Podcasts about New Jerusalem

How you can live today in light of what God has prepared for you eternally?  What is your spiritual inheritance, and what does it mean for you both now and in eternity? In this “Identity” episode, we will explore the believer's inheritance here on earth and in heaven. Who is entitled to this inheritance? What exactly is yours? What are its characteristics, and how is it measured? Dr. Patty will explain the difference between justification and sanctification and how they relate to your eternal rewards. She will also clarify the crowns mentioned in Scripture and how they become eternal rewards. Jesus will share insight into the final chapters of Revelation, giving us a glimpse of the new heaven and new earth and the heavenly city, New Jerusalem. Your Experience Jesus encounter will give you a glimpse of your present heavenly reward and an opportunity to gain clarity about how you can live today in light of what God has prepared for you eternally.   Links referenced in this episode: New to the Podcast?  Check out the Trailer Episode for the Biblical Foundation for Experiencing Jesus!  https://PattyEJ.Podbean.com/e/trailer-episode-experience-jesus-with-dr-patty-sadallah   The Special Place Encounter Exercise   https://bit.ly/3cEkYBC For more on the Great Exchange of Salvation, check out our previous episode: https://pattyej.podbean.com/e/salvation-the-great-exchange-and-your-inheritance-now/   For a fun way to learn about increasing your inheritance by expanding your Territory of Christian Impact check out Dr. Patty's Clips that Move Mountains 2nd Edition book. https://pattysadallah.com/product/clips-that-move-mountains-2nd-edition/     Get Two Free Chapters of the Experience Jesus Book Series https://PattySadallah.com/#FREEOPTIN   Check out all of Dr. Patty's books, journals, and downloadable resources at her bookstore, and don't forget to use the code EJPOD to receive 10% off everything, even the things on sale.  https://PattySadallah.com/shop/    

What will heaven actually be like? Is it a faraway place floating somewhere in the clouds, or is there more to the story? Pastor Jim Scudder opens a new mini-series on heaven by answering the questions people really ask, and answering them from Scripture rather than guesswork. In this message from the series Heaven and Hell, Pastor Scudder at Quentin Road Baptist Church begins with where heaven is, then walks through John's glimpse of the throne room in Revelation 4: the rainbow circle, the twenty-four elders, the lightning and thunder. He then turns to the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven in Revelation 21 and 22, with its twelve gates, twelve foundations, and a river of life. Along the way he asks whether we will miss our old lives and what we will actually do in eternity. It is a taste of heaven for anyone who is hurting, missing someone who knew Jesus, or needs hope for the road ahead. And it ends with the question that matters most: how do you get there? Scripture referenced: Isaiah 57:15; Revelation 4:2-6; Revelation 21:1-3, 10-23; Revelation 22:1-4a; 1 Corinthians 2:9; John 4:34; John 5:17; Revelation 5:10; 2 Timothy 2:12a; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3; Matthew 25:21; Psalm 16:11; 2 Corinthians 5:8

September 28th, 2026:  St Wenceslaus, Patron of Bohemia - Stand for Truth;  St Lawrence Ruiz, Protomartyr of the Philippines;  St Wenceslaus - Love Like Christ;  Becoming the New Jerusalem;  St Wenceslaus, Good King

Isaiah 2:1-22:0 - Speaker: Lukus Counterman - In Isaiah chapters 2-4, the prophet bookends his message with descriptions of the New Jerusalem (2:2-4; 4:2-6). We are given an idyllic picture of life when the true King reigns. But in between those two glorious portrayals, Isaiah addresses the sinful state of the rebellious city. He tries to expose the futility of pride in man and possessions. His reminder is that man is as temporary as a breath, so we must turn to the Lord and trust in him alone. May we us see the futility of pride, and in contrast, the blessing of trusting in God. Ask God to search your heart and expose anything that's displeasing to him.

BYU Lecture 41 Quick review of chapter 21 of The Fourth Thousand Years and the interesting parallel scriptures between Isaiah and Nephi. Just as history repeats itself, prophets will often apply their prophecy to multiple places and occasions, all of which are literally fulfilled. Isaiah, David and Micah did this often. Isaiah gives prophecy of “Zion” knowing there will be two Zions, one in America and one in Palestine. He therefore distinguishes America as “Zion” and Palestine as “Jerusalem.” Some of the more prominent prophecies made by Isaiah include the return of the 10 tribes of Israel, the building of the New Jerusalem in America, the return of the Jews to Palestine, the building of a new temple in Jerusalem, terrible destructions prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ and the peaceful Millennial period. As spoken by Christ, “Great are the words of Isaiah.”

Joshua BoydEvery Light Has a SourceWalk Through the Bible: The TabernacleAs we continue our study of the Tabernacle and the golden lampstand, we turn our attention from the light to the oil that made the light possible. The lampstand was commanded to burn continually—but every light has a source.The Oil for the LampIn Exodus 27:20–21, God commanded the Israelites to bring pure olive oil so the lamps could remain continually lit. Significantly, the oil was supplied by the people. If the oil stopped flowing, the light went out.The Tabernacle was never merely about furniture, rituals, or sacrifices. God revealed its purpose in His command to Moses: build Me a sanctuary “so I can live among them.” The Tabernacle pointed toward God's continuing desire to dwell with His people.Revelation shows the fulfillment of that desire. In the New Jerusalem, there is no need for the sun or moon because God's glory illuminates the city and the Lamb is its light (Revelation 21:22–25). God Himself is the ultimate source of light.Not by Might, but by My SpiritZechariah 4 gives us another picture of the lampstand. Zechariah sees a golden lampstand continually supplied with oil from two olive trees. Unlike the Tabernacle, where people continually replenished the oil, this lampstand was connected directly to its source.When Zechariah asks what the vision means, God answers:“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.”The oil points us toward the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual light isn't sustained by our intelligence, strength, determination, or ability. The Holy Spirit is our source.We aren't called to manufacture the light—we're called to stay connected to the source.Keep Your Oil FullJesus' parable of the ten bridesmaids in Matthew 25:1–13 reinforces this truth. Five were prepared with enough oil; five allowed their supply to run out. When the bridegroom arrived, only those who were prepared were ready.The lesson is both future and present: keep your lamp lit and your oil full.The cares and distractions of life can slowly drain us. We can continue moving for a while on our own strength, but eventually we discover that we've been “riding the gas light.”How Do We Stay Filled?Ephesians 5:18–20 gives us a practical answer:Be filled with the Spirit.Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.Make music to the Lord from your heart.Continually give thanks to God.Notice Scripture doesn't simply say to listen to worship—it tells us to participate. Singing, worshiping, and giving thanks turn our attention away from ourselves and back toward our source.When we feel like everything depends on our strength, wisdom, or ability, it's time to reconnect:Not by my might.Not by my power.But by His Spirit.Bringing the Oil TogetherThere is also something powerful about believers gathering together. Just as the congregation brought oil for the Tabernacle, believers today gather with the Spirit of God dwelling within them.We can receive from God individually, but there is something special about coming together hungry for His presence. We aren't simply an audience—we participate together in worship, revelation, ministry, and the presence of God.Keep the Lamp BurningDon't wait until Sunday to worship. Keep a song in your heart throughout the week. Give thanks to God. Stay connected to the Holy Spirit.We don't know the day or hour of Christ's return, but we also need His light for today—for our families, our jobs, our church, and every decision before us.Every light has a source.If we want our light to continue shining, we must remain connected to ours.Keep your oil full.Keep your lamp lit.Stay filled with the Spirit.ScripturesExodus 25:31–40 • Exodus 27:20–21 • Zechariah 4:1–6 • Matthew 25:1–13 • Ephesians 5:18–20 • Revelation 21:10, 22–25

Many of us understand that spiritual growth is a long, slow process, and that change doesn't happen overnight. But sometimes it seems like we're not moving at all, and sometimes it even seems like we are moving backwards. How can we find the trust and strength to continue waiting for the Lord when it seems like we have already been waiting for so long?Lessons: Luke 12:35-46, 1 Samuel 13:1-15, The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 276By Rev. Coleman GlennRecorded in Westville, South Africa on April 10th, 2016 . For more recordings, visit www.newchurchaudio.org

Hard News on Friday with Tara Green and Rama Arjuna Mayan Calendar Reading, Kryon's Merkabah Teaching and a Healing Meditation with Patricia Cota-Robles Hosts Springbird, Tara Green and Rama Arjuna open with a Mayan calendar reading for the turn into October, follow Rama's field reports on Gaza and Lebanon, sit in on a channeled Kryon teaching from Lee Carroll and a Mother dialogue on NESARA, and close with a recorded healing meditation from guest Patricia Cota-Robles. Opening Meditation and Mayan Calendar Reading Springbird opens the broadcast with a guided breathing exercise, inviting listeners into their heart space to gather with guides, guardians, totems and ancestors around a virtual council fire. Drumming with a Kimi drum, he calls in the seven galactic directions of the Mayan tradition, chanting "Ah Yum, Hunab Ku, Evam Maya, E Ma Ho" and "In Lak'ech Ala K'in." He then reads the Mayan day-count for the week, opening with today's White Self-Existing Dog, a 4 Oc tied to love, loyalty and heart, and moving through Saturday's Blue Overtone Monkey, Sunday's Yellow Rhythmic Human, Monday's Red Resonant Skywalker, Tuesday's White Galactic Wizard, and Wednesday's Blue Solar Eagle. He notes the calendar rolling into October on Thursday with the Yellow Planetary Warrior, and closes the week with Friday's Red Spectral Earth. For each glyph he offers a keyword mantra and urges listeners to release fear, mistrust or dissociation while embracing loyalty, clarity and planetary harmony, also noting a full moon at 12:49 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. Listener Support and Weekly Needs Springbird shifts into the weekly funding appeal, explaining that BBS Radio needs $184 for the Friday program's slot on Station One and directing listeners to bbsradio.com, where the show is listed under the Hard News heading at the 8:00 hour. He promotes Saturday's program on Station Two, The True History, at the 3:30 hour. He says Tara and Rama need $200 for living expenses plus $450 toward rent this week, a total of $650, and gives the PayPal address koran9999@hotmail.com, confirmed under the name Rainbow Roundtable and Rama Berkowitz, along with a mailing address for Ram D. Berkowitz at a post office box in Santa Cruz, New Mexico. He points listeners to rainbowroundtable.net for NESARA information and Rama's travel notes, and mentions a GoFundMe covering Tara and Rama's medical expenses. Calling it harvest season under a full moon, he thanks the audience repeatedly before ceremonially passing a talking stick to Tara and Rama, who greet the commanders, eagles and angels listening. Rama's Field Reports and Gaza-Lebanon Dispatches Rama reads a string of dated dispatches from earlier in the week, describing visits to Moon Mountain and Sun Mountain where he sits and walks in circles with deer, crows, cats and, on Wednesday, a hungry coyote he feeds popcorn and kitty food, using the Adi Shakti mantra each time. He recounts text messages he says arrive from the crew stationed over Gaza, describing an emerald-green and sapphire-blue ray that forms a protective force field and knocks out Israeli forces who try to cross it, and from Lady Nada, who says she addressed the UN Security Council about Lebanon and Hezbollah, and later reports that the Lebanese prime minister called for the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Lebanon while dozens of delegates walked out during a speech by Netanyahu. Rama says the moment is a choice between an old timeline and a new one, invoking a figure he calls Mel Lawson. Tara then raises news that the Republicans are, in her words, "in deep trouble," and Rama predicts the party is ceasing to exist. Kryon's Merkabah Teaching via Lee Carroll Rama passes the talking stick to a segment titled The New Human Merkabah Interface, in which Lee Carroll channels an entity he calls Kryon of Magnetic Service. Kryon tells listeners that the changing energy of the planet may be altering the very purpose of old souls on Earth, moving them beyond individual paths toward something new. He describes the Merkabah as a double tetrahedron, one shape pointing down and one pointing up, sitting within the body's double helix and forming, together with human DNA, what he calls an antenna tuned to a shared field of collective consciousness. Kryon says humanity has long used that antenna only to receive intuition, but explains that the upward-pointing half is now being activated so that people can also transmit their inner divinity outward. He calls this new capacity a way of pushing "a grander truth" into the field, something he says is done automatically through joy and compassion rather than effort, promising more teaching, and perhaps a better word for it, next time. Star Lore, AI Worries and the Mother Dialogue Tara describes the nighttime view from their bay window, tracing the star Sirius, a craft she calls the New Jerusalem, and the three stars of Orion's Belt, which she names El, An and Ra, up to the Pleiades and its seven suns. Rama says one of those stars, Atlas, hosts twelve to fourteen planets, a number he links to Barack Obama's past comments about the solar system and to the Star of Bethlehem, which the pair identify as Sirius. They turn to news of the Pope's visit to Paris, with Rama recounting a speech along the Champs-Élysées warning that artificial intelligence is leading humanity toward what he calls the Borg. Tara and Rama then give out the conference-call number before inviting a channeled presence they call Mother, who speaks of NESARA nearing announcement, warns that detention centers are killing people, calls the GOP the "grand old pedophile party," and cites General Wesley Clark, the Bosnian war, journalist David Pakman, the book Solara An-Ra, and the destruction of Maldek. Patricia Cota-Robles's Healing Meditation and Sign-Off Rama says he briefly visited what he describes as Lady Master Athena's ship before passing the talking stick to a twenty-three-minute recorded segment from Patricia Cota-Robles. Cota-Robles tells listeners that recent influxes of light and a purging of the elemental kingdom, evident in record-breaking weather, are part of Mother Earth's ascension, building since the August 8 Lionsgate and the late-August eclipse series toward an accelerated ascension window running from the November 11 gateway to the December solstice. She leads a guided, first-person invocation calling in beings from the Grand Central Sun and an emerald-green and violet flame of "infinite transmutation," walking listeners breath by breath through their brain, eyes, ears, lungs, digestive system, endocrine glands, circulatory system, reproductive organs, and skeletal structure, asking for every trace of disease to be instantaneously removed and each system restored to perfect health. She closes declaring the healing "God-victoriously accomplished." Tara thanks Rama, the talking stick returns to Springbird, who thanks Mother, Cota-Robles and the audience, and the hosts sign off with "Namaste."

