. But the odds are in our favor that it will not happen that it will miss.” But it will not. I saw other space debris by this major rock. It was a massive piece of rock, like the size of a planet. (No one would survive the largest rock; there would be no tribulation.) And there was a smaller one beside it, and there were ones they would consider to be…. And I heard the word ‘planet killers' were behind it, like bunches of them. As this thing was moving and all the others with it, it looked like a debris field behind it. (Earth can generally survive impacts from asteroids smaller than about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) in diameter, as these are less likely to cause catastrophic damage. However, an asteroid around 7 to 8 miles (11 to 12 kilometers) wide could potentially wipe out most life on Earth. https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/asteroid-hits-earth.htm ) (I have no doubt a rock in the tail will hit. Brandon has been very accurate.) The Lord said, “Watch the sun, watch the tides. For things are going to change, and change quickly. Your water and your waves, the way the tides come in and go out because of the moon. Things are going to start to shift like you've never seen before. The tides are going to act very strangely; they will be higher than average. They will come in further than what they're supposed to. When they pull back out, they will move out further than they are supposed to.” I heard this and I could see it. Something was affecting the tides. This rock, something serious. The Lord said, “Watch the pressure on the Earth for a major volcano is about to erupt, and not just one volcano, but it will be multiple all at the same time.” I saw earthquakes measuring more than 9.0 in more than one place. They happened in multiple places at the same time. (Even a flyby of this monster could do this but I suspect one or more from the tail will hit.) The Lord said, “I told you and I warned you that it would affect the sun's light and the way it shines upon the Earth, for it will create a disruption in the birds' migration. It will cause a difference in the timing of when animals breed because it will confuse their natural instincts. All animals and creation were acting weird. Even the agriculture of the flowering and planning (planting) will be thrown off because of what's coming. I saw the magnetic poles and how the Earth was shifting, and it was moving differently.  Even the daytime will be different, and the way the Earth spins will be different. (A wobble is likely) Some people think it's a flat Earth, but it's not. (Amen)  He said the sun will look different in the days ahead. You will need to hear Him in the days ahead because of what I saw. The Lord said, “Look at Venice, Italy.” I could see the water in the city acting weird; there was flooding and a rise in the tides. There were “water events,” that's what I'll call them. Water events are about to take place in Italy that have never happened before because of what's happening to the Earth. The Lord said, “Watch Venice, Italy, and watch Rome. Watch the volcano that's about to go off in Europe.” This will be an event that is not just one in the ring of fire, but this will be a global event that starts taking place. Then I saw India and the Lord said, “Look at India, for a lot of the pagan temples will be destroyed with earthquakes in the days ahead.” I saw the glory of God coming in, and there were many in the harvest. I'm talking major revival throughout India. I saw monkeys on the temples and old shrines completely decimated by earthquakes. It was like when the walls of Jericho came down. Everything was flattened; there was nothing left, it was like rubble. The Lord said, “I will bring in My presence, and I'm going to decimate those false gods and false places of worship. There will be a great revival throughout India and all throughout Asia. I saw great Buddhist temples completely decimated when this takes place. They were shaken to the ground like piles of rubble. A major distraction is about to take place. So I asked the Lord more about this. I asked Him, “Is this about the two flying saucers? Is it the two alien ships?” This is a deception that's about to take place and it's false. It's demonic spirits. There is no such thing as aliens. (Absolutely True) There will be things in the sky that are going to scare many people in the days ahead, thinking, “This is E.T.; they really exist!” No. These are fallen angels; it's demonic. This will be how they will explain away the rapture of the church. People say, ‘I don't believe in the rapture,' but it's going to happen. (See our book: Hidden Manna- It clearly comes at the end of the Trib.)  I'm telling you by the Spirit of God, you need to get your houses ready. If you're not on fire for Jesus and your heart is not serving Jesus, today is the day. You need to get right with the Lord. People ask me when this will happen. I don't know how long before this happens; I'm just here to warn you about what's coming. So, I saw these major alien ships, and I saw it go over the Vatican and go over the Mayan temples down in Mexico. And I asked the Lord, “Are there two of these?” I have been praying about this, and He said, “No, it's just one.” This is going to make everyone freak out because they will see it moving across the ocean and think it's more than one. It will be seen on TV. Then I saw little tiny ships coming out of the mother ship that looked like balls of light. But it wasn't a real ship. Understand. This was a demonic-looking light that was traveling around, causing much confusion in our skies. I know this sounds “way out there.” I didn't even want to talk about it, but I'm instructed to. I'm here to warn you. As wild as it may sound, there will be fearful sights you will see that will bring you to your knees. I'm here to warn you of these things. The enemy does not play fair; he's trying to deceive people with what's coming and throwing many curveballs to try and deceive the nations. When the antichrist comes (See Hidden Manna) on the scene and he says, “Hey, we have a solution for all the problems in the days ahead.” “I'm going to bring peace and prosperity. All you have to do is bow down and worship me on Fridays…” “And you're going to have to get a chip. But it's going to be a solution because we're going to take care of all of this with AI. AI has the cure for diseases. We're going to fix diabetes, we'll fix cancer, and we'll fix autism. We're going to do all this through AI technology. If you just serve me on Fridays and do all that I tell you to do, we're going to fix all your ailments.” You watch! This is how they get everybody with hook, line and sinker. People will think that he's such a nice guy! (antichrist) They'll say, “Don't you know he has a plan to help everybody?” It's coming. But I won't be here to see it. I won't be here, and none of you will be here to see it. Those of us who are believers and have our lamps full of oil. (See Hidden Manna- Absolute proof we will all be here.) I heard the Lord say, “Pray. They're going to try to get another major virus in the days ahead.” I saw another major virus and the Lord said, “Rise up and pray, church! Pray that the glorious church rises.” People will be looking at us and asking us, “Do you have a solution for this new virus?” And we don't need to be handling this like we did COVID. You can either be hiding in your church or your houses because you're afraid of this thing, or we can be the glorious church and rise up and pray and take our authority over things. (Amen! Brandon – Exo. 15:26- “I will put none of the diseases upon thee”.) Last time in 2019, people were caught off guard. I heard about it six months in advance, about how there was going to be a major virus, but I didn't have a platform to warn people like I do now. (I told people 3 years in advance.) The Lord told me, “I'm giving you a window, Brandon, pray and tell them that they're going to try to do it again. But this time it will be COVID on steroids and it will be a whole different strand.” I'm trying to warn you that they have a plan for the future, and it's not that far off. (We can pray most of this down.) This will not just affect humans; I saw that it will also affect cattle and your pets. I saw dogs, cattle, birds, everything, lying dead everywhere. It was spreading to livestock everywhere like a plague. It was like the black plague of death. (in Europe 1346-1353) It was awful. But the glorious church! Remember, they had light in Goshen while it was dark in Egypt. I'm telling you that in the household of faith, if you rise up, if you pray and you read your Bible to know the Word of God, it will be like He said, “A thousand shall fall at your side and 10,000 at your right hand, but it will not come nigh you.” (True, if you believe) I asked the Lord, “What things can we stop?” He said, “Terrorist attacks; you can stop plots against the churches, but Brandon, you cannot stop Matthew 24.” He said, “You can be at the right place at the right time, and it won't affect you because you're My beloved. Be where I tell you to be and do what I tell you to do. Hear Me and be in sync with Me at all times and know that nothing will come nigh you.” (True) The Lord said, “Listen to Me, Matthew 24 will take place.” Which says, there will be wars and rumors of wars, plagues, pestilence and earthquakes in diverse places, massive storms, all these things and seas and waves roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear when they see all these things coming upon the Earth. We're going to see things we've never seen before, because the Bible says so. But there are certain things we can pray about and stop, and things we cannot stop. (We can almost always lessen the effect of them.) I'm telling you the things we cannot stop are going to happen, but they don't have to affect you. We're here in this world, but we're not of this world, right? We're underneath the shadow of the Almighty, under His wings, and Him shall we trust! And I know He's watching over me. His goodness and mercy are following me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. But it doesn't say I won't go through the valley of the shadow of death, but I will fear no evil. His rod and staff comfort me. He prepares a table before me in the presence of all my enemies. He told me He would take care of me, and I believe Him with all my heart that He will. And that's the place where I want to see all of you too. Regardless of what we see coming, and the birth pangs. He said, “As the labor pains that are coming upon a woman, Brandon, it's going to get really radical now.” And He said that as we go from Rosh Hashanah and even more from September (I think it's like the 21st)), when we hit this time frame, an acceleration of things is going to happen even on a greater level. But I'm giving you a window of financial outpouring. Believer for it. Pray for Judge Torres and these judges to let go of the things and crypto. That these corrupt people will set boundaries and laws and establish it and that it will all be a blessing for the body of Christ. People need to be listening. It won't all come through certain investments that you think it will come through. Don't limit God in your natural minds. Think bigger! The Lord said, “You're not thinking big enough.” He told me, “Brandon, I have a million and one ways to get you a million dollars. Do you understand Me?” “I am the God of more than enough. I'll provide for your ministry. I'll do whatever you need if you just ask Me in faith. Do you understand? My hand is not short.” Do you understand? He's an exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think to ask, God! And from what I've seen coming, you better get your house in order and your heart right before the Lord. You cannot be playing church anymore. If you thought COVID was bad, you haven't seen anything like what I've seen. For most people, it will steamroll them because their hearts are not ready, and they're not right with the Lord. It's not time to play church anymore. You're either hot or cold, but if you're lukewarm, He will spew you out of His mouth. You may say, “Where's the grace in all this?” I believe His grace is sufficient for every single one of you, but you need to be on the side where the devourer is rebuked, and He said He rebuked the devourer for your sake. You say, “Well, I'm a tither and I have tither's rights.” You either believe what the Word of God says for His promises (Psalm 91) or you are a doubter. A true believer believes that God will do what He says He will do. The Lord told me that there's too much static in the air. There are too many false prophetic words going forth. They're listening to a familiar spirit and they're speaking to itching ears, and they are not warning you what I'm trying to tell you. And He said that you either speak for Me or sit down and be quiet. Because I'm telling you, I saw judgments. The Lord said, “Judgement begins in My house first and many people don't like that.” But He said, “I'm cleaning house, Brandon, and I'm really about to clean house!” There will be righteous people rise up who have never had a platform before, similar to mine. They will rise up and say exactly what He says to speak. You're going to see signs and wonders that follow those who believe. (The “greater works” ministry.) He said, the true demonstrations of the manifested presence of the sons of God. When you're moving and doing what He told us to do, you will see the signs and wonders. I believe it with all my heart. We're about to see things like we've never seen before. But it's time to be like it was for Jeremiah and all those other prophets of old, when they spoke for God; you'll see things. You're going to start to see the manifestations of what they're saying. You are going to see healings and demonstrations in the glory. There is too much confusion and too many people parroting things. The Lord said, “I'm dealing with this.” He told me, “Your job is to tell what you see and what I'm telling you in prayer, and you relay what I'm saying.” I don't consider myself a prophet, and I've said this before. The Lord said, “I want you to pray and intercede for the revival and lead My people to Jesus. That's your main priority right now.” And He said, “True prophetic voices will be leading people to Jesus.” They'll have altar calls and tell people they're going to hell if they don't repent. They're telling people that Jesus is coming, like John the Baptist in the wilderness eating locust and honey and telling everybody, “There's One coming. Jesus is coming.” But they missed the way Jesus was coming, and history repeats. He came in a body of the Son of David, and the apostates missed him. Here, Hidden Manna could show us how He is coming in the firstfruits sons of David and then His elect, before coming for us. Just as in Jesus' day, the creation of God was waiting for a Son to come with the Word of deliverance from the curse of corruption, so it is in our day. (Rom.8:19) For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. (21) that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. In Jesus' day, spiritual “children” had led His creation into bondage to corrupt religion and sin, but God sent His “Son” to deliver them with the unleavened bread. So it will be in our day. The foundations have been destroyed by many generations of children put in positions of leadership by those who have wanted their ears tickled. In times of apostasy God gives them what they want. (Isa.3:4) And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. (5) And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the old man (mature), and the base against the honorable. (12) As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. God's solution will be to reveal His sons, whom He will use to restore a repentant remnant with the truth that sets free. In His first body, Jesus offered this deliverance to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mat.10:6) before there was a great falling away, but in the corporate Man-child Jesus will offer it to the called of the “whole creation” to restore the elect. (Rom.8:22) For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. The work of the Spirit is to bring us to adoption: spirit, soul, and ultimately body. Jesus was the Son of God abiding in the Son of Man. He was the Son in Spirit and Soul when He still inhabited a body of the seed of David (Rom.1:3). His ability to fully walk in the Kingdom came when He received His redeemed, glorified body. So shall it be with the Man-child manifested “sons.” They will first manifest Sonship in spirit and then progressively in soul through persecution and suffering, as it was with Jesus. (Heb.5:8) Though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered; (9) and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation. Through this stage, the Man-child sons will minister in power to the called of God, as it was with our pattern, Jesus. In Romans we see the last step of full adoption through the new body. (Rom.8:23) And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for [our] adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body. Our faith, like our Father's faith, “calleth the things that are not, as though they were” (Rom.4:17), so we must claim our Sonship before we see it. (Gal.3:26) For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. The manifestation will come to those who walk by faith, beholding the Son in the mirror. (2Co.3:18) Those who claim their Sonship, and the authority and privileges that go with it, because of the redemption wrought in Christ are accounted as sons. We are “justified (Greek: “reckoned or accounted righteous”) by faith in Christ” (2:16). If I believe that “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me” (20), then I am a son by faith even if I am not yet a son by manifestation. (3:6) Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. (7) Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham. Therefore, if we have received the Spirit of Christ and believe that He now lives in us to do His works, we are sons by faith. (4:6) And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (7) So that thou art no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Those who live as joint heirs with Christ are walking in the faith of Sonship and will manifest His works by God's power. Jesus said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father” (Joh.14:12). God is carefully bringing His servants/children who walk by faith to manifest Sonship, first the Man-child and then those disciples who follow in His steps. (Pro.29:21) He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last. While the apostates were waiting for the coming Messiah, He was being manifest in their midst as a man-child born to a woman. According to this type, the apostates in our day are waiting for Jesus to come in the sky to save them. They do not understand that He will come first manifested in the Man-child. The “Son” will come to be manifested only in those “children” who “abide in Him.” This is what the manifestation of Sonship is. Those who do not manifest Sonship will be “ashamed” like the man without the wedding garment, when they physically see Jesus. (1Jn.2:28) And now, [my] little children, abide in him; that, if he shall be manifested (in us through Sonship), we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming (Greek: parousia, meaning His “physical presence”). Both the ancient manuscripts and the numeric pattern say, “if … He be manifested” (NENT). “If” shows that only the “children” who manifest Jesus or Sonship will not be “ashamed” when He comes. The KJV translated this as “when He shall appear” because they thought this was a reference to Jesus' physical coming, which truly is a “when” and not an “if.” A major problem with this translation is that it has Jesus coming twice at the same time. “When he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming (KJV).” However, “manifested” here is the Greek word phaneroo, meaning “to ‘appear' or make visible.” It comes from the root word phan, meaning “to shine.” The same word used in many other places plainly shows us that the glory of Jesus will “shine” out of our “mortal bodies” (Rom.8:11) to “appear” to the world. (2Cor.4:11) For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested (Greek: Phaneroo meaning “shining appearance”) in our mortal flesh. Obviously this is a spiritual shining out of us of the righteous glory of God, but sometimes God allows even lost people to see it. Around 1984 I was witnessing to a man who said, “I saw you some years ago and there was a light shining out of you wherever you went and I wondered what it meant.” (6) Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Notice in the same text that if we know the true “face of Jesus Christ” in the mirror by faith, His glory will shine in us. (3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory…. (Col.3:4) When Christ, [who is] our life, shall be manifested (in us), then shall ye also with him be manifested (“shining appearance”) in glory. Back in our 1 John text, we see that when we are children, He has not yet made His shining appearance in us. (1Jn.3:2) Beloved, now are we children (Greek: teknon) of God, and it is not yet made manifest (“shining appearance”) what we shall be. (If He makes His shining appearance in us, “we shall be like him.”) We know that, if he shall be manifested (“shining appearance,” i.e. in us), we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is (in the mirror). The ancient manuscripts, the numeric pattern, and the Received Text all say “if he … be manifested” here. Notice also that those who “see him even as he is” in the mirror by faith “shall be like him.” We must believe that “as he is, even so are we in this world” (1Jn.4:17). The rest of this text confirms this manifestation of Jesus will come in those who have a “confident expectation” of it. (1Jn.3:3) And every one that hath this hope (Greek: “a good, confident expectation”) [set] on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Can we purify ourselves “as he is pure”? Those who have a “confident expectation” of this manifestation of Christ in them will receive “grace” to walk in it. (Titus 2:11) For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, (12) instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world; (Only those who are “looking for” the “shining appearance” of Jesus' glory from them will have it.) (13) looking for the blessed hope and appearing (Greek: epiphaneia, a “shining forth”) of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (Notice that this does not speak of the physical coming of the Lord but of the coming of His glory in us. Epiphaneia here speaks of Jesus' coming in us and is distinct from parousia, which speaks of His personal “presence” or coming. In other words, He will come for those from whom He is “shining forth.” He is coming in His saints before He comes for His saints. To this end He sacrificed Himself.) (14) who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works. The Man-child is made up of those who are the First-fruits company to manifest the glory of this purity. Those who “fight the good fight of the faith” shall have this epiphany of Jesus, either as the Man-child or as the Woman He leads into this understanding. (2Tim.4:7) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: (8) henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing (Greek: epiphaneia). Like Paul, those who have loved His “shining forth” in them shall have the “crown of righteousness.” Jesus was called the first fruits who, as a reformer, imparted Himself into disciples through the Word and anointing of the Holy Spirit. Then they went forth as a corporate body to pass this on to others. Today a corporate body of reformers is about to be revealed to do the same with a much larger portion of the Church. Signs and wonders will cover the earth. Now, here's a portion of a prophetic warning we shared earlier from Brandon Biggs at Last Days: https://youtu.be/9epckXNXLN0 Also, we need to pray over our water supply. (Brandon doesn't share anymore about the water supply in this video. However, I read Bill Gates or his organization plans to buy up water suppliers. Given his depopulation history this cannot be good.) He continues, I saw an article from Fox News saying that Trump and BB have agreed on a two-state solution. This is one of the things from the Abraham Accords and they were saying how they wanted to make a two-state solution, and they were agreeing upon it. I have spoken before that if they do this two-state solution, 3 days later the New Madrid fault line will go off and America will be divided in half. (I have said this for at least 30 years. believe the NM will go off but it will be greatly diminished compared to the dreams and visions because of prayers for God's mercy.) When this happened, I saw great big Chinook helicopters flying from the west to the central part of America carrying supplies. It sounded like the earth was shaking, they had so many helicopters over the affected area. And this is where I said before where I saw the Lion's face carved into the side of a building and I had warned everyone that I saw tumbleweeds going down Wall Street. (In the Long Run we will lose Wall Street) The Lord told me to look at the Lion's face and I saw it was the building that was the New York Stock Exchange. The Lord was warning that if they divide Jerusalem, if they do a two-state solution, He is going to divide America. (I believe it will quake and crack but not with the huge divide) I saw the nation split down the middle and all the bridges going down from West to East, completely destroyed on the Mississippi River. I saw from Texarkana, Texas, to Tulsa, Oklahoma where I saw over 1800 people die. I saw the massive building at ORU (Oral Roberts University) was split down the middle and on fire when this earthquake happens. Houses that were built on cinderblocks were completely leveled and destroyed. Houses built on a foundation did better. I saw thousands of people died when this event takes place. That is why I've always told people we must not divide Jerusalem, for when we do, 3 days after… Now I want you to hear me, that's how strong this Word was. I saw the Liberty Bell ringing and old cast iron bells ringing when this event happens. Three days after Jerusalem is divided and agreed upon, there will be 3 days and God will divide America. We must pray that this does not take place. This announcement has been shared on multiple news channels and including The Jerusalem Post. Pray. (I do not believe it will be stopped, only lessened. I have taught for many years that the Man-child ministry of Jesus will begin when the NM goes off.)

Timo, Dook en Stephanie hebben het over fuckboys en softboys. Wat zijn Dick en Daniël meer? Stephanie doet een boekje open over Dick en zijn type vrouwen, en wat is een journey manager in godsnaam? Timo heeft het over cultuurbarbaren Arie en Arno bij Eveline. Biografieën lezen en champagne kopen in Italië?? Dook bespreekt de sensuele kant van Illya, die komt langzaam naar boven nu Karine er is. Download hier de Reality Check B&B Vol Liefde Bingo En claim hier je tickets voor Podimo at the Park. Wij staan op zaterdag 6 september om 20:00 uur op de main stage. We zijn er iedere maandag t/m donderdag om de aflevering van die dag na te bespreken. Heb jij een hot take, spannende achtergrondinformatie of wil je heel graag je mening met ons delen? Stuur ons dan een (voice)berichtje op instagram (@realitycheck_depodcast). Op onze Instagram & TikTok houden we 24/7 alles voor je in de gaten houden uit Reality-TV land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Synopsis of Tonight's Group on The Evergetinos Volume II Hypothesis XXXIV Sections A6-F Conclusion: When we come across the high standards of the desert fathers, especially if they are jarring to our own sensibilities, we can tend to not just to read their writings critically but to dismiss them as hyperbolic or extreme.  Yet it is precisely the internal dis-ease that their writings create within us that brings us back to the heart of the gospel and what it means to be a Christian.  What does it mean to put on the mind of Christ and have our conscience formed and shaped by the grace of God and the gospel? How does it shape the way that we understand what it means to be a human being or the things that we take for granted such as laughter or familiarity in relationships? Upon closer examination, we see that there are many displays of humor that are rooted in a lack of sobriety and sense of reverence for our own dignity and the dignity of others. We rarely think about how our words and actions, our bearing or form of dress, affect those who are around us.  Are we seeking to protect the dignity and spiritual well-being of those around us? Do we hold their identity as sons and daughters of God as something precious and to be revered?  The simplest realities of day-to-day life and interactions need to be attended to the most; for they are often the means through which we are tempted. The evil one can make use of what is good and pleasing about our lives as a means to draw us into excess.  In the end, it is Christ and the gospel that must be the lens through which we view our lives and behavior. We see Christ, who, although perfectly innocent and filled with love was stripped of dignity, mocked and pinned to the cross. We hear Him say to us “take up your cross daily and follow me” - calling us to a sober sense of what our life in this world will be like as his disciples. In the beatitudes, we hear Him say “blessed her those who mourn” reminding us not only of our share in his cross but the necessity of morning for our own sins.  Christ has everything to do with what affects or afflicts us. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:06:25 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 267 number 6 00:16:24 Bob Čihák, AZ: P 267 # 6 00:32:33 Catherine Opie: Fr. what are your thoughts on the use of humour to break through things when one sinks into self pity or depression, or when doing arduous tasks or events in life to lighten the situation? Should we simply be contemplating the suffering and be joyful that we are suffering in this life instead of the next? 00:36:02 wayne: When humor tuns to sarcasm, then it can become hurtful. 00:36:13 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "When humor tuns to s..." with