In our penultimate lesson in this study of Revelation, we finish our look at John’s description of the New Jerusalem, shifting from descriptions centered around a city to those of an Edenic paradise, a restoration of what was lost because of sin.  Next week we will consider some concluding remarks from the last few verses … Continue reading That You May Overcome: Revelation 21-22 – The Church at Home – Part 4 (9/23/26 Bible Class)

REVELATION EP 13 THE 144000: We have been seeing Revelation 11–20 as progressively unfolding the final 3½ years, with different groups and events appearing as the conflict intensifies. The 144,000 have a very meaningful place in this intense buildup (camera angle 4 of the tribulation). This large mysterious group represents God's company of the first fruits of Israel's full salvation during the final crisis. They are not the whole of redeemed Israel, Firstfruits are always celebrated as a foretaste of future harvest. Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.” The important point is that Revelation 14 presents the 144,000 as a distinct, identifiable group. They have already appeared in Revelation 7, where they are described as 144,000 sealed servants from the twelve tribes of Israel. They are a literal or representative group of Jewish believers who are preserved and commissioned by God for the Gospel during the Tribulation. Here is a table of columns and rows showing how these fit our Revelation timeline compared to other groups and their roles and events Group — Role in our framework The two witnesses — God's prophetic testimony in Jerusalem (Moses/Elijah) The Church / woman — Persecuted and protected by God Israel — Preserved through the final crisis Zechariah 13:8–9 (1/3) 144,000 — A specially sealed firstfruits company Antichrist's kingdom — Satan's final earthly system Three angels — God's final worldwide warning Harvest of earth — Separation and judgment Seven bowls — Final wrath of non-redemptive judgement – no repentance Babylon — Collapse of the world's corrupt system Christ — Returns in glory in Revelation 19 Zechariah 13:8–9 And it shall come to pass in all the land, Says the LORD, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, and I will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people' And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God. Then comes Zech Ch 14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, The same fiery trials of faith apply to all people, including Christians and Jews, as we saw in Revelation 12 about the Woman, the Church (Episode 11 and camera angle 2) where God said ‘do not measure those in the outer court/outer darkness' That links with our emphasis on Israel, the Church and the nations all moving toward God's ultimate redemptive purpose and the refining age to age fire of judgement. Why 144,000? The number is very highly structured: 12 × 12 × 1,000 = 144,000 Twelve is repeatedly associated with God's covenant people: • 12 tribes of Israel • 12 apostles • 12 foundations of New Jerusalem • 12 gates • 12,000 in each zone or group • 144 cubits Their relationship to the Church is important, as we can distinguish three overlapping communities in the final period: The Church – The Woman as the Church protected by God through the tribulation Israel - The covenant people who come under God's particular protection and ultimately experience restoration (Romans 11:25) – … ‘and all Israel shall be saved' … The 144,000 This is a specially sealed firstfruits company within Israel, commissioned for God's purposes during the final crisis. The Beast establishes his authority, and people receive the mark of the Beast, and the Beast's followers identify themselves with the Beast. But here the 144,000 have the Father's name on their foreheads. So Revelation gives us two competing identities: Kingdom of the Beast — Kingdom of the Lamb Beast — Lamb Mark of Beast forehead mind owned and occupied by Beast — Name of Father – mind and owned and occupied by God Babylon — Zion False worship — True worship Satanic authority — Divine authority Economic control — Spiritual allegiance Followers of Beast — Followers of Lamb That speaks into the final spiritual confrontation between the kingdom of the Antichrist and the kingdom of Christ. The 144,000 will be the Jewish partners to the two witnesses in Revelation 11, Moses and Elijah, who have a very specific prophetic ministry, while the 144,000 have a much broader representative role. Then we have three angels with a final worldwide proclamation, and together they form an extraordinary picture of God's testimony during the final 3½ year crisis. The 144,000 are an end-time Jewish firstfruits company, sealed by God and preserved during the final 3½ years. They represent a consecrated remnant of Israel who refuse the allegiance of the Beast and remain completely identified with the Lamb. Their appearance immediately after Revelation 13 provides the divine counterpoint to the Beast's kingdom: while the Beast marks his followers with his identity, God marks His people with His name. The 144,000 appear to be evangelists because we saw in Revelation 7:9 that immediately following their sealing there was a vision of: “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation. What is the meaning of ‘virgins'? The 144000 are an Israelite covenant remnant. whose defining characteristic is not merely that they have escaped Babylon, but that they belong exclusively to the Lamb. Level — Meaning — Biblical basis — Strength for your study 1. Literal — 144,000 are sexually celibate/unmarried males — Rev 14:4 calls them virgins; 1Corinthians 7, Matthew 19 — Possible, but difficult to establish as the only meaning 2. Spiritual — They are uncompromised in their allegiance to the Lamb — Revelation repeatedly uses sexual immorality/adultery as imagery for spiritual unfaithfulness — Very strong contextual connection 3. Holistic holiness — Their bodily sexuality and spiritual allegiance are both brought under the lordship of the Lamb — Rev 14:4–5; contrast with Babylon in Rev 17–18 — Probably the most fruitful formulation for your study We are not compelled to have to choose absolutely between literal sexual purity and symbolic spiritual purity. This can be understood as presenting the 144,000 as a people characterized by exclusive fidelity to the Lamb, expressed in the striking language of virginity. Revelation itself establishes the larger symbolic framework. Babylon is portrayed as a prostitute who commits sexual immorality with the kings of the earth, while the people of God are summoned not to participate in her sins.  Here's another table of rows and columns THE TWO WOMEN / TWO RELATIONSHIPS BABYLON — 144,000 Harlot — Virgins Sexual immorality — Purity Relationship with kings of earth — Relationship with the Lamb Drunk with her wine — Filled with the Spirit Compromise — Faithfulness Follow the Beast — Follow the Lamb Defilement — No defilement Name of Babylon — Father's name Deception — Truth Earthly luxury — Surrendered Firstfruits to God Spiritual prostitution — Covenant faithfulness Judgment — Redemption This follows the architecture of Revelation. Revelation 17–18 explicitly describes Babylon's relationship with the kings and nations in sexual language, while Revelation 14 describes the 144,000 in terms of virginity, following the Lamb as a celebrated offering of firstfruits to God.  Revelation 14 is presenting the 144,000 as the complete opposite to Babylon. Revelation describes a world in which sexual immorality has become intertwined with power, wealth, idolatry and Babylonian corruption. That is explicitly in the text. Revelation 17–18 connects Babylon's sexual immorality with kings, nations, merchants and luxurious wealth.  This intertwining of immorality with power, wealth, idolatry and Babylonian corruption can be seen in the exposure of the corruption of our current culture (large in scale) The 144,000 are identified as Israel, which is being encountered within the theological reality of the New Covenant inaugurated by Messiah. So they retain genuine Israelite identity, and they belong to the covenant reality established through Christ. Those propositions are not contradictory. Hebrews 8 is particularly important here because it contrasts the Old covenant with the superior New covenant through Christ and it quotes Jeremiah's promise: Jemiah 31:31 Hebrews 8:8 … Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. Hebrews 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete.” Consequently, the identification of the 144,000 with Israel does not require that they belong to the obsolete Mosaic covenant. The New Covenant itself was promised to Israel and Judah. Theologically, therefore, the 144,000 may be understood as an Israelite covenant remnant encountered within the reality of the New Covenant mediated by Jesus the Messiah. Their identity is Israelite; their covenant relationship is New Covenant; their allegiance is to the Lamb. The 144,000 are thus presented as a sealed people belonging to God, bearing His name, following the Lamb, refusing defilement and standing in contrast to Babylon's corrupting influence. So rather than viewing the 144,000 as an alternative to the Church, we see them as God's specific end-time allies arising from Israel alongside His wider people. And that shows us that Revelation isn't simply describing catastrophe—it is showing God as separating, sealing, preserving and gathering people to Himself while the counterfeit kingdom reaches its rebellious demise.

Relationship…Not Religion - From the Garden to the New Jerusalem | Pastor Aaron Simmons Mission, Vision & Core Values Our Mission is To reveal the goodness of God to everyone everywhere. Join us at 10 am every Sunday Morning or for our Livestream worship service at 10 am on Facebook and at UpperRoomOhio.com Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UpperRoomOhio/ Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/upperroomohio Give us a call: 937-667-5585 Address 648 N. Hyatt St. Tipp City, OH 45371

Relationship…Not Religion - From the Garden to the New Jerusalem | Pastor Aaron SimmonsMission, Vision & Core ValuesOur Mission is To reveal the goodness of God to everyone everywhere.Join us at 10 am every Sunday Morning or for our Livestream worship service at 10 am on Facebook and at UpperRoomOhio.comFind us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UpperRoomOhio/Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/upperroomohioGive us a call: 937-667-5585Address 648 N. Hyatt St. Tipp City, OH 45371

I talk about New Jerusalem as a description of the church throughout the millennium.

Hymn, Sing, Lo What a Glorious Sight Appears, Hymn Tune is "New Jerusalem"

Hymn Arrangements, Meditation, Prayer, Lo What a Glorious Sight Appears, Hymn Tune is "New Jerusalem"

Hymn Arrangements, Meditation, Prayer, Lo What a Glorious Sight Appears, Hymn Tune is "New Jerusalem"

Hymn, Sing, Lo What a Glorious Sight Appears, Hymn Tune is "New Jerusalem"

Is the Old Testament a mystery to you? Perhaps you know many of the stories but they seem disconnected from each other. Dr. Sandra Richter has brought the Old Testament to life by exploring the real people and places detailed in Scripture. She will explain the history of God's redeeming grace—a story that runs from the Garden of Eden in Genesis to the garden of the New Jerusalem in Revelation! Featured resources:The Epic of Eden (series) by Sandra RichterThe Epic of Eden: Understanding the Old Testament by Sandra RichterVideo: Epic of Eden Bible Study September thank you gift:The Special Needs Parent by Dr. Joe and Cindi Ferrini Equipped with Chris Brooks is made possible through your support. To donate now, click here.

Our blessed hope enables us to withstand persecution, deprivation, and even death itself. John saw heaven opened and a rider called Faithful and True. In this message, Pastor Lutzer describes Christ's return, final judgment, and the New Jerusalem. Where will you stand when every eye finally beholds Him?  This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at https://offerrtw.com or call us at 1-800-215-5001. Moody Church Media [https://www.moodymedia.org/], home of "Running To Win," exists to bring glory to God through the transformation of lives. Erwin W. Lutzer is Pastor Emeritus of The Moody Church in Chicago, where he served as Senior Pastor for 36 years. He is a prolific author of over seventy books. A clear expositor of the Bible, he is the featured speaker on "Running To Win" and "Songs In The Night," with programs broadcasting on over a thousand outlets in the U.S. and across more than fifty countries in seven languages. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in the Chicago area. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.   SUPPORT: Tax Deductible Support: https://www.moodymedia.org/donate/ Become an Endurance Partner: https://endurancepartners.org/   SUBSCRIBE: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MoodyChurchMedia Daily Devotional and Weekly Digest: https://www.moodymedia.org/newsletters/subscription/

Our blessed hope enables us to withstand persecution, deprivation, and even death itself. John saw heaven opened and a rider called Faithful and True. In this message, Pastor Lutzer describes Christ's return, final judgment, and the New Jerusalem. Where will you stand when every eye finally beholds Him?  To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1407/29?v=20251111

This week we continue our examination of the New Jerusalem that is described by John as the Revelation draws to a close. Teacher: Justin P. Sivley

Send us Fan MailWhat if the biggest end-times confusion comes from refusing to take one sentence from Jesus at face value? We get into a direct, sometimes tense, Bible-first debate about the second coming of Christ, the rapture, and what it means to “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Along the way we talk through resurrection, being changed “in the twinkling of an eye,” and how ideas like the New Jerusalem fit into a return that is final, public, and world-changing.Then we press on the question a lot of Christians quietly carry: where does a future seven-year tribulation actually appear in Scripture? We separate general tribulation from the modern, highly systematized “Great Tribulation” timeline and challenge each other to show our work in the text. A key moment is our push to look closer at the language of “meet,” because the meaning of that word shapes whether you expect an escape plan or the arrival of a returning King.The center of gravity is Matthew 24, especially verse 34: “this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” We argue about what “this generation” can and cannot mean, how the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 relates to Jesus' warnings, and why moving fulfillment thousands of years into the future raises serious problems. We end where we should: the gospel. However you map your timeline, Christ is the only hope, the only Messiah, and the only way. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves prophecy, and leave a review with your take: what does “this generation” mean?Support the showBE PROVOKED AND BE PERSUADED!

SEP. 9, 2026Healing for shame and condemnation."God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2Co 5:21 NIVShame and condemnation are two weapons Satan will use to torment you. They will steal your rest and sap the joy out of your life.What's the answer? Begin to see yourself as God sees you. "God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." When we are aware of our shortcomings, how is it possible to believe that God sees us as "righteous" and wants us to see ourselves that way too? Because when you became a Christian, God placed you "in Christ"; therefore, you are always accepted by Him. "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ro 5:1 NIV).The word justified means: "just-as-if-I'd never sinned." And that's how God sees you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year, all the way from the new birth to the New Jerusalem. Plus, Jesus understands your struggles since He dealt with them Himself.He "understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most" (Heb 4:15-16 NLT). Confession: "Jesus took all the shame and condemnation for my sin on the cross, and I am in right standing with God because I'm 'in ChristiHealing for shame and condemnation  He "understands our weaknesses."Share This DevotionalSend us Fan MailSupport the showChanging Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

Nephilim Death Squad continues the LIVE Q&A with Raven, Top Lobsta, and Matt tackling generational curses, spiritual warfare, Jehovah's Witnesses, faith healing, Biblical fasting, Noah's Ark, Christian symbolism, moon worship, and some of the stranger questions surrounding Biblical history.The conversation begins with questions about generational iniquity and whether a pregnant Christian can break spiritual ties connected to Freemasonry or family bloodlines without fasting. The discussion turns toward prayer, the blood of Jesus Christ, Scripture, deliverance, and whether Christians can become too focused on curses and demons instead of pursuing God directly.From there, the guys debate baptism, living water, fasting and prayer, and whether NDS should ever host an old-school tent revival. That opens a larger discussion about faith healers, charismatic Christianity, public healing ministries, William Branham, performative prayer, church culture, and the difference between genuine Christian ministry and turning Christianity into a show.A major portion of the episode examines Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower system. The discussion covers the Trinity, whether Jesus is God, the 144,000, Watchtower teachings, failed end-times predictions, shunning, love bombing, family relationships, church authority, and the dangers the hosts see in highly controlled religious systems.The Q&A then moves into Biblical history and ancient America. Could Florida's so-called “gopher wood” have any connection to Noah's Ark? Could America have been inhabited before the Flood? The hosts discuss Pangea, Peleg, Genesis, ancient civilizations, and theories surrounding the pre-Flood world.They also investigate the mysterious “Lady in Blue,” Sor María de Jesús de Ágreda, reports of bilocation, Native Americans receiving Christian teaching, Catholic apparitions, and how Christians might test unusual supernatural claims.Finally, the conversation explores fasting, the symbolism of the cross, New Jerusalem as a cube, Saturn symbolism, the Trinity, the Ark of the Covenant, lunatics, lunar influence, moon worship, Biblical cosmology, Flat Earth questions, astrology, and numerology.What do you think? Drop your Biblical case in the comments and join the discussion.Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere podcasts are available.► Subscribe for more Biblical analysis, Christian worldview discussions, and conspiracy research through a Biblical lens.00:00 NDS LIVE Q&A Part 2 Intro06:09 Turtle Stories & Listener Questions09:26 Generational Curses During Pregnancy13:49 Baptism, Living Water & Spiritual Cleansing18:12 Christian Culture, Catholicism & Discernment23:06 Breaking Spiritual Ties & Bloodline Curses24:20 Tent Revivals, Faith Healing & Deliverance31:30 Performative Christianity & Church Culture37:19 What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe?45:40 Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus & the Trinity49:15 Watchtower Society & Religious Authority51:48 The 144,000 & End-Times Predictions55:38 Failed Prophecy, Shunning & Family Control61:37 Religious Systems, Grooming & Church Authority64:07 Was America Inhabited Before the Flood?64:52 Gopher Wood, Noah's Ark & Florida68:24 The Lady in Blue & Supernatural Bilocation74:33 Biblical Fasting & Prayer80:29 Is the Cross a Bad Christian Symbol?82:47 New Jerusalem, Saturn's Cube & the Cross83:54 Trinity Symbols & Christian Imagery88:16 Ark of the Covenant & the Presence of God93:24 Lunatics, the Moon & Lunar Influence95:53 Moon Worship, Witchcraft & Biblical Calendars99:10 Flat Earth, the Moon & the Tides99:42 Astrology vs Numerology100:34 501(c)(3) Churches & Religious SystemsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nephilim-death-squad--6389018/support.☠️ Nephilim Death Squad — New episodes 5x/week.Join our Patreon for early access, bonus shows & the private Telegram hive.Subscribe on YouTube & Rumble, follow @NephilimDSquad on X/Instagram, grab merch at toplobsta.com. Questions/bookings: chroniclesnds@gmail.com — Stay dangerous.

Revelation 21:9-14 "New Jerusalem: The Glory City"

Season 23: Angelology — Episode 13September 9, 2026 — The Angels Worship!NEW! Watch us ONLINE! Click here!Show Notes:In the book of Revelation, an angel shows John an amazing vision of the New Heaven, the New Earth, and the New Jerusalem.I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, BUT he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God."Revelation 22:8-9John was moved to worship. However, when angels appear, they do not want people to worship them. Their work is to deliver God's message or complete the work assigned to them. The angels' role is to point back to God, who is the One worthy of our worship. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”Revelation 7:11-12 HEAD TO HEARTThe angels present a beautiful example for us to follow. The Lamb of God is worthy of our praise and worship. Let's set aside time each day to worship Him.Song – A Thousand Hallelujahs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR_sI9lkowA&list=RDvR_sI9lkowA&start_radio=1Season 23: Angelology – Words of Summary Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane - Matthew 26:53 – “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”Elisha – 2 Kings 6:17 - And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.Created Beings - Nehemiah 9:6 - The heavenly hosts were created: “You are the Lord, You alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.”His mighty ones - Psalm 103:20 - Praise the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding, who obey His word! In God's order and design, there are several distinct classifications of angels.· The Archangel named Michael – Jude 9· Chief Princes – Daniel 10:12-13· Ruling Angels – 1 Peter 1:12For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.Psalm 91:11

Rejoice in the Lord! The call for Sukkot and throughout the year is to trust in Him and rejoice! Wolves are not known to lay down with a lamb, but in the New Jerusalem? All things will be made new!! See how as Rabbi Jeff Zaremsky opens up the scriptures in Isaiah 6

Oftentimes we get taught something and take it as gospel without fact checking.  This teaching may be considered controversial but we pray you will allow the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to lead you and not the messenger.  Our apologies as the recording was cut short before the teaching was finished.

Does the Bible teach a flat Earth? In this episode of Nephilim Death Squad, David Lee Corbo (The Raven) and Top Lobster are joined by Sean from Kingdom in Context for a deep dive into biblical cosmology, the firmament, Genesis 1, the Book of Enoch, the heavens, and the question of whether Scripture describes an enclosed, non-heliocentric creation.The conversation opens with discussion of the Charlie Kirk shooting and several alleged inconsistencies and conspiracy theories surrounding the case before turning to the central topic: what the Bible actually says about the structure of creation. Sean breaks down Genesis 1:1–8, the Hebrew concept of the “raqia” or firmament, the waters above and below, and Genesis 7:11's “windows of heaven” in relation to Noah's Flood.From there, the discussion explores SpaceX launches, atmospheric pressure, military documents described as using flat and non-rotating Earth assumptions, ancient cosmologies, and passages from Job, Isaiah, Psalms, Ezekiel, Matthew, Revelation, and extra-biblical writings such as 1 Enoch. Sean also explains a seven-layer model of the heavens, Sheol and Tartarus, “powers and principalities,” and the connection the hosts draw between UFO phenomena, CE5 experiences, spiritual beings, and demonic deception.The episode also examines the dimensions of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, lunar waves, the circuit of the sun in Psalm 19:6, eclipses and Passover, Enoch's gates of the sun, Antarctica's 24-hour sun, the Hillel and Zadok calendar debate, King Josiah's Passover, God's law versus dispensational theology, and whether heaven is a literal physical place above the Earth. The conversation closes with Revelation 22, Ezekiel 47, the River of Life, and Sean's interpretation of the New Jerusalem and the restored creation.What does Scripture actually teach about the shape and structure of the world? Does the biblical firmament fit the modern heliocentric model, or does the Bible present a radically different cosmology? Share your thoughts in the comments.Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere podcasts are available.► Subscribe for more Biblical analysis, Christian worldview discussions, and conspiracy research through a Biblical lens.Website: https://www.kingdomincontext.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/kingdomincontextRumble: https://rumble.com/c/KingdomInContextKick: https://kick.com/kingdomincontextFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/kingdomincontextX: https://x.com/context_kingdomInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingdomincontext/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kingdomincontextPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/KICsupportPayPal: https://www.paypal.me/sgriffin887Cash App: https://cash.app/$Kingdomincontext00:00 Intro02:04 Sean from Kingdom in Context02:46 Charlie Kirk Case & Conspiracy Questions05:57 Biblical Cosmology & Flat Earth09:53 Genesis 1 and the Firmament14:41 SpaceX Launches, Atmosphere & the Firmament24:32 Military Documents & a Non-Rotating Earth25:49 Pagan Cosmologies, Scripture & Enoch35:48 Where Do the Heavens Begin?40:42 Powers, Principalities & the Cosmos Kratos46:20 CE5, UFOs & Demonic Deception48:04 Ancient Cultures and the Firmament54:57 New Jerusalem vs the Globe Model01:04:56 Elohim, Angels, Prophets & Messengers01:11:22 Lunar Waves, Stars & the Firmament01:15:31 Eclipses, the Crucifixion & Passover01:17:40 Enoch's Sun Gates & the Biblical Calendar01:21:43 Antarctica and the 24-Hour Sun01:26:02 Messianic Judaism, Feasts & Biblical Cosmology01:30:01 Moon Maps, Ice Walls & Extra Territories01:35:03 Enoch, the Zadok Calendar & Passover01:40:04 God's Law vs Dispensational Theology01:45:53 Where Is Heaven? A Literal Physical Realm01:50:39 Defining Biblical Terms & Understanding Genesis01:55:29 Revelation 22, Ezekiel 47 & the River of Life02:00:00 Kingdom in Context & OutroBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nephilim-death-squad--6389018/support.☠️ Nephilim Death Squad — New episodes 5x/week.Join our Patreon for early access, bonus shows & the private Telegram hive.Subscribe on YouTube & Rumble, follow @NephilimDSquad on X/Instagram, grab merch at toplobsta.com. Questions/bookings: chroniclesnds@gmail.com — Stay dangerous.

Ministers Rest | Sep 7, 2026 God's purpose is not to mature isolated individuals but to bring an entire people into their inheritance together, forming a corporate priesthood in which every believer shares responsibility for the life, growth, preservation, and maturity of the body. Priesthood under the new covenant is not reserved for a special class of ministers; all believers are called to become a kingdom of priests, to behold the glory of Christ, to be transformed into His image, and to grow together into the unity of the faith and the fullness of His stature. Because God's intention is corporate, no one should be treated as expendable, forgotten, or left behind. Believers must therefore learn to watch diligently over one another, pray for one another, strengthen one another, and guard against anything that can cause others to fall short of grace. Bitterness, hidden wounds, division, resentment, competition, selfish ambition, and unforgiveness are especially dangerous because they do not merely affect individuals; they can defile many and hinder the entire body from entering what God has prepared. The inheritance of God is received in an atmosphere of joy, love, peace, unity, and genuine brotherhood. Where brethren dwell together in unity, the anointing flows, blessing is commanded, life is released, and the presence of God becomes manifest. Unity must therefore become more than gathering in the same place. It must become a way of life in which believers cherish one another, celebrate one another, honour one another, forgive one another, give to one another, lay down their lives for one another, and deliberately become their brothers' and sisters' keepers. This is part of learning the true meaning of life, because life does not consist in the abundance of possessions, personal achievements, or the protection of private interests. The highest way to live is to become filled with Christ, to pursue His kingdom, to seek His glory, to carry the cross daily, and to relinquish anything that would destroy peace, love, and fellowship with the body. Material possessions should never possess the heart so strongly that they become more valuable than relationships, obedience, generosity, or the purposes of God. Spiritual maturity therefore involves learning how to die to self continually so that Christ may increasingly be expressed through the believer. This corporate calling is rooted in the continuity of God's covenant purpose. God entered covenant with Abraham with a purpose that extended beyond Abraham himself to his descendants and ultimately to the nations. The covenant continued through Isaac, Jacob, and Israel, and was repeatedly reaffirmed as generations changed. Israel was called not merely to produce individual priests but to become a priestly nation. God has always worked according to times and seasons, and spiritual discernment requires believers to recognize when He is drawing His people together for particular purposes. Even prophetic pictures such as the New Jerusalem should be read with spiritual understanding: the city descending from heaven as a bride points beyond architecture to a people prepared for God, carrying His glory and becoming His dwelling place. God is building a people who become His city, His habitation, His priesthood, and His corporate expression upon the earth. For this reason, ministry must recover its true purpose. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are not primarily entertainers, celebrities, event organizers, or motivational personalities; their responsibility is to receive the bread of God and faithfully distribute it to His people so that the saints can grow into maturity. When ministers lose sight of this responsibility, gatherings can become occupied with entertainment, novelty, and activities designed merely to hold people's attention. The goal of ministry, however, is to feed, equip, build, and prepare the saints until Christ is formed in them. Spiritual gatherings should consequently be approached with seriousness, hunger, participation, sacrifice, generosity, and shared responsibility. Showing up matters, praying matters, serving matters, giving matters, caring for those in need matters, and contributing to the welfare of the community matters because the kingdom is a commonwealth rather than a collection of disconnected individuals. God is seeking a people who will not merely receive revelation individually but will enter together, behold Christ together, change together, serve together, bear one another's burdens, preserve one another's inheritance, and become one in Him. The ultimate goal is a mature corporate people in whom the fullness of Christ can dwell and through whom His kingdom, glory, love, righteousness, priesthood, and dominion can be visibly expressed on the earth.

Lee Brainard joins Karen on Signs and Seasons to explain why heaven will be far more physical, fulfilling and extraordinary than many Christians imagine. Lee shares his remarkable journey from searching for God as a child to serving as an Army Ranger, trading stocks and eventually dedicating his life to studying and teaching Scripture. He also explores the resurrection body, the unimaginable beauty of the New Jerusalem and the possibility that believers will explore God's vast creation throughout eternity.

Lee Brainard joins Karen on Signs and Seasons to explain why heaven will be far more physical, fulfilling and extraordinary than many Christians imagine. Lee shares his remarkable journey from searching for God as a child to serving as an Army Ranger, trading stocks and eventually dedicating his life to studying and teaching Scripture. He also explores the resurrection body, the unimaginable beauty of the New Jerusalem and the possibility that believers will explore God's vast creation throughout eternity.

John's vision of the New Jerusalem contains something astonishing: there is no temple, because God's presence fills the whole city. In this sermon from Revelation 21:2–3 and 22–23, Jason explores how the church becomes a living, imperfect symbol of that promised future—a community marked by welcome, generosity, reconciliation, and care for the vulnerable.

Send us Fan MailFifty-two weeks ago, we embarked on a beautiful journey with our heels in the Garden of Eden. Today, we finish our journey with our toes in the crystal river flowing through the heart of the New Jerusalem. God will right every wrong and bring justice to every injustice. God will restore creation to better than Eden as He fulfills HIs covenant. Pick up your Bible or device, and turn to Revelation 21 to hear all about it.This episode is based on the God's Word for Life, Summer 2026, Adult Lesson Guide entitled "The Covenant Fulfilled" (August 30, 2026).Find an Apostolic church that preaches this glorious gospel and our response at UPCI.orgThis episode is produced by the Pentecostal Resources Group and is hosted by LJ Harry. To order resources of the God's Word for Life curriculum, visitPentecostalPublishing.com and PentecostalResourcesGroup.com.Share your God's Word for Life stories with me at gwfl@upci.org.