====================================================SUSCRIBETEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNpffyr-7_zP1x1lS89ByaQ?sub_confirmation=1==================================================== LECCIÓN DE ESCUELA SABÁTICA         III TRIMESTRE DEL 2025Narrado por: Miguel PáezDesde: Bogotá, ColombiaUna cortesía de DR'Ministries y Canaan Seventh-Day Adventist ChurchMIÉRCOLES 06 DE AGOSTOAVANZANDO POR FE Lee Éxodo 14:13 al 31. A pesar de su falta de fe, ¿qué hizo Dios por los hijos de Israel?Puesto que Moisés confiaba de todo corazón en Dios y en su Palabra, animó al pueblo. Presentó cuatro puntos cruciales acerca de cómo actuar en situaciones difíciles: 1. “No teman” (Éxo. 14:13). El primer llamamiento es a confiar en el Señor, pues solo así es posible vencer el temor. Isaías nos recuerda esta verdad al afirmar que los creyentes están en las manos de Dios y que él actuará en favor de ellos si lo aceptan como su Dios y Señor: “No temas, que yo estoy contigo. No desmayes, que yo soy tu Dios [...]. Porque yo, el Señor, soy tu Dios, que te sostiene de tu mano derecha y te dice: ‘No temas. Yo te ayudo' ” (Isa. 41:10, 13). 2. “Manténganse tranquilos” (Éxo. 14:13). “Mantenerse tranquilos” no significa solo dejar de murmurar y esperar grandes cosas, sino confiar en Dios y esperar pacientemente su poderosa intervención, ya que él actuará. 3. “Verán la salvación que el Señor les dará hoy” (Éxo. 14:13). Para que nuestra fe crezca, es importante reconocer el liderazgo y la ayuda de Dios, y agradecer su asistencia prometida. “Ver” significa abrir los ojos (porque la incredulidad es ciega). Solo Dios puede proporcionar la victoria, la seguridad y la salvación. Dios siempre está disponible, cuidando de nosotros y proveyendo lo que necesitamos en el momento apropiado. 4. “El Señor peleará por ustedes” (Éxo. 14:14). Esto indica lo que Dios hará: luchará personalmente por su pueblo. El Calvario es la prueba definitiva de ello, pues en la cruz Cristo derrotó a Satanás para darnos la vida eterna (Juan 5:24; Heb. 2:14; Apoc. 12:10, 11). Incluso los egipcios reconocieron que el Señor luchaba por los israelitas (Éxo. 14:25). La orden dada por Dios a Moisés fue clara: “Marchen”. Dios desplegó su plan de acción paso a paso: (1) el Ángel de Dios y la columna de nube se desplazaron desde la parte delantera del campamento de Israel y se situaron detrás de ellos, protegiéndolos del ejército egipcio; (2) Moisés extendió por fe su mano sobre el mar; (3) el Señor dividió el agua y la secó con un fuerte viento; y (4) el resultado fue que los israelitas atravesaron el mar con seguridad y sobre tierra seca hasta la otra orilla. Los egipcios los persiguieron ciegamente pues se negaron a ver que Dios estaba haciendo cosas extraordinarias por su pueblo hasta que fue demasiado tarde, como lo reveló su confesión en Éxodo 14:25. 

A confession of faith continues as a commitment of faith. Believing in God embraces all and everything in our obedience to God. “Without faith it is impossible to please him…” (Heb. 11:6).

Sabbath School panel discussion and insight by 3ABN pastors and teachers. This podcast episode follows 2025 quarter 3, lesson 6 of the adult Bible study guide book. This quarter's book topic is “Exodus”. and this week's Sabbath School lesson is titled “Through the Red Sea” Join us every week for a fresh and relevant study of the word of God. Reading: Exod.12:31-36, James 2:17-20, Exod. 13:1-14:31, Heb. 11:22, Exod. 15:1-21, Rev. 15:2-4. Memory Text: "And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace' " (Exodus 14: 13, 14, NKJV).  (August 2 - August 8) Sunday - John Dinzey - Go, and Worship the Lord Monday - Jill Morikone - Consecration of the FirstbornTuesday - James Rafferty - Crossing the Red SeaWednesday - John Lomacang- Marching Forward by FaithThursday - Shelley Quinn - The Song of Moses and Miriam Want the Panelists' notes? You can sign up here: https://3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com/notes/ Questions or Comments? Email us at mail@3abn.org Donate: https://3abn.org/donate-quick.html

Lesson Five: The message of the "Suffering of Jesus" Text: Luke 24:44-49 Intro: Last week we discussed the ultimate motivation for doing missions = Jesus. We saw that we are motivated by the life of Jesus, today we will see that God motivates us by the suffering of Jesus. In our text, Jesus motivated His disciples by reminding them of His suffering. 1. Jesus said the Pentateuch, the prophets and the psalms foretold of His sufferings. VS44. See VS 26-27 = No doubt He recalled these Old Testament texts: • The Passover lamb. Ref: Ex. 12:21-23; Mk 14:12 • The serpent on the tree. Ref: Numb. 21:9 • His agony on the cross. Ref: Psalm 22 = future perfect present tense • The suffering servant. Ref: Isa. 50:6; 52:14; 53:1-7 2. Jesus said the truth of His suffering is to be preached in all the world. VS47 • This is the purpose for the power of the Holy Spirit. VS49; Ref: Acts 1:8 • This was the message of the New Testament church. Acts 2:22-23; 1 Cor. 15:1-5;Phil. 2:8; Heb. 2:9; Acts 8:32, 34-35 3. Jesus said those who witness His suffering are accountable to tell of it. VS48 • This is the "great" commission. Ref: Mark 16:15, Matt. 23.19-20 • The disciples witnessed Jesus' suffering. 1 John 1:2-3; Ref Matt. 27 • The Scripture says all those who know of Jesus' suffering are to tell it. 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Heb. 12:1-2 – we know ref: James 4:17 Conclusion: To see and not say is a crime, to know and not tell is sin. Surely the life and suffering of Jesus motivates us to do missions!