Spiritual Authority and Dominion (1) (audio) David Eells, 8/26/26 I want to remind you and encourage you about the difference between using carnal and spiritual dominion. The Bride is maturing and overcoming the flesh, and she's using her dominion over the spiritual host of wickedness and doing warfare against the DS satanists. The Lord says, 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 … (Rev.13:10). Jesus exercised dominion in His kingdom; not the kind of dominion that some want and false religious leaders have, which glorifies man. Jesus rejected the offer by Satan to be a worldly king with carnal dominion. The Pharisees and Sadducees had a carnal dominion over the people of God. Jesus commanded the people not to do what they did but to obey them because they sat in the seat of Moses. They were given governmental authority much the same way they are today in the church. Jesus exercised dominion over the curse and over Satan's kingdom. He was destroying the works of Satan in the lives of His people. Jesus had spiritual authority, and the people followed Him willingly because they were drawn of the Father, not because they were under the condemnation of the Law. Spiritual authority was necessary to be spiritually and physically fed, healed, and delivered. The apostate religious leaders had no authority like that then, nor do they now. Even though the disciples did not resist their carnal authority, they did resist their attempt to exercise spiritual authority when it was important. They said, “We must obey God rather than men.” When Peter tried to enforce his carnal authority with the sword, Jesus said, … All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword (Mat.26:52). Then, to show that His spiritual authority can, when necessary, dominate the carnal realm, Jesus said, (Mat.26:53) Or thinkest thou that I cannot beseech my Father, and he shall even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? Anyone who has an angel, much less twelve legions, would not need a puny sword for defense. One angel killed 185,000 men to defend Zion. Jesus then makes the point that if He calls the angels to defend His flesh, how would it be crucified? (54) How then should the scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be? This is a good principle for us who also must be crucified. According to type, crucifixion does not necessitate the physical death of the body, but the old nature. (Rom.12:1) … Present your bodies a living sacrifice … The body is dead, meaning that it no longer has a will and rights of its own but is devoted to the service of God. In type, just as Jesus sacrificed His literal flesh, we sacrifice the flesh of the old man while we live. We are told that those who try to defend the body by physical force will be killed for their lack of faith. (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 the faith of the saints. It is also clear here that if a person needs captivity to fulfill in some way their own crucifixion, the sword will not save them. In fact, it will be judgment to them. (Joh.18:36) Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews …. Those who wrestle with flesh and blood in disobedience to the Word are not fighting for God's kingdom but the world and the flesh. They are attempting to exercise carnal dominion. Jesus exercised dominion to save God's creation. He did not exercise dominion over people who wanted to put to death His flesh. As He did a few times, we also have permission to flee, for it was not yet His time. That is a type for us. We must go through many things in order to put to death our flesh. That is what the world was created for: to bring us into sanctification through the death of the old man, the flesh. Even while the world around us is spiritually putting us on our cross by insults, injuries, persecutions, slander, etc., we have to cooperate with them by turning the other cheek. We have authority to save, heal, deliver, provide, and die to self. Exercising our dominion is God exercising His sovereignty through us. Jesus exercised dominion, but He personally resisted not the evil by turning the other cheek. While the world was crucifying Him, even before He came to the natural cross, His spiritual man was exercising dominion and delivering His people from the curse.  Sometimes we can get mixed up about when to exercise this dominion and when not. We do not have authority to save the old man. We do not want to keep our old life; we want our new life. Jesus said that unless we lose our life, we would not gain our life. So this authority to exercise dominion that God has given us is the same as Jesus had. This dominion is not to get rich in the world, but it is to have all we need to do God's Will. God gave me my last two houses and cars free, in order for me to do His Will. (Php.4:19) … My God shall supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Dominion is not to live after the lusts of the flesh, as they do in a false, worldly prosperity that encourages and empowers the flesh to live. (1Ti.6:8) But having food and covering we shall be therewith content. (9) But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. Here is a promise to those who are not content but love the things of the world. They will be overcome by lusts, and it will be as impossible for them to enter the Kingdom as it would be for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (Mat.19:24‑26).  Jesus exercised dominion over His flesh when He was going to the cross. He said, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” He gave them authority to crucify His flesh. In the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus spoke to those who came to take Him, “they went backward, and fell to the ground,” showing that He could stop them if He wanted to save His life, or until it was time to go to the cross. He said in John 10:18, “No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself.” A couple of times, He passed through their midst, apparently translated, because it was not His time to die (Luk.4:30). He had been given authority to save God's people, who believed, and to destroy Satan's kingdom. Our flesh (the carnal man) is part of Satan's kingdom (Rom.8:7). The book of Esther is not only literally true but also a prophetic parable. Haman (the beast) had been given authority by the king (the Lord) to destroy the people of God, while Esther (the bride) had been given authority to save the people of God. The beast and the bride were given opposing authority at the same time by the same king. In type, the beast was given authority to crucify the old man, the carnal nature, and the bride was given authority to bring to life the spiritual man. The king's authority could not be annulled in anything, just as our Lord's authority. Ultimately, the house of the beast was given unto the bride to have authority over it (Est.8:1).  The time will come when God will no longer offer grace to the Gentiles but will return it to Israel. He will permit Christians, at that time, to exercise authority over the people who are trying to kill them. Fire from the Witnesses' mouths destroying their enemies, smiting the earth with every plague, and stopping the rain for 3 ½ years, are examples (Rev.11:5-6). From there to the end, authority will be manifested to destroy the beast's kingdom until this world becomes God's kingdom and He takes control (Rev.11:15). Personal control differs from control by proxy. God runs everything, but He must use vessels of dishonor now (Rom.9:21‑24). The time is coming when He will take control in and through His saints who believe. This dominion is ours as spiritual children of Jesus Christ, but we will grow into it by grace. Dominion starts here in the training grounds but continues for eternity. Here, the Lord teaches us how to be rulers under Him over His creation. (1Co.6:1) Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? (2) Or know ye not that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world is judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (3) Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (4) If then ye have to judge things pertaining to this life, do ye set them to judge who are of no account in the church? (5) I say [this] to move you to shame …. If we have authority to judge fallen angels, how much more do we have authority to judge things in this life? Jesus taught His disciples to pray like this: “Thy kingdom come thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” The Lord pointed out to me that this is a command that God is putting in our mouth. Some would object that this puts us in the place of commanding God. Look what God said in (Isa.45:11) Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things that are to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. In effect, what we command when led by the Spirit, He carries out. In Acts 3:6, Peter commands the lame beggar, “What I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” See, we represent Christ. Peter had authority to represent Jesus and to command the curse. When the lame man walked and bystanders were tempted to credit Peter, he said, “Why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk?” (Act.3:12) God's power fulfills what we command in obedience to Him. Our work here is to manifest God's kingdom here on the earth. At the last trump, it will be said in (Rev.11:15) … The kingdom of the world is become [the kingdom] of our Lord, and of his Christ …. Through whom did God bring this to pass? The Bible gives credit to the saints. (Dan.7:26) … The judgment shall be set, and they (the saints) shall take away his (the beast) dominion, to consume and destroy it unto the end. (27) And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High …. The saints, by God's grace, shall exercise dominion to end the beast's dominion. God gave dominion unto Samson even in his ignorance. What was the secret of Samson's power? Judges tells us that the secret was his long hair, and as soon as he lost his long hair, he lost his power. Samson was not a big, muscle‑bound man. In Judges 16:17, he told Delilah, “If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” His enemies wanted to know the secret of his power. They were not asking, “How did you get such big muscles?” That did not occur to them. It is not because of our great ability, or power, or wisdom, or even sinlessness, but through what Jesus did at the cross that we have this authority to reign over sin and its curse. Samson reigned over the enemies of God's people. When Samson lost his submission to God, he lost his dominion. In 1 Corinthians 11:3‑16, the long hair was given unto the woman as a sign of submission to her husband. The Bride submits to the Lord, Who is our husband. The one who took the Nazarite vow, as Samson did, could not cut his hair as a sign of submission. The point is that this great dominion was given to Samson, and he lost it because he lost his hair, a sign of his submission to the Lord.  Nazarites were separated from the world by their submission unto the Lord, signified by their long hair. (Num.6:5) All the days of his vow of separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long. This separation by submission is the meaning of holiness. How did Samson lose his holiness and power? (Jdg.16:19) And she (Delilah) made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. Samson went to sleep, spiritually meaning he no longer had his eyes open to the light of the truth. He submitted his head, or mind in the lap of the harlot Delilah and lost his hair (submission, separation, holiness) and consequently his power or dominion. The moral of that story is that we should not let the harlot have our mind, for then we will have no power of dominion. The religious systems of man, the harlot, have deprived God's people of their power because they are not submitted to the Word of God. (2Ti.3:5) Holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away. The “bride” in the Song of Solomon was a prophetic parable of the sojourning of the Bride today, who temporarily lost her submission. (Son.5:7) The watchmen (or ministers) that go about the city found me, They smote me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls (denominations or sects) took away my mantle (Hebrew: “veil”) from me. The watchmen are identified by the Lord as shepherds (Hebrew: “pastors”) in Isaiah 56:10‑12. These pastors, in trying to keep the Bride within their sectarian walls, smote her and took away her veil, which is also a sign of submission to her husband, the Lord. (1Co.11:3) … The head of the woman is the man … (5) But every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonoreth her head … (10) for this cause ought the woman to have [a sign of] authority on her head … (13) Judge ye in yourselves: is it seemly that a woman pray unto God unveiled? False shepherds have made the people of God submissive to religions rather than Christ as it was in Jesus' day.  In a true type to our day, the Bride in vain sought her beloved first in the broad ways of Babylonish religion. (Son.3:2) [I said], I will rise now, and go about the city (Babylon); In the streets and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. (She sought Him from the false shepherds whose loyalty was to themselves and their own kingdom.) (3) The watchmen that go about the city found me; [To whom I said], Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? (It was not until she was delivered from them that she found the one whom her soul sought.) (4) It was but a little that I passed from them, When I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, (In her excitement she wanted to share Him with those among whom she was first conceived and birthed.) Until I had brought him into my mother's house, And into the chamber of her that conceived me. The other daughters of that corporate mother did not share her excitement for her peculiar beloved. (5:9) What is thy beloved more than [another] beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved more than [another] beloved, That thou dost so adjure us? Because of her not being content with “another Jesus,” she was not defiled with the religions of these other daughters and was chosen by her Lord. (6:9) My dove, my undefiled, is [but] one; She is the only one of her mother; She is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and called her blessed …. She regained her dominion when she became undefiled with the women representing the false religious systems. Those who bear fruit will walk in the holiness of her steps, not being defiled with the seed (word) of men, for they are spiritual virgins. (Rev.14:4) These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These [are] they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, [to be] the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb. The sects of Christianity have become defiled with what Paul warned in 2 Corinthians 11:4, “Another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or [if] ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different Gospel, which ye did not accept.” (2Co.6:17) Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you. Only the Word is the truth that sets free. (2Co.7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Jesus calls His sheep out of the fold of apostate religion to “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.” (Joh.10:3) … He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. (4) When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. (5) And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This little flock that follows the Lord in rest is what the bride sought for. (Son.1:7) Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, Where thou feedest [thy flock], Where thou makest [it] to rest at noon: For why should I be as one that is veiled Beside the flocks of thy companions? The veil in this case represents the blindness and bondage of submission to religion. (2Co.3:15) But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart. (16) But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (17) Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, [there] is liberty. (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 …. As we can see, those who are unveiled of the legalism of religion see the Lord and come into His likeness. The beloved Lord's answer to “Where thou feedest [thy flock]?” was (Son.1:8) If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, And feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. In Jesus' day, it was not possible to feed His Church, meaning “called-out ones,” in the apostate sects of Judaism, so He fed them “beside the shepherds' tents.” Likewise, because the Church has greatly apostatized in our day, Jesus is feeding the flock of freedom, rest, and truth, outside the shepherds' tents. This brought reproach to the bride and Jesus. (6) … My mother's sons were incensed against me …. Those who take up their cross to follow Jesus are commanded to accept this same reproach. (Heb.13:11) For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest [as an offering] for sin, are burned without the camp. (12) Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered without the gate. (13) Let us therefore go forth unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.  Moses, in a true type of Christ, led his people out of the camp of the rebellious apostates. (Exo.33:7) Now Moses used to take the tent and to pitch it without the camp, afar off from the camp; and he called it, The tent of meeting. And it came to pass, that every one that sought the Lord went out unto the tent of meeting, which was without the camp. It is in these days that thundering judgments will put the fear of God in those in the camp to come out and meet with the “called‑out ones” on the true mountain of God's Kingdom. (Exo. 19:15) And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not near a woman (apostate sect). (16) And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning (the beginning of the third day millennium since the last Adam – where we are now [2 Pet.3:8]), that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. (17) And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. If you have discovered that you have been following man's religions and decide to repent, God will restore your dominion. While in bondage to the Philistines, Samson repented, and his hair began to grow. His dominion returned and he brought down their false temple upon their heads. (Jdg.16:30) And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life. Likewise, as we die to self, we increase in dominion over our enemies. Few who ever exercised dominion in the earth for God were manifestly perfect, including Samson. He refused the dominion of the Lord over himself, and he ultimately lost the dominion that he had over the earth. It is not necessary for God to take away the promises of dominion from the rebellious. Their own heart will not have the faith to partake of it. (1Jn.3:21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. If we do not serve God, our own heart will condemn us, and we will have no faith to exercise dominion. He is still not speaking of manifestly perfect people here, but He does expect us to be disciples, walking in the light that we have. In this way, we are perfect by faith until we manifest perfection. The baby Christian has little knowledge of good and evil, but he is innocent in God's eyes if he is doing what he knows to do. Baby Christians have dominion over sin and the curse, but not over God's people. I have shared this revelation before, but years ago, I had a dream instructing me about the way in which God promotes some to leadership positions over His people. I am making no claims for myself with this dream, merely pointing out principles. In this dream, there were two mountains. (The first mountain represents the kingdom of the world, Babylon, and the second mountain represents the Kingdom of God, Mount Zion.) I was driving a car down the first steep mountain. (This represents humbling ourselves to the Word [Isa.40:4], becoming as a child [Mat.18:4], and losing our carnal life in this world [Mat.16:25-26].) The road that descended this mountain had a trench going down the center of it to the bottom. My car had one set of tires on one side of the trench while the other set was on the other side. I could not turn right or left without falling into the trench and, of course, halting my progress. (Joshua received instructions similar to this for taking the Promised Land. (Jos.1:7) Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest. Turning to the right or to the left symbolizes getting off the narrow road of Scripture. It will stop us from exercising authority to take our promised land, which symbolizes living on the promises.) At the bottom of this hill, I got out of the car. I sensed that I had many enemies. (The more we humble ourselves to God's Word, the more enemies we will have, both in the carnal church and the world, just as our Lord.) Then I found, hidden under a bush, some tools like hammers, screwdrivers, and wrenches, which were drenched in oil. (The burning bush is where Moses received authority to deliver God's people from bondage. These tools all bind and loose, as does God's authority given to His disciples (Mat.18:18). The promises of the Word are the binding and loosing keys to the Kingdom of God that were given to disciples. The oil signifies the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words, if we stay in the straight and narrow way, we will receive authority to bind and loose for God.) From there, I turned to the right (The sheep are set on the right [Mat.25:33].) and went up a steep mountain. (Going down the first mountain entitles us to go up the next. Being humbled in the estimation of the world makes us great in the estimation of the Kingdom. The last shall be first, and the least shall be greatest. (Isa.40:3) … Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord … (4) Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low …. The way of the Lord is that those who are humble in the world shall be promoted on God's mountain, but those who are exalted on the worldly mountain will have to come down.) (Jas.4:10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.) Reaching the top of the mountain, I went through the door of an immense palace. (Joh.10:2) But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. (7) Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. (Jesus is the only Shepherd of the sheep. He uses vessels that come to the sheep only through Him, the Door. This palace represents the New Jerusalem on Mount Zion, the city that rules over God's people.) Old Jerusalem ruled over God's physical letter people just as New Jerusalem rules over God's spiritual New Testament people. Paul declared that we have come to this spiritual city. He showed us that it is not a physical city that can be touched. (Heb.12:18) For ye are not come unto [a mount] that might be touched … (22) but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem … (23) to the general assembly and church of the firstborn …. (Jesus' called-out ones come to this mountain. Our journey is to come to this mountain, climb it, and enter the throne room through the Door.)  Then I saw Jesus, the Son of David, sitting on the throne of David. I walked over and sat down next to Him, and we talked. (The throne is the place of dominion that the bride has next to her King.) (Rev.3:21) He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. All who overcome the stubbornness of their evil heart, to abide in the Name of Jesus, will come to this throne. (Jer.3:17) At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations (of the mostly Gentile Church) shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. (All who overcome the first mountain of the world will live on the second mountain of the Kingdom of God. These act in “the name of the Lord” because they are seated in the throne of authority with Jesus.  This position has been given to all who are born again, but many have turned to the right or left and do not take their rightful position by abiding in Christ.) (Eph.2:5) Even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), (6) and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly [places], in Christ Jesus. As I talked with Jesus, I heard a noise behind me and turned to see some men trying to climb up into the throne room through a rear window. Jesus said, “Don't worry about them; they can't come in here.” (Obviously, the position of authority may be usurped in Babylon but not in Zion, God's mountain and kingdom.) (Joh.10:1) … He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. Jesus, speaking of the apostate ministers of His day, said, “All that came before me are thieves and robbers” (Joh.10:8); and so it is today. Many have stolen the position of authority by not going down the road of humbling themselves to the Word and entering through the Door of Christ. They have robbed the sheep of gifted mentors. They have robbed the sheep of Christ, for ministers can only pass on what they are. Religion has historically made the same mistake. They mistake education in a sect of Christianity to be God's authority and commission. The disciples were perceived to be unlearned and ignorant by the religious leaders (Act. 4:13). However, the religious leaders knew that the disciples had been with Jesus by their gifts. Faith, fruit, maturity, submission to the Lord, and personal knowledge of the Lord and His ways must be passed on to the sheep. Ministers cannot pass on what they do not possess themselves. The daughter harlots (Rev.17:5) are still mass producing hirelings (Joh.10:12-13; Isa.56:9-12); but Jesus comes to lead His sheep out of the Babylonish sheepfolds of men (Joh.10:3-4) so that, unhindered by the traditions of men, they may run after Him. A man must be an elder in experience and maturity in the Word to be promoted as a bishop (overseer) over God's people (1Ti.3:1-7; Tit.1:5-9). A friend dreamed about Christians as babies with beards, showing they had been with the Lord for many years but were still immature. God's people have loved the world, so He has given them immature apostate leaders to tell them what they want to hear. (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, and the base against the honorable. (Choose the man with the gift over the man with the title.) (2Ti.4:3) For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; (4) and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.

Today we introduce the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120–134), explaining how to read them—look for structure, imagery, Christ's presence, theology, application, and the corporate role of believers—as spiritual guidance for our pilgrimage to the Lord's mountain. These Psalms were read as the Israelites ascended to Jerusalem each year, and it so applies to our ascent to the New Jerusalem.  

In the opening sermon of Between Two Trees, Justin introduces Revelation 21–22 not as a coded roadmap for escaping the world, but as a vision of where God is taking it. From the Tree of Life in Genesis to the Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem, Scripture tells a story of God making all things new: death defeated, tears wiped away, nations healed, gates thrown open, and God dwelling with humanity. If that is where the story is headed, Revelation asks a much more important question than When will the end come?: How should that future change the way we live right now? Justin explores how Christians can begin pulling that promised future into the present through healing, reconciliation, generosity, Sabbath, care for creation, hospitality, and a way of life that refuses the fear, greed, and power of “Babylon.”

Auto Transcript Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human. Summary We are reminded that our eternal destiny is not merely ‘heaven’ in a vague sense, but a specific, glorious place: the new Jerusalem on the new earth. Revelation 21:9–27 pulls back the curtain on […] The post The Glory of the New Jerusalem and the Final Eden appeared first on Calvary Community Church.

In this sermon, “Better Than Expected,” we begin the final movement of Revelation by looking at Revelation 21:2, 9–18 and the breathtaking fulfillment of two major biblical themes: the bride and the city.From Israel's unfaithfulness at Sinai to the wedding of the Lamb, and from Cain's city and Babel's tower to the New Jerusalem, Scripture shows that God's final plan is better than anything we could have expected. The bride of Christ is made ready not by her own resources, but by the cleansing love of Jesus. The city of God is not built by human pride, but given by God as a gift to those who worship Him.Key Scriptures:• Revelation 21:2, 9–18 — The bride, the wife of the Lamb, and the holy city coming down from God• Revelation 19:7–8 — The bride has made herself ready• Revelation 17:1–6; 18:4 — Babylon the prostitute and the call to “come out of her”• Jeremiah 3:1, 14 — God calls His faithless people to return• Jeremiah 31:21–22 — “Return, virgin Israel”• Isaiah 54:4–6 — “Your Maker is your husband”• John 1:11 — He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him• Ephesians 5:25–27 — Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her• 2 Peter 1:3 — God has given us everything we need for a godly life• Genesis 4:17 — Cain builds the first city• Genesis 11:1–9 — Babel and the pursuit of a great name• Genesis 12:1–3 — God promises to make Abram's name great• Hebrews 13:14 — We seek the city that is to comeThis message calls us to receive the love of Christ, commit ourselves to the life of His church, and live now as citizens of the city whose builder and maker is God.

Fight the Real Enemy (1) (audio) David Eells, 8/23/26 Old Man Vs. the New Spiritual Man William Steenland - 12/07/2013 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was watching a political race between two candidates: an old man about 65 and a young man (or new spiritual man) of about 30. The old man had his arms and hands out. I can't remember what he was saying. All I knew was he was lying through his teeth. It was almost comical, the things he was saying. It was totally unbelievable and silly, but the crowd was eating it up and loving it. (The world loves the thinking and speech of the old man, who is their kin, even though it is all a lie. He speaks according to the curse that he sees and not according to the faith; in the flesh and not in the Spirit. He doesn't speak the language of our Kingdom and cannot bear its fruit.) The young man had a questioning look on his face, as if he was upset at this old man. As the old man just kept lying and lying, the young man walked right up to him and said, “You know, I am an adult”. (The young man, or new man, is the mature one in the Kingdom and has power over the old, foolish man.) The young man put the old man in a headlock and dropped him to the ground, where they wrestled and wrestled. (The headlock implies the new man bringing into bondage the mind of the flesh or old man. Let me share a dream I had, where I had the old man in a headlock. I knew he was a giant; only he appeared normal in size. We saw a big giant, and when I turned the old man loose from the headlock, he said, “Bigger, bigger, bigger” to the big giant. I knew if the old man was permitted to speak, he would cause the giant to grow. So, then I karate chopped him in the Adam's apple and said, “No! Smaller, smaller, smaller”. This is because if we let the flesh speak the old man becomes a giant that in our eyes is impossible to conquer. He is then bigger than the promises of God. Then we will be overcome by him. If the spiritual new man speaks him smaller, even dead according to the Word, we will overcome him. The good confession is: (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. ... (Rom.6:3) Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (4) We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have become united with [him] in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of his resurrection; (6) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin... (11) Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. (12) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof. So speaking according to the promises brings the old man down to conquer him.) Suddenly, the dream changed. It was no longer the old man and the young man or new man wrestling. It was David and me wrestling outside on the grass. (This represents the Davids' words and teachings are wrestling with our old man, the flesh.) I, like the old man, was in a headlock and losing terribly. (When the old man loses, we win.) I had no choice but to tap out. (Meaning to give up and let God rule in you through the new spiritual man.) After I tapped out, we got up and sat on a white concrete wall. (When the new man wins, that is called sanctification, meaning separation from sin, signified by the white rock wall.) We were next to a big white factory (where sanctification is being mass-produced in many people through the new man conquering the old man). The police were walking around, as if to catch us fighting. I had my head down and said to David, “Wow, I never had anyone be a father to me before”. (Because the new or spiritual man is being produced in your life through the ministry of end-time fathers of the seed of David.)  I turned to look up at David and he was gone. (Because the Lord is the unseen Father and the Davids are only vessels for His use.) I saw a UBM brother in the distance in a wheelchair and went to talk with him. (As we manifest this sanctification, we are able to pass it on to those who are spiritually crippled, unable to walk in the Kingdom because they walk dangerously upon the earth where the Beast and curse can crush them.) I had a second dream where I was in the middle of two ancient armies --Roman and German -- coming together (like in the Gladiator movie). (The Roman army could well represent the apostate right-wing. The German army may well represent our own left-wing government. Read “Germany” Attacks United States. In our day, a civil war is coming between the right and the left, and both will be a threat to true Kingdom believers who refuse to fight with the world, against the world. Our ministry of the Good News is to both.) I was totally naked, except for a pair of white boxers. (The coming battle will mature many Christians delivered from both sides and now in the middle.) I knew that I couldn't try to fight my way out. (We are forbidden to fight with flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness.) These intense armies were slowly moving together to fight. I was walking down a narrow path, just escaping between them as they were coming together. I kept on the narrow path (of obedience to the Word) to escape the war. (Father will divide and conquer, as He fought in the day of battle for Jehoshaphat and Gideon.) Suddenly, I wasn't naked anymore, except for the pair of white boxers, but I was in the woods in full armor, and the battle was out in the distance from the woods in the clearing.  I had escaped from the war. (The mature will take no sides and so be hated by both.  Father will save them from this Beast through the armor of God's Word. And then taking their authority over their old man and all the power of the enemy.) I was now in full armor and riding a big horse and holding a huge axe. (Representing having the beastly flesh under authority with the weapons of spiritual warfare.) I looked down where there was a green demon lying crippled and close to dying. (Green represents life and demons represent the true spiritual enemy; hence, they will be losing their spiritual life or power through those who conquer the old man.) He was lying next to a stump of a cut-down tree. (Like with Nebuchadnezzar, Babylonish America is falling to internal and external foes for seven years of madness in leadership.) He was still talking trash, saying he would kill me and so on. I got off the horse and lopped off his head. (Through conquering the old man, we have full authority over all the power of the enemy. (Luk.9:1) And he called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. ... (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.) End of dream.   Fear Not For I Am With Thee Tianna Fire - 12/31/22 (David's notes in red)  The Holy Spirit was speaking to me through my husband, Samuel, and I felt the presence of God strongly. However, my flesh was fearful, as I could feel parts of my old nature dying. It was being washed away, and the Holy Spirit was increasing inside of me. (I feel sometimes my flesh fears dying to self, although the spirit and soul desire it. The enemy knows he is defeated and works with the flesh to grasp at every straw in order to survive.) (Rom.8:13 for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.) I was really just desiring to hold onto Jesus, and I was agreeing with the Spirit and not wanting to give in to the flesh's fear. (When we are faithful to receive the Word of the Lord through His vessels and submit to it, our spirit man is strengthened as it is washed clean from the filthiness of the old man. My husband Samuel represents our spiritual Husband, Jesus. When we submit ourselves to the authority of His Word, we bear His fruit in our lives.)   I then saw, to my right, Jesus' giant hand come through the roof of our home and rest in front of mine, indicating and welcoming me to hold His hand. I put my hand where I saw His and felt an abundance of peace and comfort, knowing that He is always there and He won't let me go. He knows what I am experiencing, and He will get me through it. He has already gone through it all for me. (Mat.11:28-30) Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. And (Joh.16:33) In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.) He is patiently waiting for us also to grab His hand [and lean upon His strength]. (Isa.41:10) fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.   Victory Assured for God's Army B. A. - 02/23/2012 (David's notes in red) I saw myself inside a worldly Marine Commander's tent on a battlefield. (Symbolizing a worldly religious leader.) The Commander was going over rescue plans with three of his Special Ops Men. (Leading his brethren to rescue one captive to demonic forces.) Earlier that day, one of the men named Brad in his platoon had been taken captive by the enemy while trying to take a nearby city. (“Brad” is short for “Bradley”, meaning “broad meadow”. Possibly symbolizing in this case, bearing the fruit of much flesh, since Peter said, “All flesh is as grass”. These are the people who get overcome by the enemy spirits easily.) After receiving their orders, the three Special Ops Men set out to rescue Brad (an acronym for bruised, rejected and defeated). Ops Man #1 went in first. As soon as he took two steps into the city, he was confronted by the largest enemy he had ever seen in his life. He pulled out his gun and fired, but the bullet came out of the chamber and fell onto the ground. He had no choice but to surrender. Next, Ops Man #2 was sent in. He saw the mistake Ops Man #1 made, so he decided he would use a hand grenade so he wouldn't have to get too close to the enemy. He pulled the pin and threw the grenade at the enemy, but the grenade was a dud. He was captured and taken prisoner along with Ops Man #1. Lastly, Ops Man #3 went in. His strategy was to get down on his belly and sneak his way around the enemy. What he didn't know was that the enemy saw him coming. When he got just a few feet into the city, the enemy came up behind him and knocked him out. All three of these men were thrown into prison with Brad. (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.) Upon hearing this grim report, the worldly Marine Commander was at a loss as to what to do next since all of his TOP men had been taken prisoner. (When the leadership is taken captive to demonic forces, they are in a ‘work' they are not qualified to do.) His Lieutenant said, “Sir, there is a young Private from another army waiting outside to see you”. The Commander asked him, “What army is he from?” The Lieutenant said, “I don't know, sir, but I think you should at least see this Private”. (Turns out he is just a Private in God's army, which is higher in rank and authority than all of the carnal armies. (Psa.8:2) Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established strength, Because of thine adversaries, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. If you have the two-edged sword of the Word, saint, you have the authority over the demonic forces holding the immature Christians captive.) So the Commander granted Private entrance into his tent. The Commander asked, “Son, do you understand the gravity of this situation?” The Private answered, “Yes, sir, I do”. The Commander asked, “Well, son, what makes you think that you have what it takes to rescue these men?” The Private said, “Sir, with all due respect, this kind of war can't be fought by worldly standards and weapons”. (Eph.6:10) Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. (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].) The Commander asked, “What do you mean by that statement?” The Private stated, “Sir, this is a very different kind of war and requires higher intelligence and weaponry. My Commander (The Word in our heart is Commander Jesus) sent me to you as He said I would be capable of handling this rescue alone. Upon your approval, Commander, I would like to try”. (The disciple is full of faith and confidence. (Mar.16:17) And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons.)  The Commander said, “Alright, Private, I'll give you a shot at it, but if you get captured you are on your own”. The Private stated that he understood the risks, but he knew he would be fine. As the Private neared the city, he dropped to his knees, bowed his head, and began to pray. When he finished his prayer and thanked the Lord, he proceeded onward. Upon entering the city, he was immediately confronted with enemy #1, Rebellion. He was a BIG ENEMY, ugly and hideous. Rebellion said to the Private, “Haven't I seen you somewhere before? You sure look familiar”. Private said, “Oh, yeah, we've met”. Rebellion said, “You look pretty scrawny, Private. I can't believe they would send somebody like you in here”. (Zec.4:6)... Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts. While Rebellion was running off at the mouth, he didn't see Private pull out the large bazooka he had hidden behind his back. Private took aim and pulled the trigger. A large, powerful blast of water hit Rebellion right in the heart. It blew him into so many pieces he looked like snowflakes coming to the ground. (The washing of water with the Word is our authority to convict others of sin and to cast out their enemy.) Next, Private was going around a corner onto the next street, and there he was -- archenemy Anger was standing there with a big grin on his ugly face. He said, “Well if it isn't little ol' Private. I sure didn't expect to see you here”. Private said, “No, I don't expect you did”. Anger raised up his weapon to fire on Private and said, “Might as well get this over with quickly; it's lunch time and I'm hungry”. Private said, “I couldn't agree more”. He pulled out his weapon, and before Anger could get off a shot, Private hit him right in the middle of his forehead and he fell dead like a rock. (Conquering the mind of the flesh in which anger can live. (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 ...)  Private stopped and sang praises and thanks to the Lord, then proceeded on. He hadn't gone far when out popped Bitterness from behind a bus. Bitterness yelled out to Private from a distance, “Hey, Private, remember me? I whipped you good the last time I saw you.” Private stated back in a calm and controlled voice, “I remember, Bitterness. I wasn't prepared for your attack last time, but all that has changed”. Bitterness took a deep breath and spat a deadly, green-looking slime out of his mouth (slander and criticism) to destroy Private. Private remembered the last attack, so he was ready. He took aim and hit Bitterness right in the mouth and knocked his head onto the ground. (He destroyed the mind of flesh with the Word.) Private found the captives and led them out of the city. It was late in the day, so they stopped to camp for the night. Private expected victory, so he had brought plenty of food and water for himself and the captives.  Later, as they were sitting and warming themselves by the fire, the four men asked Private how he was able to rescue them all by himself. (Psa.149:6) [Let] the high praises of God [be] in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand; (7) To execute vengeance upon the nations, And punishments upon the peoples; (8) To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; (9) To execute upon them the judgment written: This honor have all his saints. Praise ye Jehovah. Even the least Private outranks the demonic nobles and kings over this world.  (Luk.10:17) And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name. (18) And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven. (19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. (20) Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. (21) In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding (the Commanders of apostate religion), and didst reveal them unto babes (or Privates): yea, Father; for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. He told them about this special army he was in and how wonderful his Commanding Officer was to all the men. He told them his Commanding Officer wrote an awesome book (the Bible) that contained absolute truths and strategies on how to defeat your enemies. The Private told them that after completing this training, you won't have any problems defeating your enemies. He said, “I was once like you. I got my instructions from the world and I wasn't very successful in defeating my enemies. My Commander and His book changed my entire life”. Upon hearing this Real Good News, these men wanted to know more about the Private's Commander and this awesome book. Private spent all night reading the book to these men. In the morning, they all made their way back to base camp. Private delivered the four men back to their Commander. As Private turned around to leave, the worldly Commander stopped him and said, “Son, you can't leave yet. We have a reward for you”. Private stated, “Sir, with all due respect, I can't accept that reward, as it belongs to my Commander, not me. (Jesus warned us not to receive the glory of men or we would not have the glory of God.) You see, sir, it was my Commander (Jesus) and His weapon (the Word of God) that rescued these men. I was just the vessel He used to accomplish His mission. As Private was walking out the door, the four men that he had rescued came running up to join him. They told Private they had resigned from their army and they wanted to join up with his army. They couldn't wait to meet his Commander and learn more from that awesome book. Private was happy to take these new recruits to meet his awesome Commander.   Torment to Those Who Fight Back  G. C. - 04/28/2009 (David's notes in red) In this dream, I recall being inside a house that was owned by a semi-Christian believer who is in sin with his girlfriend. I had left his house and went into the street to sleep with nothing but a coat on the ground to lie on. Looking back, it was almost like I was downtrodden, but I would rather be in the street than in a household of sinners.  As I was lying there, a group of men from my past gathered around me. These were guys whom I had known in my high school days and thereafter; men that I had partied with and hung out with, but I always knew had hatred for me. They started to kick me in the head and curse me. They were beating me like a dog in the street. I looked around at them and noticed one of them was a recent convert of the Lord, whom I have been helping to disciple. I was shocked to see him in the midst of these attackers because I have done so much for him, by sending him money and food, writing him letters of encouragement, and being the only person there for him during his time of trouble. I cried out to him, “Why are you just standing there? I have done so much for you!” He just ignored me and watched as I was beaten.  As the attack went on, my anger was kindled, and I began to fight back, but with Samson-like power. They could not stand before me. I was knocking them down like bowling pins. I knew that this was not Godly behavior, but the persecution was so intense that my flesh prevailed and fought back with the attackers. (Jesus said, “Turn the other cheek”; “Forgive and you will be forgiven”; “Love your enemies”; “Resist not him that is evil”; “He that lives by the sword will die by the sword”; etc. Paul said by the Lord, “Overcome evil with good”; “Avenge not yourselves”; “Render to no man evil for evil”; “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord”; “Bless them that persecute you; bless and curse not”. Obedience to these commands is to take up our cross and follow Jesus so we can be His disciples.) All the while, I was so distressed that this brother had sided with the heathen. After I physically prevailed against them, I remember being in severe trouble with the police department and court system.  Very heavy charges had been brought against me for attacking the men, even though I was merely defending myself. The world had completely sided with the men, and I was under severe judgment. They brought me before rulers and councils that were always against me. A sense of fear and dread lay heavy upon me throughout the dream. I was so scared and hopeless. I was in so much trouble and was facing many years in prison for my crimes. I remember making so many excuses for my actions and trying to justify my behavior, but it was all to no avail. Not only did none of the authorities side with me, I also had no boldness before the Lord. You must understand that throughout the dream I felt my life was over; it was like a nightmare. I wanted to wake up from the nightmare but could not; it was like I was trapped in this other realm where nothing made sense and I could not get out. After what seemed like weeks and weeks, I found myself in a room with an arbitrator and the men, all of whom were in agreement that I was in the wrong. I finally got the revelation that I had to forgive them and apologize to them for fighting back. I did not make any excuses and just asked my enemies to forgive me and said that I should never have hit them. AS SOON AS I DID THESE THINGS, I INSTANTLY WOKE UP FROM THE NIGHTMARE. IT WAS LIKE BEING LET OUT OF PRISON. THE DREAD LEFT ME AND I WAS FREE.  I realized God was teaching me that soon I may be attacked and persecuted, even by Christians, but I cannot get offended or fight back. It will be better in the end for me if I suffer and take it all patiently. There may be times when we may feel alone, and many will leave our side, even those we have helped, but we cannot fight or get offended. Even if we do fight back in defense, the world and its authority will side with the worldly, and we will be in trouble for doing what only seemed natural. (And the Lord will not help us until we repent and forgive, just as Jesus taught His disciples.) Important related teachings:  The Sword or the Cross? How Shall We Die? Audio Series Let me share the following with you from our book, How Shall We Die? This is available for free download on our website. When we submit to the Word of God, we die to our old self. We've learned that Jesus' teachings concerning this nonresistance, submission to governments, loving your enemy, turning the other cheek, and so on, are very crucifying, but they're commanded of the Lord and, as we obey Him, He is going to come to be manifested in us. I'd like to look further at this in the Book of John.  One of the biggest problems I've seen is that God's people have a problem discovering where the kingdom of the world stops, and the kingdom of heaven starts. We really need to delineate that very explicitly with the Word of God. (Joh.18:36) Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. In the Old Covenant the Jews had a natural kingdom, a physical kingdom. In the New Covenant it's obviously not that way – it's a spiritual kingdom, as we're going to see as we read on. Theirs was a very worldly kingdom. They were wrestling with flesh and blood, but our battle is with the principalities and powers as Ephesians 6:12 shows. Jesus said that His servants wouldn't fight, even to deliver Him from death, or from the Jews, or from the Beast kingdom, which was the Roman Empire at that time. His servants wouldn't fight because they were defending a different kind of kingdom, and they were using a different kind of sword. Jesus also went to His cross, physically, as a type and a shadow of us going to our cross, spiritually. (Mat.16:24) Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (25) For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. Except we take up our cross and follow Him, except we lose our life, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. The word “life” there is psuchē, not the physical life, but our soulish life. So, in order to walk in His steps, we follow Jesus' physical crucifixion by going to our spiritual crucifixion of self. Part of that is submitting to His Word, even when it disagrees with our worldly desires. He said, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight.” But since His Kingdom is not a worldly kingdom at all, His servants do not fight, even to defend Him or to defend themselves. However, we do have One Who fights for us, don't we? In fact, His power is far greater than anything we could wield. Jesus told His disciples, “Don't you know, I could call 12 legions of angels if I wanted help? You don't have to bring out that puny sword.” 12 legions of angels! A Roman legion was between 4500 and 6000 men. And we also have angels. If we depend on God, His power is made perfect in our weakness. If we want to see the power of God to defend us, then we have got to quit trying to defend ourselves. What kind of kingdom is Jesus talking about? Peter says, “But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1Pe.2:9). He is speaking here to those who are born again; it says He “begat us again” (3). Those who are born again belong to this holy nation – “holy” meaning separate, sanctified, separated from the world. All of God's born-again people are one holy nation that covers the globe, and we know He's no respecter of persons. (9) But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God's] own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. He said that they're “a royal priesthood.” We know that this is spiritual and not physical because of this verse: (5) Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. We're spiritual priests; we offer up spiritual sacrifices to the Lord. As a chosen generation, we are a spiritual Kingdom, not a physical kingdom whatsoever.  The Lord has told us in the New Testament that He is not a respecter of persons. Whether He's talking about Jews or Gentiles, He uses that phrase. When He's talking about servants and masters He uses it as well. He's not a respecter of persons because He judges them alike. Read what Peter said to the Gentiles: (Act.10:34) And Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: (35) but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him. Out of all nations, God has made one nation of those who are born again. By the way, this nation is still called Israel. As it says in Romans 11, those who walk by faith have been grafted into that olive tree that's called “all Israel.” Read it.  We are now Jews according to the Spirit. We are now priests who offer spiritual sacrifices, the most important of which is that we offer up our bodies as living sacrifices. That means we offer this body up to serve the Lord and not to serve ourselves. In this manner, our reason rails against the fact that the Lord does not permit us to go along with the world by warring with one another, or defending ourselves with weapons, or anything like that. He has told us to submit to the governments and authorities around us, which, in some cases, does not sit well with our reason, especially when they're so contrary to the ways of the Kingdom. But He says it, and we do it because we've decided that He knows more than we do. (Jas.2:1) My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the Lord] of glory, with respect of persons. (9) But if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. The Bible also warns us: (2Co.5:16) Wherefore we henceforth know no man after the flesh…. It doesn't matter what nation a Christian comes from – they are our brethren. As a matter of fact, they are our brethren, but the natural people around us who don't know God are not. Many times Christians make alliances and allegiances with the wicked people around them, the antichrist people around them. But that's not our Kingdom. We're to “know no man after the flesh.” We know no one by skin color, nationality, or tongue. We're all one in Christ Jesus, Galatians tells us. There are no physical attributes that God accepts. He only wants born-again people. The Lord says that His Kingdom is quite different than the physical kingdom. (Luk.17:20) And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Now what were they expecting? They were expecting a physical kingdom. Many Christians really think this is a kingdom today, a kingdom of some religious organization of people on earth. There's nothing that we can see that is the Kingdom of God – not our church building, not our preacher; everything we're looking at is not the Kingdom of God. It is the born-again man that is the Kingdom of God. (21) Neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you. That's what the Numeric version says, but it's a strange thing that the phrase “within you” can also be translated “in the midst of you.” As a matter of fact, in the footnote, the Numeric version says that either one of these translations has a numeric pattern because it means both of those things. It means “in the midst of you,” as in “among the disciples, between the disciples”; and it also means “within you” is the Kingdom of God. “Flesh and blood shall not inherit the Kingdom of God” (1Co.15:50). That's why I said, “No, not your pastor,” because the man you're looking at there is not going to inherit the Kingdom. It's the spiritual man on the inside. He's even going to get a new body to inherit the Kingdom if he's born again, serving the Lord and bearing fruit. So there's nothing physical; it is the spiritual that counts, and in the spiritual Kingdom of God, we fight with the spiritual methods.  