Immigration laws, borders, Biden vs. Trump...so much controversy over illegal immigration, but where should Christians stand on this issue?In today's episode, Pastor Jackie and Pastor Derek look at how God views immigration, how He tells us to treat immigrants/foreigners, and His expectations for immigrants who came to Israel in Bible times. Although the issue is very charged because it impacts real people, our hope is that you can listen through what the Bible has to say and it would lead you to love others more and find ways to get involved and be productive in bringing God's kingdom to all peoples.The 17:17 podcast is a ministry of Roseville Baptist Church (MN) that seeks to tackle cultural issues and societal questions from a biblical worldview so that listeners discover what the Bible has to say about the key issues they face on a daily basis. The 17:17 podcast seeks to teach the truth of God's Word in a way that is glorifying to God and easy to understand with the hope of furthering God's kingdom in Spirit and in Truth. Scriptures: Deut. 10:18-19; Exo. 12:49; Lev. 24:22; Num. 15:15-16; Ruth 2:10; Ruth 1:16; Lev. 23:22; Exo. 22:21; Gen. 12:10; Gen. 46:3-6; Lev. 19:33-34; Jer. 22:3; Matt. 25:35; Heb. 13:2; Deut. 31:12; Rom. 1:16; Gal. 3:28; Acts 17:26; Gen. 10; Gen. 11:8-9; Num. 32:17; Num. 34:2-12; Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-16; Acts 5:29; 1 Tim. 2:1-2; Acts 25:11.If you'd like access to our show notes, please visit www.rosevillebaptist.com/1717podcast to see them in Google Drive!Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review the podcast so that we can reach to larger audiences and share the truth of God's Word with them!Write in your own questions to be answered on the show at 1717pod@gmail.com.  God bless!

====================================================SUSCRIBETEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNpffyr-7_zP1x1lS89ByaQ?sub_confirmation=1==================================================== LECCIÓN DE ESCUELA SABÁTICA         III TRIMESTRE DEL 2025Narrado por: Miguel PáezDesde: Bogotá, ColombiaUna cortesía de DR'Ministries y Canaan Seventh-Day Adventist ChurchMARTES 05 DE AGOSTOEL CRUCE DEL MAR ROJO Lee Éxodo 13:17 a 14:12. ¿Cómo guio Dios a los israelitas cuando salieron de Egipto y qué ocurrió después? En armonía con las instrucciones dadas por Dios a Moisés, los israelitas salieron de Egipto como un ejército bien organizado. Los términos hebreos tsaba' y majaneh, traducidos como “ejércitos”, “escuadrones”, “campamento” y “huestes”, atestiguan esa descripción (Éxo. 6:26; 7:4; 12:17, 41, 51; 14:19, 20; compara con Éxo. 13:18). Los hebreos se dividieron en unidades y marcharon como un ejército. Más tarde, Balaam vio desde las colinas de Moab que Israel estaba “acampando por tribus” (Núm. 24:2, NVI). Mientras tanto, “Moisés llevó consigo los huesos de José” (Éxo. 13:19). Este es un detalle muy importante del texto, y revela el cumplimiento de las promesas de Dios en respuesta a la fe de José, quien nunca perdió de vista la Tierra Prometida aun en medio del esplendor y los privilegios de Egipto. Pidió que sus huesos fueran llevados a la tierra de Canaán (Gén. 50:24, 25). Creía que el Señor visitaría a Israel en Egipto y lo llevaría a la tierra, como había jurado (Heb. 11:22). Cuando Israel llegó a Canaán, los huesos de José fueron sepultados en Siquem (Jos. 24:32). La columna de nube y la de fuego eran los signos visibles de la presencia de Dios entre su pueblo. El Señor habitaba allí y se comunicaba con ellos también desde la nube (Éxo. 14:24; Núm. 12:5, 6). El faraón reveló ahora los verdaderos motivos de su corazón. No estaba convertido y nunca se arrepintió de verdad. Su petición a Dios para que lo bendijera era una farsa, tal vez un autoengaño. Reunió a su ejército y fueron tras sus esclavos fugitivos. ¡Cuán totalmente cegado por el pecado estaba realmente este hombre! Cuando el pueblo vio venir al ejército del faraón, pronunció palabras y expresó sentimientos de los que se harían eco más de una vez: “¿No había sepulcros en Egipto, que nos sacasen a morir en el desierto? ¿Por qué has hecho así con nosotros al sacarnos de Egipto?” (Éxo. 14:11). Aun después de haber visto manifestaciones tan dramáticas del poder de Dios, que incluyeron el libramiento de sus hijos primogénitos, el pueblo seguía mostrando una asombrosa falta de fe. Piensa en la última vez que te enfrentaste a una situación terrible. ¿Cuál fue tu primera reacción: fe en Dios o falta de ella? ¿Qué lecciones deberías haber aprendido de esa situación que podrían ayudarte la próxima vez que enfrentes otra? 

Na drie jaar relatie is het uit tussen Flor (27) en haar vriend. Er zijn veel dingen gebeurd die hen wederzijds gekwetst hebben en Flor denkt dat ze daar niet overheen kunnen stappen. Tegelijkertijd houdt ze nog steeds enorm veel van hem en kan ze hem niet vergeten.

Heb 10:32-39

When you're obeying the Lord and seeking Him alone, the very things that He wants for your life will be expedited! John 17:20-23 / Heb 10:11-23 / James 1:2-8 / Prov 23:1-4 / Prov 23:6-8 / Ps 103: 1-2 / 2Cor 13:4-8 / Heb 4:11-16 / 2Peter 1:2-11