We have powerful weapons that the world knows nothing about and that it cannot resist. (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). Their weapons are useless against the weapons of our warfare, which are not fleshly or carnal.  Many people fear that if they give up their right to defend themselves or their country, God can't take care of them. Well, as we saw, 12 legions of angels are at His disposal. If He just sends one to be by your side (and we know from the Scriptures that you have at least one), that one could kill 185,000 men, so that angel can certainly take care of you. The more we learn to put our faith in Him, the more we see that our puny weapons are worthless and that we shouldn't make any allegiances with nations that are not our nation.  Many people lean upon patriotism to a natural nation, which is not God's Kingdom and not of God's Kingdom and is a very dangerous and foolish thing to do. In fact, it says we're all just strangers passing through. (Heb.11:13) These all died in faith, not having received the promises (those are the New Testament promises), but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. This earth is passing away, but our Kingdom is eternal. We are not to pledge our allegiance to this world. (14) For they that say such things make it manifest that they are seeking after a country of their own. Meaning, of course, that if we're just strangers and pilgrims, that this is not our country. We're seeking after one that is our own. (15) And if indeed they had been mindful of that [country] from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. Do you know that many people do return to bondage, to allegiance to nations that are not their nation? We belong to one nation; it's a worldwide, spiritual nation, but it's a real nation, and we are spiritual priests in that spiritual house with spiritual sacrifices. (16) But now they desire a better [country], that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city.  God is not ashamed of those who don't claim that this world is their home or that this nation is their nation, but who claim citizenship of the spiritual nation, whose spiritual city, the New Jerusalem, is their capital. For the rest, who are members of the world, who have united themselves with the world, it's a different story. I know that God's grace covers our ignorance. Thank God for that. We're very ignorant, but God, by His mercy and by His grace, forgives us, and that's great; but when we get knowledge and understanding, we have to do something with it. This relates to what we're talking about here. If we don't act on what we see here to become a “holy” nation, which means a “separate, or sanctified” nation, then God is ashamed of us.  We see this separation here: (2Co.6:14) Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers…. Would you go out and fight for the world? Would you defend an antichrist kingdom? That's what the Bible says you'd be doing. Would you go out and kill the devil's servants for the devil? That happens, too, because we have brothers and sisters all over the world and some of them are ignorant; some are in the foreign militaries, and they think they're fighting patriotically for their country. But we see from the Scriptures that that's not so. We have one country and we are ambassadors for that country. (14) Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity…? Even what the world calls “good people” are not our brothers and sisters. We have a holy nation, a separate nation. (14) … Or what communion hath light with darkness? (15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial…? If you're fighting for a nation of this world, guess who the god of this world is? Who is it who causes nations to go out and kill each other by the thousands and hundreds of thousands? Do you think that is righteous? We've been deceived about this. When we join with the world against the world, we're leaving our Kingdom. (15) … Or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? (16) And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Now what is he talking about? What does it mean to yoke with the unbeliever? Obviously, we can do it with war, politics, marriage, business – we can do it in so many ways, but God says, “Don't do it.” We can reason our way out of it, or we can seek to do His will. I understand that sometimes a person comes into this knowledge and they're already yoked in a situation like that. We can be unequally yoked in a marriage, and God says not to leave them because how do we know that they might not be saved or sanctified through our faith? (1 Corinthians 7:16) We can't tell a Jew by looking at the flesh anymore. They might be one of those chosen from the foundation of the world, but we have to wait and see. (1Co.7:15) Yet if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart…. We're not bound in such a case. After acquiring knowledge, we don't want to enter into an unequally yoked situation like that. We can marry, but only in the Lord (1 Corinthians 7). Concerning politics, some people say, “I'm a Republican.” Oh, really? Wouldn't you just rather stand for the Lord? Wouldn't you rather do what He wants you to do? And besides, He's going to install any kind of government He wants anyway; and usually they are vessels of dishonor, not vessels of honor, to fulfill His Will. Especially when you're talking about an end-time Beast government that God is putting together to chasten His people, to bring them to their cross, to which they refuse to go. So you see, God doesn't necessarily want good vessels in the government to do that, but many people are deceived into thinking that they can vote in godly people. It just hasn't ever worked that way. That's not God's plan. So, with politics, with war, should we become unequally yoked with a bunch of people who are antichrist to go and kill other people for the devil? There is no physical warfare in our Kingdom. It's all spiritual warfare: turn the other cheek; love your enemy; do good to them that despitefully use you. Why would we reunite? Why would we go back to the country from which we are coming out, as Paul said? God is not ashamed to call us His children and Himself our God. If we're looking for that spiritual country, we're not pledging allegiance to a wicked nation of this world. (2Co.6:17) Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord…. Some people think that's just talking about the Harlot. Well, that's part of it because the Harlot is a worldly church. They have more affinity for the world than they do for the Lord. But it's also talking about coming out of the world, if you look at the text. Make no allegiances with the world. (17) … And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you. We want the Lord to receive us in all things, but we're not willing to give up the world to do it. (18) And I will be to you a Father, and ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Notice that sonship comes to those who become separate from the world.  Sometimes God will separate us from allegiance to the world and from being unequally yoked. We should accept it when the Lord does that. (1Co.7:15) Yet if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart…. That's an example, but Paul goes even deeper: (2Co.7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. We are not to join with the world in their bitterness, their anger, their lust against other nations, because we don't know anybody after the flesh. We don't have an allegiance to one man who is maybe one color, or maybe one nationality, against another man. The Lord is no respecter of persons, and we're also forbidden to do so. James said it was a sin. We don't hold one man more valuable than another man, especially when referring to a bunch of lost people in the world. They all belong to one another. But when we come into the Kingdom, we are one holy nation worldwide, and God has called us to be separate, in order for us to be sons of God. Praise God! You may say, “That's radically different, David.” Well, no, it's been there all the time. We're just reading the black and white here. There's nothing really hidden about this. (1Jn.5:19) We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the evil one. All of the world- what men call “good people” and what men call “bad people,” they're all in the devil, all in the evil one, and he is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). We are in the world, but we are not of the world, according to what Jesus said. We're just passing through, on our way to a spiritual and eternal Kingdom. God doesn't appreciate it when we make allegiances and alliances with the wicked. He wants us to be separate.  That's made very plain here: (1Jn.4:1) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. So he's talking about the spirits of people here. (2) Hereby know ye the Spirit of God (he's talking about the Spirit of God in people): every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: (When we run into the spirit in a person that confesses that Jesus is in that flesh, that's the Spirit of God.): (3) and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, (Notice: Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is the spirit of antichrist.) whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.  Lots of people have that theology, but every time the word “antichrist” is mentioned in the Scriptures, it's not talking about an individual; in every case it's talking about the corporate spirit of all lost mankind. Antichrist is as close to us as the next pagan, the next lost person. (4) Ye are of God, [my] little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. (1Jn.4:5) They are of the world: therefore speak they [as] of the world, and the world heareth them. There is He that is in you and he that is in the world. These are two nations – the nation of the world and the nation of God's people. That is the nation of Christ and the nation of antichrist. (6) We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he who is not of God heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. The whole world, Jesus said, is going to hate us; all nations are going to hate us. The reason God is going to do that is to get God's people to join together. What way can God's people come to realize that the kingdom they live in and have patriotism toward is not the Kingdom of God, other than by turning it to hate them? The pharisees were at the top of a kingdom that hated Jesus. Many preachers who claim Jesus hate His Word and Him. And God will, for His name's sake, turn the whole world to hate His people. He caused the Egyptians' hearts to hate His people, and in these days God is going to do the same thing because God's people do not know that this world is not God's Kingdom and that they will never build God's Kingdom in America or any other place. God's Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. God's people must also realize who the enemy is. There's “He that's in us”, and there's “he that's in the world”, who is Satan in the body of all lost mankind. He that is in us is Christ from heaven. The Beast from the pit is in the lost, and Christ from heaven is growing in all born-again believers. Jesus said,“He that is not with me is against me” (Mat.12:30). That's anti (against); that is antichrist. “The whole world lieth in the evil one,” Scripture says. Satan is the god of this world. Would you be patriotic for a nation overwhelmingly made up of antichrist people? Don't you realize those are the devil's people? No, we're not here to judge them; we're here to bring them the Gospel, to offer them the grace of the Kingdom, and we will see which among them is chosen of God because “he who is of God hears the words of God.” We are to be separate, to have “no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Eph.5:11). “Fellowship” means “having in common.” It means “giving and receiving.” We are not to receive the things of the wicked world. We have fellowship with the world many times when we're just sitting there, feeding on that old TV or social media because we're polluting ourselves. (1Co.5:6) … A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. God wants us to have fellowship, “having in common,” with His Word, fellowship with Jesus Christ. Once a person is joined patriotically to the world, they're joined to a spirit that has murdered as many people as religion. Those are the two major killers of people – religion and patriotism. Some of you may say, “I never thought of it that way, David.” No, some of you are probably as mad as a wet hen at me right now, but it doesn't make any difference. This is the Word of God. Straight out of the Word, it says that we need to separate from this wicked world. They live according to their lust; they wage war against other nations because they think they have a right to. God says that we don't have a right to. We're to love our enemies; that's what He commanded. We're to offer them the Gospel, not a sword. What does it mean to worship the image of the Beast? We see the image of the Beast in Daniel chapter three and a revelation of it in Daniel chapter two. It is all the nations of the lost people of the world in one image of a corporate man; there's “the Antichrist” right there. Are we members of that? Are we patriotic toward that? (1Jn.2:15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Eternal life has to do with our doing the Will of God. Some of these things that we're looking at are not popular, but they will separate us from the world, and that's what's necessary to be sanctified. (Heb.12:14) Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification (separation) without which no man shall see the Lord.  Sanctification is this process of separating us from the world, from sin, from evil, from these antichrist people around us, unto the Kingdom of God, the one holy nation that does not recognize race, creed, or nationality. Obviously, when we get fully in the Kingdom of God, into heaven, we're going to have so many brothers and sisters that we'll be glad for the variety. God is; He created them all. Many a young man has gone out and died for a nation because of the vainglory of life, as he tells us in verse 16, and they think they're going to have great glory fighting for this world, but there's no glory in it. It's contrary to God's way; it's contrary to His nature. He hates it. The people who are being killed are the very people that we're supposed to be offering eternal life to, and yet, we're sending them off to eternal damnation. What are we here for? Wars don't come from God. (Jas.4:1) Whence [come] wars and whence [come] fightings among you? [come] they not hence, [even] of your pleasures that war in your members? There are no just wars. We are not to go to war along with the world, if we want to enter the spiritual, eternal Kingdom of God and not have God be ashamed of us. But if we're going to war with the world after we receive knowledge, God is ashamed of us. Now I'm not saying that God is condemning our forefathers here in America for the wars that they fought. The great thing about God is, To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (Jas.4:17). But the Lord wants us to grow up in this day, so when we look at these things, He wants us to act on them. It doesn't matter that our forefathers fought and died to give freedom to America. That has nothing to do with what God is doing with us here and now. He is creating sons of God in these days. Jesus, the Son of God, cannot even be imagined as taking up a weapon and fighting for natural Israel. As a matter of fact, when Jesus prophesied, He prophesied judgment on natural Israel and talked about the Beast kingdoms encompassing them and destroying them. And He was on God's side. That's where we have to be, on God's side. No matter what nation we come from, we have to be on God's side. What does God think? What does He want? (2) Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain... People fight over land; they fight over oil; they fight over what they think is injustice. They war with other nations and kill thousands of people, and the sad thing is the political Christians today don't understand that that's all of the devil, and they're pushing for it. (2) … Ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not. Whatever we need, just ask God. (Mar.11:24) … All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them. What do we need to take away from anybody else? Why is it that people need the world anyway? What's wrong with a simple life? People lust after so much. Wars come from it because people lust after things they could have for the asking. God will take care of it. (Jas.4:3) Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend [it] in your pleasures. (4) Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? What does he call the friendship of the world? Well, those who go out and fight with the world. (4) … Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God. If we're going to go out and make an unholy alliance with the wicked world, we become the enemy of God because now we become a member of the body of antichrist. We want to be separate, sanctified from the wicked world, having “no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” We are to share God with the world, not be part of them. People say, “Well, David, what am I supposed to do if someone attacks my family? Am I supposed to just stand there and look at them or am I supposed to do something physical to take care of this?” Do you remember the words of Jesus? (Mat.26:52) Then saith Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. They thought they were just defending family; He called them transgressors. In Luke 22, those who took the sword were transgressors. “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” That doesn't sound like you're taking care of your family. That sounds to me like you're coming across as fighting against God and, ultimately, it will cost you. (53) Or thinkest thou that I cannot beseech my Father, and He shall even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? Does God promise to protect us with His angels? Sometimes not, if we protect ourselves. God says that His power is made perfect in our weakness. We don't ever get to see God defend us until we quit defending ourselves, and basically, that's what He was saying here. What did God say about the angels defending His people? (Psa.91:10) There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. (11) For he will give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Wow! He's talking about those who are in the “secret place of the Most High”, those who are abiding in Christ! How do we abide in Christ? By obeying His commands. (1Jn.2:24) As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father. What we heard from the beginning is that which is written in His Book. If we abide in the Son, He promises His angels will take charge over us, to keep us. (Psa.91:12) They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. We can't even have an accident when we're abiding in Christ. Notice that they will protect you if you believe it. They will keep you. If you ask, “But what if somebody attacks?” you're denying the Lord here. You're denying what the Word of God says very plainly. (13) Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under foot. That seems like a pretty dangerous thing to do and it's a good way to get bitten if we're not walking with the Lord, but we're talking about the protection of God for those who abide in Him. Recently I was raking some leaves out of my way with my fingers, which caught a copperhead underneath and flipped him out. He was mad but I stomped on him. Think about Daniel in the lion's den. Why did God close the mouths of lions? Daniel was abiding in the secret place. And would He only do that for Daniel? No. (Psa.91:14) Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him…. Who is it who loves the Lord? He said, those who keep His commands. You see, when you have obeyed these things that we're looking at, you love the Lord, and you're abiding in the secret place of the Most High. Your enemy can't find the secret place.  Don't think about what things happen in the world, as if you're in the world. Don't compare yourself with the world. If you want to see God defend you, stop defending yourself. His “power is made perfect in weakness” (2Co.12:9). (Psa.91:14) Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. God holds your faith and your trust in Him very highly, but not all the “what ifs” that the devil can put into your mind. (15) He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble: I will deliver him, and honor him. (16) With long life will I satisfy him, And show him my salvation. Wasn't Jesus saying this when He was speaking to Peter? “Put up your sword. All they that take the sword are going to die by the sword. Don't you know I could call 12 legions of angels?” What kind of puny defense is a sword or a gun? How many people get killed with their own swords and their own guns? But we're not taking any chances when we lean on God. We can lean on the medical profession and die of all sorts of things. Even their medicine has killed many. Some people think, “Oh, I'll take my chances, David. I need to trust in my gun and drugs.” You need to trust the Lord. You are taking a chance any other way. Jer 17:5  Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah.  Wouldn't you rather have a defense like this? (Psa.34:7) The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, And delivereth them. You might not even have the chance to get to your gun. I remember a testimony of a man a few years ago who picked up a hitchhiker. The guy shot him three times point blank, and he was never touched by the bullets. They don't even know what happened to the bullets. An assassin shot at me close range and my angel disappeared the bullet and there was a witness. Michael and I were in his truck sliding down a steep hill on ice. I saw clearly our vehicle pass THROUGH a parked car on the side of the road and our tracks in the snow proved it. (8) Oh taste and see that the Lord is good (we just need to taste and see): Blessed is the man that taketh refuge in him. If we trust in ourself, we're not taking refuge in Him. We haven't put our trust in Him. God will guide you around or through a lot of these things that happen to the wicked. We have a Passover Lamb. (1Co.5:7) … For our passover also hath been sacrificed, [even] Christ. The Passover Lamb is for us to be delivered from the curse on this world. The death angel, the curse, passed over the Israelites who had the blood on their doorposts, but the death angel destroyed the Egyptians all around them. If we're really going to be believers, we don't need to listen to these horror stories that happen to the world because it normally happens to the world; they're the Egyptians. We have a Savior, and part of our covenant is deliverance. Now, I know that not everybody partakes of all of the Covenant. They take a part, bits and pieces here and there, and in the part that they believe, they partake of. But the part they don't believe in doesn't do them any good. (Hos.4:6) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (understanding)…. God's people are destroyed because they don't agree with this Word. Many are trusting in their ability to shoot straight or to have enough ammunition stored up in the house. And to hold off whom? I have an acquaintance who lived not too far from me, and when my kids were growing up, I went to his house, and it was an arsenal. The guy had bazookas and everything. I said, “Man, what are you getting ready for?” He said, “I'm getting ready for the Germans.” So I told him, “You'd better get ready for the Americans because they may be coming to get you.” And that's the truth. We'd better get ready for the church to come against us. We'd better get ready for this Beast government to come against us when we don't take their mark. Forget about the Germans. Oh, they're coming, but they're coming to take care of the Americans who persecute the Christians. That's how it's going to happen. But “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him.” That guy's liable to blow himself up over there with all that stuff, or his wife might fall out with him and just shoot him with something, since it's nice and handy. I hope it's not a bazooka. At any rate, if we trust the Lord, there's nothing that any man can do if we put our faith and our trust in Him and abide in the secret place of the Most High. So don't give ear to all these horror stories – “What if this? What if that?” That's just the devil. We have something sure here to depend upon. The Lord says that we have these angels round about us. They won't even let us dash our foot against a stone. They'll protect us in the days to come. We can trust in God.  “The angels are mighty,” the Bible says in Psalm 103. But I'm not trusting in angels; I'm trusting in God. (Psa.103:19) The Lord hath established his throne in the heavens; And his kingdom ruleth over all. (20) Bless the Lord, ye his angels, That are mighty in strength, that fulfil his word, Hearkening unto the voice of his word. Did you know that we have to be entitled for these words to be fulfilled on us and for us? We have to walk by faith, so that when the angels hearken unto the voice of His Word, they are “ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation” (Heb.1:14). (Psa.103:21) Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts, Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. (22) Bless the Lord, all ye his works, In all places of his dominion: Bless the Lord, O my soul. The Lord God Almighty is our Savior in all things, and He will defend us and keep us. Jesus laid down His life, but no one took His life. (Joh.10:17) Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. (18) No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself…. When they tried, He just passed through their midst. The Lord told me years ago that bodily translation will be common in the days to come. Can you imagine, if you're not able to buy and sell or get on a jet plane to go from here to there, what God is going to do to get His Gospel all over the world? He says that it's going to happen. He can translate you into trouble, and He can translate you out of trouble. We heard a testimony here not too long ago of a minister who was in Africa. He was being accosted by a witch doctor, and God snatched up that witch doctor and threw him over in the midst of the deep, dark woods; it took him a week to walk out of there. God can protect you. He can take the enemy out, or He can take you out. Or He can just stop the bullets, but He can protect you. We need to put our trust in Him to find out what that's like. You know, we're in the minority here, as the people who trust in God. All the horror stories, all the statistics that you hear are overwhelmingly about what happens to unbelievers. Find some statistics about those who trust in the Lord. That's a small and narrow group of people, I agree, because even most Christians don't trust in the Lord. We need to find out what that's like because we're coming to the most dangerous time in all of history. Jesus said, “ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake” (Mat.24:9). God's raising up a great enemy. We're going to need to know how to walk in “the secret place of the Most High”; we're going to need to know how to put our trust in the Passover Lamb, so the death angel will pass over, no matter what. Every one of you out there who is a born-again child of God, you have an angel whose job it is to protect you. Believe me, no man on this earth can do anything to you without God's Will. God bless you, saints. I just pray that you'll be full of faith and seek out what it is to abide in Jesus Christ.