Jesus Delivered Us (8) (audio) David Eells – 8/3/25 Saints, I'm going to continue our teaching on how Jesus delivered us and gave us authority over demons.   I want to begin by sharing this testimony with you by C.J. Set Free From Gossip and Slander by Confession The message called “Addressing Factious Criticism” is one of the best I have heard in a long time. A while ago the Lord revealed to me that I was just the person described in that message. I was controlled by a strong gossiping and slandering spirit. He also showed me that I was a user of “unjust scales.” I would repent of this over and over, but I just kept falling back into these sins. Finally, I got so frustrated that I asked the Lord, “Why can I not get free from these sins?” What He said changed my life dramatically. He said that I would not be free from the spirit of gossiping and slandering until I stood before a body of believers and asked their forgiveness. He explained to me that gossiping, slandering, and using unjust scales are sins against the entire body of Christ. Therefore, they require corporate forgiveness. I was desperate to be set free from this bondage, so I asked the Lord, “Where do I go?” I had been out of the church system since the early ‘90s and did not belong to any group. He put in my heart the name of a church here in the village where I lived. So I went to that church. At a designated open-sharing time, I stood up and confessed these sins before the body of Christ. It was interesting to watch in the spirit how the people were responding to my public confession. At first, there was an uncomfortable, tense silence. It was like they were horrified, which then gave way to condemnation and judgment, that I was confessing my sins out loud before everyone. But I was determined to get deliverance from these strongholds in my life, and I didn't care how embarrassing or humiliating it was for me. So I pressed on and shared God's words of knowledge that He had given me. I then sat down to wait upon the Lord. That pastor stood in front of the church, totally flabbergasted at what I had done, and didn't know how to respond. So he just continued on with the church's bulletin agenda. I felt hurt and disappointed because I was convinced that if I would humble myself before the Lord and His people, He would be faithful and just to forgive my sins. I asked the Lord about this in my heart when an elder in the church stood up. He politely interrupted the pastor and said, “This young woman came here today and confessed her sins before this body and asked for our forgiveness. We, as a body, need to forgive her.” So the pastor requested the assembly to stand and asked, “Do you forgive this woman of her transgressions?” As one, the church responded, “Yes.” The pastor then prayed and thanked the Lord for the example I set. As the church spoke their corporate forgiveness over me, I saw this vision coming down out of lower heaven: a black umbilical cord was attached to my stomach when I saw a huge pair of silver scissors appear and sever the cord. I felt myself literally jerk as the strongholds left. Since that day, I have been wondrously and gloriously set free! For all those out there who know you have a problem with these sins and haven't been able to break free of them, go find a corporate body of Christ and stand before the assembly and confess your sins. He will set you free! I didn't even attend this church, yet God used them. (Jas.4:7) Be subject therefore unto God: but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. (9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. (10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you. (11) Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. (12) One [only] is the lawgiver and judge, [even] he who is able to save and destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor? (Joh.8:34) Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin. (35) And the bondservant abideth not in the house for ever: the son abideth for ever. (36) If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Praise the Lord! You know, it's a humbling thing to stand before a body of believers and confess our sins. Many do not practice this in churches today, but as we can see here in this testimony, it has its place, and this person became free from this bondage and the demons. Now, here's another testimony and a revelation I'd like to share with you about the subtle ways the devil works to deceive us.   Forgiven and Freed From Condemnation by (Name Withheld) One day not long ago, I was sitting on my couch meditating on things. I was wondering why my prayers weren't reaching the throne and seeking why I wasn't having bold power with God. Then I heard a voice say, “Your heart condemns you.” I often remembered David Eells' teaching on (Jas.5:16) Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another that you may be healed. I thought about that verse. I had confessed all my sins after I came back to God about nine months earlier, or so I thought! Then I remembered how, when I had gotten divorced, I felt a lot of anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness towards people who were involved in that process. I would take it out on God. I would curse Him. This is not a sin I'm proud of admitting. I went into an empty room, sat on the floor, and started confessing to God my sin of cursing Him with my lips. I had tears rolling down my face and I felt very ashamed. As I was kneeling down by the bed, I was permitted to hear this conversation that took place between two entities. One was the devil or a demon, saying to another person who was either Christ or His representative, “You heard him. You heard what he did and what he said.” Then, in such a kind and compassionate tone, this person replied, “Well, I forgive him.” I was so humbled! Then the angel of the Lord or His representative came over to me. I couldn't see his face, just an outline of his shape. He said to me, “He will bother you no more.” I perceived that accuser to be a demon of condemnation or guilt. After this happened, I praised the Lord, got up from the bedroom floor and felt great! All week long I have felt great. I've had no condemnation for my past sins and failures. What a merciful God we serve! I deserved all the punishment I was getting. Praise the Lord! We need to be careful not to fall for the devil's tactics. This revelation sounds so much like something we read in Zechariah, where the characters are the Angel of the Lord, Satan, and the one being condemned. (Zec.3:1) And he showed me Joshua (This is also the New Testament name for Jesus.) the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. Satan is the accuser of the brethren, and so he's accusing Joshua, or Jesus. And I've shared with you in the past how the Lord spoke to me that Joshua here, or Jesus, represents the body of Christ. Here we see Satan accusing the body of Christ to the Angel of the Lord, standing at His right hand to be His adversary. (Zec.3:2) The Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee… What did Jerusalem have to do with the body of Christ? The manifest body of Christ is the Bride, and according to the Book of Revelation, that's Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2); this is a parallel here that He's showing us. (Zec.3:2) The Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Praise the Lord that we are guiltless! We are not under the condemnation of this world. We're not under the curse of this world. We've been “plucked out of the fire.” (Zec.3:3) Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. Those “filthy garments” represent our unrighteousness, our failure, our sins. They signify our not being dressed up in Jesus Christ. (Rom.13:14) Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. We come short many times, but we have a Sacrifice, an Offering: Jesus Christ. And because of His sacrifice, the Lord sees us as cleansed. Praise the Lord! (Zec.3:3) Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. (4) And he answered and he spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel. Remember, that's what the Lord says; He has caused our iniquity to pass away. He will clothe us with “rich apparel,” which is putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and manifesting His Word. “Rich apparel” is the manifestation of being the Body of Christ. Praise the Lord! This is God's promise. He says it, speaking the end from the beginning, and it is so (Isaiah 46:10). We believe and stand on it. We …calleth the things that are not, as though they were (Rom.4:17). When we pray, we believe we have received (Mark 11:24). Don't forget that faith is accounted as righteousness. If you look in the mirror and see your old sinful self, there's no righteousness there, no covering, no faith. But if you look in the mirror and see Jesus, then you know that reconciliation is already made. He has taken off our filthy garments and replaced them with His rich apparel. We see it by faith, and when we see it by faith, that faith is accounted as righteousness. And we're told in (Rom.8:1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. How are we in Christ? We're in Christ by faith. Praise be to God! This is God's goodness. (Zec.3:5) And I said, Let them set a clean mitre upon his head. So they set a clean mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of the Lord was standing by. A “clean mitre” symbolizes the renewed mind. The Lord has blessed us with the Mind of Christ. All these things that He's given us, including the Mind of Christ, we first accept by faith, and because we accept them by faith, God brings them to pass. While we're accepting them by faith, even though we haven't as yet seen them manifested, we are accounted righteous. However, if a spirit of condemnation or guilt manages to slip in, it can be a catastrophe because if you have condemnation, you don't have faith. You can't have both faith and condemnation at the same time. I want to share with you that years ago, the Lord showed me a window in my house located right over the head of my bed. It was like a window into the heavenlies, and when I looked through that window, I would see visions. Other people have had dreams about my house or me and they, too, saw that window where there is no window. It was the Lord showing us the supernatural. God said He would open the windows of heaven, giving vision into heavenly things (Isaiah 24:18; Malachi 3:10). Well, I work long hours; I don't get a whole lot of sleep. When the Lord started giving me visions, it was kind of disconcerting being awakened in the middle of the night. And as if He didn't already know, I told Him, “Lord, I need my sleep. I don't get many hours.” The Lord answered me, “Really? Why do you need your sleep? Man doesn't live by bread alone. He doesn't live by sleep alone, either, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4) For a while, I was a little frustrated because I wasn't getting sleep, but then I realized, “Wait a minute! I need what the Lord's telling me at this time of the night, too. I need to hear this.” And I began to enjoy what the Lord was showing me. He would show me revelations or visions, explanations of what was happening in the spirit. He would speak to me and show me solutions for problems, which did not necessarily involve seeing a vision. He would reveal enemy tactics and show me what to do about them. This would happen between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. The Lord had been doing that to me for a long time, when one night, He started speaking to me about demons and their functions. He told me about their doings and some of the problems they bring. He explained how certain demons will open the door for other demons and what they do in people. I jumped out of bed and grabbed a piece of paper and started writing a diagram of what the Lord was showing. He showed me how common it is for the spirit of “self-condemnation” to attack people. From there, the Lord showed me that the spirit of self-condemnation would open the door for the spirit of “rejection.” This spirit of rejection, in turn, would open the door for the spirit of “self-justification”, and this spirit of self-justification in turn, would open a door for the “spirit of retaliation”. Each of these main demons mentioned here has a subset of lesser demons, too, and the main demons open the doors for them. The very first one He showed me was the spirit of self-condemnation, and I think that was because, just a few days earlier, we had received the brother's revelation, which I just shared with you. When the Lord woke me up that morning, I started thinking and meditating on it as I was drawing a diagram. You know, the more you meditate on something, the more the Lord can show and speak to you. Now, there is a time and purpose for condemnation. It has a ministry to people who are willfully disobedient. It has a legal right to them when they're bitter and unforgiving towards their brothers because, in that case, they get turned over to the tormentors. Jesus gave us this parable in (Mat.18:33) Shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee? (34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. Condemnation is one of those tormenters. Its job is to torment people until they learn to forgive and forget, until they give up their bitterness and anger and so on. Condemnation can come as a result of any kind of willful disobedience. (Heb.10:26) If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins (Jesus doesn't pay the penalty for the curse that willful sin brings. You end up paying for it. You end up getting a “whipping” and these tormentor demons are the ones that carry this out.), but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. The “adversaries” referred to here are in you. There are things in you that don't belong, things that are not friendly to God or the spiritual man, so there is a good ministry of condemnation, but condemnation has no legal right to you when you have confessed your sin to God and forsaken it. Once you put that sin under the Blood of Christ, it's under the Blood. It's a bad ministry of condemnation if you're doing your best to walk away from that sin, yet you still feel condemned, because confessing and forsaking sin has nothing to do with your emotions. It's believing what the Bible says that counts. Learn to overcome your emotions and walk by what “thus saith the Lord.” If God says He's forgiven you when you've confessed your sins, that's what you believe. Don't pay attention to any demonic spirit that says otherwise. If you do listen to some spirit, it's because you're giving in to an emotion. Remember that the devil will try to give you illegal thoughts, and if you listen to them instead of casting them down, it will affect your emotions. Our emotions are supposed to be submitted to your spiritual man and the Word of God in you. We get all out of whack when we fall into sin, and we start being ruled by our emotions, our lower nature, our old man. That's just the opposite of what is supposed to be. You're supposed to be ruled by your spirit, which is in submission to the Word of God. We need to learn not to listen to emotions that are contrary to God's Word, and condemnation is one of those feelings that can come over you. The apostle Paul said, (Rom.7:19) For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise. (20) But if what I would not, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me. In other words, “If I don't do the good that I want to do or I will to do, but instead I do the evil that I don't want to do and I don't will to do, then it's not me that does it. It's the sin that dwells in me.” God is separating you from the sin. He's saying, “You're okay, but that sin's gotta go.” This is true because you're not supposed to receive condemnation for failures. If it's failure and not a willful disobedience where you're purposely sinning against God with your will, you confess your sin, and He forgives you. As with failure, the same goes for ignorance. In the Old Testament, according to the Law, you sinned whether you knew it or not, and after you found out about it, you had to bring a sacrifice. (Lev.5:17) And if any one sin, and do any of the things which Jehovah hath commanded not to be done; though he knew it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. 