Revelation 21:1-2 "New Heaven, New Earth, New Jerusalem"

A Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity 2 Corinthians 3:4-9 by William Klock Imagine you're an Israelite at the time of the Exodus.  Moses shows up and announces that the God of your ancestors—a God no one's heard from in four hundred years—is going to deliver you from Pharoah's slavery.  Sounds pretty sketchy.  But then God begins to act.  He sends ten plagues on the Egyptians.  He turns the Nile to blood.  Wow!  But then Pharoah's magicians do the same thing.  Okay…maybe not as impressive as it seemed at first.  But as the plagues go on, they get more and more impressive and Pharaoh's magicians can't keep up.  By the tenth plague you know without a doubt that this God of your fathers is something.  He's even more powerful than Pharoah and his gods.  And then the Red Sea.  Pharaoh chased you down.  Your people are stuck between the sea and Pharaoh's army.  All is lost.  And then the God of your fathers parts the sea itself in an amazing display of power and authority.  Imagine what it was like to walk through the sea on dry ground.  And then to watch as, just as miraculously, the God of your fathers causes the waters to come crashing back into place just at the right time to drown Pharaoh's army.  And you join with your people as, for the first time, you sing praise to this God of your fathers—a God whom you're now starting to think of as your God.  But God isn't finished.  He appears as a magnificent pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night and he leads your people into the wilderness.  When there's nothing to drink, he causes water to pour forth from a rock.  When there's nothing to eat, he miraculously provides an abundance of manna and quail.  At Mount Sinai he meets your people in cloud and lightning on the mountaintop.  He establishes a covenant with you.  He will be your God and you will be his people.  He sends Moses down the mountain with the torah and with instructions for the tabernacle.  And having been in God's presence, Moses' face shines so brightly with God's glory that he has to wear a veil.  And when your people have finished assembling the tabernacle, you see God's glory—like a cloud—descend to fill it.  It's astounding.  It's the sort of thing the Egyptians could only dream about their gods doing and the God of Israel does it for real.  And, eventually, just as he promised, God leads your people into Canaan—the promised land—and he conquers the people for you and gives you their cities.  And you know it's him, not you.  There's no doubting it.  He had you march on Jericho, not with swords, but carrying his ark and blowing trumpets as you marched in circles around the city.  Not to attack it.  Not to put siege to it.  But simply to announce that the Lord, the God of Israel had come.  And when that announcement was clear and when everyone could see that you and your people had done nothing but announce the Lord's presence, he caused the walls to come crashing down.  He defeated the city.  And neither you nor anyone else could possibly think of taking credit for it.  Neither you nor anyone else took the Lord for granted.  Neither you nor anyone else could dream of giving your faith, your loyalty, your allegiance to any other god.  Because you had seen with your own eyes the glory of the Lord. Even as the generations passed, the people remembered the Lord.  They lived in those cities, they drew from those wells, they harvested crops from those fields that the Lord had taken from the Canaanites and given to their fathers and grandfathers.  They bore in their flesh the sign of God's covenant—that statement, “I will be your God and you will be my people”—they bore that sign in their circumcision.  And every year they celebrated the Passover and not only recalled the events of the Exodus in which the Lord had saved their fathers; they participated, themselves, in those events—they owned them as if they'd happened to them.  And the covenant was renewed. And if you read the Old Testament no further you might think it would be like that forever.  How could a people who had so experienced the glory of God ever take him for granted, let alone turn their backs on him?  How could a people who had so experienced the glory of God ever look for confidence and hope in anyone or anything else?  But it happened.  They took their status as his people for granted.  They began to take those cities and wells and vineyards and fields he'd given them for granted.  They stopped celebrating the Passover and remembering what he'd done for them.  They started worshiping other gods.  They lost faith in the Lord and started putting their trust in kings and in armies and in politics.  And when the prophets came to rebuke the people and to call them back to faithfulness, they refused to listen and abused those prophets.  Eventually, because they took it all for granted, because they were unfaithful, the Lord took away the land and the cities and fields and vineyards—and finally even his presence—and sent the people into exile in a foreign land.  But not before he promised them renewal.  One day he would restore them and make them new and fill them with his own Spirit, he would turn their hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, so that they would be forever faithful. And, in Jesus, the Lord fulfilled that promise to his people.  In Jesus he was born as one of them, but rejected and crucified as a false Messiah.  God raised Jesus from death and overturned the verdict against him, declaring that he really was the Messiah and creation's true Lord.  In rising from the grave Jesus conquered death.  And then, to those who were baptised and received the sign of God's new covenant, he gave God's Spirit.  The old Israel had a temple.  This new Israel is the temple.  And as we read in last week's Epistle, Paul stressed that the risen Jesus appeared to the twelve, and to the other disciples, and even at one point to five hundred, and lastly to him.  And Jesus changed everything for them.  In his death and resurrection he led his people in a new exodus, not this time from physical bondage under Pharaoh, but from bondage to sin and death themselves.  And in baptism, Jesus leads his people like Moses through the waters of redemption to meet the Lord on the far side.  And the Spirit leads us, not as a pillar of cloud or fire, but as God's very presence within us, as we embark on a world- and humanity-saving trek through the wilderness of the old evil age into the age to come, towards the New Jerusalem, to that day when gospel and Spirit have done their work and Jesus does away with sin and death and evil once and for all and forever, and creation is set to rights and we enjoy the presence of our God eternally.  Those first eyewitnesses took this astounding gospel story to Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the world and amazing things happened.  It was more than just a story of the glory of God.  The story of the old exodus was that, but this was more.  The story of the Messiah and this new exodus has power unlike any story that has been told before or since.  This is a story backed by the life-giving and life-changing power of Jesus and the Spirit and the people who heard it and believed it and came to trust in the death and, most importantly, the resurrection of Jesus, they were changed.  Forgiven by the redeeming death of Jesus and then given a foretaste of the life of God's new world by the Spirit whom he poured into them.  It was a change that no one could ignore.  Some were captivated by it and came to hear and to believe the gospel story for themselves and they shared in this new life too.  And others got angry as the gospel story and God's new world challenged the gods and the kings and the systems in which they were already invested.  But to those who believed, the gospel, the good news about Jesus was life itself.  And they gathered together as often as they could and when they did, they not only shared the community the gospel had given them, they shared in the meal Jesus had given them.  In the Lord's Supper they ate bread and drank wine—and just as in the Passover—they didn't just remember what Jesus had done to deliver them from sin and death, they appropriated that death and resurrection, they participated in that saving event themselves.  They owned this new exodus just as the Israelites owned the events of the first exodus.  And each time it was as if the Lord was renewing his covenant with them: through Jesus and the Spirit, I will be your God and you will be my people. And you might think that their faithfulness to the Lord would be unending.  You would think that their trust and loyalty—their confidence—would always and only be in Jesus the Messiah.  But it wasn't.  If we're honest about our struggles, we know that it's easy to become distracted by other things.  There's a reason we gather every Sunday to hear the good news again and to come to the Lord's Table to be reminded and to renew the covenant.  There's a reason why we daily immerse ourselves in the scriptures and in the story there of God and his people.  Because when we don't, even as glorious as that story is, even as it once captivated us so thoroughly, somehow—and to our shame—we forget.  And Jesus is still there, but we start focusing on other things and we start looking for other things and we start putting our confidence and our hope in other things. It even happened in the early church with that first generation of believers.  Paul had arrived in Corinth in about a.d. 50 or 51.  He proclaimed the good news about Jesus and both Jews and gentiles there were captivated by the story.  They believed.  They were baptised.  And Paul stayed with them for about a year and half, helping them to set up a church.  And everyone knew that it wasn't Paul who had done it.  He was just an unassuming little man.  Funny looking, maybe with a speech impediment.  (Remember in last week's Epistle he owned that insult about being a monster, prematurely born.)  What happened in Corinth wasn't about Paul.  Brothers and Sisters, it was about the power of the gospel and the Spirit.  And yet just a few years later, it all started to fall apart.  The amazing story about the death and resurrection of Jesus that had once so spoken to them about the glory of God started to fade, and with it their motivation to holiness.  Sin—gross, truly wicked sin—started to creep into the church and they found ways to justify it.  Their worship became chaotic as people began using the gifts the Spirit had given to bring attention to themselves instead of to build up the body.  They abused the Lord's Supper and twisted and undermined its covenant meaning.  And when Paul, their brother, the one who had not only brought the gospel to them, but who could speak with authority about it because he, himself, had met the risen Jesus, when he wrote to them they brushed him off.  They told him they didn't want to hear from him anymore.  He'd been displaced by other preachers who were flashier, who were more handsome, who were better spoken then he was. And so, at the end of 2 Corinthians 2 he appeals to them.  He talks about himself as “we” instead of “I” and I think he does that to emphasise that he stands with the other apostles whose authority came from being eyewitness of the risen Messiah.  The same could not be said of others who have come to them and led them astray.  He writes to them, saying, “We aren't mere peddlers of God's word, as so many preachers are.  We speak with sincerity.  We speak from God.  We speak in God's presence.  We speak in the Messiah.”  The Messiah: that's who this is really about.  Paul has no authority of his own.  He simply speaks what he heard from Jesus himself.  And his point here is that they had once been captivated by that gospel of the Messiah that Paul had proclaimed to them, but now they've been captivated by the words of mere men.  “Do you want a letter of recommendation before you'll listen to me?” Paul asks.  “Do I need to give you a sheaf of reference letters so you'll know I'm legit?” “No,” says Paul, going on in 3:2: “You are our official reference!  It's written on our hearts.  Everyone can know and read it.  It's plain that you are a letter from the Messiah, with us the messengers.  A letter not written with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.  Not on tablets of stone, but on the tablets of fleshly hearts.” In other words, despite all their problems, despite their backsliding into worldly ways, they are not the people they once were.  Paul had proclaimed the good new—the story about Jesus and his death and resurrection and ascension—and through that preaching the Spirit had captivated them and filled their hearts with faith.  They believed.  They gave their trust, their loyalty, their allegiance, their obedience to Jesus and they were transformed.  And Paul could see it even through all their problems.  No, Paul doesn't need to give them references.  “You are my reference,” he says to them.  I know you've kicked me to the curb, but it was the message I received from Jesus that I preached to you that transformed you—not the merely human words of the other preachers who came along.  It was the word of God that did it. And they really, really need to hear this.  Because in the years since Paul left, as they've listened to teachers who led them astray, as the glory of the pure gospel has faded from their vision, they've begun to put their confidence in other things.  They no longer associate Paul with the gospel.  They're thinking of him as that funny-looking little man with the speech impediment.  And following someone like that in Greek culture, well, that wasn't going to get you anywhere.  And so they associated with the handsome preachers with eloquent rhetoric who could impress the Greeks.  They've forgotten that the gifts the Spirit gave them were gifts of grace to build up the body, and now they're abusing them and putting their confidence in them.  They've forgotten that the gospel puts them all on an equal footing before the throne of grace, and they're letting their old class and cultural divisions divide them up.  They were growing their church—as we'd say it today—but they weren't growing it on the gospel. We do the same thing today.  We may do it even more than the Corinthians, because commercialism is the cultural water we swim in and we don't even realise how much it impacts how we think about church and we don't realise how it so easily displaces the gospel and gospel growth and gospel ministry.  We build our churches around personalities.  We build our churches around programmes.  We build our churches around demographics.  We build our churches by advertising that we're better than or that we're not like our neighbouring churches.  We treat the church as if it's a business or a social club instead of a family—the covenant people of God, transformed and shaped by the gospel and the Spirit.  The Spirit has transformed our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh through the power of the gospel, but we forget the centrality of the gospel and allow our hearts to petrify back into stone.  It might not seem like that's what's happening at first.  Our churches may even have the appearance of success, but it's because we're appealing to stony hearts of worldly people with what they value, not with the power of the transforming gospel they need.   It's that simple gospel that needs to be at the centre of everything.  The risen Jesus always before us.  The risen Jesus at the centre of every decision we make.  The risen Jesus at the heart of everything we do.  Just Jesus, crucified and risen.  The simple gospel.  So Paul goes on in verse 4: “That is the kind of confidence we have toward God, through the Messiah.”  Stop putting your confidence in other things.  Just put it in Jesus.  He and only he can bring us before God.  So Paul says, “It isn't as though we are qualified in ourselves to reckon that we have anything to offer on our own account.  Our qualification comes from God: God has qualified us to be stewards of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit.  The letter kills, you see, but the Spirit gives life.”  The gospel was his only qualification and the only one that mattered.  The same goes for us. Now, think again of the glory that God put on display in the Exodus and in the story of Israel that followed.  That's what Paul gets at in verse 7 when he writes: “But just think about it: when death was being ministered, carved in letter of stone,”—he's talking about Mt. Sinai and the giving of the law”—“it was a glorious thing, so glorious in fact that the children of Israel couldn't look at Moses' face because of the glory of his face, a glory that was to be abolished.”  The glory God displayed in those days was astounding.  It moved the people to faith and trust and worship. But now Paul's talking about the new covenant and what God has done in Jesus and the Spirit.  “Will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?” he asks them.  “If ministering condemnation is glorious, you see, how much more glorious is the ministry of vindication—of righteousness, of justice?  In fact, what used to be glorious has come, by comparison, to have no glory at all, because of the new glory which goes so far beyond it! O, Brothers and Sisters, would that we would also be so captivated by the glory of the simple gospel of Jesus the Messiah.  There is no other glory that can compare and if we will keep it always before us—this good new of Jesus, crucified, risen, and Lord—if we would keep our eyes always focused on it, if we let it shape our lives, if we let it shape our decision, if we let it be the basis for everything we do as the church.  If the glory of the gospel were our sole source of confidence and hope, it would transform our churches and make us the people God intends for us to be.  God's promise is that one day the knowledge of his glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, but, Brothers and Sisters, remember that he has made us the stewards of that glory.  He has entrusted his gospel of life to us and he's filled us with his Spirit.  It is our calling to make his glory known by taking the good news of Jesus to Courtenay and Comox, to Vancouver Island, to Canada, and even to the ends of the earth.  You may have placed a veil over God's glory.  This morning let the scriptures lift that veil.  Let the bread and the wine here at his Table lift that veil.  Look on the glory of the Lord revealed in Jesus the Messiah and be refreshed and renewed for the gospel ministry to which you have been called. Let's pray: Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve:  Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Saviour; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Michael Iskander, star of House of David, joins the conversation to explore Pope Leo's Antiqua et Nova-style concerns around AI, technology, art, and human dignity. They discuss why imperfection, suffering, and the human “soul” are essential to authentic storytelling—and how Michael's portrayal of David changed his own understanding of mercy and forgiveness.Pope Leo's encyclical — Magnifica Humanitashttps://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.htmlMichael Iskander socialshttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm16028322/https://www.instagram.com/mickoola/?hl=enHouse of Davidhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FNNHM1MT?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallbackwww.call-usa.org