18 And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, according to thy estimation, for a trespass-offering, unto the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning the thing wherein he erred unwittingly and knew it not, and he shall be forgiven. But the New Testament says in (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. This is a good deal! God is not imputing the finer points of the Bible against you, in the event that you don't understand that you're out of His Will. It's like children as they're growing up. They do a lot of things that an adult wouldn't do, but you don't really impute iniquity to them unless they do something you've told them not to do, but they're doing it anyway. They're being self-willed and insolent and arrogant, and that's when you spank them, but normally, if they do childish things, you let that go. That's just the way we train up our children, and that's the way God trains up His children. (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. That's when God imputes sin to you. You're not supposed to be condemned for things that you've done in ignorance or in failure. You're supposed to be condemned only for things that you do wrong willfully. Remember what Paul said, (Rom.7:19) For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise. He did not will to do something wrong. “And the evil which I would not (or ‘willed not'), that I do!” He was lamenting the fact that he was falling victim to something he hated, and God said, “Well, then it's not you that does it, it's the sin that dwells in you. It's the old man.” What do we do with the old man? (Rom.6:11) Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. We reckon the old man's dead and gone. We account ourselves to be dead unto sin, and the Lord does, too. If you reckon it, He reckons it. As Jesus said, (Mat.9:29) … According to your faith, be it done unto you. There is a time for condemnation, but there's a time when you shouldn't receive condemnation, such as when it's a demon coming to take advantage of you because you may not understand that … I have caused your iniquity (That's the “filthy garment.”) to pass from thee… (Zec.3:4) The Lord said that it's already done. He has delivered us. Another demon that the Lord showed me is called “self-justification.” It appears that self-condemnation is almost the opposite of self-justification. With one, you're justifying yourself, and with the other, you're condemning yourself. You would think that a person couldn't have both of them at the same time, but yes, they can, and I've seen it. The Lord showed me that first, there's one other demon that has to come in the middle there; he's called “rejection.” When that demon comes in the middle, it makes it possible for a person to have both self-justification and self-condemnation. After condemnation takes hold, it can open the door to rejection. Sometimes condemnation is a spirit that speaks in your mind, but quite often, condemnation speaks through other people condemning you. If you hear enough condemning, the door can be opened to rejection. Many times, children come into this spirit of rejection when they receive enough criticism and condemnation from others. Rejection is a feeling that God has rejected you or that people have rejected you. It puts a wall between you and other people. Rejection is a nasty spirit that often companies with a spirit called “fear of rejection,” and fear of rejection, basically, is one of those spirits that pushes people around. It makes them do things because of fear, because they don't want a certain thing to happen to them; that thing is rejection. They do things, or don't do things, because they're afraid it might cause people to reject them. They're always being moved by this fear, instead of the fear of the Lord (Job 28:28; Proverbs 1:29,9:10,15:23; Revelation 15:4, etc.) You can't serve rejection or fear of rejection and the Lord at the same time; it's impossible; you just can't do it. A person having this fear of rejection receives a hatred for correction, or “reproof,” as the Bible sometimes calls it. If you try to help someone by bringing correction to them, even ever so gently, like “charming the serpent,” they'll bite you like a serpent. (Ecc.10:11) If the serpent bite before it is charmed, then is there no advantage in the charmer. Trying to get around the flesh of a person who has rejection in order to help them, without that old flesh rearing up, is very hard to do. They'll strike out at you because they've received that hatred for correction, which is common to people who have a spirit of rejection. After rejection, it's the next demon that's let in. So people with spirits of condemnation and rejection also have this hatred for correction. And boy, is that a trap! If nobody can correct you, you're in for some very big problems! (Pro.15:5) A fool despiseth his father's correction; (That “father” can be your natural parent, or that “father” can be your spiritual father on earth as in 1 Corinthians 4:15, or that “father” can be our Heavenly Father.); but he that regardeth reproof (This is somebody who pays attention to correction and takes it to heart.) getteth prudence. The Bible also says, (Eph.4:31) Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice… “Let… anger…be put away from you.” (Ecc.7:9) Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. So, this is saying that if you have anger, you're being a fool. If you don't like correction, or somebody laughs at you, and so forth, the next thing that comes in is anger, and that means you're being a fool. So we see that one of these spirits just opens the door to the next, until it's a grievous situation. Hating reproof or correction is a very dangerous place to be. Our Father will correct us because He loves us and wants us to repent for sin. But there are many people who will become angry with God when He corrects them because they don't yet know His love. 1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love. There's that “fear of rejection” and not being able to accept correction. But God is treating you as a son. Heb 12:6-8 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 It is for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. The testimony of the brother I related to you above fell into that trap where he blamed God. In the first part of his testimony, he confessed that he had gotten angry with God, but it's a good thing that God doesn't give us our way. God stops us, putting up roadblocks here and there. He even lets demons come in to hinder us. This is to prevent us from doing something that He doesn't want us to do, or that He won't permit us to do because of our sins. And so, people will get angry. If you're going to bring any form of correction to them, you have to be very careful. You have to really charm the serpent, but even then, no matter how careful you are, sometimes they'll still bite you. You may know people like this, or you may be experiencing this happening in your life right now. You may be wrestling with these demons that are trying to bring you into an ultimate, no-escape, terrible trap of hatred for correction. Father, in Jesus name, we ask that You reveal to the brethren how the demons may be using any of these tactics against them, and as they confess their sins, we know that You hear them and are faithful to forgive them. We thank You for the Blood of Jesus and forgiveness for our sins of failure and mistakes. We command spirits of condemnation, rejection, and the fear of rejection, and fear of correction to go now! You demons no longer have authority over us because we've been forgiven and set free from all the powers of darkness and translated into the Father's Kingdom of the Son of His love! Hallelujah! A person with these spirits we've already mentioned doesn't want to hear correction because correction causes them to feel emotional pain. They read any kind of correction as rejection, which is very painful to them, and so the next thing that comes along is a spirit of self-justification. Self-justification in a person describes a person who, in their own eyes, never does anything wrong. That's another terrible trap because when self-justification is present, you can still call yourself a Christian while self-justifying practically any kind of sin. We've seen people do this. While committing terrible sins, while they're lying, cheating, stealing, slandering, holding unforgiveness, fornicating, and on and on, these people call themselves “Christian.” They consider themselves to be right in what they're doing, yet they will judge you. Their conscience has been defiled; it's been seared. And as they self-justify, they become (1Ti.4:2) … men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron. Self-justification will let in a great many kinds of sin and demon spirits, such as lying, cheating, stealing, slandering, false prophesying, or, usually out of anger, even receiving false revelation. They've become completely deceived by this demon. A person can become so self-justified that they think they're not doing anything wrong, even as the demons and sins of all kinds just start flooding in and taking over. Any worldly person would look at them in this circumstance and say, “They're crazy! They say they're Christian, so how can they do that?” Well, the conscience of a self-justified person is defiled, meaning it doesn't talk to them anymore, and people with self-justification can be the biggest hypocrites around. While they sin, they'll condemn you and never give it a second thought. When a person's conscience becomes defiled, that person becomes separated from the Word of the Lord, separated from being convicted by the Word of the Lord. Someone can give that person the Word, and it just won't affect them. Of course, the Word is Jesus Christ Himself. You can't be separated from His Word without being separated from Him. Self-justification is a very vicious trap. If you are justifying yourself, the one thing that you must do in order to receive deliverance is to confess your sin. (1Jn.1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Unrighteousness is the foothold that demons use to take advantage of us. Remember Jesus said, (Joh.14:30) I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me… There was nothing that the devil could get a grip on. Jesus didn't have unrighteousness, so these devils failed to be able to make Him do what they wanted. Ultimately, if you're caught in this terrible trap of self-justification, you're going to fall into all these sins and corruption. You're going to be a hypocrite. You're going to end up with a defiled conscience to where the Lord won't be able to convict you of sin, and all the while you'll be thinking, “I'm okay because God's on my side,” but He's not. It ends in chastening or, without repentance on your part, in destruction. The sad truth is that when a person has this spirit of self-justification, they're afraid to confess sins because people might reject them, and since they also have this spirit of rejection, they can't confess their sins. I have tried and tried to get them to confess their sins, telling them, “Hey, look at this verse! Look at this awesome promise here!” (1Jn.1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. But people with this spirit of self-justification will just point their finger everywhere else. “No, it's your fault! It's all your fault; you did it. It's not me. Nope, nope, nope.” This is the terrible trap of self-justification. If you continue this path and you're caught, you'll split hell wide open without God's mercy to confess and repent of your sin. Now, I want to explain to you that there is a difference between a covering and a cleansing of the Blood of Christ. The Lord says in (Psa.32:1) Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. The Blood of the Lamb is covering the sin of this person who has faith in Him. This person's failures are covered and their ignorance is covered. They're walking as a child of God. (Psa.32:2) Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity… When a person is not walking in willful disobedience, God won't impute iniquity to them because they're walking by faith. The only thing that gives you this benefit, even in your ignorance and failures, is faith in the sacrifice of Jesus. The Blood of Jesus is the only covering that gives you this benefit, but this covering that the Lord gives us is not the end. It's a means to an end. The Lord expects there to come a time when you don't have to be covered because you have become obedient in that particular area. God covers a person until they come to the place of sanctification and obedience. Then they don't need that covering anymore. You may have other things that need to be covered, but if you've been sanctified in that particular area, you don't need a covering for something that is not sin. (1Jn.1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. First, there's the covering of the Blood, and then there's the cleansing of the Blood. When you receive the cleansing of the Blood, you don't need the covering of the Blood because you don't have that sin anymore. You don't have that problem anymore. It's gone. We may know of places in our life where we're not tempted at all by things in which we used to be tempted. That's because we've been sanctified and we've been washed in the Blood. We don't need a covering in that area anymore, but when He says, “Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity,” it's because of a Blood covering there. He is describing somebody who's walking by faith. The sin that they did is not imputed to them because it was not willful but done in ignorance or failure. Willful sin is when you know it's wrong, but you're going to do it anyway because you're headstrong. Continuing with (Psa.32:3) When I kept silence, my bones wasted away Through my groaning all the day long. Your life comes from your bones. Your blood comes from the bone marrow. The Bible says, (Lev.17:11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life. So what does he mean by “When I kept silence”? He's saying that when he didn't confess his sins, the curse was on him. I try to get to the root of a person's problem. Usually, that root is that they need to confess sins in order that they might be cleansed by the Blood from all unrighteousness. If you want to minister to people, it is helpful to find the root of the problem and deal with that, so the demon has nothing to hold on to. This way, you give people something that will actually last. There was a certain brother I had prayed with some years ago, and there had been a good change in his life, but it didn't last. Then the Lord directed us to the root of the problem, which was that he was holding on to unforgiveness. Unforgiveness kept letting the demons back in to trouble him, causing him to do things that he didn't want to do. Jesus said in (Mat.18:35) So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. The good effect that came from our prayer some years before didn't last, and the problem had returned because we hadn't dealt with the root. “Self-righteousness” is another name for “self-justification.” If you can't get a person to confess their sins, it is because of this spirit of self-justification or self-righteousness. When a person considers that they're righteous, although everybody else around them can clearly see they're not, this is the spirit of self-righteousness. If they continue to “keep silence,” if they don't confess their sin, they'll live under the curse. The person in Psalm 32, the man to whom the Lord won't impute iniquity, is somebody who is confessing their sins. (Psa.32:3) When I kept silence, my bones wasted away Through my groaning all the day long. (4) For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me (God's chastening was upon him.): My moisture was changed as with the drought of summer. (He was drying up.) Selah (5) I acknowledged my sin unto thee, And mine iniquity did I not hide: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. The great benefit is that if He forgives you, you're no longer under the curse! You're not being chastened any longer. You're no longer seen as a foolish person who is leavening the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9). We have to confess our sins. (Pro.28:13) He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy. Some people think they can have mercy without doing this. They think they can have the blessings of God and that they can be accounted as righteous without doing this, but it's a deception. A person needs to call out to the Lord for His mercy. (Psa.66:17) I cried unto him with my mouth, And he was extolled with my tongue. (18) If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. What does “If I regard iniquity” mean? It means if you're not going to confess it, but instead, you're going to hold onto it and be led by it, then the Lord is not going to hear your prayers. (Psa.32:6) For this let everyone that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: Surely when the great waters overflow they shall not reach unto him. In other words, you can wait too long, and it will be too late. The judgment of God can catch you. You had better do it while you can because some people become so hardened in their consciences that they never come back to the Lord. If a person reaches that point, they don't deserve to come back to the Lord, yet still He is merciful. Through the prayers of others, He does things that we don't deserve, but there are many who don't ever come back to the Lord. So He says that if you will do this, if you'll pray to Him in a time when He can be found, then when the flood, the great waters of judgment, overflow, “they shall not reach unto him” because that person will be in the “Ark.” (Psa.32:7) Thou art my hiding-place; thou wilt preserve me from trouble; Thou wilt compass me about with songs of deliverance. What is it to be … in the secret place of the Most High Shall … under the shadow of the Almighty? (Psa.91:1) It is to be in a right relationship with Him because you have confessed your sins. Some people believe that they have this because of some other reason, but there is no other way to be there. If you have any sin, you have to confess it in order to be forgiven and hidden. The Lord showed me that “retaliation” is the next demon. It comes after condemnation, rejection, and self-justification. If a person is self-justified or self-righteous, hating correction and continues to walk in unforgiveness, or in any of these other sins, then the next thing that happens is retaliation against the person who has corrected or offended them. One time, I had a disagreement with a man who had some people who were taking his side in his little assembly. Two prophets from among them prophesied my death. One of the prophecies was for the next day. I said, “Okay, I'll see you tomorrow.” He prophesied that I was going to die, that I wouldn't be around the next day. I emailed him the next day and said, “I'm still here.” I knew I hadn't sinned. This other man had sinned. These people were just angry because I wasn't going to put up with it. Then there was a second man who prophesied my death in three days, but in three days, I was still there. Then he said he had meant three months, but at the end of three months, I was still there. Their anger was causing them to prophesy falsely. Retaliation can come in many forms, such as false speaking, slander, and false prophecy, or false revelations against the offending person. Retaliation's spinoffs can open the door to wrath and indignation and other negative emotions because demons can manifest as fallen, corrupt emotions. Do you know what it is in us that stirs up emotions? It's our thoughts. For example, when somebody wants to know how to not be overcome by lust, I ask, “Well, what are you thinking about? What are you looking at?” If a person is not going to quit doing that, then they're not going to give up the lust. Every other emotion works the same way: It's what you think about; it's what you look at; it's what you listen to. Every sin your carnal man, the old sinner, falls into is because you are feeding your carnal senses and being led by them. That means if you want to stop sinning, then you have to stop following your emotions, and if you want to stop the emotions, then you have to stop thinking about things that stir up your emotions. And returning to our example, in order to stop thinking about it, since your carnal senses are what feed your thoughts, don't go looking at it. If you don't want to give in to lust or let that emotion overtake you, don't look at pornography. Now let's go to (Heb.5:14) But solid food is for full-grown men (The Greek word there is teleios and it means “perfect … complete in all its parts.”), even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. These “senses” are born-again senses that are “exercised” by the Word of God. We can look at the parable about David going through the stream to pick up his five smooth stones so that he could make war on Goliath. Those stones were “exercised” by that water. They were smoothed by that water. They were perfected by that water, which represents the Word of God. The Word of God tells us how to see, hear, and feel. It's the Word of God, not our emotions, that is supposed to be ruling in us. If your emotions are ruling you, you're going to be very unstable. If you're not going to be ruled by the Word of God, but by emotions, the devil's got you. You can't say, … the prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me (Joh.14:30). We need to be fed by the spiritual senses, the born-again senses. Why does the Bible tell us in so many places, “Seeing therefore...”? It's because in the Bible, God tells us how and what He wants us to see. Here's one we can use to “exercise” our spiritual senses. (2Pe.1:2) Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (This is knowledge of the Word.); (3) seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; (4) whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in that world by lust. He tells us what to see here, which is that God has already given these things to us. He's already granted them unto us. That should give you rest. You don't have to beg God, because He's already done it for you; He just wants you to accept and believe it. He's given you His righteousness. He's given you His Son. He's given you His forgiveness. He's given you His sanctification. He's given you “all things”! And He gives it to you “through the knowledge of Him that called us by His glory and virtue.” The Word tells us how to see. The Word tells us what to hear. Jesus said, (Mar.4:9) … Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Hear what? He's talking about hearing His Word. We've been given these born-again senses to strengthen the spiritual man. However, we also have these carnal senses that strengthen the carnal man, and if you don't want to stir up the carnal man to live in sin, stop feeding him through these carnal senses. Do you want to be holy? Don't feed your carnal man because he will conquer your spiritual man. For instance, don't sit in front of the television all day or watch a bunch of videos on the internet. We want to feed the spirit man, not the carnal man. The input from the carnal senses causes the carnal man to grow and the input from the spiritual senses causes the spiritual man to grow. When somebody is ruled by their emotions, they're all over the place, bouncing around like a pinball machine going ping-ping-ping. Instead of basing everything on the Word of God, they don't have anything stable; they have no rock. Jesus was never moved by what He saw or felt in the world. He wasn't moved by what people said or did to Him, but any person who's being ruled by their emotions is easily offended. They're not being ruled by the Word of God, and they do not forgive. We don't have any right to get offended all the time. Dead men don't have rights, and we died with Christ. We died to sin and those carnal emotions, and as we begin to get things right, we decide that we don't care about what other people say. We decide that we don't care about what's happening around us. We think, “I'm going to obey what ‘thus saith the Lord,'” which is (Joh.14:15) If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments. That makes a person secure and steadfast in the Word. You're able to turn the other cheek when they insult you. That's a good way to die-to-self quickly. God gave us these rules so that we would be able to die quickly, so that we wouldn't be in bondage to the old man, our old flesh, for the rest of our lives. (1Pe.4:1) For as much then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind; for he that hath suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin (If your flesh is suffering, it's because you're not giving in to it. If you're not giving in to it, you are not sinning.); (2) that ye no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. It shouldn't take a lifetime for us to get this right. He's saying that you have to suffer in order to get to that place, but the old flesh doesn't want to suffer through your denying it the right to be moved by the external stimuli and do whatever it wants. We're supposed to be moved by our spiritual, born-again senses that are washed with the Word of God to know what's right and wrong. Our spiritual senses, not our carnal emotions fed by fleshly stimuli, are supposed to be ruling our lives. (1Pe.4:3) For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness (That means a license to do whatever you want to do.), lusts, winebibings, revelings, carousings, and abominable idolatries: (4) wherein they think it strange that ye run not with [them] into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of [you] (If you don't want to join in their sins with these self-justified people, you'll be the bad guy.): (5) who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the living and the dead. (6) For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. This sequence of events from condemnation to rejection to self-justification to retaliation of some sort, is quite common for a person who is trapped by the devil. There's only one way to holiness, and that's repentance and confession of sin. This person may want sanctification, but they're not willing to pay the price for it. “Repentance” means “a change of mind.” No matter what it may be that we need from God, He tells us to (Jas.5:16) Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. No matter what kind of benefit you want from God, first you have to make sure everything is right between you and God, and between you and your brother. He tells us, (Mat.5:23) If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, (24) leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. If you really want to deal with the cause in order to permanently change the effect, that's what you have to do. You can try and just deal with the effect, but the problem will be back because you haven't done anything eternal. You must first deal with the root cause. Otherwise, there won't be anything lasting there. If you want God's righteousness, then you have to confess your sins to be cleansed of them. Now I'm going to share with you the following true story and testimony of Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu.   In Hell for Unforgiveness by Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu This is the true story of Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu in Nigeria, who was raised from the dead in front of a multitude of witnesses. Pastor Daniel died after a traffic accident. His body was in a mortuary for three days. He came back to life when his wife convinced others that his time was not yet because of previous promises God had given her. He still has his death certificate, written by a hospital doctor. In the movie, he recounts his experiences with amazing computer-generated images of both Heaven and Hell. The angelic voices that are heard in Heaven are actual angelic voices recorded at a small church in South Africa. The actual footage of the coming back to life of Pastor Daniel is shown in the movie. Pastor Daniel is personally interviewed in the movie. The narrative that follows is a transcription of a short clip of the video, “The Lazarus Phenomenon” by Johan Sturm, Eternal Productions. You can watch “The Lazarus Phenomenon” for free online. This account begins with Daniel dying on the ground. Daniel: “Suddenly, I had some feelings for me to look up. I saw two angels.” Narrator: When Daniel saw the two angels, he wanted to let his wife know, but the angel indicated that he should keep silent. Immediately, Daniel's power of speech was taken from him. Nneka, his wife, began to cry, fearing that Daniel would die. The angels took Daniel by his shoulders and lifted him out of the ambulance. Suddenly, Daniel found himself in another place with one of the angels. Angel: “Daniel, I have a lot to show you.” Narrator: As he looked out, Daniel saw a place where a multitude of people gathered. Their appearance was like that of the angels. Their color was pure white and their bodies seemed to glow with radiance. Because of their similar appearance, Daniel thought he was seeing a gathering of the angels. Angel: “This is not the gathering of the angels, Daniel. This is the gathering of the saints.” Narrator: The differences between the saints and the angels were subtle. Their color is a pure, brilliant white from their hair down to their feet. The difference is that the angels have wings, while the saints do not. The saints were worshipping God. They worshipped God with one voice and raised their hands as they were singing. Daniel heard the sound of many instruments. The sounds were like nothing he had encountered before. He longed to join these people and moved over towards them, but the angels stopped him. Angel: “Daniel, don't go. I have a lot to show you. Take this file and record everything you see.” Narrator: The multitude that Daniel saw were all looking at a bright light that shone like the sun. It was a source of all the light there. Daniel: “A very thick, heavy light coming upon them there. Now, they were all looking at that light as if they were seeing something there. But to me, I cannot look at that light. I cannot look at that light because it's so dangerous for my eyes. So I tried to budge to look through. They were looking through, but to me I cannot look through.” Angel: “Let's visit the mansions Jesus prepared for His people.” Narrator: Immediately, Daniel was in a new place with radiant mansions as far as the eye could see. It was incomparable to anything he knew on Earth. Though the appearance resembled buildings, the structure was unusual, not made of any earthly materials. They seemed to be alive, moving. Angel: “Daniel, Jesus has finished his work. The mansions are ready, but the saints are not ready.” Narrator: There was a sound of beautiful singing and worship. It seemed to come from all around. Daniel wondered where the singing was coming from because he could see no people there. Angel: “Daniel, the worship song you're hearing is being sung by the flowers.” Narrator: As he looked, Daniel saw the flowers swinging in response to the music. It actually seemed as if they were clapping their hands, shouting and praising God. Angel: “They are waiting for the saints. We are now going to visit Hell. Can you see the gates of Hell?” Narrator: The angel raised his hand, and as he brought it down, the gates ripped open with a great noise. Daniel could hear the crying and wailing of many people, but he could not see any of them. And then a light shone from the angel's body into the darkness so that Daniel could see more clearly. There were many people there, but unlike the souls in Heaven, the appearance of these people was as it had been on Earth. They were from every race, culture and nationality. Every person seemed trapped in their own personal torment, a torment that would go on for eternity, and they could not communicate with others. The sounds of crying and wailing were almost deafening. Suddenly, they all seemed to become aware of Daniel and started crying to him for help. And they called to Daniel only, as if they could not see the angel. A Pastor in Hell: “Please, help! I'm a pastor. I stole money from the church and I lied. Help me, please! I'm ready to repent. Help!” Narrator: Immediately after the pastor made the statement, the force that was tormenting him seemed to increase. The people had flesh, but no blood. And they almost seemed to be on fire, although no flames could be seen. There was a group of people who were eating their own flesh. They would vomit what they had eaten, and their flesh grew back. This carried on in an endless cycle of torment. Angel: “Those people you see eating themselves…they practiced witchcraft while they were on Earth. They specialized in eating human flesh and now they'll eat themselves forever. They are reaping what they sowed.” Daniel: “That place is not good for any human being created by God to go. God did not make that place for human beings; He made that place for the devil and his agents. But stubborn human beings who will disobey God, like the devil, will also go there. God has no mind to put any human being in Hell. It's a dangerous and deadly place He meant for the devil and his people.” Narrator: What was to follow was an earth-shattering statement by the angel. Daniel couldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams that he would hear the judgment. Angel: “Daniel, if the book of your life were to be closed today, this would be your portion.” Daniel: “No! I'm a pastor! I'm a child of God; I'm born again. I preach all over this country I'm in, the country that I'm in. This country. No. No. This can't be!” Angel: “Enough! Daniel, on your way to the first hospital, you were asking God to forgive you. But you would not forgive your wife, and your sins have not been forgiven. It is a matter of reaping what you sow. You cannot sow unforgiveness to your wife and reap forgiveness from God.” (My note: Those who die with unforgiveness go to Hell. (Mat.6:14) For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (15) But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Those who live with unforgiveness are delivered to tormenting spirits and go to Hell with tormenting spirits, if they do not repent. (Mat.18:32) Then his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me: (33) shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee? (34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. (35) So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.) Daniel: “Oh! I knew He made that statement. My spirit convinced me that what the angel told me of the judgment on me is true. So he said to me that I didn't forgive my wife, that I'm not forgiven. So while I was crying, crying, crying, shouting and shouting, I was not crying that, I will only say, see how I destroy my soul, look at how I destroy my soul. While I was shouting and crying, I was afraid. Tears were all over me. I was panicking because that place is not good for anyone. The way everything was looking, if God wanted to put me inside Hell, nothing would prevent Him, because while we were discussing, some group of people, thousands of people, were being sent into Hell.” Narrator: People started praying for him, praying for resurrection. Daniel: “Then the angel said to me that he's sending me back to the world – to go and warn this nation because this is going to be the last warning to this generation.” Nneka: “As prayers were going on, then his heart began to pant, life began to come into his heart. We continued praying and praying, we are praying. As all these things were going on, he began to breathe gradually, but his body was still stiff.” Daniel: “I saw myself being held by a lot of people. I was naked and put on my dress. I saw a crowd of people, more than 20,000 people. I looked to my left, right, everywhere. People were shouting, crying everywhere. Some were praising God, some were crying. I was looking around. I couldn't understand what was happening, because to me I was falling down. And I fell into fear, and to me, when I opened my eyes, I saw all hands were grabbing me. They said to me that I jumped up. I saw this big cathedral, a very big cathedral. I looked to my right, my left, my front and my back. Everywhere was full of people. Some people were shouting, some were saying ‘coffin;' some said ‘mortuary;' some said, ‘three days.' I couldn't understand because my experience was not more than fifteen minutes. So I don't know what they call about three days. To me there was no night, there was no day; it was only that moment I was into. By now I asked my wife, ‘What is happening?' She said I should keep quiet until we get to the house. They brought me back to my house, this place, with my wife.” (Note from Barbara Arroyo: I first heard about this many years ago. My former pastor, David Servant, went to Nigeria and met Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu. Yes, that was an incredible story! I guess this happened back in 2002. Pastor Servant went to Nigeria and investigated this story, and he even actually interviewed the doctor and mortician, and also Daniel himself! There is more information on Pastor Servant's website.) Jesus said that He was sent to proclaim release to the captives (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18). He also said that if you do not make things right with your brother, you would be thrown into prison until you pay your debt. (Mat.5:23) If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, (24) leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. (25) Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. (26) Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing. And Jesus warned us in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, that they (Mat.18:34) … delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. Your debts, your sins, are what is “due.” If a person does not forgive, that person is not forgiven. (Mat.6:15) But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Can you be saved and not be forgiven? No, you cannot be saved and not be forgiven. The most dangerous sin is unforgiveness because it opens up a trap that gives a person over to demons.