“And they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.” — Nehemiah 3:8 Cities well fortified have broad walls, and so had Jerusalem in her glory. The New Jerusalem must, in like manner, be surrounded and preserved by a broad wall of nonconformity to the world, and separation from its customs and spirit. The tendency of these […]

What will we actually do in Heaven? Will we recognize our loved ones? Will we eat, gather, celebrate, and have things to do? In this episode of The Bible Explained, Dr. Bryan Cutshall explores what the Bible reveals about life in Heaven and eternity with God. From the Millennial Reign of Christ and the restored earth to the incredible New Jerusalem and the New Heaven and New Earth, Scripture gives us fascinating glimpses of what is to come. Discover what the Bible says about the Millennial Temple, the size and design of the New Jerusalem, worship, music, celebrations, reunions with loved ones, and what everyday life in eternity may look like. Heaven is far more than sitting on a cloud or doing the same thing forever. Join Dr. Cutshall as he walks through Scripture and explores the incredible future God has prepared for His people. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

What does Biblical spiritual warfare actually look like when you move beyond the clichés and start examining authority, covenants, trauma, confession, demonic oppression, and the spiritual realm?In Part 2 of this Spiritual Warfare conversation, Nephilim Death Squad is joined again by Ed Mabrie of Faith By Reason and John Lenhart of Modeling God to explore advanced spiritual warfare through a Biblical lens. The discussion begins by revisiting the idea that spiritual warfare involves words spoken with authority, understanding how the enemy exploits personal weaknesses, and recognizing the role of familiar spirits, spiritual deception, and personal sovereignty.The conversation examines séances, familiar spirits, alleged past-life memories, reincarnation claims, and the Seven Sons of Sceva, asking why simply saying the name of Jesus is different from actually operating under the authority of Christ.From there, the episode moves into generational curses, generational trauma, MKUltra claims, childhood programming, synaptic pruning, and spiritual principalities. Ed and John discuss the concept of territorial spiritual powers, the B'nai Elohim, and Daniel 7's heavenly courtroom imagery as it relates to covenants and spiritual authority.A major portion of the conversation focuses on Biblical confession, repentance, forgiveness, emotional healing, and repairing relationships. Is simply saying “I'm sorry” enough? What does true confession require, and why does Christian community matter when someone is trying to overcome trauma, addiction, destructive habits, or spiritual oppression?The discussion also challenges modern ideas about church, individuality, medication, mental health, community, and discipleship before turning to practical topics including addiction, the unconscious mind, the demon called Legion, prayer and fasting, hearing the Holy Spirit, Luke 16, mammon, money, and unrighteous wealth.Finally, the conversation explores Jesus' command to make disciples, the purpose of generative Christian community, the New Jerusalem, and what defeating the enemy ultimately looks like through fulfilling God's will.What part of this spiritual warfare framework do you agree or disagree with? Let us know in the comments.► Subscribe for more Biblical analysis, Christian worldview discussions, and conspiracy research through a Biblical lens.Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere podcasts are available.Ed Mabrie / Faith By ReasonFaith By Reason – Official Websitehttps://faithbyreason.net/Faith By Reason – YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@faithbyreason883Ed Mabrie / Faith By Reason – Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/faithbyreasonFaith By Reason – Book Storehttps://faithbyreason.net/shop/Currently includes The False Apocalypse, The Jesus Code, and The Little Season of Satan.Faith By Reason – Books Pagehttps://faithbyreason.net/category/fbr-books/The Little Season of Satan – Book Pagehttps://faithbyreason.net/new-book-the-little-season-of-satan/Faith By Reason Podcast – Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/6EsDxct6pGqfFjmOvoUlbHFaith By Reason Podcast – Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-faith-by-reason-podcast/id1198806337John Lenhart / Modeling GodModeling God – Official Websitehttps://modelinggod.com/Modeling God – Books / Purchasehttps://modelinggod.com/booksModeling God: The Meaning of Life – Second Editionhttps://modelinggod.com/books/modeling-god-second-editionModeling God's Wills – John Lenharthttps://modelinggod.com/books/modeling-gods-willsJohn Lenhart / Modeling God – Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/modelinggod/Spiritual Warfare Course – Ed Mabrie & John Lenharthttps://faithbyreason.net/category/spiritual-warfare/00:00 Intro00:53 Spiritual Warfare Pt. 2 with Ed Mabrie & John Lenhart03:48 What Spiritual Warfare Is: Words, Authority & Covenants06:48 Familiar Spirits, Séances & Spiritual Deception08:56 Past Lives, Reincarnation & Spirit Memories11:05 Seven Sons of Sceva: Authority Without Faith12:41 Generational Iniquity, MKUltra & Childhood Trauma19:40 Territorial Spirits & the B'nai Elohim20:22 Daniel 7 and the Courtroom of Heaven22:40 Biblical Confession vs. Saying “I'm Sorry”25:37 Repentance, Forgiveness & Repairing Relationships34:57 Confession, Community & Healing Trauma36:55 Mental Health, Medication & Spiritual Stagnation39:02 Modern Church, Uniqueness & Christian Community44:34 Pastors, Church Structure & Individual Calling50:00 What the New Jerusalem Will Be Like51:53 Building a Spiritual Warfare Community53:14 How to Argue Without Feeding the Conflict61:07 Addiction, Habits & the Unconscious Mind63:28 Demon Names, Legion & Spiritual Authority65:13 Prayer, Fasting & Hearing the Holy Spirit67:56 Luke 16, Mammon & Unrighteous Wealth71:27 Making Disciples & Generative Christian Community73:07 Faith By Reason, Modeling God & ClosingBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nephilim-death-squad--6389018/support.☠️ Nephilim Death Squad — New episodes 5x/week.Join our Patreon for early access, bonus shows & the private Telegram hive.Subscribe on YouTube & Rumble, follow @NephilimDSquad on X/Instagram, grab merch at toplobsta.com. Questions/bookings: chroniclesnds@gmail.com — Stay dangerous.

This week we conclude our series on Revelation and Resistance with John's vision of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:1-7, 22-27, and 22:1-5. The text presents a moving depiction of God come to earth, dwelling among the people and wiping every tear from their eyes. In a renewed world with no death or suffering, humanity thrives beside the river of living water, eating from the tree of life, relieved from pain and suffering and death. While John envisions this New Jerusalem fulfilled in the future, he speaks its vision to Christians enduring the trials of life in the Roman Empire, providing not only a source of hope but also a vision of what a life with God might look like. Similarly, we think this vision might be a source of sustenance for us, as well, helping us appreciate the beauty that is already in our midst and giving us the strength to resist the power of the Empire for yet another day.

Home Is Where Your Heart Is - The New Jerusalem

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We could never feel as strongly about our own home towns as the Jews felt about the city of Jerusalem. It was Israel's capital and the spiritual center of the nation. But Jerusalem was just an earthly city, and—while believers are called to pray for its peace—we await a far better place. Join Dr. James Boice on The Bible Study Hour as he reflects on God's city and points us to the New Jerusalem. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/81/29?v=20251111