Texts: Matt 16: 13-20, Eph 1: 15-23, I Pet 2: 1-12, Rom 12: 1-8, Heb 12: 18-29, Rev. 19: 1-10 Intro: The Church transcends culture, ethnicity and politics – while in the world, it is not of it … hence the ability to confront sin and structures - Passtor Joseph Thomas - Sunday, August 3, 2025

Rev. Austin Gilliland Philippians 3:13-14, Matt. 6:33, Heb. 12:1-2

Sermon by Dr. David Rountree on August 3, 2025 at New Covenant Church in Anderson, SC. Scripture Passage: Isaiah 61:1-3 Outline: Jesus has the Wheel Jesus has the Purpose 1. To restore your soul. (Psa. 23:3) 2. To reveal his unseen works (Psa. 77:19) 3. To lead us to things we wouldn't otherwise know. (Jer. 33:3) 4. To reveal his kindness and compassion (Lam. 3:21-24) 5. To bring us to our good senses. (Luke 15:17) 6. To give us salvation faith and grow our faith in him (John 14:1) 7. To better understand our insufficiency without him. (John 15:5) 8. To better pray to him. Acts17:26-27 9. To comfort us and equip us for comforting others. 2Cor.1:3-4 10. To reveal his power and glory. 2Cor.4:7 11. To keep us from being self-reliant. 2Cor.12:7 12. To give us confidence in his strength. 2Cor.12:9 13. To give us greater character and hope. Rom.5:3-5 14. To demonstrate his good sovereignty. Rom.8:28 15. To spread his good news to others. Phil.1:12-13 16. To discipline us as his loved children. Heb.12:6-7 17. To better rely on him. 1Pet.5:7 Jesus has the Grip Jesus is the Life Jesus has All Comfort www.ncchurch.net

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God does not willingly afflict; He takes no pleasure in the sufferings of any of His creatures, much less in the sorrows of His children; but He chastises them for their real good. Why some are so much more afflicted than others, we do not know; but we do know, "that all things work together for good to those who love God"; (Rom 8:28) and that, although "no chastening for the present is joyous—but grievous, yet afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto those who are exercised thereby". (Heb 12:11) The afflicted mourner finds it hard to believe this promise, and cannot see how it is possible that such a calamity should be of any benefit. But God's Word is to be credited in opposition to our own feelings, and to all appearances. He has ways of working which we do not now understand—but shall know hereafter.

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Sometimes we're just “in basa” – in a state of annoyance, not really angry, but just bummed. Guy teaches us verbs derived from “basa,” plus more nouns like “hitba'asut,” which could be translated as “the process of getting bummed out.” Who said Hebrew isn't a rich language? Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Bassa – Bummer – באסה Eize bassa – What a bummer – איזה באסה Eize basa ze she… – It's so annoying when… – איזה באסה זה ש Ani be-basa – I am depressed – אני בבאסה Kuli be-basa – I am so bummed out – כולי בבאסה Ani al ha-panim – I am not doing well at all – אני על הפנים Meva'es, m'va'es – It's bumming me out – מבאס Ze ma ze m'va'es – That's so annoying – זה מה-זה מבאס Mva'es ta-tachat – It's so annyoing – מבאס ת'תחת Mevo'as – Annoyed – מבואס “Ze lo meshane she-chavera shelcha mevo'eset” – It doesn't matter that your girlfriend is bummed out – זה לא משנה שחברה שלך מבואסת Mevo'eset mi- Bummed out because of something – מבואסת מ “Ani merutse me'od, kamuvan hitba'asti she-lo kibalti telefon” – I am very satisfied. Of course I am bummed out because I didn't get a phone call – אני מרוצה מאוד, כמובן התבאסתי שלא קיבלתי טלפון Hitba'ast she-lo hitkasharti? – Were you bummed out I didn't call? – התבאסת שלא התקשרתי Hitba'asoot – Becoming upset – התבאסות Nirshema hitba'asut – “An annoyance was registered” – נרשמה התבאסות Me'ootsban – Pissed off – מעוצבן   Playlist and Clips: Cohen & Mushon – Basa (lyrics) Comedy bar, standup comedy, eize basa Ha-dag Nachash – Lazuz (lyrics) Hitba'asti Ep. no. 68 about nivcheret HEB Ep. no. 254 about me'ootsban HEB